Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - Bare Bones: Volume II - Other Tunes & Arrangements [2LP]

Two old friends, two acoustic instruments and nothing to hide behind: Bare Bones: Volume II gathers more unreleased Jerry Garcia and David Grisman duo recordings across a 2LP set.

Garcia and Grisman shared a bluegrass past that ran back to Old & In the Way, and their later reunion produced some of the most relaxed, generous music of Garcia's career. This volume goes back to the tapes made at Grisman's home studio, including the very first spontaneous duo session caught there, when two players were simply finding their way back to each other one tune at a time.

The fun is in hearing songs before they settled. Early takes of Grateful Dawg and Dawg's Waltz catch tunes that later became staples of their shared repertoire in raw, curious first form, all bright mandolin runs and Garcia's conversational picking. A loping Friend of the Devil strips the Grateful Dead favourite back to wood and string, and a closing Shenandoah lets the old folk melody unfold slowly, with plenty of air between the notes.

Nothing here is polished for show. The mood is loose and unguarded, two masters testing ideas and trading smiles you can almost hear.

Deadheads and acoustic music lovers will want this front-porch magic close at hand.