Jerry Garcia
Garcia

Release Date: 1972 | Tracklist

By 1972 The Grateful Dead had come full circle in a sense. Initially a bluegrass, blues, and acoustic Americana band, they made their name as a psychedelic Avant guard jam band. These were high times for the band. However, the music was cumbersome to play and even worse to record. That is why in 1970 they decided to go back to their roots, which was folky story ballads with their own little touch to it. Many people believe that that period of the band consisted of essentially 2 albums. Although Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty are the most well know music they have probably produced there are other albums of original songs that had the same pattern of folk rock, Americana feel. One is the follow up to American Beauty with was initially titled “Skull***” which drove the record company nuts, which I guess was the point, the album in question had many more live original folk rock songs including Big RxR Blues, Bertha, Me and My Uncle. There was also Europe “72” which included Cumberland Blues, He’s Gone, Brown Eyed Woman, Jack straw, and Tennessee Jed.
Another album that has these qualities is the album up for review, which is Jerry’s first solo Album “Garcia”. I guess the story goes is that Jerry’s “old lady” MG wanted a house. Regardless of personal philosophy on material things or personal lifestyle, when your “old lady” wants something even if you are Jerry Garcia you end up complying. So, he got an advance for the album and bought a house. All of this adds up to not a good start to a meaningful album. But what came out of it are some of the most enduring compositions that Jerry ever penned, and some fun and beautiful Avant guard mixed in. The first side is straight forward folk rock performed by only Jerry and Bill Kruetzman, in fact besides for the drums Jerry played every other instrument on the album. Side one is Deal, Bird Song, Sugaree, and Loser. All of these songs were Grateful Dead live Mainstays for the remainder of their career. I love these songs in live form, but together with the perfect production sound wonderful, probably the only studio versions of Grateful Dead songs I prefer to live versions. The loser on this is perfection. This side alone is well worth the rating I give it. Then there is side 2, completely different format wise to the first side. Side 2 opens with some electronic weirdness called Late For Supper, then comes the masterpiece of the album, the next 2 “songs” are a buildup of a piano composition with Jerry’s guitar that builds into To Lay Me Down. The buildup in question Spidergawd into Eep Hour into To Lay me Down makes me cry each time I spin this, The guitar work is just so beautiful and timeless. After this sequence comes the culminating sequence of the album: An Odd Little Place and The wheel. Again the first bit of piano composition leads right into the first cords of The Wheel, My wife’s favorite Dead song. Although they try the Dead can never get the feel of this studio version of the Wheel. If the prior sequence makes me cry this sequence builds me back up and send me back into the world filled with hope. I would encourage anybody to check this. It has something for just about anybody and his guitar work is just so moving on this, just so chill and deliberate. One of my favorite pieces of studio work from Jerry, especially solo Jerry

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4.1 excellent