GRATEFUL DEAD - "CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER/I KNOW YOU RIDER" (reaction)
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- Check out Sight After Dark reacting to "China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider" by The Grateful Dead!
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The Riff n Tone is JERRY. THERE IS NO OTHER. Distinctive .
They had 2 drummers ..Jerry got his second finger on the right hand Chopped off.. by his bro when they were young and cutting wood....Hence (Jerry Garcia's missing finger). Be fore that ..he watched his pa drown in a river...Icon
Jerry was very influenced by bluegrass and also played the banjo. There are two drummers in the band and they hold it down together.
@@kornysinclair9145 there's only Billy K on drums during this era (71-73).
it's an unkind cut to be sure but no worries. back in the day we had to flip the tape over...
In the early days Garcia used a Fender strat given to him by Graham Nash. But by '74 Jerry used custom guitars primarily made by Doug Irwin. Those guitars have sold for millions of dollars after Jerry died.
The Dead are the greatest band in history
Jerry was a bluegrass player. He brings a lot of the bluegrass mindset to the electric guitar. Good stuff.
Thank you! A classic live recording.
I never heard anything from The Grateful dead, so I'm here to explore.
Lets explore together!
This was a good selection to show off the group sound - playing, harmonies, etc - but Jerry Garcia wrote some stunningly beautiful tunes that I hope get requested sometime soon
5-8-77 is the holy grail, it's in the Library of Congress as culturally significant American art. Check out Scarlet Begonias > Fire on the Mountain or Morning Dew from that show, it will turn anyone into a dead head. peace!
A good way to think about the music of the Dead comes from Mickey Hart: "we're in the transportation business."
@@michaelherbert1395 Absolutely...
One of the best Dead songs ever!
Acid was the icing on the cake but not necessary to enjoy a live Dead show. I'm an old geezer now, saw over 150 shows before Jerry died, and I'm still on the bus.
All of us "Dead Heads" are in our 60s and 70s! I wonder if we'd make it through a concert these days. This Band was just different. Great music.
Thanks
Thank you for watching!
Europe 72 was my gateway to the Dead. A neighbor gave me a copy when I was 12.
There was nothing like a Grateful Dead show. As Paul Kantner (Jefferson Airplane) once said: The Grateful Dead are the only band that if they didn't show up for a concert the audience would still have a great time".
You should listen to Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane - a good place to start with their music.
Carry On!
Lol love that quote. Thanks Jeff!
@@SightAfterDark here’s another classic Jerry quote: “Our music is like licorice. A lot of people don’t like licorice, but people who like licorice REALLY like licorice!”
And a great Bill Graham quote about The Dead: “They’re not the best at what they do- they’re the ONLY ONES who do what they do!”
Yep, and Marty Balin (JA) also said the Dead were like the Airplane only on a different level.
I’m sure someone else has commented this but if not, “I know You Rider” was first written/ sung by an 18 year old black woman in prison for murder in the early 1900s, and was documented in a traditional blues book in the 1920s. Knowing this song has been sung for at least 100 years now really makes it more emotional and inspiring to me.
Thanks for the history!
I saw these cats play back to back shows in the late 80s. First night in Houston, then Dallas the next. Two totally different shows....equally mind blowing. They didn't seem to have set play lists. Just incredibly tight and totally mesmerizing. I feel really fortunate to have seen this band live a handful of times
Whenever I am asked about my favorite guitarists, the first two names I list are usually Zappa and Jerry and its usually met with confusion haha
Nice remarks about China Cat. Rider is an old folk tune and is always attached to China and yes its a sing along haha....you guys get it
Thanks Tim! Can definitely see why Jerry is on your list!
Yup. I even named my rat Zappa. Branford Marsalis noted how deadheads embraced all flavors of music. Prob bc the dead did all flavors. They just mixed acid + bluegrass.
@@Lchristyhastings Now, when you say rat, do you mean the animal or the pedal? ;)
“They're not the best at what they do, they're the only ones that do what they do.” promoter Bill Graham
That groove though. Phil Lesh on bass.. Man I miss those Dead shows. ✌❤🤩
Their shows must've been amazing.
saw many myself neverbe another to match them for fan enthusiasm, even after all these years.
