Audio CD review:
Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia - Side Trips, Vol. 1: Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia Live

Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia - Side Trips, Vol. 1: Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia Live

Band: Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia Title: Side Trips, Vol. 1: Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia Live Rating: Release Date: 1999-06-01 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Free Flight 2: Space Funk 3: All for Life 4: Venutian Blues

Step Into the Musical Cloud Loose, languid, spacy, jazzy, Dead-fusionish. This, my friends, is some very cool s**t. . . cool. Very, very cool. If you're like me and you just cannot hear too many 30-minute versions of "Dark Star," then track down a copy of this somewhere. Others can attack Jerry for not being a bonafide jazz musician all they want. I don't think that was really the point here, and even if it was these guys still managed to miss the target in a fascinating way. Put it on, tune out (in a psychological or chemically enhanced way, whatever you like), and enjoy. Slowly walking down the hall. . . faster than a cannonball. . . Oh yeah. Just for fun This is improvisational jamming at it's purest form, with Jerry having some of his finest minute moments- free to pick- free to move- free to leave the realm of the ever-changing musical landscape at will. The least you expect, the greater your chances of being rewarded with some exceptionally beautiful music. Venutian Blues is a true gem with the other 3 idyllic songs running a close behind. This is cosmic jamming folks- this is Jerry at liberty with what he loves to do best- plugging away at the guitar. He was truly a beautiful man. Jerry is out of the box I have been to plenty of shows and heard a wide variety of Garcia's guitar playing and I have also been playing guitar for 21 years. I have been a Grateful Dead and Garcia Fan since the 70s. This CD has to be the best "impromtu out of the box" guitar and keyboard work I have ever listened to. Side Trips is Jerry's outlet from the day to day job of playing with the Dead. His guitar playing here has no boundries or presets because the songs are pure improvisational jams that offer a fresh new outlet for Jerry's knack for music. For Jerry, it's like a vacation from his day job. (Which for him was not a bad job to have!). I would put away any pre-existing expectations (no Eyes of the World or Franklins Tower jams here) and enjoy the exciting and new guitar offerings that Jerry provides along with a first rate keyboard partner and support band. Get this CD! You won't stop listening to it especially while driving in your car. Howard Wells Jerry gets a call from Howard and they jam. I like this album because it takes me back to that period of time--I can feel it. There are some real good moments in the music, but don't expect too much because its unrehearsed. Like it for what it is, four excellent musicians jamming. Its also nice to hear Garcia playing Jazz. So what if its not perfect, I'm just glad its there. If you have a Garcia/Dead collection, Side Trips is a great addition. Skip this trip I am not as generous with stars. It sounded as if the previous reviewer did not like this cd at all, yet they still gave it four stars. Most of the harmonic ideas Wales lays down here just sail over Jerry's head and he continues on with some rather directionless noodling. Yes, there are several minutes worth of mediocre moments on this cd, but generally speaking, it's playing like this that makes people think that Jerry was not a very good musician. For as incredible as Garcia was in the Grateful Dead in 1970, he's the exact opposite of that here. Go elsewhere if you want to hear Jerry play great. Buy this if you just want to hear Jerry play something you can make fun of. You can see a complete list of all Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia discography, or go back to the Howard Wales & Jerry Garcia tabs