Lately I've been involved in digitizing many old reels for Alan Bershaw and I'll continue to offer up interesting Dead-related recordings, but this time I'm looking for the collective knowledge here to possibly help us better identify an unlabelled 7" 1/4 track reel we recently found. We're hoping someone may recognize this obscure "home or studio" recording. He doesn't remember where he got this (other than in the 70s probably) and the geneology is unknown. This falls in the "for completists only" category, but I found it enjoyable, especially the two extended jams developing into Uncle John's Band. I'll offer it up soon, but would like to identify it correctly first. Here's Alan's notes.
Grateful Dead, Robert Hunter, John Dawson ?Unidentified home or studio 1969? Personel: Garcia, Hunter, Pigpen, Lesh, Constanten, Dawson, Weir, Hart & Kruetzman Geneology: unknown (this copy on 7" 1/4 track reel @ 3.75ips) 1. Friend Of The Devil (other lyrics/John Dawson singing lead)[4:45] 2. brief trumpet solo (Phil Lesh ?) [0:50] 3. Dead Or Alive (Robert Hunter vocal, unknown song) [1:09] 4. Train Song : (Robert Hunter vocal, unknown song) [2:24] 5. No Eggs Today : (Robert Hunter vocal, unknown song) [0:35] 6. Jam (vaguely touching on Uncle John's Band riffs-full band) [7:43] 7. Uncle Johns Band (instrumental improvisation-full band) [8:56] 8. ...baby crying... (1:58) 9. unidentified guitar [2:04] /end of tape Notes: This recording sounds like it was mastered on a portable mono cassette recorder circa 69 with a cheap condenser mic, but instruments and voices are still quite audible. It sounds intimate enough to be recorded in someone's living room, but considering keyboards and drums are in use on sequence 6 and 7, I'm guessing maybe Mickey's Barn. Its interesting for being one of the earliest recordings of the Dead heading in the direction of Workingmans/Beauty material. (Uncle John's Band instrumentally being born right before your ears.) Each track's timing notation represents an uninterupted recording sequence. Its obvious all nine "tracks" were recorded on the same equipment in the same room, but its unknown if it all occured on the same day. If you can help identify this, please get in touch and we'll get it circulating soon to those who care to have it. Stu
