“The Best Of The Grateful Dead" by THE GRATEFUL DEAD – Including Tracks from "The Grateful Dead" (March 1967 Debut), "Anthem Of The Sun" (July 1968), "Aoxomoxoa" (June 1969), "Workingman's Dead" (June 1970), "American Beauty" (November 1970), "Wake Of The Flood" (October 1973), "From The Mars Hotel" (June 1974) and more – Featuring Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Ron McKernan, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreuetmann (March 2015 Rhino 2 x HDCD – David Glasser and Jamie Howarth Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...A Long Strange Trip..."

It seems strange that there hasn't been a proper "Best Of" to cover the Dead’s astonishing career (1993 was the last and that was a single disc I believe).

Unremarkable title aside – and forgiving the complete absence of live material (a domain every fan acknowledges they excel in) – what you do get here is 31 tracks from their thirteen studio albums between 1968 and 1989 on Warner Brothers, Grateful Dead and Arista Records as well as a rare 7" single version of 1968's "Dark Star" – all of it remastered into HDCD in 2015. Here are the not-so-skeletal details...

UK released March 2015 – "The Best Of The Grateful Dead" by THE GRATEFUL DEAD on Rhino 081227955984 (Barcode 081227955984) is a 32-track 2 x HDCD set of new Remasters and breaks down as follows (the letters [A] to [N] after each LP represent personnel codes for the Band - see list):

Disc 1 (79:54 minutes):

1. The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)

2. Cream Puff War

Tracks 1 and 2 from the debut LP "The Grateful Dead" – released March 1967 in the USA on Warner Brothers W 1689 (Mono) and WS 1689 (Stereo). Stereo mix used. [A]

3. Born Cross-Eyed

Track 3 is from their 2nd studio LP "Anthem Of The Sun" – released July 1968 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1749 (Stereo only). [B]

4. Dark Star (Single Version)

Track 4 was released October 1968 in the USA as a 7" single on Warner Brothers 7186 ("Born Cross-Eyed" was the B-side). Note: the UK variant on Warner Brothers WB 7186 reversed the sides and had "Born Cross-Eyed" as the A [C]

5. St. Stephen

6. China Cat Sunflower

Tracks 5 and 6 are from their 3rd studio album "Aoxomoxoa" – released June 1969 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1790 [D]

7. Uncle John’s Band

8. Easy Wind

9. Casey Jones

Tracks 7 to 9 are from their 4th studio album "Workingman's Dead" – released June 1970 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1869 [E]

10. Truckin'

11 Box Of Rain

12. Sugar Magnolia

13. Friend Of The Devil

14. Ripple

Tracks 10 to 14 are from their 5th studio album "American Beauty" – released November 1970 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1893 [F]

15. Eyes Of The World

Tracks 15 is from their 6th studio album "Wake Of The Flood" – released October 1973 in the USA on Grateful Dead Records GD-01 [G]

16. Unbroken Chain

17. Scarlet Begonias

Tracks 16 and 17 are from their 7th studio album "From The Mars Hotel" – released June 1974 in the USA on Grateful Dead Records GD-102 [H]

18. The Music Never Stopped

Track 18 is from their 8th studio album "Blues For Allah" – released September 1975 in the USA on Grateful Dead/United Artists GD-LA494-G [I]

19. Estimated Prophet

Track 19 is from their 9th studio album "Terrapin Station" – released August 1977 in the USA on Arista AL 7001 [J]

Disc 2 (79:08 minutes):

1.Terrapin Station

Tracks 1 is from their 9th studio album "Terrapin Station" (at 16:10 minutes this is the whole of Side 2) – released August 1977 in the USA on Arista AL 7001 [J]

2. Shakedown Street

3. I Need A Miracle

4. Fire On The Mountain

Tracks 2 to 4 are from their 10th studio album "Shakedown Street" (album Produced by Lowell George of Little Feat) – released November 1978 in the USA on Arista AB 4198 [K]

5. Feel Like A Stranger

6. Far From Me

Tracks 5 and 6 are from their 11th studio album "Go To Heaven" – released May 1980 in the USA on Arista Al 9508 [L]

7. Touch Of Grey

8. Hell In A Bucket

9. Throwing Stones

10. Black Muddy River

Tracks 7 to 10 are from their 12th studio album "In The Dark" – released July 1987 in the USA on Arista AL 8452 [M]

11. Blow Away

12. Foolish Heart

13. Standing On The Moon

Tracks 11 to 13 are from their 13th studio album "Built To Last" – released November 1989 in the USA on Arista AL-8575

THE GRATEFUL DEAD Band Members:

GERRY GARCIA [A to N] – Lead Guitar, Vocals, Pedal Steel and Piano

BOB WEIR [A to N] – Guitar and Vocals

RON "PIGPEN" McKERNAN [A to F] – Organ, Harmonica, Vocals, Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar, Congas and Percussion

PHIL LESH [A to N] – Bass, Vocals, Guitar and Piano

BILL KREUETZMANN [A to N] – Drums and Percussion

TOM CONSTANTEN [B and D] – Keyboards and Piano

MICKEY HART [B to F and I to N] – Drums and Percussion

KEITH GODCHAUX [G to K] – Keyboards, Piano and Vocals

DONNA GODCHAUX [G to K] – Vocals

BRENT MYLAND [L to N] – Keyboards and Vocals

GUESTS:

