Bare Bones: Volume I - Master Takes

The musical comradery between the Grateful Deads central member Jerry Garcia and mandolin master David Grisman resulted not just in some of the Deads most lasting Americana tunes but also a wealth of bluegrass, folk, and country-adjacent tangents and side projects. Garcia and Grismans early-70s group Old & In the Way was a traditional bluegrass counterpoint to the Deads improvised rock style, and in subsequent decades, the friends recorded multiple duo albums of gentle acoustic folk. Bare Bones is a deep dive into Grismans extensive recording archives, collecting the basic tracks of vocals, guitar, and mandolin put to tape in laid-back sessions at his home studio. Bare Bones is broken into three volumes: one that collects the raw master takes that were later fleshed out with additional overdubbed instrumentation on the pairs 90s albums (Garcia/Grisman, Not for Kids Only, Shady Grove, and Been All Around This World), one that focuses on unreleased songs, and a third volume with alternate takes. Throughout the majority of this lengthy collection, theres a strong sense of relaxed happiness, with the familiarity between Garcia and Grisman guiding the proceedings. The home studio setting also adds to the feeling of comfort in these takes. A slowed-down take on Grateful Dead classic "Friend of the Devil" is loose and meandering, almost like the two friends are just running through the tune for fun. Stripped-down versions of lighthearted kids songs like "A Horse Named Bill" and "There Aint No Bugs on Me" from the pairs 1993 childrens album Not for Kids Only arent all that much sillier in spirit and presentation than more adult-themed songs like "Little Glass of Wine" or the bluegrass standard "Man of Constant Sorrow." Lyrics are flubbed, studio chatter and jokes fly between takes, and more than anything else, two good friends pass the time playing the songs they love. This was true of most of Garcia and Grismans collaborative output, but Bare Bones offers an especially intimate look at their chemistry, both musical and personal. ~ Fred Thomas