[2020-07-10] The Grateful Dead "Workingman's Dead (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)" 3CD set (Warner/Rhino)

Linda · **Posted:** Tue May 05, 2020 10:31 pm

Description
On June 14, 1970, the Grateful Dead released Workingman’s Dead, an album that was unlike anything they’d ever done, one that showed the world a new side of the Dead. It was clearly the same band as before, but now with a distinctly different sound and approach to the music, pivoting from psychedelic improvisation to folk-rock storytelling for the “everyman,” as the album’s title suggests. Workingman’s Dead will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year.

WORKINGMAN’S DEAD: 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION will be available on July 10. This three-CD set (all discs are HDCD-encoded) includes the original album with newly remastered sound, plus an unreleased concert recorded on February 21, 1971 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. The show was mixed from the 16-track analog master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir’s Marin County TRI Studios and mastered by Grammy® Award-winning engineer, David Glasser.

While the Dead’s first three studio albums appealed to many, the group didn’t yet have the mass breakthrough that would make the entire world take notice of this band of misfits from the Bay Area. Workingman’s Dead changed all that. With eight perfect songs – like “Casey Jones” and “High Time” – the album solidified the Jerry Garcia-Robert Hunter songwriting tandem as one of the best, and most important, songwriting collaborations in music history. The album reached the Top Thirty and included the single “Uncle John’s Band,” which climbed to #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart recorded the album in about 10 days at Pacific High Recording Studio in San Francisco with Bob Matthews and Betty Cantor – the band’s live-sound engineers – as producers. Fifty years on, every song on Workingman’s Dead sounds fresh, alive, and new.

“Since we embarked on the series of Grateful Dead 50th anniversary releases, we've had a blast re-mastering the original albums and finding previously unreleased live material from the era for each. In 2020, we're blessed to have two albums celebrating their 50th anniversaries, and we're thrilled with how Workingman's Dead has turned out,” says David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist and the set’s producer. “For an album as important and great as Workingman's Dead, it seemed appropriate to double the amount of bonus material. The show we've selected gives a definitive overview of what the band were up to six months after the release of the album and shows the Dead sound that would largely define the next couple of years. From Workingman's Dead through Europe '72, the Dead's sound was Americana, and the live show included here is a workingman's band playing authentically honest music.”

WORKINGMAN’S DEAD: 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION includes the band’s previously unreleased live performance from 1971 at the Capitol Theatre. The show featured a plethora of songs from both Workingman’s Dead and the band’s follow-up album, American Beauty, which was released in November 1970. Some highlights include Weir’s moving vocal take on “Me and Bobby McGee,” Pigpen’s whiskey-seasoned growl on “Easy Wind” and a stellar run through “Uncle John’s Band” to close out the show.

In the set’s liner notes, acclaimed music journalist David Fricke tells the tale behind the album and also adds some context for the Capitol Theatre show. “The complete Port Chester evening in this 50th-anniversary edition of Workingman’s Dead…was a great night in what has long been deemed a legendary run, another turning point as the band entered a live era combining the focus of Workingman's Dead and American Beauty with the exploratory verve of Live/Dead. Many of the classic songs spread across Dead LPs in 1971 and ’72…were introduced that week at the Capitol, and many of them are in this concert, still fresh off the griddle.”

Tracklist
[CD1: Original Album Remastered]
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

[CD2: Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/21/71)]
1. Cold Rain And Snow
2. Me And Bobby McGee
3. Loser
4. Easy Wind
5. Playing In The Band
6. Bertha
7. Me And My Uncle
8. Ripple (False Start)
9. Ripple
10. Next Time You See Me
11. Sugar Magnolia
12. Greatest Story Ever Told
13. Johnny B. Goode

[CD3: Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/21/71)]
1. China Cat Sunflower>
2. I Know You Rider>
3. Bird Song
4. Cumberland Blues
5. I’m A King Bee
6. Beat It On Down The Line
7. Wharf Rat
8. Truckin’
9. Casey Jones
10. Good Lovin’
11. Uncle John’s Band

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0882NXWCX/?tag=imwan-20

tideshea · **Joined:** 27 Mar 2014 **Posts:** 225

The U.S. link worked! Couldn't pre-order fast enough.

