The Grateful Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by JRM, Apr 11, 2014.

  1. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17

    Location:
    Long River Place
    Moving on to 4-4-69 at the Avalon, the last of the standard 'Live/Dead' set lists of 1969.

    the Avalon had a curfew and very strict set time limits, so the performances here are always a bit unusual.

    In this case there seems to be a mystery guest organist on 'Lovelight' and possibly 'Schoolgirl' (I have in my notes, 'nice backup stuff from Weir, or maybe 3rd guitarist stage right (?) or TC (?)' Having outside musicians sit in would become quite common over the next few months.

    Garcia's guitar volume is abnormally low in both of the versions of this on the Archive, especially for '69 when his volume typically sets your hair on fire.

    This show is worth checking out for both 'The Other One' and 'Dark Star.' I tend to find the 'Cryptical Reprise' segment of this suite to be the most interesting up until 1971 when they successfully translated a lot of 'Dark Star' improvisational concepts into the tune. Most of the 'Other One' versions I've listened to so far in this sequence are characterized by a nearly unrelenting breakneck intensity, if this is not the first one to show a bit of introspection it's certainly one of the first. All of this occurs after the first verse - Garcia plays most of the pre-verse jam on slide, which is a different vibe that takes a bit to warm up, and its a bit of a shame he didn't keep up on it after the verse.

    I've been listening for a transitional phase in 'Dark Star', without really finding one yet, perhaps until now. The first thing I wrote was 'Already that dripping molten metal quality from J right off the bat,' as Garcia was getting in some serious licks in the pre-verse jam. After the verse you can hear Garcia and Hart angling for space with feedback and crashing gong, but Phil, Billy and Weir are not on board at all; their playing remains insistently rhythmic.

    There's a vague sense we are seeing a new DS idiom emerging, but if I'd been told this was February 4 instead of April I might just think it was how they were playing it on the night rather than a trend.

    There's a quiet little segment for about 45 seconds that sounds like pure improvisation, but then Jerry picks up a familiar pattern and its just like back at the Fillmore, with TC and Phil playing their parts. This leads to some chordal soloing from Garcia that's another departure, which he brings back to familiar ground by playing the theme with his 'sitar' tone. But this in turn dissolves into a short but full blown 'feedback' jam. Garcia tries to call the main theme back in with the same big fanfare he uses to emerge from the crashing gongs in the Live/Dead version, but it takes the band a few beats to take it up for the second verse and ending.

    This version was notable as it seems to be the first one without a pronounced 'verse jam' in which Garcia solos over the verse changes.

    I like 'St. Stephen' and 'the Eleven', but even more so than 'Schoolgirl' and 'Lovelight' I'm having a hard time finding much to recommend one version over another. These are no exception, well done, but not standout. Because of the time constraints, the Eleven goes directly into Feedback to end the set.

    Anyway, in spite of the typical set list, a bit of an unusual show, definitely worth 90 minutes of your time if you are in the mood for this era of GD.
     
  2. Bill Cormier

    Bill Cormier Forum Resident

    Location:
    Malta, New York
    This is the lyric book that came with the first pressings of "Live Dead", mine came with this.
     
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  3. Rne

    Rne weltschmerz

    Location:
    Malaver
    I wish I could agree with you, but I think the Hartford show is quite poor by 1974 standards. The ballads are excellently played, though.
     
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  4. MonkeyMan

    MonkeyMan A man who dreams he is a butterfly?

    Bump...

     
  5. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17

    Location:
    Long River Place
    Right now I have on the jam from 4-29-1972. (Someone has this as their avatar, I went through a random sampling of recent pages from this thread trying to find who it was, but no dice.) @Monroro has this as his avatar,( :tiphat: @Rne )

    Anyhow, this 'Dark Star' was up my alley for sure. Phil hits the 'Feelin Groovy' jam early on (around the 6:45 mark or so,) and from there it's a pretty spacy affair. The first verse comes rather early (~13 mins or so,) with extended space afterwards, a brief jazzy interlude, followed by more space with Jerry's tiger breakdown. 'Sugar Magnolia' has some understated wah pedal on the ending, and then Phil starts up 'Caution.'

    Whereas 1969 'Caution' is usually an intense boiling psychedelic locomotive bounding off the rails, 1972 'Caution' is a rambling down home blues excursion. This one goes plenty of places, with an ailing Pig keeping up for most of its length, even adding in some organ on the jams, before Phil and Garcia finally wind down into the boilerplate 'Saturday Night.' (still the best period for this song, I really enjoy Garcia's phrasing on the solos on this version.)
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2017
  6. Rne

    Rne weltschmerz

    Location:
    Malaver
    It's @Monroro, I found it immediately :laugh:
     
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  7. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17

    Location:
    Long River Place
    Lol, I probably looked at 10 pages for it. I saw a lot of stealies.
     
  8. ianuaditis

    ianuaditis Matthew 21:17

    Location:
    Long River Place
    There's a 'summer of love' thread in the off topic forum, you may want to ask this there, there are quite a few comments from people who lived in SF in the 60s.
     
  9. Dahabenzapple

    Dahabenzapple Forum Resident

    Location:
    Livingston NJ
    I didn't buy it and the last "Straw" was that the Jack Straw is said to be a disaster. Maybe the most exciting post-hiatus short tune they played when it was hot and extended and he picked a show with a disasterous Jack Straw. Me don't understand.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2017
  10. posnera

    posnera Forum Resident

    Listened to Nightfall of Diamonds set 2 late last night.
    I think that is the best post-Keith set I've heard. Definitely best post 74 Dark Star. I was completely blown away. Brent and Bobby have a really nice duet trading 1-2 bar licks while Jerry noodles around in the upper registers.

