headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

+24543


Submissions

31
Let It Grow
Oct. 2, 1977
Paramount Theatre

The most "Spanish-flavored" of LIG's, evokes old southwest almost Mariachi vibe. Brilliant Garcia changes-Rise&Fall!
25
Althea
May 6, 1980
Rec Hall, Penn State U

Recent Road Trips release is a perfecto: Outstanding vocals from Jerry and a jam after the lyrics that grooves and rocks super-hard. 5-star version!
46
Deep Elem Blues
May 2, 1970
Harpur College

Jerry's voice just exactly bluesy perfect...groovy & slow acoustic cadence & the boys harmonizing sweetly on the chrouses. Outstanding early version
30
Box of Rain
March 20, 1986
Hampton Coliseum

A+ for the crowd alone. Are there better ones? Of course. But I was there & the ecstacy after 14 years of no Box makes this version legendary.
15
Mississippi Halfstep Uptown Toodeloo
Sept. 18, 1990
Madison Square Garden

Astonishingly strong Jerry vocals, especially given the year, and some of the prettiest Hornsby-led fills make this one a real great sleeper pick.

Comments

Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Jan. 8, 1979
Madison Square Garden

Gets my vote for greatest ever Donna transition section. Some will feel this immediately disqualifies it as a heady version, but I implore you to see beyond your Donna bias and realize what she's doing in this particular version: to scat and vamp and experiment with her voice without going overboard into the screech-filled warblings of early 70s PITB and GSET territory. Instead, Donna gets into the groove of the transition and really rides some instrumental-like vocal waves and it adds a whole new element and flavor to the song that most previous versions lack. So I'm upvoting this primarily b/c of Donna, but also it should be said that if a great SBD copy of this show existed, the rest of the band would deserve an A+ too! The AUD's not bad (CM after all), but the version's good enough that it aches for a clean SBD.
Franklin's Tower
Oct. 27, 1979
Cape Cod Coliseum

No one's gonna like this post but after repeated listening and really trying to like this version (and the one from the other Cape Cod show), I gotta say--this is crazily overrated and really, just kind of flat out boring. The best thing about it is the transition from Dancin', which is what I suspect has it so highly ranked, but the performance of the song itself is just meandering with no real peaks and very little in the way of excitement. It also suffers from Brent's penchant for Fisher Price key sounds and just really kinda sits there doing nothing except going on for a long while. Compare to any of the best versions from '76-'77 (and even some '77 versions, it must be said, go on a little longer than they should), but there are even versions of the late 90's that blow this one out of the water (See 10/1/94) for focus, jamming, and tightness. There's some good stuff going on in both CC shows but the "Two Towers" aint it.
Lazy Lightnin' -> Supplication
July 5, 1978
Omaha Civic Auditorium

The best versions are still from the year previous (see 5/22/77, 11/2/77 and 5/18/77 for the Top 3), but this aint a whole lot farther behind. Confident Bobby reading of Lightning and Jerry doesn't skimp on the jams in Supplication. The lyrical rejoin isn't as tight as the great '77s just mentioned but it's still a rollicking good time and deserves a higher spot on this list. (Better than most any '76 I'd wager.)
Brown Eyed Women
May 22, 1977
The Sportatorium

Would be higher if there weren't so many dang good versions from May '77 alone, not to mention the year. Upvote worthy nonetheless.
Cassidy
July 7, 1978
Red Rocks Amphitheatre

More magic from the show that gets unfairly overlooked due to the night that followed. Jerry's lead into the final stanza is mesmerizing. Another truly great '78 that leaves out the "flight of the seabirds" lyric at the end and is somehow even better for it.