Another classic covered by everyone and their mother. Mystery Train appears on official releases about 9 times for Mr. Garcia, spanning his entire solo career.
A quick look at the database on the Garcia site suggests 200 performances of the song. Part of the impetus behind opting for this version is probably the newness of it. Garcia Live, Vol. 4 just came out. But at the same time it’s a rocking version!
Overall I think the Garcia Live series has been very well done and I’ve been pleased with all the selections. This one is only a few days removed from Pure Jerry, Vol. 6. Clearly the band was in a groove in the winter of 1978.
I wanted to highlight the Days Between with some of my favorite Garcia solo cuts and I feel like I’ve been able to do that. It seems that almost every other post includes a statement about how excited I get when song X is included on a release, and Mystery Train is no different. But since I’m dealing with most of my favorites for the occasion it should be understandable.
We’re back tomorrow with some Good Ole Grateful Dead.
Jerry’s guitar has a clarity on the high notes and a growl on the bass notes that sounds great and gives those lower runs a really bouncy quality, kind of like being rattled around on a train. After Jerry’s solo he turns it over to Keith for a little while. John makes his presence known throughout each flowing passage by the primary melody instruments. After several minutes of flights of fancy, Jerry drops in one more verse before pulling the song into the station, its journey completed.
