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Grateful Dead Beyond Description (1973-1989) Release Date: 2004 10 26 Label: Grateful Dead/Rhino Beyond Description (1973-1989) is a companion set to 2001's 12-disc box The Golden Road (1965-1973), which collected all of the Grateful Dead's albums for Warner Bros, adding bonus tracks to each album, along with a double-disc collection of early pre-Warner recordings called "Birth of the Dead" for good measure. Beyond Description picks up the story after the Dead started their own label with 1973's Wake of the Flood and runs all the way to 1989, when they released their last studio album, Built to Last. Like The Golden Road, each album here is enhanced with bonus tracks, running the gamut from as little as three (on Built to Last) to has many as 16 (a full-length bonus disc added to 1980's live acoustic Reckoning), but there's nothing quite as enticing as "Birth of the Dead." Indeed, "enticing" is not a word that's frequently associated with the albums in this collection. Even among Deadheads, these records, with a couple of noteworthy exceptions, aren't highly regarded, and the additional studio outtakes, demos, and live tracks don't necessarily help matters either; after all, if the foundation is shaky, it's hard to add an expansion. That's true here. It's certainly nice to have this material excavated, particularly for legions of dedicated fans, but none of the bonus tracks are revelatory. None of them offer a new perspective on the album, nor are there any lost gems here (not even the version of "Good Lovin'" sung by producer/Little Feat leader Lowell George on Shakedown Street qualifies as a hidden treasure). Instead, the bonus material ranges from the merely pleasant (the bonus discs on the live Reckoning and Dead Set), to the somewhat interesting (an early take of "China Doll" on Wake of the Flood), to the forgettable (most of the studio outtakes), to the actively irritating (a long acoustic demo of "Weather Report Suite," tedious jams on Blues for Allah). It's material that fans will hear once and file away, next to their large collection of Dick's Picks discs. Conversely, the individual albums featured in Beyond Description do pack some surprises. Certain records live up to their reputations -- Wake of the Flood remains one of their strongest, moodiest affairs, From the Mars Hotel is an underrated record, In the Dark is an assured comeback -- but others sound both better and worse than they did in memory. In particular, Go to Heaven, while far from their best, sounds much better than its reputation suggests -- it may not be much of a Dead record, but it's warm and well-crafted, a good fusion of the Doobie Brothers and Little Feat. Built to Last, however, is an outright embarrassment, a rushed sequel to In the Dark constructed with overly slick synthesizers and cavernous drums that sounds even more dated than the disco cuts scattered throughout Terrapin Station and Shakedown Street (neither of which sound inspired, but are fascinating in their tentative attempts to streamline the Dead). Ultimately, it matters little whether the albums themselves are all that strong or weak -- this is a package for the diehard, the one who will buy the bad albums just to complete his collection. In that regard, Beyond Description is every bit the equal of The Golden Road -- the remastering is good, the packaging has been assembled with loving care, the liner notes are solid. It's all enough to make this a necessary library piece for truly dedicated Deadheads. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide Tracks: Title Composer Time 1 Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo Garcia, Hunter 5:45 2 Let Me Sing Your Blues Away Hunter, Godchaux 3:17 3 Row Jimmy Garcia, Hunter 7:14 4 Stella Blue Garcia, Hunter 6:26 5 Here Comes the Sunshine Garcia, Hunter 4:40 6 Eyes of the World Garcia, Hunter 5:19 7 Weather Report Suite: Prelude/Part 1/Part 2 Weir, Anderson, Barlow 12:52 8 Eyes of the World [Live][*] Garcia, Hunter 17:05 9 Weather Report Suite: Prelude/Part 1/Part 2/ [Studio Acoustic Demo][*] Weir, Anderson, Barlow 12:39 10 China Doll [Studio Outtake][*] Garcia, Hunter 4:02 11 U.S. Blues Garcia, Hunter 4:40 12 China Doll Garcia, Hunter 4:10 13 Unbroken Chain Lesh, Peterson 6:45 14 Loose Lucy Garcia, Hunter 3:21 15 Scarlet Begonias Garcia, Hunter 4:19 16 Pride of Cucamonga Lesh, Peterson 4:16 17 Money Money Weir, Barlow 4:24 18 Ship of Fools Garcia, Hunter 5:38 19 Loose Lucy [Studio Outtake][*] Garcia, Hunter 4:43 20 Scarlet Begonias [Live][*] Garcia, Hunter 9:09 21 Money Money [Live][*] Weir, Barlow 4:19 22 Wave That Flag [Live][*] Garcia, Hunter 5:34 23 Let It Rock [Live][*] Berry 3:22 24 Pride of Cucamonga [Studio Acoustic Demo][*] Lesh, Peterson 4:24 25 Unbroken Chain [Studio Acoustic Demo][*] Lesh, Peterson 6:20 26 Help on the Way/Slipknot! Garcia, Weir, Hunter, Godchaux, Kreutzmann, Lesh 7:21 27 Franklin's Twoer Garcia, Hunter, Kreutzmann 4:33 28 King Solomon's Marbles, Pt. 1: Stronger Than Dirt/King Solomon's ... Hart, Garcia, Hunter, Kreutzmann, Lesh 5:16 29 Music Never Stopped Weir, Barlow 4:36 30 Crazy Fingers Garcia, Hunter 6:42 31 Sage & Spirit Weir 3:06 32 Blue for Allah/Sand Castles & Glass Camels/Unusal Occurences in ... Hart, Garcia, Weir, Hunter, Godchaux, Godchaux, Kreutzmann, Lesh 12:44 33 Groove #1 [Studio Outtake][*][Instrumental] Hart, Garcia, Weir, Godchaux, Kreutzmann, Lesh 5:45 34 Groove #2 [Studio Outtake][*][Instrumental] Hart, Garcia, Weir, Godchaux, Kreutzmann, Lesh 7:35 35 Distorto [Studio Outtake][*][Instrumental] Garcia 8:14 36 to E Flat Jam [Studio Outtake][*][Instrumental] Hart, Garcia, Weir, Godchaux, Kreutzmann, Lesh 4:39 37 Proto 18 Proper [Studio Outtake][*][Instrumental] Hart, Garcia, Weir, Godchaux, Kreutzmann, Lesh 4:18 38 Hollywood Cantata [Studio Outtake][*] Weir, Hunter 4:14 39 Estimated Prophet Weir, Barlow 5:37 40 Dancing in the Streets Gaye, Hunter, Stevenson 3:18 41 Passenger Lesh, Monk 2:48 42 Samson & Delilah Traditional 3:29 43 Sunrise Godchaux 4:08 44 Terrapin Station, Pt. 1: Lady With a Fan/Terrapin Station/Terrapin Hart, Garcia, Hunter, Kreutzmann 16:29 45 Peggy-O [Studio Outtake][*][Instrumental] Traditional 4:41 46 Ascent [Studio Outtake][*][Instrumental] Grateful Dead 1:59 47 Catfish John [Studio Outtake][*] McDill, Reynolds 4:43 48 Equinox [Studio Outtake][*] Lesh 5:15 49 Fire on the Mountain [Studio Outtake][*] Hart, Hunter 6:26 50 Dancing in the Streets [Live][*] Gaye, Hunter, Stevenson 16:17 51 Good Lovin' Clark, Resnick 4:50 52 France Hart, Weir, Hunter 4:04 53 Shakedown Street Garcia, Hunter 4:59 54 Serengetti Hart, Kreutzmann 2:02 55 Fire on the Mountain Hart, Hunter 3:48 56 I Need a Miracle Weir, Barlow 3:35 57 From the Heart of Me Godchaux 3:25 58 Stagger Lee Garcia, Hunter 3:28 59 All New Minglewood Blues Traditional 4:16 60 If I Had the World to Give Garcia, Hunter 5:00 61 Good Lovin' [Studio Outtake][*] Clark, Resnick 4:56 62 Ollin Arageed [Live][*] ElDin 6:30 63 Fire on the Mountain [Live][*] Hart, Hunter 13:43 64 Stagger Lee [Live][*] Garcia, Hunter 6:39 65 All New Minglewood Blues [Live][*] Traditional 4:34 66 Alabama Getaway Garcia, Hunter 3:37 67 Far from Me Mydland 3:39 68 Althea Garcia, Hunter 6:52 69 Feel Like a Stranger Weir, Barlow 5:08 70 Lost Sailor Weir, Barlow 5:54 71 Saint of Circumstance Weir, Barlow 5:39 72 Antwerp's Placebo (The Plumber) Hart, Kreutzmann 0:39 73 Easy to Love You Barlow, Mydland 3:38 74 Don't Ease Me In Traditional 3:23 75 Peggy-O [Studio Outtake][*] Traditional 5:51 76 What'll You Raise [Studio Outtake][*] Garcia, Hunter 4:10 77 Jack-A-Roe [Studio Outtake][*] Traditional 4:55 78 Althea [Live] Garcia, Hunter 8:17 79 Lost Sailor [Live] Weir, Barlow 6:41 80 Saint of Circumstance [Live] Weir, Barlow 6:35 81 Dire Wolf Garcia, Hunter 3:20 82 Race Is On Rollins 3:00 83 Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie Cotten 6:27 84 It Must Have Been the Roses Hunter 6:59 85 Dark Hollow Browning 3:51 86 China Doll