Jerry Garcia Albums Ranked
Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for being a principal songwriter, the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band the Grateful Dead, of which he was a founding member and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or “spokesman” of the group. Garcia was also renowned for his musical and technical ability, particularly his ability to play a variety of instruments, and his ability to sustain long improvisations with the Grateful Dead. Garcia believed that improvisation took the stress away from his playing and allowed him to make spur of the moment decisions that he would not have made intentionally. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Garcia noted that “my own preferences are for improvisation, for making it up as I go along. The idea of picking, of eliminating possibilities by deciding, that’s difficult for me”. Here are all of Jerry Garcia albums ranked.
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10. Garcia Live Volume One March 1, 1980: Capitol Theatre (2013)
“I absolutely love this album. This is such an awesome live set; so much in fact that it ranks in with some of Garcia’s finest, in my opinion. I read one of the original reviews for this album in the beginning of the review section here, and read someone’s comment about the keyboards/synthesizer being over-balanced – causing it to overplay & power the rest of the music. I disagree with this comment. “
9. Garcia Live Volume Six July 5th, 1973: Lion’s Share (2016)
“My absolute favourite of the 7 volumes so far in this series. The sound is superb, the band are on exhilarating and blistering form, and Jerry seems at his inspirational best. Highlights? Every track! Anybody into the Dead should get a real blast from this offering, especially with the superb jamming which even surpasses them on much of these 3 discs. No need to hesitate, this is THE business!”
8. Garcia Live Volume Five December 31st, 1975: Keystone Berkeley (2014)
“This set has several tunes that Garcia Band fans have heard before–“They Love Each Other”, “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You”, and “Mystery Train” (with a harp, drums, and bass solo), and a couple of others. But here’s a few high points. “Let It Rock” gets things off to a good (13 minutes) start with Garcia’s guitar throwing out crystalline notes that seem to pour out of him.”
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7. Garcia Live Volume Eight November 23rd, 1991: Bradley Center (2017)
“The entire first set of this Bradley Center show is strong, tight, and full of energy with a very strong ‘Cats Under the Stars’ opener and a few Dead staples thrown in (They Love Each Other, Deal) to allow Jerry to stretch out and display his prowess and chops on lead guitar. Sure, Jerry’s voice has the usual “I just smoked 2 packs of Camels” strain that is unfortunately present more often than not during the 1990’s, but he remembers all the words to the songs and sings them with conviction throughout. “
6. Compliments (1974)
“Jerry went for a more straight-ahead blues/roots rock approach on this one. It is a very solid effort. There are maybe a few guitar solos that could have been Grateful Dead solos, but for the most part he’s channeling BB King, Chuck Berry, Leon Russell (possibly) and even Django Reinhardt all the while with a very soulful singing voice.”
5. Cats Under The Stars (1978)
“Cats Under the Stars was Jerry Garcia’s favorite and was also the least successful. It’s hard to see why it never charted better. The music is wonderful and the band delivers performances on each track that, frankly, are simply awesome. I can see why Jerry liked it so much. It’s really an artistic milestone in his work outside of the Grateful Dead.”
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4. Run For The Roses (1982)
“Run for the Roses is a very worthy J Garcia release, I thoroughly enjoy every song. I strongly encourage any fan of Jerry’s (or the GD) to pick this up. The whole album is quickly moving (tempo-wise), and moving (heartfelt). My new disk was delivered promptly, and in perfect condition. For music with energy and spunk, do yourself a favor and improve your life with RFTRoses!!
3. Reflections (1976)
“This is a great album, but two songs in particular deserve special mention. ‘Mission in the Rain’ I have always loved, because as life teaches us “no matter comes down (what happens) our mission always looks the same”. This is an introspective album, with lyricist Hunter contemplating fame and fortune and realizing his “cup is empty; only love can fill.”
2. Garcia Plays Dylan (2005)
“If you are strictly a Garcia fan you will certainly love all of these tracks. If you are both you are in for a real treat. This compilation has been done before with “Postcards From The Hanging” a few years back. However, Postcards was all Grateful Dead interpretations of Dylan. This comp includes Jerry’s other projects, which are the highlight of the majority of the album.”
1. Garcia (1972)
“The Wheel is an amazing track but at least half the album consists of great tracks/sound. Excellent work from Jerry G on the tar bringing em in from near and far. I had it on tape many years ago and missed it so much, glad to be re-united.”
