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DeadTest™ Vol. 36 – St. Stephen
The 36th volume of the DeadTest™ digs deep into "St. Stephen" – a biblical heavyweight amid the band's expansive live repertoire. Whenever the Grateful Dead played "Stephen," it was an earth-tilting event.
"St. Stephen" aficionados shouldn't have much trouble passing this one, but you'll still need to focus. Good luck!
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The 36th volume of the DeadTest™ digs deep into "St. Stephen" – a biblical heavyweight amid the band's expansive live repertoire. Whenever the Grateful Dead played "Stephen," it was an earth-tilting event.
"St. Stephen" aficionados shouldn't have much trouble passing this one, but you'll still need to focus.
Answers aplenty in the bye and bye...
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You got 1 out of 10 right (10%) – You need to use your lightning bolt more before you lose it completely. If you don't use it, you lose it (or at least that's what I've heard).
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You got 2 out of 10 right (20%) – Not to be insensitive, but it doesn't get much worse than this. Cleary, there's plenty of room for improvement. You need to use your lightning bolt more before you lose it completely. If you don't use it, you lose it (or at least that's what I've heard).
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You got 3 out of 10 right (30%) – OK, there's plenty of room for improvement here. You need to use your lightning bolt more before you lose it completely. If you don't use it, you lose it (or at least that's what I've heard).
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You got 4 out of 10 right (0%) – OUCH! You need to use your lightning bolt more before you lose it completely. If you don't use it, you lose it (or at least that's what I've heard).
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You got 5 out of 10 right (50%) – Well, you got half of them right. The bad news is you got the other half wrong. Brush up on the big shows. There are worse ways to spend your time.
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You got 6 right out of 10 (60%) – Not too shabby. I'll be honest, your score reminds me a lot of my high school math tests. I graduated, but just barely.
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You got 7 right out of 10 (70%) – You're clawing your way up the mountain but need to polish your skills a bit before planting the flag at the snow-capped summit.
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You got 8 right out of 10 (80%) – Hey nowwww! Pretty solid work, maestro. You know more than Bobby Weir has forgotten.
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You got 9 right out of 10 (90%) – Hot damn! Jerome would be impressed.
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You got 10 right out of 10 – Now that's just exactly PERRRRFECT!! You've made it to the snow-capped summit. Now plant your flag – and take the rest of the day off.
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Question 1 of 10
1. Question
The studio version of "St. Stephen" originally appeared as the lead track on which album in which year? [Extra credit if you know why this particular album was recorded twice.]
Correct
Aoxomoxoa, 1969 – "St. Stephen" is the lead track on Aoxomoxoa (1969). Apparently the title is a meaningless palindrome – pronounced ox-oh-mox-oh-ah. (A palindrome is a word that is spelled the same forwards and backwards.)
Extra credit: Aoxomoxoa was recorded twice. The initial version of the album had been completed just as Ampex manufactured and released the first 16-track multitrack recording machine. The new equipment doubled (from eight) the number of individual tracks for recording and playback. It took the band eight months to re-record the album with the new technology.
Incorrect
Aoxomoxoa, 1969 – "St. Stephen" is the lead track on Aoxomoxoa (1969). Apparently the title is a meaningless palindrome – pronounced ox-oh-mox-oh-ah. (A palindrome is a word that is spelled the same forwards and backwards.)
Extra credit: Aoxomoxoa was recorded twice. The initial version of the album had been completed just as Ampex manufactured and released the first 16-track multitrack recording machine. The new equipment doubled (from eight) the number of individual tracks for recording and playback. It took the band eight months to re-record the album with the new technology.
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Question 2 of 10
2. Question
Correct
Stoned to death – Although St. Stephen was beloved as a "savior" for his care of the poor and lonely misfits of the world, he was ultimately (and ironically) stoned to death for blasphemy against the church – a false charge cooked up by enemies of Jesus who were skeptical and jealous of Stephen’s growing popularity and success.
It isn’t hard to see how St. Stephen’s situation could be applied to Jerry and the band in the late-’60s just as the counterculture movement was exploding.
As a side note, some Deadheads believe "St. Stephen" is about Stephen Gaskin, a beloved and respected spiritual guide and "acid guru" from the 1960's Haight-Ashbury district. He co-founded "The Farm," a well-known commune in Summertown, TN. Lyricist Robert Hunter has denied the song is about Gaskin.
