headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

5
Wharf Rat
Sept. 27, 1976
Community War Memorial Auditorium

Keith shines on a long, flowing intro section that spills into space-mellow Rat-Goodness
14
Last Time
Dec. 8, 1993
Sports Arena

Emerges from Space with a very long intro & very distinct and sustained St. Stephen tease! My favorite version.
10
Dear Mr. Fantasy
July 18, 1989
Alpine Valley

Part of what made this Alpine run so legendary. Soulful and Brent-astic.
5
Big Railroad Blues
Aug. 14, 1971
Berkeley Community Theater

Maybe the best pure hard riving Rock&Roll version. Lean, mean, and Jerry supreme!
38
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Nov. 2, 1977
Field House - Seneca College

Rarely heard (left out of DP Bonus tracks for Vol. 34) but another sweet/smooth '77 winner.
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Comments

Passenger
Oct. 25, 1979
New Haven Coliseum

It has no equal. Best they ever did.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Oct. 19, 1981
Sports Palace

The last two Jerry solos in "Fire"....I mean, damn. Just, damn.
It's All Over Now Baby Blue
Aug. 10, 1982
Iowa Fieldhouse - University of Iowa

Grate version from a terrific '82 gem.
Here Comes Sunshine
Nov. 14, 1973
San Diego International Sports Arena

Will have to agree to disagree on this one. They butcher just about every tempo transition , not to mention the lyrics on the final verse. The whole band seems out of step with one another on this version...go back and listen to some of the truly ugly " I got it, you take it" handoffs. There are some nice moments of course and Jerry rips off some great riffs as you'd expect on this tune , but compared with some of the really tight performances in '73 available I'd have this one way farther down the list if on it at all . I apologize for my curmudgeonly tone here but I gotta call it like I see it. It appears tho that I'm the only one shaking my fist ;-)
Playin' In The Band
Nov. 30, 1980
Fox Theatre

First I thought "yeah, it's great for the 80's, but really can't compete with those killer versions from '72 and '73", but then I thought "so what? That doesn't mean it isn't still great", so here's my up vote.
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