Your Sister’s (Record) Rack, Part 9.5: More singles!
I had this entire series finished late last night – then I found these. I listened to every one – twice – then decided to just throw them out there without documentation. Hope that’s OK!
MP3: “Dark Star” (single version) by the Grateful Dead
MP3: “War Song” by Neil Young and Graham Nash
MP3: “Ride Captain Ride” by Blues Image
MP3: “Shakedown Cruise” by Jay Ferguson (I used the LP version because my single was so scratched up)
MP3: “The Family Of Man” by Three Dog Night
MP3: “Lost Her In The Sun” by John Stewart
30 Days Out 
September 8, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Is that really how the single version of “Dark Star” sounded? It almost sounds like it’s spinning too fast.
Also, any insight as to why GD chose to release “Dark Star” as a single? Doesn’t seem like the most obvious choice.
September 8, 2010 at 7:18 pm
The single came out in 1968 b/w “Born Cross Eyed.” To quote Phil Lesh, the single “sank like a stone.” Yet the Dead kept it in the setlist when they played live, and there are about 2,000,000 different recordings of “Dark Star” today, all from live shows. Probably it sounds weird and slow because it was the very first incarnation of the song.
September 8, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Thanks for your response. I actually think it sounds faster (and higher?) than the live versions (which often sound plodding, or at least sag behind the beat), which is why I thought the record might be spinning at the wrong speed.
Certainly not the only song to have inauspicious studio beginnings only to take on grander life on the live stage.