Jack Straw - Grateful Dead Song Review

Man, "Jack Straw from Wichita."

What I would give to go back in a time machine to when I clawed the cellophane off of the Europe '72 "double CD" (yes I got into the Grateful Dead at age 17 in 1992) and heard Jack Straw for the first time.

Jack Straw was just instantly like-able, but certainly not because it was a "bubble gum" pop song that climbed into your subconscious with it's catchy melody.  Jack Staw is an epic tale with an extremely cool and original musical structure (music by Weir, lyrics by Hunter).

What imagery this song has!  What great lyrics!

Leaving Texas, fourth day of July
Sun so hot, the clouds so low, the eagles filled the sky...

I'm so partial to the Europe '72 version  I've included a youtube embed of it from youtube below.

A Song That is Eternally Fresh

In the twenty years since I started listening to the Grateful Dead, I've probably heard a hundred or more Jack Straws (mostly opening the 1st set). I can tell you that never once have I fast forwarded  through Jack Straw.  The song is just so pleasing and builds so nicely with such great lyrics and an evolving structure.  It's just perfect, and definitely none too simple.

I've also been known to crank up Jack Straw as loud as it will go when the 2nd jam starts.  This section can really reach great heights (especially for an opener) as Phil drops bombs while Jerry builds the intensity.  When you hear a great Jack Straw with Jerry playing great leads, you just know that the next song is going to be a Jerry song because he is  just 'feeling it' and is going to take over and deliver a stellar 1st set.

That's how powerful Jack Straw is.

The Creative Peak of the Early 1970's

For you Grateful Dead purists who favor the early to mid 1970's dead, I have to hand it to you, this is an extremely exciting period in the band's history.  So many of the songs that came about from 1970-1974 were incredible and became staples of the live show for the remainder of the Grateful Dead's existence . Many of these great songs are like Jack Straw in that they were never even recorded in the studio (Brown Eyed Women, Ramble on Rose, Tennessee Jed), the band was on such a creative tear.

Sentimental Jack Straw Memory

Jack Straw was the last show opener I ever saw (at the Las Vegas Sunday show in 1995). I remember getting pretty emotional for some reason when Jerry and the band walked onstage under the hot Las Vegas sun and started Jack Straw.  In the casinos during the Las Vegas shows,  you could occasionally  hear unsuspecting casino employees paging Grateful Dead characters at some prankster's request: "Jack Straw, please pick up a courtesy phone." It sure was great when the Deadheads took over the Las Vegas Strip, I will never forget those shows.


Jack Straw Rating on a Scale of 1-10:  9.9

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).

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).  

Hurts Me Too - Grateful Dead Song Review

This is a slow blues song that I associate with Europe '72 (my primary exposure to it).

When I was a young whippersnapper first discovering great albums like Europe '72, this kind of slow blues song was definitely "not my bag." But, as I get older, I think I can appreciate more the soulful vibe that Pigpen brought to songs like this.

When I hear Hurts Me Too, I am reminded that Jerry Garcia was an amazing blues guitar player who got a great slide guitar sound out of that strat (with the Alligator on it).

Hurts Me Too was written by Elmore James and his version is great (I just listened to it here on youtube.com).

Hurts Me Too was only played between 1967 and 1972.  There is a nice version of it below from the Europe '72 tour.  It was recorded at Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen Denmark (thanks to Park Lots for posting).  If you've read any accounts of this tour, you can imagine that the Dead were probably very happy to slow down and do a bluesy slow song like this - they were in the middle of a wild tour!

Hurts Me Too Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 6.5

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 it takes a while for them to show up in the blog entry (due to a Disqus plugin issue). Enter them below.

He's Gone - Grateful Dead Song Review

Like I told you, what I said
Steal your face right off your head

Many of us probably heard this one on Europe '72 first.  It's such a slow but very catchy song.   He's Gone just dishes up one legendary line after another (...nothing left to do but smile smile smile!).  This song was ever-present in Grateful Dead shows from it's inception in April 1972 right up until their final month in 1995.

