Customer Reviews

Grateful Dawg

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this CD by accident while I was searching around the same section for the Grateful Dead's newly released Night Fall of Diamonds.(Yes, I'm a admitted "Deadhead") I have for sometime enjoyed the CD releases of the team up of mandolin player David "Dawg" Grisman and the late guitar legend Jerry Garcia. These releases are quite different from Garcia's work with the Dead and harken back to the folk roots that he started with.If you have any interest in folk, blues or bluegrass you will enjoy this wide ranging overview of the Garcia-Grisman collaboration.My personal favorites from this disc include the beautiful "Sittin Here in Limbo",or the somber" Off to the Sea Once More" and the very funny "Jenny Jenkins". Yes, if you have their other albums, there is much duplication. But this does make a wonderful sampler that will keep your toes tapping as it plays on the car stereo.

"Grateful Dawg" is a hoot and a holler. It's the soundtrack to the documentary movie of the same name. The movie is the musical love story of two hairy guys making lots of music, and the soundtrack is lots of music. It clocks in at almost 76 minutes, (just about 4 minutes shorter than the movie,) and that alone gives this CD an extra star. (Corporate music take note.) The movie and soundtrack follow Grisman and Garcia's relationship from 1964 to Garcia's death, and it's a privilege to listen to these guys get better and better. I've never been a big fan of the Dead, too much noodling and doodling, but Garcia away from the band is another story all together. Grisman I've always liked, and his perfection mixes well with Garcia's more relaxed approach. Oddly enough, years of cigarettes and substance abuse seemed to have improved Garcia's voice. The early recordings have him straining way outside his range while the later stuff has him in a range all his own. That distinctive Garcia voice. We only get to hear Grisman on "Jenny Jenkins," a tongue-twisting children's song, which is a shame because he can sing. It's the picking, though, that has these guys joined at the hip. This is the sound of twenty nimble fingers, and the concentration and joy of making music comes through loud and clear. They're backed by Joe Craven (percussion and violin,) and Jim Kerwin (bass,) on the later stuff, but even though Grisman and Garcia are out front the playing is ensemble. We also get a taste of Bill Monroe, Peter Rowan, Vassar Clements, and Ewan MacColl. I've heard it said that jazz, in its complexity, is America's answer to European classical music, but when you hear the chamber music of "Grateful Dawg," it's clear that jazz isn't the only answer, and I think this stuff is much more fun.

I enjoy the collaborations between Grisman and Garcia way too much to even attempt to be objective. This soundtrack contains some previously released material as well as live versions of some of the tunes that were recorded in Grisman's basement studio in the 90s and released on their collections on Acoustic Disc. If you own the David & Jerry catalogue, you may be put off by the duplicity but then again, maybe not. Can you really have too much of this wonderful stuff? This CD is a perfect intro to the work of these acoustic masters just sharing the joy.

Two of the hairiest men in music play some damn fine acoustic music on this chronologically diverse soundtrack to the Grateful Dawg DVD. Garcia's acoustic guitar and Dave Grisman's mandolin bob and swerve, twirl and dance and Garcia gets out his banjo for a couple of tunes as well. Some of the vocal tunes are sung by other artists such as Ewan McColl, but most are sung by Jerry with some occasional help from Dave. Recorded live and in the studio, and from various times from their collaborations including Old And In The Way, this is a nice compilation but it largely ignores their more jazzy material and sticks to their folk, country and bluegrass recordings. I would have liked some more of the jazz(y) material, Arabia being the one exception, can't please everybody. However, both musicians make a fine accounting of themselves in every setting despite Jerry's somewhat creaky voice on some of the live material from the early 90s.

If you love Jerry Garcia, you will not be disappointed with "Grateful Dawg" featuring Jerry Garcia and David Grisman! This album combines acoustic bluegrass with a jazz style that is mellow and toe-tapping at the same time.

I purchased the "Grateful Dawg" CD for my lovin' hubby's birthday last spring. He was thrilled to get it and listened to it right away. His comments have included that it is probably one of the best presents I have ever given him in our 20+ years of marriage.

He now keeps the CD in his car and listens to it almost every day! He saw Jerry Garcia and the Dead several times during his college years plus he has all the Dead albums. Add in a love for bluegrass music to the mix and this album is perfect for the Garcia fan who appreciates his style of musical genius and great talent.

If you likes The Grateful Dead and if you like bluegrass, then this is something you have to have.

Just to correct a previous submission,Grisman and Garcia had not twenty but nineteen fingers between them. Garcia's lost the middle finger of his right hand to a brother with an axe. Perhaps that is why the melody was always so bittersweet.

This is the soundtrack to the documentary that came out a few years ago. These two very hairy guys play really well off each other, none of the noodling you get with The Dead. However, due to my own personal taste, I didn't take to this album because it leans more toward folk & bluegrass rather than jazz, rock or blues. Much of it is public domain material along with a cover of Friend of the Devil (is it still considered a cover when they do a Dead song?).