Linda · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2020 9:22 am

Yep, it's active now:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0882NXWCX/?tag=imwan-20

NoURider · **Joined:** 21 Jul 2006 **Posts:** 3310

I have the remaster from the Box The Golden Road | The DVD-A | The SACD
of course I am getting this as well.
(FWIW earlier yesterday I was like, when are they going to announce this year's 50th...and Linda must have heard me and made it happen).
Hopefully American Beauty is coming out this year as well as it was released in 1970 as well.

I am ok with the skip of Live/Dead considering how much material from the run (like most if not all of it was released).

Renny · 26 Jun 2006

NoURider wrote:

I have the remaster from the Box The Golden Road | The DVD-A | The SACD
of course I am getting this as well.
(FWIW earlier yesterday I was like, when are they going to announce this year's 50th...and Linda must have heard me and made it happen).
Hopefully American Beauty is coming out this year as well as it was released in 1970 as well.

I am ok with the skip of Live/Dead considering how much material from the run (like most if not all of it was released).

i have to ask:

are you a grateful dead completist?

i ask because i just can't even imagine being one and how frustrating it has to be.

GodsComic · 03 Aug 2006

Renny wrote:

NoURider wrote:

I have the remaster from the Box The Golden Road | The DVD-A | The SACD
of course I am getting this as well.
(FWIW earlier yesterday I was like, when are they going to announce this year's 50th...and Linda must have heard me and made it happen).
Hopefully American Beauty is coming out this year as well as it was released in 1970 as well.

I am ok with the skip of Live/Dead considering how much material from the run (like most if not all of it was released).

i have to ask:

are you a grateful dead completist?

i ask because i just can't even imagine being one and how frustrating it has to be.

Or rewarding, depending on your vantage point.

Renny · 26 Jun 2006

GodsComic wrote:

Renny wrote:

NoURider wrote:

I have the remaster from the Box The Golden Road | The DVD-A | The SACD
of course I am getting this as well.
(FWIW earlier yesterday I was like, when are they going to announce this year's 50th...and Linda must have heard me and made it happen).
Hopefully American Beauty is coming out this year as well as it was released in 1970 as well.

I am ok with the skip of Live/Dead considering how much material from the run (like most if not all of it was released).

i have to ask:

are you a grateful dead completist?

i ask because i just can't even imagine being one and how frustrating it has to be.

Or rewarding, depending on your vantage point.

true, very true.

NoURider · **Joined:** 21 Jul 2006 **Posts:** 3310

Renny wrote:

NoURider wrote:

I have the remaster from the Box The Golden Road | The DVD-A | The SACD
of course I am getting this as well.
(FWIW earlier yesterday I was like, when are they going to announce this year's 50th...and Linda must have heard me and made it happen).
Hopefully American Beauty is coming out this year as well as it was released in 1970 as well.

I am ok with the skip of Live/Dead considering how much material from the run (like most if not all of it was released).

i have to ask:

are you a grateful dead completist?

i ask because i just can't even imagine being one and how frustrating it has to be.

I am. And the only frustration I have is that there are a couple of items I passed on at the time ("Spring 90" (sic) the first box set from the tour - this one made sense at the time - but in retrospect no. And one Pure Jerry, one or two others that I am not too bothered by.) Just GD (not the solo stuff) is about 170ish titles of my collection. I honestly can not get enough, and I listen to it all the time. IE big fan of the recent Dick's Picks 34 that I received last Friday.

My wife's frustration on the other hand...well..."It's all the same song"...my mother-in-law, bless her heart, and not aware of them other than when I started showing up wearing Dead shirts all the time, did say it is not all the same (had a GD party a few years back and just played studio stuff not to scare em away).. But I get it, not for everyone. However WD and AB are stone cold classic albums which should be in everyone's collection if they like late 60's-early 70's.

Linda · **Posted:** Wed May 06, 2020 3:25 pm

Courtesy of IMWAN's friends at Rhino, we now have the cover image, description and finalised tracklist in the first post.

We also have an audio sample:

NoURider · **Joined:** 21 Jul 2006 **Posts:** 3310

A copy and past from an email I received from Dead.net - the main news is the not direct mention that American Beauty will be released this year as well.

