The Strange Remain
The last few weeks have been hectic. I have not been able to get on top of the heap. I am trying, but there’s just so much going on. There truly is enough time in the day to get all done.
One of the things that has suffered during this period is my iPod. That Gert received a new iPod during this time has just further complicated things as I had not set hers up until last evening. Doing so finally got me to re-visit mine.
I have had about 10 shows on the unit for three weeks and no reviews. I finally just decided to bag it and start fresh. There was a Van Halen show, some Dead shows, Jerry, Blues Traveler, Sin Doctors, etc. I haven’t even kept abreast of my podcasts as I usually do.
So off came everything. I loaded the fresh podcasts and took on the basement to pull out some commercial CDs to load. That was an experience. My Zero Here Goes Nothin’ disc is screwed. It will not play any longer. There is something that has eaten away at the CD. There were no discs in the Led Zeppelin II or Manhattan Transfer Live in Tokyo cases. Sigh . . .
The one case I brought up that had what it was supposed to was The Other Ones The Strange Remain. The Other Ones is an offshoot of the Grateful Dead. They played the Further Festival during the summer of 1998 and this two-disc set was the commercial compilation of tour.
The band was Bobby, Phil, and Mickey of the Dead. On keys was Bruce Hornsby, who was an honorary member. Rounding out the band were Dave Ellis (lots of familiar bands) on saxophone and vocals, Steve Kimock (Zero and virtually every other jam band including Little Women) and Mark Karan (from Ratdog) on guitars, and John Molo (from The Range and now with Phil’s band) joining Mickey on the drums.
I purchased this when it came out. The tour received decent reviews, although I passed on it. I think I was still in mourning at that point. I cannot recall the last time I listened to this and I am a bit out of the scene to be up on all that went down that summer. That made today listening to the show a fresh experience.
This was good stuff. I certainly would not have been disappointed to have seen them live. I always thought the Dead sounded great when saxophonists joined them. Ellis adds a lot to the sound of TOO. Once or twice I felt he didn’t fit, but on most tunes like Banyan Tree and Rainbow’s Cadillac, he fit perfectly with the jamming.
I recall when Bruce Hornsby and The Range hit the scene. It seemed like drippy music. It wasn’t too long before he started hanging out with the boys. I always thought it was a strange fit. Nevertheless, I love how he plays piano (and actually liked seeing him break out the accordion). He reminds me of Keith with his playing, which extends the playing. That’s a good thing imo.
I’ve never understood how compilations are put together. I am firmly in the camp that I would prefer to hear a complete show rather than a comp. I was surprised that China > Rider closed this two-disc set. Yet, TOO actually closed a show with that, so perhaps they were trying to put together a complete show. Hmmm . . . no. St. Stephen > The Eleven would be an awesome way to begin a show. It didn’t happen.
Bobby dominated these songs. I suppose that is to be expected. Phil broke out Mountains of the Moon. I like the song. It is something I would have enjoyed hearing with the Dead. Corrina seemed to have matured from the Dead days. I was never a huge fan of the song, but it sounded pretty good here.
Bruce’s White-Wheeled Limousine stood out on the first disc. The band really seemed to be in tune with this and Bruce shined. Sugaree was so-so. This is a definitive Jerry song that did not seem to work well here. Neither did Friend of the Devil. I believe Bobby has continued playing that, but it didn’t cut it for me.
The PITB > TOO to start out disc two was rousing. Good stuff there that got me moving. The aforementioned Banyan Tree was okay. Then Bruce’s Rainbow’s Cadillac. Eh. This isn’t a good song for this band. This is the syrupy Bruce and it didn’t work with TOO, imo.
Baba Jingo I liked. I could go for hearing more of that. Why didn’t Mickey sing with the Dead?
I enjoyed listening to this. I notice TOO haven’t regrouped since 2004, although the Obama Rally is essentially the same band. I wonder if TOO will get together again. Mickey is on the road with Kimock this summer, so this year seems unlikely.
Good stuff and well worth listening to.
Also blogged on this date . . .
- Fred Thompson On Iran - 2007
- The Passion - 2006
- Bullpen Implodes Again As Phils Drop Third Straight - 2005