When I was a teen, two of the songs most discussed by me and my would-be musician friends were "Johnny Be Goode" and "Let it Rock" by Chuck Berry. To this day, they remain among my favourites. Jerry Garcia's studio version of "Let it Rock" is a powerful interpretation. While it doesn't replicate Chuck Berry, it echoes some lesser-known Chuck Berry sounds. Unlike many recordings of this song, my album cut from the 1956 Berry album of the same name is replete with Jazz and Blues references and sometimes wanders off the Rock & Roll track. I don't know whether Garcia ever heard this recording, but his interpretation takes much the same approach, enriching this song with a variety of musical references. I could have listened to this track for six or even twelve minutes and still enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the track ends at just over three minutes with a fade that sounds like the original must have been much longer. In my opinion, Garcia or his producers should have taken the song's advice and let it rock.
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."
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
it's true. Jerry was extremely eclectic in his tastes. jazz, bluegrass, folk, old-timey music...it all contributed to his unique sound.
2 - Mat Brewster
Indeed. The guy was like a living encyclopedia of music.