DAVE GRISMAN - Mandolin on "Friend Of The Devil" and "Ripple"

HOWARD WALES – Organ on "Truckin'"

STEVE SCHUSTER – Saxophone on "The Music Never Stopped"

TOM SCOTT – Lyricon and Saxophone on "Estimated Prophet"

DAVID LEMIEUX produced the compilation with the Tapes and Remasters handled by both DAVID GLASSER and JAMIE HOWARTH. It’s housed in a fetching three-way foldout card digipak with two see-through trays holding Grateful Dead skeleton logo CDs (discography info beneath each). The 16-page booklet features new song-by-song liner notes by BLAIR JACKSON (it’s almost entirely text) with pictures of the band on the last and rear pages only. Blair’s insights into each song are suitably detailed and fun – pointing out who played on what and how the track happened. Provided by Jim Marshall - the booklet is also fronted by a gorgeous black and white photo of the boys hanging out by the Haight/Ashbury Road Sign in the late Sixties. And the embossed Skull Logo on the front is gorgeous - the whole thing feels classy and shows that Rhino are back on reissuing form...

But the best news is the new 2015 remasters. Comparing a few tracks to the 2003 Rhino HDCD remasters for the individual albums – I must confess that the earlier cuts from say "Grateful Dead" to "American Beauty" on Warner Brothers sound roughly the same if not a small bit improved. But the Grateful Dead Records and Arista Records stuff is 'so' much better than CDs I had in the Nineties. For that alone – and the extra breath of material Disc 2 brings (over 2 and half hours of music) – this is a bit of a stunner Audio-wise and its available beneath a ten-spot in many places too.

Disc 1 sticks to favourites – the "hey hey" jaunt of "The Golden Road (To The Unlimited Devotion)" from the debut segues into Jerry Garcia's lone credit on "Cream Puff War" – a sort of Garage Pop chugger. The 7" single 2:42 minute edit of "Dark Star" and "Born Cross-Eyed" (a Bob Weir song) was issued in the USA and UK as a seven-inch single on Warner Brothers in the spring of 1968 (funny now to see "Dark Star" as a 'single' when it is always been associated with 25 to 30-minute jams). "Dark Star" is the most un-commercial of singles and has a bit of spoken poetry/banjo in the fade out! Both of the cuts from "Aoxomoxoa" introduced Funk into the Dead’s Psychedelic swagger with Organ and Guitar fighting it out. Both the LPs "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" are surely everyone’s faves – both introducing a musicality and warmth to their sound that can't be denied. I would have loved to have had "New Speedway Boogie" from "Workingman's Dead" included – but you can’t have everything (check out Marc Cohn's great cover of it on his "Listening Booth: 1970" CD album from 2010).

David Grisman adds wonderful Mandolin strums to the witty "Friend Of The Devil" and the lovely "American Beauty" Side 2 opener "Ripple" – as pretty a song as they've ever written (gorgeous audio on it). I always thought "Eyes Of The World" terribly weedy fare – far better is the acoustic "Unbroken Chain" with Donna Godchaux providing really sweet duet Vocals. Things go a bit Funky for the "...mosquitos on the river..." song "The Music Never Stopped" where Donna gives it some vox yet again (nice Sax too from Steve Schuster). Speaking of that great instrument - Tom Scott adds Saxophone to the LA reggae-ish sway of "Estimated Prophet" (from their first album for Arista "Terrapin Station"). Its (dare we say it) 'commercial' for the Dead – but I actually love that rhythm (remaster is superb too). The full 16:02 minute/seven-part "Terrapin Station" that took up the whole of Side 2 of the LP may test your patience – but I love the Eastern mysticism vibes and the Prog parts with those mad string flurries in the final section of the suite.

Lowell George of Little Feat fame stepped up to the Producer Chair for "Shakedown Street" and the band returned from Prog to straight-up Rock 'n' Roll with "I Need A Miracle". The disco-funk of the title track probably brings out a rash in hardcore fans and the soft-shoe commercial cod-reggae shuffle of "Fire On The Mountain" probably elicits the same reaction – but they both sound incredible in these new remasters. Far more accomplished is "Feel Like A Stranger" where new Keyboard player Brent Myland really makes his presence known in those tasty fills (fabulous remaster too). His vocal lead on “Far From Me” sounds almost “Rumours” in its sophisticated Rock way and you can hear that Bob Weir hip influence – Funky one moment – pretty the next – and those Queen layered vocals (a bit cool actually). "I will survive!" they sing on their unlikely hit single "Touch Of Grey" – Garcia having fun. We get a bit more downhome boogie on the excellent "Hell In A Bucket" where that motorbike growl travelling across your speakers still takes me by surprise (enjoying the ride). And that's what's so cool about Disc 2 – it surprises you – and in many ways is actually better than the later Seventies stuff in some ways.

So there you have it – a "Best Of" that finally does the band justice (in the studio anyway). What’s needed now is a "Best Of LIVE DEAD" but we’re probably looking at a 3-disc minimum or more. In the meantime – dig in here and remember what those Robert Crumb cartoon teeshirts used to say...Keep On Truckin'...