The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion) is one of the last songs that Pigpen introduced to the Grateful Dead repertoire. It was only played eleven times, and was actually first played at this run at the Academy of Music in New York in March 1972. The version here was the 5th of 11 total performances. The other 6 performances all came on the Europe 72 tour. I find those performances to be a bit more polished and the arrangement slightly different in terms of vocal support, but this represents the initial, protean rendering of the song.
This tune starts of like a slowed down version of a Motown song. There’s just enough organ in the back ground to provide sustain here. It seems like The Stranger is an opportunity for Pigpen to try to show off a different side of his vocal abilities. He voice wavers a bit in places. It doesn’t have the same endearing quality to me that Jerry’s did in the 80s when he was struggling to hit a note. Once they accompaniment picks up though Pig’s voice seems to even out a bit. It’s almost like he wasn’t totally comfortable out on an island by himself.
Jerry’s solo is very slow and deliberate. Both Bob and Phil throwing in some interesting runs. Keith seems to be pretty far down in the mix though.
Pig’s voice sounds a bit better in the mellower sections as the song moves along. Since this was the first song he sang on this particular evening it makes sense that he needed a few minutes to warm up.
The band rises and falls together very nicely as Pig wraps up another verse. Jerry starts a call and response with Pig in the next section, answering Pig’s singing with lyrical guitar lines. As this progresses the band builds a head of steam again. Keith is really pounding on the keys now and can actually be heard. The fanfare fades with a final “All I need” from Pigpen.
The band hadn’t yet added the background vocal parts that would appear later in the year, notably on the Europe 72 tour, which stepped up the R&B vibe even more on this tune. I’ll have to get to one of those somewhere down the line for the sake of comparison.
Complete Setlist 3/28/72
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Well, Pigpen was a lot of things. One thing he was not was a great (or even very good) soul singer. Still, we can’t deny his power to captivate the room with his soul-searching last-ditch plea for salvation. This was not some kind of poseur begging for forgiveness. It was, really, REALLY, a 25-year-old juicer tenderly spilling his guts to a New York audience for the last time. And while every note was not necessarily on the mark, his message sailed out there as clearly as anyone in the crowd was willing to receive it. He proclaims he is a stranger, and all he needs is just a little help from his friends. How much he was getting from his bandmates at the time is open to conjecture, but he wasn’t exactly whining about it. He was begging for it, just listen to him. Meanwhile, Garcia rides the slide guitar figures like a demon in the wings. A tellingly anti-climactic “Thank you” ends the painful thing, and I can’t help but love that guy.