Dig Some Tasty Bob Weir From Fall 1972

[auxarmeslescitoyens]

In recent years and especially since Weir's recent Capitol Theater catatonia, it's become trendy for many to pick on, slam, denounce, decry, and denigrate Bobby, and not just in the post-Jerry era. (These inexplicable-and-unsupportable-to-me positions often go hand in hand with a deification of Phil Lesh. I won't get into that whole mess. As it is, I happen to dig every member of the band, some more than others.)

For those among you who fall into the Bobby-bashing camp or those among you who for some reason never got into one of the finest vintages of Grateful Dead and therefore haven't heard how insanely great and essential Weir was to the band, dig 10-2-72, from Springfield, Massachusetts.

There are tons of incredible shows from the fall of 1972. I've enjoyed this one of late. It features Weir and Keith high in the mix, but not in a bad way. Throw on some headphones and enjoy, in particular the Bird Song. It sure as hell sounded incredible on my Grado RS1 headphones last night.

http://archive.org/details/gd1972-10-02.sbd.gans.miller.112864.flac16

If you listen to the Bird Song and remain convinced that Weir is cheesy and lacking in substance of chops, well, I can't help you. (It certainly doesn;t hurt that the rest of the band is throwing down.) Maybe you'd rather listen to a recent Furthur show, with dirgelike music that too often doesn't get beyond second gear.

[amur...@gmail.com]

On Sunday, May 12, 2013 2:36:42 PM UTC-7, auxarmeslescitoyens wrote:
> In recent years and especially since Weir's recent Capitol Theater catatonia, it's become trendy for many to pick on, slam, denounce, decry, and denigrate Bobby, and not just in the post-Jerry era. (These inexplicable-and-unsupportable-to-me positions often go hand in hand with a deification of Phil Lesh. I won't get into that whole mess. As it is, I happen to dig every member of the band, some more than others.)

I've been on record before, and go on record again, with the idea that any of the trio of Jerry, Bob and Phil, sans any of the rest of that trio, are a lesser entity. Each of those players was made better by the contributions of the rest, and to a lesser degree, whoever else happened to be in the band at the same time...

But, as the upper ends and the lower ends of the trifecta, Garcia and Lesh received more adulation than did the force that tied those two ends together. Weir's task was, arguably, more elaborate than either of his more celebrated brethren. While Garcia and Lesh may well have staked out the paths that the majority of the GD jams took, it was Weir who tied those disparate voices together. In fact, for me, in the peaks of GD exploration - talking '72 Dark Stars or '74 Playin's or '77 Estimateds, etc - it was Weir who expertly tied together the Garcia lines and the Lesh lines. Weir is certainly easy to overlook, but without him to tie the jams all together, these things were apt to go off the rails.

Don't get me wrong, Garcia and Lesh are geniuses in my mind for their contributions to the GD, but Weir's ability to seamlessly tie the bottom of Garcia's lines to the top of Lesh's may well be the most amazing part of the best of the Dead. Garcia and Lesh are widely recognized as unique voices in musical history, but for my money, Weir's contributions may well be the most impressive. As great as Garcia and Lesh were/are, they were disparate voices. Yet, Weir tied them both together seamlessly.

[Edwin Hurwitz]

What he said. I'll also say that from 1976 to 1994, in all the shows I saw, I never saw Bobby have a weak night on guitar (slide notwithstanding). At his worst, he was well beyond merely competent. He
was always engaged and in the pocket. Can't say that about Jerry or Phil. I'm a big Bobby fan.

[marcman]

On May 12, 5:36 pm, auxarmeslescitoyens <steven1...@gmail.com> wrote:
> In recent years and especially since Weir's recent Capitol Theater catatonia, it's become trendy for many to pick on, slam, denounce, decry, and denigrate Bobby, and not just in the post-Jerry era. (These inexplicable-and-unsupportable-to-me positions often go hand in hand with a deification of Phil Lesh. I won't get into that whole mess. As it is, I happen to dig every member of the band, some more than others.)
>
> For those among you who fall into the Bobby-bashing camp or those among you who for some reason never got into one of the finest vintages of Grateful Dead and therefore haven't heard how insanely great and essential Weir was to the band, dig 10-2-72, from Springfield, Massachusetts.
>
> There are tons of incredible shows from the fall of 1972. I've enjoyed this one of late. It features Weir and Keith high in the mix, but not in a bad way. Throw on some headphones and enjoy, in particular the Bird Song. It sure as hell sounded incredible on my Grado RS1 headphones last night.
>
> http://archive.org/details/gd1972-10-02.sbd.gans.miller.112864.flac16
>

So I'm about six minutes into this incredible Bird Song (thanks, btw).
Fucking gorgeous.

