Jerry Garcia, A Legacy?

Back atcha, brother. I saw The Dead in ’67 (in the Panhandle at Golden Gate Park), with Ron (Pigpen) singing. I liked that first album a lot, and the next few that followed. But when they started trying to sing harmonies (that had became all the rage in the late 60’s/early 70’s, what with C, S, & N and The Band leading the way), they became, and I’m not being hyperbolic, unlistenable to me. American Beauty is painful to listen to, the singing is so bad. The band I’m in now does "Friend Of The Devil", but the two singers are on key!

Here's an illuminating comparison, for those who don't object to that kind of thing: Listen to the live Dylan album with The Band as his band (Before The Flood), then that of him live with The Dead (Dylan & The Dead). Huge difference. Are they just different in kind, or is one just a lot better of a band? I have my opinion.

Understandable boxer. I played in my first all-original-material-band in ’71, and could not get the other guys to listen to my recent (’66-’71) Beach Boys albums. The image of them at that time was of their early, surf style music. There is actually some great music on the early albums, like "Don’t Worry Baby" and "In My Room".

Brian stopped touring with the band in ’64, stayed home and recorded the Pet Sounds album without the other members, using the best studio musicians in Los Angeles. He then overdubbed their vocals when the instrumental tracks were completed. The material and sound of that album is completely different from the earlier stuff. McCartney and Lennon flipped when they heard it, Paul himself considering it to be the best album he had ever heard, responding with the Rubber Soul album. Beatles producer George Martin considers it a landmark album. Pet Sounds has consistently been voted the best Pop album of all time in British polls, beating even the over-rated Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. That album was Paul's attempt to equal the Smile (see below) tapes he had heard, one of the songs on that album he actually singing on ("Vege-tables").

Brian heard Rubber Soul and started working on the legendary Smile album, which is a very progressive, psychedelic masterpiece that ended up being shelved instead of released in early '67, as it was originally scheduled to be. It was finally released a few years ago in three versions, including a 6-CD (!) boxset. In 2003, Brian and his current band performed the Smile album live in London, people flying in from all over the world to hear it. McCartney was there.

Brian left The Beach Boys in the 1980’s, and after his brothers Carl and Dennis died, Mike Love took over the band. It is he who was responsible for the Kokomo, Brian having nothing to do with that dreck.

Wow. Musical taste is one thing, ignorance another. Ask any songwriter about Brian Wilson---start with Paul McCartney. Ask any producer---start with George Martin. Absolutely, and by a large margin, the best of his generation. Jerry Garcia himself liked The Beach Boys---the two bands did a tour together.

Anyone who can listen to "God Only Knows" (or any of many, many other BW songs) and not recognize it’s brilliance don’t know nothin’!

Without question, pigdog! Damn, now Garcia's not just good, or even great, but a genius? Guess we'll have to come up with a new term for J.S. Bach, Brian Wilson, and Hank Williams. If Garcia was a genius, what were they? I say were in regard to BW because he damaged himself to the point of losing his talent.

Speaking of Robert Hunter, he's been working with a guy I like a lot---Jim Lauderdale (Jim did an album of all Lauderdale/Hunter songs). Now THERE'S a good songwriter and singer. In my opinion, of course.

Elitisim, probably guilty. I prefer quality, no apology offered. Snobbishness? Absolutely not. I love and listen to Hillbilly (I consider Hank Williams a genius) and Classical (J.S. Bach is the father of Western Music). That I consider Danny Gatton and Ry Cooder (amongst many, many others) great guitarists, and Jerry Garcia a mediocre one (and an abominably bad singer, as well as a mediocre songwriter) is not the result of snobbishness, any more than an owner of the hi-fi equipment discussed on this forum is an elitist because he owns any of it instead of a Bose system. Perhaps my standards of quality musicianship are higher than fans of Jerry’s. Is that elitism and/or snobbishness? If so, I’ll plead guilty to both, no problem. I have old friends/bandmates who like The Dead, and I even play one of their songs in a band I’m currently in. It’s a lot of fun, but it sure ain’t a great song.

I agree that musical comparisons can be apples-to-oranges. So, let’s compare apples to apples: Listen to Jerry playing acoustic guitar on Folk-type songs; then listen to, say, Tony Rice (already mentioned above). The comparison is ludicrous; Tony is a very, very good acoustic guitarist, Jerry is, simply, not. Jerry has had the shamelessness to make some recordings with his pal David Grisman, playing even banjo. Jerry is a terrible banjoist! Does me saying so make me an elitist, or snob? Why, because I appreciate the difference between elevated talent and mere modest competency (being charitable)?

