Jan 21-22, 1975 - or, the case of "7/21-22/74"

Some years ago I came to the conclusion that the Garcia/Saunders tapes (er, filesets) labeled as 7/21/74 and 7/22/74 were mixed up and mislabeled -- it was pretty obvious that what circulates as 7/21/74 couldn't be from one show.  I did some close listening to where the tape cuts were and came up with a convincing reassembly of these fragments that made more sense.  I can't think of another way to reassemble these fragments that would work, so I just went ahead and reordered/retagged them and have been listening to my own modified version for a while, so I figured I would expand my usual listening notes with the full argument.  JGMF has covered the unlikeliness of the tapes really being from 7/21 & 7/22/74, and it seems far more likely that the real dates are 1/21 & 1/22/75 at the Keystone in Berkeley.  JGMF has also confirmed that the lineup on these nights was unusual: Tony Saunders on bass (all of 19 years old, I believe) and Gaylord Birch on drums, in addition to Martin Fierro, Merl Saunders, and Jerry Garcia. 

Tony Saunders, from the back cover collage on Merl's s/t 1974 album

The music on these tapes is phenomenal and, in a few instances, utterly unique, and I believe that the confused presentation of these filesets has caused this music to be overlooked by all but the most fervent Garcia fan (no knock on anyone who was part of the distribution chain of these tapes, of course).  Maybe you are someone who hasn't given them close attention for this very reason.  If that describes you, dear reader, then read on and listen anew and be wowed.

In the interest of saving the fine print until the end, I will dive into the music first and assume you're willing to buy my reasoning re: the dating and organizing of this music as closer to what was actually played. 

On a contextual note: it is established that,

• Ron Tutt joined the band in December 1974, prompting the formal name change to Legion of Mary several months later.  Even after LOM was formalized as a band, there were still occasional local listings for "Garcia & Saunders" gigs.  This meant that Tutt was not present for whatever reason (more info; there was no Elvis conflict in Jan 1975, fwiw).
• In 1974-75, Merl Saunders was performing concurrently with his own band, Aunt Monk, including Tony on bass and Martin Fierro on sax.  Garcia would occasionally show up at these shows as well, playing material both familiar and unfamiliar to him from the Garcia/Saunders repertoire (more info).
• Despite being two separate bands, there was the occasional overlapping of personnel between Garcia/Saunders and Saunders' own gigs.  One such overlap were three remarkable shows in June 1974 where Tony replaced John Kahn on bass, which I have covered here.  
• The musicians and repertoire on these tapes in question seem to live right in the middle of the venn diagram of Garcia/Saunders and Aunt Monk.

 courtesy JGMF (surprise!)

 1/21/75


The Harder They Come - very fine, with an excellent groove and feel, especially compared with many 1974-75 performances that I often find more plodding.  Interestingly, it sounds like Fierro is playing his usual tenor with lots of wahwah during the song itself, but soloing on a higher-pitched horn (a soprano maybe?  I am sure it's him and not a guest, and you can hear him fiddling with his tenor again shortly after his solo is over).  After a high energy finish, Jerry announces the set break.

When I Die - the reel cuts in at the beginning.  This is funky!  and arguably one of the best of the versions that we have (at least until the next night!).  Merl & Tony play a cool little rhythmic figure that they keep up throughout most of the solos, and Birch absolutely nails this.  There's a snafu near the end when Merl finishes his solo and Garcia jumps back in, not hearing that Merl has transitioned back into the bridge of the song.  No harm done.  Afterwards, someone (either Tony or Birch?) laughs, "whoo! yeah, Jerry! what's up!"  Garcia noodles around a bit and someone asks,"wanna do it? you gonna do it?" which prompts:

Pennies From Heaven - They shift gears into classic organ combo mode for Garcia to serenade this standard from the 30's that is probably associated with Louis Armstrong as much as anyone else, although Garcia's idol Django Reinhardt is among the many who also recorded it.  There are plenty of examples of Garcia hanging with Saunders on jazz material that was not his typical forte, but it's amazing to hear him taking the lead here in digging into a standard like this!  He's clearly having a blast, even if he's chewing the scenery just a little bit.  Fierro solos next, then another quick chorus from Garcia, then Merl.  Just as his solo is ending, the reel cuts off and cuts back in as they go into the head of the song, with very little missing.  It sounds like folks are patting Garcia on the back when they're done: Merl says, "that's good!" and someone else adds, "that's all right!"   [edit 2025: Legion of Mary also played Pennies From Heaven on 2/28/75! please oh please, someone circulate this tape!]  Then Garcia suggests, "we could do Reggae Woman."

Boogie On Reggae Woman - Excellent again.  At this point, there were only a small number of performances of this on tape (it became a staple for LOM in 1975), but they are all on top of it tonight.  Check out after the last verse how they keep it going a little longer, verrry quietly.  Nice touch!

Some inaudible off-mic talk follows.  After Midnight and Mystery Train are mentioned.  Merl and Tony play with the beginning of Creepin' (Stevie Wonder), until Merl suggests, "why don't we just - you wanna do Wonderin'?  Wonderin' Why?"

Wonderin' Why - sounds wonderful, if not all that different from many other wonderful versions.  Then Garcia counts right into a stompin' How Sweet It Is.  This one is interrupted by another reel flip, missing a bigger chunk of music this time.  He says good night, and the crowd sounds particularly appreciative and vocal with their thanks.

Well then.  This was amazing.  Top drawer Garcia/Saunders, in outstanding Bettyboard sound.  What could be better?  Glad you asked:


1/22/75

After Midnight - this cuts in at the peak of Fierro's solo, so watch your eardrums.  But it's really hot!  High temperature stuff.  Afterwards - Jerry: "You wouldn't happen to have any matches, do you? ... but don't even worry, don't worry about it."   Then, a guy in the crowd: "Jerry, want a hit, man?"  Jerry: "Do I want a hit, man?  No thank you, I just had one."  Classic.  Merl calls the next tune.

