Grateful Dead - The Eleven REACTION

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[@dixiechatty958]

Miles Davis once said, "The Grateful Dead are a jazz band who plays rock." That about sums it up.

[@FolkSongsEtAl]

He also said they played hillbilly music that the white people like.

[@gmcsrbosavl6964]

@@FolkSongsEtAl he was right on both accounts

[@jamseshess92]

Or a country/ bluegrass band that took acid ha

[@jacksonbauer5199]

If Jerry’s playing doesn’t kick your soul straight in the balls, you’re missing it. I’m not a famous musician, but I have played guitar, piano and violin for almost 31 years now. I have a degree from Berklee and consider myself to at least know as much as the average person (hopefully more where theory is concerned). Jerry was an improvisational genius who had effortless control over his tone and phrasing. His playing was almost always elegant and nuanced, yet sharply articulate at the same time. The way you or I speak a language, Jerry spoke music and was fluent in countless “languages” from Jazz to Country to Funk to crazy experimental shit and everything in between. I can’t possibly express just how unique Jerry was, but I do know he was a once in many lifetimes talent.

[@StarDarkAshes]

I’m sure everybody’s gonna say it in the comments or has already said it, but the Grateful Dead were really the pioneers of jamming in this way from song to song flying by the seat of their pants not even knowing what song they were going to play next. There were jazz musicians before them that would jam on a certain vamp or one song And not necessarily play it the same way twice exactly. Meaning that they might jam for five minutes part or three minutes on a part. But The Grateful Dead as far as I know, we’re really the first band that really jammed extensively for sometimes over an hour at one time without stopping. There were probably some bands or groups or singers that did segues from song to song, but no one did it like the Grateful Dead before them. they were truly pioneers in that way. The way that they mixed all sorts of genres together was completely unheard of at the time. Bill Graham said “the Grateful Dead aren’t the best at what they do but they’re the only ones who do do what they do“

[@stephenrich8808]

my first "exposure" to The Eleven was on Live/Dead when it seamlessly went from a 23:00 Dark Star to a 6:30 St Stephen into a 9:22 The Eleven and into a Pig Pen 15:00 Turn on your Love Light ... took up 3 sides of a double album (this was when I was in college in 1970, no cassettes or CDs!) ... of course, with the Dead, every performance was "different" ... almost the way jazz would start, have a few sign posts, and an ending, but could go anywhere in between

[@marcgordon6604]

I sometimes have to stop myself from listening to this one. I feel guilty if I don't listen to it all at once.

[@wangson]

Agreed. That Dark Star/St. Stephen/William Tell Bridge/The Eleven from Live Dead is my favourite piece of music. Of all music!

[@rodciferri9626]

Epic live album!

[@williammurray5939]

Took lsd a lot starting at age 12 around 1977, saw the dead for the first time in 1983, in 1986 Brent Mydland got me up and dancing and I finally figured out what you are supposed to do while tripping. Thousands of people squirming, twirling, hopping, skipping, grooving so so close to each other , moving to every note and tempo together, wildly but in so much control that no one ever touches another person, if you are bending close to them, they are instinctively bending away. Every dead show for hours. Brought my 15 year old son to Santa Clara, CA 6/27/2015 to see the dead play their fare the well shows, trey from phish on guitar, best music those guys put out since Jerry died, we ate mushrooms, danced, and heard them pull out old songs from yesteryear, the eleven being one of them. My 14 year old daughter joined us for the next night's show and festivities. Thank you, Grateful Dead.

[@bobschenkel7921]

The Eleven only had a three year run in The Dead's on stage performances, but it is still a favorite of Dead Heads, just because of the crazy time signature, you'll never hear that anywhere else. Speaking of crazy tunes in the Grateful Dead catalog, I was at The Spectrum in Philly in March 1995 when they busted out (played live for the first time) Unbroken Chain, a Phil Lesh song, at the end of the first set. The crowd went crazy, and afterward I made my way down next to the soundboard in mid-floor, and got to talk to Candace Brightman, the Dead's Lighting Director. She said to me" Wasn't that amazing!" I mumbled a yeah and we had a nice little chat before she had to go back to work. You guys might try Unbroken Chain, I don't think anyone has reacted to that yet.

