Product Description

Jerry Garcia, the lead guitarist, singer, and alleged leader of the Grateful Dead, became an icon of the 60s youth movement. It was well-known that Jerry was a huge fan, and probably considered himself a player, of old-time American music, from mountain fiddle and banjo music, to English ballads, to jug band music to bluegrass and blues, and more. On the "Shady Grove" recordings one can hear the deep commitment, respect, and love Jerry had for this traditional American music. He's very faithful to the original artists' music. That may be surprising if you expect more of an ego-driven "my version" approach from one the biggest rock stars ever. What you have here is a vibrant collection of wonderful traditional American songs, from a great variety of genres, played in a style closely based on their traditional sources. Of course within those parameters we hear wonderful and personal readings of the tunes from both Jerry and mandolinist David Grisman. Dix Bruce has carefully transcribed many of Jerry's solos from the album, trying to determine not just what he was playing but how he was playing it. Melodies, tablature, lyrics, and chords are included in arrangements designed to be playable on the guitar while presenting the melodies as closely as possible. Jerry's banjo solos are transcribed here for guitar.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #264131 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

Customer Reviews

Very nice transcription of an underappreciated album!
If you don't own the CD, buy it. If you play guitar, buy this book and work with it while you listen to the CD. This is Americana at its best, as envisioned by the best, but it can be played by guitarists who are merely competent and enthusiastic. It's not a "simple" book, and it's not a beginner's book, but it IS eminently learnable by any avid guitarist with more than about a year's experience. Without the CD (or at least an alternate version of most of the songs (such as _The Pizza Tapes_, _Grateful Dawg_, or "trade-friendly" amateur recordings) as a road map, however, it's probably not easy to figure out just what the songs are SUPPOSED to sound like. As acoustic guitar fingerstyle songbooks go, however, this one is a real keeper.

Excellent
An excellant tool to aid one to learning accurately the way the solos are played. Great summaries of each piece by the author.