GarciaLive Vol. 3: December 14-15th, 1974 - Northwest Tour

From the opening track, an 18-minute Boogie on Reggae Woman, through all three discs, this music has a laid-back, jammed-out, jazzy feel that is a welcome addition to any JGB collection.The jams are the real stand-out here, with all tracks but two clocking in over 10 minutes. Jerry's vocals are crisp and delightful, and his guitar-work is just gorgeous. The band is fluid, patient, and deftly balances head-bobbing jazz with spacey jamming. The sound quality is excellent. Bonus: the booklet and cd cover art are very cool.My only two (minor) qualms are that Saunders' vocals are a bit jarring and rough for this sweet, luxurious music (but he sings on only a few tracks). Also, the one repeated track (the sleepy Night They Drove Old Dixie Down) happens to be my least favorite.But those aren't enough for me to rate this anything less than 5-stars.

I'm an old Deadhead so this was a must for me. I love the jams with the JGB, LOM, Grateful Dead, Acoustic etc. This collection is really good, the music is really smooth and laid back. Jerry's lead is amazing, the saxophone player hits all the right notes. I really enjoyed this collection from the LOM and hope to see more be released. They played 60 shows together so I'm sure at some point we will get some more. Sure bet for any Deadhead.

Got #onthebusin87. West Coast shows... saw my share. Wished I could have been there in the early 70's to catch Legion of Mary. JGB is one thing, top notch, for sure. But this.... this is different.So, so good.

Love the music great customer service. Thanks!!!

This is a great series, and I am glad that we are finally getting this shows in a quality format. I have certainly enjoyed this purchase. I wish for more Jerry and a somewhat different range of material, but this was something a bit different and still excellent. Keep the surprises coming! Loved it!

Its a good CD

At this point if you're reading this you're probably already familiar with Garcia/Legion of Mary and for fans of Garcia and his fine band this will be another great set to add to your library. The sound is uniformly very good, and the packaging is similar to other sets in this series. The 10 page booklet has a quote from Robert Hunter related to the Grateful Dead going on hiatus in '74, and an essay on Garcia and the music from the period. There's a few b&w photos of the three soloists plus Garcia's long time friend John Kahn. Even the graphics on the discs are cool. This is one of those packages where visually everything just seems to fit just right with the music.Wow. Three sets from two consecutive nights in '74. The first disc is from the Dec. 14th performance at the Paramount Theatre in Portland, Oregon. Disc Two is the first set from the 15th and the third disc is set two from the 15th, from the Emu Ballroom in Portland. The band is made up of the usual suspects--Garcia-vocals/guitar, Merl Saunders-keyboards/vocals, Ron Tutt-drums, long time friend and band-mate John Kahn-bass, and Martin Fierro-sax/flute. All have played with Garcia in various incarnations over the years, and all are very familiar with his style of playing--which helps immensely when the band begins to stretch out songs well beyond the originals.In a nutshell, if you want to hear what this band and this volume is all about, just listen to the first three tracks. Wonder's "Boogie On Reggae Woman" (with Saunders' gruff vocals), The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" (the first version is taken at a slightly slower pace than the original, the Dec. 15th version is closer to The Band's original), and that familiar jazz tune (notably on Davis' "Miles Smiles" album) "Freedom Jazz Dance", by the great Eddie Harris (with Fierro's jazzy/Harris-like sax work). All three songs are long to very long (8-18 minutes), giving the band (especially Garcia's liquid guitar tone) a chance to spread out and explore the music both individually and as a unit. Its especially great to hear Garcia sometimes playing closer to a jazz style than he usually did during this period, plus his use of the wah-wah pedal.These are three vastly different styles of music--all given a new sound from Garcia and friends. It's always amazing how Garcia was able to take different genres of music and stamp his own sound and feel to them. Each song has its own identity, yet with Garcia's sometimes weary yet inspired sounding vocals and his guitar snaking in and out of the melodies--they became his songs. But lets not forget the other soloists--both Saunders and Fierro take their turns out front--either soloing or trading licks with Garcia. All three soloists push each other in directions sometimes out of their individual styles. The result is some good sounding music that's morphed and been stretched by the band--always a good thing with players like these.Also included are familiar tunes like "Mystery Train", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", "I Second That Emotion", and "Roadrunner". Again, these songs are drawn out with some great solos from Garcia, Fierro, and Saunders. And with Tutt and Kahn keeping everything grounded but moving along, these two sets will do it for Garcia/LoM fans. Mention should also be made of Clark/McGuinn's (The Byrds) "Its No Use", where Garcia and the band step close to the blues. Garcia (especially) lays out some flowing, sinewy solos while the band lays down a bluesy foundation. This long (13+ minutes) version is another good vehicle for the band to stretch out and play. I also have to say something about "Valdez In The Country", by Donny Hathaway. This is a different trip entirely. Fierro's sax work is close to late 50's/early60's soul-jazz. And listen to the entire band--you wouldn't know who they were, playing in a smooth-jazz style--until Garcia comes in with a typically sparkling, winding solo. Talk about stretching into other genres. This is another long, yet very cool jam from everyone in the band. Dig it.Obviously I'm preaching to the choir here, so enough is enough. This is another good set of previously unheard concerts from (I feel) one of the prime periods for Garcia's playing. Legion of Mary as a band didn't last all that long. By the Fall of '75 they had disbanded after playing about 60 shows, so anything from this particular band is a keeper. Hot on the heels of The Dead's oh-so-nice "Sunshine Daydream" set (and if you're a Deadhead and haven't heard this set you need to), this new LoM set too is worth owning. So much great music so little time.

Awesome recording of a rare show! Very reasonably priced.