When I Die - Betty's mix is a little hot, but so is the playing.  As hot the last version was, this one is even better and also a few minutes longer.  My goodness.  This time, rather than jump right into the bridge out of Merl's final solo, they opt to keep jamming loosely for a little bit before wrapping things up.  What a version!  C'mon, deadheads, you all need to hear this.

You Can Leave Your Hat On - this takes things down a notch, perhaps inevitably given how high energy the first two songs were.  But it ain't bad at all!  There's another small reel flip in this one.  Notice how during Merl's solo (after the flip), Garcia is messing around a bit with playing octaves a la Wes Montgomery, something that he did occasionally in early 75 and another clue as to the dating of this tape.  Afterwards, someone says "we can only do one more" and Garcia counts off

That's What Love Will Make You Do - Birch's beat here is distinctive from other 74-75 versions and this feels a little stiff at first, but they loosen up as the solos gain momentum.  Garcia's guitar volume drops @4:23, and I wonder if he blew a tube or something else, but he plays on without a hiccup.  Nice near miss @11:02 when he catches them by surprise by repeating the "when you speak of beauty" break, but whoa, they all nail it anyway!  Amazing.  "We're gonna take a break, we'll be back pretty soon."

Cucumber Slumber - the first of two tunes unique to this show.  The oft-repeated story behind Weather Report's Cucumber Slumber is that bassist Alphonso Johnson came up with its classic bassline in the studio and the tune was a spontaneous jam (although the album track is actually a second take made after some evident arrangement, including a melody played in unison by the sax and keyboards; lots of info here) .  The song moves back and forth between two distinct sections, one in Db7 (the band is playing this section as the album track fades in) and one in E7 (with Johnson's famous bassline), with a transition between the two.  Weather Report spends more time jamming in the Db7 section, although the E7 section is probably what most listeners remembers about the song.  If you want a more technical explication, see Mark Frandsen's analysis in his dissertation on Weather Report's bass players (which clarified all this info for me).

Tony commented at etree, "that was a song we played with Aunt Monk and Jerry liked it so we played it together."  Their arrangement is looser and emphasizes the E7 section almost entirely, with Tony holding on to that bassline for all its worth.  Like Weather Report, they begin playing in Db7 briefly (it sounds maybe like Fierro is alluding to Weather Report's melody, though they never play it), but once they get into the E7 section, they stay there for a long time: both Fierro and Garcia solo, and when Merl's turn comes, he leads everyone into the Db7 section briefly (this is around 9:15) and then back into E7 for his extended solo, and then another turn for Garcia.  During Garcia's second solo, things get looser and the playing becomes more interactive and "jammy" (Tony abandons the bassline for a little while as well).  They shift back to the Db7 section in the final few minutes, and wrap it up by playing the transition figure at the end.  Wow!  Given that they're mostly jamming out on one chord, everyone has plenty of room to flex and they all sound comfortable digging in. 

The Harder They Come - a little looser in spots, but this is still great and like When I Die from this show, it sounds like they're pushing a bit further than the prior version.  Check out how they get real quiet at 12:16 for the end of Garcia's solo -- he's playing the melody and Martin creates a guitar-like effect by tapping the keys of his horn while working the wahwah, which leads right back into the vocals.  Very cool, and something I don't recalls ever hearing in THTC before.

What's Going On - the second unique song.  I'm sure plenty of folks with gigs like Merl's were playing this tune in the early 70's; one way to approach it was to have everyone solo over the form of the entire song, like this version by organist Johnny Hammond Smith.  But Merl also must have heard Donny Hathaway's incredible live version which features both vocals and a keyboard solo over just the instrumental bridge of the song.  Notably, Hathaway also made a minor but pretty hip adjustment to this part by adding some additional changes (hear it in his solo).  Merl opts to have it both ways: Fierro plays the tune on flute, and then he, Garcia, and Merl take a turn soloing over the entire song form, which imho makes for some unavoidably long-winded solos.  Everything glides along well enough but a bit sloppily, with the tempo wavering and speeding up as it goes.  But after Merl's solo ends (at 16:20 into the song) he shifts gears and solos again, this time just over the instrumental bridge, like in Hathaway's version.  Everyone goes for another round of solos, but now it sounds like they're finally taking flight, since no one has to follow the contours of the actual song and can just dig in and blow.  The cut at the end is negligible, just a fraction of a second.  Wow!  Overall it's a little shaky, but is redeemed by the funkier second half.  And given what a unique performance this is, it's hard to be too critical. 

How Sweet It Is - another high-energy set closer, with no cut this time.  The last 50 seconds of dead air as they break down is a nice touch: "awright, Jerry, cut that shit out!"

I am out of superlatives.   Much like the June 74 shows with Tony, these performances are both unique and, despite a few looser-than-usual moments, feature some incredibly high caliber playing.  Mid 70's solo Jerry doesn't get much better than this, and if you haven't spent time getting up close and personal with these tapes, you really should.


THE RATIONALE

If you've made it this far, I am sure you cannot wait to hear how I came up with this order for the songs.  These are the digital filesets for these tapes as they circulate:

"7/21/74" = jg1974-07-21.jgms.93mins.sbd-Betty.117653.flac1644
"7/22/74" = jg1974-07-22.jgms.146mins.sbd-GMB.86198.flac1644

And if you split the filesets into reels, based on the tape breaks (the tape runs continuously between songs unless noted), you get this:

7/21/74 d1t01 [18:24] Harder They Come > "we're gonna take a break"
7/21/74 d1t02 [13:01] /When I Die
7/21/74 d1t03 [15:56] Pennies From Heaven//

7/21/74 d2t01 [12:32] /After Midnight
7/21/74 d2t02 [18:40] When I Die
7/21/74 d2t03 [11:32] You Can Leave Your Hat On//

7/21/74 d2t04 [3:18] //How Sweet It is > "see y'all later"

7/22/74 d1t01 [3:30] //"instrumental" (actually the ending of Pennies From Heaven)
7/22/74 d1t02 [22:34] Boogie On Reggae Woman
7/22/74 d1t03 [17:21] Wondering Why
7/22/74 d1t04 [5:06] How Sweet It Is//

7/22/74 d1t05 [6:16] //You Can Leave Your Hat On
7/22/74 t1t06 [13:07] That's What Love Will Make You Do > "we're gonna take a break"

7/22/74 d2t01 [21:27] /Cucumber Slumber
7/22/74 d2t02 [19:43] Harder They Come
7/22/74 d2t03 [26:26] What's Going On (tape cuts the last second)

7/22/74 d2t04 [10:32] How Sweet It Is > "thank you, we'll see you all later on."