ANNOUNCING
WORKINGMAN'S DEAD
50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITIONS

Chances are, you saw this one coming and if you've done your Grateful Dead math, you know that this year's 50th anniversary releases will be nothing short of spectacular. And not just because we'll be offering upgrades on two of the band's most highly-acclaimed records, but because we're doubling down with unreleased and archived material from an era that was truly pivotal in the Grateful Dead's canon.
Due July 10th, WORKINGMAN’S DEAD: 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION will be available as a three-CD set featuring the original album with newly remastered sound, plus an unreleased complete concert recorded on February 21, 1971 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. The show was mixed from the 16-track analog master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir’s Marin County TRI Studios and mastered by Grammy® Award-winning engineer, David Glasser, along with restoration and speed correction by Plangent Processes. 2/21/71 delivers a plethora of songs from both Workingman’s Dead and the band’s follow-up album, American Beauty. Some highlights include Weir’s moving vocal take on “Me and Bobby McGee,” Pigpen’s whiskey-seasoned growl on “Easy Wind” and a stellar run through “Uncle John’s Band” to close out the show. Looking for a little tease? We've got a sneak preview of "Casey Jones" down below.
If it's vinyl you're after, there will be a WORKINGMAN’S DEAD: 50th ANNIVERSARY VINYL PICTURE DISC, limited to 10K, and Dead.net exclusive colored vinyl with just 2000 copies available. Both feature the newly remastered version of the original album. Get ‘em while you can!
STREAM "CASEY JONES" 2/21/71

ranasakawa · 26 Jan 2007

I continue to be surprised that they haven't added any studio outtakes or even single mono mixes etc to the majority of these anniversary editions.
I'm not interested in yet another live show.
The HD Tracks master of this album sounds stunning as does the American Beauty HD Tracks edition
I also have the DVD-A in surround which are brilliant

JohnG · 03 Aug 2006

yes, we were lucky to have these albums done on DVDA years ago.

stanner · **Joined:** 26 Aug 2014 **Posts:** 119

ranasakawa wrote:

I continue to be surprised that they haven't added any studio outtakes or even single mono mixes etc to the majority of these anniversary editions.
I'm not interested in yet another live show.
The HD Tracks master of this album sounds stunning as does the American Beauty HD Tracks edition
I also have the DVD-A in surround which are brilliant

I agree with you on this one. I enjoyed the first three anniversary editions because 1) live concerts from those years are comparatively rare and 2) they did include different mixes of historical interest. I would have preferred studio outtakes for this one. I was kind of hoping that Live/Dead would get the deluxe treatment with only studio tracks, just to flip the typical setup.

Kvetching aside, I ordered this promptly.

Jim Wilkin · **Joined:** 20 Sep 2006 **Posts:** 456

Linda wrote:

Yep, it's active now:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0882NXWCX/?tag=imwan-20

The link works, but orders were not permitted when I clicked through on the morning of May 7.

Linda · **Posted:** Thu May 07, 2020 11:12 am

It hasn't been cancelled, so it will return.

Linda · **Posted:** Fri May 08, 2020 12:29 pm

See? It's back:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0882NXWCX/?tag=imwan-20

NoURider · **Joined:** 21 Jul 2006 **Posts:** 3310

stanner wrote:

ranasakawa wrote:

I continue to be surprised that they haven't added any studio outtakes or even single mono mixes etc to the majority of these anniversary editions.
I'm not interested in yet another live show.
The HD Tracks master of this album sounds stunning as does the American Beauty HD Tracks edition
I also have the DVD-A in surround which are brilliant

I agree with you on this one. I enjoyed the first three anniversary editions because 1) live concerts from those years are comparatively rare and 2) they did include different mixes of historical interest. I would have preferred studio outtakes for this one. I was kind of hoping that Live/Dead would get the deluxe treatment with only studio tracks, just to flip the typical setup.

Kvetching aside, I ordered this promptly.

