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January 2017 kicked off a massive reissue campaign for Grateful Dead which would see each one of the band's seminal albums reissued 50 years after its original release date in a 2-CD edition with the remastered original album on Disc One, and a bonus disc of previously unreleased live recordings. On July 13 (a few days before the official July 18 anniversary), the second installment in the series arrives to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Anthem of the Sun. In addition to the 2-CD version, Anthem will also be released that same day as a 12-inch vinyl picture disc limited to 10,000 units.
The Dead's sophomore album and the first to feature Mickey Hart, Anthem of the Sun included both studio and live tracks, and epitomized the band's deep connection with the psychedelic music of the era. This was a true live/studio hybrid; live tracks (recorded at various concerts in California, Washington, and Oregon) were augmented in the studio, and studio tracks (recorded in New York and Los Angeles) were interlaced with live music. The album also saw the Dead let loose on extended jams like Side Two's pairing of "Alligator" and "Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks)," both mainstays of the group's early live sets.
Anthem of the Sun: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes two versions of the original album, both of which have been newly remastered: first, the original 1968 mix, and second, the better-known 1971 mix. Both mixes of the albums were remastered by Grammy-winning engineer David Glasser from the original analog master tapes. The second disc boasts a previously unreleased complete live show recorded on October 22, 1967 at the famed Winterland in San Francisco, California. It's been newly remastered by Jeffrey Norman and marks the first known recording of the Grateful Dead with Mickey Hart, who joined the band in September 1967. The picture disc vinyl edition features the remastered 1971 mix only.
"This is one the most thrilling albums the Grateful Dead ever produced, mixing portions of live recordings from the first six months of Mickey's tenure with the band, along with studio experimentations that would hint at where the Dead would go when they started recording to 16-track tape the following year," comments archivist and producer David Lemieux in the press release for this reissue. "The 1971 remix, produced in order to make the album more accessible to the newer fans who were brought on board with Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, has been the most commonly heard version for the past 45+ years. However, having this side-by-side with the original 1968 mix demonstrates countless differences, with the original mix being more primal, psychedelic, and experimental. Add to this the first extant live recording featuring Mickey as a member of the Grateful Dead, and you have a very special release in every way."
The CD edition's bonus disc from Winterland has tracks from the band's debut LP ("Beat It On Down The Line" and "Morning Dew"), plus a preview of songs that would be heard on Anthem Of The Sun ("New Potato Caboose" and parts of "That's It For The Other One.") Personnel included Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann.
Look for the remastered, expanded Anthem of the Sun on July 13 from Rhino!
Grateful Dead, Anthem of the Sun: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Grateful Dead/Rhino, 2018)
2CD Edition: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD
Picture Disc (1971 Mix Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD
CD 1: Original 1968 Mix
- "That's It For The Other One" ("Crypitcal Envelopment"/"Quadlibet for Tender Feet"/"The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get"/"We Leave the Castle")
- "New Potato Caboose"
- "Born Cross-Eyed"
- "Alligator"
- "Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)"
1971 Remix
- "That's It For The Other One" ("Crypitcal Envelopment"/"Quadlibet for Tender Feet"/"The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get"/"We Leave the Castle")
- "New Potato Caboose"
- "Born Cross-Eyed"
- "Alligator"
- "Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)"
CD 2: Winterland, San Francisco, CA 10/22/67
- "Morning Dew"
- "New Potato Caboose"
- "It Hurts Me Too"
- "Cold Rain And Snow"
- "Turn On Your Love Light"
- "Beat It On Down The Line"
- "That's It For The Other One" ("Cryptical Envelopment"/"The Other One"/"Cryptical Envelopment")
CD 1 originally released as Warner Bros. WS 1749, 1968 (original mix) and 1971 (remix)
CD 2 previously unreleased
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Joe,
Don't forget that a Hi Res (24/96) is gonna be available from http://www.dead.net/store/1960s/anthem-sun-50th-anniversary-deluxe-edition?eml=2018April24/4305435/6131962&etsubid=127410845
Can't wait!!!!
FYI, the press release stating the 1971 mix is the one that most are familiar is simply not true.
The album was remixed in 1971, and that version was the one that remained for a good many years after, BUT the album was first released on CD in the 80s with the original 1968 mix and that original mix is the ONLY version that has ever been on CD.
Given how the band’s popularity exploded in the late 80s, and many of the band’s albums were released on CD for the first time during that era, I would contend that it’s the original mix most people have heard.
In fact, except for the “Born Cross Eyed” alternat mix that was used on a GD compilation from the 70sI’ve never actually heard the 1971 mix myself! I am looking forward to hearing the remixed album though, as I’ve always wanted to compare the two. Anthem was the Dead’s trippiest album, and this will be a fun sonic exploration.
Better still, this means we will likely get the ORIGINAL 1969 mix of Aoxomoxoa next year. That mix was replaced with a (watered down) remix in the early 70s and it’s that later mix that had been used on all releases (CD or otherwise) ever since.
OK, apparently a couple of Anthem remixed tracks also showed up on last year’s Smilin’ on a Cloudy Day compilation (Part of Rhino’s “Summer of Love” series last year). But the remixed Anthem album has never been released on CD in full.
Also, apparently, the original mix of Aoxomoxa was released on vinyl (by Rhino) not too long ago as part of boxed set of the original GD albums for Warners. That version is VERY different from the ersion most of us have heard on CD all these years.
Thanks so much for the very welcome insights, Shaun! Very much looking forward to this release.
I agree with everything Shaun says, but would like to point out that the 1969 mix of AOXOMOXOA that Rhino put out a few years ago - while surely of that vintage - is different from the mix on the original LP. Legend has it that Garcia had the '69 master tape destroyed after he remixed the album in '71; that legend might even be true...
Hey (Cosmic) Charlie!
Dang... I sure hope that legend’s not true. That would be a shame if the original mix is indeed lost. Given this Anthem reissue, I was hoping for the same treatment on next year’s Aoxomoxoa.
I’ve heard it before, from a needledrop, and overall I like the (trippier) original better than the 70’s Jerrry remix. I’ve read lately where people who bought the recent vinyl aren’t happy with the sound, Here’s hoping we get the real deal next year!
Anyhow, looking forward to Anthem. The live show they picked looks like a gem (I have not heard this one before). No Deadhead can have too much from that era!