I Know You Rider - Grateful Dead Song Review

I wish I was a headlight, on a northbound train
I wish I was a headlight, on a northbound train
I'd shine my light through the cool Colorado rain

This song is obviously best remembered coming out of China Cat Sunflower hence the "China Rider" abbreviation for the medley that was adopted on cassette sleeves.

The song is listed as composed by "traditional" and early recordings are credited to the great field work of ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax (so you know this song goes way back). I've heard a dozen or more different versions from various bluegrass and Americana themed groups.  Most of these alternative takes on the song are much slower. Nothing compares to the Grateful Dead's interpretation, they really "souped it up."

2nd Set Opener (Most Commonly)

Getting China Rider is about as good as it gets to open the 2nd set in my experience (note that it also appeared other locations in the set earlier on in the band's tenure, including occasionally opening the show).  I will never get tired of the jam from China Cat into I Know You Rider.  It's just a collective swell  behind Jerry's "pedal to the medal" soloing.  This combination is one I can guarantee I've never fast forwarded through in 20 years of listening to The Grateful Dead.

Jerry's Verse

If I had to pick a favorite part, well of course it would be "Jerry's verse" where he sings the lines at the top of this blog... this is a part of the recording where you would actually prefer to be listening to an "audience recording" so you can hear the swell of cheers when he belts it out.


I Know You Rider Without China Cat Sunflower

As I said in my review of  Franklin's Tower and Fire on the Mountain, hearing the songs that are part of a famed medley (ie Help>Slip>Frank and Scarlet>Fire) without their proper predecessor just doesn't feel right.  It's like having dessert without enjoying dinner first...


Favorite Versions

I think that the versions of this with Brent are the ones are the most excellent.  The version on Without a Net is definitely one of my favorites.  I think that the song was really consistent even until the last days of Jerry playing it, but it probably lost a little fire at the tail end of the Grateful Dead (during Vince Welnick's tenure).

Of course, there's also a fantastic version on Europe '72.  I seem to be bringing up that double disc in all the recent song reviews, it's really amazing how packed that live recording is with great Dead songs.  It's also interesting to contemplate the vocal overdubs that are on those recordings.  Some day I'm going to do a close listen to the versions on Europe '72 and compare them to the soundboards from box set release of the entire tour that was The Dead finally did a couple years ago.  73 CD box set (!) Is that the biggest box set of all time?  How do we get a similar release from the 1990s??


I Know You Rider Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 9.2

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(read my blog manifesto to understand my Grateful Dead background a little more).

Note: comments are encouraged and appreciated (enter them below) but it takes several days for them to show up in the blog entry (due to a Disqus plugin issue).  

Help On the Way - Grateful Dead Song Review

During my short time of seeing Grateful Dead concerts, I let anyone and everyone know that this was the song I wanted to see most.... it was not meant to be.

Help on the Way is a true "one of a kind" song that no other rock song sounds like.  That's a pretty impressive feat.

I can't even put my finger on why it is so original - it's not like it relies on any middle eastern scales but it does sounds really good in the context of the Blues for Allah album (on which it is the opening track).

Help on the Way is a modal minor song (as is the following Slipknot!) that uses lengthy complicated patterns that are probably partially inspired by modern (at the time) jazz songs like Freedom Jazz Dance written by Eddie Harris (and played by Jerry in Legion of Mary).

Another Hunter/Garcia Masterpiece

While the song does have some great and original music what makes it amazing are the simple and catchy verses and chorus.  And as great as the chords and vocal melody are, Hunter's lyrics are even better:

Paradise waits

on the crest of a wave, her angels in flame

She has no pain

Like a child, she is pure, she is not to blame

Great imagery. It's difficult to put my finger on a specific theme or story in these lyrics but the words are beautifully mysterious and left up to interpretation.

Great Versions of Help on the Way

I originally became familiar with Help on the Way from Without a Net, and that Help>Slip>Frank medley is great, but the versions that I hear from the mid 70s are the finest in my opinion.

The 8-13-75 version on One From The Vault (with legendary intro by Bill Graham) really stands out as  a great version.  I posted a video of this performance at the bottom of this blog (thanks MyInnerEyeMike for posting that).

Also, the version from October 9th, 1976 really stands out in my memory.  I would link to this show but as the archive.org entry for this night tells us, it's been released as Dick's Picks 33 (Oakland Coliseum Stadium - 10/9/76).  I don't want to add any song spoilers but the Help>Slip>Frank progression has some extra songs mixed in to it.  This show is ridiculous - seek it out.

Lackluster Performances in the 1990s

If you read this blog much, you know how much I enjoy the late 1990's era of the Grateful Dead.