Having not seen anything mentioned here, a couple days ago they released Angel's Share, a streaming only fly-on- the- wall perspective of the recording. Multiple takes, breakdowns...much like the Dylan Bootleg Series of late. 2 1/2 hours worth. Listened to it yesterday on Amazon Prime. Pretty cool.
Annoying me to no end that it was streaming only. they could have been included in this box instead of or in addition to the live material. I would have likely pared it down for physical to a few alts per track to increase replay. I plan to listen to it again though this weekend as the box approaches!
https://lnk.to/theangelsshare

tideshea · **Joined:** 27 Mar 2014 **Posts:** 225

NoURider wrote:

stanner wrote:

ranasakawa wrote:

I continue to be surprised that they haven't added any studio outtakes or even single mono mixes etc to the majority of these anniversary editions.
I'm not interested in yet another live show.
The HD Tracks master of this album sounds stunning as does the American Beauty HD Tracks edition
I also have the DVD-A in surround which are brilliant

I agree with you on this one. I enjoyed the first three anniversary editions because 1) live concerts from those years are comparatively rare and 2) they did include different mixes of historical interest. I would have preferred studio outtakes for this one. I was kind of hoping that Live/Dead would get the deluxe treatment with only studio tracks, just to flip the typical setup.

Kvetching aside, I ordered this promptly.

Having not seen anything mentioned here, a couple days ago they released Angel's Share, a streaming only fly-on- the- wall perspective of the recording. Multiple takes, breakdowns...much like the Dylan Bootleg Series of late. 2 1/2 hours worth. Listened to it yesterday on Amazon Prime. Pretty cool.
Annoying me to no end that it was streaming only. they could have been included in this box instead of or in addition to the live material. I would have likely pared it down for physical to a few alts per track to increase replay. I plan to listen to it again though this weekend as the box approaches!
https://lnk.to/theangelsshare

I saw that too. Haven't listened yet though. I guess they didn't wsnt to do what everyone else is doing and make a 4 to 6 CD super deluxe and fill it up with those. Very Dead move.

I pre-ordered this set the day the link went live and I'm kind of shocked there's been no price drop at all. Is that a COVID byproduct?

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

NoURider wrote:

I have the remaster from the Box The Golden Road | The DVD-A | The SACD
of course I am getting this as well.
(FWIW earlier yesterday I was like, when are they going to announce this year's 50th...and Linda must have heard me and made it happen).
Hopefully American Beauty is coming out this year as well as it was released in 1970 as well.

I am ok with the skip of Live/Dead considering how much material from the run (like most if not all of it was released).

I wasn't aware of an SACD? There is also a digital only outtakes & rehersal set released by Rhino in conjunction with this.

NoURider · **Joined:** 21 Jul 2006 **Posts:** 3310

WD & American Beauty came out in SACD stereo (mofi) in 2014.
2019 From the Mars Hotel and Blues For Allah came out SACD stereo.

Hoping they do Wake of The Flood.

Geff R. · 27 Sep 2006

NoURider wrote:

WD & American Beauty came out in SACD stereo (mofi) in 2014.
2019 From the Mars Hotel and Blues For Allah came out SACD stereo.

Hoping they do Wake of The Flood.

Thx!

stanner · **Joined:** 26 Aug 2014 **Posts:** 119

NoURider wrote:

stanner wrote:

ranasakawa wrote:

I continue to be surprised that they haven't added any studio outtakes or even single mono mixes etc to the majority of these anniversary editions.
I'm not interested in yet another live show.
The HD Tracks master of this album sounds stunning as does the American Beauty HD Tracks edition
I also have the DVD-A in surround which are brilliant

I agree with you on this one. I enjoyed the first three anniversary editions because 1) live concerts from those years are comparatively rare and 2) they did include different mixes of historical interest. I would have preferred studio outtakes for this one. I was kind of hoping that Live/Dead would get the deluxe treatment with only studio tracks, just to flip the typical setup.

Kvetching aside, I ordered this promptly.

Having not seen anything mentioned here, a couple days ago they released Angel's Share, a streaming only fly-on- the- wall perspective of the recording. Multiple takes, breakdowns...much like the Dylan Bootleg Series of late. 2 1/2 hours worth. Listened to it yesterday on Amazon Prime. Pretty cool.
Annoying me to no end that it was streaming only. they could have been included in this box instead of or in addition to the live material. I would have likely pared it down for physical to a few alts per track to increase replay. I plan to listen to it again though this weekend as the box approaches!
https://lnk.to/theangelsshare

I too am annoyed that the studio outtakes will not be on the physical discs. A good alternate take or two for each song is certainly more interesting to me than yet another concert release. I hope they structure American Beauty's anniversary set so that the outtakes are part of the actual release and not some half-ass afterthought.

[2020-07-10] The Grateful Dead "Workingman's Dead (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)" 3CD set (Warner/Rhino)

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