[the Felonious Kidd]

Since Weir pretty much grew up and leaned to play the guitar in that milieu (finally a chance to use that word!) I think he pretty much had to learn to be the glue. It was sink or swim. Credit to him for having what it took whether it was wherewithal, determination, desperation (to be a shiftless profession rock musician) or just plain obstreperousness. Can you imagine some other already experienced rhythm guitarist trying to step in after a few years and try to find a place in the band?

[yoker]

On May 12, 5:36 pm, auxarmeslescitoyens <steven1...@gmail.com> wrote:
>

> http://archive.org/details/gd1972-10-02.sbd.gans.miller.112864.flac16
> Bird Song


THANK YOU!

[sweetbac]

I can't imagine the GD without Bobby Ace...
a truly strange guy (kid) from day one, dyslexic AND a huge LSD eater.
A winning combination for these freaks.
Imagine if David Nelson had gotten the gig?...totally different band.
Sure, Bobby went all rock star on us in the 80's, but that happened
in those days...since I rarely listen to any GD after Keith Godchaux
left, I skip all weak sauce....the beauty of hindsight.
It DID break my heart to see Weir floppin' around on a new york
stage like a MF'in country fair guppy who's bag broke.

[3jane.]

On Monday, May 13, 2013 3:11:17 AM UTC-4, amur...@gmail.com wrote:

>
> Don't get me wrong, Garcia and Lesh are geniuses in my mind for their contributions to the GD, but Weir's ability to seamlessly tie the bottom of Garcia's lines to the top of Lesh's may well be the most amazing part of the best of the Dead. Garcia and Lesh are widely recognized as unique voices in musical history, but for my money, Weir's contributions may well be the most impressive. As great as Garcia and Lesh were/are, they were disparate voices. Yet, Weir tied them both together seamlessly.

Well said. I would also venture to say that Weir is probably the most recorded musician of all time. Given that the Dead are the most recorded band, and Ratdog etc, I can't think of anyone who would come close. I'd bet Lesh is #2.

[Brad Greer]

On Wed, 15 May 2013 17:42:19 -0700 (PDT), "3jane." <q3j...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

>On Monday, May 13, 2013 3:11:17 AM UTC-4, amur...@gmail.com wrote:
>
>>
>> Don't get me wrong, Garcia and Lesh are geniuses in my mind for their contributions to the GD, but Weir's ability to seamlessly tie the bottom of Garcia's lines to the top of Lesh's may well be the most amazing part of the best of the Dead. Garcia and Lesh are widely recognized as unique voices in musical history, but for my money, Weir's contributions may well be the most impressive. As great as Garcia and Lesh were/are, they were disparate voices. Yet, Weir tied them both together seamlessly.
>
>Well said. I would also venture to say that Weir is probably the most recorded musician of all time. Given that the Dead are the most recorded band, and Ratdog etc, I can't think of anyone who would come close. I'd bet Lesh is #2.

Nah, Garcia - there were way more Jerry-related shows than any other
outside efforts by anyone else in the band.

[Just Kidding]

On Thu, 16 May 2013 21:54:01 -0400, Brad Greer <jjh1...@yahoo.com>
wrote:

That was true while the GD were still in existence, but it could be
pretty close now. Jerry probably played somewhere in the neighborhood
of 1600 or more shows with his various side projects (most but
certainly not all were recorded). While with the GD, Weir also played
with Kingfish and Bobby & The Midnites (no idea how many shows, but
probably fewer than 100?). After the GD, however, Weir has played
another 1300+ shows with Weir & Wasserman, Ratdog, TOO, The Dead,
Furthur, and various solo shows. Again, no telling how many of his
shows were unrecorded. In any event, the gap has definitely closed and
it looks like Weir will eventually pass Jerry in the next few years
assuming his health allows.

[Brad Greer]

Very few of Jerry's solo outings weren't recorded but yeah, Bobby is
closing the gap. Phil, I think, is way behind because he really
didn't play out until after Jerry passed.