That raymonda and his musician friends like the playing of Jerry Garcia means nothing to me, and proves nothing. There are a lot of guys in L.A. who still like hair bands---Guns ’n’ Roses, etc. Is Ray an elitist because he doesn’t (I feel safe in assuming he doesn’t ;-)? Is one who considers Miles Davis a very talented musician, but Kenny G not, an elitist or snob? Not that I’m equating Kenny G with Jerry Garcia, mind you! It’s fine to disagree about music (and many other things), but for one to impugn the character of another for having a different opinion from oneself is, itself, a form of snobbishness.

To "like" something is purely subjective. To call something (or someone) "good" can be a different matter, one involving criteria, not mere opinion. I like lots of music and/or music makers I wouldn’t declare or defend as being "good". To like Jerry Garcia and/or The Grateful Dead is fine by me; to say Jerry Garcia is a great guitarist is, for me, a different matter. Some listeners use technical proficiency as their yardstick for determining quality and/or talent, others "musicality" ( now THERE’S an elistist term). But in the end, it’s all about taste (or the lack thereof ;-), isn’t it?

The idea that technical proficiency is the enemy of soulful music is a very common one. It is also mistaken. Danny Gatton produced far more fire than do less proficient guitarists. Ry Cooders ability at bottleneck slide guitar playing is legendary amongst other guitarists, slide playing very hard to do well. The lack of a certain degree of skill leads to less moving music, not more. Unless Punk is the only kind of music you like.

It’s true that musicians who focus on developing chops for chops sake often make dry, boring music. But that’s not because of the chops, but rather that those chops are not used in the service of making moving music. On the other hand, lack of technical ability can prevent a musician (or singer) from being able to produce an emotional response in an audience. Ry’s solo in John Hiatt’s "Lipstick Sunset" is my favorite guitar playing in recent memory, and Ry is able to play music that well for two reasons: his superb musicality and taste, and his ability to play slide guitar as well as he does. Both are necessary---lacking either, that level of music making would not be possible.

But the problem I have with Garcia is not the result of any lack of technique. It is his lack of musicality, his inability to play music that I find satisfying, a thing hard to quantify. More technique would not change that---he would play the same notes, just a little "better" ;-). He would write the same songs, with the same not-very-good (imo) chord sequences, melodies and harmonies, and arrangements. He would still do those long jams, in the same aimless, rambling, boring way. But that, as all things musical, is just a matter of taste. It’s no different than food and beer---I like Italian and German, respectively, others may prefer Mexican and British. It’s all good!

By the way, Brian Wilson’s understanding of music theory, a form of technical proficiency, was absolutely required, and patly responsible, for him to be able to write the incredible songs he did. "God Only Knows" is as sophisticated as a lot of Classical music. Yet, to put things in perspective, during the recording of the ultimately-shelved Smile album, he had a Beethoven Symphony playing on his outdoor speakers as he and his brother Carl floated in his pool one night. At it’s conclusion, he said to Carl "It’s nice to know you’re a musical midget". Talent is relative. But it is important to remember that Brian's knowledge of music theory only enabled him to write as well as he did; there are others with similar knowledge who have never written a song anywhere near as good as "God Only Knows". By the way, Paul McCartney said he considers it the best song ever written. Me too. 

For anyone loving Garcia’s mix of all forms of "Pop" music, check out Danny Gatton, a true "guitarists guitarist". Now THAT guy could play all strains of music, and really, really well---a true master. No excuses necessary, unlike Jerry’s sloppy, directionless/lost noodling. No offense JG lovers!

Jerry Garcia was to me a handyman---jack of all trades, master of none. He loved Tony Rice’s playing of Bluegrass on acoustic guitar. So do I. Jerry’s ability at that music was mediocre at best, lacking the necessary sense of lyricism. I’ve played with quite a few guys who played it better than Garcia. He also loved the quick, nimble, fluid Telecaster playing of Country guitarists like Clarence White. So do I, but Garcia lacked the melodicism that style of guitar playing demands. He loved the Blues playing of Albert and Freddie King, but lacked their ability at phrasing. Non-musician Dead fans talk of the bands "Jazz-like" improvisation abilities. Do I really need to say that actual Jazz musicians were not and are not impressed with their skill at improvisation? To call it rudimentary would be to exaggerate. I could go on, but wont.

And then there is the "singing". I saw The Dead with Pig Pen, and he could sort of pull off a white boy version of Blues, on a garage band level. But Garcia and Weir? To put it bluntly, they simply could not sing. It’s hard to do even Everly Brothers style 2-part harmonies when both singers are flat. The resulting sound is "sour"---that is the vocal sound of The Dead. Like it if you want, but I want my harmony---and even melody---singing "sweet".