Ladder To The Stars: Garcia Plays Dylan

Performer: Jerry Garcia
Artist: Grateful Dead
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Tributee: Bob Dylan. Personnel: Jerry Garcia; Grateful Dead. Liner Note Author: Blair Jackson. Given that Bob Dylan and the Grateful Dead were no strangers (see 1989's DYLAN & THE DEAD live album), it's not surprising that the late Jerry Garcia frequently covered the rock bard in concert, with both the Dead and other ensembles. This two-disc set collects 15 of Garcia's live takes on Dylan songs recorded at various shows between 1973 and 1995. Garcia's love of the extended jam is on full display here, with many of these renditions transforming Dylan's folk/rock classics into lengthy instrumental workouts, particularly on the positively swingin' 12-minute take on "Tangled Up in Blue" and the 17-minute-plus "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," which moves from a slow, melancholy opening to a soulful, uplifting finale.

Though he was chiefly known as the leader of the Grateful Dead, Jerry Garcia was much more than that. For many, he was the embodiment of the freewheeling artistic spirit of the 1960s. A masterly guitarist and songwriter, and a highly underrated vocalist, Garcia was a true music lover, involving himself in numerous non-Dead projects over the years, including a duo with mandolinist David Grisman, a bluegrass supergroup (Old & In The Way), and jazzy one-offs with the likes of Merl Saunders and Howard Wales. His death in 1995 robbed the world of one of its most distinctive musical voices, but happily, Garcia left a wealth of music behind for fans to treasure.

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