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Jerry Garcia, Before The Dead, Factory Sealed 5LP, 180 Gram Box Set LIMITED EDITION OF 2500 COPIES

Before The Dead 5LP limited edition box set!

Limited edition of just 2,500 sets

Audio restoration and mastering by Fred Kevorkian

Lacquers cut by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios

Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings!

Five 180-gram LPs containing 3.5 hours of studio and live performances

Includes 32-page book with rare photos, memorabilia and in-depth liner note essays

Round Records presents its most ambitious project to date with the long-awaited Jerry Garcia boxed set Before The Dead. The project features a meticulously researched and curated compilation of recordings the iconic Grateful Dead founder made prior to forming the legendary band.

These are a rare collection of Garcia’s earliest known performances, from an informal and intimate 1961 performance of simple folk songs at a birthday party with future songwriting partner Robert Hunter to more polished coffeehouse gigs with old-timey and bluegrass bands through 1964. The collection showcases Garcia’s deep study of the folk music tradition and its influence on his musical journey leading to the formation of the Grateful Dead. Even with his entire musical career in front of him, Garcia’s magnetic presence as a performer can be plainly heard in these first steps.

Featuring:
• Limited Edition of 2,500 sets.
• Five 180-gram LPs containing more than 3.5 hours of studio and live performances culled from previously uncirculated masters and newly discovered recordings. Audio restoration and mastering by Fred Kevorkian. Lacquers cut by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios and pressed to vinyl by Quality Record Pressings.
• Produced by Grateful Dead publicist and biographer Dennis McNally and Brian Miksis.
• Includes a 32-page book with rare photos, memorabilia and in-depth liner note essays by McNally, Miksis, acclaimed bluegrass scholar Neil V. Rosenberg, Sara Ruppenthal Katz, and Stu Goldstein.

Aside from being a renowned musicologist, Rosenberg was part of the Redwood Canyon Ramblers, an influential Bay Area bluegrass ensemble that would inspire a younger generation of players, including Garcia. Each section features a “Tales of the Tape” essay that includes details on how, when and where the music was recorded, how it was found and, in most instances, anecdotes about the particular date, including early interactions with many area musicians before they went on to greater things.

Before The Dead includes never before heard performances, recordings that have never been commercially released and a small selection that have. From intimate live recordings to live studio recordings to field recordings, Before The Dead serves as a historical document in the spirit of renowned releases by Smithsonian Folkways and influential field recordings by Alan Lomax. The music on Before The Dead was selected and co-produced by longtime Grateful Dead publicist/author Dennis McNally and documentarian Brian Miksis. The audio was restored and mastered by Fred Kevorkian.

SIDE ONE:
Bob and Jerry
May 26, 1961
Brigid Meier’s Sixteenth Birthday Party
Menlo Park, California
1. SANTY ANNO
2. I GOT A HOME IN THAT ROCK
3. OH, MARY DON’T YOU WEEP
4. ALL MY TRIALS
5. I WAS BORN TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO
6. BLOW THE CANDLES OUT
7. RAKE AND A RAMBLING BOY
8. TROUBLE IN MIND

SIDE TWO:
Jerry Garcia, Marshall Leicester, and Robert Hunter
July 1961
Boar’s Head Coffeehouse, Carlos Book Stall
San Carlos, California
1. BROWN’S FERRY BLUES
2. JESSE JAMES
Jerry Garcia and Unknown Musician
Summer or Fall 1961
Boar’s Head Coffeehouse, Carlos Book Stall
San Carlos, California
3. DOWN IN THE WILLOW GARDEN
4. LONG LONESOME ROAD
5. RAILROAD BILL
6. THE WAGONER’S LAD
7. KATIE CRUEL

SIDE THREE:
Sleepy Hollow Hog Stompers
June 11, 1962
Boar’s Head Coffeehouse, Peninsula Jewish Community Center
San Carlos, California
1. CANNONBALL BLUES
2. LITTLE BIRDIE
3. SALLY GOODIN
4. HOLD THAT WOODPILE DOWN
5. LEGEND OF THE JOHNSON BOYS
6. SHADY GROVE
7. SWEET SUNNY SOUTH
8. MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW

SIDE FOUR & FIVE
Hart Valley Drifters
Fall 1962
KZSU Radio Studio A, Stanford University
Stanford, California
1. BAND INTRODUCTIONS
2. ROVING GAMBLER
3. GROUND SPEED
4. PIG IN A PEN
5. STANDING IN THE NEED OF PRAYER
6. FLINT HILL SPECIAL
7. NINE POUND HAMMER
8. HANDSOME MOLLY
9. CLINCH MOUNTAIN BACKSTEP
1. THINK OF WHAT YOU’VE DONE
2. CRIPPLE CREEK
3. ALL THE GOOD TIMES HAVE PAST AND GONE
4. BILLY GRIMES, THE ROVER
5. PADDY ON THE TURNPIKE (BOYS, MY MONEY’S ALL GONE)
6. RUN MOUNTAIN
7. SUGAR BABY
8. SITTING ON TOP OF THE WORLD

SIDE SIX:
The Wildwood Boys
February 23, 1963
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
1. ROLL IN MY SWEET BABY’S ARMS
2. JERRY’S BREAKDOWN
3. STANDING IN THE NEED OF PRAYER
4. MULE SKINNER BLUES
5. SATURDAY NIGHT SHUFFLE
6. PIKE COUNTY BREAKDOWN
7. THE LITTLE SPARROW
8. WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

SIDE SEVEN:
Jerry and Sara
May 4, 1963
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
1. DEEP ELEM BLUES
2. WILL THE WEAVER
3. I TRULY UNDERSTAND
4. LONG BLACK VEIL
5. THE MAN WHO WROTE HOME SWEET HOME NEVER WAS A MARRIED MAN
6. FOGGY MOUNTAIN TOP

SIDE EIGHT:
Black Mountain Boys
Fall 1963
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
1. BAREFOOT NELLIE
2. SHE’S MORE TO BE PITIED
3. NOAH’S BREAKDOWN
4. WHO WILL SING FOR ME?
Black Mountain Boys
January 10, 1964
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
5. SALT CREEK
6. MONROE’S HORNPIPE (JODY’S HORNPIPE)
7. ROSA LEE McFALL
8. JOHN HARDY/CLOSING THEME
Black Mountain Boys
March 6, 1964
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
9. KATIE KLINE
10. WALKIN’ THE DOG

SIDE NINE:
Black Mountain Boys
March 6, 1964
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
1. PADDY ON THE TURNPIKE (BOYS, MY MONEY’S ALL GONE)
2. LOVE AND WEALTH
3. SOURWOOD MOUNTAIN
4. IF I LOSE
5. HOMESTEAD ON THE FARM (I WONDER HOW THE OLD FOLKS ARE AT HOME)
6. STONEY CREEK
7. SALTY DOG BLUES
8. LOVE PLEASE COME HOME
9. MAKE ME A PALLET ON THE FLOOR
10. DARLIN’ ALLALEE

SIDE TEN:
Black Mountain Boys
March 6, 1964
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
1. IN THE PINES
2. RAW HIDE
3. BLACK MOUNTAIN RAG
4. TRUE LIFE BLUES
5. MEDLEY: DEVIL’S DREAM—SAILOR’S HORNPIPE
Black Mountain Boys
Spring 1964
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
6. DRINK UP AND GO HOME
Asphalt Jungle Mountain Boys
Summer 1964
Top of the Tangent
Palo Alto, California
7. THESE MEN OF GOD
8. ROLL ON BUDDY
9. GOODBYE OLD PAL
10. BACK UP AND PUSH