Bear's Sonic Journals: Sing Out!

Bear's Sonic Journals: Sing Out!
Bear's Sonic Journals: Sing Out!
Live album by various artists
Released	February 23, 2024
Recorded	April 25, 1981
Venue	Berkeley Community Theater
Genre	Acoustic music
Length	160:15
Label	Owsley Stanley Foundation
Bear's Sonic Journals chronology

Bear's Sonic Journals: Sing Out! is a three-CD live album of acoustic music by various artists. It features performances by Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir, Country Joe McDonald, Kate Wolf, Rosalie Sorrels, and the Rhythm Devils. It was recorded at the Berkeley Community Theater in Berkeley, California on April 25, 1981. The album includes a 50-page booklet of essays and photos. It was released on February 23, 2024.^[1]^[2]

The "Sing Out" concert was a benefit for the Seva Foundation, organized by Wavy Gravy.^[3] It was recorded by audio engineer (and LSD chemist) Owsley "Bear" Stanley. A performance by Odetta at the same show is not included in the album, as the producers were unable to secure the rights to it.

Critical reception

On Americana Highways, John Apice said, "The 3rd CD in this impeccable package features more ambitious playing with what's an abbreviated Grateful Dead performance.... Several tracks are classic Dead songs & traditional pieces mixed with some covers that sparkle in the Dead oeuvre."^[4]

Track listing

Disc 1

Country Joe McDonald:

Wavy's welcome – 2:24
"Save the Whales" (McDonald) – 4:21
"Janis" (McDonald) – 3:46
"Picks & Lasers" (McDonald) – 6:23
"Slide Trombone Blues" (McDonald) – 4:24
"Oh! Susanna" (Stephen Foster) – 1:17
"Yankee Doodle (He's No Fool)" (McDonald) – 2:08
Country Joe dedicates tonight's cheer – :48
"Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag" (McDonald) – 3:21
Wavy Gravy runs things like a Swiss watch – :34

Rosalie Sorrels with Mitch Greenhill:

"The Loving of the Game" (Pat Garvey, Victoria Garvey) – 5:42
"If You Love Me" (Malvina Reynolds) – 4:49
"12 Adler Place" (Sorrels) – 3:35
"Postcard from India" (Sorrels) – 3:41
"You’ve Got to Go to Sleep Alone" (Jimmie Dale Gilmore) – 5:21
"Scared to Be Alone" (Dory Previn) – 5:55
"I Remember Loving You" (Utah Phillips) – 5:57

Disc 2

Kate Wolf with Nina Gerber and Ford James:

Wavy introduces Kate Wolf – 1:17
"You’re Not Standing Like You Used To" (Wolf) – 4:37
"Shining!" (Wolf) – 3:14
"20/20 Vision" (Joe Allison, Milton Estes) – 3:32
"Unfinished Life" (Wolf) – 5:41
"Eyes of a Painter" (Wolf) – 4:39
"Let’s Get Together" (Dino Valenti) – with Wavy Gravy – 4:32
"Like a River" (Wolf) – 4:14

Rhythm Devils (Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann):

"Rhythm Devils" (Hart, Kreutzmann) – 20:06

Disc 3

Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir with Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and John Kahn:

Introduction and tuning – 3:32
"Deep Elem Blues" (traditional) – 5:32
"Dark Hollow" (Bill Browning) – 4:40
"Jack-a-Roe" (traditional) – 3:34
"Monkey and the Engineer" (Jesse Fuller) – 2:44
"Friend of the Devil" (Garcia, John Dawson, Robert Hunter) – 6:58
"El Paso" (Marty Robbins) – 4:17
"Oh, Babe, It Ain't No Lie" (Elizabeth Cotten) – 4:45
"On the Road Again" (traditional) – 3:48
"Oh Boy!" (Sonny West, Bill Tilghman, Norman Petty) – 2:23

Personnel

Musicians

Country Joe McDonald – vocals, guitar, trombone, harmonica, tambourine
Rosalie Sorrels – vocals, guitar
Mitch Greenhill – guitar
Kate Wolf – vocals, guitar
Nina Gerber – guitar, mandolin, vocals
Ford James – bass, vocals
Mickey Hart – drums, percussion
Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion
Jerry Garcia – vocals, guitar
Bob Weir – vocals, guitar
John Kahn – bass

Production

Recording: Owsley Stanley
Mastering: Jeffrey Norman
Tape to digital transfers: John Chester, Jamie Howarth
Book and packaging design, illustration: Susan Archie
Cover lettering: Kathryn S. Renta
Photography: Larry Hulst, Nicholas Wilson
Executive producers: Starfinder Stanley, Hawk
Release producer: Hawk
Liner notes essays: Starfinder Stanley, Nicholas G. Meriwether, Mitch Greenhill, Hawk, Gary Burnett, Jesse Jarnow, Pete Bell

References

^ Kahn, Andy (January 4, 2024). "Owsley 'Bear' Stanley's Final Live Recording Featuring Members of Grateful Dead Set for Release". JamBase. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
^ "Owsley "Bear" Stanley's Final Live Recordings Featuring Members of the Grateful Dead Get Release Date". jambands.com. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
^ Arnold, Corry (January 2, 2014). "April 25, 1981 Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, CA: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann (Seva Sing Out for Sight Benefit)". Lost Live Dead. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
^ Apice, John (February 24, 2024). "Review: Bear's Sonic Journals – Sing Out! – Berkeley Community Theater Live – 3 CDs". Americana Highways. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[jambase-1] Kahn, Andy (January 4, 2024). "Owsley 'Bear' Stanley's Final Live Recording Featuring Members of Grateful Dead Set for Release". JamBase. Retrieved January 14, 2024.

[jambands-2] "Owsley "Bear" Stanley's Final Live Recordings Featuring Members of the Grateful Dead Get Release Date". jambands.com. January 4, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.

[lost-live-dead-3] Arnold, Corry (January 2, 2014). "April 25, 1981 Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, CA: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann (Seva Sing Out for Sight Benefit)". Lost Live Dead. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

[americana-4] Apice, John (February 24, 2024). "Review: Bear's Sonic Journals – Sing Out! – Berkeley Community Theater Live – 3 CDs". Americana Highways. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

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