    I think the big difference as time went on for the band is that there was more of a sense of urgency and they rarely slowed down to explore. This set, while with the modern instrumentation and sound, regained the feel of 73-74. They weren't headed anywhere in particular and jammed cohesively without getting completely lost.

    Also, need to comment on the recording itself. I first heard part of this in the car, and it didn't really grab me. Maybe I was just distracted by driving. On headphones, the mix is just exactly perfect. Some of the keyboard effects float across the soundstage. Jerry's midi effects are really nicely used to double his playing, like the old Allman Brothers' doubled guitar lines, but improvised. It is almost like he is singing along with his solo.

    Back to the set itself - there isn't a weak moment at all. I like I Will Take You Home out of space, and while I think this show was calling for a high energy encore (Johnny B Goode!) We Bid You Goodnight was an inspired choice. They knew what they did that night was special.

    A+, would listen again. If you think you don't care for the 80s/90s, this set is worth your time!

    Dark Star->
    Playin'->
    Uncle John's->
    Playin->
    Jam->
    Drums->
    Space->
    I Will Take You Home->
    I Need A Miracle->
    Dark Star->
    Attics->
    Playin'

    We Bid You Goodnight
     
  11. US Blues

    US Blues Undermining Consensus Reality

    10 January 1979.
     
  12. Dahabenzapple

    Dahabenzapple Forum Resident

    Location:
    Livingston NJ
    Ok Ok Ok

    I'm getting this just to see/hear/etc.
     
  13. WiseJake237

    WiseJake237 Forum Resident

    [​IMG]
    For awhile I've mostly just been surfing through this thread from time to time (usually whenever I listen to the Dead) and staying on the sidelines. I have been listening to some January 1979 shows for the first time recently though, as well as some of the recent Dave's Picks (primarily 16 and 20). I also realized recently that I did not have a CD copy of Two From the Vault for some reason (although I have One and Three), and that I had also not heard it in a number of years. So now, after pulling myself out of a Kate Bush-fueled haze, I am reacquainting myself with the magic of this excellent set of 1968 Dead. It's more mellow than the official releases from earlier in the year (Dick's 22 and Road Trips 2.2), but this just allows the music to flow freer and easier, with more of a jazz feel than I tend to expect from this era. A couple of highlights: a sparkling jam out of New Potato Caboose, and an unusually restrained and experimental Lovelight.

    Bottom line: this release is pure gold - even if Anthem of the Sun is not your favorite album/era when it comes to the Dead. It certainly does not deserve to fall through the cracks as I had unwisely allowed it to.
     
  14. posnera

    posnera Forum Resident

    We'll call it a draw.

     
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  15. posnera

    posnera Forum Resident

    You will not be disappointed.
     
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  16. posnera

    posnera Forum Resident

    Not the right forum for this, but anyway:

    What's the best way to rip the audio from my Winterland 78 DVD (just stereo for portable listening).
    Preferably on a Mac.

    Thanks!
     
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  17. Archtop

    Archtop Soft Dead Crimson Cow

    Location:
    Greater Boston, MA
    You had me hooked right up until:
     
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  18. BurtThomasWard

    BurtThomasWard Guided by Loke In Memoriam

    Location:
    Norge
    Still no Dead. Problem is that the mail box was literally full today.

    Yes, FULL. Mostly various Jerry (playing the Old & In the Way box set now), but there's that darn Terrapin Limited album also...
     
  19. pbuzby

    pbuzby Senior Member

    Location:
    Chicago, IL, US
    As I recall from hearing a non-Dave's source, Jerry starts soloing when he is supposed to sing the "gotta go to Tulsa" verse and it takes the band a minute or two to figure out how to get back to the song. Probably not something the band would have wanted to be on an official CD, but one of the more interesting parts of the show.
     
  20. US Blues

    US Blues Undermining Consensus Reality

    I'm biased, having attended the Nassau show. I love the way Jerry would burrow into a tune back in '78 & '79.

    PS- And no Midi-effects to ruin @Archtop's morning.
     
  21. Rne

    Rne weltschmerz

    Location:
    Malaver
    In some cases, Midi effects were used to good results. In some others, not at all ("Foolish Heart" comes to my mind as an example of irritating midi sounds by Jerry). "Dark Star" provided a good territory to explore with that tool.
     
  22. Mad Dog

    Mad Dog Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chester County, PA
    I personally like the midi flute sound he would get and use in the Playing in the Band jams as well as the jam in Birdsong in 89/90. I also always like the effects he used on the Help>Slip>Franklin's from w/o a Net. That solo in Slipnot has Jerry changing effects on every run and thought it worked quite well but maybe that one isn't full on midi.
     
  23. fangedesire

    fangedesire Well-Known Member

    The 4/24 Playing in the Band must have opened an interstellar wormhole, to come in at #1 and #3! :)
     
  24. fangedesire

    fangedesire Well-Known Member

    I don't think it's even the best Dark Star of that month - my vote would go to 10/26/89. Better scary midi than pretty midi!
    To me, 10/16/89 seemed like "Dead Lite" in comparison... But you know, I'll check it out again, my impression could change and it's a popular show; although in general my ears react with horror to '89 Dead.
     
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  25. rufus t firefly

    rufus t firefly Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona
    NP : Bickershaw 5/7/72
     

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