Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders: “Garcia Live Volume 15” (2020) CD Review

When I first was getting into the Grateful Dead, an entire new world seemed to be opening up before my ears, and I was continually excited by each new song I heard, each new concert tape I got. This was in 1985, and there was just so much music to enjoy, so many records to acquire, not just Grateful Dead official albums and bootlegs, but Jerry Garcia records too. And it was around 1987 or 1988 that I first heard of the Keystone albums, live recordings of Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders at the Keystone Berkeley. As I remember, the first two volumes were available as a double album and as two separate records, and then later there was Keystone Encores, all of which were recorded in 1973, which was also a phenomenal year for the Grateful Dead. And this music was so different from what I was hearing from the Dead, but equally exciting. While listening to those recordings, I began picturing what the venue must have looked like, felt like, smelled like. I wanted to go there. But of course by then both Keystone Berkeley and the smaller Keystone Korner no longer existed. The latest volume in the Garcia Live series, Volume 15, presents the show that Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders performed at Keystone Korner on May 21, 1971 (except the show’s encore, “Deal”).

Disc 1

The first disc contains the complete first set. The show opens with “Man-Child,” a tune written by Merl Saunders and Ed Lewis. It has an unusual opening, and becomes a jazzy and bluesy jam, a kind of low-key, relaxed and very cool number. And Merl’s organ is really the driving force behind this one, providing most of the tune’s character. It’s interesting, opening the show with an instrumental number. It shows these guys were into creating a loose atmosphere where they could just jam. And jam they do. They even get into delightfully strange, spacey territory during this piece, and you get the feeling of being deep in the second set, the way they’re playing toward the end, and yet it’s just the first song. There is some appreciative clapping at the end, but it is clearly a small crowd (I read the capacity was two hundred). What must it have been like to see Jerry Garcia play in a venue of that size? Jerry and Merl follow that with “One Kind Favor,” and now we’re into the blues. Jerry’s using that great mournful quality of his voice to great effect. And now his guitar matches that tone, that feeling, that passion. “One kind favor I ask of you/See that my grave is kept clean.” Sometimes it seems to me that Jerry was at his absolute best when singing of death, like he was in touch with a piece of the great beyond, that he was experiencing, in part, a sort of transition, like a dress rehearsal, whenever he addressed the subject. This is a song that the Grateful Dead played at the beginning of the band’s career. A bit of tuning follows, and then they ease into “I Know It’s A Sin,” another delicious blues tune, and another that the Grateful Dead played a few times in the 1960s. Merl’s organ really takes this one to some other glorious level, some place between here and there, a place where the magic can happen.

They then offer a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made To Love Her,” performing this rendition as an instrumental with some good, loose jamming. Martin Fierro sits in on saxophone, and things are getting seriously good. The sax is wailing, reaching some fantastic heights, while that great groove keeps moving. They follow that with another instrumental piece, a wonderful jam titled, appropriately enough, “Keystone Korner Jam,” featuring more nice work by Martin Fierro on saxophone, and a rhythm to keep you on your feet, and a completely joyous vibe. It is like the musicians said to each other, let’s see if we can scale the heights of happiness with this tune. And yet it also has these wonderfully relaxed moments. Everything is just flowing so easily, so well, and no one seems to be leading it. Then like six minutes in, things start to get weird, and soon we are in a great, jazzy place, with the music kind of gently swinging. From there, the jam gets wilder, and these guys are cooking. You might find yourself completely immersed in this piece of music. The first disc then wraps up with a cover of The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” with a passionate vocal performance from Jerry.

Disc 2

Martin Fierro is again sitting in on saxophone at the beginning of the second set, which opens with “Save Mother Earth,” composed by Merl Saunders and Ed Lewis. Yes, as with the first set, Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders open this one with a cool instrumental number, a groovy, jazzy tune. By the way, apparently John Kahn didn’t play with them on the May 1971 dates, so the bass sound must be coming from Merl. The energy builds during this number, and is let loose, particularly during Martin’s lead on saxophone. And even at that point, it’s like they’re only just getting started. Within this piece they find spots to breathe, some spots to drive forward with abandon, and plenty of moments to explore their surroundings. The track is twenty-five minutes, after all. The audience there reacts, knowing it has experienced something special. The band then turns to the blues again, following “Save Mother Earth” with a cover of Jimmy Rogers’ “That’s All Right,” Jerry’s voice sounding smooth at moments, but it is his guitar work that is even more expressive here. Martin remains on saxophone for this tune, delivering some great stuff, particularly during his leads, though I also love those touches he adds while Merl is leading the group.

Then we get a rarity, a cover of David Crosby’s “The Wall Song,” performed almost a year before David’s studio version was even released. Jerry Garcia plays electric guitar on the album version, as well as on David Crosby’s 1971 LP If I Could Only Remember My Name. This is an interesting song, with a vocal line that is unusual for Jerry, and partially because of that I find myself nearly mesmerized by this track. There is something seriously cool about it. And then Martin’s saxophone rises above the rhythm to spin and fly and wrap the air in spirals before gently letting things unwind. His later sax lead, for a time, seems to be following the vocal line of The Beatles’ “A Day In The Life.” The second set then concludes with “Mystery Train.” As I recall, the first version I ever heard was that included as a bonus track on the re-issue of one of the Keystone albums in the late 1980s, so I’m always going back to Jerry and Merl’s take on this great Junior Parker/Sam Phillips song, and comparing other recordings to it. And here they deliver a totally enjoyable rendition, with a fun groove featuring plenty of good work by Bill Vitt on drums during the jam. Jerry then introduces Merl Saunders, Bill Vitt and Martin Fierro. And that’s how the disc ends.

CD Track List

Disc 1

1. Man-Child
2. One Kind Favor
3. I Know It’s A Sin
4. I Was Made To Love Her
5. Keystone Korner Jam
6. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
   

Disc 2

1. Save Mother Earth
2. That’s All Right
3. The Wall Song
4. Mystery Train

Garcia Live Volume 15 was released on December 4, 2020.