GarciaLive Vol. 2: August 5th, 1990 - Greek Theatre

This Summer 1990 show may be even better than Volume One. With the addition of singers Gloria Jones and Jaclyn Labranch, Garcia's voice blends with Jones and Labranch into something quite nice when they're together. But overall, Garcia's vocals are some of his better efforts-strong and clean. A few highlights: Just listen to the first track, "How Sweet It Is...", and you'll hear what I mean about the vocals. Garcia sings out front and Jones and Labranch join in on the chorus. And listen to Garcia's guitar. His molten notes just get fired out in cleanly picked succession. And Melvin Seals' organ is the perfect foil for Garcia. But then the entire set is like that. This volume floats between 4 and 5 "stars", but is closer to 5 "stars".Dylan's "Forever Young" is taken at a perfect, slow pace, which lets the lyrics shine though. Garcia's "Run For The Roses", with the additional vocalists contributing in the background is tight and fine. And as usual Garcia gets off another great solo. But check out "Tears Of Rage" and "Deal"--two more great versions from this concert--what a way to spend a Sunday afternoon! Garcia (especially) and the band really give these two tunes a fine workout. These two versions will put a smile on your face. Even early on in this set, there's something almost magical about the performances here. It's obvious that Garcia is full of energy--both vocally and instrumentally. And his band are with him every step of the way.Discs Two starts off with "Midnight Moonlight", featuring banjo wiz Bela Fleck. This Peter Rowan tune harks back to earlier country/folk days. But Jones and Labranch give it a bit more of a contemporary feel. Seals organ fills are just right--never overpowering the song, yet adding depth to the sound. Garcia's solo is one of the best here--full of that Garcia/country sound he pulls off so well. Fleck is again featured on Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come", a tune Garcia has played countless times in the various configurations of his bands. The juxtaposition of the tune's melody and Fleck's banjo make for a different listening experience. One of the highlights has to be "And It Stoned Me". Garcia keeps to the well known melody and tempo, but his vocal is beautiful. His relaxed vocal is just right for this song. "Evangeline" is an uptempo countryish tune, complete with Garcia's version of rockabilly guitar. This is another highlight from this set. The concert ends with Dylan's "Tangled Up In Blue". Once again the entire band (Garcia, Seals, Jones, Labranch, John Kahn-bass, and David Kemper-drums) shine on this great vehicle for Garcia. His vocal is yet another fine effort. But the real highlight is his guitar solo--note after soaring note--and he doesn't let up until he feels like it. And with the band falling in behind him, this is another great track.If this is the kind of release we can expect in the future--I can hardly wait. If you're a fan you've already purchased this. If you're not familiar with Garcia's work outside The Dead, this is a fine example of his talents at this later stage of his career. For those who said that Garcia's playing and singing was becoming lazy or repetitive, this will put paid to those thoughts. Yes, some of the tunes are familiar from past Garcia performances, but the energy he and the band throw off, even on the more familiar tunes, is Garcia close to his best. The 6 page booklet has a color photo of Garcia and Fleck playing together, and another great shot of the entire band on stage, plus the usual band/track info. Check it out and let the music do it's magic.

Let me first confess that I am a big fan of this band line-up. This band covered a bunch of songs from many different musical genres and traditions but made them new and interesting. Jerry's playing is inventive and always interesting without the self-indulgent excess that sometimes marred the Grateful Dead in this period and Jerry plays straight ahead guitar without the meandering midi-stuff that sometimes was distracting in the GD shows. This band has SOUL. This band could do rock, soul, folk, gospel, reggae and, yes, Grateful Dead staples with an integrity that eluded and still eludes most bands. This is real music folks. Jerry's voice was perfect for these tunes and the emotion, when appropriate, he brings to the music is very palpable. You don't need to be a Dead fan to love this band. Mr. Garcia and Mr. Kahn were walking music encyclopedias and they loved arranging some beautiful songs-both old and new for their performance style. Jerry played banjo early on in his career and returned to it a couple of times along the way so it is appropriate that Bela Fleck would open for his band that day and also sit in with them. This recording is warm and detailed-capturing a wonderful show on a wonderful day. If you are hesitant to take a chance on this cd-change your mind and give it a shot-I don't know how you could be disappointed if these tunes interest you. See what Jerry could do with them on a good afternoon with willing co-conspirators.

As a product this release is 5 stars - nice package, nice booklet, nicely printed CDs. The setlist is 5 stars. The music itself is 4 ish stars. If you're looking at this to begin with there's a 99% chance you're already a fan of the Dead, JGB (or possibly Bela Fleck). Which means you probably know all about the 1990 run of JGB shows, who was in the band, and why you should care. As is generally true of the era Jerry's playing is extremely fluid and his singing fairly weak though that lends itself to some of these selections. Given the type of songs here and their intentional treatment...the overall vibe is laid back, a little maybe lotta reggae, chilling and maxing. You get Dead tunes, Band tunes, Holland-Dozier via JT tunes, Dylan, Peter Tosh, Jimmy Cliff, Van Morrison, and more. The core band is JGB 85-95: Jerry, Seals, Kahn, Kemper, with Jaclyn and Gloria on vocals and Bela Fleck for the second set. This is supremely mellow but the weariness in Jerry's voice that comes through at certain points, particularly relative to his often strong voice a few months earlier on the Dead Spring Tour is distracting and sometimes a bit depressing, but that's what you get with a snapshot of an epic musician in this context. Still very highly recommended for those who know what they're getting. Get him to the Greek...!

