She Belongs To Me (now with full blown geek alert essay)

[John A]

9 versions, all in '85. 1st set, pre-drums, post-space, encores - you name it. Anyone have a favorite? Or general commentary? I do as I am want to, but I'll refrain for now.

 

Why drop this, Jerry?  The Garcia/Kahn treatment clearly drove the muse, but how did it not work with The Dead? Of course just one of hundreds such questions, but that doesn't mean we can't ask 'em aloud...

[BillK522]

Another fabulous launch topic, JohnA.

 

Always partial to 85/11/21 Kaiser, last play.

A cherished tape in my collection, lost 

to a break-in outside Pittsburgh Civic Arena.

11/21 a capsule of 85 goodness, beyond

the SBTM, they opened with Big Boy Pete

(7 plays) and encored with Walking the Dog

(6 plays).  The show itself may cloud my

judgement of the song.  It happens.

 

Praise DSO.

 

[Tea]

Cut my teeth on the Chula Vista show - 9/15/85 / My favorite She Belongs to Me.  Pre Drums is really something else - get a Comes a Time for the chaser

[Greg from Chestertown]

I have a version on a mix tape that fell in my lap in the early nineties. No idea date played. 

[Ammagamalin Crew]

 

[John A]

Beautiful camera work there!  I'll get to my additional thoughts on this one year wonder soon...

[Ammagamalin Crew]

looking forward to it John A, you write with insight and integrity to provide thorough and  enlightening context that is appreciated when you make it happen 🙂

[John A]

Thanks for the kind words, Mr Crew. Indeed, my exploration morphed into a full blown essay...

 

A Treatise On Garcia’s Flirtation With Dylan’s She Belongs To Me

 

Although mostly lost to history, there’s evidence The Dead played this gem in early 1966. No tapes exist, so we don’t know who sang it or how often. Bob Dylan’s masterpiece LP “Bringing It All Back Home” was released in March 1965, and She Belongs To Me was also included on side two of the single. Jerry no doubt had plenty of exposure to it out the gate dating to The Warlocks era, so it’s no surprise it could have shown up in the repertoire.

 

The song’s beguiling combination of joy and pathos suggests it would pique Jerry’s interest; a mysterious woman, who contrary to the title obviously belongs to no-one, at once alluring but possibly dangerous. As Dylan compositions go there’s an economy of words, and the enigmatic imagery it presents almost makes it seem Robert Hunter could have penned it for Garcia himself.

 

Fast forwarding to 1985, Jerry tackled it both with the Dead and in acoustic performances. Throughout ’85 and early ’86 it was sprinkled a half dozen times into Garcia/Kahn duets, along with nine Dead appearances. Ultimately lasting longer outside The Dead, it showed up again briefly in Jerry’s acoustic orbit in two May ’92 Garcia/Grisman shows. A video of Weir, Lesh, and Garcia was filmed at Club Front that fall, likely in late September or early October, playing She Belongs To Me acoustically. Bobby and Jerry traded verses. It was recorded for playback at Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, held 10-16-92 at Madison Square Garden. Jerry was scheduled to perform but had to bow out due to his summer health meltdown.

 

Owing to the oft wild and woolly nature of 1985 Grateful Dead material/set-lists, Jerry both broke out and retired the song over just seven months, despite playing it nine times. For that precious short time, it was “in the rotation.” It never settled into any particular slot. The bust out was in the middle of the first set, while the other versions ranged from pre-drums (3) to post-space (2) to encores (3, all of which were part of double encores). Perhaps part of Jerry’s dilemma was he couldn’t figure out where to put it. That may be a stretch, but one is left to ponder why such a deep, delicate, beautiful ballad came, was well nurtured, then left, all so fleetingly. Jerry and the band were feeling both passionate and outside the box when She Belongs To Me appeared; other ballads those shows include Morning Dew, China Doll, and Comes A Time (twice), while various rarities include Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?, Satisfaction (twice), a Lost Sailor / Saint of Circumstance split by drums and space, Gloria, Revolution, Midnight Hour, Big Boy Pete, and Walking The Dog.

