The diversity and malleability of the music of the Grateful Dead have long made it ripe for tribute albums of all stripes, from bluegrass to rock to jazz to a cappella takes on a catalog that has been evolving even since the death of Jerry Garcia 30 years ago.
The Delaware-based blues guitarist and singer JP Reali adds his spice to the stew this summer with a new EP called “Grateful Blues.” The six songs are what you’d want from a tribute: recognizable but not rote. Reali’s love for the Dead’s music shines through the six tracks, and he and his musicians’ facility with the blues makes them sing anew.
“Easy Wind” is an easy choice for a blues record, and Reali and company deliver, taking the old Pigpen-sung tune in some new directions. The drum-and-bass groove, lead piano and tasty backing vocals, make “Loose Lucy” as fun as ever.
“West LA Fadeaway” is a standout. A repeated organ line in the verses adds a sense of foreboding to the latter-era Dead tune, and Reali’s solo comps the melody of the vocals and sounds very little like the way Garcia played. “I Need a Miracle” puts an even bluesier foundation down than the original. The last minute of the tune is a platform for Reali to solo before he double-times into a sweet surprise of a few measures of “Bertha.”
“Mr. Charlie,” like “Easy Wind,” was a blues tune before Reali got his hands on it, but he still finds a way to bring something new to it. His plain vocals are well-suited for the storytelling nature of the song, here and on all of the tracks, and are mixed in a way that they don’t take a backseat to the instruments, which sometimes happened with the Dead, especially in concert.
For “Tennessee Jed,” Reali switches to an acoustic guitar, which he plucks over a stomping drum beat. “Drank all day, gonna pick all night,” he sings, taking some liberties with Robert Hunter’s lyrics. While the original became a big-chorus singalong on the stage, this version sounds like it was recorded on a porch on a hot summer day.
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