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Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax

Cemetry Gator posted:

Box of Rain has such great lyrics. I mean, the lyrics are so layered. It's very oblique without being so cryptic that it sounds like bad poetry. If I could write a line as good as "This was all a dreamed we dreamed one afternoon" I'd be satisfied. But a whole song?

Box of Rain would be a perfect song is the mix was better.

And maybe if Phil didn't sing it.

Brokedown Palace is also a very nearly perfect song

quote:

River gonna take me
Sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy
all the way back back home
It's a far gone lullaby
sung many years ago
Mama, Mama, many worlds I've come
since I first left home

Robert Hunter really understood American folk tradition and lore and retells it in such a meaningful way. Brokedown Palace is in itself a Steinbeck reference, "Brown eyed Women" is an amazing retelling of Prohibition/Great Depression Era in the United States

quote:

In 1920 when he stepped to the bar
he drank to the dregs of the whiskey jar
In 1930 when the Wall caved in
he paid his way selling red eye gin

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Juaguocio
Jun 5, 2005

Oh, David...
Look up the lyrics to "St. Stephen" sometime, and marvel at the way the band made those labyrinth passages catchy and singable.

1970 Stephens have been my jams lately, mainly for the hurricane-force peak that they build up to following "one man gathers what another man spills." 06/04/70 has been my go-to example. The setlist is actually incomplete there; the final three song jam of the electric set is a smoking St. Stephen->NFA->Midnight Hour.

Earwicker
Jan 6, 2003

HollisBrown posted:

Can we also talk about how great a lyricist Robert Hunter was? I am of the opinion that he was every bit as good as either Bob Dylan or Paul Simon. Just reading the lyrics to "Ripple" can send chills up my spine.

Yeah, I'm not really a fan of most the Dead's music other than for sentimental reasons (my first girlfriend in high school was a Deadhead, and I grew up basically in their homeland, waited for the bus after school every day at Kepler's Books etc) but Robert Hunter is an incredibly powerful lyricist. I love reading the lyrics to Dead songs, the guy is just amazingly poetic and made such great use of his extensive literary knowledge, I hope he gets real recognition someday outside of the Dead's world.

h_double
Jul 27, 2001

HollisBrown posted:

Brokedown Palace is also a very nearly perfect song

It's stunning how beautifully it intertwines themes of death and loss while still managing to be profoundly uplifting.

quote:

Gonna leave this Brokedown Palace
On my hands and my knees I will roll roll roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time - in my time - I will roll roll roll

Broken down and alone, crawling to the river's edge to die, that's as good as it gets. And that's really lovely.


Wharf Rat is another one a little bit like that. So full of loneliness and despair, and the sense that even when all your senses and reason tell you that you're a penniless drunk lying forgotten in the gutter, there's that perverse spark that's somewhere between hope and escapism. Clinging to a lost love, clinging to a sense that things can still turn around.

quote:

Everyone said, I'd come to no good, I knew I would Pearly, believe them.
Half of my life, I spent doin' time for some other fuckers crime,
The other half found me stumbling round drunk on burgundy wine.

But I'll get back on my feet again someday,
The good lord willin, if he says I may.
I know that the life I'm livins no good,
I'll get a new start, live the life I should.
I'll get up and fly away, Ill get up and fly away, fly away.


and then the twist in the final verse, where it's revealed the narrator is stumbling around with the same sense of loss and emptiness as August West.

quote:

Pearly's been true, true to me, true to my dyin day he said,
I said to him, I said to him, I'm sure shes been.
I said to him, I'm sure shes been true to you.

Got up and wandered, wandered downtown, nowhere to go but just hang around.
I've got a girl, named Bonnie Lee, I know that girls been true to me.
I know she's been, I'm sure she's been true to me.

THE WHARF RAT, IT IS ALL OF US :ohdear:

Juaguocio posted:

Look up the lyrics to "St. Stephen" sometime, and marvel at the way the band made those labyrinth passages catchy and singable.

