GOLDEN ROAD BOX SET
all the WB albums 1967-73

CD199 - 12 CD set + book

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The Golden Road is the most ambitious collection of Grateful Dead music ever undertaken, and the definitive overview of the Dead's early recording career. This massive 12-CD set features all of the officially-issued albums from the Dead's tenure with Warner Bros. Records--from their eponymous 1967 debut to Bear's Choice, released in 1973--but there is much more than that. As in, more than 7 hours of additional, never-before-released material, including: alternate takes and mixes; extended versions of songs; tracks that didn't make the final cut; and contemporaneous live performances. And there are two complete discs, Birth Of The Dead, documenting the band's musical development prior to the Warner Bros. era.

The Golden Road is the product of a close collaboration between Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino Records, the Los Angeles-based company that has become the music industry's preeminent expert in historical reissues and anthologies. James Austin, Rhino's senior director of A&R and Special Projects (and a Deadhead since the early 70s), co-produced the project with the Dead's vault archivist, David Lemieux. Working from their own extensive personal knowledge and with the advice and input of Grateful Dead band members, employees, scholars and fans, Austin and Lemieux mined the combined resources of the Grateful Dead and Warner Bros. tape archives, and struck gold, finding plenty of material with which to supplement each of the official Warner Bros. releases (save for the perfectly self-contained Live/Dead). Never-released studio and live tracks abound--among them are, to name but a few: original songs such as "Alice D. Millionaire," "Tastebud," and one of Pigpen's last performances with the Dead, "The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion)"; and versions of Buddy Holly's "Oh, Boy!" the Coasters hit "I'm A Hog For You Baby" and the old jug band standard "Overseas Stomp (The Lindy)."

The Birth Of The Dead discs, assembled by Grateful Dead historian Dennis McNally and longtime associate Lou Tambakos, is divided into two discs, titled "The Studio Sides" and "The Live Sides." The first contains tracks the band recorded for two San Francisco labels, Scorpio Records and Autumn Records, and features such rarities as "Mindbender," "The Only Time Is Now," and "Fire In The City" (a track the Dead made with legendary jazz singer Jon Hendricks). The band's first single, "Don't Ease Me In," backed with "Stealin'," is presented in both vocal and instrumental versions. The "Live Sides" disc features such cornerstones of the Dead's early repertoire as "Viola Lee Blues," "I'm A King Bee" and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," plus such seldom-heard selections as Leadbelly's "In The Pines" and Otis Redding's "Pain In My Heart."

And that's just a small sampling of the treasure to be found along The Golden Road. All twelve discs have been brilliantly mastered in the High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) format -- the first time the Grateful Dead's Warner Bros. material has been given the sonic treatment it so richly deserves.

The music is augmented by 230 pages of text, photos and artwork, a lengthy historical essay by Dennis McNally, reflections on the Dead by James Austin, David Lemieux and Connie Bonner Mosley (who co-founded the original Grateful Dead Fan Club and remains a member of the GD family to this day), and new notes to accompany each of the Warner Bros. albums, contributed by Blair Jackson, Gary Lambert, Lenny Kaye, Steve Silberman, David Gans, Hale Milgrim, Paul Nichols and Bear.

GRATEFUL DEAD: THE BAND

JERRY GARCIA: lead guitar, acoustic guitar, pedal steel guitar, piano, kazoo, vibraslap, vocals
BOB WEIR: rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string guitar, kazoo, vocals
RON "PIGPEN" McKERNAN: keyboards, organ, celesta, acoustic guitar, harmonica, congas, claves, percussion, vocals
PHIL LESH: bass, guitar, piano, harpsichord, trumpet, kazoo, timpani, guiro, vocals
BILL KREUTZMANN: drums, percussion
MICKEY HART (C-G,J): drums, percussion
TOM CONSTANTEN (C-F): keyboards, prepared piano, piano, electronic tape
KEITH GODCHAUX (I): piano
DONNA GODCHAUX (I): vocals
ROBERT HUNTER: songwriter

Golden Road - DISC ONE - Birth Of The Dead
Disc 1: The Studio Sides

The Scorpio Sessions
7 STEALIN' (Instrumental)
8 STEALIN' (with Vocals)
9 DON'T EASE ME IN (Instrumental)
10 DON'T EASE ME IN (with Vocals)
11 YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK
12 TASTEBUD (Instrumental)
13 TASTEBUD (with Vocals)
14 I KNOW YOU RIDER
15 COLD RAIN AND SNOW (Instrumental)
16 COLD RAIN AND SNOW (with Vocals)

