@tomic601: Jim, I recently picked up a copy of the Old & In The Way LP. I bought it when it was released in ’75, but didn’t consider it good enough to keep. The recorded sound quality was certainly top notch, however. When I saw it on the wall at one of my favorite local used LP shops at a bargain price I decided to give it another chance, 49 years later. 😁
I know Garcia loves Bluegrass and Hillbilly music, but I just don’t think he’s very good at playing or singing it. Okay, I admit my standards are rather high, but David Grisman alone is worth owing the album for. I have a bunch of David’s albums, some including the playing of upright bass by a guy who was in the same San Jose cover band as I, though at different times.
In ’71 Todd Phillips was exiting the band just as I was entering, to concentrate on learning to play mandolin. He went up to Marin to take lessons from Grisman, who told him that there were plenty of real good mandolin players, but a dearth of upright players. Todd took David’s advice and learned upright, good enough to work with the cream-of-the Bluegrass crop, including Tony Rice (not to mention Grisman himself). Damn!
I jammed with Todd in San Jose in the early-2010’s, so I know what his bass should sound like when reproduced. Demo material!