Music Spotlight - Original Versions of Songs Covered By The Grateful Dead

The Dead actually had really good taste in country music

The subject of the Grateful Dead can be quite contentious and divisive. If people have an opinion on the Dead at all, it us usually quite positive or extremely negative. I spent more than enough time listening to them to have a valid opinion of their abilities. I have a lot of negative things to say about the Dead, but I will state one positive thing: Whoever decided which country songs to cover really had good taste in country music.

I am not going to go into all the obscure songs they ever played, this is a great article on that topic, but rather the big tunes that they played a lot, and which I greatly fear are thought to be original Dead songs, and that it is unknown that some exponentially better versions exist.

Johnny Cash - Big River

Starting with the big guns, here's "Big River" by the great man himself, Johnny Cash. Cash sings with an authority that is not matched by many. We can all relate to the story of chasing a lover, and when he sings about how "the tears I cried for that woman gonna flood you, big river", and "she loves you big river more than me", it's rings true to my ears.

Behind Cash's vocal delivery, the band is playing an upbeat aggressive swinging rhythm, with an infectious strumming guitar style throughout resulting in a song that draws the listener into the singer's pain.

"Big River" was a good part of many Dead shows, but their version doesn't hold a candle to Cash's, because their loose, jamming style doesn't result in the same drive that I at least find crucial for this song it comes off as light rather than mournful. I just don't believe in the tears. Don't tell me that I'm picking weak examples either, this is from Dick's Picks #1:

Loretta Lynn - You Ain't Woman Enough

Loretta Lynn is a powerhouse of a singer, and this song is a great example of her work. If you can get over the general message this song was sending to her fans of zero blame on the husband for straying, this is a fun song that is also relatable to a large number of her fans. While anything but a feminist, her voice is one of a strong and determined woman willing to fight for what she wants, and her delivery of the song is fierce and authentic:

Donna Godchaux (or Bob Weir after Donna's departure) on the other hand, do not share Loretta's authenticity, or her singing ability. I would add that most of the Dead's live performances could do with some autotune applied to the vocals. "But monitors were bad back then" Yeah, whatever. Bad vocals are bad vocals. Yuck:

Marty Robbins - El Paso

Marty Robbins had a whole album of "gunfighter" songs, and this one was a hit for him, with its catchy swing time and flamenco guitar behind the story of poor decisions in love and conflict by a doomed young cowboy:

The Dead on the other hand play a meandering version that manages to kill any swing from the original overlaying a noodle style guitar solo that has none of the flamenco style of the original song. It has really none of the things that make the original so fun:

Hey! Aren't You Just Picking On The Dead?

Yeah, probably. They're grownups, and rich and hopefully have thick skins. It could have been worse, I could have used these later examples, where Jerry is in full junkie mode and Bob is totally checked out:

Oops! I guess I just did use those. Sorry guys!