I am a guitar fan.  If the music doesn’t have a lot of guitar, I quickly lose interest.

My favorites over the years all had at least one guitar god, sometimes two.  The bands with guitar interplay — usually in the form of two guitarists complementing each other, one rhythm one lead, are my ultimate faves.

Anyone reading my thoughts on particular songs or particular performances, which I believe I will be delving into in the near future as I hit upon various gems, should know that I am very guitar focused.

Which leads me to a big question.  The Grateful Dead were known for pioneering a more balanced approach to band harmony, both in terms of governance and what they played onstage.

I am interested in figuring out just how the Dead managed to achieve this democracy in action, while harboring a true virtuoso in Jerry Garcia.  Unlike the above-referenced gods of guitar, even when the solo spotlight turns to Jerry, to my ears, his volume and general voicing do not seek to overwhelm the rest of the playing.

Although much of the audience is tuned into what Jerry plays, note-wise and tone-wise, for its emotional and musical message, he seems to be bending over backwards to appear humble.

The contradiction is fascinating to me.  When Jerry does step up and play a more typical “direct” solo based on a variation of the melody line, it is notcieable in the sense that despite hours of his strong playing throughout a show he is not frequently so direct.

I am obviously aware of many general rock guitar fans’ view that Garcia noodles too much, and that his solos are frequently aimless.  Suffice it to say I used to parrot that line if someone tried to rank Garcia with one of the more obvious blues/rock guitar gods.

I would not do so anymore.

I am hearing Jerry already as an equal to these other lead guitarists, and in some contexts he is clearly better.  In Jerry Garcia’s playing, I think I am hearing what will have been a thirty-year exercise in self-restraint.

With age comes (some) patience, an ability to see over longer horizons and more appreciations of the joys of ensemble creation over the individual’s achievement.

On balance, I am already seeing the wisdom of emphasizing the collective.  I think this will be one of the big lessons of my dive into the Dead.