The Part Of ‘Terrapin Station’ Played Live Only Once By The Grateful Dead
Listen to the what’s likely the closest version of “Terrapin” to the album version recorded by the legendary band in 1977.
By Andy Kahn Jul 13, 2023 • 1:16 pm PDT
“Terrapin Station” was performed by the Grateful Dead for the first time on February 26, 1977. The multi-part composition was the title track to the band’s studio album that was released on July 27, 1977.
Terrapin Station was the Dead’s first album issued after signing to Arista Records, Legendary head of the label Clive Davis wanted the group to use an outside producer, which they had not done since their 1968 LP, Anthem Of The Sun. Though largely unfamiliar with the Dead’s music, Keith Olsen was tasked with producing Terrapin Station, in part due to his access to Studer equipment and a Neve console he used at Sound City recording studio in Van Nuys, California.
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Among the well-documented controversial decisions Olsen made was the addition of orchestra and choir parts performed by The Martyn Ford Orchestra and The English Choral on “Terrapin Station.” Derided by several members of the band, drummer Mickey Hart recalled an incident with Olsen, stating:
[Olsen] did something that was one of the most disrespectful things that has ever happened to me musically in my life. On the second side of Terrapin, “At A Siding” and “Terrapin Flyer” are mine. The “Flyer” was supposed to be a timbal solo with me and [Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry] Garcia doing duets, timbal and guitar. Olsen erased one of the beautiful timbal tracks in Europe and replaced it with all these strings. He played it for me, and my mouth dropped … He took a lot off, and then I put my timbal solo back on. But he didn’t ask – he erased it off the master and replaced it all with strings.
“I didn’t care for our recording of [“Terrapin Station”] because the producer took it into the studio in England by himself and threw all kinds of lush strings on it,” Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter said. “I’ve never been able to listen to that without gritting my teeth, but I love the song.”
Hunter and Garcia were responsible for writing most of the parts of the song but Hart and fellow Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann also helped compose portions of the track. Additionally, Hunter wrote additional components of the “Terrapin Station” suite which were never recorded or played live.
Listed as “Terrapin Station” on the back cover of Terrapin Station, the lone song on Side-B was presented on the vinyl record’s label as a seven-part suite entitled “Terrapin Part 1” and consisting of “Lady With A Fan,” “Terrapin Station,” “Terrapin,” “Terrapin Transit,” “At A Siding,” “Terrapin Flyer” and “Refrain.”
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In his book of lyrics A Box Of Rain, Hunter presents the Terrapin Station suite in nine parts (“Introduction,” “Lady With A Fan,” “Terrapin Station,” “At A Siding,” “Return To Terrapin,” “Ivory Wheels/Rosewood Track,” “And I Know You,” “Jack O’Roses,” “Leaving Terrapin” and “Recognition.”
When the Dead performed the song live, “Lady With A Fan,” “Terrapin Station” and part of “Recognition” were lyrically included in its structure. Verses to “At A Siding” appeared in the book and were recorded for the album version but not performed live by the band.
Elsewhere in the book is the song “L’Alhambra,” which Hunter noted was written “to a Moorish setting composed by Mickey Hart” that eventually “evolved into a wordless melodic segment of Terrapin Station.”
In 1976, late Bay Area musician Jim McPherson joined Mickey Hart and Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh at Hart’s The Barn studio in Novato, California to work on the non-Hunter/Garcia aspects of “Terrapin Station.” Split into six different tracks, the demos find the three musicians performing various takes on “Terrapin Flyer” as well as the “L’Alhambra”-based sequence of “Terrapin Transit” and “At A Siding.”
Of particular note is the inclusion on a couple of the tracks of McPherson singing lyrics that are not part of “L’Alhambra” or any of the “Terrapin Suite” parts in Hunter’s book of lyrics.
Listen to the demos here:
Based on evidence from the 1977 studio recording and the tracklisting on the original vinyl release, “L’Alhambra” is likely the 52-second intro to “At A Siding” from the studio recording of “Terrapin Station.” The instrumental passage begins at the 9:19 mark of the single 16-minute track labeled “Terrapin Station Medley” as on digital releases (click below to listen).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V3Q7P8h5V4?t=559On March 18, 1977, “Terrapin Station” was played by the Grateful Dead in concert for the third time. The song was played in the second set of the band’s show at the Winterland in San Francisco and unlike any other public performance, the section believed to have come from “L’Alhambra” was included. According to JerryBase.com, the March 18, 1977 Dead show was the only time the Dead played the section believed to be derived of “L’Alhambra.”
Notable also for the debut of “Fire In The Mountain” which came out of “Scarlet Begonias” to close the first set, the full March 18, 1977 concert can be heard below, including the atypical “Terrapin” with the “L’Alhambra,” and essentially an instrumental “At A Siding,” sections tacked on to its ending:
