headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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catalonia

neshaminy

+2082


Submissions

3
Deal
Oct. 10, 1981
Stadt Halle

Incendiary second solo becomes delicate and beautiful before they build the final refrain.
9
Deal
Oct. 4, 1981
Rainbow Theater

You can't compare 70s Deals w/ late 1980 onward. There's a four minute shredded 2nd solo on this one that wasn't a part of Deal in its 1st decade.
3
Deal
Sept. 25, 1980
Warfield Theater

This is the first one with the second solo, revamped for the 15th anniversary.
7
Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodeloo
Jan. 8, 1979
Madison Square Garden

Pre rio grandeo is good, but there are two peaks post rio grandeo, one built off the other and the latter crashes into Franklin's Tower.
2
Stella Blue
May 13, 1981
Civic Center

A fluttery and lyrical solo after the bridge and then an autobiography of an outro. There is a video on YouTube.

Comments

Jack Straw
Jan. 11, 1979
Nassau Coliseum

If you need to hear the band cleanly hit "jack straw from Wichita", then this one probably isn't for you. But if you're interested in hearing stuff that approaches the limits of how fast Garcia can play, try it out. Jerry crushes the outro.
Stella Blue
Jan. 11, 1979
Nassau Coliseum

There are some questionable Stellas near the top of the list. Not this one. This Stella is the genuine article, as good as it gets.
Sugaree
Jan. 11, 1979
Nassau Coliseum

That third solo is fantastic. I was worried about Bobby's slide parts when I saw the other reviews, but it's not that bad. Or at least it's worse in other places during this time period. I'd say A- for this version.
Dear Prudence
March 13, 1982
Reno Centennial Coliseum

The same thing is happening here. All of the songs that the reviewers are invoking involve sequences that are chromatic and descending. John Lennon was experimenting with them in 67 and 68 - strawberry fields begins with 3 descending chromatic notes (major>maj7>7th), but so does Harrison's "Something." It's nonsense. The closest connection is between the MLB and Prudence and it amounts to this: The MLB has the same four note descending chromatic sequence that dear prudence does. Those words may sound lofty, but they represent this: Imagine playing a note on one fret of a guitar and then playing the next note down, and so on. Or a white key on a piano and then the next black key and so on. The band coalesced around a descending chromatic idea here for 30 seconds. There's nothing else to talk about and fantastic is not an accurate description of this 30 seconds. Keep your expectations low here.
Brother Esau
June 23, 1984
City Island

Yep, a dead show in the middle of the Susquehanna river. If there's anyone out there from the philly media market, this is a video of a young Nora Muchanic reporting on the '83 show on city island: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rV14pcJK0fU