Garcia Family Shares the late Jerry Garcia’s 1986 Rendition of Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” Alongside John Kahn

Jerry Garcia‘s legacy lives on…

Garcia Family Provisions is sharing thelate half-Spanish American Grateful Dead frontman and guitarist’s rendition of Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece” alongside bassist John Kahn.

Jerry Garcia

It’s the latest offering from GarciaLive Volume 14: January 27th, 1986 the Ritz, which will be released on Friday, July 24.

In the performance, Garcia and Kahn offer a fully stripped-down take on the song, with just guitar and bass skipping and tumbling alongside each other. 

Vocally, Garcia pushes his voice up to the edge of a raspy wail — while still keeping the vibe totally intact — as he sings, “I left Rome and landed in Brussels/On a plane ride so bumpy that I almost cried/Clergymen in uniform and young girls pulling muscles/Everyone was there to greet me when I stepped inside.”

Dylan wrote “When I Paint My Masterpiece” in 1971. Although the Band delivered the first recorded version of the song on their 1971 album CahootsDylan’s rendition would appear a few months later on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II. 

Garcia was performing “When I Paint My Masterpiece” as early as 1972, and its regular inclusion in his shows with Kahn during their 1986 trek notably foreshadowed its eventual status as a staple in Grateful Dead setlists starting the following year.

GarciaLive Volume 14, as its title suggests, captures Garcia and Kahn’s January 1986 show at the Ritz in New York City. 

The show found the pair playing a mix of Grateful Dead songs, folk standards and one other Dylan cover, “Simple Twist of Fate.”

GarciaLive Volume 14 is available for preorder, and those who purchase it via Garcia Family Provisions or local independent record stores will receive a bonus CD featuring a recording of Garcia and Kahn’s January 28th, 1986, concert at the Ritz as well (while supplies last). 

A vinyl version of the album, limited to 5,000 copies, will be released on August 14. 

The album boasts new liner notes from bluegrass artist Billy Strings.