Album Review: The Garcia Project - Spirit
The Garcia Project is to the Jerry Garcia Band as Dark Star Orchestra is to the Grateful Dead - with one big difference.
The Project, unlike the Orchestra, has made a studio album. Spirit was produced by former JGB vocalist Maria Muldaur and features JGB alums Jacklyn LaBranch and Buzz Buchanan, plus Peter Rowan, who played with Garcia in Old & in the Way.
As the name suggests, Spirit focuses on Garcia’s spiritual side and traverses disco (“Mighty High”), gospel (“I’ll Be with Thee”) and bluegrass (“Throw out the Lifeline”) as the Grateful Dead guitarist did in his extracurricular life. And while a cover album of cover songs - “Gomorrah” and “Palm Sunday” are the only Garcia/Robert Hunter originals among the 12 tracks - might seem ridiculous on its face, the album is 100 percent listenable, if also unnecessary.
Hard-to-find-by-Garcia songs like “Strange Man” and “Cold Jordan” are particularly enjoyable. But no Garcia fan needs to hear a band playing songs like the aforementioned originals or what’s dubbed “Sisters and Brothers” in Garcia’s image more than one time outside of a concert hall.
Grade card: The Garcia Project - Spirit - C+
6/30/21
