This Grammy-nominated disc heralds the origins of the highly acclaimed acoustic duo of
Jerry Garcia
(guitar/vocals) and
David "Dawg" Grisman
(mandolin). They had been chums for years by the time they began their direct partnership in earnest on December 7, 1990, with a nine-song set at
the Sweetwater
in Mill Valley, CA. Over half of that material would be reworked the following spring -- for inclusion on this disc -- at
Grisman
's newly appointed, plush, and well-lit
Dawg Studios
. Along with
David Grisman Quintet
members
Jim Kerwin
(bass) and
Joe Craven
(percussion/fiddle),
Garcia
and
revive a few familiar tunes covering every dimension of popular music, ranging from the
blues
(
"The Thrill Is Gone"
) to
folk-rock
"Friend of the Devil"
), as well as
pop
music
standards
such as
Irving Berlin
's
"Russian Lullaby"
-- which
had previously covered on his 1974
Garcia (Compliments)
album -- and
Hoagy Carmichael
"Rockin' Chair."
They also examined the origins of authentic
traditional folk
"Walkin' Boss"
/
"Two Soldiers"
). Additionally, the pair collaborated on the original instrumental
"Grateful Dawg,"
which coalesces the distinct styles of
's "Dawg Music" with
Grateful Dead
intonations. The results are categorically brilliant and undoubtedly helped usher in the
contemporary bluegrass
progressive bluegrass
movements.
's sonically perfected studio coupled with his decades of hands-on engineering and producing expertise helped immensely in capturing and accurately reproducing their unaffected acoustic intimacy. Nowhere is this more evident than the 16-plus minute
"Arabia"
-- which would become a showstopper once they hit the road in the early '90s. The sound quite literally envelopes the listener, who autonomically becomes drawn into the track as it twists and slithers through several different movements -- including the central theme, credited in the liner notes as being based on the
traditional
Cuban melody
"Hasta Siempre."
All dimensions of "unplugged" enthusiasts who have not already made
Jerry Garcia/David Grisman
a top priority are strongly encouraged to do so. ~ Lindsay Planer