Saturday, November 12, 2011

I'm Gonna Live the Life I Love

Far out, man
From 1971 through mid '75 Jerry Garcia played regularly with Bay Area keyboard player and bandleader Merl Saunders whenever he wasn't gigging with the Grateful Dead. By early 1974 sax player Martin Fierro was a regular member of the group, which was just billed as Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders. At the end of the year the incredible drummer Ron Tutt joined the band. This lineup toured under the inscrutable moniker Legion of Mary through July of '75, reaching a fever pitch of intensity and performance quality before abruptly dissolving. The music on this website is taken from the lineup with Martin, 1974-75, to provide continuity and narrow the scope of the project.
The download links are above, under the header. The setlist is, obviously, immediately below. A fair amount of additional information is available further down, or in the links over to the right ~~>. I intend to expand both the music and the information over the next month or so, but no promises. Life has a way of interfering.

01(I'm A) Road RunnerGreat American Music Hall SF, CA 8-24-74
02Finders KeepersKeystone, Berkeley CA 5-21-75
03Are You Lonely For Me, BabyKeystone, Berkeley CA 2-16-74
04(I Feel Like) DynamiteOriental Theater, Milwaukee, WI 4-19-75
05I Second That EmotionLion's Share, San Anselmo CA 6-4-74
06Last Train From Poor ValleyOrpheum Theater, Boston, MA 4-6-75 Late Show
07It's Too LateGreat American Music Hall SF, CA 7-4-75
08Just Kissed My BabyGreat American Music Hall SF, CA 11-28-74
09The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie DownKeystone, Berkeley CA 3-1-75
10Mystery TrainMasonic Temple, Scranton PA 4-12-75 Late show
11ThinkKeystone, Berkeley CA 1-17-74
12I'll Take a MelodyGreat American Music Hall SF, CA 5-15-75
13Boogie On Reggae WomanKeystone, Berkeley CA 7-22-74
14Every Word You SayGreat American Music Hall SF, CA 7-4-75
15It Ain't No UseKeystone, Berkeley CA 3-9-74
16Mississippi MoonCapitol City Theater, Madison, WI 4-20-75
17That's Alright MamaGreat American Music Hall SF, CA 7-4-75
18Wicked MessengerOriental Theater, Milwaukee, WI 4-19-75
19That's What Love Will Make You DoKeystone, Berkeley CA 5-21-75
20Let it RockMasonic Temple, Scranton PA 4-12-75 Late show
21Expressway (To Your Heart)Lion's Share, San Anselmo CA 6-4-74
22Sitting In LimboGreat American Music Hall SF, CA 8-24-74
23He Ain't Give You NoneKeystone, Berkeley CA 11-27-74
24You Can Leave Your Hat OnBottom Line, NYC 4-9-75
25Tough MamaGreat American Music Hall SF, CA 7-4-75
26Going, Going, GoneMasonic Temple, Scranton PA 4-12-75 Late show
27Cucumber SlumberKeystone, Berkeley CA 7-22-74
28The Harder They ComeKeystone, Berkeley CA 5-21-75
29How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)Keystone, Berkeley CA 2-16-74

12 comments:

  1. wowzers, just listening on the macbook's speakers but Martin's sax and Jer's voice are crystal clear, exciting quality and what a jam in "Road Runner" to start off.....

    this comp is just in time for these long dark, cold nights of Fall

    Mr. C - you da man

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  2. just finished dl ing all 14 folders in lossless

    got a busy day, but cant wait to unpack them and let these 1's and 0's loose in my man cave

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  3. Chut up this is some great chit! Thank you Dan Chewning for the link! I miss all those old legion tapes I had, now i don't need em!

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  4. Awesome! Thank you so much for the download, and just as much for the informative essays. I learned something today!

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  5. dont know who this Daniel Ch****ing guy is, but Martin is the man

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  6. Been looking forward to this for a long time Mr Completely. Thanks for the effort and sharing it. Love Legion of Mary and am interested in your take on that era.

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  7. Can anyone fix the broken mediafire links on this.?

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    1. Hi Marc, I just checked the links and they're working for me. Which zipfiles are broken for you? Let me know and we'll figure it out.

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  8. Thanks for the response. It was mp33 and alac9 I think. I believed the error was being caused by a single track somehow as the track was showing error in the individual downloads too.

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    1. zip3 and alac9 which seem to be linked to the only broken individual file link for "Wicked Messenger". That song is the culprit. I think.

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  9. It was wicked messenger. Great compilation.

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  10. Hey, thanks so much for posting this. I found it on youtube looking for Martin who i got a chance to know a bit, shared some stages back in the 90's with him at McNears in Petaluma and the Cazadero benefit. These are truly incredible archives to have of such an influential group. I started a world music group on FB here https://www.facebook.com/groups/144240402425940/

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