GRATEFUL DEAD (SKULL & ROSES) – 50TH ANNIVERSARY EXPANDED EDITIONS
26th March 2021 0 By John DeauxTwo-CD Set Available June 25 Features A Newly Remastered Version Of The 1971 Live Album Expanded With More Than An Hour Of Unreleased MusicÂ
A Remastered Version Of The Original Double-LP Will Be Available The Same Day On Black Vinyl With A Limited Edition, Black & White Propeller VinylÂ
Available Exclusively At Dead.net
Previously Unreleased Live Version Of âThe Other OneâÂ
Available Today On All Streaming Services
Grateful Dead earned the bandâs first-ever gold record in 1971 with its self-titled live album. Known to many fans as âSkull & Rosesâ (a reference to the cover art by Alton Kelly and Stanley Mouse) the original double-LP included songs recorded in March and April 1971 in New York and, the bandâs hometown, San Francisco. Grateful Dead celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with a newly remastered and expanded version of the original.
GRATEFUL DEAD (SKULL & ROSES): EXPANDED EDITION will be available as a two-CD set on June 25. It includes the albumâs originalâs 11 tracks, which have been remastered from the stereo analog master tapes by GrammyÂŽ Award winning engineer David Glasser using Plangent Process Speed Correction. The set also includes a bonus disc with 10 previously unreleased live tracks that were recorded on July 2, 1971 at the Fillmore West, which was the bandâs final performance at the historic San Francisco venue. The music will also be available in both standard and high-resolution 192/24 audio at digital download and streaming services.Â
GRATEFUL DEAD (SKULL & ROSES) will also be released on June 25 as a double-LP set that features the newly remastered version of the original album pressed on 180-gram black vinyl. In addition, Dead.net will offer an exclusive version pressed on 180-gram, black and white propeller vinyl that is limited to 5,000 copies.
A previously unreleased performance of âThe Other Oneâ from the July 2, 1971 Fillmore West show is available today on streaming services.
âFor the Grateful Dead’s second live album, released two years after its predecessor Live/Dead, the band delivered an equally magnificent, but entirely different, Grateful Dead sound. Whereas Live/Dead was a perfect sonic encapsulation of the band at the peak of their Primal Dead era, Skull & Roses captures the quintessential quintet, the original five piece band, playing some of their hardest hitting rock ‘n’ roll (âJohnny B. Goode,â âNot Fade Awayâ), showing off their authentic Bakersfield bona fides (âMe & My Uncle,â âMama Tried,â âMe & Bobby McGeeâ), and some originals that would be important parts of the Dead’s live repertoire for the next 24 years (âBertha,â âPlaying In The Band,â âWharf Ratâ),â says David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist, legacy manager, and the setâs producer. âOf course, the Dead were never defined by one specific âsoundâ and amongst the aforementioned genres and styles the band brought to this album, they also delved deeply into their psychedelic, primal playbook with an entire side dedicated to their 1968 masterpiece âThe Other One.â This is one of the most deeply rich and satisfying tracks preserved on an official Grateful Dead album, up there with Live/Dead‘s âDark Starâ and Europe ’72‘s âMorning Dew.â Skull & Roses sounds as fresh today as the first time I heard it in 1985, and as fresh as it was upon its spectacularly well-received release in 1971.âÂ
After releasing the back-to-back classics Workingmanâs Dead and American Beauty in 1970, the Dead were riding a hot streak when the group decided to hit the road in February 1971 to record its first live album since 1969âs Live/Dead. For the shows, Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron âPigpenâ McKernan, Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann were armed with a batch of new songs, including âBertha,â âPlaying In The Band,â and âWharf Rat,â which would all appear on Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses). The original also mixed in classic covers (âNot Fade Awayâ and âMama Triedâ), a traditional (âGoinâ Down The Road Feeling Badâ), and an entire LP side dedicated to the epic jam vehicle, âThe Other One.â
GRATEFUL DEAD (SKULL & ROSES): EXPANDED EDITION builds on the original with more than an hour of previously unreleased live recordings taken from the July 2, 1971 performance at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. Standouts from new additions include a 17-minute version of âGood Lovinââ that captures Pigpen fully in control of the packed Fillmore West audience; and the aching beauty of the bandâs version of Merle Haggardâs âSing Me Back Home.â âThe Other Oneâ makes another appearance on the bonus disc. Recorded a few months after the one on the original album, this version is every bit its equal.Â
GRATEFUL DEAD (SKULL & ROSES): EXPANDED EDITION
CD Track Listing
Disc One: Original Album Remastered
âBerthaâ
âMama Triedâ
âBig Railroad Bluesâ
âPlaying In The Bandâ
âThe Other Oneâ
âMe & My Uncleâ
âBig Boss Manâ
âMe & Bobby McGeeâ
âJohnny B. Goodeâ
âWharf Ratâ
âNot Fade Away/Goinâ Down The Road Feeling Badâ
Disc Two: Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (7/2/71)
âGood Lovinââ *
âSing Me Back Homeâ *
âMama Triedâ *
âCryptical Envelopmentâ> *
Drums> *
âThe Other Oneâ *
âBig Boss Manâ *
âNot Fade Awayâ> *
âGoinâ Down The Road Feeling Badâ *
âNot Fade Awayâ *
* previously unreleased
LP Track Listing
Side One
âBerthaâ
âMama Triedâ
âBig Railroad Bluesâ
âPlaying In The Bandâ
Side Two
âThe Other Oneâ
Side Three
âMe & My Uncleâ
âBig Boss Manâ
âMe & Bobby McGeeâ
âJohnny B. Goodeâ
Side Four
âWharf Ratâ
âNot Fade Away/Goinâ Down The Road Feeling Badâ
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