[Zack]

I think we can all agree that Bobby is an unorthodox and highly creative guitarist who had some low points in the early years and sometimes gets buried in the mix (one reason Dan Healy was fired.) Watching an old clip from 72 the other day, I realized just how important his playing was to Chinacat to allow Jerry freedom to handle the complicated verses and add accents to the main riff that Weir plays. I considered it illustrative that he was/is indeed a very good guitar player. His fast, tricky changes on Greatest Story also come to mind, as well as his work on my beloved NFA from Skull & Roses. What other Bob Weir performances do you think best highlight his skills as a guitarist?

[pappypgh]

Dan Healy...FYI...had Bob's guitar CRUSHINGLY LOUD throughout 1991-1993 in the mix, so I doubt that his being fired had anything to do with his mixing abilities - he's an incredible soundman.

BUT - to answer your question...in MY opinion, I love the stuff Bob would do behind the big stuff in the big ballads, like Morning Dew (during Jerry's solos) and Wharf Rat (during "I'll get up & fly away). These little riffs he'd whip out were SO perfectly placed and definitely HIM. No one else would think of putting that shit in there!! Bob is one of my favorite guitarists ever.



PS - if you get the chance to go on Archive.org, check out 6-7-91 Deer Creek. Bob is sickleberry. Standout tunes from that show (for Bob's guitar playing) are Stagger Lee, Music Never Stopped > Don't Ease Me In, Scarlet > Fire, Truckin' > NSB, Miracle > SOTM. EN FUEGO, SENOR WEIR!!!!

[AugustWest]

mmmmmm............. alpine 91......Tasty

I always loved hearing bob rip a lead with jerry on pig pen tunes like hard to handle and Easy wind (circa 71). I also like what he's doing now with ratdog. It's jazzier than the way he played with the dead. More three note chords with a lot of dissonance.

[bucketorain]

10-12-89 he is way up in the mix...almost too much

[strumminsix]

Jerry himself said how Headly misrepresented Bobby in the mix and said it did the band and fans a huge disservice.

Now, sure there are shows he was loud but that wasn't the standard. The people who said Bobby was clear in the mix were usually up front hearing it from the amps. or the stage side washes.

Healy has been quoted as saying as much that he hated Bobby's tone and kept it low. Also, in shows when Jerry was laying an egg he upped bobby and the keys.

[Zack]

PS - if you get the chance to go on Archive.org, check out 6-7-91 Deer Creek. Bob is sickleberry. Standout tunes from that show (for Bob's guitar playing) are Stagger Lee, Music Never Stopped > Don't Ease Me In, Scarlet > Fire, Truckin' > NSB, Miracle > SOTM. EN FUEGO, SENOR WEIR!!!!

I'm checking it out now. Thanks.

Regarding the Healy thing, I'm reading McNally who says (p. 549) that Dan Healy was "a consummate engineer . . (who) had an inability--Weir felt it was an unwillingness--to present Weir fully."

While we're on the subject of Weir, another quote about his musical relationship with Garcia puzzled me. Scrib writes Garcia said in the early 80s that the new guy (Brent) "should learn to relax and keep Bob Weir out of his hair." (p. 542). I don't understand really how Weir got in Garcia's "hair." Can anyone enlighten me?

[Pete B.]

While we're on the subject of Weir, another quote about his musical relationship with Garcia puzzled me. Scrib writes Garcia said in the early 80s that the new guy (Brent) "should learn to relax and keep Bob Weir out of his hair." (p. 542). I don't understand really how Weir got in Garcia's "hair." Can anyone enlighten me?

iirc from that book, Weir and Brent had gotten into a few brawls backstage.
Jer is quoted as saying that "the new guy (Brent) "should learn to relax and keep Bob Weir out of his hair."

[Tennessee Jedi]

The Dead Movie bonus dvd had some killer Bob stuff ....
Good hand shots and they boost his track when they do some close ups .....
WRS ....
I dont know whats harder -
some of his chords
or how he can swing like he does ...
or how he puts "space" between his riffs ....
Bob is very crafty ...

[Zack]

Thanks Pete, I had a little pronoun meltdown there.

[tigerstrat]

Many great Weir moments. Some of my favorite parts he plays are in Wharf Rat, Shakedown, FOTD, Crazy Fingers, Cumberland ... primal St. Stephen, Caution, New Potato, Eleven ... "new school" Bucket, Lazy River Road, Picasso... he really got to do a lot of embellishment on Garcia numbers that have Jerry playing pretty straightforward chunky rhythms, like Franklin's, Eyes, Brown-Eyed, HCS.

And of course the hit-or-miss slide, which when it hit was pretty damn cool- Minglewood, Althea, Walkin' Blues, U.S. Blues... notice I didn't mention Rooster...d'oh