Yikes! Gotta catch up! Sorry! I also prefer "Deal" at the LP pace. Nice Billy K shuffle, not hurried. Great chords! I prefer "Bird Song" in E, actually. Possibly because the first version I'd ever heard was on Reckoning (Dead Ahead), but also it's more evocative to jam to the "free part" in E. (it's all about the G# and D notes in that mode!) Beautiful song, almost Haiku in lyric assembly. I had a music partner who passed away, and I always think of her when I hear or play this song. I agree "Sugaree" is one of the best songs on this album, but I got a little tired of hearing it go V-I for 30 minutes despite the fire it usually has. "Loser" is a 'Telling A Tale' masterpiece, but also got a LOT of live plays! But the song is so great, I'm OK with it!
Stunning jewel of a record. Side two captures the otherworldly atmosphere in the studio that is so elusive. That said Birdsong is the most memorable song followed by TLMD
Going back to Bird Song, you can hear a faint homage to Janis, at the 0:40 - 0:42 point…a short, distant scream. Also, a little something about the album cover: about GRATEFUL DEAD 67
Oh yeah, definitely. I think the first electric version I heard was one of those short April 1971 versions.
Nice. I was going to post that link about the front cover artwork, and I was also going to ask what was up with that scream, but you beat me to it (I've been out of the loop).
A few random thoughts on "Sugaree"... Like LandHorses, I often found this a little too repetitive and sing-songy for my tastes in concert. The chorus is very long and doesn't vary at all, and the triplet feel isn't subtle. I didn't really come to appreciate it until after Jerry died. Partly, it's fun as hell to play on guitar, which may be why Garcia kept it in the repertoire, but I also discovered some (to me) previously unknown depth the lyrics, which I wrote about on the main GD thread last year: The Grateful Thread On the surface, it's another tale of "two renegades on the run," with the added twist that they may have been romantically involved. But I think it's really about a fan, or a groupie, and Garcia and Hunter's relationship with their fans as they went from being a cult band to rock stars. That interpretation certainly makes the "Cool Fool" verse make a lot more sense, IMO. In any case, though, it is a lot of fun to sing and play, and people dig it. It's mostly just that B-to-E riff with a C#-min/A/E turnaround (which I guess is like a ii-V with the "A" providing a mixolydian flavor). When you're cooking, the chord progression just chugs along nicely with its own internal momentum. Throw in those little single-note phrases to connect the chords and you're golden. Finally, one of my favorite Dead cover videos, which I would love just for the introduction, but the performance is great, too. "... I heard this record by, ah, Jerry Garcia. I was uh, not really a Dead fan, I must admit... don't quite, sorry, don't quite get it, but that's, y'know, a failing of mine, I'm sure, but I did like this Jerry Garcia album. Three[sic] of the songs were quite rocking and funky, and the rest were like [whistles] very nice, you know? I visited the ceiling a couple of times, whilst listening to it, but, um, I had made a cassette of this song, and found it in a drawer about thirty years later, and said 'Oh, I always wanted to do that song, yeah, yeah,' so I listened to the cassette tape, which broke halfway through, which is why I've only got three of the verses instead of four, but three is plenty, I think... goes something like this... by me, anyway..."
Late for Supper/Spidergawd/Eep Hour (Garcia/Kreutzmann) A dissonant polytonal chord which sounds mostly D flat, roars in and gradually fades with some bass rumbling. I am not sure of all the instruments but there is some piano. Some more dissonant chords follow with some spacey effects that could come from a movie. Sounds like some xylophone here and there. Jerry does add some guitar towards the end of Late for Supper. Spidergawd opens (1:38) with some dissonant piano based in D flat. Voices drift in and out…bits of newscasts that Jerry recorded on a cassette. The piano sounds influenced by modern composers such as Ligeti and Part. A shift up to D at 2:17 to give the piece some harmonic movement. Some B flat piano later and the “arrangement” gets busier. At 3:54 some minor based piano lines add a little melodic content. Looped voices fade in and out as the piece progresses. Eep Hour begins at 5:02 with some normalcy returning. An E minor-F series starts things off. At 5:31 a major rise moves the piece along with some cool chord changes and voice movements. At 6:24 the main section in E minor returns with chorale like voices over a spooky arpeggio. The major rises back and the arrangement fills in. Some acoustic guitar from Jerry at 7:24 and organ follows as well. Pedal steel rises up in the mix at 7:51. The chords change as before, and Jerry really shines on the pedal steel playing mostly horizontally floating over the chords. At 9:00 the piano gets more forceful and then starts to diminish with all the other instruments. Some calm enters and the song gradually fades on a G chord…the relative major of E minor…. pretty cool way to bring the piece to a close. I like the three pieces. Jerry’s way of experimenting with the studio advancements at the time. Eep Hour is great and is Jerry’s tribute to the classical organist E. Power Biggs. Some modern classical influence with the sparseness and dissonance. Some folks I know think the three pieces ruin the album, but I think they add some decent change and tension. Proof that Jerry knew how to create tension filled dissonant music along with traditional music.
Don't think, don't think, don't think................... I love this whole segment of the album.........works great within the Uncle Sam cartoon beginning of the GD Movie. Some might remember "Eep Hour" being used in a Cher perfume commercial in the late 80s (it's not on YouTube anywhere). Jerry joking commented on the perceived sell out by saying he would never commercialize Grateful Dead songs, but what he does with his own songs if his own business .
To Lay Me Down (Garcia, Hunter) A little melodic fragment and then a gospel like descension opens the song. Jerry reminds me of Nicky Hopkins a little. The verse descends into a gospel R and B type progression and Jerry’s vocals are fantastic. A gospel like rise out follows at :34 and Jerry uses falling fourths that at first hint at a key change but then turns it around. The verse stays open chord wise, and the chorus follows at 1:10. Some pedal steel and organ float in and out of the sparse arrangement. The verse follows and the chorus does as well at 2:22 with some more beautiful pedal steel and gospel descending turnarounds. This time Jerry doubles the chorus but changes the chords a little to add some harmonic movement to the chorus. The third verse follows with more tasty pedal steel. The chorus follows at 4:06 and the arrangement gets a little quieter. The chorus is used as an outro and Jerry starts to preach using the refrain. More perfect pedal steel and organ. Jerry does some falsetto to bring the song to a gradual close. A droning G note gradually fades. A fine gospel/R and B based song. Has some clichés but Jerry mixes up his own style to make them sound his own. And that pedal steel is always welcome. Another winner from the album. Excellent piano as well.
TO LAY ME DOWN Lyrics By: Robert Hunter Music By: Jerry Garcia To lay me down once more, to lay me down With my head in sparkling clover Let the world go by, all lost in dreaming To lay me down one last time, to lay me down To be with you once more, to be with you With our bodies close together Let the world go by, like clouds a-streaming To lay me down one last time, to lay me down To lay me down, to lay me down To lay me down one last time, to lay me down To lie with you once more, to lie with you With our dreams entwined together To wake beside you, my love still sleeping To tell sweet lies one last time and say goodnight To lay me down, to lay me down To lay me down one last time, to lay me down © 2021 The Grateful Dead
I forgot to mention......Jerry was smart with the structure of the music. The lyrics have some spiritual overtones so Jerry thought a Gospel like structure would fit the lyrics. But the lyrics are not religious. Well maybe they are to some folks.