Something about the way Hunter does the songs, even though they're not the 'original' they sound original to me. For anyone who doesn't know, there are a bunch of his concerts available on the archive. Plus this from MV on Youtube:
I saw Hunter solo in Albany, NY at the Egg, years ago. I also saw him play during the set break at The Other Ones at the Pepsi Arena (formerly the Knick). He was solid.
I discovered to my chagrin that he played a show really close to here on his last tour. (2013) That would have been something. Mickey Hart Band and NRPS have played the same venue in the last 5 years, but this was before I paid any mind to such matters.
No, it has been since ~93, and partially that way a bit sooner. I've just gone through some periods, hard as it is to believe, where I didn't spend 6 hours + a day paying attention to all matters Grateful Dead. (That's actually a more recent development, 90% down to my stumbling across this very forum.)
So what's the consensus with Compliments? It's pretty Playboy After Dark swanky for Jerry, me thinks.
Classic in my mind as it was one of the first, if not the first, JGB tapes I got - very widely available back in the day.
I like the song selection, but the band is a bit too L.A. studio slick to be a good fit for Jerry (although I am not knocking L.A. studio slickness from the 1970s in general, I love Steely Dan for instance). A worthy experiment that is somewhat fun to listen to, but not one I go to nearly as often as Cats, Reflections or the self-titled.
Hunter is well worth seeing live if you ever get the chance. Saw him at the Fillmore and then two shows at the Moore Theater in Seattle, all in '97. In Seattle he played China Cat->Dark Star->China Cat->Dark Star->China Cat->The Eleven->China Cat. Whew! Fun shows, I helped my buddy who was officially filming by recording the audio (setting levels for Hunter, who would always shout to a new level suddenly, was a stressful nightmare for a layperson like me), and we got to hang out with him and talk after the second show, the conversation kept going outside as he and his manager got in their car outside. Incredibly gracious and a class act all the way. I never followed up and got copies of the soundboard tapes I recorded there - I need to get on that!!!!!
Pretty sure he re-recorded the vocals on Rumrunners, too, although I never picked that one up on CD. It's one of the few of his that I don't own an official copy of, although I have a cassette dub of the original with Jack O' Roses on the other side in the basement somewhere. Finally did pick up a vinyl copy of Jack O' Roses last year, and have both versions of Tiger Rose. It's One Thing To Try is a great forgotten Hunter track. Garcia is all over those first two albums... I have all of the rest of Hunter's stuff through Liberty although I don't have Box of Rain or any of the other later releases. Should catch up someday, not that there is all that much else out there.
I 'accidentally' left that at my mother's house a while back, knowing damn well she would like it. It's good, but my least favorite of his solo studio records.
I've been curious about the Keith & Donna record for a while so I bought a LP copy yesterday. Looking forward playing it for the first time
I'd rank it higher than Run For the Roses, much as I love the title track of that one, but it is 4 out of 5 of the solo studio albums for me, and there is a big gap between 3 and 4.
If you gotta ask that, you ain't gonna know. I did learn the true meaning of "eight-sided whispering hallelujah hat rack", though. All kidding aside, I did get to ask him about his favorite Dylan song (he'd included Shelter from the Storm and Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts over those two nights). He gave the correct answer: Visions of Johanna.
It's pretty good, especially Who Was John. Not earth-shattering, but you will be glad you have it kind of good.
On a related note, I've been thinking about tracking down a copy of the All Good Things CD box set, because my old JG studio CDs are scratched up and living in a Case Logic CD binder, a bit worse for wear. Can anyone comment on the bonus tracks and disc six with the additional outtakes, etc?
The bonus material is mostly pretty strong, with the exception of most of the outtakes from the first album. The 7th "All Good Things Redux" bonus disc has a couple of my favorite bonus tracks, a version of I Saw Her Standing There that is much better than the Run for the Roses one, and the T.L.E.O. Jam, so worth tracking that down if it doesn't cost you and arm and a leg (which I suspect it might).
I really like the bonus tracks on Cats Under the Stars. It's a strong album to begin with, and I don't think the bonus tracks negatively affect it at all.
Listening to the first 4 Rhino remaster Jerry Garcia/Band solo CDs today. As mentioned the bonus tracks are a revelation and tasty good. Catch myself trying to decide if i'm in church or in carny row at the fair. Compliments and Cats Under the Stars so woefully under appreciated.
Especially Cats, as good as anything he ever did in the studio. It sucks that he was so proud of that album and it sold so poorly. I think it's his best solo album, and better than all but a handful or so of GD studio albums.