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Mason's Children

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Mason's Children

 #48207  by Capt Rosebuddy
 
Greetings,
I seem to have misplaced the liner notes from the "So Many Roads" box set, and a friend was asking about the studio version of Mason's Children, I drew a blank. After a brief but frustrating google I came up empty. Can anybody fill me in on the who what where and how of this fantastic, and underplayed song? In particular that studio gem version on S.M.R.?

 #48213  by tigerstrat
 
There's a studio version? afaik, it was played live about a dozen times, give-take, mostly in 1969- the final one in early 1970 (I think).

 #48215  by mttourpro
 
Like TS said, no studio version exists of Mason's--only a few live ones. That one on SMR might be from Miami Pop Fest 69.

 #48218  by acidrain30005
 
Actually the version on So Many Roads is a studio recording. Unfortunately I don't know very much about it except that it was only played throughout 69-70 and if I'm not mistaken Garcia didn't care much for it.

 #48220  by Capt Rosebuddy
 
Yea for sure the one on So Many Roads is from the studio, after it ends you can hear the band goofing and what sounds like somebody in the control room making some remarks, again pretty sure its addressed in the liner notes from the box set..

 #48221  by tigerstrat
 
Come to think of it I may remember hearing it as an Aoxomoxoa outtake, alongside "Barbed Wire Whipping Party" and other goofiness.

 #48223  by mttourpro
 
I see...I know they never put it out on any "official" studio records prior to Jerry's death. It would have to be a studio outtake. As for Jerry not liking it, iirc, I think Mason's was a little like St Stephen in that he didn't think they played it well enough or something to that effect.

P and F certainly does it justice though. It is a fairly weird song as far as GD tunes go, especially vocally. Interestingly, it's kind of a predecessor of future tunes in that it features a kind of cycle of fifths thing in B much like Touch, Ruben and Cherise and even the bridge in Birdsong and Scarlet. Jerry seemed to write a lot of tunes with that sort of progression, especailly in B.

 #48224  by Pete B.
 
I've noticed that Bass players are often "very enthusiatic" about doing this song.
It must be fun to play bass on.?.

I don't care for the I>II progression (verse) myself.
The song just doesn't lend itself to Pedal Steel Guitar at all, and there are just way too many other Dead tunes I'm interested in learning with regard to 6 (or 7) string guitar.
I hope the band I play steel in does it though!

There is a brief write-up about this song in this book (I don't have it at hand at the moment):
http://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Dead-Str ... 1560252332

 #48246  by Chuckles
 
jonarobb wrote:Here's the studio version of Mason's Children....

http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-wor ... sbeok.shnf


Jai Lai? When did they do Masons Children in Miami?
Hmmm... Testing my memory; I haven't heard it in years. I thought it was Miami... the show where they are begging people to get off of the speaker towers.

Maybe it was Hollywood Pop?

 #48249  by confusions_prince
 
Steve Silberman wrote that the studio version of Mason's Children wasn't on Workingman's Dead because the vocals sounded too pop.

 #48251  by jonarobb
 
Chuckles wrote:
jonarobb wrote:Here's the studio version of Mason's Children....

http://www.archive.org/details/gd70-wor ... sbeok.shnf


Jai Lai? When did they do Masons Children in Miami?
Hmmm... Testing my memory; I haven't heard it in years. I thought it was Miami... the show where they are begging people to get off of the speaker towers.

Maybe it was Hollywood Pop?
yes! thats what i thought. very sweet version. i'm streaming it now!
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