Garcia Family Provisions made the final preview of GarciaLive Volume 20 count, sharing Jerry Garcia Band‘s 18-minute version of “Don’t Let Go” days ahead of the archival release. Out Friday, GarciaLive Volume 20: June 18th, 1982 captures the action from two stylistically distinct, early-’80s JGB concerts—at Cape Cod Coliseum in South Yarmouth, MA on June 18th, 1982 and at The Stone in San Francisco, CA on June 1st, 1981, respectively
The lengthy “Don’t Let Go” stands in stark contrast to the 16-minute “After Midnight” recorded at The Stone in 1981 and shared earlier this month. That extensive jam was full speed ahead as the rough-and-tumble quartet chugged through the J.J. Cale cover. Fast forward just over a year, and JGB looks a little different as the expanded roster includes Jerry’s Grateful Dead bandmate Bill Kreutzmann on drums, Melvin Seals on organ, Jimmy Warren on electric piano, backup vocalists Liz Stires and Julie Stafford, and Garcia’s trusty bassist John Kahn.
With this new lineup, the tone of the Jerry Garcia Band would transition from the more open-ended, late-night style indicative of 1970s performances into the R&B/soul format that would persist through the rest of Garcia’s life. On the Cape Cod Coliseum recording, however, the two approaches meld together as the Roy Hamilton sing-along devolves into a deep jazzy jam. Propelled by Kreutzmann’s drumming, with which Garcia is intimately familiar at this point, Jerry’s leads a launch into a space reminiscent of the improvisational springboard in the Dead’s “Eyes of the World”. A combination of swirling organ and twinkling electric keys from the dual attack of Melvin Seals and Jimmy Warren sets an open-minded mood for the rendition as the rest of the band members quickly find their places.
On June 18th, 1982, the new-look JGB traveled to Massachusetts’ Cape Cod for a co-headlining gig with Bob Weir‘s Bobby & The Midnites. Since the 90-minute set came up short on the GarciaLive Volume 20 2CD release, for the first time ever, Garcia Family Provisions included filler from another concert. In addition to the full 1982 performance, listeners get cuts of “Sitting in Limbo”, “After Midnight”, and “Deal” > “Tangled Up in Blue” from the JBG’s 1981 hometown show at The Stone.
Listen to Jerry Garcia Band cover “Don’t Let Go” at Cape Cod Coliseum in 1982. GarciaLive Volume 20: June 18th, 1982 is available here for pre-order on CD or digital download.
Jerry Garcia Band – “Don’t Let Go” (Jesse Stone) – 6/18/82
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