Then rearrange the reels like this to make the pieces fit together.  I can't think of any other way to arrange the music that makes sense:

"reel #1"
7/21/74 d1t01 [18:24] Harder They Come > "we're gonna take a break"
7/21/74 d1t02 [13:01] /When I Die
7/21/74 d1t03 [15:56] Pennies From Heaven//

"reel #2"
7/22/74 d1t01 [3:30] //"instrumental" (actually the ending of Pennies From Heaven)
7/22/74 d1t02 [22:34] Boogie On Reggae Woman
7/22/74 d1t03 [17:21] Wondering Why
7/22/74 d1t04 [5:06] How Sweet It Is//

"reel #3"
7/21/74 d2t04 [3:18] //How Sweet It is > "see y'all later"

"reel #4"
1st set:
7/21/74 d2t01 [12:32] /After Midnight
7/21/74 d2t02 [18:40] When I Die
7/21/74 d2t03 [11:32] You Can Leave Your Hat On//

"reel #5"
7/22/74 d1t05 [6:16] //You Can Leave Your Hat On > "do one more" 
7/22/74 t1t06 [13:07] That's What Love Will Make You Do > "we're gonna take a break"

"reel #6"
7/22/74 d2t01 [21:27] /Cucumber Slumber
7/22/74 d2t02 [19:43] Harder They Come
7/22/74 d2t03 [26:26] What's Going On (tape cuts the last second)

"reel #7"
7/22/74 d2t04 [10:32] How Sweet It Is > "thank you, we'll see you all later on."


This means that the actual shows would look like this:

one show:
end of 1st set:Harder They Come (7/21) [18:24]
complete 2nd set:When I Die (7/21 d1t02) [13:01]
Pennies From Heaven (7/21 + 7/22) [15:56+3:30]
Boogie On Reggae Woman (7/22) [22:34]
Wondering Why (7/22) [17:21]
How Sweet It Is (7/22 + 7/21) [5:06 + ? + 3:18]


the other show (nearly complete?):
1st set:After Midnight (7/21) [12:32]
When I Die (7/21 d2t02) [18:40]
You Can Leave Your Hat On (7/21+7/22) [11:32+6:16]
That's What Love Will Make You Do (7/22) [13:07]
2nd set:Cucumber Slumber (7/22) [21:27]
Harder They Come (7/22) [19:43]
What's Going On (7/22) [26:26]
How Sweet It Is (7/22) [10:32]


I believe that the two sets from the latter show are from 1/22/75, because these versions of When I Die and The Harder They Come are better than the ones from the other show: both are played longer and with more apparent ease.  They are all more careful when ending When I Die, and THTC has some unusual interplay that seems more likely to have happened when they were more comfortable with the tune and each other.  I know that doesn't prove anything, but that's how I am choosing to label each show. 

Why 1/21 & 1/22/75?  It can't be 7/21-7/22/74, but the provenance of the tapes is pretty good and those dates had to come from somewhere.  I know that when I write 1's, they usually look like 7's [edit: JGMF sent a pic of the tape reel boxes and yup, Rex Jackson wrote 1/22/74].  And I am usually still writing last year's date when it's only three weeks into a new year.   The existence of G/S gigs on those dates plus some stylistic details all point in the same direction. 

edit: Just to make sure I am giving credit where it is due, the understanding that these tapes couldn't be from July 1974 is all JGMF's work and research.  I came to the Jan 75 theory on my own, although I know others have arrived at that same conclusion, likely all stemming from JGMF's blog.  The reel re-ordering was from my own listening.

1/22/78 at 40

1/22/78

I first heard this jam when I was 15 years old.  It was broadcast on the Grateful Dead Hour which, to the extent of my adolescent ability, I think I tried to tape whenever I could (but I don't think I was very good about actually following through with this).  I have a very distinct memory of this one, however: the memory of lying in bed at night, lights out ("you've got school in the morning!"), boombox tapedeck running, headphones on, and having my mind BLOWN WIDE OPEN by this Other One>Close Encounters>St. Stephen>NFA>Around.  I can now see that it was sometime the week of May 2, 1994.  At that point in my nascent deadheaddom (deadheadness?), I was well versed in Live/Dead and Europe '72 and probably One From the Vault and had a shoebox-sized collection with some respectable tapes: but this, my goodness, this was a whole other thing.  I was already on the bus, but this was like finding a few back rows where the cool kids sat.  The excitement of the moment hasn't faded and the rush of feelings are still there on the special occasions when I revisit this show and this jam in particular (gotta start with the Terrapin, though).  Now I'm able to enunciate why: the deliriously intense segue out of Drums, the unusually extended Other One jam, the drippy Garcia solo space that climaxes with the famous Close Encounters quote, the spot-on perfectly timed segue into St. Stephen, that wild 'n wooly early '78 guitar tone, the spotless tape quality -- you know, you've heard it -- but I wasn't hearing any of that when I was 15.  What I was hearing is best summed up by this bit from Nick Paumgarten's 2012 New Yorker article on the band (one of the best single pieces of writing I've read about them), writing about the culture of tape collecting:

"Each [tape] had a character and odor of its own, a terroir. Some combination of the era, the lineup, the set list, the sound system, the recording apparatus, its positioning in the hall, the recorder’s sonic bias, the chain of custody, and, yes, the actual performance would render up a sonic aura that could be unique. Jerry Garcia claimed to be a synesthete—he said that he perceived sound as color. Somehow, I and others came to perceive various recordings, if not as colors, as having distinct odors or auras."

