The kid on electric and I’m on acoustic. We cover the Dead song Loser

started with 1 · #1 02-28-2021, 08:56 AM

The annual accumulation of amateur videos into an unruly playlist during the month of February ends today. We whipped this one off yesterday and managed to get through it alive. Great to see all the videos here too. What a variety!

https://youtu.be/HtEdsXaq4NI

reeve21 · #2 02-28-2021, 09:08 AM

Great stuff, Joe! I was just watching this over on your YouTube channel and I’m glad to see you posted it here as well. This is one of my favorite Jerry tunes, and I’m glad you left in the “sweet Susie“ line which they dropped out in later versions (my wife’s name). Your son’s grasp of the melody continues to improve, sounds like he’s been listening to a lot of Garcia

Dave Hicks · #3 02-28-2021, 01:10 PM

Good job - you've get the Jerry vocals down really well.

D.H.

keith.rogers · #4 02-28-2021, 02:27 PM

Nice "Dead" vibe going there - and always a joy when you can get to play with one of the kids!

reeve21 · #5 02-28-2021, 10:24 PM

Joe, your pm inbox is full. Received yours, many thanks for that.

started with 1 · #6 02-28-2021, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeve21

Joe, your pm inbox is full. Received yours, many thanks for that.

[emoji106][emoji106]

Glennwillow · #7 03-01-2021, 07:34 PM

Hi Started!

Once again, very well done! Good job by both of you! Your son is really developing some chops there! Very nice to see!

- Glenn

catndahats · #8 03-02-2021, 08:55 AM

cool...
great tune!

raysachs · #9 03-02-2021, 10:05 AM

Also one of my favorite Jerry tunes going all the way back. Nicely done too. Your son already has a really nice feel for it. I play this one a lot, but I don’t have anyone handy to play it with, so I have to use another track if I want some lead guitar on it...

-Ray

started with 1 · #10 03-02-2021, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeve21

Great stuff, Joe! I was just watching this over on your YouTube channel and I’m glad to see you posted it here as well. This is one of my favorite Jerry tunes, and I’m glad you left in the “sweet Susie“ line which they dropped out in later versions (my wife’s name). Your son’s grasp of the melody continues to improve, sounds like he’s been listening to a lot of Garcia

Thanks Bob. Loved your "Deal" and the ragtime tune. And best to your sweet Susie.

raysachs · #11 03-03-2021, 10:55 AM

You made me realize I'd somehow gotten it wrong for a LONG time - I was repeating the chorus (Last fair deal....) after every verse and I wasn't playing the last verse twice (before the lead, and then to end the song). I also went back and listened to some of the Dead's versions and I gotta say, I generally love the Dead's one drummer period from 72-74 more than any other time, but they were kind of lame on Loser then, and they really owned this in the '77 shows. They also didn't have "Sweet Suzie" in the 72-74 shows and DID have it in 77. Maybe they took it out again later? I didn't check out anything later than 77.

I've probably recorded this thing wrong 2-3 times since I had an old Fostex 4-track cassette recorder back in the mid-80s and more recently with my Spire Studio. So, inspired by you and your son, and then Jerry and the boyz, I took another shot at it this morning. I only use the electric guitar for rhythm accents except during the lead break - I don't have those cool little Jerry-isms your son is getting such a good grasp on. Oh, and I can't sing, but I do it anyway. Anyhow, if interested... And thanks again for the inspiration.

-Ray

reeve21 · #12 03-03-2021, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by started with 1

Thanks Bob. Loved your "Deal" and the ragtime tune. And best to your sweet Susie.

Thanks, Joe, I'll pass that along to her. She is no deadhead but has developed a strange affinity for Ripple (not the wine

), to the point where it is getting annoying. She also swears it is our 8 month old granddaughter's favorite tune and makes me play it repeatedly for her, or else she blares it out of her cellphone. It's a good "problem" to have.

reeve21 · #13 03-03-2021, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raysachs

You made me realize I'd somehow gotten it wrong for a LONG time - I was repeating the chorus (Last fair deal....) after every verse and I wasn't playing the last verse twice (before the lead, and then to end the song). I also went back and listened to some of the Dead's versions and I gotta say, I generally love the Dead's one drummer period from 72-74 more than any other time, but they were kind of lame on Loser then, and they really owned this in the '77 shows. They also didn't have "Sweet Suzie" in the 72-74 shows and DID have it in 77. Maybe they took it out again later? I didn't check out anything later than 77.

