I was a little underwhelmed the first time I listened to this, but upon subsequent revisits I've really come around on it. Jerry certainly doesn't sound his healthiest, but what I at first mistook for sloppiness and lack of interest I now hear has inventive ways to play the same old songs. Jerry was a musician who get bored with doing the same thing over and over, so he would change his approach to certain songs over time. Lazy Lightning, Terrapin, and Franklin's all sounded off to me at first because I was expecting them to sound more like '78, but when I considered the temporal setting of these shows, I could appreciate the mastery of Garcia's playing a lot more; he just likes to keep us guessing! I wouldn't call this my favorite Dave's Picks, but I definitely like it a lot in ways I didn't expect, and would have to put it pretty high up in the rankings of the Picks. Now let's get into it in detail.
- Alabama Getaway >
- It takes a minute or so for the mix to equalize, but you can hear everyone clearly once it does.
- Only a month old at this point, Alabama Getaway was already a machine for churning out smoking hot leads. Jerry and Brent trade some great lines, Brent sticking to the Rhodes instead of switching to the organ or playing his faux-pedal steel synth solo.
- Jerry even gets most of the words right!
- Promised Land
- This combo eventually got worn out in much the same way Bertha > Good Lovin' did, but it sounds fresh here. Nice smooth transition.
- Bobby singing and playing are great this whole release.
- Brent's organ sounds clear and full, really tears up his solo.
- Brown-Eyed Women
- I will say that '79 wasn't necessarily the best time for Jerry. He did have his new Tiger guitar, which sounds amazing here, but his vocals were starting to get more mumbly and his solos weren't always as focused. By the fourth pass at the solo section he's really into it, but the first couple sound like he's spacing out...but it could just be tech issues given the little burst of feedback.
- El Paso
- One thing that keeps throwing me off about this Pick is that they've cut out a lot of the ass-scratching that the band would normally do between songs. I don't think this has been done on past Picks, though it definitely was done for a lot of the May '77 releases. It's not a bad thing, especially if Bobby isn't even telling a joke, it just keeps catching me off guard; how's Jerry supposed to smoke a cig between songs with so little time??
- Anyway, this is a fairly standard version for the era. Jerry's harmonies and accompanying leads make me think he must've just been having some tech issues during BEW, he sounds very focused and intent here.
- Ramble On Rose
- Jerry's voice sounds a little strained again, but his playing is precise. He builds the solo up nicely, and the bridge feels big and powerful, as it should.
- Brent and Bobby's rhythms and counterparts fit perfectly, and the drummers are on top of everything tonight. Phil is surprisingly low in the mix for the first set. When I think '79 I think Big Phil; is it the mix, or is he just a bit restrained?
- It's All Over Now
- The start of this one does feel very jarring without any tuning or chatter leading up to it, but if I didn't spend so much time listening to unedited recordings I probably wouldn't notice.
- A lot of pep on this one, and once again Brent's organ sounds fantastic. He was fully integrated into the band at this point and it sounds like he's having one hell of a time.
- Jack-A-Roe
- I don't know if it's the band not clicking at first or the recording, but this one sounds a bit quiet and muddy to me.
- Solo doesn't burn any barns down, but instead feels kind of moody and bluesy.
- Lazy Lightning >
- Jerry's all over this one, fiery spiraling leads that are loose, but not quite sloppy. It's like he's playing around the song instead of just playing it.
- I keep saying it, but Brent's organ is perfect, especially for this pairing. Keith's grand piano was always good here, but the organ is just so much more flexible in this weird time signature. And it provides a nice backdrop for Jerry to spin circles over.
- Bobby mixes up the last couple lyrics, but this is still a definite highlight of the show. Vocal rave at the end not quite as gnarly with Brent's early voice, but still good; he's just not belting it out like Donna, and his voice doesn't have that beautiful rasp quite yet.
- Supplication
- Phil still surprisingly low in the mix even during his Supplication intro.
