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Poster:	light into ashes	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 5:11am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

This is a short guide to the various themed jams the Dead did in their early years. I've listed a lot of them here & there before, so some of these are repeated from previous posts. But I thought it might be useful as a handy reference for others, to have all the early jams gathered together in a brief introduction.
There's also a good overview of many of these jams in the first Taping Compendium.

Note that this guide stops at 1974; so those looking for, say, Ollin Arrageed or Mojo jams will have to look elsewhere for now!

In no particular order....

FEELIN' GROOVY JAM
The Feelin' Groovy jam is basically four chords based on the Simon & Garfunkel song, and was frequently done in Dark Stars from '69-'72. This first appeared in Dark Star in late '69 - in '73 it migrated into the middle of China>Rider, with a rather different feel and an extra 'bridge' section added. (A lot of people also call it the "Uncle John's Jam" since the four chords are very similar.)
This is one of the only jams where we have a recording from the Dead's home rehearsals, a long standalone version from the fall of '69 - alongside an extended exploration of the Uncle John's jam, and a cool early Friend of the Devil. Despite poor, distorted sound, this is one demo I can't recommend highly enough:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-06-xx.aud.tzuriel.10510.sbeok.shnf
The first Feelin' Groovy jam appears in the 9/26/69 Dark Star, around the 11-minute mark, unfortunately hard to appreciate due to the sound quality:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-09-26.aud.hanno.14856.sbeok.shnf
Since it's an audience tape, most people probably haven't heard it - but this one from the Dark Star a month later is well-known:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-10-25.sbd.jagla.81.sbefail.shnf
- and just a week after that it had one of its best performances:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-11-02.sbd.goodbear.1125.sbefail.shnf
Feelin' Groovy appeared in many Dark Stars thereafter, too many to cite - almost every one up through 1970. Some of the best-loved versions might include 1/2/70, 2/13/70, 5/15/70, 9/19/70, 10/21/71, 4/14/72, and 5/25/72. From the end of '69 and through '70, Dark Star had a particular format: after the first verse the band would evaporate into space, explore weirdness for a while, then slowly return back to melody - and here the Feelin' Groovy jam (or sometimes the Tighten Up jam) would emerge, like bright joy after the darkness. (Sometimes though, they mixed things up or weren't in the mood, and you sometimes catch Garcia refusing to enter a Feelin' Groovy jam even when Lesh is trying to drop one in.) Over time the Stars changed, and became more dense and complex - particularly after Keith joined, the '72 Stars got jazzier with more jamming elements and meltdowns, and the Feelin' Groovy jam often became more brief and fleeting - sometimes just a hint from Phil.
Late '72 saw the end of its stay in Dark Star - one instance is 10/18/72, a classic version at the end of the Star, after the Philo Stomp:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-10-18.sbd.weir.7295.sbeok.shnf
By contrast, from 11/13/72 we have an extremely fast version in a Star filled with intense meltdowns:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1972-11-13.aud.cotsman.7518.sbefail.shnf
The last time I recall Feelin' Groovy being played in a Dark Star is 11/26/72, a great version that should be known by more people - the end of the Star has a bass solo>Feelin' Groovy>Tiger meltdown - Garcia's tone in the Feelin' Groovy is just amazing:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-11-26.sbd.cotsman.9248.sbeok.shnf
A couple times the Feelin' Groovy jam would appear 'solo': on 10/2/72, in the post-Truckin' jam it's one of the themes after Nobody's Fault But Mine and is played very loosely, leading up to Morning Dew:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-10-02.sbd.lai.158.sbefail.shnf
And on 2/24/73 it's part of the jam coming out of Eyes of the World (unfortunately the more complete audience tape isn't on the Archive), and follows a long bass solo - Garcia initiates it and they play it very sweetly:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd73-02-24.sbd.elliot.11929.sbeok.shnf
The first time Feelin' Groovy entered the China>Rider transition was on 3/16/73; and there it would stay over the next two years, with many exciting versions as it became increasingly jammed-out - a couple examples would be the Dick's Picks of 6/26/74 and 8/5/74. After 1974, it mysteriously disappeared.

