This is the first Dark Star that exists in recorded form, although they probably played it once or twice in late 1967. The introduction is cut, but it seems we join the action quite close to the beginning, on a vamp for ten seconds, with the ROR the leading voice. Jerry comes in with some lead work at :10, until the first verse at 1:06. Lead guitar starts back up at 2:00, and Jerry plays the verse melody at 2:15, with a little embellishment. Weir plays a little counterpoint lead underneath Garcia from 2:38 to 2:44, Garcia plays the Falling Star theme from 2:45 to 3:05, then a choppy take on the Main Theme beginning at 3:10. Second verse at 3:30. This then goes right to the closing theme at 4:20, after which it goes in to China Cat Sunflower.
This is a pretty straightforward take, with a little lead guitar that is absent on the studio version.
The 1/17 version and many of the renditions to follow in early 68 almost act as a prelude to the usual suite of songs to follow (at this juncture China Cat->11). It supports the fact that the band thought a lot of the song, even at this early juncture. They issued it as a single and often as the lead off for their concert experimentation. The song at this point as far as framework goes is standard and not yet earth shattering: Verse-Jam-Verse. By the Carousel shows in March much stays the same but the structure is already becoming elastic. I love Garcia's tone on the Quick and the Dead tour and the 1/17 show contains it!
I'm also a huge fan of Jerry's tone here, has an almost dirty quality to it that appeals to me. Part of the reason I don't go beyond late '71 much (of course there are exceptions) is Jerry's tone got too clean for my taste.
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!
For me there's a surprising amount of improv in Dark Star here. It's close to the studio version, but not that close, definitely some tinkering going on, which is probably to be expected.
The thing that strikes me most about the 1/17/68 Star is Weir's characteristically unique style of "rhythm" playing and how much it had already been developed by this point.
1/17/68 Carousel Ballroom moves at a quick clip and Jerry’s vocal is warbly especially at the beginning but it’s already got that magical quality to it. I also agree that it certainly sounds like it wasn’t the first ever live performance, just the first one that we have a recording for. Re: the various themes, I dig the Falling Star theme and I wasn’t familiar with that term until now. Bobby does add a nice contribution to the proceedings.
It's fascinating to hear how much these simple licks change between 1/17/68 & 2/27/69. A year later, Jerry's able to wring so much more drama out of them....
That little faint organ really ties this version to the studio version, but already this feels much more cosmic, Jerry's playing is fleet fingered yet cosmic and Phil is doing the work of the cosmic gods. They pack a lot into a pretty short period here.
SJR writes:
ReplyDelete"Carousel Ballroom, 17/01/68 -- For an early (first) live version, it’s pretty sweet. Not much jamming, but it’s fairly intricately played laying down the foundations of what was to come. A little warbly vocally, nicely concise."
(pbuzby adds: "Jerry's "warbly" vocals on those early live versions make me think of Joan Baez.")
WaterLemon writes:
"This 1/17/68 is terrific. Not just for the Dark Star, though that in itself is fascinating. And the sound quality! Anyway, one of the things I’m struck by is how “proto” both Dark Star and China Cat are. So it’s a cool snapshot into GD development..."
Posnera writes:
"Still very early, basically a runthrough of the studio version. It is notable for the "falling star" lick which we will be hearing more of.
The outro had always struck me as a modulation to get from the key of Dark Star into the key for St. Stephen, but I guess it can be used to bridge to other tunes as well (China Cat in this case)."
bzfgt adds: "We'll get a version soon that comes to a full stop (03-29) and those notes are still there at the end, so it's apparently not just a way to modulate or get to another song."
Mr. Rain: "One of the next versions coming up, 2/2/68, is one of the few full-stop Dark Stars that ends with those ending notes. That's how the single was too (banjo bit aside), so that was always part of the Dark Star composition. I think the Dead figured out right away it was just begging for another song to be attached."
On the main theme -- Mr. Rain writes:
"Later on this is pretty much the same riff Jerry plays at the start of the song (after the intro, although not in this version), and before the second verse he plays a kind of clipped, swingin' variation of it. I always thought of it as the Dark Star intro lick...
It just occurred to me that, even though to me it's the basic Dark Star riff, it's not in the single and doesn't lead off the song in the earliest live versions either. Funny to realize that one of the Dead's most familiar licks only gradually evolved through live improvs."
On the verse melody -- ianuditis writes:
"They almost always play a jam on the verse changes, including the part where it changes to Em."
Mr. Rain: "That verse-melody jam starts around 2:15 on 1/17/68, and I think it's pretty much a fixture in every Dark Star for at least another year. But it's typical of Jerry that his concept for a solo usually starts with a reprise of the verse melody."
On identifying the various themes -- Mr. Rain writes:
"In the verse melody, I think they always play the verse chords instrumentally one time through -- Garcia quotes the actual melody only for the first line or two and then wanders around.
On 1/17/68, there's the verse melody at 2:15, Jerry hits the "falling star" lick a few times starting at 2:45, and then an early variation on the Main Theme at 3:10 before the second verse.
Looking ahead to 1/22/68, there's the verse-melody jam at 2:45, then a short loose free jam culminating with a brief 'falling star' bit around 3:47. Jerry kind of teases the Main Theme after that but doesn't really play it.
The 'bright star' theme doesn't show up in the January '68 Dark Stars yet."