From his days withhis eponymous Brotherhood, Chris Robinson learned, or possibly already knew,that leaving a live recording in the hands of Betty Cantor-Jackson was a goodidea. The renowned Grateful Dead taperdocumented more than a few Chris Robinson Brotherhood performances, thencompiled into official live releases, for the band’s own record label. Betty’s back, as too is Robinson this timewith a new quintet, Green Leaf Rustlers, but with the same familiar flair forpicking some hot numbers.
Selected from agrouping of March 2018 shows at Sweetwater Music Hall in Marin’s Mill Valley,the ten chosen ones all share a cowboy-music-on-the-moon quality. From country rock rambles such as the opening“Big Mouth Blues” to the closing Dead inflections on “Ride Me High,” this isexactly the alchemy one would hope for from Robinson, guitarists Barry Slessand Greg Loiacono, bassist Pete Sears, and drummer John Molo, with Bettycapturing the magic. Hippy and trippy,torn denim and tie-dye, yet with punchy tempos and nods to Johnny Cash and theRolling Stones, among others, the Rustlers remain above cliché.
Robinson isespecially deft at morphing between vocal characters, and allowing plenty ofspace for the reggae-flecked, envelope-filtered jam that bubbles out of theStones’ “No Expectations.” Robinson’sfinest vocal comes on Bob Dylan’s “Positively 4th Street,” in thatit honors the original without a hint of parody. On Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” Robinson andfriends turn the outlaw country classic upside down, at a charging pace thatcurls into “That’s Alright Mama,” and delights with the sparkling conversationsof Sless and Loiacono.
Robinson has beenfrequently trafficking at the intersections of cosmic country rock and freeformexploratory improvisations since his move to the Marin area. The Rustlers, themselves, were spawned froman earlier jam at another establishment, also with Dead connections. As the Brotherhood was an outlet for thatband’s original songwriting, here Robinson is paying tribute to some of hisheroes, the only way he knows how: with a party on the moon and Betty at theboard.