[@otherstar1]

Thankfully, Dead & Company have been playing The Eleven out of St. Stephen and the William Tell Bridge (they did a pretty good version...albeit at a slower pace ala Closing of the Winterland era Dead...at The Woodlands, TX show in 2021).

[@billc2147]

1. Bill Graham said it best "There not just the best at what they do, they're the only ones that do what they do" 2. When in doubt "Twirl"

[@stephenrich8808]

remember - Brubeck's Time Out (1959)... also the Dead followed many forms of music, including Coltrane and Bobby Weir thinking of his rhythm guitar the way McCoy Tyner backed up Coltrane (on A Love Supreme, 1965, when the Dead were really getting started)

[@gamecave7381]

I always counted this as 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2

[@robertmchugh4639]

You're forgetting the accents, as you count the the eleven (the time).

[@_estimatedprophet_9407]

@@robertmchugh4639 No. Sorry.

[@robertmchugh4639]

@@_estimatedprophet_9407 Ohhh! Sorry, you stubed your toe. A shame.

[@_estimatedprophet_9407]

@@robertmchugh4639 You are wrong. Bob Weir even counts this song that way. You should go back and learn and try again later.

[@gratefulkm]

@@robertmchugh4639 What one is easier not to muddle up on a 200ug of Owsley ? Your version brings a little swing to the music, "takes all you got, just to stay on the beat"

[@davidbreitkopf3603]

Tons of live Grateful Dead music, with dancers.

[@thomasmoher9089]

The spinners & twirlers were a fun part of the experience.

[@oldstudent2587]

Playing 11/4 is one thing, playing it and singing it is another!

[@patrickvarine8476]

It's really cool to hear a band develop one time signature gradually into another, the way this song gets kicking. Doesn't always work as smoothly as it does here, but that's part of what has always attracted me to the Dead's music - the desire to constantly push and expand.

[@joefelice5062]

In the discussion about why the Dead stopped playing The Eleven, I’d like to add that, like everything else with this band, no one statement sums it up. In addition to the need to practice this song repeatedly (and St Stephen, which Jerry once referred to as “a cop” - like there are too many rules), the band was constantly growing and changing. They spent several years incessantly touring the Live Dead material and ingesting psychedelics, and they talked about just wanting to put their feet back on the ground. They were having kids, a couple members lost parents, they were getting fed up with the business side of things, there were arrests, and so on… in 69 they started adding acoustic numbers and writing more serious, less psychedelic music (see American Beauty & Workingmans Dead, both of which came out in 1970 and were well-received). They were growing up essentially. If you are not familiar with the Dead, compare a 68 show to a 72 show, you’ll be shocked at how much they changed in such a short time. Cheers!! (Not to say The Eleven is not “grown up” or mature or anything like that, just talking about how the band described their changing mindset when looking back at the evolution from the 60’s to the 70’s.)

[@stephendenney7349]

I think their main jazz inspiration was John Coltrane. Plus, they honed themselves in the Acid Tests organized by Ken Kesey.

[@cmzeman]

For another example of this time signature, check out "Whipping Post" by the Allman Brothers Band. If all you hear was these two songs, you'll swear there's magic in this beat.

[@krypticalenvelopment]

I haven't listened to that show in over twenty years. I forgot how hot the eleven was that night - interesting how young ears with no psychedelics and life experience with this kind of performance art hear it. Jerry stopped playing The Eleven because he felt the time signature was too hard to remember. It's why other odd time signature songs (Cosmic Charlie, Lazy Lightning) were usually dropped pretty quickly. They liked to figure them out but since they preferred to play every day.... having to think too much on the really funky time signatures isn't as much fun as the odd ones they found easier to remember and play (~the Main Ten~ aka Playin' in the Band, and even ~The Faster We Go the Rounder We Get~ aka The Other One which is in 12/8) I never got to see Jerry play The Eleven (Bobby and the rest play it all the time now) but I have a pretty good idea on how my head would have flown around the room if I were there the night this went down. There is a term used: Flying on the Wings of Love that used to be bantered around those of us on tour. There was even a little section of music they played on occasion known as wings of love that they visited on and off over the years in the right moment of time... What I'd give to fly around the room one more time with Jerry - glad you liked it - but for those who never saw.... those of us who did know a little something you can never know - the tapes cannot provide the experience of being in the room when this type of music is in the middle of being created - yeah.... the crazier we got the hotter they played and the more craziness ensued on the dance floor.... g-d it was fun

