jerry garcia band, ‘garcia live volume eight’

the garcia estate has been slowly releasing choice jerry garcia band shows in this series, much like the dead have their dave’s picks releases. in general they both have been exposing great recordings, with a few occasional duds. this one is definitely growing on me. 1990 and 1991 are often considered the last great run of grateful dead and jgb tours, and this one catches the latter on a midwest tour in late november 1991. while this period was also a tremendous occasion for loss, with the passing of keyboardist brent mydland and promoter bill graham, the bands seemed to power on and process the grief through inspired playing.

this version of jgb was the longest running lineup by far, and they are in fine form this evening. a total of fifteen songs, only five of them are garcia/hunter compositions. the rest are covers ranging from clapton, van morrison, the band, dylan, and bruce cockburn. the keyboard/organ playing of melvin seals and the background vocals of gloria jones and jacklyn lebranch give many of the songs a significant gospel feel. a real solid show all the way through, and finishes with a ramped up classic jerry take on ‘tangled up in blue’

http://www.gratefulweb.com/articles/garcialive-volume-8-112391-review

another significant release by the estate came out a few months ago, hart valley drifters ‘folk time’.

recorded as a radio show in the bay area in 1962, it features a young jerry garcia on banjo and his good friend robert hunter on bass, along with david nelson on guitar (later with new riders of the purple sage). ken frankel on fiddle and norm van maastricht on dobro round out the lineup. the tape was rediscovered in 2008 by the former stanford student who had originally recorded it. this is three years before the formation of the grateful dead, and during this time frame jerry was very much a bluegrass artist and trying to make a name for himself in the area.

the boys here are doing their best to make a go of it, but there are a few miscues and some occasional sloppy playing. that being said, this is a really interesting glimpse of the early inspirations and playing of one of my musical heroes, and it is worth it just to hear him in this early period of his life. if you are a bluegrass fan and have any reasonable knowledge of the classics of that period, you will recognize many of the songs here.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22525-folk-time/

http://www.rollingstone.com/country/premieres/hear-jerry-garcias-early-bluegrass-band-hart-valley-drifters-w446570

nikki lane, ‘highway queen’

this is the third album for this 33 year old artist, nearly three years in the making from her breakout release ‘all or nothin’, which was produced by the black key’s dan aurbach. this one was self produced by nikki and her boyfriend jonathan tyler, and released on new west records. dubbed in some corners as the ‘first lady of outlaw country’ (which seems a bit premature to me), this album probably won’t go very far in dissuading that notion, but i also find it hard to categorize as a predominately ‘country’ genre. she is on the road about three hundred days a year, and there is a an edgier honky tonk feel to many of the cuts. she delayed recording the songs for quite a while because they didn’t feel right to her and took them back out on the road for some more work. but more importantly she is not afraid to add retro flourishes to many of the songs – doo wop vocals, seventies guitar rock, cry in your beer ballads, etc.

her voice is unique and intriguing. she won’t win any talent contests on tv, and she is not pitch perfect, but it is clear to me she has lived the songs, and her south carolina drawl is proudly on display. ten songs that are well produced, creative, and heart felt all the way through. i enjoyed this and will be keeping an eye on her.

old 97’s, ‘graveyard whistling’

11th studio album from this great texas band, this may be my favorite release of 2017 so far. the band has always rode that fine line between roadhouse rockabilly and l.a. punk, and as such they have always been on the outside looking in regarding mainstream rock, and this is no exception. in fact, it basically defines their career. i have listened to it at least a half dozen times, and i love it more after each spin. the first song (‘i don’t want to die in this town’) may be perfect, if you don’t mind a straight up, in your face high octane offering, replete with washes of twangy high reverb guitar swatches. it should be played loud.

recorded in the same venue they used for their first major label debut in 1996 – ‘too far too care’ – this is in many ways a return to their roots but with a nod to 20 years on the road. ‘good with god’ features brandi carlisle on vocals and songwriter credits. ‘jesus loves you’ is a great ditty about trying to woo a religious female at a bar, with such catchy pick up lines as ‘he’s got the whole world in his hands, i’ve got lone star in a can’. hard to argue with that.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/02/old-97s-full-session.html

nuggets volume 2: the fantastic expedition of dillard and clark

when most people think of the music of the byrds, they often think about two of the more famous alumni, roger mcguinn and david crosby. but a good argument could be made that they may have never hit the big time in the first place if it wasn’t for the singing and songwriting talents of one of the more introverted members – gene clark.

born in 1944 in missouri, gene was an early musical prodigy and eventually wandered west to the music scene in l.a. in the early sixties. after meeting mcguinn in the famous troubador club, they set out to find other like minded musicians, keen on grafting the influence of the beatles onto the local folk scene. gene wrote or co-wrote many of the byrds’ original songs on their first three albums.

eventually a management decision gave mcguinn the lead vocals on their major singles and dylan covers, and this started a chain of events that became the beginning of the demise of the initial lineup of the group. gene had a chronic fear of flying, which inhibited their touring options, and the band members were also growing jealous of the royalties he was receiving for his songwriting credits. he left the group in early 1966.

in 1968 he started a collaboration with a local bluegrass banjo legend named doug dillard. seeking a more traditional musical template that he had grown up with, they rounded out their group with bernie leadon on guitar (later with the flying burrito brothers and the eagles), bassist dave jackson and mandolinist don beck. they only made two albums, and this is the first one. it is just flawless, in my opinion. the song featured below, ‘ train leaves here this morning’, was co-written by leadon and was eventually covered by the eagles on their debut album.

his work with dillard rejuvenated gene’s creative fire but also greatly contributed to his growing drinking problem. they were rather legendary in their pre-concert preparations and were rarely as effective onstage as they were in the studio.

gene went on to make many fine solo recordings after this, and i encourage you to start with this one and explore more if you enjoy it. i have a couple i have been listening to that might find their way into another nugget entry.

tedeschi trucks band ‘live from the fox oakland’

this is quite simply one of the best bands out there today. they are captured here on tour in the most recent iteration of the group showcasing their current studio release, ‘let me get by’. recorded last year at the venerable old fox theater in oakland, it has a healthy mix of their originals plus a diverse offering of covers from artists such as clapton, dylan, beatles, miles davis, leonard cohen, santana, and others. the eleven piece band is a well oiled machine and can tackle all of the genres that derek and susan incorporate into their overall sound. accompanying the two cd set is a dvd of most of the whole show, with vignettes between songs introducing the main characters and the venue. of special note is derek and special guest alam khan dueting with derek on his gibson and alam on the sarode. i can think of no other guitarist alive today who could have pulled this off this beautifully. well worth your time.