headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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merryjerry

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Submissions

16
Help On The Way > Slipknot > Franklin's Tower
Sept. 19, 1990
Madison Square Garden

A big version. Listen as the baton gets passed without missing a beat.
5
Big River
Sept. 19, 1990
Madison Square Garden

An A1 performance that just improves with repeated listenings.
5
They Love Each Other
April 13, 1983
Patrick Gymnasium, U of Vermont

A bull's ass in fly season and the boys on this one are both TIGHT!!! (Although tight might not be the correct word for an awesome TLEO.)
19
Brokedown Palace
Sept. 28, 1972
Stanley Theatre

While not without imperfection, this version gets at that misty quality central to the ethos of the tune.
69
The Wheel
Feb. 3, 1978
Dane County Coliseum

A thin slice of sublime cheese in an earwateringly delicious sandwich: EP>Eyes>Playin'>Wheel>Playin' Reprise.
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Comments

Bertha
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Had no trouble sitting through this one. Top-shelf '77 version, Wolf-style.
St. Stephen
Oct. 15, 1977
Moody Coliseum - Southern Methodist University

Boy could Jerry read and give an audience what it needed! Like some of those saints of yore (and I mean real saints, not Pig-era versions) this one may be a bit bedeviled by an attention-grabbing wart or two, but it is nevertheless virtuous.
Bertha
May 5, 1977
New Haven Coliseum

Grendel, here's hoping that DeKalb was among the returned stash and, as is often the case, you are absolutely right about that 'Bertha': smokin'. Right from the outset you can tell it's gonna be a big one the way Phil falls in. Impressive how they are so in sync passing each other with all the descending and ascending parts, like synchronized elevators in a glass-fronted building possessed by a supernatural force. And Jerry and Wolf really howl. Comparing this one to the version from the 5th is a great comparison of Bean '77 and Wolf '77. What a year!
New Minglewood Blues
Dec. 29, 1977
Winterland Arena

Many GD songs vary greatly from vintage to vintage, often managing to achieve excellence but in different ways; for example, '74 and '77 'Scarlet Begonias' can both soar, the only difference being that they travel through different dimensions and from different angles. That said, and despite an odd start, this version here is definetely among those at the apex of the '77/'78 vintage: absolutely smokin'!
The Music Never Stopped
July 3, 1978
St. Paul Civic Center Arena

The dreamy part of the jam is so good that it can't help but be a bit awkward when they launch into the rock out; nevertheless, listen to the version from the July '78 box and see that this one is more accomplished than most of those currently sitting above it on the list.
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