You might say I'm crazy to kick off the Grateful Dead By Tour blog with a recreation of the never-completed final album Earthquake Country. You would be right. This is by no means a tour compilation, but it's a good firewall for readers. The polarizing post-Hornsby '90s are a hurdle for many listeners. I intend to shine a light on the darkened corners of the Grateful Dead live experience, and this is among the darkest, if popular consensus is to be trusted.
If you've heard about the Club Front sessions or are familiar with the new original songs of the '90s, you will likely have already made up your mind whether or not to listen to any speculative version of their final album, with a working title reported to be Earthquake Country. Although the album was never completed, a few session tapes can be found on the So Many Roads box set and in the wild.
Fan-made versions of Earthquake Country exist, and they are largely culled from live tapes. While many compilations include a loose "Corrina" > "Days Between" combo, the segue only occurred once. It's short-sighted to include that tape from 7.3.94 simply because it's convenient - better versions of either song can be found, and it's impossible that the band planned to record them as such.
Most bootlegs omit both Vince songs "Way To Go Home" and "Samba in the Rain", as well as Bobby's "Easy Answers". I have a suspicion that they're omitted because all three songs and Vince in general are generally derided. I've included all three of them here for the sake of completeness. "Way To Go Home" and "Easy Answers" were performed earlier and more often than a number of the songs included on such compilations, so it makes sense to include them. The downside is that their inclusion means that all 12 songs in sequence exceed the 80-minute limit of blank CDs. If you plan to burn this, you'll need to eliminate one or two songs. We're living in a post-CD world, and while most Nick's Picks accommodate the duration of a CD, don't expect everything to fit. Completeness rules over convenience here!
Now, without further ado: Earthquake Country. I've arranged it so that Jerry starts and closes the album - it's worth noting that the original compositions of this era were diverse, including a few from Vince and a songwriting resurgence from Phil Lesh. Taking a back seat is Bob Weir, with only three compositions out of twelve.
"Lazy River Road" is one of the most beloved songs of this era, and it is one of the most authentic. Other songs written during the '90s ("So Many Roads", and to some extent "Days Between") have been accused of being attempts to mimic their classic sound. This jaunty rendition of "Lazy River Road" from Spring '95 is startlingly clear and well-performed. The lyrics are dense, and the at this point, the ailing Jerry Garcia undoubtedly benefited from the recent addition of teleprompters on stage.
Next up is Weir's "Easy Answers", often referred to as Cheesy Answers. If you can listen past the lyrics "You don't have to say a word, you got dick to say", your next roadblock will be Vince's godawful horn and synth patches. In spite of all this, I admit that I have a soft spot for the song, and it is definitely an ear worm. I chose a relatively early version from 7 months after its debut. If you can't dig this version with Vince focused on a semi-believable organ tone, I'm sorry to say there's little hope you'll like any others.
Speaking of Vince, and speaking of guilty pleasures, "Samba in the Rain" is 3rd in my running order. Of the '94 batch of songs, this is one of the most consistent performances night-to-night. Jerry navigates the solo on "Samba" well and everyone gives it their all during the stacked harmony vocals. This is the first of a few new tunes that allowed Mickey to use percussion instead of a full drum kit; keep an ear out for congas. Even if it doesn't sound decidedly "Dead", the listener will likely agree that "Samba" is a groovy adult-contemporary tune. Keep in mind that their original wave of fans were now well in their '40s.
The first of three Phil songs follows: "If the Shoe Fits". It was only performed 17 times; all but two of which were in '94. This suggests that the song was retired, but who knows what might have happened when the time came to track Earthquake Country. This is the 4th outing for the song, and the band deliver a well-rehearsed performance. The lyric is by Andrew Charles, a West Indian musician who moved to the Bay Area in 1993. Phil must have appropriated the song and put his own spin on it - take it or leave it, the simple fact that you've heard it places you in the minority.
"So Many Roads" is one of the few late-era songs to pass into the "classic" canon and to be performed by post-Grateful Dead affiliated groups. The song is the earliest of the Earthquake Country tunes to be performed, debuting in February '92 just as Bruce Hornsby was stepping away from the band. Not much needs to be said - either you're aware of "So Many Roads" or you've been avoiding the '90s.
I remember the first time I heard "Corrina" because it stands alone in the Grateful Dead catalog. Very few songs rely on one instrument's tone, but Vince's marimba/piano/echo combo is absolutely essential to the versions performed while Jerry was alive. I heard it on a Road Trips release and I was captivated by its haunting mood, evoking early blues with layered MIDI technology. The Dead are nothing if not resourceful.
Jerry's use of a harmonizer pedal is a frequent feature of "Corrina". His playing adds to Vince's shape-shifting tones, Weir's (completely shitty) digital guitar effects, Phil's over-compressed bass and the sometimes tribal drums. The song contains an atmosphere unto itself, and this 6.16.93 take stands out despite a few lyric flubs. The end is faded, as the song often went into or came out of Drums > Space.
