Grateful Dead Categorize that Tune

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By request: a topic for discussing what genre a particular Grateful Dead song belongs to, its influences, etc.

They love each other

Ive been wanting to start a "categorize that GD tune thread. Each day or hour post a GD tune, and different people will give their opinion on wat genre it belongs to, who the band might have been listening to at the time they wrote it, etc. Even covers count. First song- They Love each Other. My opinion is that the song is soul, r&b influenced. At least the earlier faster versions. What about the slower versions? Lets keep this going folks.

I know this isn't what you're looking for, but

I have three categories for Dead tunes: 1) Ones that I love, can listen to any time, any day 2) Ones that I can take or leave. I don't skip over them, but I don't seek them out either. 3) Ones that I could never hear again for the rest of my life and not miss. TLEO started in Category 3 and over the decades has managed to percolate through Category 2 into the lower reaches of Category 1. So my category: a grower...

direction connection i choose beside her

slinky with collard green grease; soaked backbeat. a slide to Gospel shimmer not far away. righteous statement behind the groove.spreadable soul that melts in the slow zone; peppery snap in the faster call-and-response. a curious slither at any tempo and all the more very welcome. i love this song. always brings a smile.

huh?

That "poem" or whatever it is supposed to be is nothing but racist filth, and I don't appreciate it at a Grateful Dead website. The only thing it lacked was a watermelon and a bucket of fried chicken. Yuck-o! "Spreadable soul"? "Slinky with collard green grease"? I need to go wash my hands.

Genres

Meaning: Bluegrass; Jazz; Folk: Cowboy Songs; Rock; Am I correct here. There must be more catagories than these and some that can be left out. Don't think there is a Celtic influenced Dead song.

Yes

Thats the point. Genres. Who may have influenced. They love each other is still the song.

Roots

In his fanzine, Golden Road, Blair Jackson had a column--I think it might have been called Roots--forget--anyway, it ran for a while--not sure if it was in every issue. You might want to track those down. Blair was selling back issues--not sure if he still has any--PM "blairj." Quite a few GD tunes are just rehashes of older folk things; Sugaree (look for Elizabeth Cotten) and Stagger Lee are good examples--Casey Jones another. I have only seen the cover in a bookshop (didn't open it), but the Annotated Grateful Dead is probably a good source of what you are after. The Dead are a great entry-point to a lot of genres and the originals of their covers are well worth seeking out. They Love Each Other is actually a thinly-veiled reworking of "Jump Mama Shindig" by the Honeys--a fifties doowop group out of Philadelphia--one of Frank Zappa's favorites, if memory serves.

Here Comes Sunshine

yeah id like a copy of that. Trust me im totally aware that alot of the gd rep. Is reworkings of traditionals. I just thought this would be interesting for those musicologists out there who cant just settle for "well its just good music." Thanks for the info on TLEO though. I guess the next tune.is Here Comes Sunshine.

It's All Good

Iko-Iko. Didn't mean to offend. Guess this thread isn't for me. Maybe Jonapi's impressionistic approach is better than a dry breakdown (1/2 teaspoon blues, 1/4 cup reggae...) with scholarly references. Maybe I am just an old fuddy-duddy who listens to what he likes and leaves it at that. Sorry to intrude.

High Time

Thoughts on High Time, anyone?

losing light to go

a song that sometimes bends the very notion of time; like it pulls us into it's own orbit. the slower versions almost seeming to go backwards.did they ever slide into after a Drums/Space? feels right like Stella Blue did. a treacle-y moment to be had 03/24/86 at The Spectrum, Philadelphia. will it grind to a halt? like it's performed in quicksand. it's influences, i cannot say; but another that feels so right when it appears.

Franklins tower

Influences, genre

Just found this link from the newsletter

Here Comes Sunshine--definitely the Beatles being channeled here, maybe even a tribute to them. Not just the title, but the sing-songy chorus in bright harmony. Even the ending on the album fades into modal weirdness like one of the pieces on Magical Mystery Tour

High Time

To me this sounds like a George Jones cryin'-in-your-beer, honky-tonk song. The Dead can sometimes sound like country, but truly, there ain't no country that sounds like that.

