The summer of 1969 began an era of homegrown music for The Grateful Dead. Pedal steel guitars and acoustic performances started showing up with regularity early in the first set. Throughout much of the tour you can hear keyboardist Tom Constanten just barely poking through the mix, and he never seems to be very loud.
An early "Dire Wolf" starts the show; notice Bobby singing the lead while Jerry plays pedal steel. The arrangement wouldn’t last long before Jerry took over lead vocals and abandoned the pedal steel.
"Slewfoot" is next; it is a novelty tune about a bear in the woods, and it’s fun if nothing else. This song was only performed 8 times, and all of them were in ’69. "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" closes the mini acoustic set.
"Hard to Handle" kicks off the electric set, as it so often did on this tour. "Sittin’ On Top of the World > Big Boss Man" is raucous, and Jerry’s heavy tone steals the show.
The next 27 minutes consist of a blistering "That’s It For The Other One" suite, which segues into two new songs: the 4th performance of "High Time", and then the 5th performance of "Casey Jones". I wish the soundboard were a little clearer, but it’s no easy feat containing the sound of 7 musicians.
The third and final Pigpen outing in this compilation is "Easy Wind", in its 3rd performance. Listen for the guitar interplay; they really gel with Tom on organ. I chose the "China Cat Sunflower" due to its intensity, and the rarity factor: it does not go into "I Know You Rider". I had to make an editorial choice and create an ending, as it originally went in to "High Time", which was already represented elsewhere on this compilation. The jam in China Cat is so good, it justified the hassle and is worth the listen.
The 28-minute "Dark Star" has a wide range of dynamics, a great lyric section, melodic instrumentals, space, wild percussion effects and a heavy outro before closing on “mirror shatters”. While this "Dark Star" actually goes into "St. Stephen", I felt that the "Morning Dew" from the same night was a better fit. The "St. Stephen" is good, though.
The listener never really knows what is around the next corner in summer ’69. Whether Pigpen is howling at the top of his lungs, Tom is maintaining their psychedelic edge, or Jerry is behind the pedal steel guitar, it’s worth a listen.
Disc 1
Dire Wolf (6.27.69)
Slewfoot (6.28.69)
Silver Threads & Golden Needles (6.28.69)
Hard To Handle (7.4.69)
Sittin’ On Top Of The World > (7.11.69)
Big Boss Man (7.11.69)
That’s It For the Other One > (7.4.69)
High Time > (7.4.69)
Casey Jones (7.4.69)
Running Time: 50min
Disc 2
Easy Wind (8:06)
China Cat Sunflower (7.5.69)
Dark Star (8.30.69)
Morning Dew (8.30.69)
Running Time: 53min
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