Phil is playing in New York the 11th of October 🤙 see you there lol
Even their bad shows were better than some bands good ones.
I enjoyed this reaction. Notable observations: I Know You Rider is an old classic tune, Jerry Garcia started out playing bluegrass. For something psychedelic, try a wild live Dark Star.
Thanks Michael!
Dark Star's are where it's at!!
I second that emotion
Man when I’m in the right mood a 17 minute dark star can really motivate
The name: comes from old folktales in which a traveler on a quest performs an act of kindness for a deceased, whose spirit later repays the act of kindness by aiding the traveler in the quest. Sort of a version of the parable of the good samaritan.
Cool! Thanks!
And they chose the name at random by opening a dictionary, pointing blindly, and going with the first thing they found. Many people say there is no God, but is there a better example of divine intervention?
The Grateful Dead were the band that played at the Acid Test back in the 60's so that was the start of their association to LSD. Then, the person doing their sound was Owsley Stanley and he was making the LSD (until he got busted and spent 2 years in prison). His LSD was legendary and known for it's purity. It was the LSD that inspired people like Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon.
Thanks for the history Michael!
@@SightAfterDark You're welcome. Now that I have your attention, I will share some of my opinions on some dead tunes lol
The best place to start with live dead music, Barton Hall 1977 and Europe 72 are pretty much the "go-to" for most deadheads. I am pretty sure this version of China Cat/I know you rider is from Europe 72 and the entire live album is just so good.
From Barton Hall you got to check out "Brown Eyed Women", "Dancing in the Street", "Scarlet Begonias/Fire On The Mountain", and of course "Estimated Prophet". Both Dancing in the Street and Estimated Prophet are incredible jams. The St Stephen is pretty good too. Honestly, all of Barton Hall is just about perfect. One of my personal favorites is "Row Jimmy" but it's not much of a "jam".
For studio albums, you can't go wrong with American Beauty or Workingman's Dead. Both of these albums are great all the way through.
Of course there are plenty of other good studio albums that have a few good songs but just not as consistently good.
You already covered Unbroken Chain and that song is on From the Mars Hotel. Other songs worth checking out on that album are China Doll and Ship of fools.
Also, if you liked how Unbroken Chain was a more complicated composition, you would probably enjoy listening to Weather Report Suite on Wake of the Flood album, Or Terrapin Station but I recommend the live version of this on "To Terrapin: Hartford 77"
That's all for now.
There are bands beyond description. And this is who they are.
Grateful Dead can get really trippy although they can be very traditional too. Their live shows had these cosmic jam/soundscapes between songs and their sets were never pre-planned. They just came out and decided in the moment what they'd play and what was next. Also they had 2 drummers, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzman, and Phil Lesh on bass is one of a kind. You picked a great recording of some classic Dead songs.
Hell yeah! This was awesome!
The “no set list” thing is a bit of a myth. In The Grateful Dead movie there’s a clip of them backstage actually working out a list. That said, they would keep it open-ended enough that if one person started playing a certain riff in a certain jam it could lead them off into an unplanned tune. I think in the early days it was much looser, but as they progressed and got tighter and played to bigger crowds they also got more professional in their planning and presentation.
@@keef7224 , well, of course, but still spontaneous and without a definite program as most bands do with a rigid set list.
@@keef7224 They would often pick the 1st song or 3 of a set. But then it was caution to the wind. No solid full show setlists until Vince Welnick joined in the early '90's.
Great reaction! I listened to a lot of bands on acid, but there’s no better band to see than the Dead while tripping your balls off- the music can get pretty trippy, but the tripping was more about the dancing and the good vibes!
Sounds like a good time! Thanks for watching!
I require nothing more than their music when I’m deep in a trip.
Grateful Dead=Glad to be Alive !!!!
This, along with "Jack Straw" from the same Europe '72 album and "Bertha" from the one that preceded it, is right up at the very top of their live output released commercially during their career --the "China Cat" and outro truly is just one of the greatest things ever. And speaking of "Scarlet Begonias": urgently seek 5/8/77, and carve out 25 minutes...
