Jerry Garcia and David Grisman enjoyed getting together in Grisman's studio to record informally for their friends, with the mandolinist wisely choosing to share their best efforts with the public by releasing a series of CDs following Garcia's death. With various members of Grisman's quintet and a couple of other musicians as well, the two old friends explore a wide range of material, including a bluegrass treatment of James Brown's "I'll Go Crazy," an instrumental of a popular old sea shanty renamed "Handsome Cabin Boy Waltz," and country legend Jimmie Rodgers' "Blue Yodel No. 9," along with fresh interpretations of works by Bob Dylan, Merle Travis, and Mel Tillis. Throughout these undated sessions, Garcia's brilliant guitar and folksy vocals are beautifully complemented by Grisman's imaginative mandolin accompaniment. According to Grisman's liner notes, this may be the final collection of their previously unissued collaborations to be issued; like earlier volumes, it is highly recommended. ~ Ken Dryden

In the last few years of his life, Jerry Garcia reconnected with his old mandolin-playing pal David Grisman and casually recorded tons of old folk, blues, and country tunes at Grisman's home studio in an all-acoustic format. The bulk of these have been presented over the course of a series of discs, and BEEN ALL AROUND THIS WORLD purports to be the last installment. It's a hell of a swan song.

Garcia used to perform "I've Been All Around This World" in the Grateful Dead's acoustic sets, and the version included here lives up to that legacy. Freddie Hart's acerbic country waltz "Drink Up and Go Home" gets a suitably wry reading. Things go further afield with folk takes on James Brown ("I'll Go Crazy") and Jimmy Cliff ("Sitting Here in Limbo"), demonstrating the eclecticism that was part and parcel of Garcia's musical vision.