Heavy Turbulence

Heavy Turbulence
Merl Saunders
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1972
RecordedFall 1971
LabelFantasy
ProducerTom Fogerty
Merl Saunders
Brian Gardner
Merl Saunders chronology
Soul Grooving
(1968)
Heavy Turbulence
(1972)
Fire Up
(1973)

Heavy Turbulence is an album by Merl Saunders. His second album, it was recorded in the fall of 1971, and released in February 1972.[1][2]

In the early 1970s, Merl Saunders and Jerry Garcia sometimes performed concerts together at small venues in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the time, their band was Garcia's main musical outlet when the Grateful Dead were not on tour. Heavy Turbulence features their usual band lineup from 1971 – Saunders on keyboards and vocals, Garcia on lead guitar and vocals, Tom Fogerty on rhythm guitar, John Kahn on bass, and Bill Vitt on drums.[3]

Saunders' next album, Fire Up, released in 1973, was recorded with the same group of musicians.[4] All of the tracks from Heavy Turbulence and most of the tracks from Fire Up were re-released on the 1992 compilation album Fire Up Plus.[5]

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