categorize that incarnation

GD65=groovyGD66=nascent GD67 GD68 GD69=raw GD70=homey GD71=harmony,rockbilly GD72=professional GD73=experimental, jazzy, explorative GD74=complex, cerebral GD75 GD76=loose, adventurous, jaunty GD77=ethereal, tight GD78=aggressive, ripping, muscular GD79=chunky GD80 GD81 GD82 GD83 GD84=greasy GD85=sloppy, unpredictable GD86 GD87=happy, fun GD88=ask stoltzfus GD89=large, juggernaut GD90=clean GD91 GD92 GD93 GD94=retrograde GD95=incomplete

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October 15, 2016 - 12:31pm

#1

wjonjd

Joined:
January 24, 2011

Oops

.
February 23, 2015 - 10:12am

#2

wilfredtjones

Joined:
June 4, 2007

categorize that incarnation

GD65=groovyGD66=nascent GD67 GD68 GD69=raw GD70=homey GD71=harmony,rockbilly GD72=professional GD73=experimental, jazzy, explorative GD74=complex, cerebral GD75 GD76=loose, adventurous, jaunty GD77=ethereal, tight GD78=aggressive, ripping, muscular GD79=chunky GD80 GD81 GD82 GD83 GD84=greasy GD85=sloppy, unpredictable GD86 GD87=happy, fun GD88=ask stoltzfus GD89=large, juggernaut GD90=clean GD91 GD92 GD93 GD94=retrograde GD95=incomplete
November 21, 2011 - 6:41pm

#3

deadbass36

Joined:
January 4, 2009

High Time

To me this sounds like a George Jones cryin'-in-your-beer, honky-tonk song. The Dead can sometimes sound like country, but truly, there ain't no country that sounds like that.
November 21, 2011 - 6:34pm

#4

deadbass36

Joined:
January 4, 2009

Just found this link from the newsletter

Here Comes Sunshine--definitely the Beatles being channeled here, maybe even a tribute to them. Not just the title, but the sing-songy chorus in bright harmony. Even the ending on the album fades into modal weirdness like one of the pieces on Magical Mystery Tour
November 10, 2011 - 11:39am

#5

Zopenshaw86

Joined:
November 7, 2011

Franklins tower

Influences, genre
November 10, 2011 - 8:20am

#6

Anonymous (not verified)

Joined:
March 29, 2017

losing light to go

a song that sometimes bends the very notion of time; like it pulls us into it's own orbit. the slower versions almost seeming to go backwards.did they ever slide into after a Drums/Space? feels right like Stella Blue did. a treacle-y moment to be had 03/24/86 at The Spectrum, Philadelphia. will it grind to a halt? like it's performed in quicksand. it's influences, i cannot say; but another that feels so right when it appears.
November 10, 2011 - 7:59am

#7

Zopenshaw86

Joined:
November 7, 2011

High Time

Thoughts on High Time, anyone?
November 9, 2011 - 1:36pm

#8

Cali Kelly

Joined:
November 1, 2011

It's All Good

Iko-Iko. Didn't mean to offend. Guess this thread isn't for me. Maybe Jonapi's impressionistic approach is better than a dry breakdown (1/2 teaspoon blues, 1/4 cup reggae...) with scholarly references. Maybe I am just an old fuddy-duddy who listens to what he likes and leaves it at that. Sorry to intrude.
November 9, 2011 - 11:04am

#9

Zopenshaw86

Joined:
November 7, 2011

Here Comes Sunshine

yeah id like a copy of that. Trust me im totally aware that alot of the gd rep. Is reworkings of traditionals. I just thought this would be interesting for those musicologists out there who cant just settle for "well its just good music." Thanks for the info on TLEO though. I guess the next tune.is Here Comes Sunshine.
November 9, 2011 - 8:49am

#10

Cali Kelly

Joined:
November 1, 2011

Roots

In his fanzine, Golden Road, Blair Jackson had a column--I think it might have been called Roots--forget--anyway, it ran for a while--not sure if it was in every issue. You might want to track those down. Blair was selling back issues--not sure if he still has any--PM "blairj." Quite a few GD tunes are just rehashes of older folk things; Sugaree (look for Elizabeth Cotten) and Stagger Lee are good examples--Casey Jones another. I have only seen the cover in a bookshop (didn't open it), but the Annotated Grateful Dead is probably a good source of what you are after. The Dead are a great entry-point to a lot of genres and the originals of their covers are well worth seeking out. They Love Each Other is actually a thinly-veiled reworking of "Jump Mama Shindig" by the Honeys--a fifties doowop group out of Philadelphia--one of Frank Zappa's favorites, if memory serves.