Garcia, Hunter 5:21 87 Been All Around This World Traditional 4:13 88 Monkey and the Engineer Fuller 2:55 89 Jack-A-Roe Traditional 4:13 90 Deep Elem Blues Traditional 4:53 91 Cassidy Weir, Barlow 4:34 92 To Lay Me Down Garcia, Hunter 9:02 93 Rosalie McFall Monroe 2:53 94 On the Road Again Traditional 3:13 95 Bird Song Garcia, Hunter 7:36 96 Ripple Garcia, Hunter 4:27 97 To Lay Me Down [Studio Rehearsal][*] Garcia, Hunter 9:13 98 Iko Iko [Live][*] Hawkins, Hawkins, Johnson, Crawford 4:23 99 Heaven Help the Fool [Live][*] Weir, Barlow 6:18 100 Paso [Live][*] Robbins 4:40 101 Sage & Spirit [Live][*] Weir 3:13 102 Little Sadie [Live][*] Traditional 2:44 103 It Must Have Been the Roses [Alternate Live Version][*] Hunter 7:00 104 Dark Hollow [Alternate Live Version][*] Browning 4:30 105 Jack-A-Roe [Alternate Live Version][*] Traditional 5:07 106 Cassidy [Alternate Live Version][*] Weir, Barlow 5:06 107 China Doll [Alternate Live Version][*] Garcia, Hunter 5:52 108 Monkey and the Engineer [Alternate Live Version][*] Fuller 2:36 109 Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie [Alternate Live Version][*] Cotten 7:12 110 Ripple [Alternate Live Version Garcia, Hunter 4:39 111 Tom Dooley [Live][*] Lomax, Warner 3:32 112 Deep Elem Blues [Alternate Live Version][*] Traditional 3:42 113 Samson and Delilah [Live] Traditional 5:06 114 Friend of the Devil [Live] Garcia, Hunter, Dawson 7:31 115 New Minglewood Blues [Live] Traditional 4:44 116 Deal [Live] Garcia, Hunter 4:45 117 Candyman [Live] Garcia, Hunter 7:17 118 Little Red Rooster [Live] Dixon, Burnett 4:33 119 Loser [Live] Garcia, Hunter 5:55 120 Passenger [Live] Lesh, Monk 3:22 121 Feel Like a Stranger [Live] Weir, Barlow 5:43 122 Franklin's Tower [Live] Garcia, Hunter, Kreutzmann 5:25 123 Rhythm Devils [Live] Hart, Kreutzmann 4:01 124 Space [Live] Grateful Dead 2:28 125 Fire on the Mountain [Live] Hart, Hunter 6:44 126 Greatest Story Ever Told [Live] Hart, Weir, Hunter 4:04 127 Brokedown Palace [Live] Garcia, Hunter 5:47 128 Let It Grow [Live][*] Weir, Barlow 9:38 129 Sugaree [Live [Live] Garcia, Hunter 9:51 130 C.C. Rider [Live][*] Traditional 7:17 131 Row Jimmy [Live][*] Garcia, Hunter 10:14 132 Lazy Lightnin' [Live][*] Weir, Barlow 3:24 133 Supplication [Live][*] Weir, Barlow 5:49 134 High Time [Live][*] Garcia, Hunter 8:40 135 Jack Straw [Live][*] Weir, Hunter 6:16 136 Shakedown Street [Live][*] Garcia, Hunter 10:41 137 Not Fade Away [Live][*] Holly, Petty 4:49 138 Touch of Grey Garcia, Hunter 5:50 139 Hell in a Bucket Weir, Barlow, Mydland 5:37 140 When Push Comes to Shove Garcia, Hunter 4:08 141 West L.A. Fadeaway Garcia, Hunter 6:38 142 Tons of Steel Mydland 5:18 143 Throwing Stones Weir, Barlow 7:20 144 Black Muddy River Garcia, Hunter 6:07 145 My Brother Esau (Single B-Side) [*] Weir, Barlow 4:20 146 West L.A. Fadeaway [Alternate Version, 1984][*] Garcia, Hunter 7:09 147 Black Muddy River [Studio Rehearsal][*] Garcia, Hunter 5:41 148 When Push Comes to Shove [Studio Rehearsal][*] Garcia, Hunter 4:22 149 Touch of Grey [Studio Rehearsal][*] Garcia, Hunter 5:47 150 Throwing Stones [Live] Weir, Barlow 9:36 151 Foolish Heart Garcia, Hunter 5:12 152 Just a Little Light Barlow, Mydland 4:43 153 Built to Last Garcia, Hunter 5:05 154 Blow Away Barlow, Mydland 6:11 155 Victim or the Crime Weir, Graham 7:37 156 We Can Run Barlow, Mydland 5:33 157 Standing on the Moon Garcia, Hunter 5:22 158 Picasso Moon Weir, Barlow, Bralove 6:43 159 I Will Take You Home Barlow, Mydland 3:55 160 Foolish Heart [Live][*] Garcia, Hunter 11:30 161 Blow Away [Live][*] Barlow, Mydland 12:02 162 California Earthquake (Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On) [Live][*] Crowell 5:59 Releases: Year Type Label 2004 CD Grateful Dead/Rhino z CD WEA Japan

Group Members: Vince Welnick Keith Godchaux Brent Mydland Donna Jean Godchaux Phil Lesh More >> Similar Artists: The Allman Brothers Band Traffic Moby Grape Jefferson Airplane Janis Joplin More >>

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