Jerry Garcia Band performs "The Harder They Come" as featured on GarciaLive Vol. 21: February 13th, 1976 Keystone Berkeley.

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GarciaLive Volume 21 showcases the Jerry Garcia Band’s February 13th, 1976 performance at the legendary Keystone in Berkeley, California. The nearly complete (more on that below…) two-set performance was originally captured to 1/4” analog reels by Betty Cantor-Jackson.

Following the arrival of Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux in early ’76, Garcia delighted in his group’s “harmonious” sound emphatically expressing “This is what I want to hear.” On February 13th, no more than four gigs into their time together, they were already deeply in harmony. While we’re sadly missing the show-opening “How Sweet It Is,” the selections that followed like “Catfish John,” “Who Was John?” and “They Love Each Other” are sublime testaments affirming Garcia’s sentiments. The band could cook too as evidenced by “After Midnight” which is punctuated by Ron Tutt and John Kahn’s steady groove leaving plenty of room for Jerry and Keith to explore the melody. A soul-soaked, and first known, performance of the Rolling Stone’s “Moonlight Mile” leaves the crowd breathless to close the first set. On paper the second set may look curious with only three songs, but a closer look and listen reveals some of the evening’s deepest moments.

Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder They Come” opens the second set and may encapsulate the dynamic range of the mid-70’s era JGB better than any other with its soulful harmonies and adventurous improvisation taking the song well beyond its form before bringing it all back around. While the version of Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” that follows is as powerful and poignant as they come. The group’s first known performance of “Talkin’ ‘Bout You” is a spirited romp that sends everyone home on a high note. This collection however closes where we started, or rather should have started — borrowing a bouncy performance of “How Sweet It Is” and adding the first known performance of “My Sisters and Brothers," both from February 15th, ’76 at Sophie’s, for good measure.

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