Grateful Dead album by album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by jacksondownunda, May 8, 2009.

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  1. JayB

    JayB Senior Member

    Location:
    CT
    I'm not a big fan of DP34 (the filler from 11/2 is great though!) for 77' try DP 3, DP 10, DP29, etc..
     
  2. jacksondownunda

    jacksondownunda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    JGB; Jerry Garcia Band 1977-1978 & Cats Under The Stars

    With forced GD downtime during the summer of ’77 due to Hart’s crash injuries, both Garcia and Weir used the opportunity to lay groundwork for Arista solo recordings. Though Weir’s album was released first, I’m going to take the liberty of looking at Garcia’s “Cats Under The Stars” project as it strikes me as in the vicinity of the not-quite-our-world zone as “Lady With A Fan/Terrapin Station”.

    The Jerry Garcia Band (JGB) with Keith and Donna Godchaux (and Maria Muldaur popping in regularly) had logged quite a few hours together onstage and in rehearsals exploring roots music, and had become a bit of a small “shadow-Dead” in many fan’s eyes. There comes a time though when true artists set aside the cover tunes and finally create new music out of the ether. Reportedly, the originals started with Jerry finding some old, seemingly simple lyrics of Hunter’s about the biblical story “Gomorrah”, and built a blues progression around them with hook lick and bridge (more on that later).

    The period of distilling roots is evident on the vocal exercise “Down Home”, which would be at home in an old plantation “Song Of The South” soundtrack. Hunter was on hand and offered lyrics to a similarly waaaay laid back moment where the honky tonks are all closed down because it’s “Palm Sunday” again. These tunes are very incidental, but they really maintain a theme/mood of the album.

    Perhaps with the laid back backdrop a raver was needed, so “Rhapsody In Red” might have been made to order. Except for the hook riff, did you ever notice how similar the cadence and lyrics are to Bob Seeger’s “Old Time Rock & Roll”...”...takes me back, drives me out of my head”, etc…? The title is more obscure than Seeger’s though, which is normal mode of operation for any GD project.

    Donna G wrote and sang her newest solo tune “Rain” (her last one on TS was “Sunrise”) featuring some musical Gochaux siblings on strings. She’s on the lam from some kind of affair of the heart, but careful not to lay blame. She muses that people’s “wells go dry”, but looks forward to “love’s overflow”. Maybe a “little rain” will wash everyone back to clarity.

    Garcia reportedly (see deadisc.com interview blurbs below) spent an enormous amount of time and energy on the project, and this was the first large batch of fresh original solo material since “The Wheel” solo album in ’71-’72. He utilized all the studio expertise, great chops, cohesive musical themes, and sleek production. Iit’s also worth noting that he sank a bit deeper into his ‘serious drug’ use trying to focus during the grueling production. The album flopped commercially. (Don’t blame me; I bought close to a half dozen copies upon release and passed them out to musician pals in a fit of zeal.) I remember LA’s KROQ ventured to play the title track one morning and yanked it a minute or so in! It was completely foreign among the fledgling Devo, Weasels, B52’s, Seeger OR the mighty Fleetwood Mac. It DOES bring to mind their notable quote “We NEVER WERE ‘current’”.

    Upon first listen perhaps it seemed completely irrelevant to the prevailing musical and lyrical sensibilities. Grateful Dead music over the years has often picked an archaic or imaginary landscape but some how still managed to comment on their social situations. My circle in the mid-late ‘70’s, like so many others, was immersed in shifts and tests, and the oodles of nose candy flying around seemed to be having some very strange effects on lives and relationships. I saw ‘us’ in “Lady With A Fan”, “Wrong Way Feeling”, “Shakedown Street”, “Rubin And Cherise”, and particularly “Gommorah”. I’m guessing I should therefore see a bit of Jerry Garcia’s life in the allegories, too.

    Firstly (without being too sensationalist),it is worth noting that Jerry had drifted from first wife Carolyn Adams, signing away the house and moving on. Next major relationship was Deb Koons IIRC, but she tended to smash stuff a lot, so that fizzled out too (for the time being). Jerry was “free” as a cat. Hunter’s putting the words in Garcia’s mouth, but it seems autobiographical; he’s on the bandstand, folks are wanting something they may not get, he’s not ready to go to bed so he spends the night prowling like a cat. Pretty simple, eh? There’s also that little bridge about “satin gloves unbuttoning…Time is a stripper doing it just for you”…life and weirdness are where you find it. Musically, this song is a very weird place suggesting “electric Dixieland” and the chick voices put a gaudy shimmer on it. Jerry’s playing lots of tight chord progressions (this and “R&C” and “Gomorrah” are delights to play for musicians), and there are several really funky breaks and passages. I don’t think the GD would have handled these as competently.

    The John Kahn/Robert Hunter reggae tune “Love In The Afternoon” (“after last year’s round of bye-bye baby blues, all I want is a little…”) fits right in here too thematically.

    “Rubin And Cherise” is somewhere in an imaginary idealized time and space between “Fenario” and “Terrapin”. There’s a masked carnival parade; we’re in New Orleans Mardi Gras and/or an Edgar Allen Poe story. In any event, Rubin’s a hot mandolin player (mmmm) and his girl Cherise (dressed as pirouette in white) has a premonition that Rubin’s love will waiver, though he swears that could never happen. The night comes and Rubin’s playing superlatively as “like waves against the bandstand the dancers broke” (sounding familiar?), and he locks eyes with Ruby (dressed as pirouette in red, with the same kind of hair hanging gently down as Cherise) and directs the lovely music to her alone. There’s a very awkward moment when Ruby freezes in her tracks as the mandolin plays itself and Cherise’s voice reminds Rubin (and presumably Ruby too) of his promise. Afterwards he walks the streets with Cherise ‘til dawn, but she doesn’t feel quite the same on his arm. The relationship has been compromised. He found himself wanting a woman who was not that much different than his own loyal one, and he has to live with the weight of that secret (and possibly act on it at some future date). I remember an interview where Jerry admitted being a hopeless romantic, sniffling at some old movies on late night TV (could you know his music and ever think otherwise?). For Jerry to sing Hunter’s words “The truth of love, an unsung song must tell. The course of love must follow blind, without a look behind” takes considerable conviction and sheer bravery IMHO.

    Lastly, “Gommorah”. Garcia/Hunter muse about what could that Biblical city have done that was so bad that they’d be erased from the planet. The allegory (my conjecture, of course) for my old scene and undoubtedly GD’s on a far grander scale would be that in the storm of drugs and crazy relationships, would there be a point where there might be nothing worth redeeming? Would it be possible to walk away intact? Protagonist Lot hears the inner voice telling him that the scene is indeed going to crash big-time and take everyone down with it (“It’s not your business how it’s done, you’re lucky to get through”..”I’m telling you so you can tell the rest what you’ve been through.”), and he’ll be spared if he flees without looking back; “if you don’t face straight ahead, you could not take the shock”. His wife, as the story goes, looks back and turns to salt…she’s forever bitter as she couldn’t let the past go. The tune and lyrics are so deceptively simple yet ultimately so powerful, but such is the expansive power of the blues. I’ve personally found it one of the heaviest of the GD-related tunes for reasons already mentioned (and those Donna/Maria backing vocals still send chills…).

