LN jg1976-03-12.jgb.late.aud-unk.xxxxx.flac1644
My love of audience tapes is evident to anyone who reads
here. The anthropological instinct (and practice) underpinning field recording
enthralls me. To me, everybody who ever taped a gig is right there with Alan
Lomax and all the rest. Now, sometimes you have to be willing to sacrifice your
aesthetics a little bit. Some of these tapes were bad from the start and haven’t
gotten any better with age. But They Are What They Are. And if there’s any
possibility at all of gleaning something relevant to Jerry Garcia’s Middle Finger, then I can only but sacrifice my ears
in the line of duty.
I recently waded into a pretty good tape,
Eric
Coplen’s partial 3/12/76 early (7:30 pm) show and the first song of the late show,
from an era that is extremely uneven in terms of the availability and quality
of recordings. I did so for all kinds of reasons, but I guess my main
motivation is to make sure that I don’t let selection bias around recordings generate
biased analyses on other dimensions. We all have a tendency to gravitate toward
the stuff that sounds good (or that we suspect will be musically interesting,
well played, etc.). But insofar as the distribution of sound quality is not
random with respect to other things that we care about (e.g., performance quality),
then we are on inferentially problematic terrain. In plain English, sort of, we
can’t safely generalize from the sample of tapes we have to the population of
all tapes. This is also an era that I have historically found dull and uninspiring,
and with which I have spent correspondingly little time. I am endeavoring to
dig into this period a little bit more than I have up to this point. 3/12/76
early was part of that. I found it to be quite a nice performance.
Here I report on the
late (11 pm)
Jerry Garcia Band (JGB) show from the same date-location, March 12, 1976 at Cahn
Auditorium, Northwestern University, 600 Emerson Street, Evanston, IL 60201.
First, the tape. It’s an unattributed audience tape,
transferred sometime in the 2000s from cassettes, perhaps tapes supplied by
Walter Keenan and transferred by David Minches. It’s not that bad, but it’s not
that great. What I really like is how this tape captures some of the enthusiasm
and intelligence of college kids. They are very, very excited at the start, and
as the song winds down at least one young man appears to
lose
control [NSFW] of himself. The taper legitimately calls “Train, Train” as “Mystery
Train” begins, and the whoop of recognition is audible, the whoosh palpable.
Great energy in this crowd, the occasional flicks of Bics and ensuing mirth.
Good times.
Second, the performance. I love it, with one real exception,
and that is
“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”.
Let me get the griping out of the way first. Now, I will generally agree with
the assertion that you can’t judge a book by its cover. There a couple of
exceptions, however, and the rule
any
version of ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ exceeding 17 minutes in length is too
long is among them. A great many, if not all, of the versions JGB played in
1976 fall afoul of this rule (see the official release
Don’t Let Go [
Grateful
Dead Records, January 2001], recorded
5/21/76 at the Orpheum
Theatre in San Francisco, containing another classic example of the genre). In
arguing that these numbers are just too darn slow, I have often encountered the
retort that perhaps I lack the
sophistication
necessary to appreciating such
masterpieces, perhaps I am just too impatient to let the impact make itself
felt. Maybe. Or maybe they’re just too slow.
OK, I have made my point. As for the good stuff, I have to
say that I am updating my priors on this period northward as I listen to the
shows: it’s a really good show. Here’s some blow by blow.
“Harder They Come”
finds Garcia bucking and snorting out of the gate, the crowd athunder, and the
recordists’ deck getting kicked around in the initial mayhem. Coplen’s tape
could replace the start if one had the time and inclination to do so. More
notations: HTC is nice, comes out with the bounce it needed to be really
successful in the Garcia Band. There are some very, very slow versions in 1976
that deprive the song of the lilt it needs. Keith nice solo in the 6-minute
mark. Jerry steps forward in the 7-min mark for a solo, patient but inventive.
He's so relaxed, just letting it flow, nicely lubed. Keith stepping up to weave
around and through Jerry, so they are both upfront as we round the 8-minute
mark. Tutt is hammering, like they are those big old marching band drums played
with toms. Banging. Jerry takes another run around and puts some grit in it
this time. A young man in the crowd loses his head as the song winds down,
taper asks him to hush. It was ever thus!
“Tore Up Over You”
is one that I too frequently overlook. This one’s an object lesson in why not
to do that. Garcia pulls off a seriously loud and metallic solo in the 6-minute
mark that has young man again exclaiming. Late 6 and into the 7-minute mark,
Jerome John Garcia is pulling some ass-slapping power chords. This is where
1976 is good. Jerry was just starting to fatten up the power chords that would
become a staple of his ’76-’78 period playing in the Grateful Dead. Here, there
are still some filings in there, little bits of tin foil, metallic jolts. It’s
a nice blend.