That’s the extra something this show will always have for me.  I can smell it.  I remember exactly what I imagined, laying there in dark, that the stage must have looked like: small stage, band soaked in sweat, air thick with smoke, amps piled high with beer bottles, roaches, cigarette stubs, crowd pressed right up to the band's knees.  I'm sure that is not at all what the stage actually looked like (in hindsight, I'm sure I had no idea that McArthur Court was a college gynanisum), but it's what it sounded like to me.  I had never heard anything so immediately, viscerally transporting.  Or maybe, probably, I had.  I must have.  I remember a lot of musical moments in many songs that made me jump and holler as a younger kid, but none of them stand out as vividly over 20 years later -- I remember that some serious flying leaps used to happen during the Eleven>Lovelight transition on Live/Dead, but I don't have any memory of feeling like I was standing there actually watching it.  Almost exactly six years later, I heard another show from this period for the first time, one that came to nearly equal this one in my personal canon, 2/5/78 (thanks Dick!)  But it didn't have that same terroir. 

May 1994 means that I already actually seen the band in person, once (3/27/94, at Nassau Coliseum).  This departs from all kinds of standard narratives about the band, but I don't remember being moved nearly as much by the show.  It was good, I treasure the memory of it, and I had fun -- I mean it was 1994, but I didn't (and still don't) think it was a bad show, given the circumstances (the Dew, man, the Dew!).  I'm sure I felt lot more strongly about it at the time.  But I was also 15, too dorky to catch more than a contact buzz, I stayed in my seat for most of the show, and I was pretty sleepy by the end of it (and, lest you think I was high out of my mind during that 1/22/78 epiphany: I assure you I was not).  While it seems lame in some regard to have more affinity for hearing a tape than for seeing an actual live performance, that's the way it's sorted itself in my memory. 

Anyways, I know what I'm doing tonight.  I recommend you do the same.

PS. Also, can you think of many post-77 shows where the major heavy-duty jamming all happens after the drum solo?  There are a few, but I can't think of very many.

PPS. The next week’s GDH episode was the Dancin'>Franklin’s from 10/27/79.  That and 1/22/78 made for a 100 min cassette that was pretty potent, to say the least.

June 1974 with Tony Saunders

your blogger's old cassette.  Oh, for the halcyon days of tape cuts and mislabeled songs.

Yeah!  Managed to slide in one more before 2018!  JGMF did the work years ago to establish the historical particulars of these gigs, so I won’t rehash those too much: here are his listening notes on 6/4/74, 6/5/74, and 6/6/74.  Notably, all three of these shows feature Merl’s son Tony Saunders on bass instead of John Kahn.  From a historical standpoint, Tony’s presence puts these in a grey area regarding the persnickety issue of “what band is this?,” a question blurred by the fact that Garcia was an apparently frequent guest at Merl’s own gigs around this time.  The particularities probably won’t be teased out any further than JGMF has already teased them.  I’m still tickled, however, by the image of Garcia rolling up to some bar with his guitar and amp in his trunk, then a week later playing at the Oakland Coliseum.

I wish I could find some older pictures of Tony and Merl, btw.  His first paid gigs as a teenager were with Garcia & Saunders.  This little pic of the two at Fantasy Studios is all I could find, from Tony’s site:

Gigs at the Lion’s Share were more laid back and off-the-beaten-path: most tapes of the few circulating shows there all have that flavor, and 6/4/74 may have the most of it, with a rich warm Betty Cantor recording to capture it all.  The uniqueness of some of the material is likely what marks this show for most folks, but the expansive nature of the playing earns its place on the list of the best of Garcia/Saunders 1974 shows.  Darben the Redd Foxx was a tune by saxophonist James Moody that seems to have had some pull with jazz musicians in the 1960’s but nevertheless seems like a totally left-field choice for this band.  They lay down a smooth, straight-down-the-middle midtempo swing that rolls along for 17 luxurious minutes; Garcia understandably sounds a little tentative at first, but he digs in and is on top of things by the time his second solo comes around.  Many heads don’t appreciate Martin Fierro’s playing and while he did have a tendency to overblow theatrically at times (which I imagine was probably much more effective in person than on tape), there’s none of that here: Fierro is totally in his element, unraveling cool, focused lines through his solos.  A very cool and unusual sound for these guys.  Tony and Bill Kreutzmann (I’m pretty sure it’s him) lay down a supremely bouncy groove to start Expressway, but halfway through they all fall into the trap of cycling endlessly through that descending chord progression “jam” with increasingly less and less to say, with Fierro and Garcia repeatedly deferring to the other and noodling around to no great purpose.  The rhythm section wins again, however, on a great Second That Emotion, better than most from this time.   Even better still is the magic they conjure on Merl’s Wonderin’ Why.  I always like the feel of this song, but this one is particularly satisfying as Garcia and Fierro weave circles around each other in the first main jam; their interplay here makes this one of the best versions I know.  A bluesy, blustery Soul Roach ends the first set.

To underscore the jazz club ambience, they pull out another rarity in Miles Davis’ classic All Blues, and Garcia et al follow the form of the tune, each taking a few choruses over the simple, timeless changes, at first resisting the urge to stretch.  But after returning to the melody, Garcia and Fierro start wandering off the page as Merl tries keeping it rooted to the changes, resulting in a gentle freeform tug of war that sounds great.  Martin brings it back home with another blues melody at the end [edit: I think he's playing the the main melody from the tune "One Mint Julep"] -- it’s a neat twist to end another long, relaxed jam that only could have happened at the Lion’s Share.  Local blues guitarist/singer Alice Stuart comes up to sing New York City (an “original” that’s not too far removed from Jimmy Reed) and the band sound great chomping down on a straight 12-bar blues.  The Harder They Come has a choppy, funky groove that works well, and they do better than usual with this one until a little “when/how do we end this?” snafu at the end. Then Dixie Down ends things on a soulful note.  It has its ups and down, but I’ll forgive a show like this its warts: much like 7/5/73, it may not rise to the tighter standard of other ‘best’ shows of the period, but its perfectly realized vibe and groove make it a real stand-out of the year.