[@GratefullyDead]

Sick sick jam. No doubt!! The Dead are THE Best!!

[@FloridaDave_]

Hey Now!

[@robertgrosek1124]

The answer is NOBODY. They were in awe of Miles Davis. He actually opened for them at Fillmore East and the Dead were embarrassed to follow him. Anyway this is referred to Primal Dead. Acid infused psychedelic blues balls out no fear

[@ChicoEscuela]

They shared the bill at the Fillmore West. It’s in Miles’ auto biography. He praised Garcia. Steve Miller? Not so much.

[@michaelbettonville5085]

I believe the rock band that really caught their attention for their jamming was Cream. After seeing them at the Fillmore, supposedly, Jerry was ready to start a power trio with Mickey on drums and Jack Cassidy on bass.

[@ZionForman]

I don't know if you could call The Eleven a song, but as a piece of music it has always been one of my favorites from the Grateful Dead, this performance is a monster but it got even better by the time they recorded Live Dead which, I believe, was about six months later.

[@icononaroad]

The Dead had their formative moments in the Acid Tests and that attracted a crowd that weren’t just passive spectators. Those in the know brought a little something to add to the shows or events to make them a little more memorable and make the scene more fun.

[@Soundhypno]

Morning Dew from Cornell is also interesting!

[@evanerys]

The most inexplicably infectious groove in music history. There is no reason brains should respond to this oddball time signature, but once you pick up the groove, it is magic.

[@genesiegel2884]

Cool that you guys reacted to this, though my favorite version is on the album, “Live Dead,” where a killer version of “The Eleven” melds into a smoking version of “Turn on your Lovelight.” Thanks for sharing this version though, really enjoyed it. And yeah, 54 years ago … whew

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

❤️🤟🙏🤟🤟

[@peterbutts3711]

The 4/4 tune at the end of this recording was the Reverend Gary Davis blues standard Death Don’t Have No Mercy. While The Eleven comes from the experimentation with non-western time signatures that Mickey Hart brought to the band, the lyric is an homage to the British folk tradition and counting songs like Green Grow the Rushes-O.

[@straydog8588]

Stan Kenton was the jazz version of the jam band.

[@CalumCarlyle]

Quite odd to hear the Eleven without having it preceded by St Stephen. In my opinion the two are really just part one and two of the same song.

[@Ziggsta]

scratching the surface!

[@mattreynolds612]

A lot if guys caught up in tbe next 10 years, but in '68, nobody was on Jerry's level. A couple of dudes were close...🎶🎶🎵🎶🔥✌

[@augustwest4233]

Humbucker + stratocaster plus solid state

[@UranusHz420]

The Grateful Dead took ALL the original American genres of music (folk, bluegrass, country, western, soul, funk, blues, Motown, rock n roll, (and even a little disco)), and put it in a blender and performed it with the improvisational tradition of jazz and Dixieland. They are the quintessential American band They weren’t the best at what they did, they were the ONLY ones who did what they did. They were also on the bleeding edge of new technology for live sound (their album Live Dead was the first live album ever recorded in 16 track, they developed noice canceling microphones in 1973, etc) They accidentally created viral marketing and an entirely new genre of music (jamband). As of now, they are the only band to have over 100 albums make the Billboard top 100. Phish (and all the other jambands that now exist) were inspired by the dead, even if their music is inspired by different genres. In Phish’s case, they are a jamband, but their music is inspired by prog rock.