 

My spark to investigate the nine Dead renditions with a fresh ear was the Dave’s Picks Volume 49 release, featuring both complete ’85 Frost shows. On day two She Belongs To Me closes a double Garcia encore. My general observations going through each version reveal solos in different spots relative to verses and verses in different spots relative to each other. I’m not positive the song saw the exact arrangement twice! While The Dead are rightfully known for never playing the same song quite the same way, this isn’t that. It’s Garcia never quite settling into his vision of the song’s structure. Regardless, while the Providence bust out April 4th was a bit rough and even missing complete verses, vocal stammering and dropped lines were few and far between from there on, and one could count on two sweet, heartfelt solos every time out. Those generalities said, here’s my run down on Jerry’s stabs at this ethereal beauty, including the sonic qualities of the sources in my collection…

 

Rough edges aside, it must have been one of those “thank god I’m here” moments for the seasoned Head to hear She Belong To Me come seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of the first set at the April 4th Providence show. The show opened with the only iteration of Alabama Getaway -> Jack Straw, so something unique was afoot out the gate. The first Garcia/Kahn acoustic appearance wasn’t until 5-23, so even the most hardened Garcia freak could never have seen this coming. The Oade taper section Schoeps recording is a bit boomy, but the cassette board is nice. This is the only time Garcia would insert She Belongs to Me into the first set and one can see why. Wherever it belonged (pardon the pun), somewhere later in the show strikes me as that place.

 

Garcia clearly felt this newfound Dylan muse, playing it again two shows later on April 7th in Philadelphia. This time it was in the pre-drums segment, innocently sandwiched between Samson and Women Are Smarter. It’s several minutes longer and feels more mature. The Oade Schoeps taper section effort sounds better, and the cassette board is nice as well.

 

Six shows later was that second day at The Frost, April 28th, where it found its way into the encore slot, as a double encore following US Blues. The new Dave’s Picks release sounds quite nice, and there’s a Bob Wagner front of board Nakamichi 700 recording that sounds fantastic. Those Frost FOBs could really deliver. It’s nice enough, and even appears on the album “Garcia Plays Dylan”, but I don’t understand why the producers made that choice.

 

Not to be outdone by The Frost, there’s an even better version two shows later on June 15th at The Greek. Again it’s in a double encore slot, this time preceding US Blues. The finale features the kind of Garcia vocal embellishment I live for, when he announces, “You know she can take the dark out of the night time!” The Oade tape from the Greek is good not great; there’s a digital board I much prefer.

 

There’s one rendition on the summer tour, August 31st in Austin. This is the only instance a soundboard isn’t available. The front of board Oade Schoeps tape is stunning; one of those great, wide open, outdoor recordings where Phil’s amazingly visceral and Jerry’s vocal and guitar presence are breathtaking. But it’s wistfully marred by an outrageous amount of talkers and whoopers - drunk Texans? Whatever the case, it’s a sad thing. This is the final time in the encore slot, again part of a double encore with Saturday Night, and fortunately by this point in the show the crowd’s annoyances have mostly abated. From a sonic perspective alone, this is my favorite take. Jerry has some great vocals inflections, and as mentioned Phil sounds magnificent. Watch your woofers!

 

Next up is Chula Vista, an odd and one off venue for The Dead; a small college football stadium south of San Diego. This show is a quintessential example of how The Dead often delivered their best in the strangest of places. She Belongs To Me was now pre-drums again in a set featuring Scarlet -> Fire, Comes A Time, a set closing Satisfaction, and seven (!) songs before drums. A remarkably unique second set. There’s a great digital board, providing perhaps the best sonics of any version. But there’s also a fascinating audience tape, with parabolic microphones spaced 40 feet apart! I love these peculiar types of captures when they work. The openness on this recording is thrilling. This is a lilting, near perfect rendition. I say “near perfect” because in the climax Jerry only delivers two “paints the daytime black” rather than the customary three (the third of which is typically the line that drives it home). I liken this to Simple Twist Of Fate. You gotta have that third, emphatic, “blame it on that simple twist of fate!”

