rtist: Old & In the Way Title: Live at the Boarding House (The Complete Shows) Year Of Release: 2013 Label: Acoustic Disc Genre: Country, Bluegrass Quality: FLAC (tracks+.cue) Total Time: 211:27 Tracklist: Old and In The Way Monday, October 1st, 1973 The Boarding House, San Francisco, CA DISC ONE (1973.10.01) Set I 01. On And On (3:21) 02. I'm On My Way Back to the Old Home (2:58) 03. Catfish John (3:38) 04. Lonesome Fiddle Blues (3:13) 05. Land of the Navajo (7:22) 06. Down Where The River Bends (4:25) 07. I Ain't Broke But I'm Badly Bent (2:56) 08. Lost (3:39) 09. Kissimee Kid (3:13) 10. Lonesome L.A. Cowboy (4:31) 11. Pig in a Pen (2:56) 12. Wild Horses (5:21) 13. Midnight Moonlight (5:27) DISC TWO (1973.10.01) Set II 01. Muleskinner Blues (2:44) 02. Goin' To The Races (2:41) 03. Old and in the Way (2:58) 04. Old And In The Way Breakdown (3:22) 05. Panama Red (3:09) 06. Hard Hearted (2:51) 07. High Lonesome Sound (3:41) 08. The Hobo Song (5:01) 09. Drifting Too Far From The Shore (5:22) 10. Angel Band (4:38) 11. Wicked Path of Sin (2:27) 12. Home Is Where The Heart Is (2:45) 13. Uncle Pen (3:15) 14. Orange Blossom Special (3:46) 15. Blue Mule (4:47) Old and In The Way Monday, October 8th, 1973 The Boarding House, San Francisco, CA DISC THREE (1973.10.08) Set I 01. Home Is Where The Heart Is (2:15) 02. Love Please Come Home (3:24) 03. Down Where The River Bends (4:48) 04. Kissimee Kid (3:29) 05. Pig in a Pen (2:50) 06. Uncle Pen (2:22) 07. Panama Red (2:53) 08. Midnight Moonlight (6:14) 09. White Dove (4:44) 10. Wild Horses (4:29) 11. Orange Blossom Special (3:36) 12. Old and in the Way (3:05) 13. Lonesome Fiddle Blues (3:37) DISC FOUR (1973.10.08) Set II 01. On And On (3:29) 02. Land of the Navajo (6:21) 03. Catfish John (4:07) 04. 'Til The End Of The World Rolls 'Round (2:15) 05. Drifting Too Far From The Shore (4:51) 06. I'm Knocking On Your Door (3:35) 07. Old And In The Way Breakdown (4:43) 08. You'll Find Her Name Written There (3:28) 09. Jerry's Breakdown (4:36) 10. The Great Pretender (3:54) 11. Working On A Building (2:39) 12. High Lonesome Sound (3:59) 13. Wicked Path of Sin (2:28) 14. Blue Mule (5:07) Personnel: Vassar Clements (fiddle & vocals) Jerry Garcia (banjo & vocals) David Grisman (mandolin & vocals) John Kahn (bass) Peter Rowan (guitar & vocals) The first Old & In the Way release, recorded in 1973 and released in 1975, has for some time lay claim to being best-selling bluegrass recording of all time. The main reason for that, of course, was the presence of Jerry Garcia on banjo and vocals, although each of the bandmembers -- Vassar Clements on fiddle, David Grisman on mandolin and vocals, Peter Rowan on guitar and vocals, and John Kahn on bass -- was also a virtuoso. Although OAITW was able to handle a traditional bluegrass number -- vocal or instrumental -- as well as anyone, the musicians brought a jam band sensibility and rock attitude to the proceedings, extending the instrumental segments with improvisations, something alien to bluegrass up to that point. By doing so, the quintet pretty much invented the concept of progressive bluegrass, taking the music even further from its starting point than the New Grass Revival had the year before while simultaneously paying homage to its founders. The original Old & In the Way album, released on the Grateful Dead's Round Records label and reissued a few times subsequently, was recorded on October 8, 1973 at San Francisco's Boarding House club. It only included ten tracks from the two shows played that night though, and now, via a spinoff of Grisman's Acoustic Disc label, both sets are available in what is claimed to be their entirety on two CDs. "Claimed" to be because there remains one mysterious omission: the original 1973 album included the Jack Bonus-penned "The Hobo Song," which does not turn up on the new double-discer, meaning either that the 1973 album snatched it from another show or it's been omitted from the new release for some reason. The other nine tracks from the original are all accounted for, augmented by a superb collection of Rowan originals and cool covers ("The Great Pretender," "Orange Blossom Special," "Wild Horses"), all in pristine soundboard fidelity. This group was very short-lived, only playing about 30 gigs in all, but its influence and popularity remain strong among both Deadheads and bluegrass aficionados. This collection is about as definitive an OAITW release as there will ever be