City magazine June 1974, courtesy @joyatri_vintage

6/5/74, another fine Bettyboard, is missing its first set (the full tape seems to exist since we have a tantalizing setlist from, I presume, Rob Eaton).  Alice Stuart returns for the second set, this time with her guitar in tow — I wonder if she was the opening act for these two nights?  But, first, things get off to bumpy start: Fierro does no one any favors by test-driving some extreme electric effects on his flute on La-La which is, frankly, unlistenable.  The wahwah pedal was a component of his sound in 1974-75 (he, along with numerous other saxophonists, followed Eddie Harris’ example of using electric effects on their acoustic horn), but the effects really don’t work here.  Ouch.  Stuart evidently arrives onstage midway through Finders Keeepers: you can hear Betty adjust Garcia’s guitar in the mix @6:37 and Stuart takes the final solo.  It’s nothing all that inspired (and probably not what she usually played), but hearing another lead guitarist onstage with Garcia in this era is most unusual -- let alone a female lead guitarist at all -- so this certainly deserves a nod for historical importance.  Stuart doesn’t sound totally familiar with Dixie Down either, but she dishes it out on the blues chestnut Kansas City, adds a nice chicken scratch rhythm and some nice licks to another fine Harder They Come, and is in her element holding her own with Garcia on That’s All Right Mama.  Ultimately this set is more a curiosity than a must-hear, but this must be one of the last times on tape that we hear Garcia casually trading leads with another guitarist like this.  With some big doings on the horizon with that other band of his, Garcia must have been having a blast.

PS: after all this, I realized that there’s a video of Alice Stuart and her band at Winterland from 2/2/74 — haven’t checked it out yet, but I’m looking forward to.
http://www.concertvault.com/alice-stuart-and-snake/video/id-do-it-for-you_-1665489645.html

On 6/6/74 they were back at their homebase in Berkeley, with Tony still subbing for Kahn.  Rather than a Bettyboard, we are most fortunate to have a top-notch Louis Falanga aud recording that’s one of the best he made, with mics set up right by Garcia’s monitor (the soundman’s voice is audible a few times) yet capturing the whole band with a nice balance.  After some atmospheric banter about a buzzing light dimmer, a loose and somewhat sloppy Someday Baby lazily gets thing rolling, and Expressway follows a similar trajectory as 6/4, although Garcia leans into it harder as things start to sag and drives it home with a forceful ending.  From there on, however, it’s all gravy.  He Ain’t Give You None sits happily in a fat, wide groove, and My Funny Valentine (which is prefaced by Garcia, off mic, “we haven’t done that in a little while”) is a picture-perfect textbook version of this band’s signature jazz tune  without a stumble or any hint of dissonance or weirdness — not that I mind it when they took this one outside, but they really seem focused on getting the most from the material here.  A heated Second That Emotion (check Garcia’s final solo!) ends the first set.  The tape cuts back in with some spacey fooling around and Garcia chuckling loudly at Fierro’s noodling before the real bombs drop.  Merl’s My Problems Got Problems, only ever played a handful of times, was never done better than this: the groove is incredible right from the drop, and by 10 minutes it becomes so unmanageably funky and I won’t detail the kind of moves I’m making while I listen.  Talk about a stone cold killer!  21 minutes compared with the puny 8 minute version from a few weeks later.  As they futz around afterwards, Jerry says “oh hey, let’s do that, Tony… let Martin start it” and off they go into Darben the Red Foxx again, but with a different, more march-like, staccato rhythmic feel (more like the arrangement on various jazz records) and a tense, edgier feel overall.  Unlike the more leisurely 6/4 performance, Fierro brings it back to the melody after 11 minutes, then they float off into spacier realms, flirting with all-out dissonance over a terse, sparse groove for another 7-8 minutes before they play the melody again and end it for good.  A hare-brained and high-energy How Sweet It Is rounds out the night.  Incredible!  As tasty as the whole show is, the 40+ minutes of Problems/Darben is some of my favorite playing this band did during that great year.

Then, y’know, like 36 hours later, Garcia was at it again with the Dead throwing down one of the most bananas Playing in the Band jams of all time (and, incredibly, Louis Falanga was on the scene again -- the man deserves a medal!)  But I’ll leave you to peruse that one on your own.  All in a day’s work for 1974!

9/29/77: two things for your consideration

https://archive.org/details/gd1977-09-29.sbd.cantor.gmb.96027.flac16

…so, given what Garcia said in the interview about this show, of course I couldn’t resist checking it out: 9/29/77 at the Paramount Northwest in Seattle, a brokendown old 4000-seater that the Dead had also played in ’72.  What the bandmembers reportedly liked or didn’t like doesn’t usually line up with what I like or don’t like, but I can never resist checking out a left-field recommendation like this, particularly when its a show I had ignored in the past.  Overall, it’s a lovely Bettyboard tape of a solid ’77 stomper, nothing too fancy, save for two remarkable things:

The first set closes with an unusual powerhouse trio: Sugaree, Let it Grow, and Franklin’s Tower.  Um, whaat?  The Sugaree is marred by a nasty cut in the second jam which axes some prime moments of excitement, but there’s still plenty to enjoy.  Let it Grow is a nice exemplar of their fall ’77 strengths, and is remarkably good given that they hadn’t played it in almost a year (the last time was 10/2/76).  That's no small feat, but they must have been feeling good enough to roll out another 17 minutes of Franklin’s Tower!  It bounces and rolls along like the gentler ’76 versions rather than the raging spring ’77 ones, but it’s such a nice surprise and they sound so fully locked in that I loved every minute of it.  Despite some long cruising stretches, there are plenty of moments to treasure: try Jerry crooning around 13:30 over Donna’s and Bob’s soft backing vocals.