    There’s the studio album and a few JGB live archive releases below, with slightly altering personnel. Anyone have any preferences or thoughts on the album or shows?
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    from deaddisc.com;

    Pure Jerry: Theatre 1839, July 29 & 30, 1977
    Jerry Garcia Band

    Initial release : 2004
    Jerry Made JGCD0001

    3 CD archive release of music from the Jerry Garcia Band shows at the Theatre 1839 in San Francisco on July 29 and 30, 1977. This is the first in a proposed series of archive Jerry Garcia releases.

    Tracks

    Disc 1
    • Mystery Train (Parker / Phillips)
    • Russian Lullaby (Berlin)
    • That's What Love Will Make You Do (Campbell / Thigpen / Banks / Marion )
    • Stir It Up (Marley)
    • Simple Twist Of Fate (Dylan)
    • The Way You Do The Things You Do (Robinson / Rogers)
    • Catfish John (McDill / Reynolds)

    Disc 2
    • Friend Of The Devil (Garcia / Hunter / Dawson)
    • Don't Let Go (Stone)
    • The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (Robertson)
    • They Love Each Other (Garcia / Hunter)
    • I Second That Emotion (Robinson / Cleveland)
    • Let Me Roll It (McCartney)

    Disc 3
    • The Harder They Come (Cliff)
    • Gomorrah (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Tore Up Over You (Ballard)
    • Tangled Up In Blue (Dylan)
    • My Sisters And Brothers (Johnson)

    Musicians
    • Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
    • Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals
    • Keith Godchaux - keyboards, vocals
    • John Kahn - bass
    • Ron Tutt - drums, vocals

    Credits
    • Executive producers - Christopher Sabec, Peter McQuaid
    • Recording - Betty Cantor-Jackson
    • Production supervisor - Tom Flye
    • Mastering - Paul Stubblebine
    • Tape research - David Lemieux
    • Photography - Jonathan Hyams
    • Special thanks to Carlos and Star
    • Recorded live at Theatre 1839, San Francisco, July 29 & 30, 1977

    Notes
    The back cover of the CD includes the following information;
    As the Jerry Garcia soundboard tapes of July 29 and 30, 1977 are incomplete, the CDs contained herein compile the best performances among those available. Please accept our assurance that every step has been taken to overcome the various challenges presented by 27 year old 7.5 ips reel tapes - mysterious interferences, frustrating omissions, and some sticky stuff of unknown origin - in order to transfer, edit and master this music in a way that faithfully celebrates its original performance.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Cats Under the Stars
    Jerry Garcia Band

    Initial release : April 1978
    Arista AB 4160

    Garcia's first LP using the band name Jerry Garcia Band and his first LP on the Arista label. Includes only one song that was performed by the Grateful Dead. Keith and Donna Godchaux who were at the time members of the Garcia Band contribute to the music.

    Tracks
    • Rubin And Cherise (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Love In The Afternoon (Kahn / Hunter)
    • Palm Sunday (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Cats Under The Stars (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Rhapsody In Red (Garcia / Hunter / Kahn)
    • Rain (Donna Godchaux)
    • Down Home (Kahn)
    • Gomorrah (Garcia / Hunter)

    Bonus tracks included on the CD version of album included in the All Good Things box set in 2004 and the subsequent individual expanded CD release in 2005;
    • Magnificent Sanctuary Band (Burnette) *
    • I'll Be With Thee (Dorothy Love) **
    • The Way You Do The Things You Do (Robinson / Rogers) *
    • Mighty High (Crawford / Downing) *
    • Don't Let Go (Stone) *
    • Down Home (Rehearsal Version) (Kahn) **
    • Palm Sunday (Alternate Take) (Garcia / Hunter) **
    * previously unreleased studio recordings from November 1976
    ** previously unreleased outtakes from the Cats Under The Stars recording sessions in 1977

    Musicians
    • Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
    • Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals
    • Keith Godchaux - keyboard, background vocals
    • John Kahn - basses, keyboards, guitars, orchestration
    • Ron Tutt - drums, percussion
    • Merl Saunders - organ
    • Maria Muldaur - background vocals (on Love In The Afternoon and Gomorrah)
    • Steve Schuster - flute, clarinet, saxophone
    • Brian Godchaux - violin
    • Candy Godchaux - violin

    Credits
    • Engineer - Betty Cantor Jackson, Bob Matthews
    • Assistants - Harry Popick, Steve Parish, Bill Candelario and Ramrod
    • Cover Art - Kelley Mouse Studios
    • Recorded and mixed at Le Club Front, San Rafael between August and November 1977

    Notes

    Cats Under The Stars was recorded in late 1977. A lot of time and effort went into the sessions. John Kahn commented in an interview;
    We put so much blood into that record. That was our major try. It was all new material and we did it ourselves. We spent so many hours in the studio.

    Garcia also commented on the efforts that went into the recording;
    I worked real hard at it and was very diligent and almost scientific about it. There was a lot of heart in it, you might say.
    The record was not a success financially but remained Garcia's favorite recording.

    Garcia discussed the LP in an interview in the late 80's.
    The record I worked hardest at and liked best was Cats Under The Stars. That was kind of like my baby. It did worse than any other record I ever did. I think I probably gave away more copies than I sold. It was amazingly, pathetically bad. But I've learned not to invest a lot of importance in 'em, although it's nice to care about your work.

    On another occasion in the early 80's he also discussed this LP;
    Cats Under The Stars is my favorite one. That's the one that I'm happiest with, from every point of view in which I operate on that record. We did all those tunes on tour right after the album came out, with John and Maria, Keith and Donna and I think Ronnie Tutt was still playing drums with us on those first few tours.

    In the early 90s he still thought well of the album;
    As far as I'm concerned Cats Under The Stars is my most successful record - even though it's my least successful record! I've always loved it and it just never went anywhere.

    In an interview with Joel Selvin he was more succinct;
    [Cats Under The Stars] had everything - chops, production, songs.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pure Jerry: Jerry Garcia Band, San Francisco Bay Area 1978
    Jerry Garcia Band

    Initial release : 2009
    Grateful Dead / Rhino

    A double CD archive release of the Jerry Garcia Band at four San Francisco venues in 1978.

