Jerry Garcia's second solo effort initially bore the same eponymous title as his first. A parenthetical "Compliments Of" was originally featured on promotional copies that bore the words atop the "Garcia" moniker. The name was officially changed in the late '80s, when the platter evolved into the CD format, to alleviate any confusion between the two very different recordings. In direct contrast to the 1972 release, the vast majority of the ten tracks on 1974's Garcia (Compliments) are cover versions performed with an ensemble, rather than just by the multi-instrumental artist. Equally distinguishing is that most of the material was
not selected by the guitarist, but rather by the project's producer,
John Kahn, who likewise had been
Garcia's bassist and primary non-
Grateful Dead collaborator. Although
Garcia would reassert more control over the choice of songs in the future, this album heralds the origins of what would ultimately become
the Jerry Garcia Band. Backed by an A-list cast of studio heavies, covers such as
the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together" and
Van Morrison's "He Ain't Give You None" come off sounding slightly over-arranged. The converse, however, can be said of
Garcia's intimately chilling reading of
Peter Rowan's "Mississippi Moon," the slinky irrepressible Motown vibe on
the Marvelettes' "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game," and
Little Milton's "That's What Love Will Make You Do" -- all of which remained as staples of
the Jerry Garcia Band's live catalog. Although there aren't very many opportunities for
Garcia to unleash the full potential of his formidable fretwork, the reading of
Irving Berlin's "Russian Lullaby" -- adapted from Argentinean guitarist
Oscar Alemán's arrangement -- does allow him to perform some of the disc's most involved and intricately executed guitar work, which he renders on an acoustic classical axe. The solitary original composition, "Midnight Town" from
Kahn and lyricist
Robert Hunter, comes off somewhat uncharacteristically lightweight in deference to the album's otherwise solid effort. ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
