headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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catalonia

neshaminy

+2082


Submissions

2
He's Gone
April 1, 1980
Capitol Theatre

A solid version with a passage about a minute long straight out of the heavens - directly following the a capella section. Must hear.
8
Stella Blue
July 1, 1979
Seattle Center Coliseum

Horrible video with STELLA sound on YouTube.
2
Black Peter
May 15, 1981
Rutgers Athletic Center

The first solo is sweet and beautiful. The outro is short, bluesy shredding.
7
Eyes Of The World
May 15, 1981
Rutgers Athletic Center

The well played end to a S>F>E>E combination. Jerry plays with a theme recognizable from the eyes on DP6.
8
Uncle John's Band
May 26, 1977
Baltimore Civic Center

The encore of the penultimate show of May 1977. It's short, but these people are practiced at this date.

Comments

Deal
Sept. 2, 1983
Boise Pavilion - Boise State University

Around the 6 minute mark on the excellent Hunter Seamons matrix, Jerry plays a sequence that he frequently uses to slow the second Deal solo down to get ready to sing the refrain. But in this version, the whole band locks into the sequence and the peak that comes out of that energy sustains the song for another three minutes. I've been on a early 80s Deal search and this one is a great one to call it a night on.
Deal
July 31, 1983
Ventura County Fairgrounds

So many peaks. He's sailing sublimely along like 5 seconds into that 2nd solo and he never looks back.
Deal
Oct. 4, 1981
Rainbow Theater

I couldn't agree more. A blown lyric is a strong predictor of imminent shredding.
Crazy Fingers
June 26, 1976
Auditorium Theatre

This is pretty good. The outro shifts into the minor key a little too quickly for me, but the rest of the song is beautiful.
Deal
March 28, 1981
Grugahalle

The 2nd solo is the highlight of this one. I think Alpine 89 is a great primarily as a result of its 1st solo - but the 2nd solo is also great, so I can see why that version belongs at or near the top. But I just watched 7/4/89 and I cannot square 2nd place for that with the 4 votes this 1981 version has, given its 2nd solo and the crystal clear video on the youtubes. Even still, I don't think this 1981 version is better than top 20. Democracy has let these and many other early 80s Deals down.