123091 Family Dog 47:33
Garcia, Lesh, Wales, Kreutzmann, Hart, unknown flute player
See Mr. Rain's comment for a play-by-play summary. Wales is too groove-oriented to get to any of the kind of group improv we hear the Dead do with this, at least for very long. His keys sound really jarring at first, but he adds some nice jazzy sounds at 1:27, then gets into some kind of funky thing. At 3:40 it sounds like Garcia’s trying to initiate something new, with a descending chord pattern, but this kind of peters out. It starts to wander for a while then, until Wales takes off around 5:30 and Mr. Rain’s play by play begins.
It hasn’t been very cohesive, although maybe the weird mix with Wales so high adds to that sense. When the drums kick in at 7:05 it comes together more. But it’s so different, it’s hard to follow the interactions here the way one would on a GD version.
Garcia takes off with a couple almost latin-y solos between 8 and 9, and scattered thereafter. There’s a lull right before Garcia inserts the theme at 11:20. Wales plays along with two rhythmic chords that transform the theme into something else, and Jerry starts soloing again. As Mr. Rain says, it starts to get kind of good here. There’s a nice peak at 13:20.
As it settles into a lull with a Garcia lead around the 15 minute mark, Wales seems impatient as he gets back to some grooving before a new direction can develop, and then he takes the lead at 15:50. The Other One-ish section beginning about 16:40 starts to get pretty exciting. Garcia alludes to Other One quite a bit in his solo that starts around 18:10. I agree with Mr. Rain that Wales seems more suited to this kind of thing.
Around 20:20 there’s a drop into three, then Garcia starts up with a Clementine-type thing at 20:37. It builds up for a little while, then drops back…then Garcia starts taking the lead more. Everything sounds much better when it kicks into stereo around 22:25, so maybe the mix was prejudicing me against this to an extent. Still, even though there are very cohesive passages, they don’t seem to be entirely working it out together this outing.
At 23:25 there is a very nice passage, with melodic Garcia. They descend into space. At 26:10 Wales starts some funky space jive and Lesh starts up the main theme underneath it, then Garcia comes in with something midway between the two, and then it migrates away from Dark Star again. About 27:40 Garcia starts playing a powerful lead that at times alludes to Dark Star, if obliquely.
Really nice section starting at 30:30, kind of a Latin flavor but slow and swinging. This doesn’t last long, but they get back into something similar again a few times. There’s some nice riffy jamming from about 33:30 or so; the call and response with Garcia and Wales beginning at around 35:00 is pretty hot.
At 36:00 Lesh starts the main theme again, and Garcia joins him briefly. Garcia seems to signal the main theme again a bit after 37:00 but it doesn’t go there. They seem to be switching grooves at lightning speed here.
There follows a couple false endings and some wandering. Finally Wales starts a groove and it gets going again a bit, at times with a three feel. At about 43:33 Garcia starts a nice solo with the band finally settling on 6/8, for now…but the time remains slippery. Finally it goes into an Eleven jam.
If the best Grateful Dead versions are a journey (as hackneyed as that sounds!), this is more a series of episodes. Several could be highly effective if dropped into a GD Dark Star, but there is no real rhyme or reason to this, they just continually cast about for a new groove. At first this made it kind of dull, but as it went on it got more successful as they started to hit it more often. So, sort of a curiosity, but a very instructive one to listen to, in the context of this project.
What was said:
Mr. Rain:
I agree Wales is a difficult match with the Dead. "Group improv" on their usual level just isn't going to happen....they haven't played together before, they're feeling each other out, and Wales isn't about to follow the Dead's usual patterns like the 8-3-69 players did. They do "kind-of-Dark-Star" stuff for a while but Wales zigzags away on his own path. Not surprisingly, it gets more cohesive whenever he lays back and plays less. But it's not terrible, it's just more like the random Matrix '68 jams.....it's still the Hartbeats after all.It's cool that when they had jazz guests at the Family Dog, they brought out Dark Star to jam on....with two very different results.
This one's episodic for sure, and it's funny that the Dead keep trying to bring back the Dark Star theme, over and over again.....but nope, Wales isn't going to do it! It still works in the hazy "random San Francisco fusion jam" sense, and it has nice parts worth checking out, but it feels like they keep starting over every few minutes.
Mr. Rain:
Dark Star begins slow & spare. Bob isn't around so it has that kind-of-empty Hartbeats feel, but of course there's still a guiro in there. (I can't be certain Pigpen's not there...there might be congas later on but it's hard to hear.) The cassette tape's really hissy and does not sound great, especially when Wales comes in super-loud at :20. Jerry sticks to the theme and chords for a bit, letting Wales work his way in. It's obvious straight away this is going to be a very different experience than the usual Dark Star.
