What Do You Think of Jerry Garcia's PSG Work?

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 9 May 2016 8:46 am

really...you find that solo brilliant? it sounds just as elementary as most new players trying to fill in a sloppy rock band. grating tone and pitch.
certainly no better than anything jerry did!

Dennis Montgomery · Post by **Dennis Montgomery** » 9 May 2016 9:07 am

chris ivey wrote:really...you find that solo brilliant? it sounds just as elementary as most new players trying to fill in a sloppy rock band. grating tone and pitch.
certainly no better than anything jerry did!

Ya, I do...considering the Exile on Main St era Stones were doing their best to sound like a juiced up and sloppy rock band I think Perkins' juiced up and sloppy pedal steel solo is a perfect fit

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 9 May 2016 11:42 am

Dennis Montgomery wrote:... Also, I always thought Dead Flowers was pedal steel too but according to wiki it's just Mick Taylor on guitar (though I did read the NRPS covered it with Buddy Cage playing a ripping version)

Here ya' go, Dennis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWE6IR-AF0o

Keep on pickin'
Glenn

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 9 May 2016 11:52 am

Jerry pickin' the steel in a style that is uniquely his:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJdq0OcRK3o

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

Dennis Montgomery · Post by **Dennis Montgomery** » 9 May 2016 12:51 pm

Glenn Suchan wrote:
Dennis Montgomery wrote:... Also, I always thought Dead Flowers was pedal steel too but according to wiki it's just Mick Taylor on guitar (though I did read the NRPS covered it with Buddy Cage playing a ripping version)

Here ya' go, Dennis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWE6IR-AF0o

Keep on pickin'
Glenn

Sweet! Love that way out there wailing start to the solo at 2:26...sounds like the bar has a mind of it's own!

Thanks Glenn

Chris Allen · Post by **Chris Allen** » 16 May 2016 8:40 am

I donâ€™t think that I know enough to say whether Jerry was all that good a PSG player or what. I do know that he is/was better than meâ€¦ at this point. Iâ€™m not sure that if I were handed a song like Teach that I could have ever come up with something that fit so well. He was in the right place at the right time and filled a need at that time.

I can say that through the Dead, NRPS, the Ray Price band, and others I gained and interest and respect for the PSGâ€¦ sadly it took me another 50 years to get one. But I did and it was because of all those who came before me and who I came of age with. Jerry was part of that.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 17 May 2016 7:57 am

Well said, Chris.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 17 May 2016 8:03 am

Jerry Garcia admired other great players just like the rest of us. Do you know who his favorite guitar players were? The one he talked most about was Frank Gambale. If you know anything about Mr. Gambale's playing, you might find that surprising, as I did.

Jerry was a unique and free-spirited musician. To me, that is more important than impeccable.

scott murray · Post by **scott murray** » 17 May 2016 10:07 pm

Jerry was the lead guitarist, lead vocalist, and main songwriter of a successful and very busy rock band. the fact that he is also known for his pedal steel playing and played steel on so many people's records, including the great Teach Your Children, is just a testament to the man's musical ability and appetite.

he lived and breathed music. it's safe to say that if he was awake, Jerry was most likely honing his craft. it's pretty mindblowing to consider all the different hats he wore, and how well he wore them all. bandleader, producer, songwriter, sideman... he played every instrument on his first solo album besides the drums.

it's a shame that so many folks still dismiss Jerry and the Dead as just stoned jamming. yes they liked to improvise (and get stoned), but that's just a small part of what they did. Jerry was most certainly a virtuoso guitarist and a top-notch songwriter. he studied theory endlessly and practiced for hours on end. he was a remarkably intelligent and curious human being, and he applied those traits to the pursuit of making music. he was also incredibly humble.

the simple fact remains: a lot of people do drugs and a lot of people improvise, but nobody else did what Jerry Garcia did. the world is a far richer place thanks to his musical mind, and the fact that we're here talking about his work nearly 50 years later proves it.

Rick Abbott · Post by **Rick Abbott** » 18 May 2016 3:21 pm

Well spoken, Scott Murray.

So, today I was asked to join a Grateful Dead cover / tribute band. I know the other guys by reputation and it's going to be a killer band. Now I need to figure out how to play some of Jerry's steel parts as I'll be playing steel, acoustic and electric guitars. Headin' for the woodshed, see y'all in a few weeks.

Dennis Montgomery · Post by **Dennis Montgomery** » 18 May 2016 3:37 pm

Rick Abbott wrote:Well spoken, Scott Murray.

So, today I was asked to join a Grateful Dead cover / tribute band. I know the other guys by reputation and it's going to be a killer band. Now I need to figure out how to play some of Jerry's steel parts as I'll be playing steel, acoustic and electric guitars. Headin' for the woodshed, see y'all in a few weeks.

Sounds like fun, hope you'll be playing Dire Wolf

Bobby Hearn · Post by **Bobby Hearn** » 31 May 2016 6:48 pm

It fit what he wanted to express and he enjoyed it. The rest is trivial.

David Cubbedge · Post by **David Cubbedge** » 1 Jun 2016 8:14 am

Rick Abbott, if that cover band doesn't work for you, have them contact me!

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 1 Jun 2016 9:50 am

Here is Jerry warming up on an Emmons D10.
This is about a year after recording Teach.

Start this vid at the 1:00:20 mark (for about a 4min segment) and you can see some of Jerry's palm blocking, etc:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SDWjfsy-GA

The Steel Guitar Forum

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