TIGHTEN UP JAM
The Tighten Up Jam was a very common Latin-style jam theme in 1970. It's often called a proto-Eyes jam since Weir plays two repeating jazzy chords that are rhythmically similar to the opening of Eyes of the World, but they're from the Archie Bell & the Drells tune.
Its first appearance I'm aware of was on 8/30/69, where Weir plays the chords as Garcia's changing a string during Dark Star; it gets a full band performance on 10/25/69. After that they played it steadily for a year, in many Dark Stars and after March '70 in most of the Dancing in the Streets. They apparently dropped it in 1971, except for a surprise appearance on 10/31/71. It's unusual for the Dead to use a jam-theme interchangeably between two different songs like that, but Tighten Up works well in both of them. (It's surprising it took so long for them to play it in Dancing, since it's similar to the usual Dancing two-chord jam pattern - on 12/11/69 for instance, the Dancing is extremely close to a Tighten Up.)
There used to be a webpage devoted to the Dead's Tighten Ups, but it's disappeared. These are the performances I've found so far; I've probably missed a few (I think there are some in Lovelights as well), but this is the most complete listing available. (Apologies for the lack of links here....)
10-25-69 Star
11-2-69 Star
12-26-69 Star
1-2-70 Star
3-1-70 Dancing
3-21-70 Dancing
4-3-70 Dancing
4-15-70 Dancing
4-24-70 Star
5-2-70 Dancing (Dick's Pick)
5-6-70 Dancing
5-8-70 Star
5-24-70 Star
6-6-70 Dancing
6-24-70 second Star
7-12-70 Dancing
9-17-70 Star
10-5-70 Dancing (Download Series with 2/4/70)
10-24-70 Dancing
10-30-70b Dancing
11-8-70 Dancing
12-17-70 Dancing
10-31-71 Star (Dick's Pick)
(I might add that Deadlists claims there's a Tighten Up in the 2/2/70 Star, but there isn't.)

The Tighten Up and Feelin' Groovy jams have often been confused, even by Latvala who should have known better! There were Dark Stars where they did both of these jams, but the 1970 Dancings generally have Tighten Up jams, not Feelin' Groovy jams. The easy way to check: is Weir repeating two chords or four chords?
Sometimes the two themes are done back-to-back. Check out the Dark Stars from 11-2-69 or 1-2-70, which have the same structure after the first verse:
- a space, weird & wild,
- then the Feelin' Groovy jam, almost sounding more fully developed than it was in later years with different variations, and when that dies down,
- the Tighten Up jam, again done fully & at length; when this is done it's time for the second verse.
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-11-02.sbd.goodbear.1125.sbefail.shnf
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-01-02.partial-early.sbd.86.sbefail.shnf

MIND LEFT BODY JAM
The Mind Left Body jam originated in the PERRO sessions, where we can hear an early, faster version of the four descending chords. Paul Kantner took this riff for his song "Your Mind Has Left Your Body", which Garcia played pedal steel on. Garcia in turn adapted it into a Grateful Dead theme, which first showed up on occasion in '72, but started regularly entering the jams in fall '73. It added a transcendental feeling to many shows up through '74 - these are some of the most notable jams:
4-8-72 Dark Star
9-21-72 Dark Star
10-19-73 Dark Star
10-30-73 Dark Star
11-11-73 Dark Star
12-2-73 Playing
5-19-74 Truckin' jam
6-28-74 WRS jam
7-31-74 Truckin' jam
10-17-74 Other One
In '75 the MLB theme was turned into a section in Weir's Music Never Stopped; but in later years it made some infrequent appearances in unexpected places.
Sometimes the MLB jam is mistaken for Feelin' Groovy - on Dicks Pick 12, Latvala even called the China>Rider transition the 'Mud Love Buddy' jam, which is misleading. The segue jam in the '73/74 China>Riders is definitely Feelin' Groovy, not MLB - Latvala just messed that up. (For instance, on DP12 the jam from 6/28 IS the MLB jam, but doesn't get named!)
I go into much more detail in the Mind Left Body post -
http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2009/08/mind-left-body-jam.html

SPANISH JAM
Weir based the Spanish Jam on the song "Solea" on Miles Davis' album Sketches of Spain, sometime in late '67 when the Dead started recording Anthem of the Sun. As it was, a little bit of the Spanish Jam actually got on the album, in the form of a short Davis-flavored trumpet break from Phil in the middle of Born Cross-Eyed (after the verse, "Think I'll come back here again, every now and then, from time to time"). For a moment, it seems like Garcia and the band are about to break into the Spanish Jam, but they quickly cut back to the song....
In any case, the Spanish Jam debuted on the Anthem tour of early '68 and was played regularly - but, was soon dropped from the setlists (along with Born Cross-Eyed). Weir kept it in mind though, and it made a surprise reappearance at the 2-11-70 allstar-jam show, out of Dark Star. It then disappeared for three more years - was revived for two shows in March '73 (tied with Dark Star again on 3-24-73) - was dropped again - and, once again, emerged from nowhere in another Dark Star jam on 6-23-74. Finally the Dead felt ready for it, and played it frequently through the rest of '74. However, aside from one show in '76, the Spanish Jam remained unheard for several years after the hiatus, until another revival on 5-6-81. After that, it appeared now and then, from time to time in shows up to the end in '95, making it one of the longest-lasting Dead jams.
Here is an older post with a brief history of the Spanish Jam:
http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=114745
And here are some more examples of notable early Spanish Jams not linked in the post:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1968-01-17.sbd.cotsman.11795.shnf - the first
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-02-11.late-set2.aud.smith.99152.sbeok.flac16
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1974-07-19.sbd.gans-finney.217.sbeok.shnf
http://www.archive.org/details/gd76-07-16.set1aud-set2sbd.miller.23569.sbeok.shnf