Unfortunately, almost every version of Help on the Way that I've heard from 1993 through 1995  are all  disappointingly sloppy .  The band can never seem to get on the same page for the complex passages that lead into and out of Slipknot!.  Vince Welnick definitely knew the part but just had a really tough time getting in step with Jerry.

Help on the Way Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 9.7

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.

Note: comments are encouraged and appreciated but appear slowly due to a disqus plugin issue.  It takes a while for them to show up in the blog entry but they will, so please contribute by commenting below!

Eyes of the World - Grateful Dead Song Review

This not only might be a signature Garcia/Hunter song, it might be the signature Grateful Dead song.

When you hear Eyes start, it's unmistakeable. That jazzy EMaj7 chord cruises along so nicely and the crowd will respond with wild cheers.  The little rhythmic punches throughout are just perfectly placed to make Deadheads dance.

Eyes usually tops out at longer than 10:00, and features non stop soloing by Jerry when he is not singing the verse or the chorus.  My last time seeing the Grateful Dead in Las Vegas 1995, it occurred to me that after all those years Jerry was still pushing and exploring during this song.  No two Eyes are exactly alike, and he didn't seem to have any "go to" soloing phrases that he would end up on, like he did in many other songs.  It was pure exploration and improvisation.

Lyrics by (Who Else?) Robert Hunter

The lyrics by Robert Hunter are very deep while also being vague.  I've never sat down and thought too much about the meaning behind them but they still mean a lot to me. I will also say that as I get older, the words mean different things.  Being the "eyes of the world" means to me that I am not a discrete individual but rather part of this entire greater organism that is all connected together with unseen bonds of energy.

A couple of my favorite lines are:

"the seeds that were silent all burst into bloom, and decay"

this quick encapsulation of the cycle of life reminds me of psychedelic experiences which add perspective to our place in the grand scheme of things.  Also, in later years I love the way Jerry would sing "decay-ay-ay-ay."

sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own

this line just reminds me of the sense of originality and spirit that Deadheads have.  If you've ever felt like you don't fit in anywhere in "normal society," but you've been welcomed into the Grateful Dead culture, then you'll probably like this line too.

As always, some great information can be found at the Annotated Grateful Dead lyrics site for this song, and a lot of connections are made between Eyes of the World and Buddhist philosophy.

Without a Net - The Peak of Eyes of the World?

Eyes of the World peaked (in my opinion) around the time Without a Net was recorded.  In fact, that's the quintessential version in my opinion.  Branford Marsalis brings just the perfect amount of color to that version.  I am sure there are better versions out there, but for me they would probably be from around this time.   Earlier versions (especially in the 1970's) rocked too hard and were played too fast. In the last few years (Vince era), the song was just a little too weak and meandered listlessly. Around 1989 and 1990 they really had the best of the energy and tightness combined with Jerry delivering great solos with the jazzy flavor he developed later in his life.

This song is probably very special and significant to every Deadhead. After Jerry died in 1995, I didn't listen to the Grateful Dead at all for about 10 years. In 2005, Eyes of the World came on my iPod when I was on a 40 hour train ride from Mumbai to Trivandrum in India. Staring out the window at the Indian countryside, I could finally appreciate the music and listen to it without the sense of loss that made the music too painful for so many years.  I was reborn a Deadhead that day and have been listening pretty constantly ever since.

No matter what show you were at (or are listening too), the second you hear the beginning strains of Eyes, the show becomes a much more memorable one. I've never met a Deadhead who didn't like Eyes of the World.

Eyes of the World Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 10.0

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.

On Lightning Bolt - Jerry Garcia's Controversial Final Guitar

'Lightning Bolt,' as Jerry's last guitar is referred to, has a bit of a controversial reputation.  Jerry adopted the guitar in 1993 and used it as his primary electric guitar until his death.  It is pictured above as the background to the logo for Mike's Grateful Dead Blog.

On the one hand, the tone sounds like an acoustic guitar, not like the incredibly sophisticated and "electrified" tone of Rosebud or Tiger1.  Lightning Bolt is very clear though and cut through the mix nicely.  

On the other hand, Lightning Bolt was much lighter and easier for Jerry to manage for the 3 hour Dead concerts.

On The one hand, Doug Irwin (main designer of Jerry's guitars for many years prior to Lightning Bolt)  is like a Michaelangelo to most Deadheads - and deservedly so.  For over 20 years the Grateful Dead's amazing concerts were performed with Jerry using a Doug Irwin Guitar -  from The Wolf in 1972 up through Rosebud which was retired in 1993.  Jerry left the guitars to Doug Irwin when he died - it's stated as one of the first things in his will.  The rest of the Grateful Dead (in a total dick move) intervened and prevented this from coming to fruition by claiming the instruments that the Dead used in their live concerts were property of the Grateful Dead entity, not individual performers.

