On Aug. 29, 1987, the Jerry Garcia Band—then consisting of mainstay bassist John Kahn, keyboardist Melvin Seals, drummer David Kemper, and backing vocalists Gloria Jones (who recently passed away) and Jacklyn LaBranch—set up at French’s Camp on the Eel River in Piercy, Calif., at the request of Wavy Gravy. Of course, the music was recorded, as were the return gigs in 1989 and ‘91, and the full electric sets are gathered in this six-disc set. (The 1987 acoustic set is available as a bonus disc to those who purchase the box at indie record shops or via the Garcia website.) Typical of the JGB, the setlists are stacked with choice covers, mainly of classic
R&B tunes, some reggae, a little from the Dylan/The Band catalog, a couple of Great American Songbook standards and the like. There are also expanded JGB takes on Garcia solo and Grateful Dead favorites, including “Deal,” “They Love Each Other” and “Run for the Roses.” The sets are, for the most part, consistently well-played/sung and more than a tad entertaining—Garcia was obviously having a good ol’ time in this gorgeous outdoor setting, as evidenced by his playful workups of Chuck Berry’s “Let It Rock” and the opening blowout of the Marvin Gaye hit “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You),” and the band is always in the pocket. There are some repeats from year to year—the Jimmy McCracklin blues “Think” is played in all three shows, for example—but who’s going to complain? To hear the excited, inspired, late-period Jerry Garcia doing what he loved to do most is always a treat.