The first half of the second set is unremarkably well played, but the post-drums segment is worth a look and imho is the highlight of the show.  Truckin’ had recently returned to duty at Englishtown a couple of weeks prior, so it’s a little stiff at first, but they open it up into a strong jam with two nice peaks, then change gears and ease down into a great Stella Blue as smoothly as can be.  Stella is beautifully executed, with a gorgeous solo and a final jam that begins with Garcia on slide for a bit, then slowly brings up the intensity for another surprising yet silk-smooth transition into GDTRFB — the effect is similar to the more famous Stella>NFA from 12/19/78, if somewhat less powerful.  They’re flying high now, and after a satisfying AWBYGN coda they break off a final Johnny B. Goode and a sweet Uncle John’s encore, two songs that I hold to be signs that the band was acknowledging that something unusually special had just happened. 

There are plenty of ’77 shows that most anyone would understandably reach for before this.  But if — like me — it’s taken you this long to catch up with this one, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised by how sweet the band sounds during that last lap around.  According to Garcia, so was the band.

7/3/77: throw the windows open wide

Jan 13 12, 1977, courtesy David Brady

While 1977 was a storied year for the Dead, the JGB wasn’t hitting the same stride.  There seems to have been some experimentation with personnel — pedal steel guitarist John Rich was apparently offered a spot in the band and played three gigs with them in Dec 1976 (he turned down the offer), and there is an unknown rhythm guitar player who plays at a few shows in early ’77.  Keith was also experimenting a bit with a Moog synthesizer, which didn’t last for long (he also played it intermittently on some of the earlier GD spring tour shows).  The Dead were working on Terrapin Station in Los Angeles and playing their typical amount of shows, and Ron Tutt was also on the road a lot with Elvis in the first half of ’77.  My guess is that they just weren’t in their usual groove, and I think this shows in a lot of earlier ’77 JGB shows, most of which leave me pretty cold.  Given how up in the air things seem to have been, I can see why there weren’t a lot of sweet spots.

Not that there aren’t any: the 6/23/77 benefit gig and the first Pure Jerry release from July 1977 have their moments, and I’ve always been partial to 8/7/77 (this older source).  For the past couple of days, I’ve been relistening to 7/3/77 at the Keystone Palo Alto, a wonderful Bettyboard tape of the second set, and it’s as sweet as can be.  It’s not perfect, but it’s got a lot going for it, particularly if your summer priorities are pretty modest.

It's five songs in just under 70 minutes.  The Harder They Come is a tune that doesn’t always do it for me — more than other songs, it often seems to reveal the weaknesses of whatever lineup was playing it — but this one is, oh yes, just exactly perfect to my ears.  Ron Tutt must been brushing up on his reggae chops and sounds excellent here, throwing down like, well, not like Kingston’s finest, but about as well as a first-call Nashville session guy in 1977 was going to sound on this stuff.  Jerry and Keith are both in top form, and, unusually, Maria Muldaur appears to be providing the sole backing vocal.  I believe Donna was recovering from an illness and didn’t make the band's brief east coast trip a few days later, and she appears to have skipped these two Palo Alto gigs as well (July 2 and 3).   Muldaur was no stranger, of course, but I don't think she had sang onstage with Garcia since '74.  She was still involved with John Kahn, but maybe she was also returning the favor for the band's appearance at her recent benefit?  I wonder if her presence did something to inspire them tonight.  Simple Twist is also a cut above: again, Tutt rises above his usual excellence, keeping things dynamic and interesting, and Jerry gives it his all vocally (check the “he woke up, the room was bare” verse).  Mystery Train chugs and simmers like the best ’77 GD Big Rivers in slow motion.  Knockin’ is the only blemish: it sounds like they were still ironing out the kinks in the newer arrangement that the JGB played for the rest of their career (straight tempo verses > reggae chorus), and, like most other versions, it doesn’t really need to be 16 minutes long, but all is forgiven when Jerry starts pouring out his heart in those solos.  An early Tangled closes the night, with a much lighter feel than later versions, and some quietly strong solos that are hitting the spot for me today.  Three Dylan tunes out of five?  That may be some kind of record.

Did I mention that this tape sounds fantastic?  Thanks again, Betty!

Muldaur's then current album

9/2/74: it's nice to be back in the park

Quick [edit: ha!] hat-tip to this fantastic show, the mid-74 Garcia/Saunders band playing a one-set outdoor benefit in Golden Gate Park's Marx Meadow, lovingly recorded by Betty-Cantor Jackson.  As tempted as I am to make a big deal of the fact that it's a rare solo Garcia outdoor show, it's probably not that big a deal: Garcia/Saunders had played in the park that April (no tape), at the Santa Barbara Bowl in October (no tape), and at El Camino Park in Palo Alto the following June (tape!).  But Garcia's side bands usually were confined to indoor clubs until he outgrew them in the late 80's, and I suspect that being able to play out in the open would fire him up a bit more than usual.  Another thing worth pointing out is that the contrast between the GD world and "Garcia solo" world is particularly wide here: while the increasingly insular/unruly/semi-dysfunctional Dead organization had been dragging their Walls of Sound (two of them!) around the country and were about to take the whole coke-fueled circus to Europe in a few weeks, Garcia's side band was wrapping up a month's worth of local club and benefit gigs with an afternoon outdoor performance at his old stomping grounds in Golden Gate Park.  I think it's safe to assume that the guy was more than happy to be there.

Wall of sound...

6/30/74, courtesy James Anderson (no hard feelings, I hope)

vs. toadstool of sound?

9/2/74, courtesy Ed Merrin, though I've also seen this dated April 74?

Local color is supplied by this Berkeley Barb review, and amazingly there's a 4 minute clip of video (see jgmf) that reveals a remarkable amount about this gig.  We know for sure that Billy Kreutzmann is drumming (I would bet money that he was also drumming the night before, officially released in the Pure Jerry series, which erroneously credits Paul Humphrey), and that there's a second guest saxophonist that may be Snooky Flowers, and that there's at least one major equipment breakdown, which may indicate why this tape seems to have more buzzes and glitches than the average Bettyboard (given that it was probably a funkier technical situation than the usual circuit of Bay Area clubs?)

