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I don't know, my guess would still be it was to accomodate his singning. I like It in E also. My ears are not good enough to tell and I havn't taken the time to check but the Blue Sky Licks they played in Mtn Jam last year sound more like they are in E to me. Anybody know?
EddieP from new jersey says...
"I don't think I've ever heard Dickey give a reason for this change so its all speculation. Maybe one day he'll put it back to "E" which to my ears sounds a bit better. But yes, those beautiful pedal steel-like fills on the studio and early live versions are Duane's and they were perfect like everything else he played!. I don't believe Duane EVER played a bad note!"
kindly allow me to 'speculate'..... perhaps Dickey knew, after the loss of Duane, the original could never be recaptured, hence never wanting to even attempt it???
Charlesinator,
Thanks for the cool Mule review. I also noticed Warrens brilliant improvisation and less of his signature licks. Since the pressure of the Mule is not all on Warren's shoulders, he is showing us all his incredible creative musical talent.
Have a great weekend, Charlie
Happy Friday the 13th...hope everyone has a great day.
Leah, praying your friend is OK.
A few other snippets and things I left out about last night's Mule show. Blind Man In the Dark was another way high point. Warren tore it up and the lyrics are even more poignant today. Warren's playing was totally on and totaly fresh. Gone were some of those signature licks that may have become too familiar. Replaced by just some brilliant improvisation. Also he was killing the slide all night long. One time he was singing and mirroring the melody with his slide. Then he kept singing the same line and played harmony with it on the slide. It was also fun to watch as he tap danced over the various buttons on his pedalboard as he dialed up tone after tone after killer tone. Another cool moment was after Warren plays an incendiary slide solo, he is holding a chord down and has his slide still on his finger. Brian Farmer reaches over and pulls the slide off freeing Warren to play regular and never missing a beat. One last thing Warren's friend Mike Barnes shows up and really aquits himself well. The guy can really play. Matching Warren note for note during Sco-Mule. Not an easy tune to jam on I'd imagine. I don't know if Barnes is in any other band, but it would be worth checking out if he were. Okay SPDB I can't change the way you feel about Duane nor would I want to,but................Warren is the undisputed man now. Peace.
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"Your only chance when you hear the war dogs bark. Is to be one up on your brother like a blind man in the dark."
I like the the little Blue Sky Jam they put in a few Mtn Jams last year. I wish they would expand on that.
I read that Little Martha was sped up a little, about a half step if you try tune your guitar to it. Dowd or Butch also said DB added alot of guitar parts to Bue Sky to get it right after the initial recording. What ever they did it is one fine piece of work!
Good analysis, Bro. Hotlantatim. Obviously, Bro. Dowd played around with the mix quite a bit on EAP.
Didn't I read also where he "sped up" the master--something about Dickey sounding like a chipmunk?
EAPFP
If I'm correct there are three guitar parts (duane, dickey & one of them on acoustic) and two keyboard parts (Gregg on organ & electric piano) on the studio version of Blue Sky. It never sounded the same partly because there aren't enough people playing.
And even if it doesn't seem logical, I believe I have read that the key was changed on Blue Sky because it was easier for Dickey to sing. I always liked Warren & Dickey harmonizing on the latter versions. I enjoyed Warren's take on it, particularly when he didn't pull the slide out (which wasn't often).
Derek's non-slide work is just so amazing these days, that I'd love to hear him just a few years later get a crack at it & keep the slide in his pocket. He's that good these days playing straight guitar.......
As for Little Martha, I'd love to hear a nice sounding copy of Dickey & Warren on it from the shows in 93 or 94. Other than the original LM, the Oteil, Chuck & Butch impromptu version from 3/25/01 is a fav of mine.
Did I manage to pull Chuck back into my post again?
I am a mental midget when it comes to the different keys...but it's interesting as H.
I've always LOVED the killer acoustic parts Duane plays on EAP Blue Sky. Just awesome. 😎
Eddie you hit the nail on the head I think. I always assumed they changed key to accomodate DBs singing. And I'm not sure that it isn't a possibility. Even though they went from E to G which is up, DB sings lower than on the original. I'm no expert but I know they could play in a higher key While he sang in the key of G but lower on the scale or down an octave. Hell, I don't know the terminology but it still works.
