orchiddoctor

Just curious: what is your source? I agree; I'd rather have, say, the complete May 15 1970 show or an equivalent.

I might add that for you uncircumsized Philistines who do not revere the Pig as a true avatar, the musical portion of the show is brilliant. It features some of the best seat of the pants breakneck jamming since 1970.

Be sure to play it while you read it. On many of the G.L's from Europe 72, the thematics are very similar, just as the dollah and a quarter story was worked up in Spring of 1971. But, this time out it's all improvised--oh, sure, there's a four day creep, but where he goes with it--his lament about cheating women and outrunning the law and sampling some cherry pie--well, this was the one.

The Good Lovin from 4-14 Copenhagen is one of the best things the band ever did. First, it is the pinnacle of Pig's testifyin' raps--way beyond the usual pony riding into a whole 'nother realm of stream of consciousness. He throws everything he's got into the mix. A huge dose of raw sexuality underscored with a thin line of pathos. But it's Keith who leads here, moving the jam into different places, allowing Ron plenty of new lines to rap over. And then, just as Pig gives that last yell while the band rips away from his rap, bam!--Caution. And then, just as Caution starts to blister under Keith and Jerry's dual engines, bam! again into Who Do You Love, back to Caution, and back to the Good Lovin' reprise. Whew. This tape first made the rounds in 1973 as a very hissy, sped up soundboard that I used to play over and over. I always thought of it as Pig's grand finale before his death a year later. And now we have the crispiest of soundboards on the revamped Europe '72. One of the best, indeed. All the rest of those Good Lovin's seem like rehersals in comparison. BTW, Dwork does an excellent transcription of Pig's rap in Vol. 1 of the Taper's Compendium.

No, No., NO! It's

Does it say "when they bring that way-gun 'round"? That's "Ray gun." Remember, Jerry was a sci-fi fan.

The 69 artwork looks great. Oops--shouldn't this be a p.m.?

Deal.

now playing Sick Bits Vol 9 6/30/1973 I need to put more shows on my ipod! Why am the only one without an IPOD? Lon? I mean, if you won't spring for the hat . . . . .

I keep lauding that show!! The Dark Star--that jam at the end--then BAM--Morning Dew. I was so pleased when it came out. I had audience taped that show on a super crappy deck (like a dictaphone machine), but I would play that ten minutes over and over until the tape wore out. That's Jerry at his best.

Well, if you buy me the top hat, I'll see if that toilet seat is back on ebay. I really think the thing to do is to go around chopping off middle fingers and . . . .

Okay, Big Daddy, howz about the top hat then?

Nuh-uh. I asked Uncle Lon first.

Yeah, yeah. Then will YOU buy it for me. Please?

http://www.maverick-music.com/scripts/vint...?idCategory=123 Please, Lon, buy me the Travis Bean for Xmas . . . .

There's an ongoing debate over the lossless vs. lossy formats. Some stuff is just available in mp3, other stuff in shn/flac. Some in both. I agree that in this age of advanced technology, one should take advantage of lossless. After all, folks on the archive--for example-have spent hours cleaning up tapes to make them sound as good as possible. But, on the other hand, unless you are playing the material on a high quality system, it doesn't matter as much whether you choose the expedience of mp3 or lossless. Ipod, which Lon often uses, is mp3 based anyway. I tend to listen on my computer speakers. Me, I've blown my ears out with LOUD music since the sixties. I can't really tell the difference. You "whippersnappers" can still enjoy the extra edge of lossless. That's why I hate you. To each his own. It's all good.

Some soundboards do seem to be antiseptic in their clarity--like a studio recording. It's interesting to note that Healy did some Matrix boards--soundboard plus audience mics--to increase the depth and lend some of the concert experience. ANd certainly, there are plenty of great shows available only on audience--especially 1968. From 1970--73 I recorded a good number of shows on shitty little cassette recorders, and I had a blast listening to the muddy, hissy tapes--because I could close my eyes and enjoy the show again. But I still love them soundboards.

Before (well, and after) the archives shut off the downloads, I went through and catagorically downloaded all of 1966. 67, 68, 69, and was working on 70. Waaaaaaaaay too much--especially of one band. I used to joke about doing a ten cd box set of Me and My Uncle, and now I can do it. I don't need all the short songs--I'm just into definitive versions of High Time, etc., but all those Dark Stars--well, you need to listen to them several times to really hear them. Still, I'm glad I did it. Someday, when they come to get me, I can hopefully grab all my cds and live happily ever after. Say, did you hear the one about the old yeller dog?

Yup. But unfortunately, the Dead mythos centers on the formative years, the wildcatting years when they flew by the seat of their pants. Note that even Phil's book tends to focus on the first decade of the band. Face it: they weren't as exciting in their personal lives as they were when they were a true, maniacal collective, a six or seven headed beast. Their youthful excesses were an integral part of their growth and formation while the later excesses were simply the spoils of rock and roll. It's one thing to talk about Owsley's acid or running under the radar when it's "cool;" it's another to talk about Persian heroin and alcohol--not "cool." Besides, as mentioned, Jerry's drug habits have already been written about. The Acid Test days still hold exciting stories as yet untold about a much more interesting time and cast of characters. It's like Grandpa telling us about when he was a boy. Gee, gramps, what was it like to be 40?

Listening to some sort of wierd compilation called "Pigpen Rides Again" Vol. 7.

Yeah, I just thought that Terapin was a tad ironic. I do have total record installed. I guess i just have to find the right connection. That ought to take a few weeks. I want to preserve these dubious quality tapes before they fall apart (assuming they haven't already). Old fashion recording--like snail mail or phones with cords. I'll send you copies of all of them. Oh, yeah, I forgot, you don't like the aec.

More info please. I'm in the process of retrieving a boatload of art ensemble et al cassettes I did in the 70s. Thanks, Lon.

Still can't get into the Brent years. But that's what makes the Dead so great over their thirty year tenure--the ability to grow and change and gain new audiences who appreciate whatever they were into at the time. Every so often, a new wave of DeadHeads would emerge, and the band at that point in time would be THEIR Dead. I think that Brent certainly gave them one well needed kick in the ass and brought them out of the lethargy of late 78-79; I just don't like the slower paced meandering.

And I still dig the Ra and the Art Ensemble and can hear John McLaughlin on Miles' "Right Off" clear as a bell.

i can see how radical hippie jazz belongs on a jazz forum. Oddly enough, when I was in my twenties, MOST of the people my age who got into "Jazz" were refugees from the sixties. This would be mid 70's on, when the "free"/"avante guarde""whatever" thing was happening. Pure improvisation--Art Ensemble, Braxton, Sam Rivers, David Murray--tempered with sweet melodies--or not. That's why I still have a fondness for the Dead--they opened my ears up to other realms and possibilities of music. A lot of Black musicians quietly bemoaned the fact that the majority of the audience were white kids from the burbs.* But they had grown ears during their hippie years, and their minds had expanded--at least enough to become multicultural receptors. *Disclaimer. I grew up in Manhattan. That made the ride downtown shorter.