Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Way You Do the Things You Do
2. Waiting for a Miracle
3. Simple Twist of Fate
4. Get Out of My Life
5. My Sisters and Brothers
6. I Shall Be Released
7. Dear Prudence
8. Deal

Disc 2:

1. Stop That Train
2. Se�or (Tales of Yankee Power)
3. Evangeline
4. Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
5. Don't Let Go
6. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)
7. Tangled Up in Blue

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16008 in Music
• Released on: 1991-08-27
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Live

Album Description
Japanese reissue of the 1991 release from the late Grateful Dead singer/vocalist's side project, featuring a miniature paper LP sleeve reproduction of the original artwork. Limited edition release.

Amazon.com essential recording
If the Grateful Dead was Garcia's day job, then his beloved Jerry Garcia Band was his robe and slippers. Without the "scene" swirling quite as much around the JGB, those shows took on a more informal, laid-back feel that was clearly liberating to Garcia, who with the JGB had the freedom to completely indulge his own tastes. The JGB of Garcia's last decade boasted terrific organist Melvin Seals as Garcia's chief improvisational sidekick, plus the background female soul singers Gloria Jones and Jackie LaBranch and Garcia's old buddy John Kahn on bass. Recorded in 1990 at San Francisco's Warfield Theater--which was nothing short of the JGB's home field--this double-disc set gives a clear idea of the ensemble's breadth: Dylan covers, Motown hits, and blues romps, as well as classic rock, gospel, and reggae numbers, and basically any song that Garcia loved. Of course, there's plenty of solo space provided to Garcia's spiraling guitar, but his passionate vocals on the ballads are also quite moving. The single-disc How Sweet It Is was recorded during the same stretch and is equally as impressive. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

A gift from Ol' Saint Jerry
Right before Christmas last year, my oldest daughter was not yet four, I pointed out a big picture of Jerry Garcia on the cover of a book at Barnes and Noble. She said, "Hey, Jerry Garcia looks just like Santa Clause." Then she asked if we could either visit Santa Clause or Jerry Garcia before Christmas next year. I replied, no, we couldn't, because Jerry Garcia is dead and "some people believe Santa Clause is just make believe," or words to that effect. It probably was not my greatest moment in parenting, but I try not to lie to my kids and I have mixed feelings about the Santa Clause thing for reasons I won't go into here. There was a pregnant pause, and I worried I had traumatized her with my bluntness, but she seemed unfazed. A moment later, studying the picture again, she amended her observation: "Actually, Jerry Garcia looks different than Santa Clause because Santa Clause has a hole in his beard where his mouth is." Fair enough.

The Grateful Dead were a unique and special thing, but by the eighties, it had grown too large, taken on a life of its own. Too many people were making too much money, and too many lives depended on the touring. So, on inertia and psychedelic fumes, the band played on. And the kids, they dance and shake their bones. But Jerry Garcia's heart was not in it. There were sporadic great shows, nights where all the individual streams came together just right and the magic happened. But you had to listen to a lot of mediocre jamming to get to those moments. You had to accept that you were there for the experience, and the band was there to provide the accompaniment. Any higher expectations and it was a set-up.

When you listen to the Jerry Garcia Band, you can hear the difference. Not that there still weren't off nights. But freed of the burden of the Dead, the Dead scene and the Dead repertoire, the alchemical magic was bubbling through the music. Jerry could take a melody and make it something different, something special. The ensemble he put together in the late eighties and early nineties played some great, soulful and beautiful music, and this compilation is a nice example of the best of it.

Melvin Seals is terrific on the organ and Kahn does a good job on the bass. You also get quality background singing, something noticeably missing from the Grateful Dead since the band cleared puberty. The Way You Do the Things You Do, Dear Prudence, Deal, My Sisters and Brothers, and an exuberant Tangled Up In Blue are my personal favorites. There are also plenty of those slow, sad ballads that Jerry does so well.

Buy this, listen to it often, have fun, be safe.

Well this is a no-brainer
I enjoyed Postcards from the Hanging very much - the dead covering Dylan live and so its not much of a stretch that I like this album so much with four of the fifteen songs being Dylan covers. But there's so much more here than the Dylan covers, although they do not disappoint - especially Senor (Tales of yankee power) and the excellent finale - Tangled Up in Blue. The song selection is the strong foundation for this concert. Ageless treasures like "That Lucky Old Sun" sound so wonderful with the band, the lush background vocals and Jerry at the very top of his game. His guitar work is at its poignant best and his vocals are just perfect. This is one tight band folks and you really get the feeling that these concerts were true labors of love - the love of music that transcends generations and cultures performed with passion. I've always enjoyed hearing one of those big organs played with a full "churchy" sound and Melvin Seals' performance on keyboards is a great compliment to Jerry's guitar work and voacals, but the rest of the band is excellent, too. I honestly can't imagine anyone not finding at least a good handfull of treasures in this set.

This one's a gem - damn straight, forget the critic!
If you're a Deadhead, you kind of already know if you're going to like this. Still, however, not *everything* Jerry or the boys produce is uniformly wonderful. This live recording's a keeper - trust me, you'll listen to it over and over again - take the word of a discerning Deadhead. The fact that I felt like submitting my own little review should be an indication. Buy this one over "How Sweet It Is" - THAT one sounds like reheated Cat's Under the Stars. The present, simply JGB, is a wonderful sound, full of new songs. There's only one Dead song on this recording - Deal. You won't believe Dear Prudence, or Tangled Up In Blue. Jerry pulls out the fireworks on some of these songs, but mainly what you have here is Jerry at his poignant best. I only wish he'd done a Peggy-O while he was still in this mood.