THE MAIN TEN
The Main Ten was a ten-beat Mickey Hart riff the Dead started playing in mid-'68. It popped up in shows now & then for a couple years, when they felt like taking an excursion. It also appeared on Hart's first album Rolling Thunder. It's strange to hear this riff today, when it's so identified with Playing in the Band, but in its original incarnation it embodies a mysterious, otherworldly feeling.
The earliest performance we have is from 6-19-68:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd68-06-19.sbd.cotsman.4511.sbeok.shnf
It resurfaces, surprisingly, in a couple '69 Dark Stars:
4-11-69 in Dark Star (short, at 10-minute mark) -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-04-11.sbd.cotsman.15404.sbeok.shnf
4-15-69 in Dark Star (short, at 17 minutes) -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-04-15.aud.miller.31435.sbeok.flacf
11-8-69 (in the Caution) - Dick's Pick.
12-5-69 (after the Uncle John's jam, segueing into a lovely Baby Blue) -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-12-05.sbd.cotsman.11256.sbeok.shnf
5-3-70 (for completeness' sake, a short bit inside this Lovelight - although the band can barely be heard, it's interesting to hear the crowd clapping to the beat) -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-05-03.aud.cotsman.9378.sbeok.shnf
6-7-70 (a mystical groove in-between the great Cryptical outro and the first Sugar Magnolia) -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-06-07.sbd.hollister.98.sbeok.shnf
11-6-70 (inside the Good Lovin') -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-11-06.aud.warner.17183.sbeok.shnf
11-8-70 (out of Dark Star, and into Dancin' in the Streets) -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-11-08.aud.weiner.28609.sbeok.shnf
In early '71, the Dead decided to turn the riff into a complete song, and merged it into Playing in the Band, which debuted on 2-18-71. It's credited to Weir/Hart/Hunter - presumably Hart originated the Main Ten, Weir added the other sections of the song, and Hunter wrote the lyrics. (Weir also turned Hart's "Pump Song" into the Greatest Story Ever Told.) Playing was a catchy tune which wouldn't become a 'jam' number for another year, but it lost the spooky feel that the Main Ten had.

THE SEVEN
The Seven is another riff from the experimental days of '68, and there are very few tapes. There are a couple in the Hartbeats Matrix shows on 10/8/68 and 10/10/68, and there's a short one coming out of the Viola Lee on 3/21/70 (they had sometimes teased it in '69 Viola Lees) - but the best is on the AUD recording of 9/29/69, it's very tight!
http://www.archive.org/details/gd68-10-08.sbd.belaff.17691.sbeok.shnf
http://www.archive.org/details/gd68-10-10.sbd.miller-ladner.4513.sbeok.shnf (Hartbeats practice)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-09-29.aud.early.hollister.79.sbeok.shnf (out of Doin' That Rag)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-03-21.early.lee.pcrp.20184.sbeok.shnf (brief, out of Viola Lee & into Cumberland Blues)

WE BID YOU GOODNIGHT JAM
One jam that switched places over the years is the "We Bid You Goodnight" jam. This is unique as a song the Dead would jam instrumentally during Alligator, and then sing a cappella at the end of the show after "feedback"! It was introduced during the Anthem '68 tour - possibly Garcia had been listening to a Joseph Spence album and liked this song.
The earliest sung versions we have come from 1/22 and 3/16/68. The earliest instrumental Goodnight theme I recall is in the 2-24-68 Dick's Picks show, 5 minutes into the Alligator, played in Garcia's usual staccato fashion at the time.
By '69 the instrumental Goodnight theme frequently appears in Alligators, played a lot faster than it was later. I looked up a few shows where it's tracked separately and easy to find:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1969-02-15.sbd.goodbear.2175.sbeok.shnf - Alligator
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-11-01.sbd.cotsman.6298.sbeok.shnf - Alligator
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-12-12.sbd.gerland.10988.sbeok.shnf - Alligator
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-12-30.sbd.miller.28469.sbeok.shnf - Alligator
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-01-03.sbd.gmb.97743.flac16 - Eleven>Alligator
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-02-05.sbd.hanno.9184.sbefail.shnf - Eleven>Caution
In 1970, as Alligators grew rare, the Goodnight jam starts showing up in Not Fade Aways, including 8/18, 9/18, and 9/20/70:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-08-18.aud.yerys.1346.sbeok.shnf
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-09-18.sbd.reynolds.97525.flac16
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-09-20.aud.remaster.sirmick.27583.sbeok.shnf
Starting in October 1970, it became the 'bridge' between Goin' Down the Road and Not Fade Away. This brings us to the birth of Goin' Down the Road - with so many shows missing from fall 1970, we're lucky to be able to hear it take shape from the start.
On 10/10 they start playing Goin' Down the Road instrumentally in Not Fade Away, but they never sing it:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-10-10.aud.hanno.7590.sbeok.shnf
On 10/11 it emerges as a separate song - but they don't play the Goodnight theme afterwards, instead they jump straight from "don't want to be treated this way" back into NFA:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-10-11.aud.cotsman.9500.sbeok.shnf
And at our next show, 10/23, we finally have the Goodnight theme in the expected place - and it's a nice version, as they're already stretching it out before returning to NFA:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-10-23.aud.wolfson.15080.sbefail.shnf
After this, it closed out pretty much every Goin' Down the Road for the next four years and beyond. I particularly like the versions from late '71 when they extend the two-chord jam going on after the Goodnight theme. One example is the 10/31/71 Dick's Pick, not as 'pretty' as some others but jammed out to four minutes.
There is one more version I must link, though a short one - on 11/19/72, for the only time, the Dead closed a show with the Goodnight instrumental:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-11-19.sbd.winters.17705.sbeok.shnf

