"Seeds And Stems Blues" - Commander Cody - Bobby Black steel

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 18 Jul 2016 4:19 pm

This one is for all of us aging 1970's country rockers..."Down To Seeds and Stems Again Blues" by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. This is off a live version from Austin in 1973(?) that I heard on the radio last week - I really liked the great Bobby Black's pedal steel on this recording . I played guitar back in the 1970's...we dreamed of having a pedal steel player in the band but I'm not sure we even knew one back then! So now, a few years (ok, 40+ years) later here's a shot at Bobby's steel part - hope it's close. Feel free to make corrections or comments.
Here it is on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGsq1K7f_yc

Mark Hershey · Post by **Mark Hershey** » 19 Jul 2016 6:05 am

Never heard this song before, but I just gave it a listen.

Thank you so much, I can tell you right now there's a lot of licks in there I will find useful. It's amazing to have a complete song like this.

Mark

Alexander Rehfeld · Post by **Alexander Rehfeld** » 19 Jul 2016 6:12 am

Amazing, thank you Jeff!!

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 19 Jul 2016 6:41 am

Thanks, guys! The chord progression is really simple but just a little bit different. In the verse it's C - E - F - C with the E (3 chord) being a major instead of the usual minor. If you wanted to play chord pads in the verse it flows really nice and it's pedal steel at it's best if you smoothly slide from one chord to the next.
As an example you could use 3AB - 3AF - 4AF - 3AB or 8 - 7AB - 8AB - 8

Bob Grado · Post by **Bob Grado** » 19 Jul 2016 11:32 am

Thank you Jeff!

Josephus Vroomans · Post by **Josephus Vroomans** » 19 Jul 2016 1:06 pm

Great stuff Jeff. I love this song and have been wanting to play it so your tab is a great help.
The album is "Live from deep in the heart of Texas" (1974). It has some other great PSG parts on it, in songs like Crying Time and Sunset on the Sage.

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 19 Jul 2016 2:34 pm

Thank you Bob and Josephus

Josephus: thank you also for the album title...I just found it on Amazon and ordered it. I enjoy trying to break down licks on different tunes by a particular steel player so I'll take a look at more of Bobby Black's work. I have friends in Middelburg and have been to visit several times over the years. I have many great memories of the Netherlands - friendly people and I enjoy the laid-back lifestyle!

Josephus Vroomans · Post by **Josephus Vroomans** » 20 Jul 2016 2:49 am

Hey Jeff, glad you like The Netherlands. We don't hear much pedal steel around here unfortunately. Just for fun: here's a Dutch hitrecord from 1972 with Frans Doolaard playing steel.
https://youtu.be/WhGK-Essmf0

Stephen Barlow · Post by **Stephen Barlow** » 20 Jul 2016 3:30 pm

You're a hero mate!

Been trying to work this out for ages and not getting it right.

Thanks for transcribing!

Bob Grado · Post by **Bob Grado** » 22 Jul 2016 4:07 am

Well, I do believe I've finally got this song worked out. Thanks again Jeff!

Now the real hard part. Getting my band to play it! I never would have had that problem back in the day that's for sure.

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 22 Jul 2016 4:44 am

Maybe you can convince them the time is right to become America's Premier (and only!) Commander Cody Tribute Band

Ron Funk · Post by **Ron Funk** » 27 Jul 2016 7:03 pm

Jeff -

you have knocked it out of the park - Again.

Bobby Black was one of the PSG country rock pioneers that got a lot of us hooked on 'the sound'

Regards
Ron

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 28 Jul 2016 4:04 am

Thank you for the kind words Stephen and Ron...it's great to see so many guys like this tune as much as I do.

