Keystone Encores


Keystone Encores is an album by Merl Saunders, Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, and Bill Vitt. It was recorded live at the Keystone in Berkeley, California, on July 10 and 11, 1973, and released on CD by Fantasy Records in 1988. It was also released, with additional tracks, as two separate LPs called Keystone Encores Volume I and 'Keystone Encores Volume II.
Keystone Encores was the followup to Live at Keystone'', a two-disc LP released in 1973 containing songs from the July 10 and 11 concerts. These shows were among the many that Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia played together from February 1971 to July 1975 when the Grateful Dead were not on tour. On these two nights, the lineup of the band was Saunders on keyboards, Garcia on guitar and vocals, John Kahn on bass, and Bill Vitt on drums.

Critical reception

Writing on Allmusic about Keystone Encores Volume I, Lindsay Planer said, "By mid-1973 the band was virtually a fixture at the Keystone and... their languid and unhurried style was the perfect blend of spontaneous improvisation and skilled musicianship. In particular, Garcia and Saunders carved out a fresh extension for Garcia to feed his insatiable love for jazz-flavored R&B. The combination of Saunders' sweet and soulful organ leads and Garcia's crystalline intonations are flawlessly supported by Kahn's assertive, yet elegant interjections."
Writing on Allmusic about Keystone Encores Volume II, Dave Connolly said, "Although Merl Saunders gets top billing, the real attraction here is Jerry Garcia. Garcia's vocals and dexterous guitar playing shine, with Saunders' swirling organ lower in the mix. Bill Vitt and John Kahn are primarily here for support, laying down a foundation of drums and bass that never threatens to eclipse the two stars. The four songs featured here, all covers, are bluesy numbers peppered with the kind of country pickin' that the Grateful Dead covered on occasion, though without that band's intricate interplay."

More Keystone albums

Live at Keystone is a two-disc LP released in 1973. It was the first album to contain songs recorded at the July 10 and 11, 1973 concerts at the Keystone in Berkeley. In 1988 it was re-released, with additional tracks, as two separate CDs — Live at Keystone Volume I and Live at Keystone Volume II.
is a four-CD album released in 2012. It contains remastered versions of all the tracks from the Live at Keystone and Keystone Encores albums, plus seven previously unreleased tracks from the same dates. The songs on Keystone Companions are presented in the order they were performed in concert.

Track listing

''Keystone Encores'' CD

  1. "Hi-Heel Sneakers" – 8:12
  2. "It's Too Late " – 7:44
  3. "I Second That Emotion" – 10:57
  4. "One Kind Favor" – 6:36
  5. "Money Honey" – 8:19
  6. "How Sweet It Is" – 10:20

    ''Keystone Encores Volume I'' LP

Side 1
  1. "I Second That Emotion" – 10:57
  2. "One Kind Favor" – 6:36
Side 2
  1. "Money Honey" – 8:19
  2. "Merl's Tune" – 13:35 – LP-only track

    ''Keystone Encores Volume II'' LP

Side 1
  1. "Hi-Heel Sneakers" – 8:12
  2. "Mystery Train" – 11:32 – LP-only track
Side 2
  1. "It's Too Late " – 7:44
  2. "How Sweet It Is" – 10:20

    Personnel

Musicians