Thanks for the info! Appreciate you watching!
Europe 72 was the second album I ever heard it really resonated with me. Listened to a banging help on the way, slip knot, franklins tower today I’m still learning about the dead 15 years after discovering them.
Of this much I've become certain: if human civilization survives, and if functional data-storage and -retrieval technology abides, the creative output of this band will endure in the manner of Mozart, Beethoven, Gershwin, and The Beatles; future generations of serious musicians yet unborn, and whom we never can know, will devote intensive study to, for instance, "Dark Star" and proceed to serve up their own interpretations of it to such a standard of skill, earnestness, and care, coupled with a fiercely openhearted improvisational spirit, as to make their own time on this Earth indistinguishable from 1969
And that's not at all a bad thing to know
There are 20+ better versions of Scarlett than Barton Hall.
I wasn’t a Dead head but certain songs of their’s resonated with me and this was one of them. In fact I was enthralled with Europe’72 and bought a copy. I have now it downloaded in my library. Definitely their crowning achievement imo.
Bobby does rythmic lead in connection jam between CCS and IKYR.
I think one of the things that pulled people into the Dead's music, especially in the early days, is that it's "traveling music". They take you on a journey that even the band doesn't know the destination or how they are getting there. You'd listen to the records at home or on the radio, get to know the songs, but when you saw them live, those songs become vehicles to take you to unexplored territory. Garcia once said that during the early part of their shows, they would be building a frame work, nice and sturdy and high. Then once that frame work was strong enough and tall enough, they would jump off it. If you wanna look into more of the Dead's extended jams, try Dark Star off Live/Dead, Help on the Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower or The Other One. In the mean time....More Dead!
Thanks for your perspective! Appreciate you watching!
They made "Long strange trip" into the original meme, before meme was a word...
I listened to that exact set earlier. 28 minutes of bliss
"They take you on a journey that even the band doesn't know the destination or how they're getting there". Very well put. It reminds me of of what Jerry Garcia said of their concerts when he was comparing them to studio work, "in the studio it's like building a ship in a bottle, on stage it's like a rowboat on the ocean."
Each song was like a journey, an adventure, that played out like weaving a tapestry in real time and then letting it all unravel only to be rewoven in a completely new way. You could feel the music. It didn't come across to the ears so much as it came up from the center of the earth through your feet and into your soul. Let go of it all and let the music move you.
When they were on - and the crowd was in sync - it was absolutely magical. Seen 100s of shows 71-80. Remember though - there were tapers but no cell phones - the crowd was into the moment
Goosebumps anybody? Lots of great comments, especially about the guitars in use. Jerry used a bunch early on, then had a couple of custom guitars built by Doug Irwin, who used, at Jerry's request, Fender Stratocaster electronics inside the guitars, with either an Alligator, a Wolf, a Tiger (my favorite). or Rosie as the access cover art. As for the songs, China/Rider, as it is referred to by Dead Heads, has been played back-to-back since 9/30/69, used my DeadBase reference to find out they played China Cat Sunflower at 552 shows, out of 2,318 total archived shows. The first twenty times they backed it up with other songs, so 532 times it was China /Rider. Thanks guys. Thanks Marc Gordon.
Unreal! What a great tune! Thanks for watching Bob!
I miss my old Deadbases.
"Alligator" Strat, (I believe used on this), was not an Irwin guitar. It was a gift from Graham Nash. And the Irwin guitars used a lot of custom electronics from Irwin & Alembic as well as Dimarzio pickups & other things like the On Board FX loop which Garcia was directly involved in inventing / creating.
@@edm781 yup, alligator was in use on this tour. A guitar that melted a million faces
@@edm781 Yep, Alligator in full bloom on Europe 72! Love that twangy sound. The Alembic guys called that guitar "Frankenstein". Fantastic period in The Dead's history, to me!
