The third solo album from
Grateful Dead lead guitarist
Jerry Garcia comes as the result of the band's mini-hiatus from touring during late 1974 and most of 1975. Rather than auditioning a new combo,
Garcia splits
Reflections evenly between recordings made with
the Dead as well as his
Legion of Mary and
Jerry Garcia Band side projects. As with his previous non-
Dead effort,
Garcia (Compliments of Garcia), this disc includes a blend of originals and cover tunes. Astute Deadheads will inevitably recognize that all four cuts featuring backing by
the Dead had been part of their live repertoire for several years. Although only five of the tracks were co-authored by
Garcia's primary lyrical collaborator,
Robert Hunter, all eight of them remained in
Garcia's solo set lists for the balance of his career. The material on this album is uniformly strong and includes some of the best studio work that
the Dead had been involved in since
American Beauty and
Workingman's Dead. Their sound is no longer as rurally influenced; instead, they adopt an equally laid-back, jazzy approach. This is perhaps most strikingly evident in the new direction given to
"They Love Each Other." Although initially presented as an up-tempo
boogie, by contrast it is now a slinky, low-key affair. The retooled version became a staple throughout
the Dead's mid-to-late-'70s live sets, occasionally resurfacing during their waning years. There are more subtle variations on the absolutely stunning and emotive
ballads "Comes a Time" and
"Must Have Been the Roses" -- which also cropped up underneath the closing credits of the
Grateful Dead Movie (1976). The all-star cast that
Garcia assembled for
"Mission in the Rain" -- as well as
Allen Toussaint's
"I'll Take a Melody," Hank Ballard's
"Tore up Over You," and the
Johnny Russell country hit
"Catfish John" -- includes
John Kahn (bass),
Ron Tutt (drums),
Nicky Hopkins (keyboards), and
Larry Knechtel (keyboards). The latter cover tune is also notable, as both
Garcia and
Kahn had presented it with a full-throttle
bluegrass attitude during their time in the short-lived
Old & in the Way project. With the exception of
Knechtel, the remaining trio continued to perform in
the Jerry Garcia Band during the mid-'70s. ~ Lindsay Planer