Robert Hunter – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

The Grateful Allman Brothers

This was for Dave’s Turntable Talk, and he wanted us to pick either an artist, or an album, or even one song that has risen steadily in our estimation through the years. I picked two…because they are similar and both happened at the same time with me.

I’m cheating a bit, but I got permission from the principal. I simply could not pick between the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers. I always liked them both, but didn’t really LIKE them until the teens, around the same time. Thanks, Dave, for another intriguing question.

In the 1980s, I had a greatest hits package by both bands, and I thought I was doing fine. One day, I needed to pick a book from Audible, and I happened to pick Gregg Allman’s book The Cross I Bear, which I would put up there with the Keith Richards book Life. I started to get into the book, and then I started to listen to the music, and I was blown away. In that book, he talked about The Grateful Dead, and I soon got Dead’s drummer Bill Kreutzmann’s book Deal about his life, and the same thing happened.

This is how a young Max got into music in the first place: by getting Beatles books and going from there. In those books, the author would mention other artists, and I would have to check them out. Out of that, I got the Who, Kinks, Stones, and the rest.

Both of these bands seem to be related to each other. Two jam bands, one from the West Coast and their southern brother in Macon, Georgia. Both were led by a strong lead guitarist and two drummers. They did have separate styles, but live, you could expect a different concert night to night. Both of them treated their road crew much better than other bands. They considered them just as important as the band itself.

Both bands pulled from American styles: blues, country, folk, and jazz. The Dead leaned into folk, bluegrass, and psychedelic experimentation, while the Allmans drew more heavily from Delta blues and Southern soul. But in both cases, their sound was a gumbo rather than a single style.

As I got into them, what grabbed me about the Grateful Dead were the lyrics that Hunter and Garcia wrote and the beautiful melodies they wrote. With the Allmans, it was that driving music. I always thought they were more intense than the Dead. Their songs were not as deep, but I loved the music. I instantly fell for both bands. I threw away the greatest hits packages and started to explore more of their albums, and I’m better for it.

It’s a shame we didn’t have more Allmans with Duane and more Dead with Pigpen. Those two losses changed the dynamics of both bands. Both of these bands had talent to burn, and the Allmans put that to the test. After losing Duane, they lost their melodic bass player, Berry Oakley, a year after Duane’s passing.

If I had to pick my favorite album by both bands, it would be Eat A Peach by the Allmans and American Beauty by the Grateful Dead, although Wake of the Flood would be a close second. Without them, there’s no Phish, Widespread Panic, or modern jam band scene. Both are considered the patron saints of improvisational rock, each with its own branch on the family tree.

They did share a stage at the Fillmore East in 1970 with Duane and Pigpen. They also played massive shows together at Watkins Glen and at RFK Stadium, both in 1973.

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Grateful Dead – Fire On The Mountain

I like a couple of Fire on the Mountain songs: The Marshall Tucker Band and this one. They’re two totally different songs, but both are really good. I want to thank Jim for this because he sent me some information about this song in an email.

Fire on the Mountain’s music was primarily written by one of the Grateful Dead’s drummers, Mickey Hart, with lyrics by the band’s lyricist, Robert Hunter. The song’s groove reflects Hart’s rhythm sensibilities, while Hunter’s lyrics (as with most of his) are open to interpretation and rich with imagery.

The song initially existed as an instrumental titled Happiness is Drumming, which appeared on Mickey Hart’s 1976 solo album, Diga. The instrumental version already contained the core melody. The song evolved into the version that the Grateful Dead began performing live in 1977 and eventually included on their 1978 album Shakedown Street.

The first time I heard the song was a live video of The Grateful Dead playing in Egypt in 1978. I’ve watched that concert many times, and it’s fantastic. This song was one of the songs that got me into the band. When they played it live, the song was frequently paired with Scarlet Begonias.

The Dead didn’t always do commercially huge songs but some songs like this one…should have been at least released as a single.

Robert Hunter: “Written at Mickey Hart’s ranch in heated inspiration as the surrounding hills blazed and the fire approached the recording studio where we were working.”

Fire On The Mountain

Long distance runner, what you standin’ there for?Get up, get out, get out of the doorYou’re playin’ cold music on the barroom floorDrowned in your laughter and dead to the coreThere’s a dragon with matches that’s loose on the townTakes a whole pail of water just to cool him down

Fire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountain

Almost ablaze, still you don’t feel the heatIt takes all you got just to stay on the beatYou say it’s a livin’, we all gotta eatBut you’re here alone, there’s no one to competeIf Mercy’s a business, I wish it for youMore than just ashes when your dreams come true

Fire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountain

Long distance runner, what you holdin’ out for?Caught in slow motion in a dash for the doorThe flame from your stage has now spread to the floorYou gave all you had, why you wanna give more?The more that you give, the more it will takeTo the thin line beyond, which you really can’t fake

Fire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountainFire! Fire on the mountain

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Grateful Dead – Friend Of The Devil

Power Pop Friday will be back after the 4th.

When I purchased The Grateful Dead’s greatest hits back when I was around 13 or so…the songs like Truckin, Casey Jones, and Uncle John’s Band that I knew. After that, I found out that I liked everything on that album. This song became one of my favorites back then.

Jerry Garcia not only played with the Grateful Dead but did many solo shows while the Dead were on hiatus. He played with the New Riders of the Purple Sage as well. Jerry Garcia and John “Marmaduke” Dawson (New Riders of the Purple Sage ) wrote the music to the song and lyricist Robert Hunter came up with the lyrics except for one important line. The original chorus went like this.

I set out running but I take my time
It looks like water but it tastes like wine
If I get home before daylight
I just might get some sleep tonight

After hearing it on tape as a demo…John Dawson said all the lyrics were great except It looks like water but it tastes like wine. He then suggested, “How about… A Friend of the Devil is a friend of mine?” That was it…the right line for the right song.

The following day, Hunter awoke in the group’s communal residence to find Garcia listening to a tape of the new song. “He had that funny look in his eye,” Hunter recalled. “The next thing I knew, the Grateful Dead had snapped it up, much to the New Riders’ dismay.”

After the song appeared on American Beauty it became an immediate hit with fans, ultimately becoming a permanent fixture in the Dead’s onstage repertoire. At first, it was performed at a brisk, bluegrass-style tempo built upon a descending scale played by Garcia… then, several years later, a piano provided much of its melodic sound.

American Beauty peaked at #19 on the Billboard 100, #43 in Canada, and #27 in the UK in 1970. A single was not released of this song. Truckin’ was released as Ripple as the B side.

Dennis McNally (Grateful Dead publicist and official biographer) on the intro: “Before they started recording, Nelson was checking to see that his guitar was in tune, and he ran this thing, ding, ding, ding, down a scale. And if you listen to the recording, that’s how the song opens. When he first did that, he did it simply to check the guitar’s tuning and they kept it. It suddenly became part of the song.”

Robert Hunter: “We all went down to the kitchen to have espresso made in Dawson’s new machine. We got to talking about the tune and John said the verses were nifty except for “it looks like water but it tastes like wine” which I had to admit fell flat. Suddenly Dawson’s eyes lit up and he crowed “How about “a friend of the devil is a friend of mine.” Bingo, not only the right line but a memorable title as well! We ran back upstairs to Nelson’s room and recorded the tune.”

Friend Of The Devil

I lit out from Reno, I was trailed by twenty hounds
Didn’t get to sleep that night ’til the morning came around