 

The fall ’85 tour saw two takes, both stunners. The most famous of which is November 1st in Richmond. Dick Latvala chose it for Dick’s Picks Volume 21, released way back in 2001. This show finds She Belongs To Me in the post-space ballad slot for the first time, and it launches into a raucous Gloria to end the set. It’s a potentially reference version, again featuring a subtle but great Garcia vocal embellishment to close. “WELL, she takes the dark out of the night time.” Both the official release and the Oade Schoeps are fine listens, although I prefer the Dick’s Picks.

 

The second and final post-space iteration is a week later on November 8th in Rochester. Again, there are good listening options in both the cassette board and the Oade tape. While I hesitate to name this the GOAT outright, it’s definitely an under the radar gem. What I’ll say unequivocally is it contains the best notes from Jerry’s guitar you will find on this song, and in the first jam no less. Garcia lays down a series of piercing, gorgeous, plaintive notes that are the stuff of goosebumps.

 

The final appearance comes back in California later in the month, November 21st at The Kaiser. This is quite the show, opening with the first and only Big Boy Pete since 1970, closing with Midnight Hour, and encoring with the final Walking The Dog after a brief ’84/’85 revival. There’s a worthy audience with vintage Uher microphones along with a very nice digital board. This version is particularly soft and soulful, with a great vulnerability to Jerry’s vocals. While lovely, had it picked itself up with a powerful finale I’d be more fond of it. Alas, Jerry comes in late on the final verse, and just as in Chula Vista there are only two passes of the closing “she takes the dark out of the night time.” In fairness, this may owe itself to the song melting into a quick little jam before yielding to the Rhythm Devils.

 

Just like that, it was gone, and, as with many things in The Dead’s sphere, bringing up more questions than answers. Foremost of course, what caused him to abandon it? Jerry tackled Visions Of Joanna a couple times the next spring, with its mind boggling plethora of lyrics and difficult phrasing, and he even brought Visions back in ’95 (in fairness, the teleprompters likely had plenty to do with that). Baby Blue came and went a few times before settling back into the encore slot in the early 80s. When I Paint My Masterpiece left the JGB rotation only to reappear as a Dead cover with Bobby at the helm. It Takes A Train To Cry seemed a one off with members of the Allman Brothers in 1973, before unexpectedly showing up again 18 years later in a pairing with CC Rider. But She Belongs to Me merely slipped away, like the dark out of the night time.

[BillK522]

Take a bow, JohnA

You killed that one.

 

Praise DSO.

[BillK522]

Took in the Rochester version with

my morning coffee.  Breathtaking.

Rode home on the Sugar Mag,

Satisfaction encore, this show 

smokes.  Final Baby What You Want,

Revolution opens the second.

Jack Straw>Might As Well closes

the first, only other occurrence

06/25 Blossom, with its Day Tripper

opener.  F-in' 1985.  End rabbit hole.

 

Praise DSO.

[John A]

12 hours ago, BillK522 said:

Took in the Rochester version with

my morning coffee.  Breathtaking.

Hopefully you didn't take my comments on that 1st jam as hyperbole.  Those Garcia notes really were all that.

[Ammagamalin Crew]

Maybe it's the last time played being in a great space spiritually, physically, emotionally and technically to finalize? I kinda heard some practice leads in the proceeding PITB jam which tried to transition until China Doll intercepted. Jerry makes it clear SHE BELONGS here. He then does deliver the verses correctly if going from most important being: "She's nobody's child" descending to least "She wears an Egyptian ring". PITB>China Doll ended up being played right back at the Kaiser the first show of 86 two and a half months later. Seems like Jerry tripped out with the Comes a Time & SBTM options in 85 and didn't want them to become routine. The final cap to the wonderous 85 experiment. New Year's was kinda blah for me after listening to all the other new years up till then, also only a two nighter. Mighty Quinn saved the day!

 

[John A]

Ironically, the Austin show (only one without a SBD) might sonically be the best listen.  Crowd problems aside, this is an epic Oade capture. It's all so "right there", with amazing clarity and as deep as Phil goes. This needs a big and wide system though to find that magic.