|
| |
Grateful Dead
Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 3: Summer '71
(Grateful Dead)
First Appeared in The Music Box, September 2008, Volume 15, #9
Written by John Metzger
Tue September 9, 2008, 06:30 AM CDT
By 1971, the Grateful Dead already had undergone several metamorphoses
without missing a beat, but it soon found itself in the midst of the first real
test of its ability to endure. As if Lenny Hart’s financial shenanigans hadn’t
placed enough stress upon the ensemble, which, in turn, caused his son Mickey to
take an extended sabbatical from the outfit, Pigpen’s health also had begun to
show signs of failing. After a busy spring, the group maintained a considerably
lighter schedule over the course of the summer months, but as the music on
Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 3: Summer ’71 attests, even periods of transition
have their moments of utter brilliance.
Those folks who are seeking the release of complete shows from the Grateful
Dead likely will continue to complain about the compilation-style approach that
the Road Trips series has taken. Nevertheless, its third chapter attempts
to find a happy, middle ground. In fact, in some ways, Road Trips, Vol. 1,
No. 3: Summer ’71 achieved its goal better than either of its predecessors
did. The main portion of the program is split evenly between two concerts that
stood at opposite ends of the Grateful Dead’s summer tour. The first disc
rearranges material from the group’s performance at the Yale Bowl in New Haven,
Connecticut on July 31, 1971, while the latter half of the collection is devoted
to its appearance at Chicago’s Auditorium Theater on August 31, 1971. Even the
bonus disc — which provides condensed glimpses of three other moments from the
Grateful Dead’s summer trek — obtains its own realistic cadence. In other words,
each album in the package essentially is designed to present a cohesive,
standalone set. Whether they are taken alone or together, Road Trips, Vol. 1,
No. 3: Summer ’71 — much like its predecessor Ladies & Gentlemen —
puts a remarkably good spin upon what undeniably was a rather uneven year in the
band’s history.
In 1971, the Grateful Dead stood poised at a musical crossroads. Over the
course of the preceding six years, the group had wrapped its acid-drenched
blues- and soul-infused arms around its jug band roots, which resulted in a pair
of Americana classics (Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty). On
numerous occasions throughout 1970, the Grateful Dead had assimilated acoustic
sets into the framework of its performances, and these provided the band with an
opportunity to explore the folk-oriented styles in which it had reinvested
itself. Consequently, flush with an abundance of new material, the ensemble’s
concerts had begun to assume a more variegated tonality. At the same time,
though, it also continued to struggle with binding everything together into
something that formed a cohesive, flowing statement.
As 1970 drew to a close, the Grateful Dead jettisoned the acoustic portion of
its shows and embarked upon a year-long sojourn during which it sought ways of
intertwining its past and present as a means of laying a path for its future.
The challenges to this process were compounded further by issues surrounding
Pigpen’s health, but as Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 3: Summer ’71 clearly
demonstrates, the group was well on its way before he had to step aside and cede
his slot, at least temporarily, to Keith Godchaux in the fall.
In a sense, Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 3: Summer ’71 offers a little
something for everyone. Assuming a barn-burning ferocity, the Grateful Dead
filled Big Railroad Blues with Chuck Berry-style guitars and ragged
country textures, and Jerry Garcia sang it like an old bluesman. Via two versions of
Hard to Handle, the band pushed Otis Redding’s hard-driving funk through
the eye of its lysergic needle, and the relaxed, bucolic resignation of Me &
Bobby McGee as well as the mournful beauty of Merle Haggard’s Sing Me
Back Home highlighted its embrace of the era’s burgeoning singer/songwriter
movement.
The Grateful Dead also was still capable of pushing its fans into the vortex
of its unpredictably tumultuous, mind-bending improvisational grooves. Although
Dark Star made fewer appearances in the band’s set lists in 1971, the
22-minute rendition featured on Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 3: Summer ’71
provides a glimpse at yet another miraculous moment in the Grateful Dead’s
history. The song’s initial relaxed cadence conjured a fragile, meditative
space, and the joyous jam that subsequently erupted continues to extend the
dialogue that was highlighted on the second and eighth installments of the
Dick’s Picks series. By contrast, on its other opus That’s It for the
Other One, the Grateful Dead bound the jagged edges of the tune’s violent
centerpiece within the tribal spirituality of its opening and concluding
segments. At times, the ensemble sounded like a cosmic orchestra in full bloom,
especially as the sonic flashes of lightning that sprang from Garcia’s
guitar gave way to a softer, less structured environment. Both tunes also
allowed the outfit to place a spotlight on the newer directions it was
exploring, as Dark Star mutated into a gorgeous rendition of Bird Song,
and That’s It for the Other One suitably enveloped the murderous Me &
My Uncle.
For a group that has been chronicled so heavily, in both official and
unofficial capacities, particularly over the past 15 years, it’s amazing that an
outing like Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 3: Summer ’71 can be as engaging and
illuminating as it is. What made the Grateful Dead such a powerful enterprise?
Sit back and listen. 
Of Further Interest...
Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 1: Fall '79
Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 2: October '77
Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 4: From Egypt with Love
Grateful Dead - Road Trips, Vol. 2, No. 1: MSG, September '90
Grateful Dead - Three from the Vault: February 19, 1971
Road Trips, Vol. 1, No. 3: Summer '71 is NOT available from
Amazon. To order, please visit the Grateful Dead Site!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
|