Anyway, the music is just wonderful: "simple precision and mountain lake clarity" indeed.  I presume it was a more-or-less 90 minute set, if Second That Emotion was the first tune (it sounds like Betty's getting her mix settled, so I'm assuming it was).  Expressway to Your Heart particularly soars -- as much as I love this song, I find G/S performances of it tend to be a little draggy as often as not, but this one really cruises along at a smooth pace from start to finish, and Garcia is in prime form.  The video reveals that Sitting in Limbo breaks down midway, stopping dead due to some technical issue; on the tape this is edited and sounds like a tape cut, but you can hear Kreutzmann and Garcia restarting the song as it's fading back in.  Until I saw the video, I had never noticed the baritone sax, which is very low in the mix and nearly inaudible at times compared to Martin Fierro, but Flowers(?) is a cool and unusual addition -- this band was pretty open to guests, but as far as we know, those were rarely saxophonists (for whatever reason, mystery trumpet player(s) were less unusual).  He sticks around for Neighbor, Neighbor and Mystery Train, both of which are outstanding versions (Billy K knew how to really swing Mystery Train), and Fierro and Garcia glide through a top-notch La-La, a tune that sounds made for a late summer afternoon in the park.  Jerry drily announces that the permit time is up and closes up with a fast, very energetic How Sweet It Is.

Summer '74 was a good time for this band, and I have to think that the exaggerated contrast between the Dead's unsustainably huge touring setup versus the casual local nature of these gigs must have played a part in that.  The June '74 shows with Tony Saunders on bass are outstanding, and I also particularly like 8/15, 8/30 (another shorter show in excellent sbd), and 8/31.  Then the great Paul Humphrey joined in October-November on drums, which is another story for another post.

the periodic and/or prodigal blogger

Yowzers, last August was a long time ago.  My excuse?  Work, kids, post-election ennui re: blogging, playing music, reading books, new dogs, new house, work, kids, etc.  But I'm getting back in the saddle.  Big post following momentarily, but I thought I'd just say hey and not just dive back in like it was no big thing.

PS.  I live in Ithaca, NY and I know it's too late to shout out May 8, and I know everyone's probably a little 77'ed out with the new box set at this point, but a tip of the hat to the good folks who threw a great party at Ithaca's lovely State Theater on the anniversary last week.  With all due respect to the band and the guest speakers, the highlight was dancing my troubles away with a thousand fellow heads to the newly remastered 5/8/77 Dancin' and Scarlet>Fire played over a big PA system.  That Betty Cantor-Jackson sure knew how to tape 'em.  Fun!

PPS.  I do hope, however, that all you citizens of Tuscaloosa, AL are having a fine time at this very moment celebrating your own local Grateful Dead Day, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of this smokin' May 77 monster.  Keep on truckin', Tuscaloosans!

LOM 7/4/75 Great American Music Hall

Man, it's been a nice, long summer, and my work ethic is clearly on vacation.  But I've got some ideas trying to gell into a postable state, and this one was the easiest to wrassle into shape.  I've been on a bit of a Legion of Mary kick (a good soundtrack to match my work ethic) and had been paging through Howard Weiner's new-ish book Positively Garcia.  It's not without its problems, but it's still currently the only book devoted to the non-Dead side of Garcia, and it's also not trying to be any kind of in-depth history: Weiner picks his 13 favorite Garcia shows and reviews them in depth.  He's an early 80's man all the way, and only three 70's shows make the cut: 2/6/72, 6/30/72, and 7/4/75.  The first two get no argument from me, but the '75 pick surprised me (particularly because Weiner doesn't seem to much like Legion of Mary very much in the first place).  I knew it, but hadn't ever given it a critical listen, so what the heck?

a month earlier, in Palo Alto.  Not many LOM pics out there!

We are lucky to have two great sources, a Bettyboard and a fantastic Reinhart Hohlwein aud tape (which sounds like a stage mic recording, like those great Falanga/Menke tapes).  There's also a matrix, but personally I'd go with either of the pure sources in this case (an overview of the different available sources is here).  I listened to the sbd and was most satisfied.

Like most LOM shows, this one has its up and downs, but I do think this is more consistent than most.  The first set starts strong, but doesn't really hit it's stride until midway through.  I'll Take a Melody is a nice opener (it's missing from the sbd, though), then we get a slooow paced Feel Like Dynamite, even slower than most others.  Tutt and Kahn keep it tight and grooving, but it's still really slow and lagging a bit energy-wise.  This kind of deliberate extreme slowness is something I wonder about, but will save for a future post -- I know it's off-putting to many folks, but I'm fascinated by it even when it doesn't particularly work for me.  Someday Baby is one of those tunes that always seems like a good sign: not a staple of the repertoire, and not a real rarity, either, but it seems to me that it tended to make an appearance when Garcia was feeling a little spunky.  Then we get some lift-off: That's All Right Mama wasn't a common LOM tune (only one other version circulates, from two weeks earlier), but this really sizzles: unlike most other Garcia performances, Tutt and Kahn give this one a funkier rhythm, more akin to "That's What Love Will Make You Do," and less of the usual chugging rockabilly "train" rhythm.  Mississippi Moon is a song that I feel was done much better by later Garcia groups, but this one might be the best Saunders-era performance I've heard: it floats along just like it should, and Tutt throws in these nice snare rolls that remind me of Levon Helm on "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."  Boogie On Reggae Woman finishes up the set on a high note: unlike Merl's first slowed down selection of the evening, this one is actually played a little more uptempo than usual.  They're cooking now!  I particularly like Martin Fierro's sax solo, which sounds pitched up higher than a tenor sax (he's playing through a Varitone or some other electric effect, I think; I'm pretty sure it's Fierro and not a guest).  The saxophone is another thing some folks don't appreciate about this era of Garcia, but I think Fierro was usually a good stylistic fit, and this is an A+ example of that.  It sounds like we lose a chunk of Saunders' solo in a reel flip, but this is still a top drawer version of BORW before Garcia announces the break.

