OK, I'm just going to go ahead and say it: Keith was the best pure musician ever to be in the GoGD. I don't mean to say that to incite anything nor to put down the top-notch musicianship of any other member (for the record, god has a ways to go to become Phil; and Jerry, Bob and particularly Billy are all at the very top of their craft), but when he was at his peak (and up in the mix) Keith just oozed the right note every time. Listen to the very beginning of the Playin' jam from 4/24/72 (my all-time favorite version for reasons I've explained more than once and won't go into here) starting at 3:08. His additions are simple to play, yet are the product of a fertile and comfortable mind. He is countering the flow spontaneously. That is exactly what improvisation (screw "jamming") is all about. He embodies it.
Great point about Keith. I'd say the band changed dramatically after he left. Maybe they would have changed anyway, but as their sound got (for lack of a better term) louder, their improvisation style changed. Through the late 70's, they tended to leave a lot of space between the players in their extended improv sections. It seemed like they were really listening for their own place to get involve, and more importantly to avoid stepping on someone else's toes. Keith was really masterful at this dance. Through the 80's and 90's, their improv got more (again for lack of a better term) competitive. They played on top of each other more often. I'm not sure if there were equipment/tech reasons for this (were they less able to hear each other as the venues got bigger?) or if they made a conscious, or more likely, unconscious decision to change.
Agree about Keith. I'm listening to the Scarlet from 6/17/76 atm, and he is just playing the nicest freakin' lines one could want under Jerry. It's perfectly complimenting everything in the best way.
Oddly, one of the reasons Keith was let go was his propensity for "spontaneously" doubling Jerry's lines. While his ability to do this on the fly speaks to his musicianship, it also annoyed Jerry. I share this position only because as primarily a bass player, most musicians have expected me to "fill out" the guitar part by doubling all or portions of it and I've always been more about each instrument having its own voice and creating counter-movement.
1971 is what pulled me in, and it's still my favorite year. With only five musicians Jerry needed a thicker guitar tone. I don't know what guitar he was playing in April 1971 but I wish he'd played it longer. That super sweet tone is really what roped me into the Grateful Dead. Side 1 and 4 of S&R especially. I had a mix tape with parts of S&R and E72, and on the long drives to college and back that thing got played constantly. On DP35, they should not have made 8/6/71 CD filler. That show deserved some sort of release in its entirety, even though the AUD is special. At the very least the Truckin' from 8/6 should have been on DP35. The outro jam is exhilarating.
Yea, I'm on the Help! from 6/17/76 and Keith's background soloing is as good and as interesting as anything Jerry is playing.
Keith was the "McCoy Tyner" to Jerry's "John Coltrane." GD from 19 October 1971 thru 17 February 1979; and the JGB with Keith, are unutterably good.
According to dozin.com it is alleged to be an early Alembic project: They used the AUD tape as spliced filler on a portion of The Other One near the beginning. And you are dead on about Truckin'. Jerry's solo only lasts about a minute, but it's the most blistering, balls-out R&R minute I've heard from him, and that's saying something. The audience goes bonkers too.
Stylistically Weir plays much more like Thelonius Monk than McCoy Tyner. Not a criticism, Monk was one-of-a-kind, and so is Bobby when he's on his game. Speaking of Bobby and the band being on their game: 18 October 1974, Set III- currently Going Down The Road, Feeling Bad. As good as they ever played.
So much for "not paying attention" to 71. Just went through the Other One-Uncle-Other One from DP 35. Caught the Weather Report intro before the return to Other One. Great transition into Uncle. I was thinking that OO usually doesn't have a straight ahead rock and roll vibe, and all of a sudden they were into Me and My Uncle.
6/17/76 - Passaic This show is killer from top to bottom! It has a 1977 feel to me rather than '76. Keith is playing killer tonight. The drummers are pulling out some unique playing as well. Dancing In The Streets was 12 minutes of party perfection. TMNS and Scarlet Begonias were both just the same as Dancin. The Help>Slip>Frank was funk as anything and rocked. This Lazy Lightnin' is kickin' it too. I highly reccommend this show to anyone.
Everyone says 6/19 is the big one, so if 6/18 is great too, then I can't wait. As far as 6/17, this show really is phenomenal. My god.
More so in terms of "quirkiness" but not so much on the dissonance front. Monk reveled in b9, #9 and natural 9 clashing on a whim, whereas Bobby didn't really go there.
Still the best show I've ever heard. The Help>Slip>Franklin is just beyond the realm of comprehension.
Fender Strat, from fall '69 through '72 (maybe into early '73?). Always loved his single coil pick-up sound the best...
Robert Christgau once described Keith as sounding like a cross between Chick Corea and Little Richard.
I"m working my way through the 2013 edition of 30 Days of the Dead. I guessed every song correct so far. I think I'm gonna win one of those 2014 calendars.
I love the Nash Strat, but see the link I posted above. Jerry played at least 4 or 5 guitars from '69-'72.
