headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

7
Big River
April 19, 1978
Veterans Memorial Auditorium

Segues perfectly out of MAMU and rolls along beautifully til Jerry goes ballistic on the last solo. Must hear.
5
China Cat Sunflower
April 5, 1969
Avalon Ballroom

Nice early stand alone with a long intro. You can hear the transition from the old intro to the more familiar pickings of later versions.
5
Darkness Jam
Nov. 21, 1973
Denver Coliseum

Not really a darkness jam but more of a dark star jam than what it's listed as (PITB) leads into Wharf Rat & is beyond beautiful.
8
Wang Dang Doodle
Oct. 22, 1983
Carrier Dome, Syracuse U

The boys really "throw a mess" on this one, making the carrier dome sound like a down and dirty old time saloon. Slinky sick stuff
2
Row Jimmy
April 18, 1987
Irvine Meadows

Check out Jerry's "giddy-up" riffs in the final "Row" choruses!
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Comments

Playin' In The Band
May 4, 1977
The Palladium

Same as I said about the "Deal" from this show--so overlooked. This version gets out there w/out losing focus...not dissimilar to 5/17/77 but with its own signature sound.
Deal
May 4, 1977
The Palladium

One for the tune and one for the show. The always overshadowed by 5/7, 5/8 and 5/9 5/4/77 is a terrific show on par with that monster trio.
Fire On The Mountain
April 30, 1977
The Palladium

Underrated. Worth getting the official digital download version as the archive AUDs are of pretty poor quality.
Ramble On Rose
Dec. 30, 1983
Civic Auditorium

This is a scruffy around the edges version--both musically and vocally-- with Jerry's voice really pushing its limits but all the better for it. Indeed the pay-off is in the final "grass aint greener" stanza and Jer just lets the ripcord go. Awesome stuff and worthy of an upvote even if there are "cleaner" versions to be found.
Goin' Down The Road Feelin' Bad
April 5, 1971
Manhattan Center

This always feels like the "original" version to me, probably from so many repeated "Skull and Roses" spins back in the day. This particular version will always in my mind be paired w/NFA. I think there are many superior '77 versions but damn if this one doesn't have something special about it.
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