Tough Mama splices in to begin the second set and things are still riding high: this version was released on the Legion of Mary official release, and I'd be hard pressed to find a better one (though TM fans should check the "4/12/75 early show" version, too).  Little Sunflower is good, but not great; I appreciate the diverse nature of this group, but I don't think jazz was really their strong suit.  Tutt and Kahn could really work wonders as a rhythm section, but not always on the jazz material.  This one, at least, finds a groove and floats along pleasantly, so no complaints.  Garcia gets everyone's priorities back in order with a strong Tore Up Over You, breaking out his slide for a little bottleneck action near the end that sounds pretty strong; then he eases back into a wonderful Every Word You Say, really shooting flames in that excellent final solo.  Merl's My Problems Got Problems is a solid one, not quite stirring up the the voodoo soul stew like the best 74-75 versions, but plenty satisfying.  I've never been a huge fan of It's Too Late but Garcia breaks out the slide once again and this one may be as good as they got on this tune.  Similarly, I also don't have a lot of love for these Tutt-era Harder They Comes, which tend to plod along and never get off the ground.  As tight as they are tonight, this one didn't feel much different -- it's a little bit of an anticlimax, perhaps, but they do kick up the energy for a flashy loud finish, which I appreciate.

Ups, downs, definitely more than just another night at the office for this band, but I don't know that it makes it into my own imaginary list of the greats.  For my money, Legion of Mary doesn't get much better than 5/21/75, and 5/15/75 is up there as well.  Still, 7/4/75 is a strong one and it's held up to a few repeat listens over the past few days.  Unfortunately, this July 4th weekend run of shows (the 4th, 5th, and 6th) was also the last stand for this group: Saunders and Fierro were left aside, apparently with little warning or explanation, and Garcia, Kahn, and Tutt began the first official Jerry Garcia Band a few months later.  This has always been a blurry spot in Garcia's history (and not one that reflects well on Garcia), but from a musical standpoint I think it makes a good amount of sense: without speculating too much, I don't think it's a stretch to presume that lumbering funk jams and jazz tunes weren't what Garcia wanted to play anymore, and I suspect he didn't see the band as ever going in a substantially different direction.  Weiner asserts in his book that Saunders' tunes don't "successfully co-exist" with Garcia's, and that Saunders and Fierro hold back the x-factor that flows freely whenever Garcia steps up for a solo.  I don't buy that explanation myself: there are nights, particularly in some of the fall '74 Garcia/Saunders shows, where Saunders and Fierro are totally on it while Garcia seems like he's treading water, and I tend to side more with the JGMF school of thought that Garcia playing challenging and unusual material tended to bring out more positive dimensions to his playing.  On the other hand, it could feel at times like Garcia was more like a sideman in the Saunders/Fierro band, though, and I can see why that would have naturally ran its course.  Other reasons (economic ones certainly) certainly came into play, but I don't see much mystery in why Garcia parted company from Saunders for the time being.  They did go out on a high note, at least.


Some final thoughts:

Check your hard drives and see if you agree, but I think the fileset circulating as 6/18/75 is a duplicate of this show: it's a different, lower quality aud recording and is clearly incomplete, but what's there sounds identical to the 7/4/75 performances, minus the instrumentals.

Amazingly, Garcia played the GAMH 30 times between 1973-1976.  Corry at lostlivedead did an excellent post on the Dead's famous 8/13/75 Great American Music Hall show, with some excellent background color on the venue:
http://lostlivedead.blogspot.com/2014/08/august-13-1975-great-american-music.html

Also, during this same 4th of July weekend, Bob Marley was playing only a few blocks away at the Boarding House, with an additional show on Monday the 7th (broadcast on KSAN, circulating widely, and currently available here if you're interested).  We have tapes dated July 7 of the Dead working at Weir's studio -- I wonder if Garcia & co. crept on down to the Boarding House afterwards to, um, let off some smoke after a busy few days? (figuratively speaking, obviously)

Academy of Music, March 1972

Charlie Miller has just released his transfer of 3/25/72, the Bo Diddley/GD show, which finally means that every note from the 1972 Academy of Music run is now circulating for our listening pleasure.  Until pretty recently, these shows represented a big hole in what is arguably the greatest year of the band's career.  There were always poor aud recordings of most of these shows, but none of it circulated on sbd at all until a few years ago, and it's only been in the past few months that about half of these sources entered the general public circulation.  Yee haw!  Thanks, Charlie!  I believe most (all?) of these derive from that mysterious third batch of Bettyboards, the ones that are still being held by a guy who bought Betty Cantor's equipment cases at auction and discovered the moldy reels, which were eventually cleaned up by Rob Eaton (correction: not Rob Bertrando).  I think?  There seems to be a lot to that story that remains untold.

Anyway, eat it up, music lovers:

https://archive.org/details/gd1972-03-21.sbd.miller.92395.sbeok.flac16
https://archive.org/details/gd1972-03-22.132726.sbd.miller.flac16
https://archive.org/details/gd1972-03-23.sbd.miller.100000.sbeok.flac16
https://archive.org/details/gd1972-03-25.133593.sbd.miller.flac1648
https://archive.org/details/gd1972-03-26.133303.sbd.miller.flac16 (also Dave's Picks 14)
https://archive.org/details/gd1972-03-27.132366.sbd.miller.flac16
https://archive.org/details/gd1972-03-28.132729.sbd.miller.flac16 (also Dick's Picks 30)

No reviews for now.  If you've forgotten about it, go listen to the very unusual and very beautiful Caution > jam > Uncle John's Band from 3/22.

And, for your reading pleasure, here's a fun contemporary article on the whole crazy week:
http://deadsources.blogspot.com/2014/09/march-21-28-1972-academy-of-music-nyc.html