Jerry
Garcia: Garcia Plays Dylan
Jerry
Garcia: Garcia Plays Dylan includes renditions of all but three
of the Bob Dylan cover songs that Jerry sang lead
on. Those are "Tears
of Rage," "Going,
Going, Gone," and "Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas
Priest." The latter was never played live, but a studio version
is available on Garcia Grisman's Been
All Around the World. The other two songs were included in
the exclusive GDM bonus disc and are also
available on other releases.
In
2002, the Grateful Dead released a CD entitled Postcards
of the Hanging, which is composed of cover versions of Bob Dylan
songs. There is very little overlap between it and this album. From Postcard's
11 tracks, Jerry sings only three of its songs, and of them only
"She Belongs To Me" was played within a similar time
period.
The material selected
for
Garcia Plays Dylan draws from seven different
JGB and two Grateful Dead line-up's. The emphasis on selecting the
songs from so many casts may have sacrificed a better version or
two, but overall great choices, no matter how you spin it. There
are no tracks with Bruce Hornsby in the band. With Bruce, the
Grateful Dead had a
great rendition of "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry"
that was preceded by "C. C. Ryder" > in their repertoire. The partnership
and sequence of the two tracks made its inclusion impractical since
Dylan didn't pen "C. C. Rider."
However, Dylan sang excerpts of it with the Grateful Dead during
their 1987
tour rehearsals. Traders would be well served to seek out a
version of it, 9/22/91 comes
to mind.
As
this compilation showcases so many different bands, it can serve a
casual fan that is not familiar with the different Jerry Garcia Band
personnel line-ups an overview them. Thereby, revealing clues on
which of the other JGB releases to purchase. It is not a surprise that the songs
we enjoyed most are from the line-ups we like best.
We
opted for an analysis by keyboard player, though some other
personnel differs, i.e., drummer, saxophone. Within the track list, we
provide links to other albums available with similar personnel. We've
also included links to Dylan's albums and even a few references to The
Band. After all, they were Dylan back-up band on Planet Waves,
which Garcia covers three songs, as well as a few other obvious connections.
Merl
Saunders
There are two tracks with Merl. From 1973, "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry," focuses more on the singing than the
instrumentals. Their album Live
at the Keystone Volume 1 includes two Dylan covers. Jerry
and Merl's band Legion of Mary contribute "Wicked Messenger." This is
easily Jerry's most creative Dylan interpretation and offers plenty of fine
soloing from Jerry, Martin, and Merl. Not to overlook the
excellent drumming required to execute this masterpiece.
Nicky
Hopkins
A
wonderful version of "Tough Mama," showcases Jerry and
Nicky solos, but it is at its peak when they play together. The last
track featuring Hopkin's, "Positively 4th Street" has some great heart-felt singing with superb complementary
fills from Hopkins. Jerry answers nicely. After hearing these two tracks the obvious
conclusion is that this line-up should receive a few future
releases.
Keith
Godchaux
"Knockin'
On Heaven's Door" is very slow during the verses. But when you
get to the instrumental section, Jerry and Keith lock into an
awesome lengthy musical dialogue. My wish would be to track the song
into segments so if one wanted they could skip the vocals and get
straight to the instrumental. "Simple Twist of Fate"
carries on the fine musical interaction.
Ozzie
Ahlers
The charm of the line-up with Ozzie Ahlers has little to do with the
keyboards as they were very low key. It has everything to do with
Jerry, the 1980
JGB material is Jerrytastic! Excluding
bonus discs, this is the first version of "When I Paint My
Masterpiece" released with Jerry singing the song, as Weir
handles vocals on the Grateful Dead's interpretation. Though, it is his
guitar playing that will get your attention. The liner notes offer a
perfect description, "How do you take a three-verse song like
"When I Paint My Masterpiece" and it turn it into a
14-minute tour de force? By exploring every inch of canvas--playing
with tempo, timbre, and phrasing, mixing stacked chords with fluid
runs, always listening for new openings that will somehow wordlessly
convey more of the songs meaning..." In other words, smoking
hot.
Melvin
Seals
Jerry's long standing band contribute four songs. "Tangled Up
In Blue" is tight revealing plenty of excellent soloing. The other
three tracks are ballad oriented. "Forever Young" offer
dynamics, tight soloing, and great back-up vocals. The Grateful Dead
performed that song once on 11/3/91 at the Laughter, Love &
Music festival in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Neil Young sang
lead vocals; CSN&Y played a set at the event too. This
festival was a celebration of the life of concert promoter Bill
Graham who was tragically killed in a helicopter accident on
October 25.
Grateful
Dead - Brent Mydland
My favorite of the Brent songs is "She Belongs To Me,"
Phil comes through clearly. A dynamite version of this song was released
on Dick's
Picks 21. The Garcia
Grisman line-up performed this song live, too bad they didn't include
one of those renditions. Something to look forward to in the
future?
"It's
All Over Now Baby Blue," was first covered in
1966 by the Grateful Dead. The rendition included is
executed sweetly.
Grateful
Dead - Vince Welnick
The only song from the Vince era is a rendition of one of my
favorite Dylan songs, "Visions of Johanna." This 1995
version is better than expected. Dylan's best version is the studio
cut, but his live take from 1966
is also highly recommended.
Blair Jackson did an excellent job with the liner notes. They
include some background on Dylan, notes on the recording sources,
analysis by Jackson, some quotes by Garcia, Weir, lots of rare
photos and more.
We
invite you to visit our Dylan
and the Dead section. The track cross referencing is not
up-to-date, but there is some excellent information within.
Garcia Plays Dylan is the CD mix you always meant to compile
but never got around to it, along with some rarities. Well
done.
by
Barry Small ©
Grade B +