"A Strange
Man" beautifully features Donna Jean Godchaux of Muscle Shoals,
Alabama. This is sultry southern singing, with perfect main accompaniment from her
husband on piano (probably a Steinway), everyone else back behind, Donna all
swaying smoke and flowing shadow. She testifies beautifully and tastefully, in charge until
3:45 when Jerry, having hung back respectfully until this point, steps up and
rhapsodizes to Donna, guitar-for-her-voice, for a minute or so. Lovely.
Song note:
"A Strange Man" (t05):
Allan lists it
as "Strange Man", but that might perhaps his alphabetization/filing
scheme drops indefinite articles, as others (my own included) do definite
articles.
Deaddisc
uses the indefinite article in the title, which I follow. I dunno from
alphabetization, but I guess I'll list it under 'S'. What Would a Librarian Do?
Anyway, this appeared on Dorothy Love Coates and the Gospel Harmonettes'
self-titled 1967 LP on Okeh Records. Note that the record also contains
"I'll Be With Thee". Donna
said that they just sat around in those days, listening to gospel records. Seems
pretty clear that Dorothy Love Coates was among their inspirations.
“Mystery Train”
operates on a more terrestrial plane. Jerry rolls it around in his hands for a few
extra measures at the start, making sure everything is holding water. When he
comes in with his "Train, train" opening, there's a hoot of
excitement from the crowd, but it's controlled, tapering quickly, like they were
hit by it, it drove the excitement out, but they lassoed it back quickly, still wanted to listen carefully. Fun to put yourself at
Northwestern University on this Friday night and feel the excitement that
Garcia doing "Mystery Train", with Elvis’s own drummer providing the locomotion, could bring to a crowd. This version just, well, chugs right along, as
any self-respecting version of any train song should. Jerry is running it all
around, and in the 7-minute mark Tutt starts revving the engine a little bit, a
few extra splashes and things are rolling nicely downhill. Clean as a whistle,
and as they are winding down Garcia must be windmilling, because he is
power-chording very unusually, and the taper, who seems knowledgeable, chuckles
and gives him a "yeah". Maybe, Forrest Gump style, he got the idea in
this moment for the Garcia-qua-Jordan Nike ad stickers that used to sell
wherever Deadheads gathered, and which made him a rich man. Just maybe. “It
happens.”
“Friend Of The Devil”:
Thankfully, the opiates hadn't yet bitten too hard into the pacing of FOTD.
It's still sprightly at this stage. It would become a much slower plod not long
after and would never re-acquire the lightness that allowed the music to
counterpoint the lyrics to such good effect in early appearances with the
Grateful Dead, for example. But this one also has more punch than the
super-light acoustic versions from 1970, more heft. So, for my money, this is a
very good version of the song.
Listening Notes:
Jerry Garcia
Band
March 12,
1976 (Friday), Late Show, 11 pm
unattributed
80 minute audience recording
--(8 tracks,
79:39)--
01. /The
Harder They Come [14:28] [0:33]
02. It Takes
A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry [8:38] [0:03] % [0:19]
03. They
Love Each Other [6:43] [0:07] % (1) [0:20]
04. Tore Up
Over // You [8:8:36] [0:04] %
05. //A
Strange Man/ [#5:45#]
06. Mystery
Train [9:17] % [0:13]
07. Knockin'
On Heaven's Door [17:52] %
08. //Friend
Of The Devil [#6:42] %
! Band:
Jerry Garcia Band:
! Lineup:
Jerry Garcia - el-g, vocals;
! Lineup:
John Kahn - el-bass;
! Lineup:
Keith Godchaux - piano, vocals;
! Lineup:
Ron Tutt - drums, vocals;
! Lineup:
Donna Jean Godchaux, vocals.
JGMF:
! Recording: symbols: % = recording discontinuity; / =
clipped song; // = cut song; ... = fade in/out; # = truncated timing; [ ] =
recorded event time. The recorded event time immediately after the song or item
name is an attempt at getting the "real" time of the event. So, a
timing of [x:xx] right after a song title is an attempt to say how long the
song really was, as represented on this recording.
! R: tape has a lot more audience noise than the Coplen tape
of the early show (and the first tune of this late show). Some taper talk here,
things sound exciting. This tape is not terrible. It is a little oversaturated,
but I have heard worse. All of the instruments are there. It may be running
slow, but with this band it's a little hard to tell. While Donna's voice sounds
a little draggy, I think she's just being laconic. Garcia's voice and the
guitars sound about right to me, but then again I can't hear.
