Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead – Jerry Garcia’s Tape Review

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With their partnership on-stage leaving a lot to be desired, Bob Dylan and The Grateful Dead are still a decent listen. What could have been had Dylan joined the band? Had a nameless member not vetoed the request then the times would certainly have been a-changing. But he did not and the rest is history. A footnote, but history nonetheless. Jerry Garcia’s Tape is a little insight into what could have been a new revolution for The Dead and for Dylan, the latter struggling to find his footing in a slippery decade of work which would pull him down into self-doubt for years to come. Playing out on the stage was all he had at this stage and, compared to the official release Dylan and The Dead, this unofficial compilation sounds leagues ahead of their other work together. Garcia and Dylan are formidable collaborators and as much can be heard on stage. 

But what can also be heard is how Grateful Dead members are relegated to instrumentalists for Dylan, rather than musicians who are in the same spotlight. Opener John Brown sounds more like a backing band where any musician could be slotted in behind Dylan – and such is the reason he never joined the band properly. Despite this, the band and Dylan sound crisp. They fall into the live joys and there comes a generous, often warm groove. Thrilling stuff from the band on Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest cements it and soon an easy-going listen begins. Certainly not what was expected of a collaboration between The Dead and Dylan but a welcome tone to take. Chimes of Freedom has a lushness to it, a delicacy which comes from the instrumental spirit of all those musicians backing Dylan, who makes good on the classics of his discography.  

Jerry Garcia’s Tape relies heavily on the religious momentum which carried Dylan through the previous decade. Slow Train sounds as though it has found its rightful groove here, especially when lined up against its studio version. Groovy guitar work and some instrumental excess are all it needs to find its footing. Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35 proves this just fine, a slick piece of work which relies on the electric excess, the big band feel which pulled Dylan into the spotlight all those years ago when he was touring around with The Band. Key to this unofficial release is the quality being far better than anything officially released. It sounds listenable, the band are clicking together and Dylan is leading a new charge through old material. Queen Jane Approximately has a meaner edge to it, a well-developed new angle to work out those hangups.  

This is a frankly better tape than the seven tracks released under Dylan and the Dead. Some of these songs are from the same show but the quality is improved vastly. Such is the dedication of bootleggers across the globe. You may catch glimmers of Dylan and the Dead from this performance – particularly the sluggish Joey towards the end – but it is more than made up for with punchy revisions of classic material, of rekindling the dramatics and intensity of those songs. The Wicked Messenger and bootleg closer It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, more than make up for it. Close to stellar on some of these songs, the collaborative impression certainly revises the rather lacklustre sense of meandering stage presence heard on the official release. This is why bootlegs are still key. They unlock the quality buried deep within what, at first, sounds like a disaster.