Originally titled Garcia, the album came to be called Compliments because early promotional copies had the words "compliments of" printed on the front cover, above the title Garcia. This helped to distinguish it from Garcia's first solo LP, which was also called Garcia. The title Compliments was officially adopted when the album was re-released in 1990.[2][3]
Garcia was reissued in 2004 as part of the All Good Things box set, with ten bonus tracks comprising outtakes from the studio sessions.
It was released on 180-gram green vinyl, in a limited edition of 7,000 copies, as part of Record Store Day on April 18, 2015.[4]
Production
Garcia was produced by Jerry Garcia's frequent non-Grateful Dead musical collaborator and bassist John Kahn, who suggested most of the songs that were included on the album. In an interview, Kahn said, "It was mainly stuff that he wouldn't ordinarily thought of, and I think that was part of the challenge for him to try something that was really new for him." In another interview, Garcia said, "Most of those songs I didn't know, either, so I went in there like a studio vocalist, with the lyrics – most of them I'd only heard one or two times. That was one of the few times when I didn't really go on a trip about the material. I let John do the material selecting, except for a few suggestions like "Russian Lullaby", which was one of mine."[2][5]
In The Music Box, John Metzger wrote, "Over the years, Compliments has gotten a bad rap due to both the brevity of its tunes and the polish of the performances, but those looking for extended jams are simply missing the point. This was an opportunity for Garcia to do something different – to sing, to perform, and to arrange a variety of songs however he wanted. As a result, he surely sounded like he was having the time of his life..."[7]
On AllMusic, Lindsay Planer said, "Backed by an A-list cast of studio heavies, covers such as the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together" and Van Morrison's "He Ain't Give You None" come off sounding slightly over-arranged. The converse, however, can be said of Garcia's intimately chilling reading of Peter Rowan's "Mississippi Moon", the slinky irrepressible Motown vibe on the Marvelettes' "The Hunter Gets Captured By the Game", and Little Milton's "That's What Love Will Make You Do" – all of which remained as staples of the Jerry Garcia Band's live catalog."[5]
"Back Home in Indiana" (James Hanley, Ballard McDonald) – 7:08
Note: Although credited to Albert Washington on this album, the song "Turn On the Bright Lights" is credited on Albert Washington's original single release to musician, producer, and songwriter Harry Carlson.[8]
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