Save Your Face

The Grateful Dead played only one run in October 1987. This 100-minute highlights mix pulls from those three Mountainview California shows on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of the month.

Most of the selections come from the first two shows, which have really nicely mixed soundboards that highlight the quality singing and the exquisite musical detailing. 1987 seems to be a notable year for performances that could sell anyone on songs they've never heard in any other version.

If you enjoyed the Save Your Face September '87 mix that focused on great versions with killer Garcia vocals, you'll enjoy many of these tracks on the same terms.

102-minute mp3 mix zipped up here (dates included in song title tags)

• Cold Rain and Snow
• Cumberland Blues (w/Maggie’s Farm intro)
• Me and My Uncle
• Candyman
• Bird Song
• High Time
• West LA Fadeaway
• China Cat Sunflower > Rider Jam
• Hey Pocky Way
• Lovelight
• All Along the Watchtower
• Let It Grow
• Stella Blue
• My Brother Esau
• Brokedown Palace

Edit notes:

I edited “Rider” to an instrumental because there were crackly defects on the source. It’s a hard edit (I’ve done it a few times), and this one isn’t perfect, but there’s always something to be said for not having to listen to “Rider” in order to enjoy the “China Cat” jam. 

If you don’t already think of 1987 as one of those years in which the Grateful Dead often played their original compositions perfectly, then you’re in for a happy surprise. Following his 1986 illness, Garcia repossessed his catalogue of songs with massive joy and a voice that was mightier than it had been in years. 

This is a very narrow mix of Garcia singing his heart out on classic Hunter/Garcia compositions (plus “Dew”) in September 1987.  I selected from soundboards with mixes that make his voice the center of the performances. The cities are Providence, Washington D.C., New York, and Philadelphia.

Two-hour+ mp3 mix zipped up here (3 LPs or two discs, as you wish. Dates and cities included in mp3 title tags.)

Side One:

• West LA Fadeaway
• Ship of Fools
• High Time

Side Two:

• They Love Each Other
• Fire on the Mountain
• China Doll

Side Three:

• Dire Wolf
• Wharf Rat
• Eyes of the World

Side Four:

• He’s Gone
• Row Jimmy

Side Five:

• Black Peter
• Morning Dew
• Brokedown Palace

Side Six (Encore w/different sound board balance):

• Loser
• Might as Well
• U.S. Blues

CURATORIAL/EDITORIAL CAVEATS:

• The last three selections don’t have Garcia’s vocals as forward and clear in the mix as the rest of the tracks, but the singing and band performances insisted that they be included.
• There are two edits on this mix. “Wharf Rat” and “He’s Gone" switch from 9/16 to 9/20 to combine the better sung version with the more amazing conclusion.  

This is a 3-hour mix of highlights from the Grateful Dead’s three-show, June 1993 run at Deer Creek in Noblesville, IN. It is pulled from matching SBD sources, except for “Loser” and “High Time,” where the audience recording worked better.

The band was crackling on a lot of first set tunes during this run, particularly in the good times and old-timey zones, with a heavy Garcia-song tilt. Twangy, funky. Some of it has a light touch, but much of it is surprisingly fierce, given the songs. The first disc of this mix pulls that kind of material together into a really fun, unconventional first set. No jam necessary.

The second and third discs collect the big numbers, which have a nice dynamic range. There’s plenty of intense exploration in the 24-minute “Terrapin,” and the first two-thirds of “Fire” are fiery. In contrast, there’s a chill, focused vibe to much of the rest of the improvisation – “Scarlet,” “Dark Star,” “Eternity,” and “Victim.”  (I edited the latter two songs to instrumentals specifically to nestle them up alongside this short-but-sweet “Dark Star.”)

“High Time” was played very rarely after 1991; this is the sixth from last. “Dark Star” is the fifth from last. This mix doesn’t include Drums>Space highlights, which I’m reserving for a future mix dedicated to only that stuff. Caveat: The first few minutes of "Terrapin's" sung parts are rough, but the performance gains steam as the song progresses, flowing into a great jam, so I didn't edit it down.

