New Riders of the Purple Sage

The New Riders of the Purple Sage opened for the Grateful Dead at the famous Berkeley Community Theater concert in the summer of 1971 -- from which I was kicked out, which led to my first successful lawsuit.

"Hello Mary Lou"

 "I Don't Need No Doctor"

"Up against the Wall, Redneck Mother" (old timers will note the slight bit of self censorship)

"Glendale Train"

"Dead Flowers" (Rolling Stones cover; audio only)

"Truck Drivin' Man"

 

Comments

[Bob Prachett]

Last Lonely Eagle
"They have forgotten their dreams and cut off their hair"

[Alexxander Octsoc, Ret. Justice, Supreme Soviet Judicial Courts, USSR]

I prefer our Orange Sage.

[Alexander Tsesis]

Thanks for this, especially the Glendale Track recording.

The '71 shows are my favorite, especially where Jerry is playing slide guitar with the NRPS. The 1971 format of a Dead acoustic set, followed by the New Riders with Jerry on slide guitar, followed by a Dead electric set was fantastic, something quite different from when I began going to shows in the '80s.

Although, the '72 and '73 shows may have been even better in terms of intensity and skill, in '71 the Dead still had a newness sound with fresh material, like Me and My Uncle, Bertha, Mama Tried, Deal, and so forth. It all sounded so fresh then. I also like that during those three years, while the boys jammed, the pieces nevertheless tended to be shorter, allowing for more material to be crammed into each show.

[Steve L.]

My middle brother – who is now a professor of music composition and ethnomusicology at the University of Minnesota – was with me at the 1971 concert. He says that the best thing about the NRPS was that they didn’t let Jerry Garcia sing.

[anon]

Yeah, Jerry Garcia had little or no success as the charismatic lead singer for the Dead after Pigpen: the off-key vocals by NRPS - demonstrated above -- were much more popular and successful.

Definitely, the New Riders made a great decision - giving up major success! -- by "not letting Jerry Garcia sing."