Customer Reviews

Breakdown - Featuring Jerry Ga

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Back when I was in college OLD&IN the WAY were a novelty that let city boys like me sniff the country air I had no idea just how pure & sincere the band is/was.There are different configurations of this band still playing,but this is the original band caught live in 1973. It's pure grass (not the Panama Red kind.)The band exhibits a depth & respect for the originals that takes this listener's breath away ( none of the Flying Burritos hipster sneer here).The song choice is great:jigs, hymns,blues & covers. It clocks in at 70 mins, not counting the bonus track. It has the the Dawg/Acoustic Discs quality.The grass is bluer on these sides & I'm buying more Dawg/Garcia. Thanks DAWG for making it available...

I guess I was always aware of Bluegrass growing up, as my grandparents would always gather round the TV to watch Bill Monroe wail away on his mandolin but it wasn't until I started to explore Jerry Garcia's side projects that I realized how intricate and complex this music is, not to mention how talented the musicians are. From the opening introduction by Pete Rowan through old classics like the signature Panama Red, Working On A Building, and Pig in a Pen to an amazing rendition of the Rolling Stones' Wild Horses this album is a winner. As you listen to it you can't help but think that these guys are sitting on your portch in rocking chairs. It is an excellent recording that captures the essence of the work of this excursion in the mid seventies. If I could urge every Deadhead out there to learn one more thing about Jerry Garcia, it would be to appreciate his love for Bluegrass and Folk music. He has certainly done me a favour by introducing it to me. Also, check out Old & In The Way as well as That High Lonesome Sound, as both are equally superb. Thanks again Jerry, fare thee well.

After 20 years of trying to convince my father that the Dead weren't an Acid Metal band of hoodlums, I struck gold w/ this album! Loved the look on his face when the CD was over & I told him "that was Jerry Garcia and David Grisman from the Grateful Dead!".

A must own for your CD Jukebox.

Many folks are initially suspect of Old & In the Way's authenticity considering the group includes Jerry Garcia. Let there be no doubts of Garcia's bluegrass integrity (personally, I think he should have played more bluegrass.) Garcia introduced a whole new generation of folks to bluegrass...and most of them probably would not have heard it otherwise. That being said...onto the music review.

This is truly an all-star lineup: Vassar Clements! David Grisman, Peter Rowan & John Kahn round out the lineup. This amazing set of 19 tunes includes many classics like Bill Monroe's "Pig in a Pen," "Workin' On a Building." It includes the Rolling Stones "Wild Horses," which the group makes sound like a true bluegrass tune (this is no gimmick.) The playing is clean and tight. Also, this is the way bluegrass should be heard...LIVE! This music is ultimately learned in an oral tradition and from watching and jamming with others. Sure you can learn from books, but that strips the soul out of the tunes. Plus many songs are anonymous and there are many versions of the same tune passed down through the generations.

Peter Rowan's voice is splendid and is one of the best in the business. From breakneck speed banjo pickin' to soft country ballads, this disc has them all. This good 'ol string band music is a great way to enter the wide world of bluegrass (which has many sub-genres.)

I will never get tired of hearing these guys play. I put this CD on and I forget everything else. Bluegrass? Country? I call it Excellent.

This album is not just a bunch of hippies playing around with a different style of music. This is pure, traditional Bluegrass that rivals anything put out by Monroe or Lester and Earl.

It has 19 tunes while the original disc only has 10. The versions of the tunes on this one are, I think, superior to those on the first disc. It doesn't really matter, though. It's just plain great music.

This recording, which might be the final of the Acoustic Archive Series, is a truly amazing one. If you are not familiar with the Old and in the Way project, then maybe you should first purchase the original "Old and in the Way" before this one. Breakdown is a 19 song marathon that features everything from slow tight ballads, to fast banjo reeling "Breakdowns" Highlights? Theyre all highlights! May I suggest the "Hobo Song" "Blue Mule" & "Till the End of the World Rolls Round". This collaboration was all too brief, and we should be grateful that some of it was captured in its purest form..... LIVE!!!!!!