I love how the main verse has that great do-si-do square dance cadence to it.

algebra testes
Mar 5, 2011


Lipstick Apathy

quote:

Jack Straw from Wichita
Cut his buddy down
Dug for him a shallow grave
And layed his body down
Half a mile from Tucson
By the morning light
One man gone and another to go
My old buddy you're moving much too slow
We can share the women
we can share the wine...

Classic Dead, I believe once Bobby flubbed "Texas, fourth day of july" while playing in Texas on the fourth of July.

I've always liked that song, the way the can get across the dynamic of the two friends relationship and the trouble it brings which leads to Jack killing his friend. And it works as a song too.

the unabonger
Jun 21, 2009

Cemetry Gator posted:

Box of Rain has such great lyrics. I mean, the lyrics are so layered. It's very oblique without being so cryptic that it sounds like bad poetry. If I could write a line as good as "This was all a dreamed we dreamed one afternoon" I'd be satisfied. But a whole song?

Box of Rain would be a perfect song is the mix was better.

HollisBrown posted:

And maybe if Phil didn't sing it.

Ugh, Lesh deserved to sing Box of Rain.

algebra testes
Mar 5, 2011


Lipstick Apathy

The Fresh Prince posted:

Ugh, Lesh deserved to sing Box of Rain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_fEzl5S0hE

That's a great doco too, gets me a bit :smith: at the montage of Jerry at the end thought.

Also, speaking of doccos there's a lot of Dead in this one including some great Jerry stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPIWGLIprZI

I always laugh at "They were a hairy, bad looking bunch of guys."

Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax

The Fresh Prince posted:

Ugh, Lesh deserved to sing Box of Rain.

I don't really care that he sang the song, I just feel like Phil was the least strong singer in the Dead from an objective standpoint and it would probably have been a better sounding recording with Jerry singing it. Part of being a Deadhead is getting to make fun of Phil, he is goofy motherfucker and a terrible singer but we all still love him

h_double
Jul 27, 2001

HollisBrown posted:

I like most of Shakedown Street, the first dance at my wedding was to "If I Had the World to Give". I just really don't care for the song itself. I mean it's not the song itself I guess but I hate that it's the only Dead song people put on the Jukebox at bars.

I had a hard time with Shakedown Street because it was my first Dead album, picked out based on the cover art and that I wanted to expand my horizons beyond Casey Jones and Truckin'. I was hoping those horizons would include some heavy Hendrix/Floyd style psychedelic jams, but instead I got something suspiciously close to disco, and Donna vocals.

Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax

h_double posted:

Donna vocals.
:psyduck:

Well yeah for certain that album is weird iteration of the Dead, you can practically hear cocaine coming out of the speakers and France is by far, the worst Dead tune ever. I grew up on Working Man's Dead (another criminally under rated album) and American Beauty. My first foray into Arista era Dead (aside from Touch of Grey) was Terrapin Station , which is a good bridge to Shakedown Street but is an infinitely better album. Terrapin Station is another album that never really gets the recognition it deserves, the 1st side suite is amazing, Prophet and Fire are both great on there and I always love Sampson and Delilah.

Juaguocio
Jun 5, 2005

Oh, David...
Listening to Workingman's Dead while getting totally zonked in my friend's backyard on a summer day is what got me into the Dead. It's still my favorite of their studio albums.

elentar posted:

That Veneta show is no joke, well overdue for the vault treatment. Everything they learned during the Europe Tour went into those sets, and it shows. Nearly every version is a potential best ever, including of course the soul-searing Dark Star.

I've had Veneta on the back burner for a while, and finally got around to listening to the whole thing over the last couple days. It's a great show, but I wouldn't call it the best ever, or even the best of '72. Folks rave about the intensity of Dark Star and Playing In The Band, but I've heard tighter, more powerful versions of both tunes (the 04/08 Star and the 11/18 Playing come to mind). The Bird Song is the finest one I've heard yet, though, and the stage banter and overall vibe of the show make it a must-listen for sure.

I wonder what happened to brother Bartholomew and his friend Durango?