MOUNTAIN JAM
Garcia was quoting Donovan's "There Is A Mountain" months before the Allman Brothers were formed, most often playing it for a bar or two in Alligator jams. I think the earliest instance is in the 9-3-67 Alligator; and you can hear it at 9:00 in the Alligator on the Anthem album, or briefly at 12:00 in the 2-14-68 Alligator. Melodically it sounds similar to the Bid You Goodnight riff, so it's interesting that both of these pieces were born in the Alligator jam - there are many early Alligators where Garcia seems constantly just about to play one of these.....
It's tricky finding good links for it though, since he always plays it as just a brief tease, and there's little point in directing you to long Alligators just to find a few seconds of a melody. But one place where it has its own track is 11-6-70 after Goin' Down the Road:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-11-06.aud.warner.17183.sbeok.shnf

DARKNESS JAM
Then there's the "Darkness" jam from the Youngbloods song which was done a few times in 1970; the most well-known version is in the 9/19/70 Not Fade Away where it's very clear. They also do the China Cat riff in that NFA, which they did frequently (and at greater length) in the fall of 1971.
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-05-24.sbd.hanno.6481.sbeok.shnf - in the Lovelight (briefly)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-06-06.sbd.ashley.2172.sbeok.shnf (in the fantastic Alligator jam, following the Bid You Goodnight riff)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-09-19.mtx.chappell.SB14.31510.sbeok.flac16 (Darkness/China Cat jam in NFA)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-12-12.sbd.clugston.5985.sbeok.shnf (after Goin Down the Road, goes into the Stephen riff, very low-key)

UNCLE JOHN'S JAM
My own favorite jam was done very few times - the instrumental version of Uncle John's Band, which is just lovely, but was done only in November '69:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-11-01.sbd.cotsman.6298.sbeok.shnf (in the Alligator jam - brief, following the Goodnight theme)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-11-07.sbd.kaplan.19783.sbefail.shnf (in Dark Star)
11/8/69 (in Dark Star) The most famous version, on Dick's Picks.
12/5/69 has a very short Uncle John riff preceding the Main Ten, but because it's cut by the AUD taper, it's impossible to tell whether this is the Jam or part of the full song, which had debuted the previous day.
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-12-05.sbd.cotsman.11256.sbeok.shnf
And I have to mention again this great home rehearsal tape (very poor sound, but taped by Robert Hunter I think), which has the Dead in fall '69 practicing the Feelin' Groovy and Uncle John's jams at length - and also John Dawson's first version of Friend of the Devil, before Garcia sang it. Priceless stuff!
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-06-xx.aud.tzuriel.10510.sbeok.shnf