- The tempo eases down a bit and the jam starts to spread out in weird directions. The players try out little rhythms of their own that fit into Phil's basic pattern. Jerry starts to amp it back up by hammering out the beat with some big chords, following them up with climbing licks leading into the verses.
- The outro jam is stretched out for some more hot leads from Jerry, this is great!
- Althea
- A few months old at this point, this Althea starts off pretty basic, not much fire in the first few solos, but by the end this space has definitely gotten hot *bdum-tsh*.
- One thing I've never noticed about these early versions is that they do the bridge twice. They do the first three verses with small solos between each one, the bridge, a small but explosive solo, the final verse, a really big solo before vamping back into the bridge, then the final verse again and they close the song out.
- Music Never Stopped
- This version rocks hard right from the start. Phil's starting to step forward in the mix, the drummers are tight as ever, Bobby gets all the words right, and Jerry's still hot off that Althea energy.
- Brent's harmonies are still a little too smooth, but it's not like it sounds bad or anything.
- Even the spacier part of the jam has a lot of drive to it. Phil, Bobby, and Brent all bounce around each other while Jerry storms down the middle. Things get pretty chaotic with Bobby strumming off big fanfares and Jerry fluttering in fast arpeggios until it finally breaks into the second part of the jam and things get really crazy! Jerry starts fanning and everyone builds up into a frenzy around him until Bobby finally brings it to a close.
- Scarlet Begonias >
- This song, and the set, start off with a bit of Bobby delay/echo effects that he dabbled with on and off in the seventies. It feels a little plodding at first, Jerry seems to think the line is "scarlet begonias tucked into her shoes," and he skips the ever elusive "ain't nothing wrong with the way she moves" verse, but it all starts to click during the solo section.
- At one point it seems like the band are all a beat off from each other, but they pull it together like only the Dead can and Jerry proceeds to tear up the soundscape. He plays like a madman, stringing together fat powerful chords with speedy runs and triplets.
- The outro jam is propelled by the drummers, with Mickey tapping away at his trusty cowbell, and the other players take a more laid back approach. Jerry switches to a fuzzier tone, Bobby gets some of his delay effects going, and Big Phil comes out to play. Things start to get real swirly and heady as the combined effects of pedals and the organ act together like a psychedelic cocktail.
- It really switches over to the Fire chords about ten minutes in, but the track doesn't change until Phil starts slamming his bass line. In the meantime Bobby writes the chorus for Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" live on stage, truly an impressive display of multitasking.
- Fire On The Mountain >
- Phil gets sick of flirting with Fire and energetically busts into his classic lick. Jerry does his intro lead shortly after, Mutron effects very ripply and wavy. His singing on this is certainly not his best, but his mastery of the guitar coupled with his array of effects and pedals leads to some amazingly weird music.
- Jerry gets a solid B for a vocal score; he remembers most of the words but doesn't sing them very confidently. Between you and me, I think that guy might have been a little high.
- There is an audience recording (~50 seconds) patched into the end of the first solo that goes into the second verse, and while the switch to the Aud is actually pretty smooth, there's a beat dropped when the soundboard kicks back in which is distracting...until you forget about it and listen to the rest of the song.
- Huge melts left and right, Jerry must cycle through just about every possible tone he has. During the second solo section he drops into a rhythm role and Brent gets to do some quiet little leads of his own. Bobby seems to think they're losing direction and tries to ripcord them back to the final verse, but quickly realizes they're having a Moment and joins in. Jerry takes back over, playing more speedy butterfly arpeggios. The final jam is a showcase of wild drums, thumping bass, and bright chords, then a smooth slide into the Scarlet ending.
- Samson & Delilah
- This one starts out kind of rough, Jerry again sounds like he's having some tech issues since it takes him a while to get back up in the mix. Once he's in he goes right back to those blistering fast arpeggios, something that's really a hallmark of this era. I think he got bored of playing these songs as straight as he had been, and was trying to find new ways to play the same old songs.
