Grateful Dead

Yes, I also would place China Cat-Rider in the same class as The Other One, Dark Star and Playing in the Band as the ultimate vehicles-the place where Bill Grahams statement that -"They are not the best at what they do. They are the only ones that do what they do" can best be evidenced.
Quote may not be exactly accurate- the gist of it is.

I am doing a double batch today myself.. I have been having very good success lately. Now.. what to listen to?? I might just have to spin Portland 74.. high energy, jazzy, psychedelic rock and roll.

Before I had cassettes, or when I had hissy cassettes, I would use China/Rider from Europe 72 to try to convert people.
Years later I would use China/Rider from 3-15-90 and all the way through Drums to convert people.

Both methods worked for several people.

Thanks Jimbo.
Low 60’s, partly sunny, heading outside to roast some beans.

I tend to agree, Daverock.. If I had someone's attention who had an open mind and wanted an intro to the GD, I might put on something from 72 and then a 73 or 74. You almost can't go wrong with any from this period, and we benefit from many multi-tracks to pull from. Wowwow stuff.

That being said.. I've never met a ChinaRider I didn't like. I like the progression, the changes in arrangement and of course the improvisation and musical discussions back and forth.

Some of the early versions are so creative, historic perhaps. The genesis from which all others came from. I have really been getting into the 74 ones lately, especially those present on the PNW Box, 5/17 PNE and 5/19 Portland being the strongest. The crescendo in the transition is a powerhouse. I think 80sfan was the first to comment on how good these versions were, he was spot on. 2/24/74 is also excellent as is the one from Dicks Picks 12.

But the return on 12/29/77 is amazing too, the transition smooth as silk. By 1980 they had tightened things up considerably and the long, stretched out jam between had been simplified, it was back to the basics.. but it was tight. I might be in the minority, but I really like some of the midi versions in the 89/90 with Copps Coliseum being one of the better versions and the one used in Without a Net is excellent.

All in all, we might have our favorite periods and favorite versions but the fact that this duo changed and evolved so much speaks to why it is so good. The performances of this pair of songs were never meant to be static, it was highly improvisational and the arrangement was clearly written and intended to change and evolve over time. It couldn't have worked any other way and that, to me, is what makes it special. When you hear those opening notes of Chinacat, you never knew what they were going to get into. So Grateful Dead and that's what made it great. I believe these two songs to be as important as Dark Star, The Other One and Playing in the Band.

Cone Kid.. Happy Anniversary.

I know a few Spirit songs from FM radio in the 80’s but never owned any tapes/albums. Also didn’t know the back story.
So, I watched this last night and my eyes were opened. Bizzaro Hendrix.
That would have been awesome to see them on the stage together. Mirror image guitar playing.
Thanks for the Spirit/Randy talk that got me looking.

https://youtu.be/E_jYkwWjgh8

Of my first show!
4-6-89

Set 1
https://youtu.be/qhz8YfKE6O0

Set2
https://youtu.be/X7PZHKN51YI

Think I’ll watch it tonight.

...The sun is shining brightly today, love it! 😎
...August 27th 1972...first pick of the day...🙏
Have s grateful weekend everyone!

Jimbo, that's so weird - I juuuusst "discovered" that Echoes video a couple of weekends ago. I was blown away that such good quality pre-Dark Side footage existed. I don't even recall how I came across it. That song is special for me. In college I knew from Dark Side of the Moon forward, and side 1 of Meddle (what a great start to a record - One of These Days, Pillow Of Winds, Fearless).

I rarely listen to Echoes, to preserve the magic. I remember first hearing it. I was always an experimenter with pot or whatever else in high school, whenever I could get my hands on stuff (which was rare). In my second year of college, I met some really cool guys, two of whom were the first to move out of the dorms and into a rental house off-campus. They had parties a couple of times a week there. After a few weeks I was invited "upstairs" for the first time, and there was pot. It became a regular thing, and we had a huge posse of like-minded individuals. And of course there was music. The Doors had made a huge comeback in the 90s, and Jane's Addiction was breaking out. Jane Says was one of the stoner songs we played a lot, but very early on, they put on Echoes. Of course I dug it immediately, but my one buddy kept telling me to wait for the good part....wait for the good part....and then Gilmour's guitar crescendo came on and I was blissed out by it. The rest of the year we would come back to that house from parties, go up and smoke, and put on "The Echoes". Those times were too short, but I'll never forget them. Thanks for the reminiscence.

daverock - couldn't agree more about China / Rider, although there are a couple of great (but short) renditions on Three From the Vault and Ladies / Gentlemen. I think it did better on one drummer. Phil plays some nice sustained bass notes at the beginning on those two. But they're way too short. Even '72 is beginning to feel too short (5-7 minute range). They were breaking 8 minutes consistently by '73 (China Cat only of course).

I reached for the original May 1977 Box Set this morning. There's a really exciting Scarlet Begonias on 5/13. It's too bad this one was only 7 minutes, because the drums and jamming is very rockish, especially leading up to the wind in the willows verse.

My biggest blip with haircuts was a long one. Between the ages of about 30 and 55, I had short back and sides to fit in with the work a day world. I am back to normal now.

Surely the golden age for this jam. It had been around in the preceding years-it crops up during the February run at the Fillmore East 1970-Dicks Picks 4. But it never really grew wings until Keith joined, and its apex for me arrived in 1974. I've just listened to the first set of 3/23/74-great version on there-as ever the linking jam makes it.
In fact, if I was to demonstrate to someone who didn't know about the band, why I liked them-one of these China-Rider jams would serve as a great indicator. The psychedelic song-jazz inspired link-traditional American folk/blues song-pure gold.