Grateful Dead: Lesh is More Concrète (December 1973)

Jesse Jarnow pointed out that Phil Lesh takes over the Grateful Dead for six, extended, abstract bass adventures during the December 1973 shows.

Here are those passages, in chronological order, gently segued, totaling 39 minutes. The first one gives you a couple of minutes to orient yourself before Godzilla reaches the power station.

These are not bass solos (other players present), but Phil steps beyond the normal zones of 1973-1974 collective abstraction to establish his own soundscape plots - dropping bombs, embracing distortion, shifting an octave, firing off drones and tones. The band generally steps back to give him a canvas, with much of the accompaniment minimal and often gentle. It is paradoxically violent and soothing music.

39-minute mp3 mix zipped up here (dates/cities included in song titles)

Cover art: Howard V. Brown for the May 1934 issue of Astounding Stories. It reminds me a little bit of the cover of Neil Young’s abstract distortion album “Arc,” while also inviting you to hear this music in color.

29 responses
Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet -- it's only been up three minutes -- but the illustration you've chosen for this is fantastic. It sets the scene!
Sounds fun! Can’t wait to listen. Glad you’re back.
Bartographer, I owe you multiple replies!
I don't know why for the life of me, but as I look at the illustration, I can't help but see the man as Craig Ferguson, formerly of the Late Late Show...as if I wasn't already going to dig this, now the picture will only add to it...LOL
Wow. A serious deep dive into The Philzone. Well worth it, this was some of the furthest out stuff the Dead ever attempted. Thanks as always for your tireless efforts in recasting Dead material. Yes, and very groovy grafix as always.
Thanks! I look forward to getting my Phil.
The guy in the illustration reminds me of Jerry Lee Lewis bangin' on the ol' piano!
Rich, can't argue your vision over mine, as I can see it too 🤣👍🏻
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RIP Phil. Don't think I can stomach this mix today, but what a legacy he's left behind, and thank you for shedding new light on some cool slices of it.
Bart, agree to disagree, tonight feels like a perfect night for me to revisit this mix in honor of the man, as this actually hits me ever so as I came to the Dead late in life relatively, and this blog and the virtual (P)Hilgart Zone it embodies, and as I literally said to myself upon seeing the news item, I know everybody dies eventually, but damn...:( I have a longstanding argument as to how much of an original band can still be called that band after a certain amount of time and personnel turnover. I know the Dead have essentially been over for almost 30 years now after Jerry passed, but *what* they are, as long as Phil kept bringing the music around in whichever collaborative jam band he came around with until he retired from major touring, has never truly ended. I feel today is the first day where it can be argued that as a band, the Dead are no more, but as long as we have these John's Picks LOL and all the ephemera, the Dead will never die. :)
I apologize to Mickey Hart, Bob Weir and Bill Kreutzmann, who are still alive but themselves have retreated from the scene as they all are in that age group now...all in all, I just meant it to say it sucks we lost someone like Phil today, we will never see the likes of him or Jerry again. :(
Bart and Fredrick, I don't think there are any wrong takes! I am among those who think that only Phil really retained the spirit of Dead adventure, rather than becoming primarily a Dead cover band.
Yes, that “spirit of Dead adventure” is key. I’d argue that all four of them pursued it at some level (Billy and Mickey with projects like the Rhythm Devils and the Mickey Hart band, Bobby with the Wolf Bros), but Phil was by far the most dedicated to it. I saw him only once, in Denver in February 2023, with a recent Phil and Friends lineup that included the horn section from the Trey Anastasio Band (also RIP James Casey, the brilliant sax player who celebrated his last birthday at that show). It was an amazing show that I feel lucky to have been at. I’m listening to the Planet Jams right now, and that’s really an amazing project that I thank you for chronicling here.
YES, the Planet jams! Something I might never have heard had I not fell across this blog...:)
Frederick: *I* would never have heard any of that Phil Lesh without Josh Klay, a young Head (just over 20, I think), who pointed me at them.
I'm 54, I think John mentioned his age once or twice, but we are not young LOL, and that a 20ish youngin brought the Planet Jams to his attention, I think, reinforces my point that what the Dead brought to it all will not die.
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