headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

please login or register.

dictsang

boxdapocalypse

+129


Submissions

1
Terrapin Station
June 28, 1995
The Palace

Not particularly heady, but a notably not-too-bad later version with nice Vince vox
1
Cassidy
Sept. 29, 1980
Warfield Theater

Perfect acoustic version
1
The Other One
March 18, 1994
Rosemont Horizon

Weird, jazzy 90s version. Remarkably good!
1
Mexicali Blues
June 16, 1974
Iowa State Fairgrounds

Often a throwaway, this super bouncy version from a top 10 show sparkles.

Comments

Samson and Delilah
Feb. 5, 1978
Uni Dome, U of Northern Iowa

This one is great. I actually heard the original as a young guitarist--a guitar teacher insisted I check out Blind Willie Johnson--and so I tend to be hard on this cover. It often lacks the necessary power. This one really works...I love that Jerry brought back quite a bit of distortion on his guitar in 1978 and really up until his coma. Some songs just seem to demand it, as does this one; my one beef with much of 1977 is that he seemed insistent on playing with the exact same Bakersfield tone the whole show. This one smokes the DPs from that year, e.g.
Estimated Prophet
Feb. 3, 1978
Dane County Coliseum

I'm not a huge fan of this tune; I admire it but I don't love it from the heart. This is my favorite version I've heard. I think part of it is that it's so crisp in the DP18 mix and quite fast, with Keith also very present (other versions, e.g. 1977-05-22, he conspicuously stops playing in parts of the song and is oddly mixed, sometimes very loud and other times very quiet). Jerry's solo is also inspired, with a lot of direction and fire. He's extremely quiet in some versions, which I don't get...it causes the jam to start to feel very directionless. Anyways, this one avoids all those problems. Banger!
Spanish Jam
Sept. 4, 1983
Park West Ski Resort

Worst show ever?! Honestly, the September 1983 shows are my favorites out of all of the 80s shows I've heard. They sound way more locked-in here than they do on a lot of late 80s shows frankly.
Deal
July 19, 1989
Alpine Valley Music Theatre

One of several songs, along with "loser" and "let it grow", that seemed to never really have a prolonged "bad era". I love these party show versions of those easier-to-nail songs, even if I still dislike many of the takes on their earlier warhorses. The second solo really gets out there into shreds-ville but lands back in a more thematic place...love it. This is what Phans would call "hose". Really nice synchronicity between the drummers and Jerry at the end--this is a song where having enormous, doofy tom-hits all over the place works wonders.
West L.A. Fadeaway
July 19, 1989
Alpine Valley Music Theatre

Excellent version of probably the best thing they did in that Dire Straits-y mode (ironic since DS are kind of like "Michelob commercial Dead"), although I also love "Althea" and "Alabama".
show more comments
headyversion loves the dead but is in no way affiliated with The Grateful Dead or affiliated enterprises. find out more >:) >:)