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CD Review by Gary Blanchard

 

  
In 1964, a rag-tag jug band appeared live at the Tangent, a music venue in Palo Alto, California. One of their performances was presented live on the radio and that broadcast was recorded for posterity. Chances are good that this recording would have sat in a vault somewhere and been forgotten; it happens, however, that three of the members of this group went on to have some minor success and a slight cultural impact in a band called Grateful Dead.

It is good that the subsequent fame of Mother McRhea’s (they spelled the name differently every time they performed) members Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, and Ron “Pigpen” McKernan resulted in the release of this disc. Otherwise a wonderful performance and a snapshot of emerging musicians might have been lost.

The musical selections here do not differ much from that of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band; the arrangements are also similar. The disc includes Memphis Jug Band songs like “Overseas Stomp,” “Cocaine Habit Blues,” “On the Road Again,” and “In the Jailhouse Now.” Also included are jug band revival standards such as “Borneo,” “Crazy Words, Crazy Tune,” and “Yes She Do, No She Don’t.” The band offered a couple of oddities, including Chuck Berry’s “Memphis” and Jesse Fuller’s “The Monkey and the Engineer.” (A number of these songs were carried into the group’s later incarnation.)

The performance is ragged at times, but the energy is amazing. After the second song, Jerry Garcia leads the audience in a “Boo Break,” giving the audience a chance to vent their frustration over hearing acts they may not have come to see and hear. Some of the lyrics get lost and jumbled, and sometimes the band isn’t as tight as they could be, but you can already see some of the qualities and sensibilities that would guide the Dead. All members have a turn at lead vocals, giving a sense of variety. Overall, the musicianship is great. Jerry Garcia plays some banjo on the disc; not the three-finger style that he used in his Bluegrass band Old and In the Way, but something closer to the Dixieland strum. There aren’t a lot of lead breaks or improvisations, but there is a wonderful looseness and playfulness that marks latter-day jug bands.

At the end of the disc, there is an interview with some of the members. My favorite part is when they are asked what the future holds for the band and Jerry Garcia states that they hope to build a local following. I’d say they over-achieved that goal.

It can be very tempting to view this CD simply on the basis of what evolved from this group, but that does Mother McCree’s Uptown Jug Champions a disservice. The performance on this disc stands strictly on its own merits and is a portal into the 1960’s jug band revival. Had they gone no further than this, the Jug Champions deserve a place in jug band history.