2/18/71 has the sound I prefer. Jerry's tone is ultra-beautiful throughout, and it's ideal for a road trip. No, the breakouts are not ATG versions, but listening to them tear into Bertha for the first time is a lot of fun. If you snooze through that you must have narcolepsy. I see your and raise you one .
Interesting. Do you think his tone changed after this run? Did he change guitars? (Serious questions!) How do you rate the other nights from this run?
It seemed that he changed guitars daily during that stretch. I'm only familiar with the 18th and 19th, and I strongly prefer the 18th. The 19th seems a little bit off, probably because of Mickey leaving. I thought it was strange that 2/19 got released. There are essays about all Jerry's guitars. I can't link you to them while I'm at work but perhaps some kind soul will assist.
Jerry Garcia guitar history » This one shows him playing a Les Paul to start 1971 and switching to the Alembic prototype in March/April with Alligator showing up in May
Isn't there a photo on the Three From The Vault packaging showing them performing in the Capitol Theatre, with Jerry playing an SG?
Yes there is, yet we are presuming that the photo is from this show, or at least from this run of shows.
They played three runs there in 1970: March (2 shows), June (1 show, and what a show it is), and November (4 shows). I'm guessing the photo isn't from 1971. That's a nice article. According to that Jerry was on the Sunburst Les Paul in February 1971. Such a sweet tone. That and the Alembic custom made beautiful noises that spring. And apparently I was at Tiger's debut (8/4/79), which was also the debut of Althea and Lost Sailor. That's a quality set list. Morning Dew in the 1st set. I'll have to listen one of these days.
There's no show on the Archive from 1980-89 for Oct 24. Nor any after 1990. Some dates are just random like that.
Just kidding. Having issues with the Archive tonight. So I'm going with Dick's 2, Oct 31, 1971. That keeps me in the same time period -- and starts with a nice DS to boot.
I don't have the photo in front of me...but doesn't Phil have a moustache in it? Perhaps that dates it. Did he have a moustache at some point in '70 (or '71 for that matter)?
Revisiting some other sections from DaP 18. The Music Never Stopped, while not as intense as some of the later '70s versions, is especially lovely in the "floaty" section immediately following the vocal. In particular, Keith plays some really tasteful stuff. That leads to a strong Scarlet. And while the Playin' is a bit noodly from Jerry, there are some very strong moments. Overall, this release remains a strong contender, along with DaP 5, as the best release of the series. I haven't changed my mind after these several months.
I believe you are referring to Dave's Picks 18. Your comments (and others) prompted me to pay more than full price for the set this past late spring/early summer including the bonus disc. Far better than Dick's Picks 20 from later in 76. At first I was bothered by similar issues to the only other 76 set I have (see above): drums too soft, tempos seemingly stilted and guitar sound inferior to pre-hiatus. All these issues still exist on the July recordings found on Dave's 18 - but there is something about the music made these 2 nights that has me coming back. It also has me searching for a decently priced Dick's Picks 33. In other good news, Winterland 73 found and ordered for ~$5 more than I paid for Dave's 18 with bonus disc!!
Yes, and thanks for your timely comment so I could edit my post prior to the 30-minute limit. Now regarding guitar sound, do you mean Jerry and Bobby, Jerry mainly? I know that many don't like Jerry's Travis Bean tone, but my gripe is with the bridge pickup. When he uses the neck pickup, it has this big, round, warm, glorious tone to die for. See The Other One (beginning where Jerry comes in).
Jerry's sound. I've learned that the Travis Bean sound which sounds "thinner" than the Wolf and previous guitars Jerry used. I will pop in disc 2 from the above and listen for The Other One opening. Unlike you I have come to enjoy 77 with the TB guitar but much of the enjoyment comes from Bobby's sound, the mellow vibe and the glorious sound of the Betty recordings on sets like Dick's 29 (5/19 & 21), Hartford late May, and famously Dick's 15 (9/3). That last one you also love. I'm surprised you don't love Dick's 29. Those shows have much of the Dave's 18 vibe from the previous year only with better execution and deeper sound/rhythm. But with the wolf back, Dick's 10 (12/29 with awesome bonus material from 12/30) rivals 9/3 and Jerry sounds his best since 74.
