1205 MATRIX 19:47
Probably not from this date, but this is how it circulates.
Main theme at 1:59.
Sputnik (pretty much, anyway) at 9:42.
Main theme at 13:14.
Main theme at 15:16.
Bright Star at 15:40.
Main theme variation at 19:00.
Garcia comes in at :47 with what is essentially a statement of the verse melody, and sort of noodles it out from there. Phil is very active again here (this is sometimes said to be Jack Casady, but I think this is definitely Phil; the bass sounds the same as it does on the first version listed on this date, and it sounds like Phil’s playing). Garcia sounds like he’s trying to change things up a bit, as with the other Hartbeats versions I suppose. There’s a bit of the verse melody again around 5:30, and elsewhere it’s woven into Garcia’s leads as he spins some variations; as ever, his playing is often very melodic here, and usually seems rooted in the basic melodies of the song in one way or another, even as he investigates other avenues. At 8:05 Jerry and Phil start doing some heavy riffing, with Phil playing chords on the bass. Garcia comes out of this with some striking runs; he’s developing a sense for drama in his playing that will perhaps see its most striking, and anyway its most well-known, formulations on 1969-02-27. At around 9:40 Phil starts pushing the tempo just before Garcia begins playing what is more or less Sputnik. Garcia varies Sputnik a bit here; at around 10:07 it starts to transform into something else which is a kind of variation on Sputnik that we don’t, I don’t think, hear elsewhere. Phil plays a sort of high, peppy line around 10:17 but soon abandons it and starts playing chords again, and then he and Garcia start playing more deliberate lines, as the tempo seems to vary a bit again. At 11:38 Phil begins a rolling, bluesy figure that gets things moving again, but he doesn’t stay with this long either, and at 12:20 Jerry hints at Bright Star and then the main theme. Kreutzmann comes in with the full kit at 12:48, which is a welcome change; up until this point, it’s essentially a guitar/bass duet with a little percussion. Phil signals for the main theme at 13:08, and Garcia takes him up on it at 13:14. Garcia’s tonal palette seems narrower on these Hartbeats versions, but he switches to a rounder tone at around 13:20. At 14:06 Garcia seems to put on a little tremolo, and he sounds like an organ; he repeatedly plays 4 notes for over a minute and lets Phil blow before stating the theme, and then Bright Star. It gets rather spirited at this point, and then the energy starts to dissipate, with some Sputnik-like runs and a few partial stabs at the main theme popping in before the end, and the recording fades out just as they seem to be returning in earnest to the main theme. Once again, although the full band is missed, this is a kind of low-key pleasure nonetheless…
What was said:
Whew, you really analyzed that one! Keep up like that and you'll be writing pages for each '69 Dark Star!
So that's the last of the Hartbeats Dark Stars....pleasant diversions, but one question is, did they influence the later development of Dark Star? Are there new elements here that will come up in later fall '68 versions?
As far as Jerry & Phil, I think not....the Dark Stars won't get longer for a while, and guitar/bass duets won't really happen much in Dead shows for a while either. They don't approach these loose jams the same way they do Dead jams, where things are much more scripted out.
But maybe one thing to listen out for is the percussion. All these Hartbeats versions had drums kicking in at some point, which has barely been a feature of the Dead versions so far at all, but I'll guess that from this point we're going to hear more drums in the Dark Stars. And that SG is bound to show up soon!
I like this Dark Star jam too, for what it is. We don’t know when this one was actually performed but it has a late night, approaching the dawn, smoky room kind of vibe to it. Guitar/bass duet with a bit of percussion is a good way to describe the bulk of it. Billy coming in with his full kit and cymbals then gives it a more jazzy feel for a spell. I quite liked the baby Bright Star too; it still packed an emotional punch despite its brief appearance.
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