CHINA CAT JAM
The Dead sometimes played the China Cat riff aside from the song, in moments of jamming exuberance in '70/71.
Our first example actually comes from a year earlier, when China Cat was out of the rotation - in the great Alligator jam on 2/7/69, shortly after the drums, Weir starts up the China Cat riff and the band grabs it. Garcia seems to be trying to remember how it goes, and he eventually drags them back to Alligator.
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-02-07.late.sbd.wiley.14471.sbeok.shnf
The China Cat jam was an occasional occurrence in 1970 when the band was in a good mood - in these shows, notice how often the Dead tend to string together various common themes:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-01-03.sbd.ret.19440.sbeok.shnf - in the hot Alligator jam (briefly, China Cat jam>Bid You Goodnight riff)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-03-21.late.aud.lee.pcrp.21779.shnf - in the Not Fade Away (Stephen riff>China Cat jam)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-05-07.aud.weiner-gdADT04.5439.sbefail.shnf - in the Lovelight (a great jam that includes the Stephen riff>Darkness riff>jam>China Cat jam)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-06-04.sbd.miller.12135.sbeok.shnf - in the Midnight Hour (briefly)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-09-19.mtx.chappell.SB14.31510.sbeok.flac16 - Darkness>China Cat jam in Not Fade Away
Later in '71, China Cat jams became a regular feature in Not Fade Away. By late '71 Not Fade Away was hitting a new peak and becoming more jammed-out than it had been in early '71, and some of the best versions come from this tour. These are the Not Fade Aways with China Cat jams in them:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1971-10-27.ashley-bertha.32869.sbeok.flac16
http://www.archive.org/details/gd71-11-15.sbd.cotsman.12438.sbeok.shnf
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1971-11-20.sbd.miller.92908.sbeok.flac16
http://www.archive.org/details/gd71-12-05.prefm.miller.3391.sbeok.shnf
http://www.archive.org/details/gd71-12-10.sbd.yerys.1311.sbeok.shnf
and a later one - http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-04-14.sbd.hurwitt.8828.sbeok.shnf
The China Cat riff would sometimes pop up in later post-hiatus shows too, particularly in Franklin's Tower, where it fit nicely.

NOBODY'S FAULT BUT MINE
This was a blues song Garcia was fond of (done by Blind Willie Johnson, among others), and we have one performance from 1966:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1966-07-16.sbd.miller.21063.shnf
Nobody's Fault resurfaced as a jam inside New Speedway Boogie for a few shows in 1970, including 6-13-70 and this one:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-05-14.sbd.cotsman.12439.sbeok.shnf
Once New Speedway was dropped, you'd think that would be the end of it, but Garcia managed to slip Nobody's Fault into the Truckin' jam starting in late '72:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-10-02.sbd.lai.158.sbefail.shnf
And for the next two years, Nobody's Fault would become a regular part of many a Truckin' - some two dozen in fact - sometimes sung, sometimes just jammed. Two released examples are the 12-19-73 Dick's Pick and the 6-16-74 Road Trips bonus disc. The last one played was this:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd74-07-29.sbd.goodbear.2277.sbefail.shnf
Nobody's Fault jams would very occasionally pop up once every few years afterwards.

PHILO STOMP
The Philo Stomp was a stomping bass solo Lesh did in fall 1972. It may have started to take shape over the summer, as he often did rather aimless solos from Truckin' into the Other One; but all of a sudden in a series of October '72 shows, it emerges full-blown:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-10-18.sbd.weir.7295.sbeok.shnf (in Dark Star)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-10-24.pset2-sbd.hamilton.159.sbeok.shnf (in the Other One)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1972-10-28.sbd.finney.160.shnf (in Dark Star)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1972-11-13.aud.cotsman.7518.sbefail.shnf (in Dark Star)
11-13 is the best example; after that, Lesh's long solos in Dark Stars tend to meander:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-11-19.sbd.winters.17705.sbeok.shnf http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-11-26.sbd.cotsman.9248.sbeok.shnf
And from 1973, here are a couple Dark Stars that end in more organized, interesting bass solos:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd73-02-15.sbd.hall.1580.sbeok.shnf
http://www.archive.org/details/gd73-09-11.sbd.lanum.184.sbeok.shnf

CAUTION JAM
Caution started out in '65 as an imitation of Them's "Mystic Eyes". It had been a regular jam-piece in Pigpen's days, usually following Alligator, but sometimes as an instrumental theme inside Viola Lee jams. (I talk more about it in my Viola Lee post.)
By the time Pigpen left in '72, the Dead had developed it enough so that they could have kept it as a jam theme even without him; but they decided not to. Somehow a couple Caution jams still slipped into the end of '74, very loose and jazzy:
9-18-74 (out of Truckin') -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd74-09-18.sbd.miller.20732.sbeok.shnf
10-19-74 (out of He's Gone, into Truckin') - on the Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack.
In later years, Caution would be very rare indeed, but sometimes it would burst out of a He's Gone jam - on 10/27/79, 5/12/80, and 5/6/81.

SLIPKNOT JAM
Slipknot was just a riff in '74; in the studio in '75 the Dead would work it into the "space-jazz" section of a new suite. So it's interesting to hear the Dead (particularly Garcia) toying with this new riff in some '74 shows, seeing what they could do with it. Also note how far removed it is from the more melodic, accessible jam-riffs they had done in previous years!
http://www.archive.org/details/gd74-02-22.sbd.patched.sirmick.21539.sbeok.shnf (in Playing)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd74-02-23.sbd.clugston.3382.sbeok.shnf (in the Other One)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd74-06-20.sbd.clugston.2179.sbeok.shnf (19 minutes into Eyes)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd74-07-25.sbd.miller.12656.sbeok.shnf (21 minutes into Dark Star)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1974-10-20.sbd.smith-lee.GEMS.97193.flac16 (14 minutes into Eyes)

'73 and '74 saw the jams opening up in all directions. There are a number of gnarly riffs that get repeated from show to show (particularly by Phil), but without names or identities they're hard to pin down. The repeating-riff jam at the end of Eyes in these years is very similar to Stronger Than Dirt, and often gets called that, but I think it's a distinct piece. Stronger Than Dirt may have evolved from it, though - check out the Eyes>Dirt from 8-13-75 (One From The Vault) to hear the difference from the '73/74 jam.

