headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Books and Music

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Submissions

24
Franklin's Tower
May 1, 1981
Hampton Coliseum

One of the best played versions from one of the best played shows in the Brent era---ever.
16
Shakedown Street
March 24, 1981
Rainbow Theater

15+ minutes of funk w/extended overlapping vocal rounds of "just gotta poke around", etc. before jam Brent adds cool "fuzzy" SFX
1
Big Railroad Blues
Oct. 30, 1971
Taft Auditorium

Check out Keith on this one! He's never been so up front before & right outta the gate!!
21
Cream Puff War
July 3, 1966
Fillmore Auditorium

Peppy early version w/Jer belting out lyrics & Pig doin' some nice work on organ. No archive copy exists; got this off 30 Days of Dead-worth the DL!
9
Passenger
May 7, 1979
Allan Kirby Field House

Super-charged EARLY Brent version rips and tears and shreds. Final jam before the coda is the best they ever did in this tune. Goes to 11.
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Comments

Bird Song
July 21, 1972
Paramount Northwest Theater

That should be WA. vibe, as in Seattle. Sweet version either way.
Loser
Feb. 26, 1973
Pershing Municipal Auditorium

I normally don't pay a lot of attention to the earlier versions of this tune because they lack the monster middle jams that would come in the mid 80s and culminate in the best ever version from 1990 at the Knick, but I should because the vocal delivery on ones like this are so good that it offers a different kind of experience and a very satisfying one. This whole DP is one of the top 10 in the entire series including Dave's) and I've overlooked this version of Loser unfairly until now. Thanks for bringing it to light.
Scarlet Begonias -> Fire On The Mountain
Sept. 20, 1982
Madison Square Garden

Indeed the matrix is the best source for this great version with lengthy mellow transition jam and sweet Fire entry. Jer does his all too frequent lost in translation with the first verse thing but almost seems to be laughing about it, then gets down to the business of ripping the roof off. From a show that would get a ton more attention if it had a killer SBD but this Seamons hybrid is fantastic in its own right.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
April 9, 1983
Hampton Coliseum

To each his own, of course but to be clear, I'm not reviewing the whole show at all. There are always flaws in '83 shows, even the best of them, but I'm only raving here about the China>Rider, which I think is far better than just OK. I can't seem to find a better one in this year and the 80s weren't always kind to this combo anyway so this one is a standout that I think you're giving a bit short shrift due to the rest of the show being pretty sloppy. This is a hard kicking nailed t down version & Jerry's clearly into it as you can hear in his northboind train moment. You may be be right that this show as a whole is overrated but this combo is just the opposite.
China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider
April 9, 1983
Hampton Coliseum

You're all gonna hate me commenting over and over on this version until it gets at least out of the 3-vote zone it's in now. You've been warned. Just freaking listen already.
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