- Time for more Brent Talk: this song was made for the organ, and Brent was made to play the organ, so clearly this song was made for Brent to play. It's just logic.
- Ending of the song goes off without a hitch, neither of the drummers feel compelled to yell at anyone for screwing up.
- Terrapin Station >
- This one starts off pretty helter skelter, but once Jerry starts singing they bring it together.
- As part of Jerry's switching up how he played the songs, the Terrapins from this tour usually featured a double dip on the solo section, and this one is thankfully no different. The first solo follows the same basic pattern as earlier versions, but he stretches the song out a bit on the second one, showing just how flexible he can be.
- The Starlight Jam gets far out in a nice soft way, Brent's plinking on the Rhodes really putting the "star" in starlight. From the clouds Jerry emerges with the return riff and shifts them into the Lady With a Fan section.
- Jerry's voice starts sounding scratchy (though emotive) by the end of the lyrics, but his playing in the outro jam more than makes up for it. He plays just about everything except the basic riff, while Phil and the others balance between playing the key notes and improvising with Jer. The drummers stay right on top of every curveball they get thrown, nothing gets by them.
- I can't help but think that this recording doesn't do Phil justice. His rumble just doesn't come through as well as it does in other contemporary recordings. To be fair, a lot of those others have what some might call "too much Phil," but that sounds like nonsense to me and I'm offended you brought it up.
- Playing In The Band >
- Very easy transition into Playin', at a pretty good speed too. They speed through the vocals and complicated changes without missing a beat, ease right into the lighter part of the jam on the opening theme. Brent's organ works around Bobby's playing while Jerry gets his filters and pedals appropriately adjusted so he can take over and make things super weird.
- Phil stays right alongside Jerry through the jam, playing under him while somehow also emphasizing the beats that Mickey keeps accenting. Brent steers the jam at first on organ, leaning into wide open shifting chords, the rest of the band swaying along to stay in the range he's prescribing. Eventually though Jerry gets an idea that he can't shake, followed by another, then another, and he just has to take over, and Brent shifts into a dark Rhodesy mood.
- Something that our fearless Canadian Archivist mentioned in his Seaside Chat was that while this isn't a particularly long version of the song (just over 11 minutes), it still feels like it has many distinct episodes or incidents within it.
- Drums >
- The jam fizzles down to nothing and Billy and Mickey take over.
- This is a very active Drums, though it's hard to say exactly what's happening without seeing it. You can tell there's a wide variety of percussion instruments being played, but I sure don't know what they all are. You can certainly hear the Beast in action, and there's a bit of droning though I don't think it's from the early Beam. Things sound like they're settling down into Space territory when that droning kicks in, sounds like some hand drum work, but then they get back on the big drums and they get rambunctious again before the rest of the band comes back.
- Space >
- Space starts suddenly, almost like they already had a song playing in their heads when they walked on stage and they're just letting us in as its happening. Bob and Brent seem to have Lost Sailor on the brain right away, but Jerry seems more content to think about it for a sec, going into a Mutron filled solo space before tapering off, allowing Phil and Brent to lay the ground for Bobby to start Sailor.
- Lost Sailor >
- There's a little confusion at first between Jer and Bob, maybe just shell shocked from Phil's thunder, but it's quickly resolved and Bobby jumps right into the lyrics before there's any time for anyone to get lost. It's ~smooth sailing~ from there.
- Honestly these early versions are some of my favorites, it's so new that the band must actually still be rehearsing it occasionally, so it feels very crisp and (almost) seamless. And Mickey doesn't even sound like he's sick of it yet!
- Saint Of Circumstance >
- This song, and this version in particular, meshes perfectly with Jerry's new speedy *sniff* approach to playing.
- Bobby sings some of the earlier lyrics, but the song was pretty close to being at its complete form by now. He also blows a line or *sniff sniff*, but the song is very tight and strong.
