I've been trying to Leshmax as much as possible as of late, going deep into his bass technique and playing. But I think I'm just missing one key ingredient: alcohol.
Phil says he started out on Heinekens, so it must be a good starting point. We'll get to the harder stuff in due time. I'm not a big drinker tho... any shot I'll even like it? Is it worth spending money on a case?
Rip Phillip btw 🥀
The house of a Deadhead.
54 years ago today, the Dead got on stage at the sold out L'Olympia theater in Paris for the second night of their run there. Off to a running start, the show opens with Greatest Story, and further evolves to a set comprised of what could be considered b-side songs at the time, but they're all played expertly.
After some deep cuts & Pigpen fun, the boys are ready to blast off, and they launch into 40+ minute Dark Star. Rivaled only by some others from this tour, this Dark Star gets really deep, very dark, and can be rough around the edges but still makes for an incredible jam. Phil takes us into a Mind Left Body Jam, and after the crashing of dark star Bobby leads us into *the* Sugar Magnolia that would make its way onto the Europe '72 album, and you can hear the crowd response clear as day: time to party.
This is my favorite '72 show, and has been since I first listened to the tour while deep diving into the band 3 years ago. This show specifically got me through a really rough trip on some questionable stuff, and somehow Dark Star made me revel in my humanity and kept me sane. I'll forever love it, if not for that reason alone.
As of writing this, we're still fairly early into the lifespan of Play Dead, so I'm sure more versions will be added soon, enough, but I wanted to do this while there were still only a dozen versions and not 2 dozen. This was moreorless an exercise to see how the tune changed over time, and furthermore to see how the band's sound changed throughout the mid to late 1980's. Feel free to listen along with me! Anyway, on to the list:
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4/26/83 Spectrum - pretty early version of it from just over a month after it's debut. The forms not quite there & it's quite slow. Nobody lands the ending together so it kinda just... ends. 2/10 I'm sure they're uphill from here, and this one is pretty bad comparatively.
8/20/83 Frost - another one a few months later with a nice, slow groove. Bands a bit more locked in, but the form is still a little loose. Brent is super present but not on the b3 quite yet. The ending was, again, not landed together. I'll give this a 3/10
10/12/83 MSG - this one sounds similar to the Frost one we just looked at in terms of feel, but Brent is a little more comfortable. The form is getting there, but Jerry & Phil are having trouble following Bobby when he goes to the bridge, but they all nail the ending together!! Things are looking up but need polishing, 5/10
10/21/83 Centrum - another one from the month of October, this isn't too terribly different from the last one at MSG but the energy isn't quite the same. Bob seems more comfortable with the vocal vamp before the ending too. Nice clean ending as well, it's nice to hear they got it tightened up quickly. 4.5/10, it's getting better but the MSG energy hit different.
4/20/84 Philly Civic Center - first one from 84, they've finally added the chords onto the beginning of the song, and the rest of the form feels a lot better with the addition. Brent still isn't on the b3, but a similar, yet cheesy, organ-sounding patch. There's certainly more pocket, and it feels maybe a tad faster. This is the longest one we're looking at today, clocking in at 7 minutes, however, they missed the ending again, so I'm gonna have to dock points. 4.5/10
7/15/84 Greek - not the cleanest sounding recording but the band is pretty locked in, and the more drastic dynamics are there, finally!! Along with a proper form, this may be the best one yet... Brents having a lot of fun with the jam on the end, along with Mickey. The ending was a little miffed, but it was together. I'll give it a 6/10
4/27/85 Frost - Brent's finally on the b3, and it has some serious bite. I think this is the first time Bob says the alternative bridge lyrics: "Esau stakes on mirrors anymore/and meets his pale reflection at the door." Phil's bass is high in the mix and very powerful alongside Brent. Mickey's laying down some nice grooves on the cowbell as well.
This song got a major upgrade since the last one we heard, and I'll say we're already sitting at a 8/10 here. This one is really great.
6/24/85 Riverbend - right off the bat there is some WILD reverb effect on Bob's mic... idk what the hell is going on but it sounds kind of insane. Despite the strange vocal anomaly, this is still a pretty solid version. I'll give this one a 6/10 as it doesn't do much for me.
