Run for the roses
Like most of the Grateful Dead studio albums of the late 70's - early 80's, this Garcia solo effort suffers from overproduction. This is a shame since it does feature some excellent songs. My CD also includes 6 bonus tracks: 1) Fennario 2) Alabama Getaway 3) Tangled Up In Blue 4)Simple Twist Of Fate 5) Dear Prudence 6) Valerie (Alternate Mix). So I am going to comment on those tunes as well.
For me "Run For The Roses" and "Alabama Getaway" are the highlights here. They are played with energy and are catchy enough to work in a studio setting. I like the bluesy "Valerie" and the two Beatles' covers - "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Dear Prudence" are decent efforts. But most of the rest of the album is a disappointment. "Fennario", more commonly known as "Peggy-O", is one of my favorite Dead tunes when played live. But this version lacks passion and groove. "Tangled Up In Blue" is one of Bob Dylan's greatest songs. But here Jerry plays and sings it too speedy and the background singers on the chorus are just flat out corny. Another Dylan song, "Simple Twist Of Fate" is somewhat better. But it doesn't come anywhere close to the sublime version of this song on the Jerry Garcia Band's live album released in 1991. I don't especially like "Leave That Little Girl Alone". But the song did become more interesting to me after I read that Robert Hunter wrote it for his daughter Jessie. She was getting into punk rock and Hunter was trying to stop himself from becoming an overprotective parent. Funny and ironic considering that Garcia and the Dead were icons of the hippie counterculture as well as pioneers in the use of mind altering substances. I doubt that Jessie was doing anything that Hunter himself had already tried many years before. But, of course, papas are inclined to fret over their daughters.
Garcia/Dead completists may still want this. But there are much better albums to purchase first.
For me "Run For The Roses" and "Alabama Getaway" are the highlights here. They are played with energy and are catchy enough to work in a studio setting. I like the bluesy "Valerie" and the two Beatles' covers - "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Dear Prudence" are decent efforts. But most of the rest of the album is a disappointment. "Fennario", more commonly known as "Peggy-O", is one of my favorite Dead tunes when played live. But this version lacks passion and groove. "Tangled Up In Blue" is one of Bob Dylan's greatest songs. But here Jerry plays and sings it too speedy and the background singers on the chorus are just flat out corny. Another Dylan song, "Simple Twist Of Fate" is somewhat better. But it doesn't come anywhere close to the sublime version of this song on the Jerry Garcia Band's live album released in 1991. I don't especially like "Leave That Little Girl Alone". But the song did become more interesting to me after I read that Robert Hunter wrote it for his daughter Jessie. She was getting into punk rock and Hunter was trying to stop himself from becoming an overprotective parent. Funny and ironic considering that Garcia and the Dead were icons of the hippie counterculture as well as pioneers in the use of mind altering substances. I doubt that Jessie was doing anything that Hunter himself had already tried many years before. But, of course, papas are inclined to fret over their daughters.
Garcia/Dead completists may still want this. But there are much better albums to purchase first.
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