headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

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

Franklin's Tower
April 19, 1982
Baltimore Civic Center

This version has my favorite ending to any Franklin's Tower. It's soft, beautiful and springlike - the last two or three minutes before Estimated Prophet. I readily admit that I don't pay as much attention to the first ten or so minutes, but I sit through them again and again when, on occasion, I want to remember what beautiful sounds like.
Stella Blue
July 18, 1976
Orpheum Theater

Yes, this ending is epic. And when you consider its position in this Orpheum run, the last three minutes are the dramatic climax of this amazing week in July 1976. Jerry's tone does get richer in the years that follow - but the playing here is as good as at any time.
Scarlet Begonias
Feb. 27, 1977
Robertson Gym, UC Santa Barbara

People may know but the people don't care
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
April 8, 1978
Veterans Memorial Coliseum

I listened to this on the strength of bzfgt's protest - which I really enjoyed. This is a first cousin of other amazing April '78 SFs. I so wanted to like it more than those others that I knew, but the magic is not like the 4/24 transition, for example, so I'll say this: If you like 4/16 or 4/24, you should absolutely hear this. If you've never heard those, I would encourage you to start here and build up chronologically to 4/24.
Eyes Of The World
May 22, 1977
The Sportatorium

I often find myself on this site concluding that a version is only rated as high as it is because there's an official release of it out there. I have the opposite kind of surprise here. This is Dick's Picks 3 and this has been my go to Eyes since 1995. I don't get why this isn't top three, but 20 years of developing this bias of mine has apparently warped my perspective. Nevertheless, there it is. This version is magic.