ONE-TIME JAMS
There may well be other distinct jams that they didn't do enough times for us to identify - the Alllmans-like Jam in the Other One of 7/25/72 is a great example, which sounds so composed it's hard to believe they only did it once - also the "Beautiful Jam", done only during the 2/18/71 Dark Star, which is quite unique, almost a song in itself. (I don't think it's closely related to the Tighten Up jam, though others hear it that way.)
Also check out the portion of 3-22-72 that was released on a bonus disc: in the jam at the end of Caution, there's a quiet part where the Dead play a mysterious instrumental theme that sounds like a lovely, unusual cross between Bobby McGee and Bid You Goodnight, but is definitely an unknown tune.....one of those haunting moments.

The "Beautiful Jam" in the 2/18/71 Dark Star -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd71-02-18.sbd.orf.107.sbeok.shnf
the "almost-China Cat jam" in the 8/14/71 Other One -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd71-08-14.sbd.ladner.21268.sbeok.shnf
the instrumental after the 3/22/72 Caution -
http://www.dead.net/features/february-4-february-10-2008
and the long, tantalizing "almost-Spanish jam" in the 7/25/72 Other One.
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-07-25.sbd.cotsman.7046.sbeok.shnf

And finally, here is a listing of other various one-time-only jams the Dead played over the years, not related to their usual pieces.
This isn't the place to cover the big '74 jams out of Truckin' or Let It Grow, or the instrumental-only versions of Dark Star or the Other One, or the odd instrumental cover like Hideaway or various tuning riffs; and I've decided to skip the occasional soundcheck jams (though they can be interesting).
I also decided to leave out the Seastones '74 sets and Hartbeats '68 shows, since those were covered in this post:
http://deadessays.blogspot.com/2009/08/crowded-dead-stage-1967-1975.html

http://www.archive.org/details/gd1966-XX-XX.sbd.GEMS.81254.flac16 - generic Blues Jam with Jorma & Jack Casady
http://www.archive.org/details/gd66-03-19.sbd.scotton.81951.sbeok.flac - Slow Blues Instrumental (They also cover Freddie King's "Heads Up" at this show.)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd66-03-25.sbd.unknown.38.sbeok.shnf - Jam
http://www.archive.org/details/gd67-11-10.sbd.sacks.1612.sbeok.shnf - includes 7-23-67, the jam behind Casady's rap (it's a Lovelight instrumental into Space)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd69-05-07.sbd.cotsman.6028.sbeok.shnf - Instrumental after a jammed-out Me & My Uncle (sadly cut)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1969-04-21.sbd.miller.88465.sbeok.flac16 - Foxy Lady jam (brief)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-04-15.sbd.kaplan.14354.sbeok.shnf - Santana-like jam after drums in the Other One
http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-10-09.sbd.vernon.5249.sbeok.shnf - short blues jam with Grace Slick
http://www.archive.org/details/gd73-07-27.aud.weiner.gdadt26.26363.sbeok.shnf - Watkins Glen Jam. (AUD version, since SBD has a small cut)
6/18/74 (Road Trips) - It's A Sin jam. (They had done the song a number of times in '66 and '69, but I don't recall other instrumental versions.)
http://www.archive.org/details/gd74-06-23.sbd.cribbs.16780.sbeok.shnf - Jam into Ship of Fools (Similar to the 6-26 jam into China Cat.)

I'm sure there are other unique jams I've forgotten, so feel free to add examples....

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Poster:	jessandra	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 11:07am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Thanks, that great!

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Poster:	jglynn1.2	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 6:55am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Thanks LIA

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Poster:	Dudley Dead	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 7:52am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Once again, hats off !
Dead related, there is a nice "We Bid You Goodnight" jam on the Allman's 73, New Year's show, at the "Concert Vault, with Jerry, and Billy sitting in .

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Poster:	spacedface	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 2:02pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Hmmm, you ideas are intriguing to me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

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Poster:	yur worst enemy too	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 10:11pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

you still ain't getting the job !

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Poster:	light into ashes	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 8:38pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Yes, there's some info on that show in this thread -
http://www.archive.org/iathreads/post-view.php?id=253462

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Poster:	Dudley Dead	Date:	Dec 8, 2009 8:54am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

That post is where I found out about the show, I believe ! Being a fan, but not a huge fan, I had never heard the Allmans live in the one guitar period , so for that alone it was pretty cool . In the WBYGN jam, I love the sort of Floyd Cramerish , county piano . I kind of wish the Dead would have taken it in this fashion; I always love the moments after GDTRFB , when they go into this melody,
I just wish sometimes they would savor it a little longer , before going somewhere else . ( of course I could say that about alot of the Dead songs, especially in the latter period!) .

