A while back, I stumbled upon this Playing in the Heart of Gold Band, and it immediately caught my attention because it's a collection of songs recorded in 1979 and 1980 in various groups led by Keith & Donna Godchaux. The interesting thing about it is that the material is from after their departure from the Grateful Dead. It's a bit of a puzzle to determine which tracks are from where, but as far as I can tell, tracks 1 through 5 are by The Ghosts. When they formed in 1979, they consisted of:
- Greg Anton – drums
- Keith Godchaux – keyboards
- Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
- Greta Rose – vocals
- Billy Travis – vocals
- Bill Middlejohn – guitar
- Larry Klein – bass
A year later (in 1980), Middlejohn, Travis, and Klein were replaced by Steve Kimock (guitar) and Dexter LeBlanc (bass), and the group was renamed the Heart of Gold Band. Tracks 6 through 9 feature this lineup. After the accident in which Keith Godchaux died, the group disbanded, but a revival followed in 2004, featuring Donna and Keith's son (Zion, the baby featured on their self-titled album) and Donna's new husband. This new lineup, however, has nothing to do with Playing in the Heart of Gold Band. It's an album with many Grateful Dead influences (drummer Mickey Hart is credited, Dan Healy is the mixing engineer, and it includes a cover of Scarlet Begonias), and honestly, it all sounds very good. It is indeed a collection of covers, and because it's two different bands and the second part is live recording, it doesn't feel like a cohesive whole, but Ride Out is a really cool opener, and House of Wax has a nice charm.
However, I do prefer the Heart of Gold Band tracks. Maybe it's because it's material I'm more familiar with (Solid Rock and Knockin' on Heaven's Door are Bob Dylan covers, the latter of which the Dead also played regularly, and I can't count on ten hands how many times I've listened to Scarlet Begonias. That's also where the term "Heart of Gold Band" comes from, by the way), but that live feel also comes through much better with these musicians. It's a shame Keith Godchaux had to leave us so soon. It was a good decision to leave the Dead, and recordings like this one (and also some stuff with the Jerry Garcia Band) prove that he had rediscovered his joy in playing. According to Donna's liner notes, he only performed once with the Heart of Gold Band; who knows what else we might have had. Those versions of Knockin' on Heaven's Door and Scarlet Begonias with his vocals are certainly intriguing.
In 1998, Grateful Dead Records released a Heart of Gold album. For some reason, that release had the same cover as this Playing in the Heart of Gold Band (minus "Playing in the"), but it does contain two songs (Gomorrah and Show Boat) that aren't on Playing in the Heart of Gold Band or the 1986 The Heart of Gold Band album. Showboat is on the self-titled Keith & Donna album, and Gomorrah was played with the Jerry Garcia Band. Could these be those versions? It doesn't seem so; they're more likely from the same 7/10/80 concert where tracks 6 through 9 also appear. I hope a full-fledged box set with all the Keith & Donna material is released someday, presented in a structured way. However, I fear that's wishful thinking. Anyway: interesting material to hear (you don't hear Keith sing very often, even though he can) and although this version of Scarlet Begonias can't hold a candle to the Dead's original, there's still some nice stuff to be found here.
Tracklist:
- Ride Out
- Built for Comfort
- House of Wax
- Ready for Love
- Creatures of the Night
- Solid Rock
- Golden Road
- Knockin' on Heaven's Door
- Scarlet Begonias
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