EM commented recently on my frequent discussion of Comes A Time, pointing me to the Roanoke 1987 show as a version for me to check out.
I decided that I needed a diversion from my continuing focus on May 1977 and the 1971-73 eras (the latter being several distinct eras themselves, apparently), so I headed over to the Internet Archive and listened to the tune.
Now, I may come off as Rip Van Winkle here, like I slept through all of modern music history, but I am shocked and stunned at the frailty of Jerry Garcia’s voice and his lack of basic vocal control.
I know he was in a diabetic coma in 1986, and that he made a great recovery from it, and had to re-learn how to play, etc. I accept that at face value, and can only imagine the pressure he put on himself to get back to what he loved to do, as well as the pressure from the fans, and from the “machine” so dependent on him for earning a living.
But come on! I had heard that the background talk at the time that the Dead wasn’t what it used to be anymore, but never realized just how bad things had gotten as far as Jerry’s vocals.
Thinking I had listened to the wrong show, I went back and realized there was a second show the next day.
Sorry, same issue. Jerry’s about 15% better, but I remain amazed in a bad way.
If my math is right, he was 45 or so years old for the 1987-07-07 and 1987-07-08 shows.
Surely in another few months I will have acclimated to the deterioration in their faculties and will be able to date a show based simply on the sound of Jerry’s voice.
However, the beauty of this little diary in real time is that my initial reaction is captured forever, and I have to tell you, my mind is racing with all kinds of questions and accusations as to how this was allowed to happen like this. I will leave that mostly to another time, lest I be a “blind man” saying “don’t you see”. I need to learn and listen more before shooting off my mouth in a way that will surely disappoint some.
Maybe Jerry insisted. And he was the boss, despite the thing where he pretended he wasn’t. No one could make him change his ways. But really, it hints of collective denial on a massive scale. And I’m sure it got worse, I did take a peek at the final Soldier’s Field show a few weeks ago, but never imagined it was close to that bad all the way back in 1987.
Now, as an aside to EM who pointed out Roanoke 1987 to me, I have no doubt that the show(s) meant a lot to you, and that they might have been standouts for that era or for that tune in specific. I am just on a 50,000-foot level unable to get much beyond the decline in the main man’s voice and presentation ability from the golden days I have steeped myself in recently.
I have not done a lot of evaluation of the guitar playing, but there seems to have been a lot of decline there too, sad to say. The quick truncation of the second solos alone, before the compositional challenges of the change in tone in the best versions of the song, speaks negative volumes.
Not having lived through the coma as a fan in real time, I am not really able to bring the poignancy of the situation into the mix as far as judging the music, in the cold light of day.
I am just very sad about what I may face as I move into those eras and beyond. I fear for an eight-year slow motion ride into death.
[OK, so I hit 'Publish' on this, and then hit Google, and come up with this great article on The Burden of Being Jerry. Nothing this frank came through to me in the McNally book I read.]
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June 5, 2009 at 04:08
Ron in Chicago
Didn’t take you long to discover what others new but didn’t want to accept. Jer’s voice is one of the reason’s I fell in love with the Dead back when I first heard Europe ‘72. It did go downhill quickly in the mid-’80s. I think it started its decline in ‘78 or so, but was subtle decline early on. Mark in Chicago has it right, though. You’ll find some stuff in late ‘89 and ‘90 that is pretty good in a different way. Life’s hard road crept into his voice and you can feel it when he sings, even though he didn’t have that sweet tone from the ’70s. That’s probably why 95% of what I listen to is pre-1979. And, Mark is also correct when he says check out The Jerry Garcia Band “Live” album. The two disk set has some of the greatest music ever made. And, you’ll discover some solos on there that will melt you away. Try Simple Twist of Fate out and turn it up. His voice also sounds fantastic on the whole set, unbelievably, when you think about how it had declined. Check out That Lucky Old Sun and you’ll forget all the technical stuff. First song I listed to after he died. Tears still haven’t dried.
June 4, 2009 at 13:13
Mark
Another 40-something Johnny-come-lately to the Dead here. I gotta agree about the later years – the shows are often painful. I have focused my attention on the Godchaux era.
I was telling a friend about my interest in the band and he was flabbergasted. He saw a mid-90’s show in Atlanta (Omni) and thought it was awful. And, I can’t say I blame him.
The McNally book – as good as it was for history – glossed over Jerry’s decline. The guy’s job is PR so it’s to be expected. Nevertheless, the article you referenced seems to be a more accurate portrayal. Aside a moralizing aside – I wish (some, not all) Deadheads would quit glamorizing drugs.
June 3, 2009 at 14:59
Mark in Chicago
You’re right, it is shocking and disturbing, and it takes a certain distance from the phenomenon to register just how much so. But things are not quite as dreary as they seem to you right now. For one thing, there was not a continued decline, either in Jerry’s voice and guitar playing or in the band’s performance as a whole, from ‘87-’95. The pattern was more like fairly steady improvement from ‘87-’90 such that the best shows from ‘89-’90 are genuinely excellent; ‘91 with many very bright spots equal to the best of ‘89-’90 but some signs of wear and tear; ‘92 dismal with a few exceptions; ‘93 somewhat better with some fine shows; then ‘94-’95 back to fairly steady decline. So you still have some exciting times ahead in your explorations of these periods (although I will grant you nothing as great as the best of the years from ‘68 through the spring of ‘78 or so.) For another, Jerry’s playing and singing in the Jerry Garcia Band from ‘87 at least through ‘93 is consistently brilliant. You haven’t yet commented on the JGB; it is quite a different animal from the Dead, but a beautiful one in its own right, and based on the musical sensibility you show here I think you will love it. In fact many Heads (I among them) prefer JGB to the Dead in the later period. (A great introduction to this incarnation of the JGB is the 2-disc set “Jerry Garcia Band.”) So you’re right to be mindful of the awful tragedy, but there is amazing joy and light to be found here from a purely musical standpoint (as opposed to memories of a great time etc.)
June 3, 2009 at 12:45
igorjazz
Very cool blog. Like you, I am a forty-something who got on the bus very recently, actually within the last several months. And, also like you, I like to focus on the music of the band. It actually sounds silly to say that, but as you have written the Dead are a cultural phenomenon with many facets and people give varying weights to those facets. The irony to me is that the Dead became a cultural phenomenon in part by not wanting to be one. They seem to have despised celebrity and hype, but look at the degree of celebrity and hype they attracted!
Anyway, I look forward to reading more of your posts and sharing the journey of being a musically-inclined latecomer to the band.