    Tracks

    CD 1;
    • Mystery Train (Parker / Phillips)
    • Catfish John (McDill / Reynolds)
    • I Second That Emotion (Robinson / Cleveland)
    • Mission In the Rain (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Don't Let Go (Stone)

    CD 2;
    • Tore Up Over You (Ballard)
    • Simple Twist of Fate (Dylan)
    • The Way You Do The Things You Do (Robinson / Rogers)
    • Let Me Roll It (McCartney)
    • Gomorrah (Garcia / Hunter)
    • I'll Be With Thee (Traditional)
    • Lonesome and a Long Way From Home (Bramlett / Russell)

    Musicians
    • Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
    • Keith Godchaux - piano, vocals
    • John Kahn - bass
    • Buzz Buchanan - drums
    • Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals
    • Maria Muldaur - vocals

    Credits
    • Released by Annabelle, Theresa & Tiff Garcia, Heather Garcia-Katz and Sunshine Kesey
    • Original recording - Betty Cantor-Jackson
    • Compilation producer - David Lemieux
    • Mastering - Joe Gastwirt
    • Poster by and special thanks to - Randy Tuten
    • Recorded live at the, , and Keystone Palo Alto

    Notes
    The songs are from the following Jerry Garcia Band shows;
    • Mystery Train - Feb 18, 1978, Marin Veteran's Memorial Auditorium
    • Catfish John - Feb 18, 1978, Marin Veteran's Memorial Auditorium
    • I Second That Emotion - Feb 19, 1978, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
    • Mission In the Rain - Feb 19, 1978, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
    • Don't Let Go - Feb 19, 1978, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
    • Tore Up Over You - June 10, 1978, Keystone Berkeley
    • Simple Twist of Fate - Feb 19, 1978, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
    • The Way You Do The Things You Do - Feb 19, 1978, Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium
    • Let Me Roll It - June 18, 1978, Keystone Palo Alto
    • Gomorrah - June 18, 1978, Keystone Palo Alto
    • I'll Be With Thee - June 18, 1978, Keystone Palo Alto
    • Lonesome and a Long Way From Home - Feb 18, 1978, Marin Veteran's Memorial Auditorium

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pure Jerry: Warner Theatre, March 18, 1978
    Jerry Garcia Band

    Initial release : 2005
    Jerry Made

    2 CD archive release of music from the early and late Jerry Garcia Band shows at the Warner Theatre, Washington, DC on March 18, 1978.

    Tracks

    Disc 1
    Early show
    • I Second That Emotion (Robinson / Cleveland)
    • They Love Each Other (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Dylan)
    • That's What Love Will Make You Do
    • Love In The Afternoon (Kahn / Hunter)
    • Mystery Train (Parker / Philips)

    Late Show
    • The Harder They Come (Cliff)

    Disc 2
    • Mission In The Rain (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Simple Twist Of Fate (Dylan)
    • Midnight Moonlight (Rowan)
    • Gomorrah (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Cats Under The Stars (Garcia / Hunter)
    • I'll Be With Thee (Love)
    • Lonesome And A Long Way From Home (Bramlett / Bramlett / Russell)
    • Palm Sunday (Garcia / Hunter)

    Musicians
    • Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
    • John Kahn - bass
    • Keith Godchaux - electric grand piano, vocals
    • Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals
    • Maria Muldaur - vocals
    • Buzz Buchanan - drums

    Credits
    • Executive producer - Christopher Sabec, Peter McQuaid
    • Recording - Betty Cantor-Jackson
    • Tape research - David Lemieux
    • Engineering, mastering - Joe Gastwirt at Joe's Mastering Joint
    • Photography - Bob Minkin
    • Album coordination - Jeff Adams
    • Special thanks to Tom Craig

    Notes

    The rear cover of the CD package includes the following note;
    The fifteen songs presented within this package comprise the first ever official and complete release of the two widely acclaimed Jerry Garcia Band concerts that took place March 18, and early Palm Sunday, 1978. Selected and approved by our own patented - and often painful - evaluation process, these tunes are among the very best found within a trove of original JGB soundboard mater tapes. Please accept no substitutes, and be assured that these CDs authentically celebrate the music's original performance to the fullest legal extent.
     

    Attached Files:

  3. Olompali

    Olompali Forum Resident

    Yikes! A Ruben and Cherise (or rather "Reuben and Cerise") analysis and nary a mention of the song's strong relationship to the Orpheus and Eurydice legend? Or the resetting at Carnival ala the great, must see film, Black Orpheus?

    http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0053146/

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheus

    Your touching on the themes of abandoning love was right on.
     
  4. protay5

    protay5 Member

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    A bit of catch up, in my reactions to Terrapin, which apply to CUtS as well. Some great songs, good playing, weak production ideas and some plain filler. I love "Estimated Prophet," I think it has more real reggae feel than anything else the GD did, as well as being a cracking good song. I adore "Lady With a Fan" and respect the rest of the suite, though I don't enjoy it as much as side two of Blues for Allah, or "Weather Report" for that matter. As with a lot of rock "suites" it's like adding 2 plus 2 and only getting 3, but still, that's a bit extra.

    I'm actually fond of "Passenger." Hard to classify, it's almost power pop.

    "Dancing in the Street" had been very good to them for many years, particularly recently -- how could they give it such short shrift? I suspect Terrapin was better live, so here's where I need to dive into DP's again.

    It may not be a worthy obsession, but there was some huge shredding "Sugaree" around this time, I think I heard it on King Biscuit -- can anyone point me to it?
     
  5. protay5

    protay5 Member

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    Given that I've been backing away from the post-Allah Dead, I really like CUtS. I think "Ruben" and "Gomorra" are incredible songs, and there a lot of energy on the whole album. I sometimes wish it had been recorded more in the style of Reflections, but that album sounds a little sluggish compared to this one.

    "Ruben" -- in some ways I think this is an improvement over "Lady With a Fan." Another story, but with more drama, more specific and it goes by faster. Another stop/start melody, but it combines the olde English feel of LWaF with some calypso feel. I like that we get a very detailed story up to a point, then we don't quite know what happens but suspect it's something bad -- "may I fall down cold" & Ruby turning to stone. (The album starts with a woman turning to stone & ends with one turning to salt. Maybe Jerry was feeling down on women at this point.) I always assumed that Charise was lightly in his arms because she was dead, just because of all the spooky foreshadowing.

    "Gomorrah" -- again, I enjoy what we don't know -- "it's not your business." Lot just does what he's told, he's "a good upstanding man" maybe a bit like Dylan's Mr. Jones. He's not exactly a hero, just a survivor. I always thought Lot's wife was more interesting, and she gets the final chorus here. I didn't hear this record until some years later, but it seems like it was prescient about the arms build-up and heightend fear of armageddon that came a couple of years later. On the other hand, I can see jacksondownunda's theme of decadence -- Lot's wife turns into a pile of white powder.
     
  6. ZappaSG

    ZappaSG New Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    I love the Cat Under the Stars on Pure Jerry Merriweather! The portion has this great eastern sounding motif and Jerry plays some great lines. Never heard the studio version.
     
  7. dr.zoix

    dr.zoix Forum Resident

    Location:
    north jersey
    do you guys maybe have a suggestion what other 77 shows to check out ??
    There are a few Dicks Picks (3, 10, 15, 29, 34) and i don't know which have good SQ.
    I'm not really an expert when it comes to 1977 live releases, but I absolutely love the recent Winterland June 1977 boxed set. If you like Hartford 77 you'll love this.

    These are some of the shows you should beg,borrow,trade and/or listen to. All 1977.
    2/26, 4/30, 5/4, 5/8, 5/11, 5/22, 5/25, 5/26, 6/8, 12/30.
    I have all the shows of 1977 except 2 both AUD recordings 4/26 & 5/3. The reason I can't recommend others is because I haven't listened to them yet which are, 3/20, 4/22, 4/23, 4/25, 5/1, 5/18, 5/19, 5/21, 5/28, 6/4, 9/29, 10/2, 10/9, 10/11, 10/2, 10/14, 10/15 10/28, 10/30, 11/2, 11/5, 11/6, 12/31.
    If you would like to listen to any of these shows go here, - archive .org click on music then type in grateful dead, when you get to a show click on the songs on the right side of the page in the black & gray lines where it shows song titles & times to hear the music I know that DP # 3 is 5/22, but I have the full show that is 3 cds & some of you people are missing some good music
    __________________
     
  8. ZappaSG

    ZappaSG New Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    DP 29, which is 5/19 and 5/21 is FANTASTIC! I tell everyone I know that it is a top notch absolutely amazingly ridiculous release. Sound is fantastic. Very fat and warm. You can really crank this one and it just keep sounding better. And the performances are top notch! I can't recommend DP 29 enough.

