Apart from the railroading term (a trip made by an engine without pulling freight), I guess I have to admit to being a Dead Head. Largely because of the album I'm listening to right now.
A Bob Weir song popped into my head today (money, money) and tonight I decided to spin my old copy of Europe '72. I forgot how far back this record goes in the Dead era- I mean, I've always considered it sort of mid-period, and I guess it is, but Pigpen? A slim Garcia? I forgot.
Lots of people talk about how awful the band was, nothing but silly extended jams and raggedy harmonies. Just a brief listen to He's Gone should dispel those arguments- some of the tightest, most tasteful playing anywhere, full of soul.
The recording itself is pretty special- this was back before they compressed the hell out of everything. There's so much "air" in Cumberland Blues that you can just about tell where everybody is standing onstage. Left to right, front to back.
It is a little uneven across the three disks. Sometimes the jams do get silly, but mostly, this is a band at its peak, doing something it more or less invented, a style of playing that still resonates with audiences at countless festivals every summer.
We're always 17 somewhere.
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