Really nice reaction, you both nailed some key points. Jerry was very much a bluegrass picker which contributed to his unique sound. He did some great work with jazz-grass mandolin legend Dave Grisman. I saw the Dead in '73 at Hartford's Dillon Stadium - I was 16, it was my first road-trip concert. In a day when every little town in Connecticut had a fall beer fest (before insurance and DUI worries shut them all down), Jerry, the mayor of hippietown, brought us kids a travelling acid fest. 30,000 people wearing tie-dye, spreading blankets on the lawn and happily dancing their tripping brains out. I've heard better music but I'm not sure I've had a better time. BTW, now that you've heard the bluegrass hippies, you might enjoy some of the hardcore blues hippies of the 60s & 70s - Canned Heat and Hot Tuna.
Jerry Garcia one of the under rated guitar players that could jam with the best of them.RIP Jerry...
Hell yeah! Cool story to hear. Thanks Michael!
Back however long ago, my bass player cracked me up as no-one else could when he remarked how nice it was of Madonna to dedicate a song to an old blues violinist...'Papa John Creach', lmao. 😂
what "better" music?
@@rhlang11 should've said "music I like better".
I love these 2 guitars fighting for attention with the short notes. Sounds very organic (China Cat …)
Well said!
Hey there, thanks for this one. I'm very excited to see what you guys think about it.
Thanks for suggesting Marc! We loved it :)
@@SightAfterDark No,thank you! I'll lay off The Dead for a bit and send something different soon.
@@marcgordon6604 , of like to see what S.A.D would think of the studio recording of UNBROKEN CHAIN or the live recording of FEEL LIKE A STRANGER from WITHOUT A NET if you need some suggestions. 👍☺
@@robertjewell9727 Studio Unbroken Chain is definitely on my list for them sometime.
@@SightAfterDark So how about some bluegrass? May I suggest Old An In The Way, Jerry's bluegrass project. I would love to here your reaction to Old An In The Way's version of the Stones Wild Horses
She’s right, China Cat is special.
The Grateful Dead were so many damn bands rolled into one! "Trippy Dead": Morning Dew, Dark Star, St. Stephen, Terrapin Station, Eyes of The World, Bird Song, Crazy Fingers, etc......"Cowboy Dead": El Paso, Mexicali Blues, Me and My Uncle, etc..........."Rock and Roll Dead": Jack Straw, Sugar Magnolia, One More Saturday Night, Truckin', etc.........."Pig Dead": (with Pigpen) Mr. Charlie, Operator, Hard to Handle, Chinatown Shuffle, Good Lovin' etc................"Americana Dead": Dire Wolf, Uncle John's Band, Cumberland Blues, Black Peter, Wharf Rat, etc............."Dead Ballads": Ripple, China Doll, Hell, I could go on all day! You have much to look forward to!!
Their shows often had a "trippiness" arc with the weirder stuff in the middle of the show. A ~lot~ of the trippiness is the way that they would string songs through each other on the fly and have songs bubble up in the middle of other songs and then submerge only to reappear later in the night - and a lot of the trippiness was the way they would push their funky Americana and roots music pieces through the jazz methods producing a new version of the song right in front of you - oh and playing different sets lists each night with only rare repeats for many shows.
Sounds amazing! Thanks Babette!
Speaking of that, one of the things they used to do was play "Playing in the Band" in the first set, all but the last chorus, then they'd slip that last chorus in somewhere near the end of the second set. A guy I knew who followed them in the late '80s/ early '90s went to all their shows in New England. One time he was watching them, in Vermont IIRC, and near the end of the second set they played the last chorus of "Playing...". He was grooving along, then stopped and thought "wait, they didn't play the beginning of the song earlier", then he realized they began it in Boston and finished it in Vermont the next night, a little "gotcha" for the die hard Dead Heads.
@@kevincosta9228 woah! Shout out to the dedicated fans!
@@kevincosta9228 yup. Songs could take days to finish. It's why you tried to see all shows when they came to town.
@@kevincosta9228 Sugar Mag opener and Sunshine Daydream to close on the 3rd day.
Robert Hunter wrote this on a beach in Mexico trippin balls a long time ago now, here we are, loving it like the first time.
Go see Dead n Company, not the same but you can get the gist of it.