3/26/87 Hartford Civic Center - no more drum vamp before the intro chords, but we're off to a rocking start with Mickey really driving that cowbell. This recording has a nice audience recording-type feel, but Brent is super low in the mix. He's there, but very quiet. The drums are definitely driving this one, along with Phil laying down some nice grooves. Jerry feels super comfortable with the changes too. For some reason, there aren't any versions from '86 here, granted they only played it 8 times that year. It feels much better in the year since we've heard it, I'll give it a 7/10
7/24/87 Oakland - back to the drum intro before the chords. Not sure why they were missing from the last one. They're really speedy on this one too and the groove is very nice. Bob does flub the words at the beginning of the second verse, but everything else is pretty good. Jerry lays down some nice solos, and Brents painting the texture with the b3 is exactly what the song needed. The ending was flubbed again, but I think the rest of the song feels good and this version is pretty fun. 7/10
9/16/87 MSG - back at MSG again, and again no drum intro, hopping straight into the chords. The energy is hot too, being a good way into the first set. This one didn't have quite the same locked in groove as the one in Oakland we just listened to, but it was still pretty fun. Phil laid down some nice grooves, and Jerry had a pretty good solo, but this one didn't hit quite like 7/24. I'll give it a 6.5/10
10/3/87 Shoreline - this one is pretty speedy, and actually speeds up a little more before the second verse, but everything grooving well. Phil's got the changes and form down, and hitting some really nice bass work. Jerry's having a good bit of fun with the solo section, weaving his way through the chords, and signaling Bob that he's good to come back in. The dynamics are nice, and Bob's doing the vocal vamp well, and everyone's together on the ending. Considering the poor energy of the last version, I didn't have high hopes, but they certainly delivered & I think this may be the best one here overall. For the sake of the list, this one can have a 10/10.
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Bobby said, in a Relix interview from 2005, "My Brother Esau... I don’t understand what it is I’m singing there. I worked and worked and worked on it, and I still couldn’t understand the point that I was fucking making."
Granted, I don't understand what point he's trying to make either. Shadowboxing is the act of sparring with an opponent who isn't really there, and with the overarching themes of war and redemption, it reads like a traumatized man trying to fit in with society but his inner demons are preventing it, as well as the toll his repression takes on those around him, whether they're people he knows or not.
I'm not a religious man, but I feel like it is somewhat important to understand the biblical story of the twins Esau and Jacob (later Israel, the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel) to get a better understanding of this tune.
In the bible, it's mentioned that even before they were born, Esau & Jacob were fighting in the womb. Esau was born first, with brother holding onto his heel. His birthright, as the oldest, is that he got a double portion of the family inheritance, however he sold that to Jacob for some lentil stew after returning from hunting famished.
Esau put his temporary, physical needs over his God-given blessing and sold his birthright to Jacob. When the time came for their father, Isaac, to bestow his blessing on his sons, Jacob and his mother contrived to deceive Isaac into blessing Jacob in Esau’s place. When Esau found that his blessing had been given to Jacob, he threatened to kill his brother, and Jacob fled. However, years later, Jacob and Esau met and were reconciled.
In the New Testament, Esau's choice to sell his birthright is used as an example of "ungodliness," a godless person who will put physical desires over spiritual blessings. I'm not totally sure how deceiving your father to bless you with riches instead of your brother because you gave him a bowl of soup a couple years back exactly means that you are a good example of a godly(?) person, but hey, these old stories hardly make any sense anyway... I suppose to try & link it back to the story told in the song, Esau would have been effectively banished to wander the land after being the first-right brother who "walked away" and I guess maybe going to war & killing people is symbolic of losing your faith, as it could be perceived as a godless action to kill.
I still think it's moreorless referring to the trauma one would face after returning from war, like many Vietnam vets did face.
In many ways it has parallels to Black-Throated Wind, another Bobby tune that he never considered to be fully finished. A distinctive chord progression, themes of redemption, traveling, and just being all around great and underrated Bobby songs. Thanks for reading this far, and if you listened along with me feel free to share your thoughts!