GarciaLive, Vol. 7, November 8th 1976 Sophie's, Palo Alto

The band is in beautiful form. Every song is dreamy.

Tracklist:Disc 1:1.) The Way You Do The Things You Do2.) Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door3.) After Midnight4.) Who Was John?5.) Mission in the Rain6.) Stir It UpDisc 2:1.) Midnight Moonlight2.) Tore Up Over You3.) Friend of the Devil4.) Don’t Let Go5.) Strange Man6.) Stop That Train7.) Ride Mighty High

I say this is a must have for anyone who enjoys this music, Grateful Dead or Jerry Garcia... I wish I can really put into words how I feel about this release... for me, this recording seems to deliver the music in an intimate, spread out setting... what I may be trying to say is much of this show is a combo of blues, folk, rock, and jazz... and Jerry and company seem to be playing in a small neighborhood bar playing American music...nothing is rushed... The "Who Was John" and Mission In The Rain are off the charts... Buy this!

Hot on the heals of Vol. 6 released back in June we now have another little gem from the JGB. Recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson in a small club in Palo Alto in late 1976, these 1/4" analog master tapes were apparently found while moving by Donna Jean Godchaux-Mackay. The sound is very good--similar to other volumes in this series--clean and open sounding with good separation between musicians, but there's a disclaimer about the sound that 's appeared on other volumes. The packaging is similar to past releases--a tri-foldout cardboard package with snap-in trays for the discs, and with a slim booklet with a nice essay on the music and a few photos.The band this time around consists of Garcia-guitar/vocals, Ron Tutt-drums, John Kahn-bass, and Keith and Donna Godchaux-piano and vocals respectively. The set list is: Disc 1--"The Way You Do The Things You Do", "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", "After Midnight", "Who Was John", "Mission In The Rain", "Stir It Up" Disc 2--"Midnight Moonlight", "Tore Up Over You", "Friend of the Devil", "Don't Let Go", "Strange Man", "Stop That Train", "Ride Mighty High".Long time fans will recognize a number of these tunes, but deep fans (like me) will still want this in order to hear another live gig from one of Garcia's "other" bands. As far as I can remember this particular gig has remained uncirculated until now. Recorded in one of the many small clubs in the Bay Area (it later changed names to the Keystone Palo Alto), this gig has that intimate sound and feel that's a large part of it's appeal. One listen to Godchaux's piano and Garcia's guitar work will tell you a lot about this gig. All in all this is largely a mellow gig, with the music flowing out of the band which gives this gig an easy, laid back identity.For fans, picking high points is pretty useless--all of us will have our own choices from this nice little gig. But classics like "The Way You Do...", "Knockin' On...", and "Mission In..." never seem to get old to my ears--and we've heard these particular tunes many times before from Garcia--but there's a reason. Besides being favorites of his to perform, they're just plain good songs. Garcia's vocals have that plaintive, care-worn feeling to them. His guitar sparkles when he solos. And the band fits both him and these songs like a well worn glove.Obviously this is for deep fans of Garcia's work outside his "main" band, and his warm vocals are welcome to the ears, and his guitar spins out a number of typically (in a good way) fine solos. And with support from long time friend/musical cohort Kahn, and drummer Ron Tutt who he's played with a number of times, they lay down a solid foundation for Garcia to do his thing on these fairly lengthy performances. Plus two members of the Dead--Keith and Donna Godchaux--Keith contributes some nice keyboard work that fits in well with both Garcia's guitar and the style of the tunes, and Donna's warm, organic female vocals add to the feel of some of these songs without the overly enthusiastic vocal problems heard on Dead releases. In a nutshell this is a nice example of what Garcia liked to do on his days off. Once again (like other releases in this series) this is a gig that makes you wish you could've been inside that small club, letting these fine performances wash over you. But at least with the discovery of these tapes we can all now, once again, hear more magic and another piece of the Garcia music puzzle. It's always nice to get a little closer to those times and Garcia's organic, warm way with some favorite tunes, backed up by a good little band of friends. There seemed to always be a certain mysteriousness to his sound when Garcia would play at length, and here, in this relaxed atmosphere, he gets a chance to really play in his acid twinkle yet organic style that just draws you into the music. A subtly nice performance all the way around.

The best JGB ever........... Ron Tutt, Keith, John Kahn, Jerry, and yes, even Donna, this band is the super-group of the 1970s. Also recommended by this same band: Don't Let Go, and Pure Jerry: Theater 1839.......... also, tons of dates at bt.etreeSome people might grouse about the tempos being slow, and they are, but they are seriously in the pocket, uncommon, especially with such long improvisations. Ron Tutt is profoundly talented, John Kahn is a rock, and Keith Godchaux just might be the most underrated musician of his time.

I’ve rarely heard a poor JGB performance from the 70s, this no different. The band is tight and Jerry’s playing and voice are outstanding. IMO Donna’s best work is with JGB, no overpowering vocals like 73 & 74 with GD.

Ooo Ooo OooWho ooo-was John? -he was a writer,He wrote the revelations.............71-78, those are Jerry's greatest years full of spunk and experimentation.

This is an interesting show. Jerry was at the top of his game during this time and it shows. In addition, the distinction between the JGB and the Dead was really evident, not just in the song selection, but in the playing and style of the solos. Really gives you a sense of the breadth Jerry Garcia had.