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12/4/09 by G.Lucas

On This Day...

Originally written in 1969 during studio sessions for Let It Bleed, the piano-driven romantic trophy piece “Loving Cup” was safely locked away for three years until its release on the 1972 Rolling Stones epic double album Exile On Main St. The Stones’ studio version of “Loving Cup” was recorded in their mobile studio at Keith Richards' Villa Nellcote, Villefrenche, France in 1971. Lyrically it is an impassioned plea from a stumbling, fumbling, nitty, gritty, torn shirt wearing, broken down car driving, bad guitar playing, muddy faced, mountain climbing, rose picking, plowman for a beauty beyond his means to satiate his desires. Clearly he feels unworthy, but he’s just gotta have it. “Loving Cup” closes out the delta blues cum swampy-tonk first LP of the original vinyl release and features the New Orleans jazz flavored horn playing of Bobby Keys (saxophone) and Jim Price (trumpet and trombone), the piano stylings of Nicky Hopkins, and additional percussion from Jimmy Miller. The Rolling Stones played “Loving Cup” live during their 1972 tour in support of the album but have played it sparingly since.

Phish broke the dusty drinking vessel out of its trophy case (2/3/93 Portland, ME) as the spring 1993 tour opening song. The timing of this debut apparently had hinged on the ability of the band to tour with a baby grand piano; 2/3/93 was in fact the first show with the baby grand in Page’s touring ensemble, and the opening lick of that year was thus on the baby grand. The subsequent sipping from the font of Venus during that tour was frequent and came almost exclusively (the 2/5/93 Roseland Ballroom encore as the exception) as a first or second set opener. In contrast “Loving Cup” appeared only once during the summer tour that year (8/8/93 Cleveland), was exiled even from Maine’s streets during the holiday run, and only made three appearances during all of 1994. Most noteworthy of the 1994 performances was the 5/7/94 version which ushered in the legendary Bomb Factory “Tweezer” fest. This version, which was released on Live Phish 18, should definitely be listened to on a sunny Sunday morning-after with friends and loved ones nearby to be truly appreciated. Other versions released in the series include the 9/14/00 Darien Lake (Live Phish 03) and 7/15/98 Portland Meadows (Live Phish 17) “Loving Cups.”

Although Phish performances of “Loving Cup” to date have lacked the horns, a second guitarist, and the extra percussionist present on the Stones’ studio version, even die-hard fans of the original auteurs have been heard to admit that: “Phish really can crank on that tune.” Since the near-exile of “Loving Cup” early after its debut, the song has been in regular rotation and ranks among the most played cover songs in the Phish repertoire. Since late September 1999, “Loving Cup” appears to have been awarded favored nightcap status, appearing only a few times as a second set closer and more commonly as an encore. One of these second set appearances (8/3/03 IT) followed the awarding of the “Loving Cup” trophies presented to the winners of the “Runaway Jim” 5 held earlier in the day.

Variation between individual performances has been slight despite the obvious room for balls out rock and roll improvisation. A notable exception is the 10/18/98 Bridge School Benefit version, which was played acoustically. Realizing he would be unable to shred the conclusion of the song in its acoustic format, Trey yields the floor to Fishman to play the role of anchorman in draining the cup. Trey revisited "Loving Cup" in its solo acoustic form several times on his Fall 2005 tour.

For a representative taste from the full spectrum of the Phish “Loving Cup,” in addition to those listed above please check out the following versions: 3/30/93 Eugene; 11/4/94, Syracuse; 12/9/95, Albany, NY; 11/24/96, Portland, OR; 7/1/97, Amsterdam; 8/2/97, The Gorge; 8/15/98, Lemonwheel; 12/30/98 MSG; 9/14/99, Boise; 5/21/00 Radio City Music Hall; 12/28/03 Miami; and 7/30/09 Red Rocks; each one guaranteed to make the listener exclaim “OH... What a beautiful buzz!”