What's the deal with Jerry?

[rklisme]

Cary  
 
I think you answered your own question by saying you just don't get it! I too don't get it and I am not trying to. You could lock me in a room to listen to whatever piece by Garcia or the Dead and the only thing I would want to do is escape. That being said you are dealing with a musical icon and there will be no solid explanation as to why that is, it just is! The great thing about life and music is there are so many choices to enjoy. I am sure all these suggestions that were made to you are fine examples of Jerry Garcia and if you want to listen and learn then you will have to open your mind to that expierence. If you are like me you will just go listen to something that you enjoy.
 
Rory

[lbpesq]

Chew on this for a while:  
 
Without Jerry, there's probably no Alembic!  
 
Happy New Year everyone.  We're off to Cirque Du Soleil.
 
Bill, tgo

[kilowatt]

Spose,
I was at that Kean College show back in 1980. Now I feel old!  
 
I also think, as many of you have stated, you either like the Dead, or you don,t. I personally went to see them well over 150 times. When they were on, they could be amazing. When they weren't, it could be somewhat grating.  
 
One of my favorite live tunes is China Cat/I Know You Rider. The band could really get rolling in the middle part between the two songs.
 
I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year!!
 
 
Pete

[crgaston]

(Sorry if this seems a bit anachronistic; I started it about 6 hours ago, got distracted, and came back to find it sitting here unposted.)
 
The problem, studiorecluse, lies not in naming a song where Jerry is brilliant, it lies in naming A  song where Jerry is brilliant.  There are literally thousands of shows available, and hunderds of examples of some of these songs.  I could say listen to The Other One, but which version?  In a way, because of the nature of the band, you have to have some experience with the music to fully appreciate what it is they are doing.  As an analogy, in the context of conversation, if someone makes a relevant quote and you are unfamiliar with what's being quoted, it loses some of it's significance.  Also, the music, and this song in particular, evolved heavily over the course of 30 years. Listen to a bunch of examples of The Other One, and you'd have a much better idea. The easiest way to do that would be to go to www.archive.org , go to the Grateful Dead section, and start reading show reviews to find people's favorites. Maybe some others will offer suggestions as well? I will start you off with two, 4.5.91 (streamable only) and 4.2.90 (available for download).
Charles

[tom_z]

Cary - perhaps my post was a bit too lengthy and you didn't get to the section where I attempted to answer your question - so here it is again:
 
Guitar Player magazine did a feature on Jerry in December ? here?s a link:
 
http://www.guitarplayer.com/story.asp?sectioncode=4&storycode=11720  
 
Near the bottom of the piece are a couple sections that might be of interest ? ?Garcia's Raddest Riff? and ?10 Radiant Garcia Moments? try to answer Cary?s question. Some of my personal favorites are ?My Funny Valentine? from ?Live at Keystone? with Merle Saunders. The work he did with Melvin Seals in The Jerry Garcia Band can also be amazing ? I love ?Don?t Let Go? from ?Jerry Garcia Band,? 1991 ... He also played on Ornette Coleman?s ?Virgin Beauty,? with interesting results.  
 
I will also reiterate Charles' excellent suggestion just above. Stream some of the Soundboard recordings from the late 70s (in my estimation this is an underrated period for Jerry and the whole band) when the band is very often tight, focused and firing on all cylinders.
 
(Message edited by tom_z on December 31, 2005)

[David Houck]

Tom; my apologies!  When I said above that Charles was the only one to take Cary up on his challenge I was wrong!

[811952]

Eyes of the World does it for me.  I'm not exactly a fan of the laid-back genres that the GD would fall into, but there is a minimalist beauty to Jerry's approach to music that, to me at least, is largely unrivaled in modern music.  It's not formula, and it's not breaking some hitherto unbroken musical ground.  It's simply fresh, honest and clean.  Throw Phil's crafty bass into the mix and it's like listening to a bunch of friends who know each other really really well make music.  For years I thought they totally sucked.  I've mellowed since then, and really enjoy Jerry's playing.
 
John

[David Houck]

I just read Garcia's Raddest Riff, cited above by Tom.  It seems that the Guitar Player staff votes for Help on the Way/Slipknot too!!

[David Houck]

I like Eyes a lot too!  It's on our set list and we've played it out a few times now, including last night; though we've yet to play it well.

[lbpesq]

Ah yes, Eyes of the World - one of my all time favorites.  Perhaps the biggest case I ever did - front page for 7 weeks - my client (who was acquitted) told me afterwards that he knew he had the right lawyer after I met with him at his house, picked up a guitar that was lying around, and played Eyes. His words were: Wow!, my lawyer can play Eyes of the World!  LOL
 
... you are the song that the morning sings...
 
Bill, tgo

[richbass939]

Bill, tgo, that's pretty cool.  I bet he nearly dropped his teeth when he heard Eyes.  Maybe if your firm advertises you could buy the right to some Dead tunes.
Rich

[jalevinemd]

What album is Eyes Over The World on. Is that the GD or the JGB?  
 
I've never been a huge Dead fan. In fact, I just bought my first two albums over the summer - Dead Set and Live at the Filmore East 1971. I enjoy some of their less mellow stuff like Bertha, Passenger, St. Stephen, I Know You Rider, Franklin's Tower. Any suggestions for some other slightly up-beat tunes?
 
Jonathan

[spose]

my band plays eyes from the 72 - 74 era with the big end jam...then we go into Shakedown..the two tunes run over 40 mins.

[David Houck]

Eyes Of The World is from Wake Of The Flood.
 
I'm not sure what you would call mellow or up-beat, but just guessing, I can suggest, just to name a few:
 
Estimated Prophet
Help On The Way/Slipknot
Sugar Magnolia
Truckin'
Jack Straw
China Cat Sunflower
Brown-Eyed Woman
U.S. Blues

[tom_z]

Oh, no problem whatsoever, Dave - I just remembered that GP had recently published the Jerry feature and it stated - If you?re new to Garcia?s playing, these songs will reveal his distinctive touch and tones. - and I thought that if Cary was sincerely interested this might be a helpful article that I didn't want him to miss. Plus my first post didn't really get to the point until near the end.
 
Jonathan - as far as up-tempo Dead tunes go, I would add to Dave's list the following:
 
Alabama Getaway
Around and Around  
Greatest Story Ever Told
Golden Road
Cumberland Blues
Mexicali Blues
One More Saturday Night
Playin' In The Band
All Along the Watchtower  
 
Not all Grateful Dead originals, I realize, but they do some amazing covers - Dylan, Beatles, The Who, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, etc. Here is a partial list of songs they have performed.
 
http://www.deadstein.com/music/index.htm
 
Tom