0: The Studio Version

The "Dark Star" single (2:42) was recorded on November 14th, 1967, and there is also an instrumental outtake from that same date:

Dark Star (Outtake)

We didn't discuss the outtake much, so make of it what you will (Garcia's review is negative: "It drags like that!").

The single was released in April, 1968, and failed to conquer the charts, purportedly selling only 500 copies. It was, however, included on the 1977 compilation What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been (which is like calling a compilation of music by The Fall They Are Always Different; They Are Always the Same--i.e., no one need utter that phrase in connection with the band ever again).  Since a lot of people presumably have been introduced to the band through this compilation--which was certified Platinum in 2001--it is perhaps not correct to call the single obscure. Still, it's probably not in the top one hundred things most Deadheads think of when someone says "Dark Star." 

Indeed, many of us, myself included, are devoted "Dark Star" listeners, and I can at least speak for myself in saying I only had a vague idea what this recording sounds like before this week. However, I am speaking for many of us when I say: we liked it! It's a delightful bit of Indo-Latin psychedelic folk music, and would deserve to be remembered even if it didn't eventually turn into Dark Star. 

It begins with the familiar Introduction Theme, which goes at a rather brisk pace. At :05 the song proper begins as the Repetitive Organ Riff (ROR) commences (if you see any unfamiliar terminology in any of these posts, check the GLOSSARY, which will remain the featured post, and is also available under the tag "Reference"). 

The vocals, which begin at :14, are either double tracked or sung by an ensemble (Garcia with either Lesh, Weir, or both, although the only clearly recognizable voice is Jerry's.) Lesh's playing is already very distinctive here, and there are several guitars, including an acoustic. It is also possible to hear a droning tanpura in the background, played by Hetty MacLise. MacLise's husband Angus was involved with La Monte Young's Theater of Eternal Music, and was also the first drummer of the Velvet Underground.

The introduction is reprised immediately after the verse, and a swelling gong is introduced to the mix. The second verse immediately follows at 1:20, after which we hear the Closing Theme. 

As the song ends, the tanpura swells in volume. Underneath, it's possible to hear Robert Hunter reciting some leftover lyrics:

Spinning a set the stars through which the tattered tales of axis roll
About the waxen wind of never
Set to motion in the unbecoming
Round about the reason hardly matters
Nor the wise through which
The stars were set in spin  

At the very end, there is an incongruous snatch of Scruggs-style banjo, which Garcia said was from a tape he made for someone to whom he was giving lessons. 

What was said:

This version reminds me that dark star is a meditation on a riff played over and over again like an endless waterfall. When I close my eyes I see a premonition of the acid dropper in the nehru jacket featured in the march 1968 carousel poster done by the artist Steve Catron.

Just listened to the studio Dark Star. Probably have only listened to it a few times ever and not in a long time. To me it really has this closed in, in your head sound especially due to the mostly dry, non reverbed harmony vocals that drift in and out. Amazing how expansive in time and space the song would evolve into.


Jerry was (often) a great editor of Hunter's words.

I absolutely adore the mono 45rpm single version of Dark Star. For me, it’s one of the great songs of the 1960s San Francisco scene.

Yes, it is a song, first and foremost, before it became a jam vehicle.




So I just listened to the studio Dark Star for the first time. You couldn't predict where it was eventually going to go from the original. I was surprised that the outro was part of the original composition. I always assumed it was the intro to St. Stephen.




I love it, it shows a very different incarnation of the song, an alternate lilting psych-pop Dead with the hazy Indian-type trimmings popular among psych bands at the time but that the Dead never used again. And, for its brevity, they sure stuff a lot in there.....it's more about mood and texture than extended solos, and it stands out among the Anthem-era recordings as being entirely a studio-made piece.
The early '68 live versions are also fascinating, not only do I like the tone of the band at the time, but Dark Star starts out almost totally non-improvised, all composed parts, then little by little Garcia adds more baroque extensions and digressions to his playing. And it's so speedy....then vroom into China Cat!




I first heard it on the "What a Long Strange Trip it's Been' comp, and it was always my favorite track on the studio disc. It's also a hidden track on the 2003 reissue of Live/Dead, and I know they reissued the single b/w Born Cross-Eyed, which has a few different mixes. Garcia remarked some time in the 80s that he didn't understand the affection for Dark Star, as there was so little to the song itself, and since they incorporated the kind of exploration that once occurred mainly within Dark Star into every show, but I think he was wrong on the first count. The original recording is strong evidence.




Having been recorded in November of 1967 it demonstrates that the lessons learned in the making of the first album were applied to this little musical snapshot. Layering of ideas, instruments, and sounds, better pacing, playing a song as a studio track instead of "live in the studio"- all of these are hallmarks of a young band standing on its feet and taking a few good steps. Plus the song is simply a natural!




I'll just add that the studio version to me is so much more intimate and concise than the later live versions (which are of course incredible) that to me it almost sounds like some mystical ancient song that people be played by a campfire late at night.




It's almost like what they now call "Freak Folk" or something.




The studio version is fast paced and brief but I dig it. I’d forgotten about the little bits of Indian influence and banjo as well as the additional lyrics at the end that have been pointed out. With all that and the acoustic guitar too it’s a cool blend of sounds particularly on headphones. The 11/14/67 studio outtake was nice to listen too as well; I hadn’t heard that before.




It's really the ur-text isn't it?