Septic Knothead
Jul 23, 2009

Boris S Wart
The Second Meanest Man In The World
Anyone with any interest in the Dead should immediately go get anything they possibly can from the Europe 1972 tour. Goddamn near everything on that tour is just loving fantastic. 1973, 1974 (the "jazz" years) are also loving stellar. Check out 11/11/73 Dark Star for my favorite version ever.

I also encourage checking out 1976. They were finding their footing with Mickey Hart back in the band and they go places in 1976 they never did again. There is a version of Crazy Fingers (I can't remember when exactly) from 1976 that went to places only the major meltdown "space" songs like Dark Star went. Also a the longest Slipknot I ever heard is from Portland 1976. '76 man, check it out.

Admin Understudy
Apr 17, 2002

Captain Pope-tastic
The numbers from TV's Lost are 4-8-15-16-23-42

My favorite Dick's Picks are numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, and 23. Unfortunately we'll never get a 42 :(

16's an oddball but is probably my personal favorite. The first set has some pretty weak moments, but then has this shift after Cumberland Blues and everything starting with Dark Star is pure magic.

Juaguocio
Jun 5, 2005

Oh, David...

Admin Understudy posted:

The numbers from TV's Lost are 4-8-15-16-23-42

My favorite Dick's Picks are numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, and 23. Unfortunately we'll never get a 42 :(

16's an oddball but is probably my personal favorite. The first set has some pretty weak moments, but then has this shift after Cumberland Blues and everything starting with Dark Star is pure magic.

The "Uncle John's Jam" in the middle of that Dark Star is one of my favorite pieces of Dead music. It puts a smile on my face every time.

Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax
I've really been in love with "Row Jimmy" recently, recommend me good versions of it!

poverty goat
Feb 15, 2004



Roark posted:

Early 70's Dead would like to have a word with you. :colbert:

Spring of '77 called, it wants its title back

Don't stop with Cornell, they were on fire that whole tour.

Seconding this one as a personal favorite:

h_double posted:

I'm a little more partial to the following night (Buffalo Memorial Amphitheater 9 May 77), on account of that opening Help On The Way -> Franklin's Tower never fails to give me chills. But it's all amazing, the soundboard recordings from that era where you can really hear Phil do his thing are all fantastic.

poverty goat fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Aug 28, 2013

h_double
Jul 27, 2001
I was clicking links on youtube and came across this, it's 15 minutes of Bob & Jerry on David Letterman, from 1982. They play "Deep Elum Blues" and "Monkey & The Engineer", and the conversation with Dave is a lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ss-i2VgcPw



HollisBrown posted:

I've really been in love with "Row Jimmy" recently, recommend me good versions of it!

http://archive.org/details/gd77-03-20.sbd.miller.25610.sbeok.shnf

:feelsgood:

This one is pretty decent too

http://archive.org/details/gd1988-09-05.sbd-set1.miller.80630.sbeok.flac16

"Broken heart don't feel so bad / You ain't got half of what you thought you had."

h_double fucked around with this message at 04:07 on Sep 5, 2013

algebra testes
Mar 5, 2011


Lipstick Apathy
They played a few electric Deep Elum Blueses around that time, and they're so much fun.

That an "On the Road Again" were cool little songs that popped up in that era.

Juaguocio
Jun 5, 2005

Oh, David...
I'm not the biggest "Row Jimmy" fan, but I do like the version from 06/18/74. They follow it up with a sweet "Weather Report Suite" that jams into "Other One" and beyond.

h_double
Jul 27, 2001
Lately I've had a fresh appreciation for Brent, and while digging through the archives and playing "this day in Dead history", I came upon this mid-late 80s loveliness:

09/09/87

Really tasty first set, Jack Straw and Cassidy are especially terrific.

Also HollisBrown, you've got me good and obsessed with Row Jimmy, much obliged.