The dozin' link that @trd put up is the best I have seen, but there isn't really one article that's comprehensive. You have to dig through a tangled web of pictures, articles, and old archive and rukind threads, and even then it's almost impossible to piece together. That article is pretty good, as I said above, probably the best, but it leaves a few things out. 1970-71 Jerry played at least 5 different guitars (Sunburst Strat in early 70, back to SG for May-December, What sounds like the Les Paul Deluxe with mini-humbuckers in early 71, then the Rick Turner special seen in the Manhattan Center photos, the Les Paul Special TV Yellow (played at Yale Bowl,) then back to the LP Deluxe ,which is pictured in the BCT pics from 8/14/71, and then the Graham Nash Strat that was to become Alligator was used in the 2nd half of the year. While the article says he broke out the Nash Strat in May, we only have two GD shows in May of 71 - (either 5/28 and 5/30 or 5/29 and 5/30) and only a portion of the SBD survives of each. I took a listen tonight and I would say I definitely hear some Stratisms from Garcia, for instance on 'Cumberland Blues' and 'Me and My Uncle' from 5/30 or 'the Other One' on 5/29. It also sounds like he is on the Strat at the Chateau d'Herouville on June 21. But a month later at Yale Bowl he was playing that Les Paul TV, and shortly after that was back to the Deluxe Les Paul pictured at BCT in August. It sounds to me like Jerry is playing the same guitar on both nights 2/18 and 2/19 - it sounds a lot like a single coil on some of the country stuff, but it doesn't have the overtones and harmonics Jerry would get from his strats. For that reason I think it is the Sunburst Les Paul, it sounds fairly consistent with the mini pickups. I think it was '70, as Jerry is playing the SG in the pic linked here, which is a great shot of Stache Phil with his Alembic-modified Gibson bass: Grateful Dead - 1970-01-10 Golden Hall, Community Concorse, San Diego, CA, USA » Keep in mind that unless the photo is in that little box further down, it's just a backdrop and not necessarily from that date. I don't have 3 from the Vault, so I can't say if that's the photo I linked, but Phil does not have a stache in the Skull and Roses band photo, from the same era.
Of course I spent about half an hour futzing around listening to Chateau d'Herouville on the Archive to decide if it was a Strat, which I found out about 3 minutes into this video: you can see a good shot of the proto-Alligator during I Know You Rider. The original white pickguard seems to be intact. Also @Six Bachelors you can see Phil seems to be in one of his most clean-cut looks in all of his GD tenure at that show, no moustache in sight.
The Nash Strat is my favorite followed by the Wolf. Third place would be the Gibson SG (70-09-19). August '71(Les Paul) is a soft spot and the second part of '68(Les Paul?) is killer, but the band isn't nearly as good back then. Live/Dead(SG?) of course
Just finished "Reckoning". Jerry had a very tasteful way of playing acoustic guitar. Now playing club melk weg '81. I believe they played on borrowed instruments that night? Only acoustic set of '81 and the last ever? I'm glad they did the acoustic sets before '83, regarding Jerry's voice
Ive long felt that one of the reasons that 77 enjoys the popularity it does is due to the overall mix and SQ of the recordings that circulate from that year.
Not the GD but this is pretty tasty.... Garcia, Weir, & Kahn 12/17/1987 Warfield Theater San Francisco, CA An AIDS benefit concert; Humanitas International and BGP presents: "Joan Baez and Friends: A Christmas Concert" --Multi Camera Pro shot w/ SBD SET Introduction When I Paint My Masterpiece Deep Elem Blues Victim Or The Crime Bird Song Dark Hollow* Turtle Dove* Knockin' On Heaven's Door* JOAN BAEZ w/Emmett Powell & The Gospel Elites (Mimi Farina on stage) Let It Be** *w/ Joan Baez **w/ Garcia & Weir {Brokedown House Productions)
80-11-28 To lay me down. Very good vocals. I actually like this song more after the hiatus. Older Jerry gives it another dimension 84-04-20 Scarlet> Fire. Hot version. Certainly one of the best I've heard post '79 85-09-15 She belongs to me. Maybe the best one in '85 86-04-22 Visions of Johanna and Brokedown palace. I think I prefer the '86 versions of Dylan's song. Powerful! Brokedown palace could be renamned Brokedown Brent. He's out of his mind drunk/high
