Last Flash of Rock 'n Roll: Rhino Remasters, Expands Robert Hunter's "Tiger Rose"

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Following last year's expanded reissue of Grateful Dead collaborator Robert Hunter's Tales of the Great Rum Runners, the late lyricist is once again being celebrated by Rhino with a new deluxe edition. On March 28, the label will revisit 1975's Tiger Rose for its 50th anniversary. The album has been remastered for all formats by David Glasser using the Plangent Processes for tape restoration and speed correction. It will be available as an expanded 2CD set, a 1LP remaster of the original album, and digitally. The CD bonus tracks will arrive on vinyl as part of Rhino's Record Store Day slate on April 12.

Produced and arranged by Jerry Garcia with Bob Matthews and Betty Cantor engineering at Rolling Thunder Studio in Novato, California, Tiger Rose boasts appearances by Garcia, Mickey Hart, and Donna Jean Godchaux. Writing both music and lyrics, Hunter opted for a country-flavored sound somewhat redolent of the Dead's Americana classics such as American Beauty and Workingman's Dead. This befit the Western settings of the songs, filled with Hunter's expectedly rich and often impressionistic lyrical imagery. Jefferson Starship's David Freiberg and Pete Sears both played on Tiger Rose, alongside mandolinist David Grisman and New Riders of the Purple Sage bassist David Torbert. Critics assessing Tiger Rose were quick to point out the debt that Hunter owed to longtime Dead pals New Riders as well as to Bob Dylan.

Jesse Jarnow of the Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast has penned new liner notes for this reissue: "Complex and inviting, the world of Tiger Rose overflows with Hunter's lyrical signatures, painting new corners of the already wide landscape he'd begun to map with the Dead. There are stacks of simple and beguiling images ('Dance A Hole'), cosmic advice ('One Thing to Try'), dispatches from mystical landscapes ('Rose of Sharon'), and folkloric characters ('Wild Bill')."

While Hunter was never happy with his lead vocals - going so far as to re-record them over the original backing tracks for a 1989 Grateful Dead Records reissue - Rhino has restored the 1975 album for this presentation. It's joined on the CD bonus disc by nine alternate versions of the album's ten songs, all of which are previously unreleased. The remastered album will be released on standalone vinyl, and for those seeking the bonus tracks on vinyl, they'll arrive as Tiger Rose Rarities on Record Store Day.

The expanded and remastered Tiger Rose arrives from Rhino on March 28. You'll find pre-order links and the track listing below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Robert Hunter, Tiger Rose: 50th Anniversary Edition (Round Records RX 105, 1975 - reissued Rhino, 2025)

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
1LP (Original Album Only): Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

CD 1: Original Album (2025 Remaster)

Tiger Rose
One Thing To Try
Rose Of Sharon
Wild Bill
Dance A Hole
Cruel White Water
Over The Hills
Last Flash of Rock 'N Roll
Yellow Moon
Ariel

CD 2: Alternate Versions

Tiger Rose - Alternate Version *
Last Flash of Rock 'N Roll - Alternate Version *
Over The Hill" - Alternate Version *
Ariel - Alternate Version *
Wild Bill - Alternate Version *
Cruel White Water - Alternate Version *
Rose Of Sharon - Alternate Version *
Yellow Moon - Alternate Version *
Dance A Hole - Alternate Version *

(*) previously unreleased

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, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. 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.