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Poster:	gellin'10	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 6:26am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

lia, give me a break ! everytime you jerkoff God eats another fish. I am so glad I am out of here. in the repetitive words of an old girlfriend > BLOW ME
This post was modified by gellin'10 on 2009-12-07 14:26:41

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Poster:	Lou Davenport	Date:	Dec 8, 2009 8:31pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

This is invaluable. Thanks LIA!

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Poster:	vapors	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 11:28am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

LiA, you are awesome man.
Was there a jam known as "the nine"? Maybe a false memory, but just asking.

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Poster:	light into ashes	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 8:31pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

There was a "nines" jam!
http://www.archive.org/details/gd1975-06-07.bluesruffs.sbd.smith.94427.sbeok.flac16
Down in tracks 20-23....

Naturally, if there was a Seven, a Ten, and an Eleven, there would have to be a Nine too....

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Poster:	deadmax	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 8:20am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Well Done. Gives me lots of things to look at as I continue the explorations.

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Poster:	light into ashes	Date:	Dec 28, 2009 7:13pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

I have a couple additions to make for now....

DARKNESS JAM
I forgot this example! It made a surprise return on 7/31/71, which could be the last version:
http://www.archive.org/details/gd71-07-31.winberg.weiner.5678.gdADT05.sbefail.shnf (AUD) - after Goin' Down the Road, comes uniquely out of the Bid You Goodnight jam (the SBD was released on the Summer '71 Road Trips)

MOUNTAIN JAM
A couple other places where Garcia is playing, not necessarily the exact riff, but an extended jam in the Mountain Jam style, include the 6-4-70 Midnight Hour -
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-06-04.sbd.miller.12135.sbeok.shnf
- and six minutes into this expansive Not Fade Away, which in this poor AUD recording sounds like a distorted wah-wah rendition!
http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-07-11.aud.cotsman.9379.sbefail.shnf

ST STEPHEN JAM
It's already been mentioned a few times in these notes, but frequently in 1970 the Dead would break into the St Stephen riff in the middle of a jam. This was more a 'tease' than a jam really, since they usually just jab at it for a few moments and then move on....sometimes it sounds like Lesh is pushing it but Garcia doesn't want to go that way. But these are the most notable occurrences:
3-21-70 Not Fade Away - http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-03-21.late.aud.lee.pcrp.21779.shnf
5-7-70 Lovelight - http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-05-07.aud.weiner-gdADT04.5439.sbefail.shnf
6-4-70 Not Fade Away - http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-06-04.sbd.miller.12135.sbeok.shnf
7-12-70 Lovelight - http://www.archive.org/details/gd1970-07-12.aud.unknown.sirmick.24663.sbefail.shnf - (tracked separately - this is one of the best 1970 shows, and one of the worst tapes....)
10-24-70 Good Lovin' - http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-10-24.sbd.hollister.103.sbeok.shnf
11-11-70 Hard to Handle - http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-11-11.aud.cotsman.17081.sbeok.shnf (the jam comes very close to St Stephen, but doesn't quite go all the way)
12-12-70 Not Fade Away - http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-12-12.sbd.clugston.5985.sbeok.shnf
4-26-71 Good Lovin' (not on the Archive)
4-29-71 Alligator jam (just a brief tease; released on Ladies & Gentlemen)
In 1972 the solos in Greatest Story Ever Told often edged close to St Stephen territory - one famous full-blown Stephen quote (complete with Donna's wails) happened here:
9-28-72 - http://www.archive.org/details/gd72-09-28.sbd.bill.12657.sbeok.shnf

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Poster:	Diamondhead	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 9:03pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Awesome job and muchly appreciated. So much stuff to follow up on. :)

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Poster:	Reade	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 3:58pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Where the Spanish Jam is concerned it has always seemed to me there's more than one thematic premise that gets called by this name.
Yes, most have that very familiar chord sequence that we all know as 'Spanish Jam.'
But for example if you listen to what gets called 'Spanish Jam' for 3.31.73, that particular chord sequence is not in evidence. It's great listening but it's not the same riff that gets called SJ in a lot of other places.

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Poster:	light into ashes	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 9:16pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

http://www.archive.org/details/gd73-03-31.sbd.yerys.2237.sbeok.shnf

One thing I noticed about the Mind Left Body jam was how adaptable it was - they could play it fast, or slow, or with different tones, and it could come out quite different depending on the context.
The Spanish Jam was somewhat less changeable, but 3/31 is a good instance of how they mix it with another jam - in this case, the Other One.
About 8 minutes into the Other One, it's pretty obvious that Jerry's in Spanish land, and at 9 minutes, Weir is playing the chords, though not in the usual sequence (so it doesn't have the usual Spanish riff). But in no time, it's all over and back to the Other One. Short as it is, it's fascinating to hear them combine two jams into a single hybrid like this one.
By the way, Jerry's downright hypnotic in this Other One. They even throw in a Feelin' Groovy after the Space at the end, just for kicks.

