"Never the Same Way Once: Live at The Boarding House," released in 2017 by the Owsley Stanley Foundation, is a 7-CD archival release documenting Doc Watson and his son Merle across four evenings at The Boarding House in San Francisco, May 1–4, 1974. The recordings were made by Owsley "Bear" Stanley — the Grateful Dead's legendary sound engineer — whose custom equipment captured Merle at age twenty, already a fluid flat-pick guitarist in father-son chemistry that became one of the most celebrated partnerships in American roots music. An official commercial release rather than a bootleg, the set represents the first major live archival publication of Doc and Merle as a duo and an essential document of their shared repertoire at the height of their powers together.
Tracklist
- 1 Salty Dog Blues - Live 3:05
- 2 Frosty Morn - Live 2:13
- 3 Matchbox Blues - Live 3:52
- 4 Deep Elem Blues alt version 2:51
- 5 Good Old Mountain Dew - Live 3:13
- 6 Travellin' Man - Live 3:45
- 7 Sweet Georgia Brown alt version 4:05
- 8 Lonesome Moan - Live 3:19
- 9 Clouds Gwine Roll Away - Live 2:41
- 10 Three Times Seven - Live 2:15
- 11 Peach Pickin' Time in Georgia - Live 3:18
- 12 Walk On Boy alt version 3:23
- 13 Nothin' to It - Live 1:31
- 14 Blue Railroad Train alt version 3:31
- 15 Brown’s Ferry Blues alt version 3:46
- 16 Beaumont Rag alt version 3:16
- 17 Doc's Guitar - Live 1:15
- 18 Mama Don't Allow - Live 4:19
- 19 Freight Train Boogie alt version 3:02
- 20 Miss the Mississippi and You - Live 3:44
- 21 Bye Bye Bluebell - Live 2:03
- 22 Way Down Town - Live 2:36
- 23 Poor Boy Blues - Live 2:34
- 24 Nancy Rowland/Old Joe Clark - Live 2:13
- 25 Last Thing on My Mind alt version 3:18
- 26 Solid Gone - Live 3:25
- 27 South Coast - Live 3:46
- 28 Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad - Live 2:58
- 29 Wabash Cannonball alt version 2:36
- 30 Black Mountain Rag alt version 2:40
- 31 Tennessee Stud alt version 3:38
- 32 Step It up and Go - Live 3:10
