Peter Anspach staple Elizabeth can and should jam.
The song’s groove has tremendous potential and with the addition of Rick’s wah to the song in 2021 its jammability (new word!) has only risen.
Elizabeth grew as a jam vehicle in the latter half of 2019, with standout versions being played throughout the fall tour. This trend continued in the fall of 2020, where awesome jams emerged first at South Farms in Morris, CT on 9/17 and then at Smoky Mountain in Waynesville, NC on 10/17.
Waynesville was a typically average-great Goose show featuring a great Flopener, a This Old Sea-tinged A Western Sun jam, high energy renditions of Tumble and Madhuvan, and an awesome show-closing Arrow -> Turn On Your Love Light.
Coming in as the second song of the show, this Elizabeth is an incredible jam that tragically lost to the 9/16 This Old Sea in the 2020 Jam of the Year bracket. Reaching several unique spaces, it is also a rare jam that features Peter making the transition from guitar to keys partway through.
Hitting themes reminiscent of Madhuvan, Empress of Organos, and Time to Flee jams (with a Honeybee tease for good measure), this Elizabeth feels like an early indication of 2021 jamming in 2020 – the band taking more chances and leaning away from the straightforward peak in favour of mellower and funkier exploration.
All timings are per Nugs/Bandcamp release.
0:07 – Rick does some lead stuff that almost sounds like a slide
0:21 – Very straightforward rock song vibe
1:10 – Kind of funky
2:18 – Surf guitar slide
3:19 – Take it, RRRRRRICH
4:32 – Band moves from guitar solo to spacey zone
4:56 – Rick and Peter dance around each other
5:10 – Both are doing lots of textural work and not playing lead which is a cool vibe
5:23 – Spuds pushes the tempo a bit away from the straight groove of Liz proper
5:56 – Almost like a Madhuvan jam
6:16 – Peter activates synth swell, a very signature 2020 effect
6:35 – Jam choogles along steadily
6:47 – Music builds a bit, really sounding like Madhuvan now
7:20 – Trevor is just grooving, wow
7:32 – Rick and Peter hit an ascending run in tandem to a pseudo-peak
7:53 – Jam deconstructs a bit as Spuds lays off the snare
8:15 – Jeff gets in on the drum action
8:26 – Peter builds around and off of Rick’s riffs
8:41 – Rich emphasizing arpeggios
8:59 – Spuds seems to be heading toward four-on-the-floor but resists
9:14 – Really cool deconstructed vibe
9:24 – Spuds locks into half-time groove as synth swells continue
9:42 – Rick leads a modulation as the jam retains its Madhuvan-like theme
10:22 – Intensity grows
10:37 – Jam mellows again as synth swell once again comes to the forefront
10:52 – Time to Flee!
11:03 – Peter playing some muscular rhythm licks underneath Rick’s Flee melody
11:29 – Peter hits organ as jam speeds up a bit
11:55 – Band opts to keep jamming instead of ending Flee – Peter on piano for dreamy and melodic vibe
12:14 – Slowed-down version of Flee jam
12:28 – Trevor comes to the front
12:32 – Band drops out and lets Peter drift for a few bars
12:52 – Now it’s like a slower Empress jam
13:10 – Dreamy
13:36 – Fantastic wow wow
13:53 – Peter teases Honeybee
14:06 – Jam gets funkier and Peter starts vamping
14:31 – Peter resists the clav temptation
14:45 – Laid-back funk groove
15:05 – Rick solos in a relaxed way
15:08 – Rich adds some cool delay echoes to his guitar
15:46 – Intensity begins to ramp up as Peter takes a rhythmic role and Rick’s soloing gets more intense
16:15 – Spuds pushes tempo again
16:20 – Incredible fill from Trevor
16:51 – Rick has a meaty tone and stays dark with it
17:02 – Jam’s melody really takes shape here as we get closer to peak
17:20 – Trevor really starts to step up with an ascending run to build tension
17:40 – Pure bliss
17:52 – Peter back on organ as Rick milks the melody for everything it’s worth
18:00 – Awesome bend from Rick
18:13 – Nice chordal vamp on guitar
18:34 – Spuds is killing it
18:45 – Hooooooo baby
18:48 – MANY NOTES
19:21 – Peak dies away
19:23 – Rick vamps around and > to Green River