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By 1974, the members of Grateful Dead had grown tired of the touring grind as well as of the difficulties brought on by the massive Wall of Sound system.  The band’s October 1974 hometown shows at San Francisco’s Winterland culminating in the October 20, 1974 performance known as “The Last One.”  And indeed it was, in a sense, as the Dead didn’t return to regular touring for roughly eighteen months.  The band hit on the idea of filming the Winterland shows so, in essence, if they weren’t touring, the concert still could.  The result was The Grateful Dead Movie, co-directed by Jerry Garcia and documentarian Leon Gast.  For a variety of reasons, the film didn’t hit theatres for almost three years, by which time the actual Dead were back on the road.  The soundtrack album promised to United Artists Records also failed to materialize, though the 1976 live set Steal Your Face was culled from the same Winterland shows.  Though not a success on its initial release, the film lived on as a midnight movie and was first released to home video in 1981; a DVD restoration arrived in 2005 and with it a true soundtrack album on 5 CDs, newly remixed at the time from original 16-track master tapes.  In May, Mondo will premiere the complete Grateful Dead Movie soundtrack for the first time on vinyl in a 10-LP box set.

The original cut of the film featured complete or partial renditions of such Dead favorites as “Truckin’,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Playing in the Band,” “Casey Jones,” and “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” from the then-current lineup of Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, Keith Godchaux, and Donna Godchaux, plus keyboardist Ned Lagin and returning drummer Mickey Hart.  (Mickey had departed the Dead in February 1971; upon his Winterland return, he remained with the band until their final show in July 1995.)  The 2005 soundtrack assembly, reprised for Mondo’s vinyl presentation, premiered numerous previously unreleased tracks – even if it still only added up to roughly half of the almost 60 different songs played across the Winterland stand.  While “Sugaree” could be seen on the DVD (which added numerous bonus selections to the core movie), it wasn’t included on the soundtrack – similarly, roughly half of the soundtrack’s songs weren’t anywhere on the DVD. Most songs are heard in complete form, with a few exceptions (“U.S. Blues,” “Eyes of the World,” “Casey Jones,” “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Johnny B. Goode”).  Selections were drawn from all five nights at Winterland.

Mondo’s box marks the first reissue of the soundtrack since its original release in 2005 as well as the label’s first collaboration with Grateful Dead.  It’s pressed on ten vinyl LPs of various solid colors by Optimal Media, mastered by David Glasser at Airshow Media with lacquers cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering, and Plangent Processes tape speed correction by Jamie Howarth.  A 42-page hardcover book is included in the casebound “slip and slash” box with liner notes by Nicholas G. Meriwether and previously unpublished photos.  Each record is housed in a jacket with artwork unique to this release.

Mondo’s massive reissue of The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack is available for pre-order now and scheduled to ship in May.  You’ll find the pre-order link and the track listing below.

The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack (Rhino/Grateful Dead R2 79583, 2005 – reissued Rhino/Grateful Dead/Mondo, 2026)

Disc 1

Side A

1. S. Blues (10/18/1974)
2. China Cat Sunflower (10/17/1974)
3. I Know You Rider (10/17/1974)

Side B

1. Eyes Of the World (10/19/1974)
2. China Doll (10/19/1974)

Disc 2

Side C

1. One More Saturday Night (10/19/1974)
2. Bill Graham’s Crew Introductions
3. Playing In the Band (10/16/1974)

Side D

1. Playing In the Band (10/16/1974)

Disc 3

Side E

2. Scarlet Begonias (10/19/1974)
3. He’s Gone (10/17/1974)

Side F

1. He’s Gone (10/17/1974)
2. Jam (10/17/1974)
3. Weirdness (10/17/1974)

Disc 4

Side G

1. The Other One (10/17/1974)
2. Spanish Jam (10/17/1974)
3. Mind Left Body Jam (10/17/1974)
4. The Other One (10/17/1974)

Side H

1. Stella Blue (10/17/1974)
2. Casey Jones (10/17/1974)

Disc 5

Side I

Weather Report Suite (10/18/1974)

1. Prelude
2. Part I
3. Part II (Let It Grow)
4. Jam (10/18/1974)

Side J

1. Jam (10/18/1974)
2. Dark Star (10/18/1974)

Disc 6

Side K

1. Dark Star (10/18/1974)
2. Morning Dew (10/18/1974)

Side L

1. Not Fade Away (10/18/1974)
2. Going Down The Road Feeling Bad (10/18/1974)

Disc 7

Side M

1. Uncle John’s Band (10/19/1974)
2. Big Railroad Blues (10/19/1974)
3. Tomorrow Is Forever (10/19/1974)

Side N

1. Sugar Magnolia (10/17/1974)
2. He’s Gone (10/19/1974)
3. Caution Jam (10/19/1974)

Disc 8

Side O

1. Drums (10/19/1974)
2. Space (10/19/1974)
3. Truckin’ (10/19/1974)

Side P

1. Black Peter (10/19/1974)
2. Sunshine Daydream (10/19/1974)

Disc 9

Side Q

1. Playing In The Band (10/20/1974)
2. Drums (10/20/1974)

Side R

1. Not Fade Away (10/20/1974)
2. Drums (10/20/1974)

Disc 10

Side S

1. The Other One (10/20/1974)
2. Wharf Rat (10/20/1974)

Side T

1. Playing In The Band (10/20/1974)
2. Johnny B. Goode (10/20/1974)
3. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (10/20/1974)
4. We Bid You Goodnight (10/20/1974)