Incorrect
Stoned to death – Although St. Stephen was beloved as a "savior" for his care of the poor and lonely misfits of the world, he was ultimately (and ironically) stoned to death for blasphemy against the church – a false charge cooked up by enemies of Jesus who were skeptical and jealous of Stephen’s growing popularity and success.
It isn’t hard to see how St. Stephen’s situation could be applied to Jerry and the band in the late-’60s just as the counterculture movement was exploding.
As a side note, some Deadheads believe "St. Stephen" is about Stephen Gaskin, a beloved and respected spiritual guide and "acid guru" from the 1960's Haight-Ashbury district. He co-founded "The Farm," a well-known commune in Summertown, TN. Lyricist Robert Hunter has denied the song is about Gaskin.
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Question 3 of 10
3. Question
This legendary version of "St. Stephen" – one of the cleanest ever – was played when and where? [HINT: This performance contains a much-maligned vocal flaw that taints the otherwise perfect rendition.]
Correct
May 8, 1977; Barton Hall, NY – Despite the fact that backup singer Donna Godchaux (not to pick on her) comes in too early with the beginning of the lyric, "Lady finger, dipped in moonlight," this version remains one of the greatest the Dead ever played.
Here's the early entry by Donna:
And remember, the intent isn't to criticize Donna. Jerry made countless vocal stumbles and we still loved him.
Incorrect
May 8, 1977; Barton Hall, NY – Despite the fact that backup singer Donna Godchaux (not to pick on her) comes in too early with the beginning of the lyric, "Lady finger, dipped in moonlight," this version remains one of the greatest the Dead ever played.
Here's the early entry by Donna:
And remember, the intent isn't to criticize Donna. Jerry made countless vocal stumbles and we still loved him.
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Question 4 of 10
4. Question
Who is credited with writing "St. Stephen"?
Correct
Incorrect
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Question 5 of 10
5. Question
Jerry's spacey lead-in to this epic version of "Stephen" – one of the band's greatest performances of all time – is known as what in Dead lore? [Extra credit if you can name the year it was performed.]
Correct
Close Encounters – It's from the performance on January 22, 1978, at McArthur Court on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.
Incorrect
Close Encounters – It's from the performance on January 22, 1978, at McArthur Court on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.
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Question 6 of 10
6. Question
Which word is NOT included in the lyrics to "St. Stephen"?
Correct
Heaven – The three other words appear in the following lines:
BUCKET hangin' clear to Hell
Lady finger, dipped in MOONLIGHT
SEASHORE washed by the suds and foam
Incorrect
Heaven – The three other words appear in the following lines:
BUCKET hangin' clear to Hell
Lady finger, dipped in MOONLIGHT
SEASHORE washed by the suds and foam
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Question 7 of 10
7. Question
This top-10 performance of "St. Stephen" is from which year? [HINT: The muffed vocals from Bobby should help you identify this specific performance.] [Extra credit if you can name who's sitting in on the organ.]
Correct
1971 – This "Stephen" is from April 28, 1971, at the Fillmore East. It was commercially released on Ladies and Gentlemen...the Grateful Dead.
For the record, "Stephen" made its live debut in the summer of '68 (according to DeadBase IX).
Extra credit: That's former Dead member, Tom Constanten, sitting in on organ. TC left the band in 1970 but returned as a guest on April 28, 1971, at the Fillmore East.
Incorrect
1971 – This "Stephen" is from April 28, 1971, at the Fillmore East. It was commercially released on Ladies and Gentlemen...the Grateful Dead.
For the record, "Stephen" made its live debut in the summer of '68 (according to DeadBase IX).
Extra credit: That's former Dead member, Tom Constanten, sitting in on organ. TC left the band in 1970 but returned as a guest on April 28, 1971, at the Fillmore East.
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Question 8 of 10
8. Question
What answer did Jerry Garcia give when asked in a 1988 interview why the Dead stopped playing "St. Stephen"? The band's final performance of the song was October 31, 1983.
Correct
It was inflexible – Jerry called the song "inflexible" and "unnecessarily difficult," lamenting the fact that the verses had to be executed in order and were not interchangeable.
