The Music Never Stopped: Rhino To Issue Grateful Dead’s “Long Strange Trip” Soundtrack

April 13, 2017 By Joe Marchese — 4 Comments
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A new documentary reflecting on the legacy of the Grateful Dead is on its way to theatres, and a companion soundtrack release promises to complement the long-awaited motion picture.  Long Strange Trip: Motion Picture Soundtrack chronicles the band’s history via a selection of career-spanning studio and live performances, including previously unreleased tracks.  Two versions of the album – a 2-CD set and an expanded Amazon-exclusive 3-CD edition (both also available on digital download and streaming) – will be released on May 26, the same date that the film by director Amir Bar-Lev arrives in theatres in New York and Los Angeles.  It then arrives exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on June 2.  Later this summer, highlights from the 2-CD version will be released on vinyl as a 2-LP set and the full audio from the Amazon exclusive version will be available as a 6-LP collection, limited to 2,500 copies.

Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux and director Bar-Lev co-produced the soundtrack.  The 2-CD version has the “Scarlet Begonias/Fire on the Mountain” jam from the May 8, 1977 Cornell University set which premieres on CD on May 5 as Cornell 5/8/77, as well as previously unreleased performances of “Dark Star” from February 14, 1970 at The Fillmore East in New York and the “Dear Mr. Fantasy/Hey Jude” jam recorded on July 2, 1989 at Sullivan Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.  Classic studio tracks such as “Uncle John’s Band” and “Touch of Grey” are also featured.

The Amazon-exclusive version adds a third disc of Dead jams, including a nearly 20-minute version of “Eyes Of The World” recorded on August 6, 1974 at Roosevelt Stadium in New Jersey. Also included are two unreleased performances: “Stella Blue” from July 5, 1981 in Oklahoma City and “Days Between” from October 18, 1994 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

You’ll find the track listings for both versions of this eagerly-anticipated soundtrack at the links below!

Grateful Dead, Long Strange Trip: Motion Picture Soundtrack (Grateful Dead/Rhino, 2017)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
Amazon-Exclusive 3CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1

  1. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” (Live/Dead, Live At The Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, 2/27/1969)
  2. “St. Stephen” (Live/Dead, Live At The Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, 2/27/1969)
  3. “Uncle John’s Band” (Workingman’s Dead, 1970)
  4. “Dark Star” (Live At The Fillmore East, New York, NY, 2/14/1970)*
  5. “Easy Wind” (Workingman’s Dead, 1970)
  6. “Candyman” (American Beauty, 1970)
  7. “China Cat Sunflower”> (Live At Chateau d’Herouville, Herovuville, France, 6/21/1971)*
  8. “I Know You Rider” (Live At Chateau d’Herouville, Herovuville, France, 6/21/1971)*
  9. “Morning Dew” (Europe ’72, Live At The Lyceum Theatre, London, England, 5/26/1972)

CD 2

  1. “He’s Gone” (Sunshine Daydream, Live At Veneta, OR, 8/27/1972)
  2. “The Music Never Stopped” (Live At The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA, 8/13/1975)*
  3. “Scarlet Begonias”> (Cornell 5/8/77, Live At Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 5/8/1977)
  4. “Fire On The Mountain” (Cornell 5/8/77, Live At Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 5/8/1977)
  5. “Althea” (Go To Nassau, Live At Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY, 5/16/1980)
  6. “Touch Of Grey” (In The Dark, 1987)
  7. “Dear Mr. Fantasy”> (Live At Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, MA, 7/2/1989)*
  8. “Hey Jude” (Live At Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, MA, 7/2/1989)*
  9. “Ripple”> (American Beauty, 1970)
  10. “Brokedown Palace” (American Beauty, 1970)

