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Garcia

Jerry Garcia

Initial release : January 1972

Warner Brothers BS 2582

Garcia's first solo album. Recorded almost entirely by Garcia with assistance from Bill Kreutzmann (drums) and Robert Hunter (lyrics). Six of the songs became regulars in the Grateful Dead repertoire. This album plus 6 bonus tracks was included in the All Good Things box set in 2004. A limited white vinyl edition of the album was released on Record Store Day in 2014.

Tracks

  • Deal (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter)
  • Bird Song (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter)
  • Sugaree (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter)
  • Loser (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter)
  • Late For Supper (Jerry Garcia)
  • Spidergawd (Jerry Garcia / Bill Kreutzmann / Robert Hunter)
  • Eep Hour (Jerry Garcia / Bill Kreutzmann)
  • To Lay Me Down (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter)
  • An Odd Little Place (Jerry Garcia / Bill Kreutzmann)
  • The Wheel (Jerry Garcia / Robert Hunter / Bill Kreutzmann)
Bonus tracks included on the CD version of album included in the All Good Things box set in 2004 and the subsequent individual CD release in 2005;
  • Sugaree (Alternate Take) (Garcia / Hunter)
  • Loser (Alternate Take) (Garcia / Hunter)
  • Late For Supper/Spidergawd/Eep Hour (Alternate Takes) (Garcia / Kreutzmann / Hunter)
  • The Wheel (Alternate Take #1) (Garcia / Kreutzmann / Hunter)
  • The Wheel (Alternate Take #2) (Garcia / Kreutzmann / Hunter)
  • Study For Eep Hour (Garcia / Kreutzmann)
  • Dealin' From The Bottom (Studio Jam) (Garcia / Kreutzmann)
  • Study For The Wheel (Garcia / Kreutzmann)
The bonus tracks are all previously unissued outtakes from the album recording sessions

Musicians

  • Jerry Garcia - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, pedal steel guitar, bass, piano, organ, samples, vocals
  • Bill Kreutzmann - drums
  • Robert Hunter - lyrics
Cover gives credits simply as "With Billy Kreutzmann and Robert Hunter"

Credits

  • Producer - Bob Matthews, Betty Cantor with Ramrod and Bill Kreutzmann
  • Engineer - Bob Matthews, Betty Cantor
  • Mixing - Bob Matthews, Betty Cantor, Jerry Garcia
  • Cover photo, album design - Bob Seidmann
  • Garcia photo - Herb Greene
  • Recorded at Wally Heider's Studio D, San Francisco, CA in July 1971
Notes

Garcia's first solo LP was recorded over a three week period in late Summer 1971. It was recorded entirely by Garcia except for assistance on drums from Kreutzmann.

The majority of the songs were first recorded by Garcia and Kreutzmann as simple acoustic guitar and drum tracks. Garcia then overdubbed all other parts.

This was the first studio album to be released by the Grateful Dead family for over a year, the last being the Dead's American Beauty. This is possibly why it benefits from some wonderful, new Garcia / Hunter compositions.

Garcia spoke about the LP in a contemporary interview;

I don't want anyone to think it's me being serious of anything like that. It's really me goofing around. I'm not trying to have my own career or anything like that.
Garcia spoke about this album during an interview with Rolling Stone;
I'm doing it to be completely self-indulgent musically. I'm just going on a trip. I have curiosity to see what I can do, and I've a desire to get into sixteen track and go on trips that are too weird for me to want to put anybody else I know through. And also I want to pay for this house.
It reached 35 in Billboard's album charts - in chart terms the peak of Garcia's solo career!

The singles taken from the album did not fare so well. With Sugaree / Eep Hour being the most successful reaching 94th in the charts in April 1972.

Early European release was as Garcia (The Wheel)

Related releases

Reissued in 1988 on CD by Warner Brothers CD-4003

Reissued in February 1989 on LP/CD/Cass by Grateful Dead Records CDV/GDCD/GDC 4003

Reissued in 1995 by Arista 14003

The complete Garcia album plus bonus tracks from the album recording sessions were included in the Garcia box set;

The All Good Things version of the album was subsequently released as a single CD in 2005.

Deal, Bird Song, Sugaree, Loser and The Wheel were included on;

The majority of tracks from the LP were included on a bonus interview CD which was distributed with some copies of The Very Best Of Jerry Garcia; The Wheel was included on a Warner Brothers loss leader sampler; Two singles were released in conjunction with this LP; A promotional EP in a picture sleeve was also released; A promotional release of the Sugaree / Eep Hour single was released that was identical to the commercial release except the promo had white labels.

A different European (Germany) single was released;

  • Sugaree / Deal, Jerry Garcia, 1973
Bird Song, Dead and The Wheel were included on the promotional double LP; 		Buy from amazon.com

Buy expanded CD from amazon.com

album cover

album cover

album cover

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