Known to most people (if known at all) as "that guy who played with Jerry in
the New Riders of the Purple Sage",
David Nelson's disc is another of the many releases by a member of the "
Grateful Dead Family" in the wake of the death of
Jerry Garcia. Even alongside
Mickey Hart's world-pop release Mickey Hart's Mystery Box" this is a disappointing disc. Filed under "bluegrass", the songs here rarely approach the fiery energy or passion associated with the better examples of the genre. Furthermore,
Nelson's settings of
Grateful Dead lyricist
Robert Hunter's lyrics are downright mediocre, which only makes one mourn the loss of Garcia's talents even more.
Nelson does turn in a handful of passable imitation-Garcia solos and one full-on imitation
Grateful Dead jam, right down to Garcia's guitar tone. On the up side the disc does contain four new
Robert Hunter compositions.
–
David Lavin, Rovi