On the other hand, no one really knows anything (or seems to care) about Stephen Cripe, the Florida woodworker hobbyist who crafted Lighning Bolt from watching a Grateful Dead video and mailed it unsolicited to Grateful Dead headquarters.  If you consider the unlikely story that Garcia adopted the guitar and then Stephen Cripe died when the fireworks he was making in his shed blew up (cover story for meth lab?), this story is stranger than fiction and is worthy of Dead folklore.

Lightning Bolt's Facility of Playing

Below are posted 2 sets from Richfield Coliseum on September 9th, 1993.  If you watch these (particularly the 2nd set) you will hear Jerry playing with incredible fluidity. In fact, there are times when he is utterly unconscious in the 2nd set.

While I, too, prefer Rosebud's sound to Lightning Bolt, I would definitely sacrifice some sound quality to allow Jerry the ability to more easily express himself and hit higher heights.

I actually saw the Shoreline run a few weeks before this Richfield show where Jerry introduced Lightning Bolt (according to this site).  That was a pretty phenomenal Shoreline run (by Shoreline standards).  Jerry seemed to take well immediately to Lightning Bolt because in addition to these shows there is a lot of additional great music throughout the rest of 1993.

Lightning  Bolt's 'Acoustic Sound'

Jerry was actively rehearsing and recording incredible acoustic music with David Grisman around the time Lightning Bolt showed up.  Jerry's acoustic chops really got honed during this period.  His strong fingerpicking prowess was on display not only on great albums like Garcia/Grisman and Not for Kids Only, but also in Grateful Dead concerts in the 1990s.

Jerry started adding a lot of additional voices to his guitar arrangements of Grateful Dead songs, and you can really hear his emphasis on fingerpicking in songs like Stagger Lee, Lazy River Road, and Friend of the Devil (the intro guitar riff).  So, it makes sense that he would opt for a clear sound like Lightning Bolt provided to make sure each string would ring out clearly - like an acoustic guitar. 

Behold, Lightning Bolt in a great show from Richfield.  The archive.org audio (for soundboard) is here. There will be much more discussion of this show in my next blog entry:

Richfield Coliseum on September 9th, 1993 Set 1

Richfield Coliseum on September 9th, 1993 Set 2

Thanks to "Obie's" Pictoral Guide to Jerry Garcia's Guitars for for invaluable information.

Thanks to StickyFingers44111 for uploading this incredible footage.

1listen to Bird Song on Without a Net for the incredible tone of Rosebud although I think it is actually the guitar called Tiger. 
Disclaimer: This is part of my blog about the world of The Grateful Dead. 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).

Dear Mr. Fantasy - Grateful Dead Song Review

Oh man, what a great tune this is.  I feel like Dear Mr. Fantasy should be up there in the annals of rock next to the widely considered "uber classics" like Satisfaction, Stairway to Heaven, and others.  This chord progression should be in every beginner guitarist's repertoire - perhaps replacing Smoke on the Water.  I like Dear Mr. Fantasy more than all of those tunes. I love the original Traffic version, I have a bootleg of Jimi Hendrix playing it (not that great) and I even have a version of Blind Melon doing this song....

but no one sings it like Brent.  This is my favorite Brent song, and it's not even written by him.  When the Dead slide into this tune in the second set, the show is almost always smoking, and it's going to continue to smoke for a while longer.  The vocals are so perfect for Brent's range and he always does a great amount of excellent showboating. As a bonus, Jerry sings with him the second time around the verse and chorus.  I've seen video footage of them playing this song and they seem to be having a ball.

Dear Mr. Fantasy has this kind of resigned "rolling stoned" rock and roll vibe to it that reminds me of Touch of Grey. It is a sense of saying "screw it" and accepting the role of a rock and roll entertainer. It's like saying "this isn't a good life -but it's our life, so let's celebrate it."  I'm not so much referring to the lyrics alone, but also just the spirit of the song.

Of course, a Dear Mr. Fantasy that interpolates Hey Jude into is like getting a cherry on top.  The first version that I became familiar with (like many no doubt) was the one on Without a Net.  It appears as an "encore" on that recording (or at least the last song) but it was never played as an Encore. The song was played pretty steadily from 1985 through Brent's death.

Dear. Mr. Fantasy is universally loved by Deadheads.  I certainly would've loved to hear Jerry belt it,  but I am glad they put it to rest when Brent died.  That seems fitting.

Dear Mr. Fantasy Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 9.2


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).

Bird Song - Grateful Dead Song Review

Bird Song

I was eyeing this song since I started the “songs that start with ‘B’ reviews” and during the somewhat painful review of the previous "first set rockers" I couldn’t wait to effuse about Bird Song.

