Grateful Dead
"Deadicated" was pretty great... Any others?
correctly! The pickin' is incredible!
Indeed, marye and oroboros--how could I not mention the superb musicianship on this album?
(Well, I could say that one just assumes the pickin' would be great--okay, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)
"A well put together unreality is pretty hard to beat."
--Mark Twain
Hey bluejay, I just got this yesterday and I'm really loving it. I would add to all of the above that the contributions of the various musicians involved (including David Nelson and Stu Allen) are just stellar.
not exactly a tribute album, but definitely worth listening to
The Grateful Dread "live from Martha's Vineyard"
www.thegratefuldread.com
great live set if your in the northeast.
wonderful versions of the songs we love. I can't say anymore than blue.jay.way, but to echo his sentiments on the pure delight of hearing these tunes in a different way.
That said I have to add that McReynolds mandolin playing is the real star here as well.
Do yourself a favor, contact point is www.jimandjesse.com or jimandjesse@bellsouth.net to order this treat.
It will be the best $15 you have spent in some time.
Miles of smiles as you bask in this bluegrass.
I kid you not.
The Truth is realized in an instant, the act is practiced step by step.
Jim Lauderdale just played "Deal" from Jesse McReynolds' Songs of the Grateful Dead
on his WSM radio show! Very, very nice--
"A well put together unreality is pretty hard to beat."
--Mark Twain
glad this is out!
Anyone who attempts a tribute to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter, for very obvious reasons has a heck of a job in front of them, but Jesse McReynolds didn’t shy from the task—and a very good thing, too. From Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys to the music of the Grateful Dead may seem a long strange trip, but the journey was worth it.
The good news is, this album isn’t a “picking on the Dead” deal where the tunes are shoehorned into a bluegrass arrangement. Instead, Jesse McReynolds has given each a thoughtful, considered and very personal setting. There are one or two obvious tunes for a bluegrass legend to tackle, like “Ripple“ and “Deep Elem,” and they work, for sure. But Jesse has the confidence and the chops to take on the challenge of reinterpreting classics such as “Franklin’s Tower” and “Fire on the Mountain”—hardly strictly bluegrass indeed—and my personal favorite, “Standing on the Moon,” which even after repeated listenings, doesn’t fail to bring a tear to my eye.
Obvious from the first cut, “Black Muddy River,” through the last, “Day by Day,” a collaboration with Robert Hunter, this project is a labor of love for Jesse. Not only is it a present for his wife Joy, a longtime Dead fan, but an opportunity for Jesse to thank one of his biggest fans, one Jerry Garcia. And with friends like Sandy Rothman producing and Dave Nelson and Stu Allen assisting, Jesse delivers on all fronts.
Now it’s hardly my place to conjecture on what might have been in an alternate reality, but this disc does make a body wonder what Garcia might have done if he’d stuck to the banjo and bluegrass instead of going the rock’n’roll route. Since no one can answer that question, well—I’ll just be keeping this one in my listening rotation for some time to come.
"A well put together unreality is pretty hard to beat."
--Mark Twain
that should be pretty awesome!
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Locations
Got this CD last Friday and I've been listening to it ever since. Incredible musicianship! I can only say amen to all of the positive things said by others about this one!