It sticks close to the theme for the first two minutes, then starts changing, into something more like a samba! Jerry's still playing in a Dark Star vein initially but Wales is coming from a different place...Wales isn't interested in keeping this a Dark Star. He plays very rhythmically, he's got that fast funky style like JSegel says, does lots of big organ chords; basically he plays like a leading man....in other words he's totally unlike TC. This guy's going to keep Jerry on his toes. For the first five minutes the jam stays pretty close to the ground, Jerry & Howard probing and responding to each other; Jerry refers back to Dark Star sometimes but it's a losing cause.
5:30 Howard takes a flashy solo; Jerry plays jazzy backing chords.
7:05 the drums come in -- Mickey on cowbell.
8:05 Jerry takes a short solo.
8:55 a flute solo! -- but the flute isn't really in the mix so we're just hearing the distant echo. Truly a free-for-all at the Family Dog. (Strangely, Howard's chords here sound a lot like Bob's China>Rider transition.)
9:50 Jerry solo. Howard's bringing out a different side of Jerry, this isn't how he usually sounds within the Dead.
10:50 they quiet down for a pause.
11:20 Jerry brings up the Dark Star theme; this time Howard joins in with Dark Star-ish chords.
12:15 Jerry solo over the chords. Getting hotter.
14:00 they quiet down again for a more gentle Dark Star-type stretch with Jerry in the lead. Howard backs off for a bit, but not for long, and the previous theme makes a reprise.
15:30 Phil plays the Dark Star line, connecting the jam back to DS again.
15:50 Howard solo, zipping away from anything DS-like.
16:45 the drums start playing an Other One beat, maybe by accident, and Jerry & Phil kind of join them....this suits Howard's frenetic style better. Jerry's still sporting those jazzy chords.
18:10 Jerry solo; he and Howard have a nice little call & response section.
19:20 Howard solo while the others are still in an Other One groove.
20:20 they do a dramatic slowdown into more of a Clementine-style waltz tempo. This may suit Howard's jazz inclinations better, but he stays quiet at first.
21:40 Jerry in the lead, but it seems like everyone's holding back, feeling out the new groove. After 22 minutes there are some volume dropouts, but then...
22:25 stereo at last! Much better -- with the instrument separation it sounds closer & more involving. Jerry's solo continues; a strong jazz feel.
23:15 they slow down again; this sounds like they're winding down to a conclusion.
24:05 the "finish," but the music keeps dripping out like a leaky faucet as they don't quite stop. Now they're floating in space!
24:55 a quiet space: Mickey's gong, a flash of insect weirdness, volume twirls, an organ drone. In the whole performance this part comes the closest to an actual Dead vibe.
26:15 Howard starts a new pattern over Phil's Dark Star line, and Jerry lays a funky line on top while Mickey raps his gong. It's like a funk cover of Dark Star here. They take this rhythm for a little walk.
27:40 Jerry solo, short but nice.
28:30 Jerry backs off but Howard doesn't take the lead, so they just keep the rhythm going.
29:20 Jerry solo in a different style...it's like he's trying on different guitar personas throughout the jam. The rhythm gets heavier. (Naturally that calls for more cowbells from Mickey after 30:30.) Howard starts winding things down...
31:20 there might be a small tape cut here, but it sounds like hardly anything's missing. They hover over organ chords; short but hot Jerry solo.
32:20 Jerry & Howard have another call & response section, more worked-out. Jerry takes over at the end and...
33:25 Jerry starts a dirty rock & roll riff. The other guys like this and the energy goes up. The jam gets heavier; Jerry stays in the lead and does more call & response with Howard. This part sounds like a more typical '60s hard blues-rock band.
36:00 Jerry's ready to move on and Phil signals the Dark Star line again. No takers; instead they scoot ahead in a kind of Allmans-style jam (sounding like Liz Reed).
37:00 Howard starts a new cha-cha rhythm on the organ. The drums & bass are game but Jerry isn't going for it, so it ends quickly.
37:35 they pause and hover over an organ chord again, once again sounding like this might be the end, but...
38:10 Howard solo. And this one's really an organ solo; the others mostly keep out of it and let Howard go on by himself.
40:05 the solo ends in a big gong & drum crash. Is it over? No, the jam's still ticking... Howard starts a new lead while Mickey taps the claves in a Latin-esque feel, but Jerry & Phil don't get involved.
41:25 Jerry free solo over no real rhythm, just drifting.
42:10 Howard starts a quick new rhythm (kind of like a sped-up Clementine) and this time everyone joins, getting more engaged.