I associate He's Gone with Truckin' and Estimated Prophet, it was a common choice to wind down after those 2 songs in the second set.  What is a little surprising is how often they segued into Drumz after He's Gone.  It seemed the Grateful Dead would typically rather use a higher tempo song to launch the Drums/Space portion of the show.

Hunter/Garcia Do it Again

Who else but Robert Hunter could be behind such literary (and weird) references as

Cat on a tin roof 
Dogs in a Pile... 

Hunter and Garcia made every syllable count in He's Gone.  It's actually a very short song with few words when you compare it to others.

I've read that He's Gone is about Mickey Hart's father who had mismanaged the band and absconded with a lot of embezzled money.  The lyrics could probably apply to that (as well as many other situations).

Personally, I've always somewhat imagined He's Gone as a song about a person leaving "the straight world" to lead the Grateful Dead life. I'm sure it's a reflection of the time of my life that I became acquainted with the song.

The Album that Never Was

Was He's Gone part of the canon of music from the early 1970's that comprise the "missing album" that I've heard Robert Hunter lament about from time to time?  It must, along with tracks like Jack Straw, Brown Eyed Women, and Tennessee Jed.

What I'm referring to is a soundbite that I've heard at least a couple times where Robert Hunter points out that there was such a prolific output during the early 1970s, he feels that there could've easily been another classic Grateful Dead studio album that never happened because the band was too busy with touring and other projects.  He's Gone and the other songs I mention all are classics that came out in this period and never made it onto a studio album.

Versions I Love

It's hard to top Europe '72's version of He's Gone. This is the quintessential version to me.

A later version that I recently heard and loved is from Boston Garden 1993 (from a great run of nights that I recently wrote about).

One thing I enjoy about hearing later versions of He's Gone is the extended vocal improvisation the band would perform at the end while repeating Oooooh, nothing's gonna bring him back.  There were always some Bobby falsetto histrionics and the occasional Phil "vocal bass lead" during this part which I always enjoy (but probably would appeal only to Deadheads to whom the band could do no wrong).

He's Gone 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.

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

Cumberland Blues - Grateful Dead Song Review

One of the best memories I have of the Grateful Dead is the first time I heard Europe '72.

As soon as Cumberland Blues started (the first track on Europe '72) I fell in love with that bouncy bassline and the "down home" way the band would jam that "I-V" Cumberland progression that sounds like a jug band meets a rolling train. I'm kind of not as big of a fan of bluegrass and American "roots" music as most Deadheads, but I really love Cumberland Blues.

This song is deceptively simple at first and is characterized by it's main simple motif. Cumberland Blues actually has some pretty interesting vocal harmonies and a few different sections. This song is definitely not a blues progression like the name might suggest. The band also would jam pretty hard throughout this song and step out a fair bit within the relatively simple chordal framework.

The song was played fairly regularly early in the band's career and then was put on a shelf from 1974 through 1981 (a 394 show hiatus - thanks Deadbase). The song was played sparingly through the rest of the band's career. In later years, Cumberland Blues was usually mixed into the first set and often combined with similar songs like Maggie's Farm, Big River, and sometimes followed Mexicali Blues.
The lyrics by Robert Hunter are a really interesting and abstract tale of a mine worker who labors in unjust circumstances at the Cumberland Mine. It is a snapshot of the time when large American firms capitalized off of the sweat of their laborers and didn't compensate them fairly and this is the situation that gave rise to the labor unions (which are referenced in Cumberland Blues as well). The lyric's hopeless tone is somewhat contradictory to the fun bouncy rhythm of the song, but the lyrics do fit in perfectly with other songs like Easy Wind and Dire Wolf on Workingman's Dead.

Some versions of Cumberland would get really hot thanks to the musicianship and group dynamics when the band would start really stepping out on the solo sections behind Jerry's leads. At the very least Cumberland is always a great song to hear because of the excellent lyrics and beautiful harmonies.

Cumberland Blues Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 9.3

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).