I'm currently on the 5/12/77 (! - yes, first set '77 is the bomb) version, but 7/3/78 is next. Gotta go schlep the box out of my music room. Then it's off to shoveling concrete plowdrifts so my wife can get outta here for work at 5:45 AM.
That was a good night for Phil, as I recall he was also quite on the ball during Dancin in the Streets.
Archtop raises a good point--although Jerry is often accused of being a "noodler," he plays more melody than any rock guitarist I know, and has a knack for writing melodies that can be played variously. Scarlet Begonias is a great example--you can play all kinds of different notes and sound like you're playing the melody with the right rhythm and target notes. I don't know another player who really plays like that, and it's one of the best things about his playing.
An awkward moment from 4:38-4:40, but otherwise top shelf. Maybe the point ain't mute (sic). He did noodle, but he also nailed things. He pretty much did everything. In a list of favorite musicians of all time, Phil would likely be just a tick ahead of Jerry. Somewhere in the top 10, along with Coltrane, Mingus, Bill Evans and I'll get back to you.
I had a musician friend of mine who commented that Garcia wasn't the best technical guitar player, but he was relentlessly melodic. I've always loved that description. Relentlessly melodic.... That's also how I'd describe the playing of David Rawlings as well.
Going off-topic a bit here but, since we're on the theme of lyrical playing, I was listening to Dire Straits' live album Alchemy from their 1983 tour the other day & was struck by how similar Mark Knopfler's approach to soloing was to Jerry's at times. To qualify, there's not a little of extemporisation in his playing (most of his major pieces are highly constructed, having evolved to a "perfect" point over many shows), but the strands of folk, jazz, country, blues etc. thrown into his solos, the focus on telling a story in each solo & the way that his guitar-playing is designed to reflect and pull out strands of the mood and melody of each song, is VERY Jerry-like. He's not a player that, to my knowledge, was ever highlighted as a potential Jerry substitute after 1995, but he could definitely have done a job in the role. All IMHO, of course.
This was my last show. What a great show. I had sent emails to Dave "lobbying" for it to be released. I was pleasantly surprised when it was included in 30 Trips.
I declare this day to be No Pockets Day. Let there be no hands in pockets on this day, and may all your ponies be ridden.
New release just announced, Jerry Garcia, Before the Dead Before The Dead | Shop the Jerry Garcia Official Store 4cds or 5 records(LE) available for pre order now
$20 for a 4 CD set seems very fair, but I don't know how much milage I would get out of a pre-Dead Jerry set personally.
It's actually $25. The $20 price that pops up automatically is for the downloads. Once you select 'CD' from the dropdown, it changes to $25. Not a big deal to me, still a killer deal for four discs.
It's 24.99 for the 4 CD, still very reasonable. I'm definitely interested in this, I don't know that I've called for it in print, but it's certainly been on my wish list.
That looks cool, though it seems they could have held off on the Hart Valley Drifters disc that came out a while back. It makes more sense to include it with this. At least they are putting some stuff out. Everyday their fan base is getting older. Keep them coming please!
Hopefully their next release is a Warfield box set release. 5 shows, 10 discs. Something from 1990, 1991. Then a Garcia-Grisman live box set could follow.
After selling some Picks and bonus discs, I got a little Dead-budget change in my pocket, going jing-a-ling-a-ling, as Dan Baird didn't exactly write. Sure would be helpful to have a box set announcement before other 30T shows beckon any louder. I know ... if I wait on the box, it'll be The Best Of '86, and if I pursue 30T shows instead, the next day it'll be Kezar and RFK '73.