I would say Phil's "Wave to the Wind" is polarizing, but a positive review is hard to come by. I guess that makes it despised. It sounds like Phil saved up his songwriting for decades and unleashed it all in one song. The lyrics can be attributed to (dare I say blamed on?) Hunter, but the chords are pure Phil Lesh. It seems as though he pulled a few chords and keys from a hat and set out to find a way to connect them. Most versions feature Jerry floundering on stage, gasping for air - he's coherent in this take from 9.30.93.
I like to think of "Shady Grove" and "Dark Hollow" as two ways of describing the same pastoral landscape. Similarly, "Way To Go Home" is the other side of the coin shared with "So Many Roads". Vince sings "I'd tell you all about it, but that's another tale / It's a long way to go home" while Jerry sings "All I want is one road to take me home". Robert Hunter wrote both songs, and it reads like Vince got the lesser of two lyrics. Early in its life "Way To Go Home" bounced around the setlist, but found a home early in many 2nd sets from '92 to the end. The two songs are connected on a few levels, as "Way To Go Home" debuted the day after "So Many Roads".
Jerry delivers a heartfelt "Liberty" from summer '93 next. In my opinion, the song feels like a long-awaited sibling to "U.S. Blues" and "Loose Lucy". The lyrics are light-hearted and the guitar refrain is reminiscent of "Tennessee Jed" and "Ramble on Rose". The riff shines on the clean tone used during the years Jerry played both the Rosebud and Lightning Bolt guitars. The harmonies are always well sung, and Vince's high register is put to good use. Pardon the fast fade at the end; no soundboard tape exists beyond the premature cut on this 6.9.93 rendition.
Sometimes Bobby's "Eternity" feels like it lasts just as long as its title references. Debuting a year to the day (ok give or take one day) after "So Many Roads" and "Way To Go Home", this song broke open a new batch of originals. I chose the Club Front rehearsal version because it is fairly well recorded and largely without flaws. Vince and Bobby take techniques from the American songbook, using borrowed chords and unique chord extensions.
Mickey's percussion choices add flavor, and Jerry uses a modulation effect rarely revived since a few outings in the late '70s. Once he finds his footing on the modulated bridge section, the solo is off to the races. Perhaps taking a cue from Phil's lyric hijack for "If the Shoe fits", Weir and his compatriot Rob Wasserman re-appropriate Willie Dixon's lyrics for "Eternity". Willie could not have foreseen Vince Welnick's atmospheric tones when he wrote the lyrics, otherwise he may have opted to take a nap instead of writing them. Dixon died a year before the debut of this song, which is about as fair as Bobby could be.
Nearly 30 years after Phil wrote "Cardboard Cowboy (No Left Turn Unstoned)", he was back at it with more lyrics replete with four-syllable words. In a 1994 interview with Blair Jackson, Phil commented that "Childhood's End" was much better than the psychedelic "Cardboard Cowboy" from the mid-'60s... most fan comments beg to differ. On paper, it would be hard to identify which of the two songs own the lyric "scoutin' unknown borders under multi-colored moons in the wildest flights of cosmic mystery". Puzzlingly, they belong to "Childhood's End".
"Childhood's End" was the last original song debuted by the Grateful Dead before Jerry passed away, and it was one of many in the new batch that reeked of nostalgia. "Childhood's End", "So Many Roads" and "Days Between" were the band's way of looking back, for better or worse.
"Days Between" as a song is an acquired taste, but the idea of the days between has permeated Dead lore. Each year there are promotions surrounding the 8 days between Jerry Garcia's birthday and death date, not to mention Phil recently choking up in an interview while discussing the song. The music itself is dark and contemplative, as mirrored in this particular take during Jerry's outro. This take is among the latest of those included on my compilation, coming from 12.11.94. Jerry's voice is congested and gravelly, but as they say, "he was awake".
No matter the lyrics and circumstances, the Grateful Dead were explorative and not without flaw. Check out Mickey's stray whistle sample at 3:10 if you want to be shaken out of the moment. Mickey must have been hitting drum triggers at random. He retreats to analog instruments immediately after the embarrassment subsides.
Following the death of Brent Mydland in 1990 and later the departure Bruce Hornsby in 1992, the Grateful Dead were at a crossroads. Their performances were at odds with their increasingly rowdy and disinterested audiences, many of whom just came to party. Some of the diehard fans were putting up with lackluster performances on stage and waiting for good nights, or even good songs, while others stayed home and avoided tours. The band didn't seem to agree on whether to appeal to the adults, with the radio-friendly "Easy Answers" and "Samba in the Rain", or to replicate past glory with enjoyable facades like "Lazy River Road", "So Many Roads" and "Liberty".
The third option was to LET PHIL SING to damaging effect. They simply couldn't win, and with regard to this era, they still can't win. Go look for a Dick's Pick, Dave's Pick or official release from post-1991. Let me know when you find it! Still, there are diamonds in the rough. If this compilation is the only chance you can give the era, you will only have experienced the songwriting fragment. There are fun new covers and new segues to be found, as well as new spins on old favorites. If the mid-'90s are not your bag, I cannot blame you. I just don't see the value in reading every chapter of a book but the last. I hope you can find something to like about my take on Earthquake Country.
Check back again for two discs of rare and one-off performances, including a few guest appearances. I'll get to the tours soon, I swear!
Click here for my MP3 mix of Earthquake Country. Join the folder and receive updates each time a new release is added!