3-hour mp3 mix zipped up here

Disc One (70 minutes)

• Jack Straw >
• Friend of the Devil
• Jack-a-Roe (slight edit)
• Loose Lucy
• Way to Go Home
• Let the Good Times Roll (edit)
• It’s All Over Now
• Lazy River Road
• Black Peter
• Loser
• High Time

Disc Two (49 minutes)

• Scarlet Begonias >
• Fire on the Mountain
• Terrapin Station > Jam

Disc Three (53 minutes)

• Dark Star
• Eternity Jam
• Victim or the Crime Jam > 
• Crazy Fingers
• He’s Gone
• I Need a Miracle Jam >
• Days Between (edit)
• Encore: I Fought the Law (slight edit)

This eight minute Grateful Dead improvisation is one of half-a-dozen from 1972-1974 that turned me into a fanatical early-‘70s tape-head in the late 1980s. It is still one of my favorite passages, and I still haven’t encountered anything quite like it.

It is unreleased, and not previously isolated on a Save Your Face blog mixtape. When did they play it, and who’s with me?

This mix collects Grateful Dead improvisations that have something in common with “Fire on the Mountain.” It also includes a live Diga Rhythm Band performance with Garcia, and an early studio take of a vocal “Fire on the Mountain” by The Marin County Collective, which featured Hart and Garcia. 

NOTE: This is a much-expanded revision of an earlier mix. I have simply revised the original blogpost and linked to the expanded file. Apologies to those who grabbed the first one, but comments on that one got me to this one, so there you go. Special thanks to @MrCompletely, @DeadsoundApp, and @MarkRichardson, without whom…

83-minute mp3 mix zipped up here

Firelike ’68 (10/10/68, Hartbeats) (10:59)

• Starting with a gentle riff that sounds a bit like the Dave Brubeck quartet noodling Scarlet-into-Fire, this jam mutates into a bop-like exploration of the “Dark Star” melody, before revisiting Firelike territory around the six-minute mark, then wandering off again. I kept the jam intact, since it’s good and organic all the way through.

Firelike ’68 (12/16/68, Hartbeats w/David Getz) (9:17)

• This is the earliest instance of this kind of groove that I’m aware of. Garcia brushes up against “Dark Star” and ventures into explicit “China Cat” territory.

Firelike ’71 (8/21/71, Mickey’s Barn) (12:08)

• This jam finds its fire gradually and kicks in hard around five minutes. From the “A Day in the Country” radio broadcast. Players include some combination of Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Ned Lagin, David Crosby, and John Cipollina.

Firelike ’73 (7/27/73, Watkins Glen Jam pt. 2) (5:12)

• The most famous Firelike jam appeared in the second half of the 30-minute “Watkins Glen Jam.” I edited tight, since everyone knows the Watkins jam.

Firelike ’75 (Blues for Allah rehearsal) (14:04)

• I had the most terrible tape of this in the 1980s - 100th generation, with more hiss than music - but I loved it. The five minutes preceding my start-point are also cool, but they kind of turn the beat around and pounce decisively at the place I begin. (The Save Your Face mix, “Knot Jazz,” contains the whole thing.)

Happiness is Drumming ’76 (6/28/76, Chicago) (6:31)

Happiness is Drumming ’76 (6/22/76, Philadelphia) (1:57)

• The Chicago performances is a full-band, full-blown “Happiness is Drumming” – essentially the debut of “Fire.” (The mix, unfortunately, has Keith pretty loud, and he's playing without imagination or swing.) The brief Philadelphia occurrence is just a glancing blow, but in a crazy-fun context.

Firelike ’79 (4/16/79, Brent Mydland rehearsal)

• This is an actual Scarletfire jam – “Scarlet” improv on top of an almost-“Fire” rhythm bed. 