The Hendricks Session
17 FIRE IN THE CITY - Jon Hendricks

Golden Road - DISC TWO - Birth Of The Dead
Disc 2: The Live Sides - Various Live Performances

1 VIOLA LEE BLUES
2 DON'T EASE ME IN
3 PAIN IN MY HEART
4 SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD
5 IT'S ALL OVER NOW, BABY BLUE
6 I'M A KING BEE
7 BIG BOSS MAN
8 STANDING ON THE CORNER
9 IN THE PINES
10 NOBODY'S FAULT BUT MINE
11 NEXT TIME YOU SEE ME
12 ONE KIND FAVOR
13 HE WAS A FRIEND OF MINE
14 KEEP ROLLING BY

Golden Road - DISC THREE The Grateful Dead

1 THE GOLDEN ROAD (TO UNLIMITED DEVOTION)
2 BEAT IT ON DOWN THE LINE
3 GOOD MORNING LITTLE SCHOOL GIRL (Full-Length Version)
4 COLD RAIN AND SNOW
5 SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD (Full-Length Version)
6 CREAM PUFF WAR (Full-Length Version)
7 MORNING DEW (Full-Length Version)
8 NEW, NEW MINGLEWOOD BLUES (Full-Length Version)
9 VIOLA LEE BLUES

Bonus Material
10 ALICE D. MILLIONAIRE
11 OVERSEAS STOMP (THE LINDY HOP)
12 TASTEBUD
13 DEATH DON'T HAVE NO MERCY
14 VIOLA LEE BLUES (Edited Version)
15 VIOLA LEE BLUES (Live)

Golden Road - DISC FOUR Anthem Of The Sun

1 THAT'S IT FOR THE OTHER ONE
  I. CRYPTICAL ENVELOPMENT
  II. QUADLIBET FOR TENDER FEET
  III. THE FASTER WE GO, THE ROUNDER WE GET
  IV. WE LEAVE THE CASTLE
2 NEW POTATO CABOOSE
3 BORN CROSS-EYED
4 ALLIGATOR
5 CAUTION (DO NOT STOP ON TRACKS)

Bonus Material
6 ALLIGATOR (Live)
7 CAUTION (DO NOT STOP ON TRACKS) (Live)
8 FEEDBACK (Live)

Golden Road - DISC FIVE Aoxomoxoa

1 ST. STEPHEN
2 DUPREE'S DIAMOND BLUES
3 ROSEMARY
4 DOIN' THAT RAG
5 MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON
6 CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER
7 WHAT'S BECOME OF THE BABY
8 COSMIC CHARLIE

Bonus Material
9 CLEMENTINE JAM
10 NOBODY'S SPOONFUL JAM
11 THE ELEVEN JAM
12 COSMIC CHARLIE (Live)

Golden Road - DISC SIX Live/Dead

1 DARK STAR
2 ST. STEPHEN
3 THE ELEVEN
4 TURN ON YOUR LOVE LIGHT
5 DEATH DON'T HAVE NO MERCY
6 FEEDBACK
7 AND WE BID YOU GOODNIGHT

Golden Road - DISC SEVEN Workingman's Dead

1 UNCLE JOHN'S BAND
2 HIGH TIME
3 DIRE WOLF
4 NEW SPEEDWAY BOOGIE
5 CUMBERLAND BLUES
6 BLACK PETER
7 EASY WIND
8 CASEY JONES

Bonus Material
9 NEW SPEEDWAY BOOGIE (Alternate Mix)
10 DIRE WOLF (Live)
11 BLACK PETER (Live)
12 EASY WIND (Live)
13 CUMBERLAND BLUES (Live)
14 MASON'S CHILDREN (Live)
15 UNCLE JOHN'S BAND (Live)

Golden Road - DISC EIGHT American Beauty

1 BOX OF RAIN
2 FRIEND OF THE DEVIL
3 SUGAR MAGNOLIA
4 OPERATOR
5 CANDYMAN
6 RIPPLE
7 BROKEDOWN PALACE
8 TILL THE MORNING COMES
9 ATTICS OF MY LIFE
10 TRUCKIN'

Bonus Material
11 TRUCKIN' (Single Version)
12 FRIEND OF THE DEVIL (Live)
13 CANDYMAN (Live)
14 TILL THE MORNING COMES (Live)
15 ATTICS OF MY LIFE (Live)
16 TRUCKIN' (Live)

Golden Road - DISC NINE Grateful Dead

1 BERTHA
2 MAMA TRIED
3 BIG RAILROAD BLUES
4 PLAYING IN THE BAND
5 THE OTHER ONE
6 ME & MY UNCLE
7 BIG BOSS MAN
8 ME & BOBBY McGEE
9 JOHNNY B. GOODE
10 WHARF RAT
11 NOT FADE AWAY/GOIN' DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD

Bonus Material
12 OH, BOY!
13 I'M A HOG FOR YOU

Golden Road - DISC TEN Europe '72 (I) - Disc 1

1 CUMBERLAND BLUES
2 HE'S GONE
3 ONE MORE SATURDAY NIGHT
4 JACK STRAW
5 YOU WIN AGAIN
6 CHINA CAT SUNFLOWER
7 I KNOW YOU RIDER
8 BROWN-EYED WOMAN
9 HURTS ME TOO
10 RAMBLE ON ROSE
11 SUGAR MAGNOLIA
12 MR. CHARLIE
13 TENNESSEE JED

Bonus Material
14 THE STRANGER (TWO SOULS IN COMMUNION)

Golden Road - DISC ELEVEN - Europe '72 Disc 2

1 TRUCKIN'
2 EPILOGUE
3 PRELUDE
4 MORNING DEW

Bonus Material
5 LOOKS LIKE RAIN
6 GOOD LOVIN'
7 CAUTION (DO NOT STOP ON TRACKS)
8 WHO DO YOU LOVE
9 CAUTION (DO NOT STOP ON TRACKS)
10 GOOD LOVIN'

Golden Road - DISC TWELVE - History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. I (Bear's Choice)

1 KATIE MAE
2 DARK HOLLOW
3 I'VE BEEN ALL AROUND THIS WORLD
4 WAKE UP LITTLE SUSIE
5 BLACK PETER
6 SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN'
7 HARD TO HANDLE Bonus Material
8 GOOD LOVIN'
9 BIG BOSS MAN
10 SMOKESTACK LIGHTNIN' (Version Two)
11 SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD

Blair's play-by-play reviews on DNC:

OH MY GOD! I just got my advance copy of this ('cuz I did some liners) and I am in HEAVEN, man! This is SO great, I can barely contain myself. The packaging is incredible and very, very classy! I've only listened to one CD so far (first album) and it's an amazing experience, hearing FULL versions of "Sitting On Top of the World," "Morning Dew," "Cream Puff War"...I can't tell you how much it improves on the original to hear the songs without the fadeouts. And the bonus material all sounds top-notch, too. It's going to take days, if not weeks for me to get around to listening to all this with the attention it deserves, but what a time it's going to be! Take your old copies down to the used CD store--this makes all of 'em completely worthless. Rob your Aunt Edna of $100 if you need to...this is an absolute MUST to own! Sorry for the gushing, but I haven't been this excited about a release in a long time. AWESOME! YOW!

Haven't heard "Aoxomoxoa" yet, but I just listened to "American Beauty"--SWEET! I'd literally never heard a live "Til The Morning Comes" before and though it's not exactyly perfect, it's hot! The "Candyman" is also great but the real gem is the "Attics"--whoa! It's literally a trio--just Bob, Jerry and Phil--no percussion of any kind and the singing is really strong...and a nice little instrumental thing near the last verse. VERY strong. The live "Truckin' is ragged, but a nice example of the primal '70 variety, the way it builds a couple of times in the jam and then walks out on tiny cat's feet... So far, my only negative reaction has been the inclusion of the single version of "Truckin'" right after the regular version. I mean, who really gives a shit about a truncated "Truckin'"? Not me, that's for sure. Those Rhino folks love that kind of stuff, though. I've never really been into alternate takes (unless there's some good reason to include 'em) and that sort of collectabilia...

I just listened to the "Aoxomoxoa" additions and they're incredible! Three long (over 10-minute) studio jams--one around "Clementine," one around "Nobody' Fault" and other bluesish progressions and, best of all, one around "The Eleven." The sound is remarkable! STUDIO jams as hot as live performances; no lie! Then it closes with one of the first live versions of "Cosmic Charlie," from January '69; also amazing in a different way! Very crunchy and delicious! This morning I also listened to the live disc of the "Birth of the Dead" set of '66 stuff. Really good sound (mostly...a few instrumental warbles here and there from what sounds like tape wear) and good performances, especially "Viola Lee," "One Kind Favor," "He Was A Friend of Mine" (a personal fave always...if I got to do another box, I'd put the Eugene '69 version on) and, what's this? a song I'd never even heard of until this morning--"Keep Rolling By," an original that combines a "Midnight Hour" soul attack with a little modal trip in the middle. Nice vocals by Pig and the band...very cool. What fun to hear a song I'd never heard before! This set just keeps giving me more and more!