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Jerry Garcia, A Legacy?

Unfortunately, many years have passed since Jerry Garcia engaged in the art of music making. I've never known of another electric guitarist who could incorporate without clear and cut demarcations the many multitudes of rock and roll, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass, country, explorational real time composition, sustain induced psychedelic developments Be it partially safe to say also that I've yet to know of another electric guitarist whose playing was either loved or scorned to the extent that his was. Throughout my life as a Dead fan and follower of Jerry Garcia and of his various musical projects, I remember verbal battles with musicians who found JG's playing less enlightening than I and often my comments turned into vicious polemics defending the Grateful Dead' artistic integrity. Granted, JG did have many obvious musical hurdles during performances and didn't exhibit a typical so called pristine guitar playing technique but first and foremost consider that he played mainly rock and popular music (to make a point), on mainly an electric guitar, with a pick and 4 fingers, using electronic components on stages inside theaters, OK get real! Does Hiram Bullock posses the same technical polish as Julian Bream? The answer to that is a resounding no, neither did Jimi Hendrix and it's really of no consequence anyhow. What I very much loved about Jerry Garcia was that he placed musicality before entertainment and he took on a sense of risk, even danger, in order to help elevate the other playing musicians around him. Yes, Jerry Garcia's playing often ran hot and cold but when his playing ran hot, the rest of the Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia Band would rise to a whole new level and when he ran cold, it had tenuous effect on the other participating musicians. I have to attribute Jerry Garcia's heightened level of ensemble cooperation to the way he listened intently with creative imagination, to his sensitive and tasteful playing, to his getting out of the way when the band needed space and to the degree of his vast musical knowledge that he gave away freely whenever the opportunity presented itself. From a subjective perspective while disregarding controversy, the music and persona of the Grateful Dead and of Jerry Garcia touched an enormous fan base which exhibited a degree of loyalty and dedication beyond compare. Many of the kids that I grew up with disliked the Grateful Dead and I would make the radical assumption that they still do. I don't mind bucking the trends and I'll even take a little pride in my prophetic wisdoms. How about you??
goofyfoot

Showing 2 responses by jeffstarr

jeffstarr
23 posts
 
You just mentioned The Pizza Tapes. There is always one guy who has to keep telling everyone his knowledge, opinions, and taste are better than ours. Well when Tony, Jerry, and Grisman played together, listen to the dialog, there was a whole lot of mutual admiration.
Jerry was not technically a great singer, but he could touch your heart, as could Bobby, and I was very fond of Brent. Some of my favorite artists would never win the Voice, but there is something special about all them. Dylan, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, all soar beyond their vocal limitations. Listen To Jerry on "Lucky Old Sun" Vol 8 Milwaukee WI 1991, it is beautiful, both the vocals, and the whole bands playing.. I was there, I had shitty seats, but was glad to be there.
As to song writing Hunter/Garcia would go in my top 10 list of my generation. And I don't think any band either GD or JGB did a better job interpreting Dylan songs. Jerry's version of "A Simple Twist Of Fate", is brilliant.
As to the Beach Boys, I know McCartney and others thought Pet Sounds was brilliant. I've tried, it has it's moments, but I don't hear it. Now Sgt Pepper, that was brilliant. PBS just showed a documentary on Sgt Pepper, I highly recommend it.

I seldom discuss music online, as everyone has their own tastes, and that is fine. But I will never understand the dickheads who feel it is necessary to piss all over music that the OP enjoys. Years ago, I quit reading the Asylum's Music posts. Someone would hear the newest Diana Krall album, and the assholes would magically appear.
There are bands I despise, but you may like them, why should I crap on your tastes. It is as valid as anyone else. Anyone who wants to expand someone's tastes, would be better served by saying hey, if you like Krall check out__________ insert similar artist you think might expand that person's musical journey.
For many of us, the Dead hold a special place in our hearts, and in our music collections. In his last years Jerry was having problems with arthritis. And I think if he was still alive he would have retired, or only played, occasionally.
I recently read somewhere how grateful John Mayer is to be a part of Dead and Company. 
To the OP, thanks for sharing. As I am not a grammar critic, I found it easy to read. But it's nice that someone felt the need to point out the need for paragraphs.When I first got a PC, I only read Audio Forums, then over the years I have been involved in many different forum topics. It cleared up one misguided belief. I found that there were arrogant assholes on most sites. What a relief, I had thought it was just audiophiles who had an unusually large number of assholes. Turns out they are all over the internet.
jeffstarr
23 posts
 
mmakshak, I saw the Dead many times, The Band only once. The Band under poor circumstances, it was outdoors, so the sound was hard to judge, but the performance was excellent. I imagine the show you saw, the crowd was there for the Dead, so the energy would have been directed to them. There was nothing like a Dead show. I was at a show where they finished the second set with "Not Fade Away". The band left the stage and 38,000 Deadheads just kept on singing the chorus, until the band came back.The scene in the parking lot, well pre "Touch Of Grey" was always fun. The sound of nitrous tanks hissing, the smell of food cooking, and patchouli. I don't like crowds, but I always felt content and comfortable with those people.
I remember reading when Dylan toured with the Dead, he showed up, played and left. He didn't socialize or communicate with the Dead. Listen to the Last Waltz, or any of the other Band albums. Both bands were very good in there own right.
Like I said in my earlier post, we all have different tastes, and music is not just a technical exercise, The Dead, for those of us, who got it, there was nothing else like it.I had seen  them three times, and it wasn't until the third show that I got it. After that I tried to never miss a show in a three state area. Very few bands could, or would play a 4 day run, without repeating a song.
It would have been nice if this could have been a topic shared by fans, but there are always people who feel the need to prove that there taste in music is superior. If I saw a topic on a band I had no use for, I wouldn't post, I probably wouldn't bother reading it, but that is me. Over the years I have been pleasantly surprised at how many audiophiles are also Deadheads. Especially since we spent years listening to second and third generations cassettes.I still have about a hundred tapes, but no working deck. I'm waiting for the day when they release my favorite show. One of the few shows where Jerry played "Believe It Or Not". There was nothing like a Grateful Dead show;-)

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