Europe 72: the jams, pt 4

courtesy Mark Princi (GDAO)

 

PART 4: PARIS, BICKERSHAW

5/3/72 Paris, Other One #6

They jam on the Truckin' shuffle for a bit after the final vocal, then ease down into the Other One @9:30, which the official release tracks separately. Jerry seems happy to get down into it, but then everyone detours into a magical oasis (nice touch with the organ sustain from Pigpen).  Clouds roll in: this isn't aggressive, but it's not pretty either. The ominous vibes simmer down and then @4:40 an amazing moment happens: just Bob and Phil alone for a minute, before Jerry trickles back in. It is the first of many such beautiful moments! Phil drops the roll @6:40, but no one else is ready to go there and Jerry seems to ignore it completely.  But Phil keeps trying a few more times and @8 min it finally sticks (still no buy-in from Jerry, though).  Another shining moment is @9:50 when Keith and Jerry both mindmeld and ride down a descending progression, and then Jer really comes pouring in. Wooowwww. But once again it burns off quickly and @11:40 it's just Phil and Bobby again. After a minute, Phil & Bob start building it back up, and one by one everyone rejoins, Jerry dramatically waiting until last.  After all that, this is some pretty raging Other One jamming!  Bob finally sings the first verse @17:20 and then it collapses into Drums.

Phil returns (new track here) and duets with Billy until @1:50 and then rolls 'em back into the Other One and they're back in full flight. @3:15 they shift into a brighter, major jam (Phil hints Feelin Groovy for a sec) but it quickly tilts back into the O1. The Other One/Feelin' Groovy seesaw tips back and forth, shifting modes with a really engaging and interesting flavor. The Other One reestablishes itself fully @6:20 or so, and then Jerry is off into space, with Bob and Phil quietly playing a rhythmic figure underneath. The vibe here is spacious and wide-open. By @9:30ish Jerry is steering Phil and Bob towards the edge of the abyss, but rather than plunging into madness things become starkly beautiful (12ish min now). This is amazing.  In what couldn't be a more ideal selection for this precise moment in time, Bobby strums them into Bobby McGee.  Afterwards, Jerry spirals 'em back into the Other One and at this point my powers of qualitative assessment have gone out the window. Unbelievably wonderful. 2nd verse and out. Wharf Rat. Then the Jack Straw from Europe '72. Oh yes.

This jam maintains its all-timer status for me. But it was interesting to notice that, for a lot of it, Phil and Jerry seem playfully at odds with each other. 4/24 and 4/26 both had a similar MO of both of them consistently tugging in different directions while still maintaining an incredibly high level of connection. This 5/3 jam also stands out to me, in hindsight, for having a number of moments where Jerry is letting the rest of the band establish a mood, holding back, then making a well-timed dramatic re-entry that seems fully intentional (as opposed to a technical glitch).

Good Lovin #7, at 16ish min, this one isn't one of the behemoths. They seem more eager to find some new sidepaths to explore, but are willing to come back to the main trail when called, and are pretty responsive to Pig's lead -- and Pig in turn seems fully comfortable calling all the shots.  I believe this is the first time he starts working out his "I will ride my woman, which requires both a fair amount grease and also the shifting of gears" motif (slightly more artfully, of course, but I'm sure you get the jist) as the band gets loose and spacey for a minute @10 min, then slowly amp it up as Pig eases his lady up into the higher gears.


5/4/72 Paris, Dark Star #6

Dark Star's opening jam is quite lovely, reminding me of a green canopy of trees with Jerry flying around underneath. After 5ish min, they drift lazily into an uptempo, minor-keyed jam driven by Billy's toms. None of this is really opening my third eye, but it's a perfect way to drift downstream on a warm day. The waters get a little bumpy and around 11 min and they hop off the boat and onto land right into Dark Star and the first verse @12:10. Jerry sounds husky. There's an immediate drop-off into a very quiet space afterwards (1970 style), just Phil and Bob at first. Jerry emerges after a few minutes, but this never builds up to anything intense -- I assume there's some equipment problem, since folks are yelling off mic and Billy winds up soloing for 2 1/2 minutes. They reenter into a similar space, very quiet at first, and finally Jerry threatens to get hairy, but doesn't. After maybe 6 min of this, they ease off and collectively opt for something prettier, sailing off into a bright, brisk jam: Jerry is operating within the Dark Star parameters, but Phil and Bob are thinking Feelin' Groovy, and the resulting uncertainty is a joyous thing to behold. Jerry appears to be actively resisting the Feelin' Groovy jam, then finally succumbs at 10:45... but it feels like the magical moment has passed. Nevertheless, they skip through the sun-kissed dewdrops for a bit, before Jerry again begins to assert Dark St (heads up @13:20 when he turns the wahwah back on, I love this bit). @15:25 he succeeds in bringing them back, and then actually sings the second verse! (first time this tour). They do the old-school ending and wind it down into Sugar Magnolia (the one from the E72 album, btw).  40 min total for this Dark Star, including the drum solo, but not one that stands with the greats from the era.

