Grateful Dead – Grateful Dead [Skull & Roses, 2 Yellow LPs]

Description

Grateful Dead turn their second live album, Grateful Dead, into the record fans came to know as Skull & Roses, a set built from Fillmore East and Fillmore West performances. The band moves away from the long psychedelic structure of Live/Dead toward a looser mix of country songs, blues covers, Chuck Berry rock and roll, and early Garcia-Hunter writing. This translucent yellow 2LP vinyl record marks the 50th Anniversary edition of a key live title.

“Bertha” opens with a Garcia-Hunter original that became one of the band’s most durable live songs, while “Mama Tried” brings Merle Haggard’s Bakersfield country into the set. “Big Railroad Blues” turns toward older blues material, and “Playing In The Band” appears before the song grew into one of the Dead’s major improvisational vehicles. Side C adds “Me & Bobby McGee” and “Johnny B. Goode,” then “Wharf Rat” and “Not Fade Away / Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad” close the album with concert staples.

The album captures the five-piece Grateful Dead lineup in a transitional live period, with Pigpen, Garcia, Weir, Lesh, and Kreutzmann carrying a set that connects bar-band roots to longer San Francisco improvisation. Its tracklist helped define several songs as core Dead repertoire. This anniversary pressing is a 2LP yellow vinyl edition, matching the original double-album format.

• Format: 2LP Vinyl Record
• Standout tracks: “Bertha”, “Playing In The Band”, “Wharf Rat”, “Not Fade Away / Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad”
• Pressing details: Limited Edition, 50th Anniversary Edition, Translucent Yellow Vinyl
• Genre/style: Psychedelic Rock, Jam Band, Country Rock, Blues Rock
• UPC: 081227812973

“Bertha” and “Wharf Rat” show the Garcia-Hunter writing moving to the center of the catalog, while “Not Fade Away / Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad” keeps concert energy tied to older American song forms.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. Bertha
2. Mama Tried
3. Big Railroad Blues
4. Playing In The Band

Side B:

1. The Other One (18:05)

Side C:

1. Me & My Uncle
2. Big Boss Man
3. Me & Bobby McGee
4. Johnny B. Goode

Side D:

1. Wharf Rat
2. Not Fade Away / Goin’ Down The Road Feeling Bad