[@scottsulzbach1385]

All about psychedelics love and lots of dancing more dancing than I've seen at any other show Is an experience of a lifetime by far

[@scottsulzbach1385]

It was the only time I've ever been to a concert which I've been to plenty where everybody would be dancing I have not seen it since even even at phish Concerts

[@blueridger28]

Bob Wier is no slouch on rhythm guitar. Garcia plays guitar like a jazz sax player on this one.

[@christofcurlz6180]

Grateful Dead... Radiohead... you guys are being transcendentalized!! Keep going there!!!

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

❤️🤟🙏🤟❤️

[@zirpbeats2142]

noone was the dead before the dead.

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

The Dead were basically a dance band.

[@cosmonaut9942]

Thanks for that even though it's not the best recording of that song. The version on "Live Dead" is better. The album includes Dark Star, the epitome of psychedelic music

[@CalumCarlyle]

If you are interested in 2nd/third album period Grateful Dead, you might actually give Dark Star or Born Cross Eyed a spin. Enjoy!

[@MarkStarCrashes71]

Who were the jammers before the Dead? Well I think you can definitely say jazz artists like Miles Davis and bluegrass artists like Bill Monroe are pretty big influences.

[@straydog8588]

No one seems to remember him but Stan Kenton is the guy yall need to look up. From the same period as Miles but he did the jazz version of the jam music.

[@FolkSongsEtAl]

So it doesn't start off in 11, it transitions there when Jerry starts playing the riff that signals the band it's time to change.

[@FolkSongsEtAl]

And it ends up going into a great Death don't have no mercy....

[@FolkSongsEtAl]

Also, bluegrass was a big influence for them. I think they were pioneers with their particular style of playing, but Jazz and some blues would be the earlier blueprints. On the other hand, early pink floyd, and other psychadelic bands had the same kind of vibe - must have been something to do with the drugs. The Grateful Dead saw themselves as partially a dance band.

[@77kevd]

This is a good call out. Impressed that the guys mentioned the jazz and blues influences, but bluegrass is definitely a part of the primordial ooze that birthed the GD. Garcia brought the "conversational" aspect of bluegrass to rock and roll and the rest is history. Long Strange Trip documentary is recommended.

[@shortstuff7959]

I think you would really appreciate Dear Mr Fantasy/Hey Jude

[@mkoronowski]

Dancin Dancin In The Streets, maybe more so.

[@mickymoist]

1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4 and

[@dapablo2]

"What was their thing?" The house band for the first free party crews and the first lsd, their soundman brewed it. How do you dance on lsd? :)

[@jamiedimond9419]

The Bangers are Pigpen songs

[@alborrelli1604]

Absolutely!!!

[@Noodleboy56]

Easier way to count is. 123 123 123 12 and repeat.

[@rockodilechannel3509]

This album, Two From the Vault, has great stretched out versions of Dark Star and Death Don't Have No Mercy

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Pure acid rock right here.

[@wangson]

For me, this is the hands down, most rocking, most instrumentally complex and most beautifully executed song the Dead ever did. I love it - it's so amazing - it's so intensely complicated and the harmonies that they sing is just beyond .....beyond words. Really though, to appreciate it most fully, it should begin with St. Stephen and then follow through with the vocal , "William Tell" bit....Regardless, The Eleven represents my favourite band playing my favourite song by that band. It's so amazing - But ....BUT!!! The Version fom Live Dead is better...The song is the closest to audial divinity a human can achieve.

[@robertvien5693]

Marijuana my ass...acid...boys

[@georgelangley8444]

Is would be counted 123 123 123 12

[@lostsailor76]

see China Cat

[@jamiedimond9419]

Lovelight incomm

[@lostsailor76]

If you l ike this, you may just like "Slipknot"

[@MiguelLopez-is9te]

🤘💜🤘

[@jamiedimond9419]

Ye 2/28/69 better!

[@patrickreilly7256]

This is not even close to a good version to understand the intricacies of the Eleven. Listen to Aoxomoxoa.

[@cosmonaut9942]

Not a very good version of The Eleven. Better version on Live Dead

[@yaakd]

In the Beginning, God created the Grateful Dead

[@gratefulkm]

And then sat back in wonder and just listened !