It contains the complete concert recorded on November 2, 1974 at the Keystone in Berkeley, California.

[1][2] In the early- to mid-1970s Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders performed many live shows together, mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area, and released the album Live at Keystone.

Garcia Live Volume 18 features the July 1974 to January 1975 lineup of their band, with Garcia on guitar and vocals, Saunders on keyboards and vocals, Martin Fierro on saxophone and flute, John Kahn on bass, and Paul Humphrey on drums.

In Glide Magazine Doug Collette said, "... each member of the band is as engaged in their respective role as the others, so the five-piece literally and figuratively sounds far bigger and more versatile than its number might allow.

Fortunately, all such aspects of the musicianship come through thoroughly in Fred Kevorkian’s mastering of original recordings by the famed Betty Cantor-Jackson.