Ramble on Rose - Click Title To PlayThis was the first take at Ramble on Rose. It was meant to be a sound test, and there are tons of fuck-ups. But somehow it seems fitting to use this one, even though I have others that are better in terms of lyrics and (especially) the playing. To me, this is what the Grateful Dead were about - the moment. Either it was gonna soar, or it was gonna crash and burn. Or sometimes you get / got a little of both.
It's impossible for me to put into words what the Dead meant to me between the years of (say) 1984 and 1990. They were everything to me. I barely ever listened to anything else, unless I was socially obligated to (as in the people I was hanging out with "couldn't deal with the 'monotony' if the 'music' - whatever). I saw more shows than I'll recount here, but suffice to say East Coast tours were seen from start to finish with the occasional West Coast swing added for good measure. I met some fine people and saw some of the craziest stuff I could ever imagine.
You can learn an awful lot about music and having a positive outlook on life from the Grateful Dead, and I think that sometimes gets lost on people who are quick to dismiss it as a Hippy Thing. To me, their message was just as relevant in the 80's as it was in the 1960's even if it does sometimes seem a little naive to me these days. I really don't listen to them much anymore, but when I do it brings back some great memories. Actually, I recently created an entire disc of Shakedown Street versions from 1981 / 82. The ones with Brent - that dude was The Best. All of them are like 12 minutes long, the kind that most normal people hate.
http://www.archive.org/details/GratefulDead
The site that'll get any deadhead back on the bus. I just wish you could still grab the soundboard files.
Posts
Ah, the Dead. Nice version here. No doubt you are covering the landmark version from Ventura 6/2/82? I think the show went something like this:
ReplyDelete1st Set
Estimated
Eyes of the World
Brown Eyed Women
Jack Straw
Bird Song
Mexicali
Half Step
Ramble On Rose (YOUR VERSION!!!!)
He was A Friend of Mine
Truckin'
Scarlet - Fire
2nd Set
Terrapin
Space
Drums
Space
More Drums
Some More Space
Terrapin (reprise)
Space
Drums
The Wheel
Terrapin (reprise again)
Lovelight
Space
This was the show where Jerry was pelted with burritos during "Mexicali Blues".
I had many friends who were obsessed with the Dead in high school and listened to nothing else (like Jeff did apparently). I liked them but was never that huge a fan. I did listen to nothing but Zeppelin for about 18 months straight starting sometime in 1987.
Some Dead related memories - 1) my friends used to draw these crazy covers for their bootleg cassettes - all meticulous with dancing bears or magic mushrooms or 'steal your faces', skulls, etc. - that type of shit. It was cool when they had some 9 hour show spread over multiple cassettes and would draw a mural across all the covers. Apparently mescaline really makes you focus. 2) I was at a party sometime in the late '80s and this guy kept rewinding a section of 'Lovelight' over and over. He kept going on about how 'Bobby was going crazy' or something. Bob Weir just kept singing "Lovelight - you gotta turn it on...on - yeah...turn it - turn the liiiight - the loveliiiiiiight" or something like that. I didn't get all the fuss and was hoping someone would throw on "Physical Graffiti" 3) the only time I saw the Dead was at Brendan Byrne in '90 the same night the guy was thrown from the overpass by security guards. Besides that tragedy, I thought the show was lame (they opened up with 'Touch Of Grey" - not very inspired).
Matt "Captain Trips" Ryan
well, clearly you're drinking again. congrats.
ReplyDeletei wasn't at the brendan byrne show that you're talking about, but i saw countless "uninspired" dead shows during my run. and uninspired may be putting it kindly. for me the deal always was that you may have to put up with 3 or 4 run of the mill type shows in order to get to the gem. that's why it was a total crap shoot for the folks that only saw the band once or twice, because the odds were seriously stacked against you seeing one of the "hot shows" of a tour. i took me years to be able to admit this by the way - for a long time i was convinced that all of the shows i saw were blazing. but why then is my tape case filled with bootlegs that suck? i'm pretty sure my tape collection bears out the one in every five shows was good theory.
