Merl Saunders - Keepers (1997)

Keyboardist Merl Saunders roamed through the vaults at Fantasy Records in 1997, where he had recorded a voluminous amount of material in the 1970s, and put together this scintillating retrospective. Filled with multi-track remixes of forgotten masters, unreleased gems, restored parts over previously released material, this features Saunders fronting a bunch of different lineups and utilizing the talents of Jerry Garcia, Michael Bloomfield, David Grisman, Tom Fogerty, Vassar Clements, Kenneth Nash, John Kahn and a young Sheila E. Escovedo. Highlights include "Little Bit of Righteousness" and "Iron House," both featuring great guitar work from Bloomfield, "Wondering Why" and "Bolinas Brown," showcasing Garcia in two different lineups and "M.S.," perhaps Sheila's first recorded performance.