This is a signature Grateful Dead song with what I consider to be Jerry’s signature lick. The main guitar refrain just sounds like the essence of how Jerry built his melodies… simple, rambling, and melodic.

The song also has a very open modal quality to it. The original studio recording (released on Jerry Garcia’s first solo album) was in the key of D (dom) but the Dead version of later years is in E (dom). There are some early live versions of Bird Song that the Dead played which sound very similar to the studio version – and frankly I don’t like these. The song didn’t really gel until sometime in the mid 80s. I would also say that I’m not too big of a fan of the acoustic versions of Bird Song (from around the Reckoning era) either. I think the song needs electricity (and midi) to realize its open modern jazz potential.

So the version that I am really a fan of is on Without a Net. This version is just recorded so well and played so well I’ve never really found a version I like more (but if you know of one, by all means – suggest it to me!). Of course, Jerry plays the midi flute on the Without a Net version and the sound of his guitar on that CD is just impeccable in general. I believe the guitar he was using was Rosebud and I’ve never really heard a better sounding Jerry guitar. I can’t remember the reason he switched to the “lightning bolt” guitar but I’ve seem to remember reading that it had great sustain and was lighter.

Bird Song is about Janis Joplin I’ve been told, but you know… it doesn’t really evoke her in my opinion. To me the song’s lyrics are a wondrous monologue from one entity about another that is the “bird” which seems to me to represent the spirit of woman, a muse, or something else desirable. Sorry to get a little abstract, but the point that I am making is that while I love Janis, I’ve never felt that this song is for or about her. (Cassidy on the other hand is a different story - that song has lines that could only be about Neal Cassady).

This song opens up with the rambling main figure, then there is a verse and a very interesting chorus and great background vocals when they sing “la la la la lAAAAAhhhh…” (you know what I’m referring to - that part is so beautiful). After the second verse the song opens up into the “jam” and I just love the way the jam always starts off with Jerry subtlely noodling over the standard song rhythm, and then the band gradually “stepping out” with him and collectively improvising based on Jerry’s leads. The jam is always spacious and ambitious – really the fact that the key rests on the Dominant I for the entire jam causes this song to really go “out there” and they swell and build with crescendos and then long spacious passages. Often time the jam will have multiple swells and then quieter passages. This is not only some of the most “spacey” improvisational type of playing the Dead did in the 1st set, it is actually one of the more routinely harmonically experimental jams the band had in their repertoire.

The open “jam” part ends with the one of the main guitar riffs pulling it right into the chorus. The jam was usually so far “out there” that I’ve notice this transition back into the song is often not very “tight” as you would expect the Dead would want it, but a worthy tradeoff for the openness of the jam.


Then one more chorus, verse, chorus and then the end of the song. The structure is very simple but the playing is always ambitious. This song reminds me of some of the modal jazz epic songs from the 70s from the likes of Coltrane and Miles Davis. It is just a great, great song with a great history and the entire band participated in it’s evolution from a simple 2 part song to an epic jam vehicle. I saw this song at my first show (Las Vegas, May 15th, 1993) and I can say without a doubt that I had no idea at that moment how great the song was and how I would listen to it hundreds of times for years to come. Now it is definitely a highly beloved Dead song that causes me great emotion when I hear it.

Bird Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 9.9

Disclaimer: This is part of my review of every Grateful Dead song from A-Z. 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).

Althea - Grateful Dead Song Review

Althea

Ahhhh, Althea. Now I finally get to review a true Grateful Dead classic song. This is an incredible song that appeared on Go To Heaven and even more notably on the live CD Without a Net. I saw 'even more notably' because by the time Without a Net was recorded the song had really evolved into a ripping and soulful first set Jerry tune. A friend of mine once told me he was die hard into hip hop and metal until he heard Althea from Without a Net and that was the watershed moment that began his life as a Deadhead.

The intro is one of the more memorable Dead licks - an electric finger plucked outlining of the main chords that recurs throughout the song. Jerry's vocals about his interaction with Althea have a great swagger and humor to them. It really brings out Jerry and Robert Hunter's sense of humor with memorable lines like:

Althea told me "Now, Cool down Boy

Settle back, easy Jim"

or how about this one:

I told Althea I was a roving sign,

I wasn't born to be a bachelor

Althea told me, "okay that's fine"

Now I'm tryin' to catch her

Then this song also inevitably had a ripping solo and build up in it too (after "you know this space is getting hot"). An absolute classic first set song and really you couldn't ask for more than for Jerry to play this one in the first set (well, I guess you could hope for a Bird Song too, but that seems almost greedy).

Althea is a song that I will never, ever fast forward through. When it starts, it is going to play until it is finished.

Althea Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 9.4

Disclaimer: This is part of my review of every Grateful Dead song from A-Z. 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).