Well, maybe it's partly knowing this was the last year he sounded great. He sounds like he was really having a good time. As usual with his best shows it was from the heart. He put together another great band for these songs. I miss Jerry . I'm 55 and listen to Jerry more than anyone else. I just never get tired of JGB and The Gratedul Dead. Thanks for all the good times Jerry and company.

OK, for those of you familiar with the two previous recordings  Jerry Garcia Band  & How Sweet It Is , it will come as no surprise when I say that this is one hell of a concert, as it's the same line up. The band consists of Jerry with the ever present John Khan on bass with David Kemper on the drummer's stool with Melvin Seals on keyboards. In addition Jaclyn Labranch & Gloria Jones provide sweet backing vocals.Track listing is:CD1How Sweet It IsStop That TrainForever YoungRun For The RosesThat's What Love Will Make You DoMy Sisters & BrothersTears Of RageDealCD2Midnight Moonlight*The Harder They Come*And It Stones MeWaiting For A MiracleEvangelineThinkThat Lucky Old SunTangled Up In Blue*Features Bella FleckThe recording quality sounds excellent to me with many highlights, such as the rousing Deal to close the first set. Great to hear Peter Rowan's lovely song Midnight Moonlight, especially as it is one of the tracks with the addition of Bella Flack on banjo, I also love the version of Van's "Stone Me".The afternoon of 5th August 1990 saw Jerry's band in a relaxed mood (weren't they always?!) firing on all cylinders, a very worthy and excellent addition as Vol 2 to this new series.Packaging follows the first, a digipak with a booklet, little information but a couple of photos. The pre-order price was under a tenner, bargain or what - just buy and enjoy! Jerry Garcia BandHow Sweet It Is

Excellent service and my thanks for a geat album. Very happy.

Die zweite Folge der Serie "Garcia Live" präsentiert ein Konzert der 'Jerry Garcia Band' - Recorded Live At The Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA, August 5th. 1990. Ein wahrlich beeindruckendes sowie legendäres Konzert. 2-CDs im Digipak und ein 8-seitiges Booklet. Die Soundqualität ist ausgezeichnet.Die Besetzung der 'Jerry Garcia Band' bei diesem Konzert:- Jerry Garcia: vocals, guitar- Gloria Jones: vocals- John Kahn: bass- David Kemper: drums- Jaclyn Labranch: vocals- Melvin Seals: organ- Bela Fleck: banjo (CD 2 / Song 1+2)Setlist des Konzertes:CD 1:1. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) (Holland/Dozier/Holland) [7:33]2. Stop That Train (Peter Tosh) [6:47)3. Forever Young (Bob Dylan) [7:20]4. Run For The Roses (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter) [5:50]5. That's What Love Will Make You Do (H. Thigpen/E. Marion) [8:06]6. My Sisters And Brothers (Charles Johnson) [4:15]7. Tears Of Rage (Richard Manuel/Bob Dylan) [8:16]8. Deal (Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter) [8:34]CD 2:1. Midnight Moonlight (Peter Rowan) [7:26] (feat. Bela Fleck)2. The Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff) [10:46] (feat. Bela Fleck)3. And It Stoned Me (Van Morrison) [6:21]4. Waiting For A Miracle (Bruce Cockburn) [6:43]5. Evangeline (Louis Perez/David Hidalgo) [4:22]6. Think (Jimmy McCracklin/Don Robey) [7:01]7. That Lucky Old Sun (Haven Gillespie/Beasley Smith) [8:22]8. Tangled Up In Blue (Bob Dylan) [11:19]Fazit: Ein faszinierendes Konzert = Höchste Empfehlungsstufe![Reinhard Busse]

Glücklicherweise ohne Synthie-Gefiepse stellt sich diese Aufnahme aus dem Greek Theatre als eine reife Frucht heraus, die da gepflückt wurde. Interessant der Banjo-Spieler Bela Fleck, der einen ganz eigenen Konzert-Auftakt als Gast ermöglicht (Midnight Moonlight, The harder they come). Gospelsängerinnen und eine fette Orgel lassen die altersmüde Stimme von Jerry Garcia sehr authentisch erscheinen. Herausragende Gitarre - Moment ich höre noch weiter...

Neither Vol 2 or 3 lives up to my expectations from Vol 1. I was disappointed. To be fair, I had not played them more than once. The "Pure Jerry" series is very good, but quite expensive, with Warner Theater being my favorite, but doesn't have Martin Fiero playing; I believe he does in one of the other 8 in that series. Check the year to find which one does, as I don't recall.