- The jam has a nice frantic build up to it, I just wish it was a bit longer. Bobby skips his "I never know!" rave up before the "sure don't know" refrain, and it feels like awkward vamping for a couple bars. But the refrain is strong and fun.
- Wharf Rat >
- Saint ends in peals of feedback before Jerry starts up the Wharf Rat chords, not real jam into it. This version could be described as glacial, though it has some pretty moments.
- Things come so close to falling apart at every second in the bridge, I think it's just too slow for Jerry to play and sing at the same time, he keeps coming in too early. Or he's doing it on purpose and was planing on holding the notes longer...but if that's the case, the rest of the band sure aren't ready for it, and at the very end Brent sounds totally lost. Shockingly though it never truly falls apart, and they still go into the "fly away" verse all together! These fucking guys.
- Both of Jerry's solos in the back half of the song absolutely soar, especially the second one. There's not much to say about it beyond that, you just gotta listen to it.
- At the end of his solo he starts teasing towards something and Bobby joins in. It sounds Other One-ish to me at first, but then Jerry hits a few notes that are definitely closer to Truckin', and the drummers do a neat little turnaround that allows the rest of the band to start the song.
- Truckin'
- A rare set closer, probably because they never know how to end it, but a good way to end on a high note.
- Pretty high tempo, Bobby gets all the words right, and the band sounds on fire, so it's a pretty goddam great version. And the chorus sounds so good with an organ!
- The jam gets pretty far out and again it starts to sound like they're going into the Other One, but instead Jerry steers them into a Truckin' frenzy with a big release, before everyone awkwardly drops out while Jer plays some big final notes and everyone jumps on the bandwagon to bring the song to a close.
- Johnny B. Goode
- The recording starts a bit quieter here, and goes through a couple of mix changes, but it still sounds clear.
- A solid, hard rocking version to wrap up an excellent show.
- Estimated Prophet >
- This unusual sequence starts in the middle of the next night's second set, right after China > Rider and Looks Like Rain.
- Nice balance of Rhodes and synth from Brent on this one.
- Exciting solo section, even if it doesn't end quite together. A lot of high peaks and squawking mutron tones.
- Once Bobby's done "nah nah"ing Brent gets his own little solo while Jerry hangs back, maybe tuning, probably lighting a cigarette. Things get pretty far from the basic Estimated starting point, and it starts to sound a lot like they're about to make the typical switch to Eyes...
- Franklin's Tower >
- And in fact it sounds like some of the band is expecting that too, but Jerry makes it very clear that he wants to play Franklin's instead! In my opinion it's a bit of a step down, but I'm always a fan of changing the formula.
- The majority of this Franklin's is pretty typical for the era, long solos between each verse, and about a B+ for Jerry remembering the lyrics. Brent and Bobby keep doing weird little "huh"s after Jerry's lines in the chorus.
- Jam
- After the final verse and chorus, instead of doing a solo then the chorus again they take a hard left turn into a totally unique jam. It starts of very bright from the residual Franklin's energy, but Jerry slowly takes it away from that bounce into a slightly more funky and driven direction. Brent starts playing some backing chords that almost make it feel like they're going into a Mind Left Body Jam, but it stays in a fun disco zone.
- The whole jam is about ten minutes long, and things quiet down about 4 minutes in. It doesn't lose any energy though, it's just a shift in the dynamic that draws the listener in. Things keep getting close to a dark jam, but they never quite drop into those evil realms, mostly staying happy and pretty.
- Brent gets on what I've always called his Funk Machine at one point, some kind of squonky, wonky synth tone that he used in a lot of Dancin's in this era. Feels really cool here in this totally free form territory.
- Things start to melt down as Bobby starts making weird slide noises and the rest of the band starts playing seemingly random beats and notes, and the tape fades out as the drummers take over. What a jam!
