Fantasy
1973
Live at Keystone, Vol. 1
About This Album
This 1973 release features what is essentially a Bay Area bar band led by Merl Saunders (keyboards) and Jerry Garcia (guitar) during the latter musician's downtime from the Grateful Dead. Along with the two subsequent "encore" volumes, Live at Keystone includes performances drawn from the quartet's July 10-11, 1973, run in the intimate confines of Keystone Korners in Berkeley. With the support of Bill Vitt(percussion) and John Kahn (bass), the pair jams their way through an eclectic assortment of covers and a few equally inspired original instrumentals. The clavinet and Hammond B-3-driven "Keepers" (aka "Finders Keepers") is one such composition from the team of Saunders and Kahn. This funky rocker pulsates through some downright greasy interactions that recall a cross between Sly Stone and Billy Preston. Their interpretation of "Positively 4th Street" -- the first of two Bob Dylan covers -- is laid-back and bluesy, which allows Garcia to stretch out instrumentally between the verses. His impassioned vocals weave between Saunders' alternating murky and billowing organ fills, adding new depths of empathetic noir. Notably, David Grisman's mandolin runs were not part of the live recording, but overdubbed later.
Track List

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