Yesterday, the Decemberists dropped a new single from their forthcoming album The King Is Dead. They released “January Hymn” as a Record Store Day vinyl exclusive, with a cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Row Jimmy” on the flip side. Thanks to an intrepid buyer (or just one with a USB turntable), it just hit the web for all you digital types.
Originally on the Dead’s 1973 release Wake of the Flood, “Row Jimmy” rolls along gently as a folk-rock jam. That’s “jam” in the loosest sense of the word; thankfully, the ‘Rists don’t take the opportunity to explore their little-known improvisational side. Check it out below.
The Decemberists – Row Jimmy (Grateful Dead cover)
[The Point of Everything via Consequence of Sound]
Check out more Decemberists at their website or MySpace.
Too bad this was released on the crappy medium that is the 7″ single – as seems to be the case about half the time, this one’s pressed off-center, so the pitch gets all warbly (particularly noticeable at the end).
Pretty much the same arrangement as the Dead’s original.