    Now, that being said, DP 18 is quickly becoming an all time fav as well. Pretty stark contrast to the beauty of DP 29. As my brother in law put it, DP 18 is like the Led Zeppelin of Dead songs! Every song rocks and it rocks hard. Very essential!
     
  9. jacksondownunda

    jacksondownunda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    You're spot on with that, of course. LOL. I'd reviewed Orpheus and Eurydice BEFORE scribbling off the other night...it is in the Cats version; nature pausing to listen in to the mandolin playing (Orpheus' lute charming the elements). I hesitated though (the ol' rabbit in the headlights) because it's Hunter's Jack O' Roses album version where Rubin does indeed visit the Underworld to retrieve her. It made me wonder big-time why Jerry dropped that verse, ...or did Hunter beef up his later version to solidify the Orpheus references?
     
  10. catman

    catman Forum Resident

    I just downloaded DP 29 a few days ago, based on recommendations I read on this forum, and I am loving it. I have quite a bit of live Dead, but I had bought only one DP, #7, the Alexandria Palace one from '74, and I hate the sound on that one. It kept me away from DP's for years. DP 29 sounds as good as Zappa describes it, and great performances to boot. Even Donna Jean sounds good!
     
  11. dr.zoix

    dr.zoix Forum Resident

    Location:
    north jersey
    Forget that Europe '74 stuff. Go with 2/22/74 or 7/19/74. Perhaps ALL 17 cds from 10/16- 10/20/74:agree:
     
  12. shadowlord

    shadowlord Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austria
    thanks dr. zoix for the suggestions!
    i will definately try to get some of them.

    protay5: i like Passenger a lot too !! it has a lot of energy.
     
  13. JimSmiley

    JimSmiley Team Blue Note

    Agreed...demonstration quality Dead. :righton:
     
  14. ron p

    ron p Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    All of Jackson's posts have been fantastic and I really enjoyed the Cats Under The Stars post. Jerry very rarely praised his work but he made a point of mentioning Cats. It's always been one of my favorite albums and I really enjoy the filler in the cd release. The Jerry box gets probably more play than any other for me.

    I couldn't let the Pure Jerry Warner Theater show skip by without notice. I had a cassette tape of this Palm Sunday concert for years. It's my favorite Garcia show and I would really encourage everyone to check it out. The newer Bay Area 78 release is also excellent. It's from several different shows and hasn't seeped into my DNA yet. If you like entire concerts Warner's is great. If you like the best versions compiled check out Bay area 78. They're both fantastic with great sound and performances.
     
  15. jacksondownunda

    jacksondownunda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Heaven Help The Fool - Bob Weir

    Weir’s solo offering from that same era is pointedly commercial, but actually had some very strong Weir songs. Under the wing of Terrapin producer Keith Olsen he headed to LA to work with studio musicians including Waddy Watchell and Tom Scott. I can only guess at the commercial and “star maker” forces from Clive Davis and Arista that may have been at work here. Boz Scaggs’ “Slik Debris” had been a MONSTER seller despite not necessarily being Boz’s most outstanding career material, and it became apparent that with similar disciplines and direction some other existing long-time artists may also get their day in the stratospheric heights. Weir looked years if not decades younger than some of his band mates and could portray a non-hippie image (jokingly dubbed “Healthy Elvis” by Hank Harrison), so someone must’ve been thinkin’ “Let’s give the bugger a shot at the star machine!” I don’t think there was ever any thought of Weir leaving the unique Grateful Dead, but it was quite amusing that some European lp covers featured the stamp “Ex Grateful Dead Guitarist”. Weir had a big batch of chord changes, and lyricist John Barlow actually spent his honeymoon whipping up words. Many Dead Heads, accustomed to GD tales of gunslingers and miners, were quite shocked at the tight recorded arrangements and particularly some of the very literal and mature observations and commentary of adult life, as well as allusions to his bachelor life-style (he remained one for many years following a dramatic breakup).

    “Bombs Away” was the breezy commercial opener, and probably the hardest to come to terms with for many fans. The GD customarily used archaic terms with aplomb, but this was just plain sappy; “Bombs away, I guess I’m back in love again”, “strike up the band”, “I’m so charming”, “this gay ‘ol social whirl”, and “give ‘em all batons to twirl”, super-catchy with disco honking, slick chicks, and the high vocal “yi-yi-yi”s for good measure. One would be forgiven for thinking they’d dropped into a ‘60’s movie musical. WT…? Weir is notoriously tongue-in-cheek, …or else Barlow’s honeymoon hormones had backwashed into his brain? They were apparently aiming at a completely different market, and it reeked of sellout…or were they kidding? (Maybe Clive demanded a “commercial” tune, and as a huge % of pop hits are absurd by nature, maybe they did their best to oblige?)

    ..Followed by a very sublime reading of Little Feat/Lowell George’s “Easy To Slip”. LF’s version was so peppy, but Weir’s new take was touching and as ethereal as memories vanishing in the cigarette smoke as he makes a note to himself to remember to forget her rather than live in the shadow of her leaving. Nice job. The album wasn’t a joke after all.

    At some time, Barlow (a lapsed Mormon living on the family farm in Utah) and Weir wandered into a rehearsal of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and in a flash of chutzpah decided to write the best darned song about SLC ever! Verses trace Brigham Young’s conversations with God about creating this “Paradise on Earth” out in the desert while kicking a prairie dog out of the way. Then swinging rocking choruses explode into the understated glories of this city; “..where it’s always easy keeping straight, really makes Des Moines look second rate, ain’t making no big deal about it but I hear those Mormon girls are really great!”, “dig that Tabernacle Choir, they be bound to take you higher”, “Brigham made the desert bloom, a color TV in every room” “I kinda like it there!”. I saw an early version of the Bob Weir Band with bassist Tim Bogert around this time at Perkin’s Palace, and the song was even more chuckle-worthy with guitarist Bobby Cochran singing the words “Salt Lake City” like a ‘30’s female long distance operator. The song’s so tongue-in-cheek, yet it parrots exactly a Morman guy I worked with for a year. They don’t actually cross any lines or taboos, so I’m surprised SLC didn’t pay Weir/Barlow a fortune for use of the tune! (Let’s see Des Moines get a song like THAT!)

    Then the levity subsides again with a surprisingly candid tune “Shade Of Grey”. The chord changes and feel on the verses aren’t too unlike “Saint Of Circumstance” as he sits/lays with a girl who’s just come out of the shower. There’s a tension created when the choruses churn turbulently as people down on the street toil and gun their engines and he remarks that he’s been “in that crowd of strangers and played a part in their lonely show”. But meanwhile, 7 stories high in this penthouse with the girl “all their dreams are being realized”. You wouldn’t have heard that one on Workingman’s Dead.

    The title track “Heaven Help The Fool” makes some social commentary that seems to parallel Eagles’ characters in “Hotel California” or “Life In The Fast Lane”. The Eagles targeted the ‘too cool filthy rich superficial’ cliches, Weir just becomes one. He’s worked his way from flatland USA to El-Lay, learns the game (“fancy pitches”, “professional high fiver”) and now looks down from the lofty heights. The Mercedes, home in Malibu, he picks his girlfriends from Penthouse magazine, and knows “which ain’t and which is just exactly cool”. He laughs off charges of petty vanity. There are no backwards glances. Heaven help the fool who doesn’t play that game. He asks; If the opportunity presents itself, are you sure you’ll refuse?

    “I’ll Be Doggone” is the Smoky Robinson song. Weir might have done this one in the early Kingfish days along side “You Better Shop Around”. In any event, another in a string of GD covers, and in the case of this album (possibly at Clive’s beckoning) a bit a variety that may have attracted yet another audience if heard on the radio.

    Lastly “Wrong Way Feeling” would not be amiss in the later GD repertoire. In fact it’s probably the blueprint for “Hell In A Bucket”IMO. It’s got a ginormous riff, and a femme fatale who seems far more an adversary than a lover; “comin’ on like a pharaoh’s daughter, all silk and style and class…and down I go like a lamb to a slaughter” and “Helen Of Troy and her thousand ships, ….like the shake of your hips”. “’Go Back’ said the sign way back in my mind,…but I never could resist a witch.” Good fodder for psychoanalysis I’d imagine.

    The studio album translated very faithfully to tight live shows, despite different musicians. Weir’s solo live bands aren’t anywhere as nearly well documented commercially as Garcia’s (kinda like Stills vs. Young, and probably for similar reasons). The market isn’t as intense, but he has put on some good shows over the years. The support tours for this album (with slightly differing personnel...including one Brent Mydland on keyboards) are quite cool. Maybe someday GDM/Rhino might go that path, but in the meantime I’ve noticed that Bill Graham Productions Wolfgang’s Vault has a stream of a Bob Weir Band show if anybody wants a listen;

    http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/bob-weir-band/concerts/old-waldorf-march-25-1978.html

    Any thoughts on Weir here?
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From deaddisc.com;

    Heaven Help The Fool
    Bob Weir

    Initial release : January 1978
    Arista 4155

    Weir's second solo album, the first without assistance from the Grateful Dead. The title track was briefly part of the Grateful Dead repertoire.

    Tracks

    • Bombs Away (Barlow/Weir)
    • Easy to Slip (George/Kibbee)
    • Salt Lake City (Barlow/Weir)
    • Shade of Grey (Barlow/Weir)
    • Heaven Help the Fool (Barlow/Weir)
    • This Time Forever (Barlow/Weir)
    • I'll Be Doggone (Moore/Robinson/Tarplin)
    • Wrong Way Feelin' (Barlow/Weir)

    Musician information for each track is provided on the back of the LP cover;

    Bombs Away;
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    • David Paich - keyboards
    • David Foster - keyboards
    • Mike Baird - drums
    • Mike Porcaro - bass
    • Tom Scott - winds
    • Bill Champlin - background vocals
    • Tom Kelly - background vocals

    Easy to Slip;
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    • Bill Champlin - keyboards
    • David Foster - keyboards
    • Nigel Olsson - drums
    • Dee Murrey - bass
    • Waddy Watchel - guitar
    • Tom Kelly - background vocals

    Salt Lake City;
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    • David Paich - keyboards
    • David Foster - keyboards
    • Mike Baird - drums
    • Mike Porcaro - bass
    • Tom Scott - winds
    • Bill Champlin - organ, background vocals
    • Tom Kelly - background vocals

    Shade of Grey;
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    • David Paich - keyboards
    • David Foster - keyboards
    • Peggy Sandvig - keyboards
    • Waddy Watchel - guitar
    • Mike Baird - drums
    • Mike Porcaro - bass
    • Bill Champlin - background vocals
    • Tom Kelly - background vocals

    Heaven Help the Fool;
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    • David Paich - keyboards
    • David Foster - keyboards
    • Mike Baird - drums
    • Mike Porcaro - bass
    • Tom Scott - winds
    • Bill Champlin - background vocals
    • Carmen Twilley - background vocals
    • Lynette Gloud - background vocals
    • Tom Kelly - background vocals

    This Time Forever;
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    • David Paich - keyboards
    • David Foster - keyboards
    • Mike Baird - drums
    • Mike Porcaro - bass
    • Bill Champlin - background vocals
    • Carmen Twilley - background vocals
    • Lynette Gloud - background vocals
    • Tom Kelly - background vocals

    I'll Be Doggone;
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    • Bill Champlin - keyboards, background vocals
    • David Foster - keyboards
    • Nigel Olsson - drums
    • Mike Porcaro - bass
    • Waddy Watchel - guitar
    • Carmen Twilley - background vocals
    • Lynette Gloud - background vocals

    Wrong Way Feelin';
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
    • David Paich - keyboards
    • David Foster - keyboards
    • Mike Baird - drums
    • Mike Porcaro - bass
    • Bill Champlin - organ, background vocals
    • Carmen Twilley - background vocals
    • Lynette Gloud - background vocals
    • Tom Kelly - background vocals

    Credits
    • Producer - Keith Olsen
    • Engineer - David De Vore, Keith Olsen
    • Art Direction - Ria Lewerke
    • Photography - Richard Avedon

    Related releases

    Two singles were released in conjunction with this LP;
    • Bombs Away / Easy To Slip, Bob Weir, 1978, Arista AS 0315
    • I'll Be Doggone / Shade Of Grey, Bob Weir, 1978, Arista AS 0336

    A promotion single comprising mono and stereo versions of Bombs Away was distributed in conjunction with the Bombs Away single;
    • Bombs Away promo, Bob Weir, 1978
     

    Attached Files:

  16. rcdupre

    rcdupre Flying is Trying is Dying

    I didn't know Tim Bogert played with Weir, they should have recorded another Little Feat (related) song, the *Fraternity of Man's "Don't Bogert Me" aka Don't Bogart That Joint.......*wicked awesome late sixties L.A. psych band which included Richie Hayward, Elliot Ingber & Martin Kibbee, plus Lowell George as a session musician....
     
  17. Olompali

    Olompali Forum Resident

    At the time, I thought this disc was extremely ironic, tongue in cheek and a full blown parody with Bob mocking the late 70's rock biz and sex from deep inside.
    It was a laugh at Scaggs, Ronstadt, Eagles, Steve Miller, etc.I while using all their hit/star making tools to perhaps get some solo cash as well. An Avedon cover? LOL!
    It was so pointed that it flew over the patchouli set up in Oregon and the blue jean crowd back east. Shake hands with the devil ala U2 and their Zoo years in the early 90's.
    Now it does seem that Weir may have got caught up in the tinsel for longer than expected. But then, he couldn't stay a cowboy forever especially since he wasn't one to begin with.
    I still dig it for the memories of 1978.

    I seem to remember hearing riffs from this album on various sportscasts for more than a few years...
     
  18. davmar77

    davmar77 I'd rather be drummin'...

