Bob Weir isolated guitar from Dead show
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With that much delay, you don’t have to hit the strings as often!!! Eeehaw...
Pretty basic chord structure...easy money right there, imho.
Pretty basic chord structure...easy money right there, imho.
I've got a fave GD Dick's Picks live show CD from 1972 that has great separation and really shows off Weir's amazing rhythm and R&B/ Country double stops, and pull-offs etc.
His playing, especially on transition jam between China Cat and I Know You Rider ( while Jerry is just tearing it up on lead) really showcase how damn good these 2 could play together.
I also dig how there was often a tonal ' role reversal' Fender vs. GIbson with Jerry and Bob.
Jerry is playing an edgy and downright barky/honky Stratocaster ( which I love) and Weirs 345 ( my fave Bobby guitar) is just crystal clear. These 2 guitars just kill me!
His playing, especially on transition jam between China Cat and I Know You Rider ( while Jerry is just tearing it up on lead) really showcase how damn good these 2 could play together.
I also dig how there was often a tonal ' role reversal' Fender vs. GIbson with Jerry and Bob.
Jerry is playing an edgy and downright barky/honky Stratocaster ( which I love) and Weirs 345 ( my fave Bobby guitar) is just crystal clear. These 2 guitars just kill me!
mikestearns
Tele-Holic
72 era stuff is my favorite, they were just on fire then.
maxvintage
Poster Extraordinaire
Nothing against Weir, the song in that band doesn't require more, but exactly what about this is masterful or remarkable?
Texicaster
Friend of Leo's
Well....
Rhythm guitar has to be reactive AND driving. There's a LOT missing from these isolated tracks! Alone they're boring as heck!
Try this in context...
I just watched it again! Please note "I Know You Rider" is D-C-G with an F thrown in during chorus. Check out how many inversions/voicings he works in in a 4 beat passage! Pretty cool stuff!
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Ime and imho, any rhythm guitarist who is playing in a reactive mode has missed the rhythm aspect of his job. Again.....and know that I have listened to some Dead in my day, that song right there is easy money. I am not saying that the band is not achieving what they set out to do. At this point in my life, listening to that entire cur would be like watching the little fellow there trying to learn how to dance.....he has no rhythm and I don’t have the time.
I guess I need to pull out those thick, nearly pristine, thick German vinyl LP’s and take a listen. Someone might want them more than I do at this point????
I guess I need to pull out those thick, nearly pristine, thick German vinyl LP’s and take a listen. Someone might want them more than I do at this point????
The concert is over 2 hours long. I get that nobody, including myself, is going to listen to the whole thing because I agree it's rather boring. I FF to some songs I wanted to hear exactly what he plays but to judge on a 20 second or one song listen?
I'm with you
Along with the whole ' love/hate' thing of the Dead, there are definitely opinions of what era of GD folks who do love them, like best or don't care for.
I love the ' 72 era for a few specific personal reasons:
- I love the original and cover songs they were coming out with at the time- The band sound is cleaner, not quite as thick and distorted/ psychedelic ( which I like too) as earlier years. Here they are funky clean, and also Jerry seems to use Country picking as a jumping off point for improv- something I definitely got from him.
- I love just the one drummer Billy K. version of the band- he can blues swing and play like a jazz drummer at the same time. Real multitasker!
- I also love the Strat and 345 combo of Jerry and Bobby
OK sorry t ramble!
Texicaster
Friend of Leo's
I see what you're saying and agree in sense of timing but a well rehearsed band that knows each other things can pull it off. Weir's rhythm
When I'm playing bluegrass rhythm I HAVE to be reactive as other players may or may not need a simple cowboy chord 1-4-5. Some guys will start playing jazzy notes and maybe I should play it Texas Swing.... Or maybe I feel like forcing a jazz feel.... A bunch of bass runs may work great or throw the lead off. Sometimes you gotta push the beat or hold it back based on the rest of the band.
A rhythm player who plays the same chords right on the beat is the missionary position of guitar playing...
omahaaudio
Poster Extraordinaire
That must be why he gets all the chicks.
I listened to much more than twenty seconds of the cut to which I referred. And....I have listened to entire Dead albums at one sitting. (8^0..... I hear people doing what they are doing very well and in the manner which they choose, but when I can play it then it has to be easy money.....and these two cuts are things I could play with no problem. Other Dead things can be different. Please understand...I respect what they did and have enjoyed them for most of 5 decades.
Texicaster
Friend of Leo's
Well I have no clue as to your abilities on guitar but saying you could reproduce this is one thing but what would be impressive is taking a 1-4-5 (or is I know You Rider in G; V-IV-I-(VII) ?) folk song and adding ~20 chord inversions and making it a rocker not a jazz exercise... Prudence would suggest playing close to vest power chords in such a circumstance but Weir does anything but...
I know a couple impressive card tricks but have never come up with one as simple as the ones I know are....
chris m.
Doctor of Teleocity
I watched the documentary "The Other One" and I came away with two things about Weir's playing. 1) Unlike a lot of rhythm players, he actually liked playing rhythm and was not a lead wannabe.
He honed his craft and was dedicated to it. 2) He does play a lot of different inversions and interesting chords, and apparently he was influenced a lot by jazz piano. I don't know whether the isolated
video does a good job of showing what he is able to do. In the documentary he demonstrates his approach and describes it and I have to say that I was impressed. It's "comping"-- complimenting the lead
line, which is a difficult thing to do whether it be in a jazz standard or a Dead tune. The challenge is to do it well on the fly while not messing up the rhythm, improvising chord voicings in response to the lead
line.
I like the GD but am not a mega fan by any means. There's tons of music documentaries on Netflix and I stumbled across this one. I like watching them when I get some TV time to myself, such as when
my wife is on a biz trip or whatever.
He honed his craft and was dedicated to it. 2) He does play a lot of different inversions and interesting chords, and apparently he was influenced a lot by jazz piano. I don't know whether the isolated
video does a good job of showing what he is able to do. In the documentary he demonstrates his approach and describes it and I have to say that I was impressed. It's "comping"-- complimenting the lead
line, which is a difficult thing to do whether it be in a jazz standard or a Dead tune. The challenge is to do it well on the fly while not messing up the rhythm, improvising chord voicings in response to the lead
line.
I like the GD but am not a mega fan by any means. There's tons of music documentaries on Netflix and I stumbled across this one. I like watching them when I get some TV time to myself, such as when
my wife is on a biz trip or whatever.
Interesting to me is that I saw Bob and Wolf Bros not too long ago. It's just a trio and Bob holds down 100% of the guitar parts. His tone sounded nearly identical to the one in the video above. I actually don't necessarily prefer his tone. I find it very ice picky, cold and too thin. But I walked away from that show very impressed by his guitar playing even more so than I had been. I get it that not all love the Dead or Burning Spear or Atmosphere but I just thought the isolated guitar was kind of cool. I wish we had one of Jerry's. Or anybody's. I like listening to that stuff.
Endless Mike
Friend of Leo's
This video appears to be from my favorite, all too brief period. They were just one drummer, and it was Keith without Donna.
Man, Kruetzman could swing.
Pick_n_Strum
Tele-Meister
My all-time favorite dead songs!
Let's keep in mind there's a big difference between being able to play something someone already wrote and handed to you on a platter and writing the song/part in the first place and coming up with those parts.. sometimes on the fly.
Isn't it OK for him to be reactive when there's 2 drummers & a bassist also holding down the rhythm?
Isn't it OK for him to be reactive when there's 2 drummers & a bassist also holding down the rhythm?
You ever notice that I know you Rider and Morning Dew actually have the same chord progression just different tempos
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