As a rule, compilations leave me unimpressed, but The Very Best of Jerry Garcia proves to be an exception to that rule. The song choices for this two disk set were obviously well planned and carefully chosen. The first disk contains highlights of all five of Garcia's solo studio albums, demonstrating the distinctively different characteristics of each work. Jerry's first self titled solo album is pure Jerry, with a little help from Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Jerry provided all the acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitar, piano and organ tracks himself. Featured from this album are five Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia classics, including one of my all time favorites, "Bird Song", a bitter sweet tribute to Janis Joplin. "Deal", "Sugaree", and "Loser" are all strong choices, and "The Wheel" is a perfect follow up with its upbeat and hopeful message of encouragement and redemption. From the album Compliments, Jerry covers two completely different heroes of American music. Chuck Berry's "Let it Rock", and Irving Berlin's "Russian Lullaby" are examples of Jerry's broad musical tastes. Fun, upbeat, and danceable, "Might as Well" from Reflections, is basically a Grateful Dead recording, as it features all the band members. "Mission in the Rain" and "I'll take a Melody" are both wonderful expressions of Jerry's rugged but beautiful vocals. The latter is absolutely so sweet, proving once again that sometimes less is more and simple can be incredible, especially Garcia style. The only song on this disk that I would not have included is "Rubin and Cherise". Though I like the lyrics, musically it is boring and sounds a bit too much like a typical pop song. "Rhapsody in Red" really rocks. Donna Jean Godchaux lends backing vocals on "Cats Down Under the Stars" and Melvin Seals on organ helps create a rich, full sound on "Run for the Roses". "Knockin on Heaven's Door" stays true to the dark, brooding tone of the Dylan classic, while lifting the mood a bit on the chorus with an almost reggae beat. The horns in "Without Love" along with the combination of Michael Omartian on piano and Merl Saunders on organ give this song a true blues feel.
As a Deadhead and a huge fan of live improvisational music, the 2nd disk is of course my favorite. This collection of live performances is a wonderful reflection of Jerry's versatility and diverse musical talent, as it encompasses several of his side projects outside of The Grateful Dead representing many different genres of music. The live setting is where Jerry was truly free to be creative, spontaneous and experimental, often resulting in some of the most inspiring, soulful and beautiful music ever played. I was thrilled at the inclusion of "Catfish John" from Jerry's bluegrass band, "Old and in the Way" which introduced bluegrass to the jam scene, opening the door between genres and inspiring a whole new breed of improvisational bluegrass infused with rock and jazz. The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, another short lived side project, is featured with the traditional 1920's "Deep Elem Blues", bringing to light Jerry's love of American roots music. "Ripple" is another of my all time favorite Garcia/Hunter tunes. This is a nice performance by JGAB, although I think a Garcia /Grisman version of the song would have been a better choice. From acoustic bliss to electric heaven, Dylan's "Positively Fourth Street" is evidence that no one can express Dylan like Jerry could, including Bob himself. I own the CD that this track was taken from, Garcia plays Dylan, and it is a treasure. Jerry's guitar and voice interpret Dylan's songs in perfect harmony with the spirit in which they were written. It is almost as if Dylan wrote the songs specifically for Jerry to sing and play. Switching gears again we are treated to some reggae, with JGB's version of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder they come", followed by another Garcia/Hunter tune, "Gommorah" which offers up a nice Garcia guitar solo.
In 1979, John Kahn, the bassist who was present in nearly all of Jerry's side projects, started a side project of his own while Jerry was touring with the Grateful Dead. Reconstitution was the name of the band and Jerry joined them for a few stellar performances. This jazz influenced project was an opportunity for Jerry to reconnect with old friend and keyboardist Merl Saunders. None of the performances were ever officially released until now. The Beatles "Dear Prudence" is in my opinion the jewel of this compilation. Saunders is fantastic. The saxophone and the jazzy touch give this beautiful song a spicy flavor, very tasty indeed. "Senor (Tales of Yankee power), another Dylan tune, is dark and beautiful. "Evangeline" is light and fluffy, again portraying the contrast so typical of Jerry's tendency to explore the spectrum, keeping it fresh and fascinating. The last song is a live "Deal" very different from the studio "Deal" which opened the first disk. Beginning and ending these CDs with different versions of the same song is brilliant, serving a purpose to enlighten those unfamiliar with improvisational music to something Deadheads know well. No matter how many shows you saw in a year, you never heard a song played the same way twice.
Jerry Garcia was truly a musical genius. He had a unique ability to express heartfelt emotion through both his playing and singing. His skill and inventive creativity made him truly one of the greatest musicians of all times. He was unsurpassed in the art of improvisation. He has been and continues to be a major influence on many musicians. Jerry is missed by many, but I believe his music is timeless and immortal, and will continue to inspire many for generations to come. The Very Best of Jerry Garcia strikes a perfect balance, giving fans a wide variety of live recordings which we can never get enough of, while also reminding us that Jerry was serious in the studio, and very capable of putting out masterpiece studio recordings. I enjoyed this CD immensely and I give it 5 stars!
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