    Location:
    clifton park,ny
    i saw one of the first bobby and the midnights shows when bogert and cobham were the rhythm section. i had a chance to get back stage and sit down with the two of them. we had a nice chat. i suggested that, as they were the rhythm section, that they should play around with the timings a little and have some fun with weir. they liked the idea but didn't go though with it.

    a couple of years earlier, when heaven help the fool came out, i accompanied my brother on an interview with weir. i recorded it so jeff could transcribe it later. i think it was for relix. we parked outside the record company office and when we came out, found out the car got towed away. that ended up being part of the conversation with the group. we had to take the train home and my brother went back the next day to claim the car. on our train ride, due to heavy rains, our train car leaned off the track. kind of a slight derail. no one was hurt. what a day it was!
     
  19. jacksondownunda

    jacksondownunda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Into 1978 live; DP18, DP25

    Observations of the GD’s live performances in later years came up a few pages back, and I can honestly say that the older Heads were definitely aware of the changes in the band’s playing. I mentioned in the ’76 chapters that we’d seen them do things in slo-mo, seen them extending song segments to explore inflections, and even seen them stand on one leg to explore body dance rhythms. My own recollection/perception was that in ’78 they were definitely “holding back” from their usual crazy musical “excesses”, and were studiously tightening up arrangements with a usually tasteful playing style that could often seem “prissy” by the standards of previous years. In earlier days they’d change chords while sailing their own distances from the ‘root’ note, but now they’d all hit a chord marvelously in tune with each other with a ringing “Ker-RAAAAAAAANNNNNG!” and the audience would inevitably shout “Hooray!”. They seemed to me to be focused on adding “conventional” playing chops and/or playing “consistently”. There were several early ’78 shows without “Drumz”, such was the reigning in. This isn’t to say they were bad shows by any means, ..far from it; many still hold up pristinely on tape and can be quite interesting. The new fans in my circle could clearly see that there was still something very different about this band’s approach compared to The Outlaws or other popular bands of the time. However, in classic “great” (one of “those”) GD shows they’d “let it all hang out” and be able to fall into some unexplored musical places. Then (if ON) they’d sculpt sound (sometimes including the sound or ambience of the audience) and create something so outside the perimeters of what we call showbiz that it’s hard (or embarrassingly awkward) to put into words. Mere structure didn’t suit them; intuitively creating magic out of formlessness was their unique forte. Although often exasperating to a fan who knew they could tear the roof off if they desired, I put it ’78 down to “work in progress”, enjoyed the shows, and patiently awaited the days when real craziness would return to their playing. It did, IMHO, a few years later, though there was a percentage applied by fans (i.e.,” 1 in 7” or “1 in 10”) to “those” shows vs. merely good well-played shows.

    Speaking of craziness, though, DP25 from May 11 is the show when band is rumored to have gigged on pharmaceutical mescaline, with some inspired results! The year’s gigs included one night with a voiceless Garcia, leaving a show of only Bob and Donna vocals (and blistering Garcia guitar leads). Also worth noting; Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves Of London” hit song amused the band enough to add it to the repertoire. However, a Zevon supporting slot at UCSB went sour when a combination of suspected artist’s drunkenness and distortion riled the normally placid crowd, and WZ stormed off “Sieg Heil”ing and calling the ‘crowd acid-casualties’. (The Drumz>Space in that same show included an amplified onstage revving Harley into Not Fade Away. There’s nothing like a GD concert!)

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    From deaddisc.com;


    Dick's Picks, Volume Eighteen
    Grateful Dead

    Initial release : June 2000
    Grateful Dead Records GDCD-4038

    Three CD set of music primarily from the February 3 and 5, 1978 shows at Madison and Cedar Falls. There are also two songs from the February 4, 1978 show at show

    Tracks

    The songs are from the following shows.
    Disc 1
    • Bertha - February 5, 1978
    • Good Lovin' - February 5, 1978
    • Cold Rain and Snow - February 3, 1978
    • New Minglewood Blues - February 5, 1978
    • They Love Each Other - February 3, 1978
    • It's All Over Now - February 4, 1978
    • Dupree's Diamond Blues - February 4, 1978
    • Looks Like Rain - February 3, 1978
    • Brown-Eyed Woman - February 3, 1978
    • Passenger - February 5, 1978
    • Deal - February 5, 1978
    • The Music Never Stopped - February 3, 1978

    Disc 2
    • Estimated Prophet - February 3, 1978
    • Eyes Of The World - February 3, 1978
    • Playing In The Band - February 3, 1978
    • The Wheel - February 3, 1978
    • Playing In The Band - February 3, 1978
    • Johnny B. Goode - February 3, 1978

    Disc 3
    • Samson and Delilah - February 5, 1978
    • Scarlet Begonias - February 5, 1978
    • Fire On The Mountain - February 5, 1978
    • Truckin' - February 5, 1978
    • Drums - February 5, 1978
    • The Other One - February 5, 1978
    • Wharf Rat - February 5, 1978
    • Around and Around - February 5, 1978

    Musicians
    • Jerry Garcia
    • Donna Jean Godchaux
    • Keith Godchaux
    • Mickey Hart
    • Bill Kreutzmann
    • Phil Lesh
    • Bob Weir

    Credits
    • Recording - Betty Cantor-Jackson
    • Tape Archivists - Dick Latvala, David Lemieux
    • CD Mastering - Jeffrey Norman
    • Photography - Bruce Polonsky, Keith Wessel
    • Special thanks - J. Corkey Custer / Emerald City Chronicle

    Related releases
    Dick's Picks 18 was made available as a digital download from Grateful Dead Productions in November, 2005
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Dick's Picks, Volume Twenty Five
    Grateful Dead

    Initial release: July 2002
    Grateful Dead Records GDCD-4045

    Four CD set of music containing the majority of songs from two shows; May 10, 1978 at New Haven and May 11, 1978 at Springfield.

    Tracks

    Disc 1
    • Jack Straw (Weir / Hunter)
    • They Love Each Other (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Cassidy (Weir / Barlow)
    • Ramble On Rose (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Me and My Uncle (Phillips)
    • Big River (Cash)
    • Peggy-O (Traditional arr. Grateful Dead)
    • Let It Grow (Weir / Barlow)
    • Deal (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Bertha (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Good Lovin' (Clark / Resnick)

    Disc 2
    • Estimated Prophet (Weir / Barlow)
    • Eyes Of The World (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Drums (Hart / Kreutzmann)
    • The Other One (Weir / Kreutzmann)
    • Wharf Rat (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Sugar Magnolia (Weir / Hunter)

    Disc 3
    • Cold Rain and Snow (Grateful Dead)
    • Beat It On Down The Line (Fuller)
    • Friend Of The Devil (Garcia / Dawson / Hunter)
    • Looks Like Rain (Weir / Barlow)
    • Loser (Garcia / Hunter)
    • New Minglewood Blues (Traditional arr. Bob Weir)
    • Tennessee Jed (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Lazy Lightnin' (Weir / Barlow)
    • Supplication (Weir / Barlow)
    • Scarlet Begonias (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Fire On The Mountain (Hart / Hunter)