I’m glad you can admit that not all Dead shows were magical.
ReplyDeleteI listen to more Dead now than I probably did in high school. I love stuff from all eras but my favorite is probably ’72-’80 (at least as far as albums are concerned). This includes stuff from “Mars Hotel”, “Europe ‘72”, ‘Shakedown Street” and (yes) “Go To Heaven’. I love “Alabama Getaway” – probably doesn’t make most diehards top 10 lists but I think it’s a great, catchy (and short) tune.
A friend of mine has a ton of boots – I got a few Dead ones from him recently. Includes the Cornell ’77 show (lauded by connoisseurs as one of the best) as well as the Meadowlands show from a few nights after I saw them where they played “Dark Star” for the first time in like 56 years. The Cornell show rocks – the other – not so much. The crowd goes apeshit once they figure out “DS” is coming (maybe 20 minutes into the noodling mess) but I think it is a shitty version. Jerry’s vocals wheeze and warble – once again not very inspired.
On a completely unrelated note, I had a chicken sandwich at the Roy Rogers in Penn Station once which turned out to be undercooked – very pink. I didn’t notice until I had finished about ¾ of it (the crispy fried coating masked the taste). When I brought it back to complain, the guy behind the counter offered me another sandwich. I said, ‘No, just give me my money back, I don’t want to get sick.’ He OK’d it with the manager who apologized and I took the money and bought a couple of those Auntie Ann’s pretzels with some melted cheese in a cup. Luckily, my train was on time!
Matt "You Better cook My Chicken" Ryan
Yes, Auntie Annie's pretzels soaked in butter and sitting around under heating lamps for a couple hours. Nobody ever got sick from one of those. You be better off eating garbage from one of the platforms with a spork. Next time just go to Gyro 2 across 7th avenue.
ReplyDeleteI actually have that Cornell 77 tape, and it's pretty good. I know it gets all the critical accolades, but at the end of the day I can't stand listening to the shows where the had Donna the female backing singer. Her voice grates on me, and after 20 years of listening to it I've decided enough is enough. Won't listen to those shows anymore.
It's kind of like when you're young and as a point of pride you'll finish whatever book you started no matter how painful. Now if I don't like a book after the first 50-100 pages, back on the shelf it goes.
What do salamanders eat?
Good point - I agree that Donna can be irritating - especially when her mic is turned up. I heard she gave wicked head though.
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy on books - I am the same way. Whereas i would struggle years ago to get through something awful and pretentious, nowadays I'll toss it unless there's aliens or a threesome within the first few chapters.
I love gyros and would never turn one down.
I don't know what salamaders eat - do tell.
Matt Ryan
I'm still stuck in the dead world somewhat. With all the remixed, high quality shows on CD, it's pretty easy.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't stand donna godchaux either. I'd rather shave with a cheese grater while chewing on tin foil during a bad trip.
I often skip through drums and space, now. Great groove at a show....Not sure if you ever skip chapters of a book.
Saw the Dead a few months ago at the Izod center in Jersey. I have to admit, I really loved it. Bobby sounded great and they were pretty tight. No shit.
And to combine your selections, Elvis Costello did a great version of the dead's "ship of fools." Don't lend no hand, to raise no flag, at top no ship of fools."
~rob
well, with everyone detesting Donna's contributions (was actually listening to a 1977 Denver show from McNichol's arena last night and had to forward the tape through her bits in Cassidy), it makes you wonder why they kept her around for so long. It sure wasn't for her husband's borderline comatose keyboard playing. In one move, they had a double upgrade by bringing in Brent.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes Rob, I think it's perfectly acceptable to skip chapters of books that you've previously read. But who does that? I read a book once and have forgotten the name of the protagonist before my head hits the pillow. You'd have to be a nut to 'highlight'(say, with a red pen) a book so that you could re-read the good parts later . . .
...or highlight your life with that red marker. To be read as "walking around everywhere with that pen in your pocket."
ReplyDelete"While drowning this small rodent, I was able to highlight significant thoughts in a chapter of a world war two german tank strategy book."