headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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Submissions

1
Row Jimmy
March 16, 1993
Capital Centre

Outstanding late-late-era Dead.
2
Not Fade Away
May 6, 1989
Frost Amphitheatre

NFA as a Jerry tune? Yup, here it is! "But you drive me back -- huh!" Hell yes!
6
Wharf Rat
May 6, 1989
Frost Amphitheatre

Overlooked GEM! Swift yet deeply felt. Jerry CRUSHES it.

Comments

Cold Rain and Snow
Oct. 12, 1983
Madison Square Garden

People look for differently things in music, they respond to different things. Beyond competency and strong execution, what I look for when judging Dead tunes is (a) improvisational energy and (b) raw emotion. Together, these two things are, I think, the 'X' factor for the Dead. Usually, our immediate experience of this energy and emotion is to register that the version we're listening to has something about it that we've never heard before. That is certainly the case here. I've simply never heard a CR&S that soars so high, that has this kind of passion behind it. To me, THIS is exactly what I'm looking for. The real deal. I think it should be #1.
Cassidy
Oct. 12, 1983
Madison Square Garden

I wish the mix were better on the source we have. Specifically, I wish Garcia was more upfront. But it seems to me that if you listen *through* the sound to what they're actually playing, this one beats out 10/10/82 handily. And it smokes 8/3/82. In short: THIS should be considered the standard-bearer of early '80s versions of Cassidy. Personally, I'd go further and call it definitive. There's no question that Buffalo '77 is beautiful in every way -- but without the changes they add later, which became so integral to the song, it just can't be "definitive" in my book.
Stella Blue
March 21, 1994
Richfield Coliseum

^^^ I've never heard that version. I'll check it out! Thanks for the rec.
Standing On The Moon
Sept. 26, 1993
Boston Garden

Definitive.
When I Paint My Masterpiece
Sept. 18, 1987
Madison Square Garden

Unique and definitive. I don't get the love for 3/29/90. I think 7/4/89 is great, but it can't compare to this one's energy. 6/17/91 doesn't have all the Jerry back-up vocals, which immediately disqualifies it in my book. I just checked out 10/3/87 for the first time, and though it's really cool, I still think this is the one.
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