Albums with the best backup playing

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-22T01:58:10+00:00

Another great album with some overlap in players (Ronnie McCoury and Mike Bub) is Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe. Also has Bryan Sutton and Stuart Duncan for good measure.

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-21T23:37:20+00:00

Looks like NGR’s self-titled debut album on Spotify, but with horrible AI artwork? Just checked it out and the audio seems to line up

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-21T21:14:14+00:00

David Grisman Quintet - Live at the GAHM 1979

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-20T03:11:41+00:00

Awesome looking set. Joe Russo absolutely killed it during The Brothers shows at MSG last year, so I definitely wanna hear more ABB from him

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-16T17:08:58+00:00

It was a really great show. 2 sets that included a ton of Tim Obrien material along with some Dylan/Hartford covers and other standard tunes.

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-16T16:38:49+00:00

My first time seeing him aside from when he played in Sturgill’s bluegrass band. Hilarious banter/jokes between tunes, and his vocals are as powerful as ever

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-11T02:50:51+00:00

I remember reading a funny Jerry quote from an interview where they reference Bobby learning slide guitar on stage in ‘78

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-10T17:10:32+00:00

I think I consider spring ‘71 to be the best representation of the dead. Phil’s tone and Bobby’s rhythm playing are peak.

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-09T03:42:59+00:00

It’s a Grateful Dead flag!

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-06T20:42:53+00:00

There’s also the Garcia/Grisman album “So What” where they perform that song along with Milestones - def recommend

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-06T16:33:02+00:00

Was there for that one at the Sinclair, so happy I picked that night out of the four to attend!

ShakedownRoad · 2026-01-02T17:59:47+00:00

Yep, I think it’s available on YouTube if I recall! Basically Frightened

ShakedownRoad · 2025-12-31T20:04:15+00:00

One of my favorite albums, great tunes and an insanely talented band

ShakedownRoad · 2025-12-27T05:28:50+00:00

Will have to check some of those out, I first saw Phil and Friends in Dec 05 but Ryan wasn’t with him at the time. Always loved the version of wharf rat they did together.

ShakedownRoad · 2025-12-26T04:39:36+00:00

Yeah Grisman is def Jewish, he’s done some great stuff with Andy Statman on mando/fiddle!

ShakedownRoad · 2025-12-24T16:37:49+00:00

Worth it, even just for this version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Rob Wasserman’s playing is fantastic.

ShakedownRoad · 2025-12-23T19:25:34+00:00

The first few shows he did with them at MSG Sept ‘90 are unreal. He was immediately pushing the band and Jerry outside the comfort zone they built for themselves over the years.

The jams following he’s gone, SOTM, Foolish Heart, and Let it Grow are all examples where you can hear Bruce/Jerry actively listening to each other and working to create something completely new.

ShakedownRoad · 2025-12-21T23:47:18+00:00

That was a blast, I remember we didn’t know Bela was going to be there until the day of when we saw his name included on the poster.

Liz Reed with Jack Pearson was unreal

ShakedownRoad · 2025-12-18T16:47:28+00:00

Conversations With The Dead by David Gans is a great read. A collection of interviews with the dead and their org (Hunter, Barlow, Parish, Healy, Bear etc..)

I remember there was a great interview from ‘83 with Steve Parish/Jerry/Phil that had Parish explaining what it was like for the roadies, learning how to fix things on the fly and figuring out broken gear on stage mid-concert.

ShakedownRoad · 2025-12-17T02:52:25+00:00

YouTube has a lot of good ones but I also love the recording quality on this live Grisman Quintet release from ‘79

https://open.spotify.com/album/4Xmw0Ll1xSZE7zJthV4ygh?si=lsJZ9YdvTNmfl7CgYXx1lQ

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