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Poster:	DianaW	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 6:58am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Wow! this is amazing. Thank you so much.

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Poster:	Miss Divine	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 10:39pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Wow.
Thanks for this, it'll give me something to do this week instead of server upgrades.

xx

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Poster:	barongsong	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 7:52am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Awesome dude!

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Poster:	Dhamma1	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 4:37pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Add mine to the chorus of thanks. I love this approach to the music.

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Poster:	tkwest	Date:	Aug 1, 2016 1:08pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Just stumbled across this post this weekend during a rain forced hiatus in yard work. I've really been digging into the summer and fall '72 shows and have found this fascinating. Having seen the dead 100 or so times from 78 thru 93 I thought I knew what there was to know. I've never been so pleased to be so wrong. Thanks for all the time you put into this.

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Poster:	billydlions	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 3:20pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

Awesome LIA, Thanks so much!

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Poster:	mcglone	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 6:10pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

you're the best at what you do, you're the only one that does what you do! thank you for all your efforts. ian
This post was modified by mcglone on 2009-12-08 02:10:37

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Poster:	jerrys beard	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 7:16am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

LiA, as always, your posts make me weak in the knees...probably said too much.

As regards Mountain Jam...I was listening to one of the monster ABB versions this weekend (Ludlow maybe) and thinking back to the Dead's versions. When I first heard Mountain Jam, I somehow made the connection to Sonny Rollin's "St. Thomas" and always assumed that Donovan used that as the basis for his son. Browsing Wikipedia I found no connection. That made me go back and listen to "St. Thomas" again and it only made me more confused. I have put a link to a YouTube version...any thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4DTR0I7xhA

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Poster:	light into ashes	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 8:49pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

The resemblance is uncanny. I have to think Donovan heard that tune and (unconsciously?) borrowed it.... Sometimes musical coincidences happen, though.

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Poster:	jerrys beard	Date:	Dec 8, 2009 9:12am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

I think I fall into the unconscious imitation category, as the song has been around since the mid-50's. Just a little music trivia on my part...thanks for your thoughts.

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Poster:	William Tell	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 7:26am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: Question for you, LiA

Well, LiA, I've run out of awards, what with the lack of credenzas and chiffarobes (all used up thanks to you, Arb and a few other kind souls), and "thanks" doesn't seem to cut it.

But, thanks again!

Say, if you don't mind a personal question, do you have a strong musical background? You certainly discuss the various inputs of various members with a seeming sense of music from the ground up...what I am getting at is, whereas I have to go entirely on "ear" and my own sense of what moves me, when I try to dig deeper and categorize jams and who's doing what, I fail miserably (as per our exchanges where I make simply mistakes as to who is doing what in DS or what have you...).

Just curious if you think a background in music is necessary to make this "analytical step" OR if there is hope for a dolt like me--ie, if you said, "nope, don't know notes from chords" or some such, but diligence in listening was all that was necessary...

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Poster:	light into ashes	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 8:34pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: Question for you, LiA

I just try to pay attention, that's all.... I can barely tell one chord from another, myself. Musicians will probably notice the complete lack of any "technical" terms such as chords, keys, times, etc, in my posts!
This post was modified by light into ashes on 2009-12-08 04:34:46

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Poster:	William Tell	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 8:37pm
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: Question for you, LiA

Cool; true, I had noticed you didn't fill up posts with that sort of techno detail (musically speaking), but didn't know if it was to keep it simple, etc.

Thanks, and again, from one and all here (I am sure), thanks for all that you contribute. Always a joy to find amid the rest of the Forum antics.

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Poster:	amosearle	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 10:00am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

I hope you have an MLS degree. LIA is my vote for the custodian library job!

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Poster:	bluedevil	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 10:03am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

He was mine too, but now I'm thinking he needs to head a specialized branch focused solely on the music as opposed to also maintaining all the deitrus accumulated over the years by the organization (mail order envelope art, backstage laminates, blotter sheet designs, etc.)

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Poster:	William Tell	Date:	Dec 7, 2009 10:15am
Forum:	GratefulDead	Subject:	Re: The Dead's Early Thematic Jams

You mean given my interests in trivia, in the meaningless exchanges and by-products that dominate and are generated by 99% of human interactions, and in the arcane as well as the worthless (evidenced by my level of activity hereabouts, right?), there is hope for me to be "LiA's Lackey and Gopher, JG"?

Not sure he'd have me, but it just might be my dream job!