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Don't Let Go

Jerry Garcia Band - Don't Let Go Audio CD

A fair review of the Jerry Garcia Band "Don't Let Go" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Jerry Garcia Band reviews here, or go back to the Jerry Garcia Band tabs.

Band: Jerry Garcia Band
Title: Don't Let Go
Rating:

Release Date: 2001-01-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Sugaree 2: They Love Each Other 3: That's What Love Will Make You Do 4: Knockin' on Heaven's Door 5: Sitting in Limbo 6: Mission in the Rain 7: Don't Let Go 8: After Midnight 9: Strange Man 10: Tore up over You 11: I'll Take a Melody 12: Way You Do the Things You Do 13: My Sisters and Brothers 14: Lonesome and a Long Way from Home 15: Mighty High

A mellow blues groove from the JGB
As others have noted, it is a complete show from 05/21/76 (plus one song), which is not that common, and adds to its appeal. "Don't Let Go" offers a nice selection from the Jerry Garcia Band catalogue. With Donna Jean and Keith Godchaux in the band, along with John Kahn and Ron Tutt, I wasn't sure what to expect. Without an organ in the lineup, this version of the JGB is less funky and has more of a straightforward blues sound than in the configurations with Merl Saunders and Melvin Seals. The groove is mellow, perhaps a little too mellow for my liking at times, especially on disc 1, but never to the point of being snooze evoking, as several of the critics have suggested. Keith consistently provides some nice piano licks, which was not always the case in his work with the Dead, when he was MIA at times. The mellow groove and generally low decibel level also are in a range that works much better for Donna Jean's vocals (i. e. , no screeching to be heard here), including her fairly rare lead vocal on "Strange Man. " Jerry's guitar playing is solid throughout and his voice is strong though filled with tender sadness. Highly recommended, especially if you want to hear pretty good contributions from Donna Jean and Keith Godchaux--really.

Jaw-dropping
These cds are simply some of the best live improvisational music I've ever heard--and I've heard a ton. I'm going to have to vehemently disagree with the reviewers below that essentially gave this cd a shrug (or worse).

This show is RAW, and personal. The music here is intimate in the extreme. Listen to the sample of the title track--listen to the space! Not danceable?! The band creates a bluesy, sexy, rolling thunder slow-motion tidal wave groove out of NOTHING! Jerry goes so far up into the tiny notes of his guitar--I'd say that the production and mix is nearly perfect, as is to be expected from the Dead's vaults. And of course there's lots of space between tracks--this is a lightly edited live show.

If you've got a girlfriend, you REALLY need to sing the chorus of "That's what love will make you do" to her. Or your boyfriend, I guess. But it'll make your night turn out right! Also, the "After Midnight" on this should make Clapton feel bad about being so highly over-rated as a guitarist. Yup. Said it. Clapton=over-rated.

I'm really bummed to hear that this isn't in wide release anymore, because I think it's some of Jerry's (and Keith's) best work. I think these are some of their most cleanly realized solos--because the sound here is really different from the Dead. It is more solo-oriented than jam-driven. This isn't "Dark Star". It's almost. . . better.

I'm not an instant 5-star fanboy--truth be told I'm a musical snob, and there's a lot of Dead that irritates the crap out of me. But I'll say loud and clear that anyone who isn't blown away by this--the individual performances, the group dynamic--is probably better off listening to. . . I dunno. . . Creed? Celine Dion? Limp Bizkit? Insert your favorite talentless hacks here.

Okay, it's not perfect. I actually almost always skip "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," although it is powerfully beautiful. It's really well done, but it's kind of a downer. But where this show is good, it's. . . man. . . it really makes me wish they'd taped it on video! Get it, by any means necessary. And sing along where you can! This stuff is GOOOOOOOOD!!!.

Long lazy tunes
The band includes Keith and Donna Godchaux. This is a live recording of the Jerry Garcia Band from 1976. The tracks are between 7 and 16 minutes long and each CD is over 70 minutes. The sound quality is OK but not great. There is a buzz on some songs. The editing is poor. They left in long gaps between the songs with audience background noise or the band muttering in the background. There is one "bonus" track taken from a concert done 3 months later.

This CD is apparently out of print and hard to find as I am writing this.

The style of music is a lot different than the Grateful Dead, or other Jerry Garcis Band albums. The music is more blues oriented. The sound is more sparse. The songs have a lazy feel to them. This would be the type of concert where you would sit back and listen as opposed to dancing in the aisles.

Garcia's guitar playing is much different than what he does with the Dead. It is amazing that you can listen to hours of Garcia play with the Dead, and then listen to this and hear something refreshingly different. On this album, he plays slower and more deliberate blues style instead of his normal space/pschodelic style.

Keith Godchaux has some very nice piano interludes. There are also a few good interplays between Godchaux and Garcia.

A lot of people have complained about the singing of Donna Godchaux. I have never had any problems with her, but I must admit, I did turn down the sound during her vocals in the middle of Strange Man.

But the problem isn't with Donna Godchaux. The problem is with the whole band. This concert was early in the life of the group. The group did not have much time to get used to the material or get comfortable with one another. The band members are always tripping over each other. The whole concert is very sloppy. The problem just gets highlighted in the vocals. Some songs like Knocking on Heaven's Door or After Midnight are especially bad. The last song, Mighty High, was recorded 3 months later. You can hear a huge difference in the tightness of the band.

As with most of his music, almost every song is redeemed by a great guitar solo. Using a CD burner, you could pull out about 45 minutes of some very different and innovative guitar work, and a few nice piano solos to go with it.

This is a long, lazy CD. It is still very nice in spite of it's flaws. I would prefer to hear Garcia at his worst (and this isn't his worst) than most other groups. It makes great background music.

.

thank god for the ipod shuffle
Wow! Jumped back to itunes to see what CD this track was off of, and lo-and behold "Don't let go". Loaded the good ol ipod shuffle up on GD music tonight, and "mission in the rain" off of this cd popped up first. I can't for the life of me even remember when I got this album, but now I'm re-aqqanting myself with each and every track. The other reviews are on the mark, start from the beginning and see how this show progresses. Tight. Innnovative. Solid. Glad I own it, since it seems hard to track down here at Amazon!.

One of My All Time Favorites
Marvelously tight performances by all involved, beautiful jamming -- a masterpiece. If I could own only one JGB CD, this would be it.

You can see a complete list of all Jerry Garcia Band discography, or go back to the Jerry Garcia Band tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.