Good Lovin' #8 opens the 2nd set and has a more relaxed feel and slightly slower tempo than others.  At 22 1/2 min, the boys certainly take the scenic route, but actually never really wander too far off the road.  Pigpen never really hands the wheel over, and also seems like he's taking his sweet time with his lady tonight. I was getting lazy with my note-taking, but there's a distinctive descending chord progression at one point that the band jams on for a bit (not Mind Left Body) that I don't recognize from other Good Lovin's from this tour. The long roundabout digression at the end as they circle back to the finale is also pretty sweet. imho this is one of the better ones of the tour so far.



5/7/72 Bickershaw, Dark Star #7 > Other One #7

We probably all know that this festival was a rainy, cold, muddy mess, and I am probably succumbing to the power of suggestion, but this Dark Star does feel a little stormier right up front. I hear Pigpen thickening the stew with some maracas and maybe other percussion (it's low in the mix, but this is the first time I've noticed him doing this on this tour). The band interaction feels a little more kaleidoscopic tonight, rather than the more linear approach of the last two versions. 5 min of Dark Star jamming, then Jerry and Bob drift away while Billy and Phil rumble along below. This begets that jazzier, kind of Playin-ish, minor-keyed jam (not the Phil jazz theme) that rolls along briefly before Jerry comes soaring back into the major Dark Star modality. This is great. They land in another oasis and drop the rhythmic momentum, though it never gets too spacey or atonal -- I really like Bob's chord voicings in here. @12ish Jerry swims back to Dark Star, but then an amusing cat & mouse game begins as they pull back and forth between Dark Star and creepier space: Phil cues DS, Jerry defers for weirdness, Phil drops a big space bomb, Jerry sidesteps right back into DS. Ha!  @14:30 they're back for real and Jerry sings the 1st verse. They build to a big dramatic A chord, then ease down, splashing around, seemingly unsure whether to commit to a spacey meltdown or not. They do not. Billy takes a solo.

Unusally, the Other One comes out of Drums, and also has a more dense feel to it, now in part because Pigpen's organ is very present: louder in the mix and more active than usual.  Check how @3:25 he even prods Billy into a brisk 6/8 swing for a few bars. I hear you, Pig! Jerry brings 'em to a peak. @4:20 they all ease back, Jerry eventually maneuvers into a minor key, Billy lays back, they float, Jerry brings them back up to the O1 by 9 min and Bob sings the 1st verse @10:25. Pig even alternates fills with Jerry between the lyrics. @11:30 they pull the brakes and slow things down (Jer and Bob surreptitiously tune up), and set sail for a long Space. Just Jer, Phil, and Bob at first, Keith back by @16:35, Phil starts to get aggressive, Jerry comes and goes. This is all mostly atonal space, not a lot of drums, everyone doing a very slooow burn, but it never wanders down the Tiger path. By 23 min it's Phil and Jerry apparently revving up for a meltdown/throwdown duel, but it turns into more a playful joust instead.  @24 Bob locks into a repeated one-note groove and pulls everyone with him, and @25 they burst back into a full-band jam and that feels almost like a blissed-out Dark Star peak to me. Wowww. @27 they veer back to the O1, rage it for a bit, get to the second verse @29:40 and the outro folds into Sing Me Back Home.

Hugely satisfying to have these two played back to back like this, even though the boys don't sound like they're in a truly divine space. Both versions are 2nd tier for this tour. But what does that even mean anymore, man.

Good Lovin' #9 is a hair under 20 min. Pigpen is in great shape, directing things right at the top of the jam, easing back into a similar mellow groove as 5/4 around 11 min in (again with the "changing gears" motif). @13:30 Jerry climaxes the jam with a repeated single note that powers right back into the Good Lovin riff. Haven't heard him do that one yet! Nice move. But Pigpen ignores the cue and keeps his rap going. Yeah, Pig! He's going for it tonight (breakin' them rocks from dawn til doom). I also detect Jerry teasing "Tequila" a few times after 16 min (lol).  This Good Lovin' wasn't as powerful as 5/4 for me, but the unique climax to the jam and Pigpen's extra moxie gets the gold star.

And they also play Lovelight tonight. Like the one on 4/26, it's not at the level of the Good Lovin's from this tour -- but unlike 4/26, Pigpen at least takes a crack at delivering another rap, albeit less coherently than his spots in Good Lovin'. Jerry plays a little nasty slide guitar @9:35 and even teases Caution at the end... which would be too good to be true, so they wrap it up with GDTRFB>NFA instead.