If I were to recommend just one track for someone who has never really listened to the Dead, it would be this version right here, it encompasses so much of who they are as a band; the far-out hippie jam band style yet also straight forward rock rhythms and grooves w/some stellar guitar leads from Bob and Jerry. Cool reaction vid, thanks for including this version, it's one of their very best songs live.
Glad you enjoyed Carvin!
FYI...At the time this was recorded, Bob Weir played a Gibson ES335 and Jerry Garcia played a highly modified Stratocaster.
Thanks for the info Jim!
Garcia was a very innovative melodic improviser who played through 2 Fender twin preamps into a high wattage McIntosh stereo hi fi amp and Robert Hunter wrote some wonderful lyrics. The live vs the studio versions are like night and day but not in a better or worse way just different. Thanks for doing the Dead.
Of course! Thanks for watching!
The band hated doing studio work. Garcia once said, " being in the studio is like building a ship in a bottle, on stage is like being in a row boat on the ocean. A lot more exciting"
@@billbeliakoff5589 the Dead were build to play in large spaces to many people in real time, even the live recordings don’t come across like being there. The whole sitting in a booth with headphones and the general record business types made studio work more of a tedious ordeal.
@@Hartlor_Tayley I agree with the studio exec's making it tedious, but I think the size of the space didn't matter that much. It was just having an audience that they could react to.
@@billbeliakoff5589 thats true. Some creatures just can’t be domesticated. They needed that psychic feedback loop with the crowd, it’s an energy thing. My favorite live recordings are audience tapes because the energy is more in the mix.
For a crazy trip, Dark Star live. For some smoking jazz, try Help On The Way/Slipknot/Franklin’s Tower studio.
Awesome! Thanks!
Help On the Way/Slipnot/Franklin's Tower is an amazing showcase for their diversity...
Finally someone chose Europe 72...
I'd say this is maybe music FOR people who are tripping, not necessarily psychedelic or ABOUT tripping itself. That's why there's so much country, blue-grass and old blues sprinkled around their tunes. Storytelling + fun rhythms = 'perfect', long Jams for an audience to connect to. Another excellent selection.
Makes sense! Thanks so much for watching!
Listen to the bass, Lesh goes toe to toe.
This 5/3/72 Paris show is four hours of insane musical bliss. One of their best-ever live recordings. And the bass run at 2:53 gives me goosebumps every single time.
Hello from Brooklyn!
The distinction you're hearing is just that: distinction. Jerry thought that every note should be heard, and played like that. He would play power chords, but he understood what Miles Davis said: the notes you don't play are as important as the notes you do play.
And on Bob's rhythm guitar - it's not strumming. It's closer to jazz counterpoint. And Phil is a very melodic bass player.
I can recommend more if you'd like.
Thanks so much! Bring on the recommendations ♥️!
on the europe 72 tour garcia played a stratocaster and weir played a gibsom 335 .. this is the song (s) that clearly define the dead .. from psychedelic to americana .. with sweet vocals and improv jams .. by the end of rider the crowd usually had a communal orgasm ..
☺️nice
You are the only people to do a recent review on dead songs. I’ve been begging every other UA-cam to do the same so thank you very much. This music will never die the fans span generations 🤙❤️ they made something here it’s more than music it’s love.
Thanks for watching!
At this point, Bobby is playing a 335 and Jerry is playing a heavily modified Strat.
Garcia was a bluegrass player at the time music went heavy electric in the early to mid 60's. Jerry had lot of bluegrass, blues and jazz in his toolkit and that uniqueness was part of it. Phil Lesh is an avant-garde classically trained trumpet player and Bob Weir has an unusual guitar style reminiscent of piano. Cool stuff.
Live Dead is good for the trippers because it's gentle on the head; not gonna harsh your vibe.
Jerry was heavy into bluegrass. He really went all in on it for quite a while. He played banjo.
Phil, the bassist, was studying avant garde classical music before taking up the bass to join the group.
They had two drummers, playing together for most of their career. Bill was an original member, a jazzy rock drummer. Then Mickey came on board. He was more of an ethnomusicologist, who studied percussion traditions from round the world.
The GD music had many music styles in their mix.
Sometimes they did get LSD super trippy spacey, but they worked at real songs, musicianship and band-craft with goodly diligence, so they could be as simple or as trippy as they felt like being.
