headyversion

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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

49
Playin' In The Band
Sept. 17, 1972
Baltimore Civic Center

DP #23 from Baltimore...yet another jazz exploration that winds and weaves and delights. More introspective than intense & quite worthy!
14
Scarlet Begonias
Aug. 4, 1976
Roosevelt Stadium

Fantastic 15+ minutes of standa-lone Scarlet featuring a very Phil-front bass section post-lyrics. Final jam section gets real jazzy, too.
2
Terrapin Station
Aug. 31, 1985
Manor Downs

From a hot steamy night in Texas an equally hot & steamy Terrapin, which melts into a great Estimated
4
Eyes Of The World
June 25, 1978
Autzen Stadium, U. of Oregon

Hidden gem! Jazzy mellow intro to fluid, energetic Garcia-led jamming. Cross-up on 'beaches & seasons" in 1st verse chorus- Phil yells "Get it right!"
8
Row Jimmy
Feb. 4, 1978
Milwaukee Auditorium

If a SBD of this version and show existed we'd all be talking it up. But the AUD is pretty good, & this RJ has tasty Garcia licks. Don't overlook it!
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Comments

Brokedown Palace
June 25, 1995
RFK Stadium

I haven’t even listened to this version yet (I will) but I came here the night I learned of Robert Hunter leaving this realm & am just upvoting every version of Brokedown Palace, symbolically via this one, & because there is no such thing as a “bad” Brokedown Palace, because it is one of the most soulful pieces of poetry ever written, & because, well, just.....Robert Hunter.
Keep On Growing
June 22, 1985
Alpine Valley Music Theater

Phil takes a nice vocal turn on this rarity. Surprised it doesn't have more ups.
Brown Eyed Women
June 30, 1985
Merriweather Post Pavilion

The whiskey costs $5 instead of 2 in this one, so you know it's worthy. Nice chops from Jerry, long bridge jam, plus the aforementioned mini feedback on 'ready to kill'. Take a quarter point away for Jerry's weak-ish vocals (although he does nail all the lyrics, which is nice), but it's '85 so that's to be expected. I've done a non scientific analysis & I think '85 has got to take the cake for being the worst-sounding Jerry voice year in the band's history.
Playin' In The Band
July 1, 1978
Arrowhead Stadium

^^^^Excellent point Merry on this version and frankly many other Playins circa ‘77-‘78 that also click in around 10 mins and get passed over for lengthier “monster” versions. Those are almost like different songs in their bookended self contained 25-30 min. madness and they’re great but don’t overlook these shorter “launch pad” versions that pack a lot of jazzy exploration into a shorter space. This is one of them.
Fire On The Mountain
June 28, 1976
Auditorium Theatre

It's the Marcel Marceau version (no vocal) & really, none needed. I've been digging this one a LOT lately b/c the groove is just so damn infectious and irresistible. Easily the best of the prototype "beta" versions & better than some fully developed ones in which Jerry mumbles through blown lyrics & the band sounds tired. This one suffers no energy drain whatsoever despite its emphasis on rhythm & mellow flow rather than Garcia-led shredding.
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