Yiggy
Sep 12, 2004

"Imagination is not enough. You have to have knowledge too, and an experience of the oddity of life."
The 3 night Furthur run this last weekend was amazing. When Phil came out at the end though and gave his liver transplant speech it felt like a punch in the heart. Bobby still sounded good to me. Sarah Tedesci played a bunch of songs with them and watching her play through was really touching. Trey Anastasio sat in for about an hour on Saturday. I hope to see them play some more times, it was a great experience.

h_double
Jul 27, 2001
Hey thread: please put me up on some killer soundboards of Terrapin Station?

algebra testes
Mar 5, 2011


Lipstick Apathy
I have some ideas I'll look up, but this always makes me :3:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvjHH_G-4_8

Inspector on Deck
Aug 30, 2013

He's playing with us, like a cat with a mouse.
I have never listened to much of The Grateful Dead specifically but Jerry Garcia? Yes. I think the Pizza Tapes contain some of his finest work as a musician (and drat Tony Rice and David Grisman? The perfect trio.). I like to play the guitar myself and when I listen to all three of them...well the instruments/hands do the talking(Also makes me wish I knew my way around a mandolin). If i had to pick one song though it would be their version of House of the Rising sun, and I could have sworn for the longest time Bob Dylan's version was my favorite. (Here's that Rising Sun by the way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QflkWyrvxgA)

Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax

deChippewa posted:

I have never listened to much of The Grateful Dead specifically but Jerry Garcia? Yes. I think the Pizza Tapes contain some of his finest work as a musician (and drat Tony Rice and David Grisman? The perfect trio.). I like to play the guitar myself and when I listen to all three of them...well the instruments/hands do the talking(Also makes me wish I knew my way around a mandolin). If i had to pick one song though it would be their version of House of the Rising sun, and I could have sworn for the longest time Bob Dylan's version was my favorite. (Here's that Rising Sun by the way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QflkWyrvxgA)

I agree but I'll amend it by saying that his some of his finest work with David Grisman. But I prefer Shady Grove or Jerry Garcia and David Grisman over The Pizza Tapes. I would honestly like the Pizza Tapesbetter without Tony Rice, listen to Knockin on Heaven's Door https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbpANkYhjHM. Jerry's solo is melodic and tasteful then Tony Rice comes in his solo is just so garish.

Also this might be the best thing ever recorded:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj2V63dSQtc

Earwicker
Jan 6, 2003

h_double posted:

I was clicking links on youtube and came across this, it's 15 minutes of Bob & Jerry on David Letterman, from 1982. They play "Deep Elum Blues" and "Monkey & The Engineer", and the conversation with Dave is a lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ss-i2VgcPw

Man I watched this and listened to their Deep Ellum Blues and I was all "man this is so great, I forgot how good these guys could be, I should listen to the Dead more" and then they started the Monkey song and Bob starting singing and something about his voice and tone and the way his eyes were kinda bugging out, just ugh

Inspector on Deck
Aug 30, 2013

He's playing with us, like a cat with a mouse.

HollisBrown posted:

I would honestly like the Pizza Tapesbetter without Tony Rice, listen to Knockin on Heaven's Door https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbpANkYhjHM. Jerry's solo is melodic and tasteful then Tony Rice comes in his solo is just so garish.

Hmm, Never looked at it this way. This might as well be the best version of Knockin' on Heaven's door for me as well. I love the way that mandolin just fades in and out.

the unabonger
Jun 21, 2009

HollisBrown posted:

Also this might be the best thing ever recorded:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj2V63dSQtc

The whole Not for Kids Only album rules hardcore. Good memories from growing up with a deadhead for a dad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3aFjQ8Emc4

h_double
Jul 27, 2001
I was looking at the "inappropriate 9/11 tributes" Photoshop thread in GBS and yeah anyway

Roark
Dec 1, 2009

A moderate man - a violently moderate man.
Ok, fellow Deadheads: recommend me your favorite live versions of St. Stephen.

Juaguocio
Jun 5, 2005

Oh, David...
The one from 02/27/69 that appears on Live/Dead is the classic version, and there's a lot to like about it.

However, as I said earlier, I like the fast, intense versions from 1970 the best. The problem with those shows is that they often only exist as audience tapes, but the power of St. Stephen comes through even on lower quality recordings.

I mentioned the St. Stephen -> Not Fade Away -> Midnight Hour from 06/04/70 before, but it bears repeating.
The one from 06/24/70 is even better. Listen to this show if you haven't already.

