Grateful Dead - Souls In Communion - 1973

To celebrate our feast day (Thanksgiving) here in the States here is a second helping, and our final installment of Grateful Dead.

Again only a few months after the Europe ’72 live album and six months after the last album Ace the Grateful Dead released another solid album. This is the first, and possibly only album to feature more songs from other members than Jerry Garcia with four songs from Bob Weir and another from Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and three from Jerry. This is also the last album to feature Pigpen who due to failing health left the band about this time and passed away soon after.

Side A
01 Cassidy– 3:40
02 He's Gone – 6:53
03 Comes a Time – 6:21
04 Black-Throated Wind– 5:43

Side B
01 They Love Each Other– 4:36
02 Walk in the Sunshine - 3:05
03 Looks Like Rain– 6:08
04 The stranger (Two Souls in Communion) – 6:46

Reality Notes

With four Bob songs this album should really have been called Ace, especially with Cassidy leading it off. I have always identified that song with that album even though there are plenty of other songs on that album that became setlist staples. They didn’t even play Cassidy live until 1974 which is one reason it appears here. I tried to swap it with a Jerry song from Ace but the only song close to this length was another Bob song. All of Bob’s songs here date from March 1972 either debuting live or on record at that time. Walk in the Sunshine was never played live by the band.

The three Jerry songs each come from a different year. Comes a Time debuted live in 1971 but this studio recording is from 1975. He’s Gone was played live for the first time in April of 1972. They Love Each Other is our one true anomaly. When it debuted in February of 1973 the arrangement was different. It was faster and more of a straight forward rock boogie in the vain of Pigpen’s Mr. Charlie. They stopped playing it shortly after its debut. When it was recorded in 1975, our version here, it was slowed down and the guitars were given more distinctive arrangements. When they started playing it live again after 1975 they slowed it down even more. This song was the real catalyst for this comp. I love this song and wanted it firmly in the dead catalog where it belonged. Because we are setting a March 1973 release date we have to imagine that it skipped its early arrangement.

Closing the album is Pigpen. A majestically soulful song that was only played live. It was at the beginning of 1973 that Pigpen took time off from the group to concentrate on his health. Sadly, he was never able to return. Pigpen passed away in March of 1973. I think it is a fitting tribute to have Pigpen finish this album with such a great song.

I struggled with this cover for a while. I had the picture and tried to balance the band name and title until I came on the idea of wrapping the text around the circle. The frame was the finishing touch that really made it come alive.

Sources
Reflections (Jerry Garcia)
Comes a Time
They Love Each Other
Ace (Bob Weir)
Cassidy
Black-Throated Wind
Walk in the Sunshine
Looks Like Rain
Europe ‘72
He's Gone
Complete Europe ‘72
The stranger (Two Souls in Communion)