Bob Weir/Rob Wasserman
Live

I've been waiting a long time for Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman to release an album. Tours were infrequent and more often than not seemed to skip wherever I happened to be living. Tapes are still difficult to come by, and many are horrendous audience recordings that can really test your patience in trying to hear the music behind the hiss and crowd noise. Therefore, I was particularly excited about this release, which more than lived up to my expectations.

This disc is as full as it can possibly be, filled with 77 minutes of incredible music, most of which was pulled from performances in the Fall of 1988. It's hard to believe that was the first time that these two talented musicians played together, given how well their sound meshed right from the start.

Weir is a tremendously underrated guitar player whose unique lead rhythm style comes to life on these duet performances. Wasserman also has a style that is uniquely his, and together they create an incredibly rich, dynamic sound.

The Winners, a Rudyard Kipling poem that Weir set to music, rides Wasserman's bass line, which at times sounds like more than one person is performing. Weir gives Looks Like Rain a passionate vocal treatment, and his guitar locks with Wasserman's bass to create a subtle undercurrent to the song. It drifts almost effortlessly into a superb rendition of Little Feat's Easy to Slip, which contains an extended beautiful jam, fitting of this classic song.

Eternity, a song Weir and Wasserman wrote with Willie Dixon, is pulled from a 1992 performance, but fits nicely on this package. Wasserman's bass drives the jazzy central jam, and Weir's acoustic guitar playing adds a gentle counterpoint during the verses.

There are many other outstanding performances here as well, including tender renditions of This Time Forever and Shade of Grey. This disc was long overdue. Hopefully Ratdog, Weir and Wasserman's latest venture, won't wait quite as long to record.

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