headyversion

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grendel

Books and Music

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Submissions

23
Jack Straw
May 10, 1978
Veterans' Memorial Coliseum

From DP 25, Opens show at New Haven. Takes no prisoners. Extra shot of Jerry heading in bridge jam. Kinda surprised it's not on a list of 90+ Straws
7
Samson and Delilah
April 8, 1978
Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Shame on me for not submitting this earlier. Insane ripper to open 2nd set; Phil OWNS this version. Pause for nothing-- Listen NOW. Thank me l8r ;-)
30
Not Fade Away
Dec. 29, 1977
Winterland Arena

Latvala from "Grate" Beyond reminds of his Winterland pick: The Best. Jer rips holes in Universe; Drummers pummel; Listen to "drive me BACK" line!
7
Samson and Delilah
Dec. 5, 1979
Uptown Theater

Possibly best-ever of the Brent era. Bob preaches fire & brimstone and Jerry shreds the living daylights out of every jam. Serious MUST listen version
20
Shakedown Street
Dec. 5, 1979
Uptown Theater

A funk-laden but more laid-back, groovier vibe marks this excellent entry from Chicago. Notable for A+ vocals & harmonies and Bobby shines in end jam!
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Comments

Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Dec. 26, 1981
Oakland Auditorium

Grossly underrated at less than double digits at the time of this posting. Those who have commented already are among the most astute posters & some are among the toughest/most brutally honest as well. Should tell you the current ranking is a disservice to the rendition & I urge y'all to listen & give this some well deserved ups. As noted a very crunchy Miller SBD copy awaits. Great exploratory '81 jamming here in both tunes and Brent fans in particular should sing his praises for the work he does in the transition jam...very much the case in the best '81 versions.
Brokedown Palace
May 16, 1993
Sam Boyd Silver Bowl

Happily surprised out how good this is. The trick seems to be that Garcia understands the limitations of his '93 vox & instead of trying to hit notes he can't he changes his phrasing to fit a breezier reading...less gospel, but still extremely heartfelt and tenderly beautiful. Strong band involvement overall too...deserves its upper spot on the ladder here although at first i was skeptical.
Shakedown Street
Aug. 21, 1980
Uptown Theatre

Paging Dr. FunkenMellow...give me a shot of Jerry wah-wah stat! Grossly underrated version from the always jumpin' Chicago Uptown.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Oct. 22, 1978
Winterland Arena

Great Seamons matrix of this transferred by CM available now & totally worth it. Agree not every S>F has to be a rager to be heady--this one is a mind meld that would get a raised eyebrow from Spock. https://archive.org/details/gd1978-10-22.mtx.seamons.99496.sbeok.flac16/gd78-10-22d3t04.flac
Let It Grow
Dec. 16, 1992
Oakland Coliseum Arena

No reason this shouldn't be way higher on the ladder. Latvala thought enough of this show to make it a pick & this is a highly jammed version with less midi than usual for the era (a good thing, that) & a spacey section in the mid-jam that adds a lot to the mix. One of the stronger 90s entries and probably the best of '92.
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