Day 348: Morning Dew, 9/2/80

I’ve said it many times in these pages, but it’s worth saying again because this version of Morning Dew such a great example of the Grateful Dead’s ability to utilize dynamics.

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In music dynamics are more than just volume. You know how some bands play balls-to-the-wall throughout the entire show? That demonstrates a lack of dynamics. Where the Grateful Dead excelled was not only to build their sets dynamically from song to song, but to fine tune those dynamics within a song. Here I’m referring to the ability to play subtle and quietly, build up to a frenzy, and bring it back down to the point where you can almost hear a pin drop. Dynamics are not just differences in volume, but how those differences are achieved, the process behind these changes. I would argue that the Dead’s attention to dynamics is what truly separates them from most other bands, and places them ahead of them in the music pantheon.

I don’t know if there a song that exemplifies the Dead’s penchant for dynamics on a regular, consistent basis more than Morning Dew. I often remark on the dynamics of a song, but rarely is my awareness of dynamics cast into such high relief than when listening to this song. It doesn’t matter the era either. This is the fourth time I’ve visited this song and the others are from 71, 73, and 90. Regardless of when in time it crops up the result is the same: bliss.

Out of a slinky Iko Iko the Dead move into Morning Dew, much to the crowd’s enthusiasm. You can hear them cheering as the familiar strains of the song first emerge. Jerry’s voice sounds a bit weak and thin, but clear, and Brent is riding high on his B3, which always makes me happy. Listen to the figure Jerry plays right after the “I heard a baby cry this morning” around the 1:50 mark. Just sublime. One of the fleeting moments that makes a given version special. Brent’s B3 continues to swirl and moan, increasingly so as the song builds. By the “young man” verse the band are hitting their stride and the ascent has begun in earnest. With the table set, Jerry steps up to the plate and attacks Tiger with a controlled ferocity. The band continues to explore the topography of the song, the peaks and valley, the highways and a by-ways, if you will. Jerry’s solo is a counterweight to what just transpired. Meticulous, careful, almost tenuous at points, but clear and beautiful throughout. In true Morning Dew fashion, this is the pre-amble. Before long, Jerry is moving around the fretboard with stark rapidity, employing his trademark fanning technique for quite a while until the song has reached its acme. A chorded chromatic run pushes things to the tippy-top and a final “It doesn’t matter, any way!” seals the deal.