And the vibe they and their fans flowed with was remarkably friendly, creative, upbeat, carefree, and easy going.
Hard to describe how magical the long strange trip really was.
That's my two cents.
Peace ☮️
Thanks for adding your perspective! Would love to hear more of their trippy songs sometime
@@SightAfterDark
You might try
"Eyes of the World"
"Terrapin Station"
" Dark Star~Wharf Rat~St. Stephen"
"Stella Blue"
"Scarlett Begonias~Fire on the Mountain"
"Help on the Way~Slipknot"
Live versions from the
70's/early 80s...I guess
Also the studio album "Workingman's Dead"
acoustic, folksy...
but a bit trippy too 🤠
Peace ☮️
To quote " we're like liquorice. Some people hate liquorice l but if you like liquorice you really like liquorice. "
Lol makes sense
Hey there. I finally subscribed to your post. I am completely on board with the both of you and what you're doing. Keep on trucking ✌😊👍👏👏👏 I immediately boarded the bus with Cowboy Neil at the wheel and I've never gotten off. What a long strange trip its been.😜
Haha thanks so much!
It's possible I Know You Rider was sung along to 200 years ago, maybe not quite that long ago, but it was first recorded in 1927 by Blind Lemon Jefferson. It's traditional. The chord pattern comes out of when North African music was being fused with folk ballads to produce the blues.
They are already moving like Deadheads🙂
Robert Hunter wrote many of the GD biggest hits. He was the bands lyricist and didn’t play with them as far as I know.
Gots to listen LIVE performances of the Grateful Dead= Magical.
We've heard a few, they are the best!
I saw them for free lots of times in Golden Gate Park I the 60s. walking into the park you could here Jerry Garcia's Guitar echoing in the distance.
Dayum, it’s like you two went fishing through all my playlists and decided to react to them. Love you guys! First Frank now Dead. Perfect
The dead sound was very specific because they were searching for a specific sound.
great vid! and i totally agree it makes me sad that a lot of people that haven't heard the Dead think it is just some psychedelic noise you have to be on drugs to listen to, they were such good song writers and musicians (really Jerry though) its ridiculous. but I have done acid at a grateful dead concert and it really took the experience to a crazy level, it feels like a dream when i remember it
Thanks for sharing Ricky!
The original China Cat Sunflower is great to put on your play list. It’s from the third studio album Aoxomoxoa which you should own.
The lyrics were written by Hunter and the by Jerry Garcia an song by Jerry Garcia.
Thanks John!
An early version of Rider was first taken down by John Lomax from an 18 year old black girl in prison for murder, somewhere near the beginning of the century. The earliest recorded version was Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Deceitful Brownskin Blues" in 1927, but it clearly goes back much further. So yeah, you could probably have heard it anytime in the last two centuries or so
Thanks John!
Many great, longer wilder versions of this song. Though Europe 72 is pretty iconic. The lyrics of China Cat are pretty surreal. But also look up what the word Rider means in the 2nd song.
Boston 74 is my favorite, with that long lead in to the mud loves buddy.
Heavy jam session from The Dead
Most likely improvised . Having difficulty signing up to your patrion. Suggestions? Thanks!
"CASSIDY" is an awesome song ;
Gotta love the improvisation!
You can check out the Patreon here:
www.patreon.com/sightafterdark?fan_landing=true
If you decide to join, we would greatly appreciate your support, and we'll make a video for any song you choose!
Let us know if you have any questions
@@SightAfterDark Thankyou!
Two drummers, so in sync!!!
There is an episode of the Andy Griffith Show where Andy and company are on the front porch pickin' this traditional tune
Not sure if you noticed while the music played the ice cream kid did a complete rotation....always more that goes on while the music plays!
The few years with only one drummer! '71-'74 (long story.)
Don't forget Phil on bass in the Phil Zone
haha shoutout to the Phil zone! Thanks for watching Douglas!
