headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

15
It Must Have Been The Roses
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Almost every song from this show could be nominated for a "best ever." This heartfelt "Roses" is no exception.
11
Aiko Aiko
Dec. 31, 1987
Oakland Coliseum Arena

With the Neville Bros. Jerry gets his Big Easy on.
17
Promised Land
May 25, 1977
The Mosque

Perfection to end the first set of one of the truly great shows ever. Keith, Bobby, Jerry--the whole crew is in the pocket and rocking it hard.
15
Promised Land
April 1, 1980
Capitol Theatre

Both the best and worst version ever. Why? April Fool's gag: Bobby - keys, Brent & Jerry -drums, Billy - bass - Mickey -guitar Phil-vocals
75
Big River
May 9, 1977
War Memorial

They just could do no wrong at this show, Hidden among all the other gems is this monster River. Big solo work by Jerry; nice fills by Keith.
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Comments

Shakedown Street
May 7, 1980
Barton Hall - Cornell University

Underrated greatness right here. Funkytown USA, population: This version.
Playin' In The Band
Feb. 3, 1978
Dane County Coliseum

Ha! Well you may not like what I have to say but basically this PITB is just too big and too hectic for my liking and (IMHO) 2/26/77 is far more elegant and beautiful in comparison. Especially now with the new DP release it sounds better than ever and I’ll always put Swing far ahead of this version. And I’m saying that as a huge fan of just about every other song in this otherwise amazing show!
Playin' In The Band
Feb. 26, 1977
Swing Auditorium

Spectacular & sounding crystal clear in the new DaP release, but can we talk about the reprise for a minute?, because it's about as majestic as they come. There's a sparkly, twinkly, swirly elegant kind of spirally thing Garcia does at the very end that gives me shivers. I'm sure I'm not expressing it right, but it's there & needs ears.
Candyman
Sept. 16, 1978
Sphinx Theatre

Yep, shoulda done this a while ago. Thanks for the reminder that the Egypt shows suffer from a weird word of mouth reputation for being not good. There are "off" performances within all the shows that stick out but what's good is extremely good...and this Candyman is in the latter.
The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)
Sept. 9, 1991
MSG

Bruce is the difference maker in this one. All Quinns have their appeal, fun as it is, but his keys really make this one stand out a tad more.
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