Customer Reviews

Old & In the Way

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This CD brings together some really incredible musicians! Not only do you have the considerable vocal and banjo talents of Jerry Garcia but also you've got David Grisman, and Vassar Clements: on Mandolin, and Violin, respectively. Garcia, Grisman, and Clements seem to be competing with eachother on each track for who can pull off the best solo on their instrument. They don't do this intentionally I don't think but they might as well be competing because all three are awesome throughout this entire CD. I didn't know that Garcia could play such a mean banjo, he can actually stay up with Grisman and Clements, who are elite in their field anyway. Grisman is probably one of the best Mandolin players of all time. He is especially good on Wild Horses. To give you an idea of how good Clements is on the violin I'll tell you about the time I went to a bluegrass concert that featured him. Clements was playing with John McCuen and a couple of other guys. Clements must be like 70 years old and he blew every one else off the damn stage. This was recorded when he was I guess around 40 or something and he is just as incredible. The solos he comes up with are SO BEAUTIFUL. All of the tracks on this CD are great and many of them are bluegrass standards. One of the best tracks is their version of Wild Horses which makes you think the Stones should have done it in a bluegrass style in the first place. It's wonderful. This CD is great. I love it! You will probably like it alot too. Once you listen to bluegrass you can never go back.

I was first introduced to this recording in the middle 70's. At that time,the popularity of Dawg music was yet to come into its own(Grisman), I had never been a Dead fan or heard much of Vassar's haunting fiddle. I was familiar with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass boys, but not with Peter Rowan (although he would later become one of my favorites). But, I found this album to be representative of the essence of what makes Bluegrass music great. A blending of various styles and musical backgrounds with Bluegrass accoustic instrumentation and harmony. Being from upper East Tennessee, the musical style felt right with my mountain roots and the contemporary adaptation satisfied the tastes endemic to my generation. In the intervening years, becoming more of a serious Bluegrass fan and musician, I would often revisit this ecclectic recording armed with what I felt was a more refined idea of what good Bluegrass should be, expecting to be less than I remembered. My newly refined ! taste did not reveal inconsistencies as I expected, but revealed nuances that I had missed before in the musicianship, harmonies and blending of these talents. Although I would not consider this to be an archetypical Bluegrass recording, it is certainly a significant event hinting at the Second Generation re-interpretation that we have today in contemporary Bluegrass. I would highly recommend it as being worthy of inclusion in anyone's collection. This landmark will be around for a long time.

Wow! Who would have thought that the blend would be so incredible. A fantastic version of The Stone's "Wild Horses" and the New Rider's "Panama Red" are just some of the more familiar songs this album deals with. Clemens fiddle work carries the album, but all contribute to develop a delightful bluegrass mix. If you like Jerry Garcia, The New Riders of the Purple Sage, or bluegrass, you have to give this album a listen.

I first heard this album when it was released way back then courtesy of my older hippy brother. Back then I was into AC/DC, Black Sabbath etc. This blew me away......I had never heard any kind of country/bluegrass till then and I subsequently converted many of my friends. I went through three copies of it on record, mainly due to drunken parties (or rather, drunken friends at the parties...!!!) and now I have just purchased my second CD.
I love this album...I still get that chill up my backbone when I play it, even after hundreds of listens...not many albums can do that!!!

This album is Bluegrass at its peak. It's probably the most influential Bluegrass album ever, beause the jazzy, honky-tonk hillbilly style on this album (1975) is still the predominant style that you'll hear today (2002) at Bluegrass festivals. Each member of this group is a highly original and versatile musician in their own right. And, the group truly represents the evolution of Bluegrass because it has Vassar, from Bill Monroe's band in the 1940's and Pete Rowan who played with Monroe in the 1960's. Add to that Jerry Garcia and Dave Grisman, and you get an extraordinary meeting of musical minds.

I first heard this phenomenal recording on vinyl way back in nineteen hundred and seventy five. I was a wet-behind-the-ears teenager, just starting to develop my chops on bluegrass banjo. I offhandedly purchased this LP because I liked the cover art - not really knowing who any of the band members were (other than Jerry Garcia). I can still remember the chills-down-my-spine feeling I got when my stereo's turntable needle dug into that first magical groove of the opening song. From that moment on I was transfixed and transformed. Folks, this album (CD?) has it all: great singing; terrific instrumental work; and an overall feeling of "this is what bluegrass SHOULD sound like" (for my tastes, anyway). After thirty years, it sounds as fresh as it did on that day in '75. Bluegrass veterans or neophytes, buy this CD, you WILL NOT be disappointed.

I purchased this LP when it was a brand new release.

I also drove from Baltimore to Union Grove, North Carolina to catch a couple of the famous annual Fiddler's Conventions back in the mid-1970's. Yes, many folks from out West used to make the even-longer haul as well. This used to be such an event!

As great as those Conventions were, nothing matched the performances as what these guys [Jerry Garcia, Peter Rowan, Dave Grisman, Vassar Clements, etc.] concocted! Better than excellent! Is 5 1/2 Stars possible? If so, they RATE and EARN it!

Peter Rowan, as you should know, had earlier fame with Earth Opera [Alfie Finney, Home To You, The Red Sox Are Winning, etc.], Seatrain [Willin', Home To You, etc.,] as well as other accomplishments before joining Jerry Garcia [He brought along long-time friend and Super-Musician David Grisman, too] to join in this fine mix of Bluegrass musicians.

Grateful Dead and Flying Burritos Bros. fans should already know about how much Garcia and Clements were INTO Bluegrass.

As for Peter Rowan, he would go onto form The Rowans and later go Solo with tons of great Bluegrass and Americana music!

This album/CD is far superior, IMHO, to any other OLD & IN THE WAY recording.

This is one of those all-time great recordings where everything just seems to click --- and after 30 years it's still a classic. To categorize it as "bluegrass" would be too limiting, as anyone familiar with Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Peter Rowan and Vassar Clements would probably assume anyway. There's so much innovation, virtuosity, and just plain joy in this live performance that it would be hard to get tired of it no matter how many times you hear it. Of course Grisman (on mandolin) and Clements (on fiddle), in particular, are the acknowledged masters of their instruments, but Garcia is surprisingly adept on the banjo as well. Just as with his more familiar guitar playing, he may not necessarily be the most technically proficient on the instrument but somehow he always seems to have exactly the right touch. Throw in Rowan's flawless rhythm guitar, fine vocals and talented songwriting, and you have a recording for the ages.

This is one of the best Bluegrass albums of all time.

Note that this CD is shown to be unavailable new and very expensive used, HOWEVER this CD can be purchased for about $15 directly from the Grateful Dead store. dead dot net - music - jerry

This truly is a seminal bluegrass album, and ranks well above the other two recordings by this band, which are available on David Grisman's Acoustic Disc label. But the fadeout on "Land of the Navajo", while Peter Rowan is still singing, is a flaw that is hard to forgive. A more complete performance by Rowan of this vocal tour de force can be found on "Telluride Bluegrass Festival: Reflections, Vol. 1".