Barre chords?

[pappypgh]

OMD,
I don't know much about a lot of stuff, but I'm pretty sure Bobby didn't change his style or phrasing due to competition from other players. No one really played guitar like Bob Weir during their heyday...nowadays there are folks in and around the jamband circuit who DO, but they got it from Bobby.

As far as how that song "morphed", well, they didn't play it much different on their guitars from '74 - '95 (a bit faster here & there and they would change WHERE on the guitar they'd play it depending on their mood night to night, I guess), but the only "morphing" that song went through - that I can think of - was the arrangement. They used to put the solos at the end of the song before putting it b4 the 3rd verse.

Finally, I'm almost 100% sure that it's G > C the whole song, but again...you can get away with (and maybe they did too, sometimes) G > Gsus4. I like C best...but taste IS subjective!!

[ronster]

C +1
It's possible Weir is playing a Gsus4 some or all of the time but I'm pretty sure Jerry is playing a C.

[strumminsix]

OMD - cool G > Gsus4 between lines but the mainline of the verse is definately C.

To your point/ears - Bobby did adjust his playing / style / pickup etc to where he felt he needed to be in the midrange.

Pappy - I think this is what OMD was getting it but it's not so much competition but more balancing a very midrange heavy contribution.

[old man down]

pappypgh,

What I mean is if you take the Skull & Roses version and compare it to, let's say, 1977, the whole tempo is turned inside out. As I remember, it was like the song could be considered as starting on the C chord when you're right in the middle of the song, rather than being based from the G > C back and forth repetition. Being a player, when I'd hear it I'd think what is this all about, what happened to this song. (Sort of like the early version of Playin' versus the Ace version, or the early versions of Dancin' versus the descending 7ths version much later on.) The song had completely morphed from the lead lines of Jerry, too. His style of play had become much more opened up, he had become a really good guitarist with the ability to do whatever he wanted. When Bertha first came out it was really close to the Skull & Roses version, staightforward rhythm with lyrics, you would recognize aspects of the version when they would play. But in later years, each live version was anew and unique, very much morphed.

Then came the BAM, because it was like a guitar pyrotech technique that, with all of the instruments doing it at once, you could actually feel a wave of sound hit you. The Dead liked that sort of thing. Sort of like the record-skip effect that they could make happen in Cassidy, where time would stand still for an instant.

[Tennessee Jedi]

Maybe instead of BAM! we could call it "the accent"?
"Throw Me in the Jailhouse.."-->"The accent".

[old man down]

No, it was a BAM. (GratefulPat coined it, blame him)


Whaaattttt? Nobody noticed my ripping off Townes Van Zant's metaphor a little while ago?

C'mon you guys, you got to keep me honest.

[pappypgh]

OMD -

I smell what yer cookin' now...sorry, I misunderstood ...

The "BAM" - dig it.

2 lines normal
On the "2"
On the "3"
Chorus
2 lines normal
On the "4"
On the "5"

I assume that's the BAM of which you speak!! Good stuff....

[Tennessee Jedi]

B = Bertha
A = accent
M = move

My 1st attempt at TAB...

[GratefulPat]

haha i had nothingto do with the bam! that was someone else