Garcia also disliked the bridge – marked by the lyric, "lady finger, dipped in moonlight" – implying it killed the flow of the song. In fact, Jerry equated "St. Stephen" to a "musical policeman" to illustrate its inflexibility (ouch!).
Jerry offered this answer when asked by Blair Jackson in a 1988 interview why the band stopped playing "St. Stephen":
...it's unnecessarily difficult. It's been made tricky. It's got a bridge in the middle that doesn't really fit in... It has a couple of things that work real good, but finally, the stuff that doesn't work overpowers the stuff that does work... If you don't remember every bit of it: 'Let's see, what verse is this?' They're not interchangeable – you have to do them in order. So a song like St Stephen is a cop. It's our musical policeman: if we don't do it the way it wants to go, it doesn't work at all. That means it's inflexible... what we need is material that is authentically open.
Incorrect
It was inflexible – Jerry called the song "inflexible" and "unnecessarily difficult," lamenting the fact that the verses had to be executed in order and were not interchangeable.
Garcia also disliked the bridge – marked by the lyric, "lady finger, dipped in moonlight" – implying it killed the flow of the song. In fact, Jerry equated "St. Stephen" to a "musical policeman" to illustrate its inflexibility (ouch!).
Jerry offered this answer when asked by Blair Jackson in a 1988 interview why the band stopped playing "St. Stephen":
...it's unnecessarily difficult. It's been made tricky. It's got a bridge in the middle that doesn't really fit in... It has a couple of things that work real good, but finally, the stuff that doesn't work overpowers the stuff that does work... If you don't remember every bit of it: 'Let's see, what verse is this?' They're not interchangeable – you have to do them in order. So a song like St Stephen is a cop. It's our musical policeman: if we don't do it the way it wants to go, it doesn't work at all. That means it's inflexible... what we need is material that is authentically open.
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Question 9 of 10
9. Question
This live audio captures which specific part of "St. Stephen"? [HINT: Back in the day, this part of the song segued into "The Eleven."] [Extra credit if you can name the year this particular version was performed.]
Correct
William Tell Bridge – In 1969, the Dead used the bridge, named after the Swiss folk hero, to segue into "The Eleven."
High green chilly winds and windy vines
In loops around the twining shafts of lavender
They're crawling to the sunWonder who will water all the children of the garden
When they sigh about the barren lack of rain
And droop so hungry 'neath the skyUnderfoot the ground is patched with
Climbing arms of ivy
Wrapped around the manzanita
Stark and shiny in the breezeWilliam Tell has stretched his bow
Till it won't stretch no furthermore
Or it may require a change that hasn't come beforeExtra credit: 1969 (the audio is from Live/Dead)
Incorrect
William Tell Bridge – In 1969, the Dead used the bridge, named after the Swiss folk hero, to segue into "The Eleven."
High green chilly winds and windy vines
In loops around the twining shafts of lavender
They're crawling to the sunWonder who will water all the children of the garden
When they sigh about the barren lack of rain
And droop so hungry 'neath the skyUnderfoot the ground is patched with
Climbing arms of ivy
Wrapped around the manzanita
Stark and shiny in the breezeWilliam Tell has stretched his bow
Till it won't stretch no furthermore
Or it may require a change that hasn't come beforeExtra credit: 1969 (the audio is from Live/Dead)
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Question 10 of 10
10. Question
This audio captures a jaw-dropping solo from Jerry during a five-star performance of "St. Stephen" in which year? [HINT: It was played at the University of Oregon.]
Correct
1978 – It's the "Close Encounters" version from January 22, 1978, at the University of Oregon's McArthur Court.
By the way, if that solo from Jerry doesn't make you smile, you're definitely not listening to it right.
Just for the record, the Dead didn't play a single "Stephen" in 1974 or 1984. The final performance with Jerry was on October 31, 1983.
Incorrect
1978 – It's the "Close Encounters" version from January 22, 1978, at the University of Oregon's McArthur Court.
By the way, if that solo from Jerry doesn't make you smile, you're definitely not listening to it right.
Just for the record, the Dead didn't play a single "Stephen" in 1974 or 1984. The final performance with Jerry was on October 31, 1983.

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