Don't Ease Me In - Grateful Dead Song Review

She brings me coffee
You know she brings me tea
She brings 'bout every damn thing
But the jailhouse key

Ahh man this song is putting a song on my face as I listen to it and prepare to write this entry.

To me, this is the sound of the first set coming to an end (on a good note).  I don't know why this one is such a favorite - it's such a simple song but I really like it 

In the songbook it states that Don't Ease Me In was composed by traditional - which means it's such an old standard the original composer is unknown. That might partially explain my affinity for the song - it's a historical classic so there must be something to it.

I have heard it referred to in the Dead scene as "Don't Cheese Me In" but I cannot disagree more with that sentiment.

According to Alex Allan's awesome resource "whitegum.com", the song was released as a B Side for the first single (Golden Road?) in 1966 and played throughout the band's entire career. Of course, they recorded a version as the last track on the Go To Heaven album as well. 

What else to write? The lyrics are light hearted and humorous as you can see from the snippet I put at the top of this entry.  You can kind of imagine Jerry with a big smile when he sings that one.  It's a simple rock tune but definitely a personal favorite.  It also is short and sweet - clocking in at about 3:20 or so- how many Dead songs can you say that about? I've heard versions of Finniculi, Finnicula longer than that!

  

Don't Ease Me In is a tune I never skip past on a bootleg, and in fact, I always turn it up.

Don't Ease Me In Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 8.1

Disclaimer: This is part of my blog that reviews all things Grateful Dead for fun. Music is a beautiful thing because it is so personal and subjective, so keep in mind that this is one man's opinion (and be sure to read my blog manifesto to understand a little more about where I'm coming from).

Doin' That Rag - Grateful Dead Song Review

"Is it all fall down?

Is it all go under?"

Doin' That Rag gets bonus points for just being on Aoxomoxoa and is an interesting tune.  However, truth be told - this song really pales in comparison to some of the other tracks on that legendary album.

The song has an eerie slow "verse" and then a jaunty little rocking "chorus." The vibe of this song really fits in Aoxomoxoa - it seems cut from the same cloth as Dupree's Diamond Blues and Cosmic Charlie.  

Doin' That Rag has some of of those timeless Robert Hunter lyrics which I always assumed set the song in some bygone era:

one eyed jacks and the deuces are wild

however upon closer scrutiny ist seems that the song could almost be set in the "present day" (of 1969):
Hipsters, tripsters,

real cool chicks, sir,

everyone's doin' that rag 

This song was performed a bit early on in the Dead's career and then basically shelved in the early 70's for good.  I think there's been some revival of the song by Furher and/or Phil and Friends etc.

In summary, the song fits in great on Aoxomoxoa and rounds out the album, but not one that I seek out to listen to.

Doin' That Rag Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 6.7

Disclaimer: This is part of my blog that reviews all things Grateful Dead for fun. Music is a beautiful thing because it is so personal and subjective, so keep in mind that this is one man's opinion (and be sure to read my blog manifesto to understand a little more about where I'm coming from).

Grateful Dead in Cocaine Cowboys

Grateful Dead and Oakland Raiders are briefly mentioned in this scene from the movie "Cocaine Cowboys." The film is a documentary and is great by the way but as a Deadhead and a Raider fan I got a kick out of the mention.

Grateful Dead Video Game - The Epic Tour

Wow, I must be late to the party on this one but I think it bears repeating.

There's going to be a Grateful Dead video game? Amazing. I've hard rumors about this and then it would seem to be a hoax. It was just mind boggling how a Grateful Dead video game would work until this teaser video gave the game some shape. It seems to be kind of a "SIMS" oriented virtual reality game but of course there's going to be music featured so that's good.

I am actually excited about this now that I've seen the preview. That's Bill Walton narrating of course:


Also getting me excited and curious for the game is the website.

The website is really well done with a good ambient soundtrack blended from Space snippets and jam sections (been listening for 15 minutes and I don't think it's started over yet).  The site has some great interactive features.  If this site is a harbinger of the quality of the game then there's reason to get excited for sure.

Check it out here: GratefulDeadGame.com.

Why Don't We Do It In the Road - Grateful Dead Song Review

This song is a cool and funny jam that is kind of a novelty when you hear it on tapes. It was probably a really exciting surprise to see this song live at Grateful Dead shows in the 1980s.

It's not a favorite Beatles track of mine and isn't too notable musically when the Dead did it. There was no jamming, experimentation, or musical interpretation of the tune - it was played pretty much exactly as it appears on The White Album.  It's a little blues number that and Jerry would play the same rhythm figure that he would use in the JGB on Get Out of My Life Woman.

Phil and Brent sang this song in unison which is kind of interesting.  If anything, the fireworks for this song would be provided by Brent who would really "showboat" vocally as the song progressed. Hearing Brent belt out the final choruses is reason enough to listen to this song in its entirety when it comes up in on a tape.

For some reason, this song reminds me of Gloria and Louie Louie - cover songs that came around during the Brent era and aren't too polished or notable except that people at the shows probably had a heck of a great time hearing the familiar tunes.

Even if you aren't too knocked out by the song - it is so short (clocking in at less than 4:00), it's a pretty harmless addition to any set and a fun listen.


Do it In the Road Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 6.2

Disclaimer: This is part of my blog that reviews all things Grateful Dead for fun. Music is a beautiful thing because it is so personal and subjective, so keep in mind that this is one man's opinion (and be sure to read my blog manifesto to understand a little more about where I'm coming from).