CD 3 – Amazon Exclusive

  1. “Playing In The Band” (Europe ’72: The Complete Recordings, Live At Beat-Club, West Germany, 4/21/1972)
  2. “Eyes Of The World” (Dick’s Picks, Vol. 31, Live At Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ, 1974)
  3. “St. Stephen”> (Cornell 5/8/77, Live At Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 5/8/1977)
  4. “Not Fade Away”> (Cornell 5/8/77, Live At Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 5/8/1977)
  5. “St. Stephen” (Cornell 5/8/77, Live At Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 5/8/1977)
  6. “Dark Hollow” (Reckoning, 1981)
  7. “Stella Blue” (Live At Zoo Amphitheater, Oklahoma City, OK, 7/5/1981)*
  8. “Days Between” (Live At Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, 10/18/1994)*

Grateful Dead, Long Strange Trip: Motion Picture Soundtrack Vinyl LP (Grateful Dead/Rhino, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD)

  1. “Death Don’t Have No Mercy” (Live/Dead, Live At The Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, 2/27/1969)
  2. “St. Stephen” (Live/Dead, Live At The Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, 2/27/1969)
  3. “Easy Wind” (Workingman’s Dead, 1970)
  4. “Dark Star” (Live At The Fillmore East, New York, NY, 2/14/1970)*
  5. “China Cat Sunflower”> (Live At Chateau d’Herouville, Herovuville, France, 6/21/1971)*
  6. “I Know You Rider” (Live At Chateau d’Herouville, Herovuville, France, 6/21/1971)*
  7. “The Music Never Stopped” (Live At The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA, 8/13/1975)*
  8. “Touch Of Grey” (In The Dark, 1987)
  9. “Dear Mr. Fantasy”> (Live At Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, MA, 7/2/1989)*
  10. “Hey Jude” (Live At Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, MA, 7/2/1989)*
  11. “Ripple”> (American Beauty, 1970)
  12. “Brokedown Palace” (American Beauty, 1970)

(*) denotes previously unreleased track

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Joe Marchese
Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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4 thoughts on “The Music Never Stopped: Rhino To Issue Grateful Dead’s “Long Strange Trip” Soundtrack”

  1. Andy Nemeth

    CD 2, track 2 (‘The Music Never Stopped’ from August 13, 1975) has in fact already been released; you can find it on the ‘One From The Vault’ release from 1991. This ’91 release was the first archival release by Grateful Dead Productions; it started the avalanche of archival releases that continues to this day.

    Reply
    1. Avatar photo
      Joe Marchese

      Thanks, Andy. The source information above came directly from Rhino, so perhaps it is just an oversight.

      Reply
    2. Shaun

      Correct, Andy!

      Sadly, for fans who crave previously unreleased material, there’s not a lot here. What is unreleased here is likely pretty great (I’ll take a 1970 “Dark Star” any day), there’s just not a lot of it. The France ’71 tracks are of interest, but there’s a show that, just like 2/14/70, 8/6/74, or 7/2/89, deserves a full show release.

      Throwing in the familiar, studio releases of “Uncle John’s,” “Ripple,” and “Touch of Grey,” seems particularly pointless. The devoted fans probably have the albums they’re orignally on anyhow, and the more casual listener is more likely to own a “Best of” collection for those songs.

      Also surprising that a good chunk of songs from Cornell ’77 are being included, given that the entire show is – to great hype – being released next month. If you’re a fan, you’ve either had a bootleg of ages, or you’re buying the whole thing in May, or both. Who is this soundtrack for?

      Maybe it’s for the Dead-curious who need a good place to start? Once you get beyond, say, American Beauty, Workingman’s, In the Dark, and want to take that “next step.” Maybe, for those folks, this will be that introduction.

      Nothing on here is going to suck (Well, “Days Between” was never a favorite of mine), but there’s little to make me consider this “must-have.” Not even the Amazon exclusive.

      Reply
  2. Mark Lavallee

    Death Don’t Have No Mercy wasn’t performed on 2/27/69, the version on Live/Dead is 3/02/69.

    There was a tracklisting for a 4 disc edition making the rounds, obviously wishful thinking but it was so much better than this. Obviously geared towards casual listeners but then still missing a lot of obvious choices (Truckin’, Sugar Magnolia, Casey Jones, etc.) and full of some baffling choices.

    Reply

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