42:50 Howard solo over the rhythm.
43:30 Jerry solo. Very nice; the best solo was saved for last.
45:50 Jerry starts a new ascending line; the others join him; Howard's more restrained now and playing chords on the side, so it's sounding more like the Dead.
46:35 a last little solo from Jerry; as this winds down Phil does a small Dark Star hint again at 47:20, but...
47:33 all of a sudden they're playing the Eleven. Now we're back in classic Hartbeats territory and they stick with it, more comfortable with a familiar theme!
When the Eleven's ending at 16:00, Phil briefly quotes the Dark Star line again as if to tie the whole long series of jams together.
But there's very little Dark Star here...just a few minutes maybe. Here it's used just as an introductory theme in a jam session; they riff off it for a little while and then depart to whatever else catches their fancy. Still an interesting jam overall, for fans of Garcia & Wales. Wales sounds like a challenge to play with! They change directions every few minutes and keep it fresh -- sometimes it's aimless and sputtering but it doesn't get too dull.
JSegel:
This Family Dog show with extra guys is sort of hard to judge this as a Dark Star, the recording is mostly Howard Wales ripping on the organ! I hear some Dark Star intro themes and a few times ‘Garceeah’ alludes to it within the next hour of jamming. (Honestly I don’t get the Archive.org track separations, there’s some Dark Star melody licks in the tracks labelled “jam” also.) Regardless, Wales is awesome, but by the time the mix is ok on the recording, they’re jamming on something else. It’s a nice jazzy session. No DS verses or anything, just an intro and then modal jams. It doesn’t sound like Wales knew the tunes beforehand, the things he places within the “Dark Star” and The Eleven are interesting but definitely out of left field with respect to how the band had presented the song previously. He’s very into fast funky organ playing, and he’s definitely rockin’ it. JG is playing well this evening too, and Phil gets in on the funkiness as well.
JSegel:
I finally managed to go and listen through to all the Dark Stars that I hadn't heard/hadn't written anything on before I found this forum thread in Aug of 2020 and was coincidentally at Aug 1968 at the same time. One thing that really struck me was how goddam cool Pigpen's organ playing was. Not just in Dark Star, but yes, in Dark Star also. The "classical" reading of the organ in this song is the Repeating Organ Riff, with a lovely tone, wafting through it like a tape loop. I find it comforting (and I like it as a ground better than the guiro.) It's very Terry Riley/Steve Reich. BUT! His reading of the verse/chorus material is really cool, the chords with their offbeat rhythms developing toward that line two "spy theme" rhythm were right on, and the swells and "bedoop bedoop bedoop" for the "Shall we go..." chorus are genius.
It took me a while to appreciate Tom Constanten along this journey, I think he's very stiff and harpsichord-y for most of the great Dark Stars of the winter 68-69 area, and it takes until he switches to Hammond at the summer of 69 to get him to listen to other rock bands and play some chords and stuff. Though there have been instances where he sounded very Brit-psychedlia, Pink Floyd-like even, and that was cool, overall I still feel he's stiff and set in his trained finger movements more than exploring. Not that Pigpen was an exploratory player, but he was solid.
anyway, 2 more cents in the pot.
Mr. Rain:
Yes, Pigpen was solid! I think he did a fine job in '68, even if the Dead didn't think so. We've probably heard the last of the ROR by now and it will be missed.
But TC is improving! He's even been playing more chords lately, like he's finally discovering what an organ can do (although he has a preference for the most whiny tone possible). And now that they're doing real spaces at last, that's one spot where he shines.
Adamos:
The familiar opening notes quickly give way to some bleep-blop-bleep keyboard action. A version of the intro groove keeps going but Wales is prominent in the mix and has his own ideas. It still feels Dark Star-ish for the first couple of minutes or so and then it transforms into more of a fusion jam. The 47+ minute jam is a fun listen and little hints and touches of Dark Star occasionally emerge as annotated by Mr. Rain. Perhaps just enough for this to qualify as a Dark Star jam but it's really it's own thing.
Mr. Rain:
Bleep-blop-bleep was Ned Lagin's department. Howard Wales was more of a BLOPPITY-BLOPPITY-BLOP kinda guy.
There are a couple of neat Dark Star-like stretches here...like from 11:20-15:50, and the Dark Star Funk bit starting at 26:15...plus there's an honest-to-goodness space. I can imagine someone editing the choice bits from this together to make it more like a real Dark Star jam.
superstar19:
Never heard this before but was a fun listen especially knowing this was 1969. Your fusion comment is spot on. I had thoughts of "this is pointing the way to 72-74 Dark Stars" at various points while listening.
No comments:
Post a Comment