Photo: James R Anderson
When a group of Bay Area beatniks set out to find their sound in the spring of 1965, few would have assumed their convergence would result in a 30-year tenure, 13 studio albums, and a devoted following nearly six decades after that history night at Magoo’s Pizza Parlor. And, for the Grateful Dead, that sense of awe ceases to fade away.
As the band prepares for its historic 60th anniversary, they have announced the June 13, 2025, release of Gratest Hits, featuring nine defining tracks from specific albums, including Workingman’s Dead, American Beauty, From The Mars Hotel, Shakedown Street, Terrapin Station, and In The Dark, and featuring; “Casey Jones,” “Friend of the Devil,” “Box of Rain,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Truckin’,” Scarlet Begonias,” “Fire on the Mountain,” “Estimated Prophet” and “Touch of Grey.”
Gratest Hits is slated to arrive after the band’s historic achievement: surpassing the likes of Elvis and Frank Sinatra and breaking the record for most Top 40 albums on the Billboard 200. Striking the focus of the gain, the Grateful Dead will use the format of their impending set to prompt listeners to relish in pinnacle and sage arrivals.
According to the band’s official press release outlining their impending collection, this set represents the first time they have dropped an “official greatest hits compilation,” despite an extensive number of unofficial sets that did not feature band involvement or input.
Gratest Hits follows the band’s other impending release to mark 60 years, Enjoying The Ride, a limited-edition 60-CD boxed set featuring performances from 20 iconic venues, and spanning over 25 years, from 1969 to 1994. The set is scheduled for release on May 30, 2025.
The 60th anniversary collection features original recordings by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, Betty Cantor-Jackson, Kidd Candelario, Dan Healy, and John Cutler. These recordings were restored and mastered by David Glasser and Jeffrey Norman, who utilized Plangent Processes’ tape restoration and speed correction techniques for optimal sound quality.
Excluding a couple of previously released tracks, Enjoying The Ride boasts a plethora of previously unheard recordings, numbering over 450 tracks that total more than 60 hours of hip-swinging entertainment. Of the 20 aforementioned shows included in the collection, 17 are delivered in full, with some added material from the same venue. The remaining three: Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Boston Music Hall, have been sorted from multiple nights to display pivotal points from those specific stages.
As a bonus arrival off Enjoy the Ride, the team shared a previously unheard rendition of “Althea.” “From the Grateful Dead’s third performance at the Hartford Civic Center (on the heels of their 1977 and 1980 shows), this ‘Althea’ is widely considered one of the greatest versions of the song the Dead ever played,” Grateful Dead archivist and legacy manager David Lemieux says.
“Joining the repertoire in August 1979, and recorded in the studio for 1980’s Go To Heaven album, ‘Althea’ started hitting instrumental peaks that you’ll hear in this version. Coupled with Jerry’s emotional, powerful vocal delivery, this is an ‘Althea’ against which all other ‘Altheas’ can be measured.”
Listen here. Pre-order Gratest Hits, available via Rhino on 1CD, 1LP, Dead.net Exclusive Blue Smoke Vinyl, Digital, as well as multiple retail exclusive colored vinyl variants
GRATEST HITS TRACKLISTING
CASEY JONES
From Workingman’s Dead (1970)
FRIEND OF THE DEVIL
BOX OF RAIN
SUGAR MAGNOLIA
TRUCKIN’
Tracks 2-5 From American Beauty (1970)
SCARLET BEGONIAS
From From The Mars Hotel (1974)
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN
From Shakedown Street (1978)
ESTIMATED PROPHET
From Terrapin Station (1977)
TOUCH OF GREY
From In The Dark (1987)
Content shared from relix.com.