    Disc 4
    • Dancing In The Streets (Stevenson / Gaye / I. Hunter)
    • Drums (Hart / Kreutzmann)
    • Not Fade Away (Petty / Hardin)
    • Stella Blue (Garcia / Hunter)
    • Around and Around (Berry)
    • Werewolves Of London (Marinell / Wachtell / Zevon)
    • Johnny B. Goode (Berry)

    Credits
    • New Haven, CT recording - Owsley Stanley
    • Springfield, MA recording - Betty Cantor-Jackson
    • CD Mastering - Jeffrey Norman
    • Tape Archivists - Dick Latvala, David Lemieux
    • Archival Research - Eileen Law/Grateful Dead Archives
    • Photography - Jim Anderson, Robert Minkin
    • Package Design - Robert Minkin
     

    Attached Files:

  20. jacksondownunda

    jacksondownunda Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Shakedown Street

    I happened to wander by the UCSB stadium soundcheck that summer and caught the band doing a loooong instrumental “Dancin’”, a twin slide guitar stab at Harry Belefonte’s “Yellow Bird” (talk about yer influences!), and what appeared at the time to be Little Feat’s “Dixie Chicken”. Though the latter was probably really “Iko” or Belefonte’s “Man Smart, Woman Smarter”, that and Weir’s cover of Little Feat’s “Easy To Slip” made it no surprise when we heard that LF’s Lowell George(pictured) was in the producer’s chair for GD’s next album. It sounded like a match made in heaven, but it’s generally accepted that the album fell short of any possible greatness. Initial rumors was that there’d been an Olympic amount of cocaine snorted and they’d been sidetracked. The band themselves have conceded that the deadline was suddenly upon them and like errant college students the last minute cramming wasn’t enough. The basic tracks were cut live before the Egypt jaunt, and overdubs continued just after. But fundamentally, it sounds like there wasn’t a large quantity of new quality song material prepared. According to Robert Hunter, Jerry wasn’t interested in doing more of Hunter’s “Terrapin Suite” song cycle songs despite writing music for some of them during the early Terrapin sessions, so the papers and lyric notes for that album were put away. Jerry and Bob had also burned up at least an album’s worth of very strong material on their solo albums, and left precious little for the GD’s new platter. The band did make a conscious decision with Producer George to do something retro and blues/rootsy to add to that side of their repertoire. Instant party.

    The cartoon cover of their seedy rehearsal/studio digs is most apt; this lp is merely “cartoon versions” of their much heavier live product. It’s hard to say when the disparity between their studio and live sound had been more apparent. The very lightweight sound (check out Phil’s tiny bass sound and the drums in the mix in ratio to the guitars and vocals) was met by anguished cries of “WT…?” by fans, but then something really odd happened. The GD had gained some public visibility with the Terrapin and it’s promotions, furthered sublimely by GD logo’s appearing in the Saturday Night Live “ConeHeads” sketches (extra-terrestrials trying to blend in with the human populace), and finally the GD themselves in a SNL performance of “I Need A Miracle>Good Lovin’” followed by a perfunctory “Casey Jones”. What was unexpected for me was weeks later having the young office girls at work stepping out back for a little toot, and hear them singing “Shakedown Street”, “France”, or “Fire On The Mountain”. The album was attracting a lightweight pop audience. Who’d a thunk it?? (Not me.) This had me wondering about how GD had gone so many contrary years as a monster underground cult band shunning conventional promotion, and the moment they got high visibility they seemed to ham shamelessly (albeit comically). SNL created some new and interesting business and social connections for the band. It was amusing to watch some of these new fans assimilate into the much heavier GD live scene.

    What I perceive as major flaws Shakedown Street might have been what attracted new fans, so to each his own. Coming after the exotic visions of Blues For Allah or Terrapin Station, the pendulum had swung way back to short tunes and leftovers. The blue-eyed “Good Lovin’” had seemed a throwaway at the ’74 retirement shows, but here it was as a happy opener. I listened to it exactly ONCE before re-sequencing the album on cassette tape to open with title track “Shakedown Street>Serengetti>Fire On The Mountain>Good Lovin>France” to give the album more “bite” (and I’m not usually that obsessive). This cover track was very clearly pop audience bait.

    This studio disco take of “Shakedown Street” sounds like a skip through the posies. LIVE it crashes in with that ominous tone, throbs mightily and can transform a large hall into a massive pumping heart. I used to love it when they’d lose the “disco sync-o” beat altogether and play it straight grunt rock, with the tail often summoning the ghost of “Hard To Handle”s past. Lyrically it’s “You don’t think there’s any thing here for you, eh? There’s way more here than your little head can imagine. You just have to poke around.”…kind of like the album, but if there was a deep album theme strung together by numerological or astrological hidden meanings, it sailed over my head..

    “Fire On The Mountain” had been an also-ran for years having started as a Mickey Hart rhythm/song, but had now found a home and was already tagged live onto “Scarlet Begonias” to extend their B key jams. I don’t know what inspired the original Hunter lyrics years earlier, but insiders soon saw the lyrics as referencing Jerry’s drug habit (heating the heroin substance in a rolled tin foil was “chasing the dragon”).

    “Stagger Lee” is Hunter’s crack at re-writing a traditional tune as song wordsmiths tend to do (others include Mississippi John Hurt and Nick Cave). Lite-weight here, but they could get into a nasty little funk space live. Interestingly, Hunter weaves these characters into his extended “Terrapin Suite” on his Jack O’ Roses album, but more on that at a later date….

    “New Minglewood Blues” (a cover) wasn’t new at all, having appeared on their first WB album. I’m puzzled by it’s inclusion (unless somehow to make newbies aware of their live set). They’d also started doing a floppy version of Bobby Womack’s “It’s All Over Now” a couple months earlier, so I wonder if there’s an outtake, too?

    “Serengetti” was a short percussion exercise (a somewhat melodic percussion exercise at that), apparently included as filler and a royalty spreader.

    Donna’s “Heart Of Me” is truly sweet, as is Garcia/Hunter’s “If I Had The World To Give”, but both were quite fiddly to play and could be momentum killers live. Both soon fell out of rotation.

    “I Need A Miracle” is fairly whimpy on this elpee, but it’s a real powerhouse live when the Dead wanted swinging room to start lobbing massive amounts of artillery in the key of E. I’ve used the term “bigger than life” a number of times in this thread, but that’s precisely what Bob’s praying for here; a super woman twice his age, weight and height to challenge him to the extreme. The lyrics are quite comical; “I need a woman ‘bout twice my weight, a ton of fun who packs a gun with all her other freight. Find her in a sideshow, leave her in L.A., ride her like a surfer running on a tidal wave.” It’s a tall order, but if that comes through, “Just one thing then I’ll be okay, I need a miracle every day.”

    “France” was based on some Hart/Weir rhythm/chord changes, but it’s inclusion as a GD song baffled me (..in France the ladies like to dance….until they’re passed out in the street). The odd thing was, the extra-terrestrial ConeHeads’ shaky cover on Earth in the USA was to dubiously claim to be from France. Could it be??...

    Any thoughts on early ’78 or the Shakedown Street album?

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    From deaddisc.com;

    Shakedown Street
    Grateful Dead

    Initial release : November 15, 1978
    Arista AB-4198

    The Dead's second Arista album.

