he Grateful Dead’s music over the past 40 years can be described in countless ways, using just about every adjective known to our language at one time or another, good and bad. Primary among these descriptions, to me, is “poetic.” This applies to both the poetic and lyrical way in which the band’s songs are structured, and, more literally, to the poetry that is such an essential element of this music, namely the words of Robert Hunter and John Barlow. However, the canon includes several songs for which this explicit poetry is not present, the instrumental songs. Although few in number, they more than make up for their dearth in quantity with variety and substance.
Most of the beloved Grateful Dead early jam vehicles, such as “Dark Star,” “Alligator” etc, are songs with, as their heart and soul, lyrics. However, one of their earliest improvisational vehicles, “That’s It For The One,” included the sections “Quadlibet for Tenderfeet” and “We Leave the Castle,” the band’s earliest instrumental songs. This would begin a tradition in the band’s recorded history of including occasional instrumental interludes amongst the more traditional “songs.” What offers such a unique insight into the Grateful Dead’s impressive dynamic is that these instrumental pieces are as diverse in length, structure, tempo, time signature and vision as are the songs with words. They are instrumental narratives, poetic. Amongst the studio performances are the masterful “Sage and Spirit” from Blues For Allah, one of the most melodic and poignant songs in the entire oeuvre. Also on that 1975 masterpiece are the instrumentals “Slipknot!” (and what a well-deserved exclamation point!) and Phil and the drummers’ “King Solomon’s Marbles” suite. Although Blues For Allah was really the height of the band’s in-studio instrumental experimentation, they would continue to include shorter instrumentals on their studio albums, such as Shakedown Street’s “Serengetti” or the quirky-but-essential “Antwerp’s Placebo” from Go To Heaven, as well as the more elaborate instrumental segments from the “Terrapin Station” suite. Similarly, some of the Grateful Dead’s most admired live albums contain instrumental passages that are not at all considered separate from the songs-with-words on those albums, such as “Feedback” (Live/Dead), “Space” and “Rhythm Devils” (both Dead Set), and, perhaps most impressive of all, “Prelude/Epilogue” from Europe 72.
It’s always been best to accept the Grateful Dead’s output from 1965 to 1995 as a whole, not as a fragmented body of work. Likewise, within this whole, if we accept that there is psychedelic music, country music, jazz music and just about every other form of music, we’re best off integrating the instrumental songs into the entire canon. Although lacking a distinct and essential element of Grateful Dead music, the words, these instrumental passages are integral to the band’s legacy.
—David Lemieux
Grateful Dead Prod. / Music Archivist
San Rafael, California
June 2005