A little bit of Jer & Merl

I've been in a bit of a listening slump lately. And then I played this and despite the not so great quality, I felt the need to beat myself up because this is sooooooo good! Why do I sometimes listen to like only 3 or 4 shows in like 2 weeks? That's not good. It's when I press play on something like this that I properly understand the error of my way. But it's a way that won't last long... can't last long -- I just won't let myself drag it on.

So what this means is hopefully there'll be a steady stream of shows comin' down the pike. As always -- Stay Tuned... and be prepared to download!

May 23, 1973 (late show) Jerry Garcia & Merl Saunders The Ash Grove West Hollywood, California

It Takes A Lot To Laugh It Takes A Train To Cry,
Expressway (To Your Heart), Money Honey,
Little Bit Of Righteousness, Like A Road Leading Home,
That's Alright Mama

Sound quality on this show is below average... but ears adjust and it's not incredibly terrible to listen to. Nothing here that really blows me away but Jerry's playing is precise and next to non-stop. Money Honey is outstanding as he gives extra emotion at times in his vocals. That little bit of umpf helps to turn it from a great version to even more well worth it. Little Bit Of Righteousness is a rare tune, one of only two known times played. There's a little bit of spaceyness at the end which'll sound quite familiar to Deadheads. A studio version of this song with Michael Bloomfield on guitar (not Jerry) and Ron Stallings on saxophone can be found on Merl's album Keepers. A beauty here is Like A Road which is one of the earliest versions -- only the second known but more were probably played since it debuted in January (or perhaps in December of '72 though no setlists with it are known.) Finishing off this rather short show is That's Alright Mama which features some crankin' bass from John Kahn. He is on fire with that thing, dominating the song to quite an extent. The crowd is lovin' it!

So, not the best recording by any means, unfortunately, but it's all that exists. Two listens for me and each time I've been able to put the poor quality aside and let my ears adjust so I could dig it just fine.

P.S. the early show is not known to exist.

5/23/73 @ the Internet Archive: this show is not at Archive.org as of May 25, 2009

Download It Here Audio Quality:♦ Source: shnid=9587 Lineage: Audience > Master Reel (Harv Kaslow and Craig Todd, Sony ECM-22Ps > Sony 770) > 2R > CD > SHN Garcia-Saunders 5/23/73

5-23-73 aka 05-23-73 aka 5/23/73 aka 05/23/73 aka 05-23-73 not spelled Merle Saunders