I want to say to my sisters and my brothers

Keep the faith

When the storm flies and the wind blows

Go on at a steady pace…

For your listening pleasure, here’s a downloadable set of slow Jerry Garcia Band tunes from 1976 (a peak period for JGB), compiled from some of my favorite shows of that year.

I’ve wanted to put together such a compilation for a while. I was finally inspired to take the plunge by another collection (titled: Only Passing Through) recently sent my way and comprised of awesome JGB tunes from summer of 1977.

My 1976 compilation is a labor of love, built to share with like-minded folks, and to celebrate some of the slow songs from this time in the band’s history that I happen to think are examples of superlative playing by an ensemble of truly fine musicians. Wish I’d been at the Keystone just once.

That’s all you need to know. I hope you enjoy the tunes:

Jerry Garcia Band - Keep the Faith [Updated to fix song order and info]

If you’d like to read more of my thoughts around this process, here’s what I have for you:

Even though the line-up from late 1975 until August ‘77 was the same (Garcia, Kahn, Keith & Donna, and Ron Tutt), I prefer the '76 sound. I can hear a difference, the same way some can hear a difference between '73 and '74 Dead. I think the JGB “found” in '76 what they were looking for in the songs they introduced in '75 (like “Catfish John”). It’s a spirituality that they managed to find and coax out of the tunes as their playing of them matured. You can hear it clearly in the 75 to 76 difference between Catfish, for example. 1976 was the year of fully realized soufulness. (To some this might be like comparing the difference between two years of a top-class Bordeaux. Hey, both are still Bordeaux wines. Forgive me. I hear the difference.)

I typically prefer '76 to the also-excellent '77 (with some exceptions), but there appear to be more consistently well-recorded '77 JGB shows available. That made putting together this compilation, with an even sound level throughout, a bit of a challenge.

4-3-76 Lisner Auditorium, Washington, D.C. One of the best JGB shows ever played. Ever. If there was a good board of the show (compared to the great but less pristine AUD in circulation), I wouldn’t even bother with this compilation. I’d simply point you to the entire show. Job done. Donna sounds amazing on Catfish John. There, I said it. But she does. (I think JGB was kinder to Donna, overall.)

Slow songs played in 1976 (in particular) showcase just why Ron Tutt was one of the greatest drummers to play with Jerry. Tutt keeps perfect time with this slow stuff, and does it with a masterful spareness that makes all the difference.

Meditative. Serene. Zen. Peak Jerry.

If you listen to some of the later, post-Tutt JGB (all perfectly good; some of it amazing) you will hear, for example, double time tapped out on the hi-hat. This external measure helps to keep time in a way that the '76 ensemble pulled off internally. Without that tempo busy-ness, and without a sort of “forced velocity” the '76 slow tunes really became terribly spare in a way that made them oh so pure. Just lovely.

That’s what I’m trying to capture with this list. To play this well this slowly deserves our admiration. Just saying.

Besides, it’s relaxing as all get out to listen to this playing. Things take just as long as is required to get done.

My first version of such a playlist was called The Gospel According to Jerry Garcia and had, as its foundation, “Who Was John” and “My Brothers & Sisters.” But my benchmark of any good JGB show is “Catfish John” - so, while this is indeed about gospel, it is also more than just gospel. It’s the gospel according to Jerry, John, Keith, Donna, and Ronn.

It’s also about “Sitting in Limbo” - a perfect Garcia Band song.

It’s also about Run Tutt singing backup harmony as he plays behind the drums.

The “They Love Each Other” included here was played slower than other good '76 versions, so I included it. Coulda included “Friend of the Devil” but, again, just a hair too fast. Any song that developed its own external sense of velocity to pull it through … would not make the cut.

I could’ve included “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” “Stir It Up,” and “Stop That Train” in a compilation such as this, but (heresy alert) honestly I don’t think JGB elevated those old classics in a way that would match what I did include. (That said, see bonus list below.)

The tunes included here each have something about them (a roll by Keith on the piano, a fill by Tutt on drums, white space, and so on) that lift them above the ordinary. These are so beautiful I would want to be remembered by them. What a legacy.

Instead of me pointing out my favorite parts to each tune, find your own in them. You’ll also find plenty of warts.

Creating such a compilation is folly. I respect the guy who created the Summer '77 Only Passing Through. He nailed it. I thought it would be easy to do a '76 treatment but it was not. I don’t know if I nailed it, but I’m happy with this, happy with the blend of SBD and AUD to give a sense of being there.

I had to edit myself down. If you’re interested, check out these four bonus tunes. They’re meant to be placed in front of the main playlist, above. That first “Sitting in Limbo” (and the Dylan tune) are of course with Nicky Hopkins on piano, late '75, and Tutt on drums. Listen to what Hopkins plays during Limbo. When you hear something like that as you try to put together a short, tight compilation, the effort gets away from you. Slips through your fingers. That is why, I think, producers issue bonus discs. Here’s mine.

Hope you enjoy!

ps. all comprised of JGB show recordings that appear to be publicly available without any hassle. Just for entertainment here.

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Playlist, in order:

Don’t Let Go (76-7-9 Keystone)

Catfish John (76-2-21 LaPaloma Late Show)

They Love Each Other (76-7-9 Keystone)

Sitting in Limbo (76-2-14 Keystone)

Who Was John (76-5-20 Keystone)

Moonlight Mile (76-3-6 Moore’s Egyptian Theatre, Seattle)

My Brothers & Sisters (76-9-20 Astor Theatre, PA)

Bonus:

Sitting in Limbo (75-11-08 Keystone)

Positively 4th Street (75-11-29 Keystone)

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (76-1-28 Keystone)

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (76-2-14 Keystone)