How many tape traders back in the day labeled New Minglewood Blues as “MingleWeir Blues” on their tape labels? The tape days were before my time, but I always found the designation amusing.
As far as Bobby’s blues numbers New Minglewood Blues is one of the more palatable ones for me. It’s a decent filler song in the setlist and as long as Weir isn’t playing slide it can be pretty good. I always got a kick out of how Bob pandered to the audience with this song as well in the “T for…” line. Any time you can guarantee a roar from the crowd is good showmanship, right?
There are only a small handful of versions of New Minglewood Blues that really stand out to me. I think you can tell a lot of a given show by how well the “filler” songs are played. When they’re hot the show is hot and the anticipated songs are that much better. So here’s a solid filler song from a killer show.
Know of a good Minglewood? Let me know in the comments.
