Wake of The Flood

50th Anniversary Remaster of the debut album from the band’s own label, GRATEFUL DEAD RECORDS. With the recent passing of founding member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and temporary exit of drummer, Mickey Hart, this 1973 release introduces a fresh lineup that includes newest members Keith and Donna Godchaux on keys and vocals. Features“Eyes Of The World,” “Stella Blue,” and “Mississippi Half-Step.” Upon the release of Wake Of The Flood on October 15, 1973, the Grateful Dead hit the road for a brief tour starting on October 19 in Oklahoma City and ending on November 1 in Evanston, Illinois, and it is from this final night that the bonus material on the 50thAnniversary Deluxe Edition of Wake Of The Flood is drawn.

In celebration of Wake Of The Flood‘s 50th anniversary, the Grateful Dead vaults have been reopened to reveal a treasure trove of studio material that Dead Heads have never heard before.

After satisfying their nine-title/dozen-disc deal with Warner Brothers, the Dead began their own record labels: Grateful Dead Records (for group releases) and Round Records (for solo projects).

50th Anniversary Remaster of the debut album from the band’s own label, GRATEFUL DEAD RECORDS. With the recent passing of founding member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan and temporary exit of drummer, Mickey Hart, this 1973 release introduces a fresh lineup that includes newest members Keith and Donna Godchaux on keys and vocals. Features“Eyes Of The World,” “Stella Blue,” and “Mississippi Half-Step.” Upon the release of Wake Of The Flood on October 15, 1973, the Grateful Dead hit the road for a brief tour starting on October 19 in Oklahoma City and ending on November 1 in Evanston, Illinois, and it is from this final night that the bonus material on the 50thAnniversary Deluxe Edition of Wake Of The Flood is drawn.

The previously unreleased, never-before-heard, Grateful Dead session tapes for Wake Of The Flood.
Recorded August 6 -17, 1973 at Record Plant, 2200 Bridgeway, Sausalito, CA. Available on all DSPs worldwide.

Today, with Rhino's surprise release of From The Mars Hotel: The Angel's Share, the Grateful Dead vaults have once again been opened. Featuring 16 newly unearthed session recordings, the digital collection brings listeners directly into San Francisco's Coast Recorders during the spring of 1974, revealing the band's real-time process as they crafted such eternal staples as "Scarlet Begonias," "Ship Of Fools," "China Doll," "U.S. Blues," "Unbroken Chain" and more that would make up their classic From The Mars Hotel LP. The evolution of all of those songs and other album highlights is charted throughout this fourth edition of the band's fan-favorite Angel's Share series. Like previous installments that accompanied milestone reissues of Workingman's Dead, American Beauty and Wake Of The Flood, From The Mars Hotel: The Angel's Share brings together hours of expertly-curated outtakes, alternate versions, acoustic mixes, ​​unexpected moments and revelations that have never been heard or available on DSPs until now.

Eight months after the release of Wake Of The Flood, the Grateful Dead followed up that masterpiece with the second album on their Grateful Dead Records label, From The Mars Hotel. To this day, most of the songs on From The Mars Hotel are played frequently by the band members as they continue to bring the music to the people, and during the Grateful Dead's touring career, more than half of the songs were important parts of their live repertoire. “Scarlet Begonias,” “Ship Of Fools,” and “U.S Blues” arrived on the scene in 1974, with “China Doll” and “Loose Lucy” coming a year earlier, and they all quickly became staples of Grateful Dead live sets for decades, although “Loose Lucy” had a 15 year hiatus 1975-1989. Phil's two songs on the album are often played live these days when Phil performs with his rotating cast of Friends, and these songs, “Pride Of Cucamonga” and “Unbroken Chain” are elicit ecstatic responses. These would be the final two Phil-sung songs on a Grateful Dead studio album. Peaking at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in 1974, the album's terrific batch of new songs and exceptional production had Dead Heads scooping up the album 50 years ago upon its release.

Eight months after the release of Wake Of The Flood, the Grateful Dead followed up that masterpiece with the second album on their Grateful Dead Records label, From The Mars Hotel. To this day, most of the songs on From The Mars Hotel are played frequently by the band members as they continue to bring the music to the people, and during the Grateful Dead's touring career, more than half of the songs were important parts of their live repertoire. “Scarlet Begonias,” “Ship Of Fools,” and “U.S Blues” arrived on the scene in 1974, with “China Doll” and “Loose Lucy” coming a year earlier, and they all quickly became staples of Grateful Dead live sets for decades, although “Loose Lucy” had a 15 year hiatus 1975-1989. Phil's two songs on the album are often played live these days when Phil performs with his rotating cast of Friends, and these songs, “Pride Of Cucamonga” and “Unbroken Chain” are elicit ecstatic responses. These would be the final two Phil-sung songs on a Grateful Dead studio album. Peaking at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in 1974, the album's terrific batch of new songs and exceptional production had Dead Heads scooping up the album 50 years ago upon its release.

Steamboats and BBQ, ice cream cones and Mardi Gras - are you ready to laissez les bons temps rouler with the "gateway" to the Grateful Dead? Meet us, won't you, in St. Louis for seven complete and previously unreleased Dead concerts that capture the heart of the band's affinity for the River City.