headyversion

find the best versions of grateful dead songs

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grendel

Books and Music

+24533


Submissions

43
Estimated Prophet
April 19, 1982
Baltimore Civic Center

From the famous "ravenspace" show; the only version in which the main theme is reprised+lots of Bob yelling
64
Ship of Fools
May 9, 1977
War Memorial

Perfection. The "comes a time" for this show gets all the attention but this SOF is just as grand
64
Uncle John's Band
Oct. 12, 1984
Augusta Civic Center

Part of a 2nd set for the ages; flows in & out of PITB teases & then reprises into killer Dew
20
Terrapin Station
Dec. 31, 1987
Oakland Coliseum Arena

Hold on tight!
51
Bertha
Oct. 29, 1977
Evans Field House, Northern Illinois University

Sweet bass drop-ins by Phil on intro; extended Garcia solos in bridge jam; very intense and fun

Comments

Black Peter
June 26, 1973
Seattle Center Coliseum

Great call here. What this version lacks in big meaty outro jam (head to ‘77 for that) it makes up for in passionate vocals and perfect blues delivery. Upgrade worthy and yeah the box set sounds amazing.
Bertha
May 26, 1977
Baltimore Civic Center

This might be THE most grossly underrated version of any tune on this site. It blows the doors off nearly every version above it (with a handful of exceptions, maybe fewer) in every facet of the game--from vocals to overall jamming to Garcia's mid-tune solo. This entire show gets overlooked (Eyes, NFA, GTRFB, hell--the whole thing!) but this is the worst snub of the bunch.
The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)
Oct. 5, 1994
The Spectrum

Always thought the debut version was best but I’m rethinking that after hearing this one. Like this entire show (a gem for the year hiding in plain sight behind the far more celebrated Boston Garden show 4 nights earlier) you’ll find Jerry in fine vocal form and playing tight tight tight to this excellent encore. He even growls out one of the final lines. Come on without/Come on within...
Big River
May 17, 1974
P.N.E. Coliseum

Give it up for Billy keeping pace with Jerry, too. Right old '74 barn burner.
Casey Jones
June 22, 1973
Pacific Coliseum

The band somehow achieves mellow hotness on this one.