Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site sdcsla.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcsvax!sdcsla!west From: west@sdcsla.UUCP (Larry West) Newsgroups: net.music.gdead Subject: Re: Musical Ability of Jerry etc. Message-ID: <990@sdcsla.UUCP> Date: Sun, 29-Sep-85 03:55:22 EDT Article-I.D.: sdcsla.990 Posted: Sun Sep 29 03:55:22 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 4-Oct-85 05:22:21 EDT References: <1331@teddy.UUCP> <456@sdcc12.UUCP> Reply-To: west@sdcsla.UUCP (Larry West) Distribution: net Organization: UC San Diego: Institute for Cognitive Science Lines: 64 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:or UUCP: {ucbvax,sdcrdcf,decvax,ihnp4}!sdcsvax!sdcsla!west or {sun,mplvax,gti,ihnss,whuxlb,ulysses}!sdcsla!west