Happiness is Drumming ’75 (5/30/75, Diga Rhythm Band w/Garcia) (10:56)

• I decided not to include Diga’s familiar released studio recording of this song (which also includes Garcia) in favor of this long, live take.

Fire on the Mountain 1972-1973 (Melton, Garcia, Hart, Freiberg) (5:09)

• As far as I can discern, the two versions of the Marin County Collective’s unreleased, Mickey’s Barn, “Fire on the Mountain” (1972 and 1973) are based on the same recording, edited shorter and longer (3:17 vs. 5:09). I’ve included only the longer edit (1973). This is the first recording to include the song’s lyrics, with extra and different words, which are rapped by Mickey Hart. Personally, I’m cool with all aspects of that scenario.

This mix compiles 25 performances (two hours) of the “Tighten Up Jam” by the Grateful Dead, including several adjacent “Feelin’ Groovy Jams.” The jam typically appeared in the variable middle of “Dark Star” and as a side-trip prior to the final chorus of “Dancin’ in the Streets.” 

The Dead’s “Tighten Up” is named for its plausible derivation from the song of the same name by Archie Bell and the Drells (1968). “Soulful Strut” by Young Holt Unlimited (1968) has also been suggested as an influence. 

“Tighten Up” could be languid and sweet or fast and fierce. It’s one of the very special, pliable, thematic sub-plots in Dead history. Aside from a 1971 outlier, it was only played during a 14-month period from late summer 1969 to fall 1970.

While being distinctive musically, “Tighten Up” was also just a short reach from other comfortable 1969-1970 zones. The band could jump or creep into it from “Dark Star’s” theme, in the middle of a “Dancin’” jam, out of “Feelin’ Groovy,” or from more open spaces in the music.

Yet, while being very much an expression of that moment’s band, the “Tighten Up Jam” also tilts forward toward things to come. 

It is the era’s “Eyes of the World,” allowing the band to explore jazzy rhythms and chords to a greater extent than nearly anything else they were playing at the time. Though in a different key, it gets very close to “Eyes” at numerous points on these recordings. If the band hadn’t had other ideas about the 1973-1974 “Eyes” jam, you could easily imagine set lists containing “Eyes > Tighten Up,” and vice versa.

Some other points of future-song interest:

• The second half of the 1/2/70 “Feelin’ Groovy” sounds like it is inventing “Sugar Magnolia,” which doesn’t appear on a tape before 6/24/70 – when it bursts, half-formed out that night's "Tighten Up" jam, inside that night's "Dark Star."
• The second half of the 9/18/70 “Tighten Up” sounds like it is inventing “The Wheel.”
• In several of the speedier performances, Garcia leads the band into a place that’s related to the second half of the 1973 Watkins Glenn jam – which is itself close kin to “Fire on the Mountain.” Check out the final minute of 5/6/70 and 4/3/70 (1:25 until nearly the end) for examples.

The first 20 tracks on the mix are the highest-fidelity recordings, sequenced to provide both continuity and variation. The final five tracks are exciting performances that only circulate on lo-fi-but-listenable audience tapes (e.g., Portchester, 6/24/70).

There are no jump cuts or edited segues on this mix; I just managed start and end points for each performance.

111-minute mp3 mix zipped up here, which looks like this:

A note of thanks to my masked collaborator:

This mix would not have been possible without this amazing guide to where to find “Tighten Up” in the Dead’s recordings. I don’t know who “enjoy every (dead) sandwich” is, but they are awesome.

This mix compiles 47 performances of the Grateful Dead’s “Spanish Jam” – which may be every recorded version. Lasting 4.25 hours, the mix stretches from January 1968 to June 1995, nearly the band’s whole career.

The performances are divided into five “discs” of various lengths, which align with the band’s discontinuous engagement with the theme. All performances have been volume equalized and edited to have ear-friendly start and end points.