I've probably recorded this thing wrong 2-3 times since I had an old Fostex 4-track cassette recorder back in the mid-80s and more recently with my Spire Studio. So, inspired by you and your son, and then Jerry and the boyz, I took another shot at it this morning. I only use the electric guitar for rhythm accents except during the lead break - I don't have those cool little Jerry-isms your son is getting such a good grasp on. Oh, and I can't sing, but I do it anyway. Anyhow, if interested... And thanks again for the inspiration.

https://soundcloud.com/ray-sachs/loser

-Ray

Hi Ray, I look forward to your version when I get home tonight! I recently recorded Deal after playing it forever (first Dead tune I ever learned, first song with more than 3 chords) and it came out ok, vocal challenges and all

So I also think there is value in beating something to death until it complies with your wishes! I'm thinking I may inflict myself on Loser next.

As for "sweet Susie," I might be all wet on that. I thought they dropped it in the early 70's.

BTW I play a game with myself listening in the car on XM radio,--"name that year" of a live Dead recording. I can almost always get the right decade, and often the correct year.

You might enjoy this, Started With 1, told me about it, hours of entertainment.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...BPSvMh44gT3Zmn

raysachs · #14 03-03-2021, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeve21

Hi Ray, I look forward to your version when I get home tonight! I recently recorded Deal after playing it forever (first Dead tune I ever learned, first song with more than 3 chords) and it came out ok, vocal challenges and all

So I also think there is value in beating something to death until it complies with your wishes! I'm thinking I may inflict myself on Loser next.

As for "sweet Susie," I might be all wet on that. I thought they dropped it in the early 70's.

BTW I play a game with myself listening in the car on XM radio,--"name that year" of a live Dead recording. I can almost always get the right decade, and often the correct year.

You might enjoy this, Started With 1, told me about it, hours of entertainment.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...BPSvMh44gT3Zmn

Yeah, I've checked a lot of those out. Some are really good, some not all that much better than I'd do... Man, I just re-checked your Soundcloud account looking for Deal - Good LORD you've been BUSY! I didn't even find Deal for all the other stuff I made a note to check out. I'm sticking to a free account and only have a limited amount of space so only 15-20 tunes. There are a few other Dead tunes, Althea (horrible vocals, but fun guitar), Scarlet Begonias, and a recent all acoustic When Push Comes to Shove. I don't want to hijack the thread, but I'd love to hear other folks' Dead covers if anyone wants to list a few.

I can't necessarily tell decades when listening to Dead stuff, a lot of '69 and '70 shows sound pretty similar, as do '89 and '90, but I can almost always pick out the general era. In my listening, I rarely leave the '70s though. It contains two great periods ('72-'74 and '77-'78). There are plenty of good shows after '78 - I saw my first four shows in '77-'78 and tons after that - but I spend most of my time in '72-74, just the right mix of competence mixing in with the lysergic energy from the '60's shows. Still plenty of out there stuff, but somewhat more civilized - I could listen to some of those Playin' jams from that era for days. The ONLY reason I wish I was a few years older would be to have caught some of those shows...

-Ray

reeve21 · #15 03-03-2021, 12:32 PM

Hi Ray,

I'm almost of space on Soundcloud, so I started a YouTube where you can find Deal (see link below my signature-- it's not posted on AGF, but maybe we should have a thread just for Dead covers). I also figured out how to use Veed to convert a sound file to a video and post it on YouTube.

I agree with you, nothing like 70's Dead. I started in the late 70's as well. But early 70's are great, too. It's interesting to trace the development of the songs over time. Deal started as a slow shuffle, lots of piano, very little jamming!