A landmark recording from early ’70s west coast bluegrass supergroup Old & In The Way is set for a vinyl release later this month.
The band was an unusual full-bluegrass outing for Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, teamed up with fiddle legend Vassar Clements and two rising future stars, Peter Rowan on guitar and David Grisman on mandolin. John Kahn completed the group on bass.
Their availability when formed in 1973 was limited by the active touring schedule of the Dead, but they managed to play between 47 to 50 shows before breaking up in the spring of ’74. A single album, recorded live in October of 1973, was released, though board tapes and bootleg recordings exist for many of their performances.
Grisman’s Acoustic Disc label released a download-only version of one of the band’s final performances as Live at Sonoma State – 11/4/73, which also made its way to CD, with a limited vinyl pressing issued for Record Store Day in 2025.
Now, the folks with Evergreen Vinyl are preparing another pressing on a pair of cream-colored vinyl discs, set for an August 21 release.
Included is the full show from Sonoma State University on November 4, 1973:
Disc 1
- Going to the Races
- Catfish John
- Eating Out of Your Hand
- Lonesome Fiddle Blues
- Land of the Navajo
- Old & in the Way Breakdown
- Panama Red
- Pig in a Pen
- Fanny Hill
- The Hobo Song
Disc 2
- Wild Horses
- White Dove
- Drifting Too Far from the Shore
- Uncle Pen
- That High Lonesome Sound
- Tramp on a Street
- Waiting on a Train
- Midnight Moonlight
- Orange Blossom Special
Stories about the reason for the breakup of Old & In The Way are rife, especially among their most rabid fans. Some say that Garcia was unhappy with the level of his banjo playing, and his inability to spend much time on the instrument with the Dead’s schedule keeping him on guitar. Other rumors suggest that Rowan and Grisman couldn’t get along.
Whatever the truth may be, the band shone brightly for a short time, and was gone, leaving a number of now newgrass standards in their wake.
If you missed the Record Store Day vinyl pressing last year, pre-orders are being accepted now online from Evergreen Vinyl.
