While both discs in this release span many genres, often mixing several in one song, they are different in overall approach. The studio disc tends to centre on Jazz, Blues, and mid-century popular music sounds. The live disc tends very much toward Country & Western or Folk music. What unifies the release is the sweet Rock and Roll centre that pervades every song on both discs.

It probably shouldn't, but the Reggae on the live disc comes as a bit of a surprise. The two longest songs in the set are both based in the jumpy rhythms of this Caribbean music. At almost thirteen minutes, Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" is a masterpiece, as is the almost twelve minute long previously unreleased track of "Dear Prudence" from the pens of Lennon and McCartney.

Garcia's interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Positively Fourth Street" (also long at nearly eleven minutes) and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (another Reggae arrangement) stand with the best recorded versions of Dylan's songs. It appears that Dylan was correct when he said, according to Wikipedia, that "Garcia was the best at covering his songs and if he wondered how to perform his own songs live, he looks at how the the Dead/Garcia did it."

Other performances with which I was especially impressed include the very folky "Catfish John," the plaintive "Senor," Irving Berlin's classic "Russian Lullaby," Clyde McPhatter's R&B standard "Without Love," and the rocking "Evangeline." Even so, there's not a bad song on these two discs. I'm sure that each listener will discover his or her favourites.

Depending on who's listening, the 26 tracks on this release may or may not be "The Very Best of Jerry Garcia" as the title suggests, however they do present a solid retrospective of Garcia's career. For collectors, for fans, for hard-core Deadheads, and for those who may just be curious about this man and his work, I recommend giving this double set a listen.

You can learn more about Jerry Garcia and his art at the Pure Jerry website. This website also includes a Pure Jerry Sampler page where you can download six songs (one disc) in mp3 format or listen to an entire set of songs culled from the Pure Jerry series in the summer of 1995. There's also a comprehensive biography of Jerry Garcia at Wikipedia. Gordon Hake has created a website In Memoriam for Jerry Garcia (1942-1995) which includes many interesting links. You can find the latest information about The Grateful Dead at the Official Site of the Grateful Dead. You'll find some limited information about this release along with clips of all the songs at the Rhino store.

The Very Best of Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Rhino Records
2006
26 tracks