lkk@teddy.UUCP (09/23/85)
I've encountered a number of dead-heads who've said, "I love their music, but they have no musical talent." I find this claim hard to understand. Isn't musical talent the ability to make music that is good? Does anyone out there hold a similar view? Oh, yes, they can't sing either, of course. -- Sport Death, Larry Kolodney (USENET) ...decvax!genrad!teddy!lkk (INTERNET) lkk@mit-mc.arpa
nm34@sdcc12.UUCP (nm34) (09/27/85)
In article <1331@teddy.UUCP>, lkk@teddy.UUCP writes: > > > I've encountered a number of dead-heads who've said, > "I love their music, but they have no musical talent." > I have come across many non-Deaders who have made this accusation, but no deadheads. I beleive the Dead are one of the tightest, and smoothest bands I have heard (of course being a Deadhead I am prejudiced). This doesn't mean that I haven't heard them play poorly. The nature of their concerts with the improv and lack of structure makes a situation where they can be "on" and be very sharp, or "off" and quite dull. One aspect of their music that I do like is an airy quality where the music is the antithesis of dense (I cant think of a word for this). In a stanza the notes are added by each musician one at a time. If you were able to pick out one of the musicians, his music would not be complete, but all of them together fill up the musical space producing a melody. The singing is another story. Weir is not bad, but not great. Mydland is quite good and does well with the harmony. Garcia has been adequate in the past relying on a soulful quality that transcended his lack of strength. Lately his voice had been going down hill. At least the few concerts I have seen (I haven't heard any recent tapes). At the last concert I was imagining a day when the Dead would play and Jerry would only play guitar and not sing. Right now his voice is strong enough to get by. I hope it doesn't continue to deteriorate.
west@sdcsla.UUCP (Larry West) (09/29/85)
In article <456@sdcc12.UUCP> nm34@sdcc12.UUCP (nm34) writes: > In article <1331@teddy.UUCP>, lkk@teddy.UUCP writes: > > > > > > I've encountered a number of dead-heads who've said, > > "I love their music, but they have no musical talent." > > > .... > The nature of their concerts with the improv and lack of structure makes > a situation where they can be "on" and be very sharp, or "off" and quite > dull. One aspect of their music that I do like is an airy > quality where the music is the antithesis of dense (I cant think of a > word for this). In a stanza the notes are added by each musician one at > a time. If you were able to pick out one of the musicians, his music > would not be complete, but all of them together fill up the musical > space producing a melody. Yes, I really like this, too. They do similar things with the rhythm, as well. And the effect of the "dawn" section of Playing in the Band (where everyone in the band is playing very very softly) can be quite dramatic. In fact, one of the things that I like about the Dead is that they know how to vary the volume of sound, rather than keeping it constantly loud. This is not unique in and of itself (Dire Straits, Camel, and others do it in rock, and it's quite common in jazz, e.g., McCoy Tyner), but adds to the texture of a concert. > The singing is another story. Weir is not bad, but not great. > Mydland is quite good and does well with the harmony. Garcia has been > adequate in the past relying on a soulful quality that transcended his > lack of strength. Lately his voice had been going down hill. At least > the few concerts I have seen (I haven't heard any recent tapes). At the > last concert I was imagining a day when the Dead would play and Jerry > would only play guitar and not sing. Right now his voice is strong > enough to get by. I hope it doesn't continue to deteriorate. Hmmm. I think I would have agreed with you four years ago. It seems that their singing has been improving steadily for twenty years, except that Jerry did go through a few years where his voice was not strong. But lately, I've been really impressed with the quality of his singing: the way he does "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "She Belongs To Me" (better known [and should have been titled] as "She's An Artist") is simply perfection. This may be a matter of choosing songs to fit one's voice, but it works. In fact, at the recent Chula Vista show, his voice never cracked, never missed a note -- he didn't even forget any words! and Brent? Ahh! He is so much better (more comfortable?) than he was 4 or 5 years ago, and he's playing with intensity and concentration and he knows what he's doing. I don't think he quite has the technique to carry many songs as lead singer, but he adds wonderful harmony, and in time may prove to be a fine lead singer. -- Larry West (USA+619-)452-6771 Institute for Cognitive Science non-business hours: 452-2256 UC San Diego (mailcode C-015) La Jolla, CA 92093 U.S.A. ARPA: <west@nprdc.ARPA> or <west@ucsd.ARPA> UUCP: {ucbvax,sdcrdcf,decvax,ihnp4}!sdcsvax!sdcsla!west or {sun,mplvax,gti,ihnss,whuxlb,ulysses}!sdcsla!west
dar@sdcsvax.UUCP (David Reisner) (10/01/85)
> voice, but it works. In fact, at the recent Chula Vista show, his > voice never cracked, never missed a note -- he didn't even forget > any words! Sorry, Larry. Jerry started out the show with the most jumbled rendition of Alabama Getaway that I've ever heard. There was one "verse" that had lines from three different verses in it. It was also the most low key, low energy version of the song that I've ever heard. I think Jerry got confused somewhere later in the show, too. Now, all that is pretty minor, really. The show at Chula Vista was really nice. They did a great Fire On The Mountain, the sound was extreemly well balanced, the grass of the football field was really comfortable, and the cops and security were all pretty cool. (One cop was cruising around playing old rock music out of the P.A. of his vehicle.) One strange thing about the show - there were no smooth transitions. They got pretty far along in the second set without getting to drums and space, so at the end of a song they just stopped cold and Then started drums. I think they pretty well full stopped between drums and (an uninspired) space. The show was pretty choppy in that sense. Hope they come back next year (a 33% increase in Southern California shows). -David sdcsvax!telesoft!dar "Was it ever here at all?"
nm34@sdcc12.UUCP (nm34) (10/01/85)
In article <1120@sdcsvax.UUCP>, dar@sdcsvax.UUCP (David Reisner) writes: > > voice, but it works. In fact, at the recent Chula Vista show, his > > voice never cracked, never missed a note -- he didn't even forget > > any words! > > Sorry, Larry. Jerry started out the show with the most jumbled > rendition of Alabama Getaway that I've ever heard. There was one > "verse" that had lines from three different verses in it. It was also > the most low key, low energy version of the song that I've ever heard. > I think Jerry got confused somewhere later in the show, too. > > Now, all that is pretty minor, really. The show at Chula Vista was really > nice. , > > One strange thing about the show - there were no smooth transitions. > They got pretty far along in the second set without getting to drums and > space, so at the end of a song they just stopped cold and Then started > drums. I think they pretty well full stopped between drums and (an > uninspired) space. The show was pretty choppy in that sense. > > Hope they come back next year (a 33% increase in Southern California shows). > > -David > > "Was it ever here at all?" I have to agree with you David. I must say that I had a really nice time at the concert in Chula Vista. The sun was hot, but not too hot, the grass (on the ground) was a dry soft carpet, good to wiggle toes through and the music was fine. The music was well mixed and tightly played, especially in the second set. My only disappointment was the lack of extended jams. It was like two first sets. I catagorize the two sets of a Dead concert as set one: songs, often sung by Weir and they are getting their act together in the way of musical tightness and energy. The second set is where they take off into Dead-land. A place only they can go. AS I said, I had a great time, but there was little "take-off to Dead-land". Even though I complain, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. And as always, the Deadheads were just great. Some of the best people in the world. Andrew Bindman {ucbvax,ihnp4,akgua,hplabs}!sdcsvax!sdcc12!nm34