Jerry Garcia
The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1: Legion of Mary

(Rhino)

First Appeared in The Music Box, August 2005, Volume 12, #8

Written by John Metzger

The very concept behind the latest series of archival recordings from Jerry Garcia’s solo career is apt to have at least a few of the late guitarist’s fans up in arms. After all, there are those who feel that if one song from a particular concert is worthy of being released, then the entire show ought to be put forth into the public’s purview, if only for the sake of historical accuracy. The problem, however, is that this isn’t always technically feasible nor is it necessarily the most commercially viable strategy. In fact, if the intent is to continue to extend the reach of Garcia’s extraordinary legacy, then, perhaps, in order to achieve the widest range of appeal, only the finest and most enlightening material ought to be pieced together and issued — at least on those offerings designed for mass consumption. If done properly, it’s possible for the final product to retain a sense of continuity that mirrors the seamless ebb and flow of an individual performance, and when that happens, the result can be positively transcendent.

This vision is the motivating factor that drives The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1: Legion of Mary, which culls 14 tracks from seven different concerts and spreads them over the course of two discs, the sum total of which equates to nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes of pure bliss. Indeed, of all of Garcia’s countless side projects, his various collaborations with keyboard player Merl Saunders arguably were the most adventurous. Coming in the wake of last fall’s edition of the Pure Jerry series, which focused upon a monumental show held in September 1974 at Keystone Berkeley, perhaps this era of his career will finally get its due. Although the group occasionally experimented with original compositions — Saunders and saxophonist Martin Fierro both contributed to its repertoire — the bulk of its canon was drawn from across a broad spectrum of music history. It wasn’t unusual for songs rooted in the blues (Hank Ballard’s Tore Up Over You) to stand next to Motown classics (Smokey Robinson’s I Second That Emotion), folk tunes (Norman Blake’s Last Train from Poor Valley), and early rock ‘n’ roll chestnuts (Chuck Berry’s Let It Rock).

Nevertheless, The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1: Legion of Mary isn’t well-suited to everyone’s tastes. For starters, there are some strange recording anomalies — most notably, several unplanned bursts of feedback that occasionally pierce the otherwise superb performance. In addition, those with attention-deficit disorder might struggle with the fact that all but three of the selections on the set push — some would say meander — far beyond the 10-minute mark. There’s also the unfortunate decision by Fierro to let loose a flurry of brief, but jarringly discordant squawks in the midst of one of I Second That Emotion’s mind-bending jams — though this is a rare example of a bad artistic decision. Regardless, those seeking concision and absolute perfection aren’t going to find it here. The reason for this, of course, is that, at its heart, Garcia & Saunders, which later adopted the name Legion of Mary, was a wild and wooly bar band crossed with an audacious jazz-fusion outfit. Consequently, each tune it touched blossomed into an open-ended jam session in which the musicians — Garcia, Saunders, Fierro, bass player John Kahn, and drummer Ron Tutt — carried on a wordless conversation that shaped and reshaped the material at hand. Like a well-oiled machine, the collective comfortably slid into the swinging strains of Jesse Winchester’s That’s the Touch I Like as well as the deep, funk-driven groove of Since I Lost My Baby, another of Legion of Mary’s delightfully twisted interpretations of a Robinson-penned song. Just as easily, however, it ventured skyward through the sunshine-dappled lilt of Allen Toussaint’s I’ll Take a Melody, settled into the smoldering blues of Neighbor, Neighbor, and embraced the joyous glee of the Holland/Dozier/Holland-crafted gem How Sweet It Is to Be Loved by You. The pinnacle of The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 1: Legion of Mary, however, comes when the ensemble blows apart Ray Charles’ Talkin’ ’Bout You and transforms it into a hip-shaking tour-de-force that hints at Bobby "Blue" Bland’s frenetic hit Turn on Your Lovelight. It’s here that the collective delivers its material with such a supercharged and vibrant sense of urgency that it will make fans out of the most improvisation-averse within the general populace. Simply put, this track is the epitome of Legion of Mary; it’s quintessential Garcia; and it beautifully illustrates precisely how powerful music can be.

Of Further Interest...

Jerry Garcia Band - The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2: Let It Rock

Elvis Presley - On Stage: Legacy Edition

Merl Saunders - Struggling Man

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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2005 The Music Box