The disc/track indexing is strictly chronological, except for the 1973-1974 disc, which is sequenced for a better-than-chronological listening experience. If you don’t like that, the song title tags are formatted to enable a full chronological sort.

Multiple members of the Dead have credited Miles Davis’ “Sketches of Spain” album as the band’s source/inspiration. Drop the needle on the song “Solea” around the 9:30 mark to hear why that makes sense.

"Solea" and “Spanish Jam” may share an origin in the widely-recorded composition “Malagueña” by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. Here’s Lecuona playing it in 1954. Here’s Chet Atkins playing it in 1956. Here’s the Stan Kenton big band playing it circa 1961.

You can follow Dead-scholar trails about the song here, among other places.

The mp3 mix has been divided into four separate downloads, so that you don't have to deal with a single, gigantic file. The two 1980s discs are combined into a single file for downloading. 

Disc One: 1968-1970 (download)

• Four performances
• 49 minutes

Disc Two: 1973-1974 + 1976 (download)

• Nine performances
• 45 minutes

Disc Three: 1981 (download)

• Nine performances
• 41 minutes

Disc Four: 1982-1987 (included with 1981 download)

• Seventeen performances
• 79 minutes

Disc Five: 1992-1995 (download)

• Eight performances
• 38 minutes

This mix compiles 18 versions of the Grateful Dead’s “Mind Left Body” jam from 1972-1974 – plus an appendix of 12 later manifestations (1975-1993). These eras are presented as separate mixes.

(This is version two of the mix, including volume and EQ improvements on four tracks.)

1972-1974 MLB MVP goes to Billy. If you could isolate his drums, you would find so many killer samples.

All performances are provided complete. I created jump cuts in some places, but those are at or after the moment when the theme vanished from the jam. (Preferable to constantly fading out as some other theme begins.)

I created sequences for each disc that help create a listening experience with some coherence and flow. Every MLB had its own tempo, vibe, and attack - bursting or emerging out of somewhere else, on its way to somewhere else.

You can also sort all tracks chronologically. The song title format of the mp3 files is: “MLB (YY/MM/DD).” Chronological isn't an ideal, continuous listening experience, IMO, but it enables you to use the mix as an audio reference work.

The standard written reference work on “Mind Left Body” is here. Worth reading all the way to the bottom! I believe I checked out every version noted in the post, and I only omitted the ones that are barely there.

While it is true that most of the post-1974 performances aren’t full MLB Jams, by early Seventies standards, they also have the benefit of doing different things with those four chords. The 12/30/83 > 10/20/84 > 11/29/81 sequence combines into a pretty thrilling jam, for any era, with MLB cropping up in interesting ways.

Two-hour mp3 mix zipped up here

Disc One: 1972-1974 (63 minutes)

• MLB (6/28/74)
• MLB (5/12/74)
• MLB (11/20/73)
• MLB (10/17/74)
• MLB (5/19/74)
• MLB (6/16/74)
• MLB (9/14/74)
• MLB (4/8/72 w/other themes)
• MLB (12/2/73)
• MLB (9/21/73)
• MLB (12/18/73)
• MLB (11/11/73)
• MLB (10/25/73)
• MLB (10/19/73)
• MLB (7/31/74)
• MLB (10/30/73)
• MLB (9/21/72 w/other themes)
• MLB (3/5/72 inside “Good Lovin’”)

Disc Two: 1975-1993 (44 minutes)

• MLB (10/18/78 - w/“Mojo" licks)
• MLB (12/30/83)
• MLB (10/20/84 - w/other themes)
• MLB (11/29/81 - w/other themes)
• MLB (2/28/75 - “Music Never Stopped” rehearsal)
• MLB (7/16/90)
• MLB (3/24/90 - “Mud Love Buddy”)
• MLB (6/8/92 - out of “Corrina”)
• MLB (3/10/93)
• MLB (3/10/85 - AUD)
• MLB (6/4/83 - AUD)
• MLB (9/6/79)

What if May '77 Grateful Dead performances of "Brown Eyed Women," "Peggy-O," and "They Love Each Other" were 10-20 minutes long? That question and one other are answered by this mix.