Second time I've seen a reaction interrupted by those intrusive ads in the last 12-18 hours, boy howdy, I'm livid! 😂😵✌😘🎶💞
Never was much of a Deadhead, I like noodles to eat, liked Noodles Romanoff on the old Roger Ramjet cartoons, can appreciate the musicianship, interplay and chill vibe no matter how much the band is cooking. Friends in bands drawing inspiration also have helped bring me around somewhat. The early Acid Tests must've been un-freaking-believeable. RIP, Captain Trips. Loved Jerry's pedal steel on CSN's 'Marrakesh Express' and others, can't remember which. Ciao, bella, bello.
Lol that's our bad, we could've edited that out, but forgot it even happened until the video was already live! Either way, thanks for watching! We can definitely appreciate the musicianship as well, even if they aren't necessarily our favorites :)
Up there with all time best
Dead head here since the 70s
Glad people are giving it a try
Please react to Scarlet Begonias into Fire on the Mountain 5/8/77 (It's easily one of the better moments of the Dead)
Thanks Fernando!
Yes, Jerry was a Fender man at heart, as Steve Parrish has confirmed. He played his Strat called “Alligator” during the Europe ‘72 tour and much of their Wall of Sound era in the early-mid 70’s. And his later custom-built Doug Irwin guitars were based on the Fender model.
As for their style, they started out as a folk group and Jerry was originally a master banjo player, and their deep roots in American folk, country and bluegrass remained evident throughout their career. But if you want to hear just how far out they could go in the psychedelic vein, check out pretty much any live recording from roughly ‘67-‘69. In the height of the late 60’s they would absolutely go off into the most far out jams you can imagine. The album “Live/Dead” is maybe the best example, especially St. Stephen> The Eleven > Turn On Your Lovelight, and REALLY especially Dark Star.
But after a few years of acid rock overdrive they grew weary of endless jams, and like Clapton when he was with Cream, they were getting burned out on the craziness. When The Band came out with their landmark debut album “Music From Big Pink” it influenced The Dead (and Clapton) hugely and inspired them to go back to their folksy/country roots. American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead are the result, and perfectly mirrored what was happening to the counterculture at large: burnout, and a desire to get back to the land and a simpler, quieter aesthetic.
Jerry mostly used a custom SG Gibson and within his style of playing, he usually pronounced the 3rd or 4th note so this made it recognizable to many. On the other hand you had Bob Weir playing maybe 4 chords within the one, offering a wide pallet for Garcia to play on. Both players were unique in their approach. Thanks for helping to keep their legacy alive.
Thanks for the details Wolftracks!
Gibsons? Maybe in 1969. This is the strat that would become Alligator. After this it was all custom guitars
Thanks for reminding me just how good these songs are. I know You Rider, is perhaps my favourite GD song, along with Jack Straw. You just can't help but to be uplifted by these. Talking of which..... take a listen to The Allman Brothers, Blue Sky... magnificent!
Hell yeah! We love the Allman brothers! Thanks for watching!
IKYR is, in fact, an old folk tune.
Jerry loved bluegrass.
They just gave it the GD treatment.
Gotta love it
Look for awhile at the China Cat Sunflower proud walking jingle in the midnight sun , copper dome bodi drips a silver kimono like a crazy stargown on a cool night wind .
Crazy Cat peeking through a lace bandana like a one eyed Cheshire like a diamond eyed jack . A leaf of all colors plays a golden string fiddle to a double E waterfall all over my back .
Comic book colors on a violin river crying Leonardo's words from out a silk trombone , I rang a silent bell beneath a shower of pearls in the Eagle wing Palace of the queen chinee.
This old head has still got it ! 😂 Trippy tune .✌️
Beautiful!
I think the guitars are very clean. This one is played by Jerry on a stratocaster, but he wasn't playing one for long. They didn't generally use Fenders. I don't know what Bob used - looked like some gibsons in the old days- but don't quote me on that.
Definitely the tone of Garcia is instantly recognisable - I think he had much less compression/distortion/overdrive and sustain than most electric guitarists - it high lights his flaws in some ways.
But this stuff is great on acid - the reason being is it relaxes you while you're tripping and taking you on a visual trip.
This period was great - it's just Bill Kreutzman on drums, and it's probably his best period.
