''Don't Let Go'' is the third live album, and fourth album overall, by the Jerry Garcia Band. It includes the complete May 21, 1976 performance at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, with a bonus track recorded on September 11, 1976 at the Keystone in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

. It was released on January 23, 2001. From January 1976 to August 1977, the lineup of the Jerry Garcia Band was the one featured on this recording –

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

on guitar and vocals, Keith Godchaux on keyboards, Donna Jean Godchaux on vocals, John Kahn on bass, and Ron Tutt on drums. Two other albums recorded by this lineup are '' Pure Jerry: Theatre 1839, San Francisco, July 29 & 30, 1977'' and '' Garcia Live Volume Seven''. Jerry Garcia plays a

Travis Bean Clifford Travis Bean (21 August 1947 – 10 July 2011, aged 63) was an American luthier and machinist from California. In 1974, he partnered with Marc McElwee and Gary Kramer to start Travis Bean Guitars, which made high-end electric guitars and ...

guitar on this recording.

Critical reception

On Allmusic, Lindsay Planer said, "This band is about infectious rhythms and soul. Garcia plays with an energy and freedom of spirit which he rarely achieved during his final two decades with the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. This was likely due, at least in part, to the encyclopedic catalog of material... The band uses the structure of each song as a platform for their unique brand of instinctual aural acrobatics. The interplay amongst the instrumental quartet is best described as inspired telepathy.... ''Don't Let Go'' is highly recommended for the curious enthusiast as well as the insatiable Deadhead." In ''The Music Box'', John Metzger wrote, "Unfortunately, ''Don't Let Go'' is not the definitive, perfect set from JGB, though Deadheads undoubtedly will find the album – which was compiled from a

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

concert held on May 21, 1976 – to be a must-have collection. Likewise, the uninitiated who might be open to this sort of thing certainly will find the spark of brilliance that shines through many of the tracks and hides just beneath the surface on several others. Those most passive of Deadheads and the just faintly curious, however, might want to wait for something a little less flawed."

Track listing

Disc one #" Sugaree" (

Robert Hunter Robert Hunter may refer to: Arts * Robert Hunter (painter) (died 1780), Irish portrait painter * Robert Hunter (encyclopædist) (1823–1897), British editor of the ''Encyclopædic Dictionary'' *Robert Hunter (author) (1874–1942), American sociol ...

) – 9:55 #"They Love Each Other" (Hunter, Garcia) – 8:31 #"That's What Love Will Make You Do" (James Banks, Eddy Marion, Henderson Thigpen) – 9:56 #" Knockin' on Heaven's Door" ( Bob Dylan) – 11:07 #"Sitting in Limbo" (Plummer Bright, James Chambers) – 10:29 #"Mission in the Rain" (Hunter, Garcia) – 7:43 #" Don't Let Go" (

Jesse Stone Jesse Albert Stone (November 16, 1901 – April 1, 1999) was an American rhythm and blues musician and songwriter whose influence spanned a wide range of genres. He also used the pseudonyms Charles Calhoun and Chuck Calhoun. His best-know ...

) – 16:03 Disc two #" After Midnight" (

J. J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...

) – 11:00 #"Strange Man" ( Dorothy Love Coates) – 7:12 #"Tore Up over You" ( Hank Ballard) – 9:28 #"I'll Take a Melody" (

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...

) – 15:10 #" The Way You Do the Things You Do" (

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

, Robert "Bobby" Rogers) – 7:11 #"My Sisters and Brothers" (Charles Johnson) – 6:41 #"Lonesome and a Long Way from Home" ( Bonnie Bramlett,

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

) – 14:27 :''Bonus track:'' #

"Mighty High" (David Crawford, Richard Downing) – 6:26

Personnel

Jerry Garcia Band *

– guitar, vocals * Donna Godchaux – vocals * Keith Godchaux –

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, vocals * John Kahn –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Ron Tutt –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, vocals Production *Album coordinator: Cassidy Law *Executive producer: Deborah Koons Garcia *Recording:

Betty Cantor-Jackson Betty Cantor-Jackson (born 1948) is an American audio engineer and producer. She is best known for her work recording live concerts for the Grateful Dead from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, including the '' Cornell 5/8/77'' album. She is noted ...

*Mastering: Jeffrey Norman *Tape archivist: David Lemieux *Photography: Ed Perlstein

References

{{Authority control Jerry Garcia Band live albums 2001 live albums Grateful Dead Records live albums