    Tracks
    • Good Lovin' (Resnick/Clark)
    • France (Hart/Weir/Hunter)
    • Shakedown Street (Garcia/Hunter)
    • Serengetti (Hart/Kreutzmann)
    • Fire On The Mountain (Hart/Hunter)
    • I Need A Miracle (Weir/Barlow)
    • From The Heart Of Me (D. Godchaux)
    • Stagger Lee (Garcia/Hunter)
    • All New Minglewood Blues (Tradition arr. Bob Weir)
    • If I Had The World To Give (Garcia/Hunter)

    Bonus tracks on CD version released in the Beyond Description box set in 2004 and as a separate CD in 2006;
    • Good Lovin' (Resnick / Clark) - Studio outtake featuring Lowell George, 7/28/78
    • Ollin Arageed (Hamza El Din) - Live, Egypt, 9/16/78
    • Fire On The Mountain (Hart / Hunter) - Live, Egypt, 9/16/78
    • Stagger Lee (Garcia / Hunter) - Live, Egypt, 9/15/78
    • All New Minglewood Blues (Traditional) - Live, Passaic, 11/24/78

    Musicians
    • Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
    • Donna Godchaux - vocals
    • Keith Godchaux - keyboards
    • Mickey Hart - drums, percussion
    • Robert Hunter - lyrics
    • Billy Kreutzmann - drums, percussion
    • Phil Lesh - bass, vocals
    • Bob Weir - guitar, vocals

    Additional musicians;
    • Jordan Amarantha - percussion
    • Matthew Kelly - harp
    • Steve Schuster - horn (on From The Heart Of Me)

    Additional musicians on CD bonus tracks;
    • Lowell George - lead vocals (on Good Lovin' studio outtake)
    • Hamza El Din - oud, tar, hand clapping, vocals (on Ollin Arageed)
    • The Nubian Youth Choir - hand clapping, tar, vocals (on Ollin Arageed)

    Credits
    • Producer - Lowell George
    • Co-Producer - Dan Healy
    • Associate Producer - John Kahn
    • Engineer - Bob Matthews
    • Engineer (Serengetti only) - Brett Cohen
    • Horn arrangements - John Kahn
    • Artwork - Gilbert Shelton
    • Assistants - Ramrod, Steve Parish, Bill Candelario, Robbie Taylor, John Hagen, Jeffrey Boden, Betty Cantor-Jackson, Harry Popick, Brett Cohen, Sue Stephens
    • Recorded and mixed at Club Le Front, San Rafael, CA, 7/31/78 - 8/18/78
    • Mastered by George Horn at the Automat, San Francisco
    • Serengetti recorded by MERT at Meta Tantay, Carlin, Nevada

    Notes
    The Dead chose Lowell George as producer in an attempt to get away from the 'in charge producer' role that they had whilst recording Terrapin Station with Keith Olsen. According to Garcia; "We chose Lowell George because we wanted someone who understood band mechanics."

    Bill Kreutzmann commented in an interview;... Lowell was really like a member of the band more. If we were working on a song and he didn't feel it was going right, he'd just grab a guitar and come into the studio and show us how he felt it. That was one of the ways he'd communicate, and it worked great. I had a tremendous amount of respect for him. The recording was interrupted by the Egypt tour in 1978. After that tour the Dead cancelled shows in the UK to finish Shakedown Street so that it would be released for their tour in the US in late 1978. Lowell George was not available for the final stages of putting together the album and the production work was completed by John Kahn.

    Related releases

    Two singles were released in conjunction with this LP;
    • Good Lovin' / Stagger Lee, Grateful Dead, 1978
    • Shakedown Street / France, Grateful Dead, 1978

    A promotional single comprising two versions of Shakedown Street was also distributed;
    • Shakedown Street promo, Grateful Dead, 1978

    Released on CD in 1986, Arista ARCD-4198.

    A remastered, expanded version of Shakedown Street was included in the box set;
    • Beyond Description, Grateful Dead, Oct 2004
    This remastered, expanded version was released as a single CD in 2006.
     

    Attached Files:

  21. ceddy10165

    ceddy10165 My life was saved by rock n roll

    Location:
    Avon, CT
    very insightful perspective -- thanks!:righton:
     
  22. rcdupre

    rcdupre Flying is Trying is Dying

    wow, I'd like to hear that! My mom used to play this to me on guitar when I was a baby....when I worked in Sausalito 6 yeard ago I once drove to Front Street in San Rafael to check it out, took forever to find....right next to the 101 and the San Rafael Marina...right at the end of the street at the water is an old seedy looking bar which must have been the scene of some wild times back in the late seventies! http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q...code_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CA4Q8gEwAA far as I can tell the studio is on the left hand side of the street across from what used to be the motel of lore where the hookers hung out...
     
  23. protay5

    protay5 Member

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I bought Heaven Help the Fool, then took it back, pretending it was defective, and traded it in for Adventure, by Television.

    I guess due to their growing popularity I heard Shakedown Street enough to know it without buying it. I kinda like even the studio take of the title song, but the same thing happend to "Good Lovin" on disk as happened to "Dancin in the Streets."

    Even without knowing the earlier versions I thought "Fire on the Mountain" was the strongest song. Now I think the SS version is hopelessly watered down. On the Marin County Collective track the guitar is way better, the rhythm track is both funkier and more powerful, and Micky's vocal kills. The combination of Jerry's uninspired vocal and the new "thoughtful, sensitive" lyrics enervate the song. The new lyrics moralize and philosophize, the old lyrics are just about trouble and getting out of trouble. Heck, they are trouble. I like that they make less sense. "up up up UP ... right up on the mountain ... hereshecomeshereshecomes..." He responds to danger with energy, fights fire with fire. Hart seems to sound a bit like Pigpen, but he's got his own wacky differentness. Garcia & revisionist Hunter seem like a wet blanket with "when your dreams come true" and "you really can't fake."

    I really like "Ollin Arageed."
     
  24. ZappaSG

    ZappaSG New Member

    Location:
    Philadelphia
    DP 18 is INSANE! From start to finish this is one amazing pick. Every single song just lifts right off the ground with some very heavy "rock" playing.

    Disc one is a fantastic set of songs with just the right amount of jamming thrown in. Bertha kicks it all off with some amazing energy! Then over on disc 2 you get a delirious Esimated into a very beautiful Eyes that jams beautifully for almost 5 minutes before the vocals come in. In fact at one point it sounds like Garcia is about to sing and then decides to keep jamming instead. The Playing is far reaching and strange in a very good way! Disc 3 holds some insane jamming on one incredible Scarlet > Fire that hits very, very hard. Phil is really up in the mix for that great Fire reggae beat. A powerful Truckin' and a ridiculous Other One come as well!

    An essential pick for anyone that likes their Dead big, loud, and heavy.
     
    bzfgt likes this.
  25. drbob932

    drbob932 Member

    Location:
    Cleveland, OH
    Is it me, or are *ALL* the DP's currently available to buy on an actual CD on Dead.net...and not just in digital form for ones that had gone OOP? I seem to remember as recently as a few months ago you would be able to tell what was available to buy on a physical disc from the dropdowns on each product page (which would give you different options/prices)...but now it seems if you just go to the "Live Shows" tab, there they all are, apparently available to order on CD?
     
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