July 9th, 2010 / 10:45 am
Music

Musical Interlude: Alasdair Roberts & the Grateful Dead

There are very few things in music right now that excite me more than the words “new Alasdair Roberts record.” I became something of a Roberts evangelist last year when his album Spoils came out, and since then I’ve been availing myself of his back catalog, which includes several wonderful albums of traditional ballads and songs. His new record, Too Long in This Condition, is another collection of traditionals, and it is a delight. Sonically, it feels closer in spirit to Spoils–which was a (relatively) boisterous album of Roberts originals–than to his earlier traditionals records, in particular The Crook of My Arm, which remains (by a small margin) my favorite thing Roberts has put out to date. But there’s plenty to love about Too Long in This Condition. Highlights include marvelous takes on “The Two Sisters”, “Barbara Allen” and “The Daemon Lover”, the ecstatic jaw-harp-featuring “Kilmahog Saturday Afternoon,” and “The Golden Vanity,” this last being the record’s standout track. Also look out for “Little Sir Hugh,” which as near as I can tell is a song about Jewish blood libel–and I don’t mean “about” in the sense of “discussing” or “critiquing,” but rather in the sense of “features a Jew luring a child into her house and then murdering him for his precious blood.” Ahh, history!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG3gMSXUwjI&

As I’m sure you’re all aware, July 9, 2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the last Grateful Dead show, at Soldier Field in Chicago. This year is also the 40th anniversary of one of the band’s great studio records, 1970’s Workingman’s DeadRoad Trips series (Vol. 3, No. 3) is 3 discs covering the Filmore East in New York City on 5/15/70, and it features some great rarities like “Cold Jordan” and “Silver Threads and Golden Needles,” as well as several very fine “St. Stephen”s (two of which go into “Not Fade Away”) and the bluesiest “Deep Elem Blues” I’ve ever heard them do. Definitely my favorite thing I’ve bought from GDP since Jerry Garcia + John Kahn live at the Marin Veterans Auditorium (2/28/86), and speaking more generally, I think that the focus of 5/15/70 bodes  very well for future releases- the increased space given to the band’s acoustic repertoire and the unearthing of uber-rare songs that have been seldom (or never!) put out on official releases before, are both very exciting developments. I hope to have the chance to buy a lot more releases like this one.

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21 Comments

  1. Schylur Prinz

      Justin– this is a pseudo-serious, non-snark based question (I only ask it because for many years I too waded in these murky bootlegged waters): when you listen to live GD, do you find yourself singing loudly to cover up the dissonance in their (almost always) hideously off-pitch vocals, or do you find the flaws to be so upfront and lacking in self-consciousness that they (in themselves) are as rewarding as the face-melting guitar solos? Or is (as I decided) your love based on something para-musical (notions of community, etc, etc)?

  2. Justin Taylor

      The middle one, mostly, though I also sing along pretty loud. I love the rough-hewn stuff from the early 70s- some of my favorite moments are when one of them (usually Bobby) forges which verse of the song they’re in coming out of a chorus. But honestly, above and beyond all else, I love Garcia’s voice. I’d probably listen to that guy read out of a phonebook.

  3. Jason Diamond

      Justin, have you ever heard The Pizza Tapes?

  4. Justin Taylor

      Yessir! I believe they just released some new redux version of it, but that I have not heard.

  5. Matthew Simmons

      Where do you stand on Grayfolded?

  6. Schylur Prinz

      Justin– this is a pseudo-serious, non-snark based question (I only ask it because for many years I too waded in these murky bootlegged waters): when you listen to live GD, do you find yourself singing loudly to cover up the dissonance in their (almost always) hideously off-pitch vocals, or do you find the flaws to be so upfront and lacking in self-consciousness that they (in themselves) are as rewarding as the face-melting guitar solos? Or is (as I decided) your love based on something para-musical (notions of community, etc, etc)?

  7. Justin Taylor

      Off to one side.

  8. Justin Taylor

      The middle one, mostly, though I also sing along pretty loud. I love the rough-hewn stuff from the early 70s- some of my favorite moments are when one of them (usually Bobby) forges which verse of the song they’re in coming out of a chorus. But honestly, above and beyond all else, I love Garcia’s voice. I’d probably listen to that guy read out of a phonebook.

  9. Matthew Simmons

      Probably for the best. The tape is full of razor cuts and is held together with tape.

  10. Matthew Simmons

      Tape of the scotch variety, i mean. In the second case.

  11. Jeff

      Spoils is ridiculously amazing. Just discovered it a few months back. Glad to hear his new one is worthwhile. I was initially a little disappointed that there were no originals on there.

  12. Jason Diamond

      Justin, have you ever heard The Pizza Tapes?

  13. Justin Taylor

      Yessir! I believe they just released some new redux version of it, but that I have not heard.

  14. Matthew Simmons

      Where do you stand on Grayfolded?

  15. Justin Taylor

      Off to one side.

  16. Matthew Simmons

      Probably for the best. The tape is full of razor cuts and is held together with tape.

  17. Matthew Simmons

      Tape of the scotch variety, i mean. In the second case.

  18. Jeff

      Spoils is ridiculously amazing. Just discovered it a few months back. Glad to hear his new one is worthwhile. I was initially a little disappointed that there were no originals on there.

  19. Justin Taylor

      Nah, don’t be disappointed. There’s really no one better to do traditionals than him. But yeah, SPOILS is beyond beyond. Funny, I’m noticing my review it from last year seems to have disappeared from the internet- I should re-post it here. Also worth checking out is the Amalgamated Sons of Rest EP- it’s Roberts, Will Oldham, and Jason Molina. I wish they’d done more with the arrangement than they did, but it’s still well worth hearing and having.

  20. Justin Taylor

      Nah, don’t be disappointed. There’s really no one better to do traditionals than him. But yeah, SPOILS is beyond beyond. Funny, I’m noticing my review it from last year seems to have disappeared from the internet- I should re-post it here. Also worth checking out is the Amalgamated Sons of Rest EP- it’s Roberts, Will Oldham, and Jason Molina. I wish they’d done more with the arrangement than they did, but it’s still well worth hearing and having.

  21. HTMLGIANT / All Good Things in All Good Time

      […] The Grateful Dead — Road Trips Vol. 3 No. 3 (May 1970) — I wrote about my love for this most recent GD Productions release here last month. […]