St. Stephen sometimes shows up in other songs too. I really like the "Greatest Story Ever Told" from 09/28/72, where Jerry takes the jam into Stephenish territory with some very tasty wah-wah licks.

Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax
I guess this a good time to post my favorite youtube video of all time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcJUuxv8oCE.

Juaguocio
Jun 5, 2005

Oh, David...
I've heard that some joker dosed the Mansion that night, and looking at Mickey, it's not hard to imagine.

Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax

Juaguocio posted:

I've heard that some joker dosed the Mansion that night, and looking at Mickey, it's not hard to imagine.

It was Owsley, he was mad that the Playboy After Dark sound guys wouldn't let him run sound for the band. At least that's Rock Scully's story from "Living with the Dead", which if you all haven't read is well worth reading.

Roark
Dec 1, 2009

A moderate man - a violently moderate man.

HollisBrown posted:

I guess this a good time to post my favorite youtube video of all time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcJUuxv8oCE.

This is beautiful.

My vinyl copy of Sunshine Daydream just arrived this afternoon. I'll post a more detailed write-up when I've had a chance to listen to it all but, so far, I can say I'm enjoying it: the remastering is really well done. My only "what the hell?" moment so far has been looking at the (vinyl) track list, where they've broken up Dark Star into two parts and put it on two separate sides.

h_double
Jul 27, 2001

HollisBrown posted:

I guess this a good time to post my favorite youtube video of all time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcJUuxv8oCE.

The part at the end with the audience dancing to Lovelight is the best part.

Pigpen singing Lovelight is such a heartbreaking thing of beauty.

Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax

h_double posted:

The part at the end with the audience dancing to Lovelight is the best part.

Pigpen singing Lovelight is such a heartbreaking thing of beauty.

The whole segment is actually on youtube and is also pretty drat awesome. Jerry and Tom playing "Mountains of the Moon" is awesome and just the thought of Jerry talking to Hef is hilarious. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx6OAfvlxTs

Roark
Dec 1, 2009

A moderate man - a violently moderate man.
After giving it two listen throughs, I can safely recommend Sunshine Daydream. The remastering is really, really good, and the show sounds really crisp and sharp (especially when you compare it to the Veneta tapes out there). It's peak early 70's Dead, with a really strong "China Cat Sunflower">"I Know You Rider" and an even stronger 20 minute "Playing in the Band", along with "Jack Straw" and "Bird Song". The highlight (for me) is the really jazzy 31 minute "Dark Star", where Phil has a long bass solo and Jerry's guitar work is really tight. It's one of the better Dark Stars from '72, and that includes the Europe '72 versions.

Well worth a listen, particularly if you're a big fan of early 70's Dead. This is them at their peak for the era, and you don't get the overdubs from Europe '72.

Roark fucked around with this message at 16:44 on Sep 20, 2013

MixMasterMalaria
Jul 26, 2007
Thinking of going to see Furthur in LA next month but I'm having sticker shock on the $60 tickets. I'm a fan of the dead (listen to stuff from the archives, go frequently to local cover/tribute bands) so I feel like its probably worth it, but the price combined with the fact that its assigned seating (used to dancing it up at GA tribute shows) makes me hesitate. Anybody with experience seeing Furthur or with knowledge of the venue have thoughts on what I should expect?

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Roark
Dec 1, 2009

A moderate man - a violently moderate man.

MixMasterMalaria posted:

Thinking of going to see Furthur in LA next month but I'm having sticker shock on the $60 tickets. I'm a fan of the dead (listen to stuff from the archives, go frequently to local cover/tribute bands) so I feel like its probably worth it, but the price combined with the fact that its assigned seating (used to dancing it up at GA tribute shows) makes me hesitate. Anybody with experience seeing Furthur or with knowledge of the venue have thoughts on what I should expect?

People will completely ignore the seats and still dance. I saw them at a venue in the Northeast last year that was a mix of open standing space and seats, and the seats didn't get in the way.

I'd definitely go see them, though. Furthur won't go on tour in 2014, so it might be your last chance to see them as the Furthur lineup until 2015.

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