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At Last -
New Old And now...21 years after the release of one of the most popular
bluegrass albums ever comes more Old and In the Way - That High Lonesome
Sound on the Acoustic Disc Archive Series. This new recording features
14 new and previously unreleased songs from the original live performances
that produced the acoustic excitement captured on the first Old and In
the Way. Jerry Garcia picked banjo (his first instrument of expertise)
and sang in this legendary band which played together, mostly in Northern
California, for only nine months in 1973. This unique group of talented
individuals featured, in addition to Garcia, Peter Rowan on guitar and
vocals, David Grisman on mandolin and vocals, Vassar Clements on fiddle
and vocals, John Kahn on the upright bass, and exposed a huge number of
people to bluegrass for the very first time.
One of the
great things about Old and In the Way was its eclectic and extensive repertoire.
This recording includes hard-core bluegrass classics like Bill Monroe's
"I'm On My Way Back to the Old Home" and "Uncle Pen," Jim and Jesse McReynolds'
"Hard Hearted," Vassar Clements' amazing fiddling on his own "Lonesome
Fiddle Blues" and "Orange Blossom Special," as well as Peter Rowan favorites
like "The High Lonesome Sound" and "Lonesome L.A. Cowboy." There's also
an inventive bluegrass arrangement of the 50's pop ballad, "The Great
Pretender" and an evocative performance by Jerry of the gospel anthem
"Angel Band." All this, plus a 20-page booklet featuring rare photographs
and notes by bluegrass scholar Neil Rosenberg, make this release a must
for all bluegrass fans, deadheads, dawgheads and lovers of American acoustic
roots music.
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