This week SIART is having psychedelic flashbacks. What better place to start than with...
Jerry Garcia was best known & loved as the lead singer and guitarist of hippy rockers The Grateful Dead. When I first moved back to the US in 1985 I was pretty much unaware of the band - they were not as big a draw in the UK. In 1986 I got a job as a canvasser for Greenpeace, and I met a whole new crowd of people - the "Deadheads". The incredibly loyal fanbase of the band was a trip to behold - such dedication and devotion. Some of them rabidly so, even to the point of being unwilling to give other music a chance. I wondered what could inspire it all, so I tried to join in. I went to a bunch of shows, was force fed bootlegs by some of my friends, and even bought a few used LPs. In the end I will admit to being a minor fan. I enjoy some of their music, but personally couldn't justify spending my money on seeing the band over and over again - out of 5 or 6 shows I think I got one good one. I went to see Garcia's solo band once, and found it a much more enjoyable experience than the Dead. They were a lot less jam band-y, and a lot funkier. I only own one Jarry Garcia album, 1972's Garcia, a fine record. It's got several tunes that are Dead classics - Deal, Sugaree and The Wheel were all staples of the band's shows. The Wheel starts of with a bit of jarring, discordant jangle before floating off into clouds of steel guitar, all soft and billowy. The guitar is reminiscent of Pink Floyd, albeit a more countrified version. I really like the shuffling, shifting drumbeats on the track that keep it all together. A very tasty bit of psychedelic country rock.
I promise that the rest of the week will not be as hippy-dippy as this...
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