Cool typical classic Dead!
W.A.L.S.T.I.B. And it still is.
What's that mean?
@@SightAfterDark it's a line from Truckin'. An acronym for what a long strange trip it's been.
Best band- best shows- ever
We’ve heard!
Well, if you’re looking for the LSD influence, just look up the lyrics to China Cat Sunflower! Also, their whole approach to playing live with each other, the openness to/ready for anything quality in their improv jams was totally informed by their LSD experiences early on…this begot the jam-band template : )
Love it! Thanks!
...Grateful Dead had this way of laying down a good groove with that bass in the background to carry it through - easy to listen to on long jams. Perhaps not as complex or unique as Frank Zappa but had a place and appeal .
China Cat has such a fine syncopated interweave between the on - the -beat and the off-beat, I've always wanted hear a version where someone did a cover of it on kalimbas / mbiras~~~~~
Nothing like live Dead!
Just saying, they never used Fenders… typically, they were Gibson or custom luthier made guitars
I believe Jerry Played a Fender Strat given to him by David Crosby or maybe it was Graham Nash during 71-73 Era ..before he started playing the Wolf guitar
The Dead were always at the fore front of technology. By the early 1970s they had an outrageous sound system (Google "Grateful Dead Wall of Sound"), designed by Owsley Stanley, who, BTW, was much more famous for making LSD in the very early days of the drug culture. Anyway, they were among the first to put a sound system behind them. As far as the guitars go, Jerry's guitar and Phil Lesh's bass were custom made with lots of electronic gimmickry inside.
For example Phil's bass could input the sound from individual strings into different amps. So, they were always going for new and unique sounds. Also Jerry was an acoustic finger picker at heart.
Is Oswley Stanley the same guy Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan is about?
@@SightAfterDark Yes, supposedly the character was inspired by him, but it's a really accurate depiction of him, right down to running out of gas while on the run
Sometimes it's like a street fight.. bobby is trying to bring in Rider from the opening chords
Bob Weir used a Gibson 335 most of the time. You want trippy you need Dark star.
Thanks!
watching the Dead play on their home turf at the Beaver Bowl in 91 (I think) while on lots and lots of shrooms was definitely an experience....
still trippin on all those whirlin dervishy types spinning around in circles..... makes me dizzy just remembering them.
ain't Jerry's picking just psychedelic itself?
such masters of offbeat mistiming and layering vocals so they don't match up exactly... Jerry's guitar just grabs ya from the start and lets you know we're going down that rabbit hole again.
Amazing!
grateful dead ❤️
I'm pretty sure Jerry was playing a stratocaster in '72. good ear!
Nice!
Gerry Garcia is like this bottomless pit of guitar lines and this was all recorded live in one take and I'm sure most of it was made up on the spot never to be heard again. I saw these guys twice during this time and they had the wall of sound and the band and the music was magical. They were so loose they were tight. Sorry to know that Gerry is no longer with us. You never know what you've got till it's gone! BTW Gerry Garcia cut his teeth on traditional bluegrass. He traveled all over the mountains of the southeast seeking out and playing with the greats like Monroe and Scruggs. Listen to the album Old And In The Way on which Garcia finger picks killer 5 string banjo (even though he was missing a finger on his picking hand!). It's a classic that made me a lifelong lover of hardcore bluegrass. I know it sounds cliché but now that I look back I don't think I would ever have really understood how great they were live if I hadn't seen it with my own ears and yes drugs were a part of the whole experience!😁😎👀
Excellent. Thanks for sharing Squidkid!
Ventura foreground, seems like it never ended...
Fairgrounds
If you liked China Cat the studio version is the best version. Check it out for sure 👍
Thanks!
The Dead ARE trippy until they get to the early 70s when they turn toward country rock songwriting. But their early releases were ALL about the LSD experience.
Makes sense! Thanks!
But then they went on to every other genre in the world
Where did you find this version of what I deem to be the Dead's best live version...that has waaayyyyy toooo much echo in it?!?!
and Bobby on Gibson 335
Went to a bunch of Dead concerts in the day. Never did acid at them but smoked plenty of pot.
Sounds like a good time!