! context: Nice to hear how excited the kids are as the show
starts.
! R: t01 HTC clips in. Not much missing, but could be
patched from the Coplen recording of this song. Would also be able to cover
some major rumbling and clipping at the start, as I believe (based on taper
talk) that the deck got kicked in all the excitement.
! P t01 HTC is nice, comes out with the bounce it needed to
be really successful in the Garcia Band. There are some very, very slow
versions in 1976 that deprive the song of the lilt it needs. Keith nice solo in
the 6-minute mark. Jerry comes around in the 7-min mark for a solo, patient but
inventive. He's so relaxed, just letting it flow, nicely lubed. Keith stepping
up to weave around and through Jerry, so they are both upfront as we round the
8-minute mark. Tutt is hammering, like they are those big old marching band
drums played with toms. Banging. Jerry takes another run around and puts some
grit in it this time. A young man in the crowd loses his head, taper asks him
to hush.
! t03 (1) flicking of Bics and ensuing mirth.
! P: t04 TUOY Garcia pulls off a seriously loud and metallic
solo in the 6-minute mark that has young man again exclaiming. Late 6 and into
the 7-minute mark, Jerome John Garcia is pulling some ass-slapping power
chords.
! R: t04 TUOY splice @ 7:46, then a few little repeated
blips toward the end of the track.
! song:
"A
Strange Man" (t05): Allan lists it as "Strange Man"
http://www.whitegum.com/~acsa/songfile/STRANGEM.HTM,
but that might perhaps his alphabetization/filing scheme drops indefinite
articles, as others (my own included) do definite articles. Deaddisc uses the
indefinite article in the title,
http://www.deaddisc.com/songs/Strange_Man.htm,
which I follow. I dunno from alphabetization, but I guess I'll list it under
'S'. How's that for splitting the baby? Anyway, this appeared on Dorothy Love
Coates and the Gospel Harmonettes' self-titled 1967 LP on Okeh Records. Note
that the record also contains "I'll Be With Thee". Donna said that
they just sat around in those days, listening to gospel records. Seems pretty
clear that Dorothy Love Coates was among their inspirations.
! R: t05 Strange Man cuts in and clips out
! P: t05 A Strange Man. This is sultry southern singing, the
piano the perfect lead accompaniment, everything else back behind, spotlight on
Donna. She belts very beautifully and tastefully here. Very, very nice! Donna
is in charge all the way until 3:45, Jerry, appropriately, having stayed way
back. Here he steps up and rhapsodizes back to Donna, guitar-style, for a
minute or so. Donna sings this song absolutely beautifully. I wish I had seen
her sing this.
! P t06 Mystery Train is really nice. First, the taper
recognizes it, and calls "Train, Train", which is a totally
legitimate way to refer to this song, in my book. Then Jerry rolls it around in
his hands for an extra couple of measures, making sure everything is holding
water. When he comes in with his "Train, train" opening, there's a
hoot of excitement from the crowd, but almost controlled, like they were hit by
it but still wanted to listen carefully. Fun to put yourself at Northwestern
University on this Friday night and feel the excitement that Garcia doing
"Mystery Train" could bring to a crowd. This version just, well,
chugs right along, as any self-respecting version of any train song should.
Jerry is running it all around, and in the 7-minute mark Tutt starts revving
the engine a little bit, a few extra splashes and things are rolling nicely
downhill. Clean as a whistle, and as they are winding down Garcia must be
windmilling, because he is power-chording very unusually, and the taper, who
seems knowledgeable, chuckles and gives him a "yeah". Maybe, Forrest
Gump style, he got the idea here and now for the Garcia-qua-Jordan Nike ad
stickers that used to sell wherever Deadheads gathered, and which made him a
rich man. Shit happens, right?
! P: t07 Knocking On Heaven's Door, this is an example of
1976 JGB drawing things out too deeply for me. Feels like slogging through mud
to me. Such a dirge. Everyone is sleeping through it. At one point (@ 2:49)
Garcia drops an alive-with-possibilities ascending eight-note run, you hear the
crowd shift and a few little yips of anticipation, and then everyone falls back
to sleep. Too much.
! R: t08 FOTD cuts in, not much missing.
! P: t08 FOTD: Thankfully, the opiates hadn't bitten too
hard into the pacing of FOTD yet. It's still sprightly at this stage. It would
become a deadly dirge not long after and would never require any of the
lightness that allowed the music to counterpoint the lyrics to such good effect
in early appearances with the Grateful Dead, for example. But this one also has
more punch than the super-light acoustic versions from 1970, more heft. So, for
my money, this is a very good version of FOTD.