Ron: you're absolutely right about this being a "golden age" of pedal steel for a lot of us. I couldn't get enough of that country rock sound of groups like Commander Cody, the Flying Burrito Brothers, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Poco etc back in the early 70's. Now that you've got me thinking about it, I might try tabbing out a New Riders/Buddy Cage steel part next

Paul Awalt · Post by **Paul Awalt** » 5 Aug 2016 9:38 pm

"We want more",(Hopkins Lacrosse cheer)NRPS, Burrito Bros.Thanks.

Paul Awalt · Post by **Paul Awalt** » 5 Aug 2016 9:39 pm

"We want more",(Hopkins Lacrosse cheer)NRPS, Burrito Bros.Thanks.

Matt Elsen · Post by **Matt Elsen** » 15 Aug 2016 4:32 pm

Thanks so much, Jeff. This blast from the past is so much fun!

Mike DiAlesandro · Post by **Mike DiAlesandro** » 26 Aug 2016 5:13 pm

Jeff- very nice work. I have played this tune for the past 25 years in bands I've been in. For years we played the part "Well I saw your other man today, he was wearing my brand new shoes" as you wrote the chords out as Am, G, F- BUT the chords are really A, G, F.
Try it, and you will see that is actually how it is played on the record, this was pointed out to me by 2 very excellent musicians:-)

Steven Cherson · Post by **Steven Cherson** » 27 Aug 2016 7:52 am

Bill, in Seeds and Stems is the part "well I saw your other man today, he was wearing my brand new shoes" Am, G, F or A, G, F. On the record A and live Am?

From Bill:

Nope, No minors even live. Unless Billy C. Farlow plays a C note instead of a C# on the A chord. A, G, F, C. No minors in whole song.

"

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 27 Aug 2016 8:08 am

Thanks guys...I'll fire up the steel and play it the correct way tonite. Well that's a first...I figured there had to be at least one minor in there after discovering the 3 chord was a major.

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 5 Sep 2016 12:52 am

Jeff, thanks for this. It was this era that got me into steel, and it was truly a golden age, as you say. I saw Commander Cody when they came to England in 1974. It was about a year after the Live In Austin album and they played pretty much the same show - so I've heard Bobby Black play this live! His playing has such style and humour, but we don't hear much about him these days.

I play that album a lot and I'd figured out the intro, but it's great to have the rest of it as I don't think I would have the ears or the patience to unravel it all.

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 5 Sep 2016 8:43 am

Thanks, Ian. Here's an interesting article about Bobby Black from early last year in Vintage Guitar Magazine. (Walter Bowden mentioned it on an earlier Forum thread). Bobby is truly a legendary and extremely talented steel player that has been around for the entire era of the instrument from its beginnings to the present. http://www.vintageguitar.com/12628/bobby-black/

As far as what's next for me, I haven't tabbed a New Riders of the Purple Sage tune yet. I was just listening to Buddy Cage cut it loose on the break in "Hello Mary Lou". Whoa....well, maybe that will be my next challenge!

Jeremy Threlfall · Post by **Jeremy Threlfall** » 6 Sep 2016 6:47 am

Thanks Jeff. I love that album - live at the armadillo world headquarters! I'll give that a go soon.

I'd love to know how Buddy Cage got that two note "chicken clucking" lick he came out with frequently

b0b · Post by **b0b** » 6 Sep 2016 6:53 am

Excellent transcription!

Jeff Garden · Post by **Jeff Garden** » 6 Sep 2016 7:23 am

Thanks so much, Jeremy and b0b. I'm very pleasantly surprised with the response to this tune...I wasn't sure how many folks would be familiar with it. There's evidently a lot of us still around that enjoyed that period, and there's some great "country rock" steel on recordings from guys like Bobby Black, Buddy Cage, Rusty Young, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Al Perkins, Lloyd Green, Jerry Garcia and John David Call (Pure Prairie League).

Dyke Corson · Post by **Dyke Corson** » 7 Sep 2016 6:50 pm

Great job on this! I've played it live with Bill Kirchen a few times - he always says "A MAJOR! Cause we didn't know any better!"