Funny thing is I think it has more of Country sound on the Original. There are some Killer versions from the Warren DB era but they sound more like rock & roll to me.
Am I allowed to say Rock & Roll here?
On The Blues Sky topic:
Yes those are indeed Duanes "fills" that you are hearing on Blue Sky on the studio recording as well as the 2 live versions we've heard with Duane. For those that may not know. This topic has been talked about a little bit here over the years but, for whatever reason after Duane died Dickey decided to change the key of "Blue Sky" from "E" to "G". As a fan and a guitar player I can tell you this gives the song a more of a "countrified" feel and tone since the songs theme, solos, fills etc. are played in a higher register on the neck of the guitar. To be precise it is played "3 frets higher" or a "step and a half". This gives "Blue Sky" more of a "twang" so to speak. This is the main reason why live versions of the song from say 1974 to the present, the song has never really has captured the tone and feel of the original version. I don't know exactly why Dickey decided to do this. The original key is actually easier to sing in as his voice got deeper over the years so that can't be the reason. My guess is - and its only a guess - is that Dickey wanted it to sound more like a country tune since that where a lot of his influence is from. Almost everyone would agree I think that its never sounded quite right in the later live peformances of the song. Thats not to say there aren't some really fine later versions with some great jamming but the "feel" is just different thats all..... On a side note, when Phil and Friends play the song and do it quite well I might add, they do it in its original key and you can tell the difference almost immediately - at least some can. I don't think I've ever heard Dickey give a reason for this change so its all speculation. Maybe one day he'll put it back to "E" which to my ears sounds a bit better. But yes, those beautiful pedal steel-like fills on the studio and early live versions are Duane's and they were perfect like everything else he played!. I don't believe Duane EVER played a bad note! Hope the info helps.
Peace
Thank you sheep!
I too have wondered why nobody else has played that part of Blue Sky. I always assumed it was Duane. As good as all the players are & have been since it seems that it has to be a decision that was made by someone (DB?) not to include it. But Why?
I hadn't thought about the Midnight Rider thing but you are correct.
KC Jimmy, Duane does that part on Blue Sky, which is probably why it hasn't been done since. I always wondered why Warren, Derek or Jack never played around with that. Another little thing like that, is the end of the instrumental break during Midnight Rider on Idlewild. Dickey and Duane trade off the last notes of the end of that, where now it's done as 2 part guitar harmonies.
Happy belated birthday, Charlie! :fanfare: Bass players unite! :guitarist:
Blue Sky,
That reminds me of a question I have been pondering a long time.
The studio version on Eat A Peach has guitar work just rolling away through the vocals. Almost sounds like a steel guitar. The Live versions with Duane have it too.
None of the live versions w/o Duane have that little flare during the vocals. It gives the song such a "Wonderfully Friendly" Feel. Any ideas as to WHY they never played it that way again?
Also Greggs background Vocals w/DB always sounded so sweet. I like Warrens Back up But Greggs on the Stoney Brook realease are just great.
I want to hear Dickey instramental of Little Martha.
Hey, SkyPonyDogBoy...You already heard about Dickey doing Ramblin' Man with that third verse. I heard it once before, when Dickey and Warren and Allen played an acoustic set at the opening of the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Just in case you were wondering, here's that third verse (you have to play the music in your head, of course):
``Now when I die, don’t bury me in no graveyard; that’s one place I don’t want to be. Put me out somewhere along the highway; so my old ramblin’ spirit can be free…''
Hey spdb, I have not heard anything about Blue Sky, but I know that Dickey and da boyz were in the studio with Vassar Clements this past October and they recorded Ramblin' Man with the third verse. No news about release dates.
Could this be what your friend heard about?
Just talked to a friend who heard Dickey has re-recorded Blue Sky
with some of the original parts which were left out of the EAP recording.
Anyone know about this?? Should be in an upcoming release one would
guess.
spdb
I'm having a dandy Thursday...thanks Dave! 🙂