headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

grendel

Books and Music

+24533


Submissions

6
They Love Each Other
Nov. 4, 1979
Civic Center

Early in Brent's tenure he's locked in for the 1st part of a long, flowing instrumental mid-section. Jer doesn't disappoint either. Underrated version
11
Crazy Fingers
April 3, 1990
The Omni

Very strong entry w/no lyrical mistakes & Jerry in fine voice, esp. for the year. Crystal clean sound from '90 spring box set shows how good this is!
14
Brokedown Palace
Sept. 16, 1972
Boston Music Hall

This melts like a dream from a weirdly underrated Dark Star & is sung beautifully by Jerry & played sweetly by all. Give a listen!
7
Help On The Way > Slipknot > Franklin's Tower
Sept. 20, 1991
Boston Garden

Ok technically it's Help>Slipknot>Fire but c'mon that's pretty cool & even w/out the novelty of the change-up it's a sweet version
11
Take A Step Back
Oct. 31, 1979
Nassau Coliseum

Phil: "Remember, if you step up too close We'll HAVE TO STOP PLAYING. Weir: I would remind you all that Halloween is not a legal holiday"

Comments

Playin' In The Band
June 22, 1976
Tower Theatre

No comments yet? OK, allow me ;-) This is a spacey/jazzy vintage '76 with a lot going on inside, including a seeds-of-what-will-become "Fire on the Mountain" thrown in for good measure...often referred to in its infancy as a "Happiness Is Drumming", jam, hearing this "baby fire" in the middle of a Playin' that stretches past the 20 minute mark is pretty special. Donna sounds nice here, too. (Take half a point off for Bobby getting confused by the opening lyrics, but it's not a "Truckin' "style train wreck, and this is really all about the lengthy jam anyway. Give it a spin. p.s. I'd actually seek out the Miller SBD. Much easier listening!
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Oct. 16, 1977
Louisiana State U

^^^^Excellent! I look forward to hearing your recommendations, especially for those lower ranked but worthy of upvote and for some that may not have come up yet.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Oct. 16, 1977
Louisiana State U

Had an epiphany re-listening to this one, and while there are more glorious '77 versions than you can wave a flag at, this one deserves to be among the highest ranked, and so gets a long overdue upvote here. The Scarlet is letter perfect with a fantastic bridge jam, the bridge to Fire starts mellow and smooth with just the right amount of scat from Donna--nothng overwhelming, quite pretty--and then the Fire really sets itself apart from most of its '77 brethren. IF one had to find fault with this tune in this year it would be with a certain amount of repetitiveness in the jamming between verses (and frankly, the same could be said for later versions as well), but this one never loses focus and actually wanders into territory most others don't. There's a lot of interesting variation in tone and notes that Garcia brings forth and as others have mentioned in the comments the closing jam is likely to blow the doors off the barn. It feel like every version of Scarlet>Fire ever performed has already been listed here and I get how so many truly worthy versions can get lost in the weeds but I'm making it a personal mission to push this one at the very least into the 20's in terms of votes. Give a listen to this again if you haven't recently and if you agree, offer a boost, will ya?
Brokedown Palace
May 18, 1977
Fox Theatre

I can't find a better version than this one. Nowhere else do the vocals sound so sweet and complimentary of each other, and even Donna haters will have to admit she is spectacular here. And it's May '77 so the playing itself is virtually spotless. The "Eyes" from this show is also grossly underrated on the ladder.
Eyes Of The World
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

^^^^ Really glad you're digging this version. It's my all-time far and away favorite so I can't point you to another that quite rises to that level but if you are looking for other great versions I am partial to '77 and would highly recommend 5/18/77 as perhaps runner up to this. 5/15/77 is also a winner and then there's the 2/3/78 version from DP 18 that's pretty jaw-dropping. Other great '77's to check out would be 11/4/77 and 11/5/77 (both DPs, one Dave, one Dick) and give Egypt '78 some attention...very underrated version there.