The three mentioned songs are presented in edits that include 8-10 solo sections - combining the most variable portions of the month's performances into tour-spanning extended versions. Additionally, the month's longest "Sugaree" is edited into an all-instrumental version. 

This is a revision of a previous SYF mix, now including the TLEO edit, created after the previous version of this collection. I believe that all these edits were suggested by SYF fans.

65-minute mp3 mix zipped up here

Brown-Eyed Women (12 minutes) 

An extended version that includes the solo sections of nine May 1977 performances. May 28 leads off and provides the first vocal section and solo. The closing vocal section comes from 5/8. The month’s BEW solo sections lasted 40-60 seconds each.

Peggy-O (21 minutes) 

Same approach as with “Brown Eyed Women.” The beginning and end (with the sung sections) are provided by May 9. In between, there are an additional eight solo sections from the month’s performances. Most of the solo sections are ~1:45 in length. May 11 is the longest at 2:30. I skipped one version which doesn't circulate in a good SBD or AUD recording. Only one comes from a non-official source.

OCD notes: For BEW, I sequenced to conceal tempo changes, so it would simulate a continuous, relentless solo break. For Peggy-O, I shuffled tempo here and there, so that the repetition of the instrumental break’s arc would be disrupted by some mood/body shifts. 

They Love Each Other (21 minutes)

This edit includes all 10 Keith and Jerry “They Love Each Other” solo passages from April and May, 1977 - except that three excerpts include only Garcia’s solo. 

It’s a wonderful, woozy conversation, in slow motion. They’re not quite two souls in communion. Keith is a little uptight and resistant, though flirtatious. Jerry’s just like, “Come on baby, let’s go downtown and have some fun.” Except for one night, when Keith was the horny one.

I did the best I could with the segues (jump cuts), given the combo of official sources and fan sources, including audience tapes. The sonic and mood shifts might actually enhance the drama of this dialogue going round in circles.

Sugaree (10 minutes)

An instrumental edit of the May 19, 1977 performance. It was the longest of the month.

Additional May 1977 Save Your Face mixes:

• Fire on the Mountain: All May versions edited into instrumentals
• Dancin' in the Streets: A 5/8 lead-off, followed by all of the month's jam segments
• May '77 Prequel: The first two, April, shows of the tour, curated into a fun form

Last month (April 2020), The Rolling Stones dropped an excellent new song, “Living in a Ghost Town.” It has been 15 years since the band’s last album of originals, with new compositions released only occasionally on greatest hits compilations.

The mix presented here is a studio highlights reel curated by someone who has no significant history with 1989-present Stones. It pays no attention to any criteria but satisfying my personal desires as a 1968-1981 Stones super-fan. It’s full of b-sides and deep cuts, and it ignores a number of supposedly big songs from the era. My goals were authenticity and an avoidance of redundancy. (A few cool tracks got cut because they just didn’t fit.)

If you’re a Stones fan who has forgotten or never heard most of these songs, this mix is for you. You’ll find tracks that hit every historical Stones mode, from blues to ballads to bombast. And Keith songs.

96-minute mp3 mix zipped up here

LP 1:

• Doom & Gloom
• Let Me Down Slow
• Saint of Me
• How Can I Stop
• Biggest Mistake
• Break the Spell
• Jump on Top of Me
• Anybody Seen My Baby
• Thief in the Night
• Laugh, I Nearly Died
• Always Suffering

LP 2:

• I Go Wild
• I’m Gonna Drive
• Keys to Your Love
• Any Way You Look at It
• New Faces
• The Worst
• Thru and Thru
• Lowdown
• Fancyman Blues
• Almost Hear You Sigh
• Don’t Stop

Cover art by Martin Whatson, used without permission.