The Golden Road (1965 - 1973) [BOX SET] [LIVE] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Grateful Dead

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 16, 2001)
• Original Release Date: October 16, 2001
• Number of Discs: 12
• Format: Box set, Live, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Rhino / Wea
• ASIN: B00005OWEZ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,350 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Considering the amount of posthumous product released since Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead's demise in 1995, perhaps a better name for the band would be the Living Dead. However, there is no denying the fact that the Dead's music--at various times thrilling, adventurous, simple, futuristic, old-fashioned, ethereal, abominable, ridiculous, and sublime--bears this kind of deep exploration. Rhino's 12-disc bonanza is the definitive look at the Dead's formative years, a fantastically creative nine-year period for Warner Bros. In 1965, they were a bunch of ex-folk and bluegrass musicians who were looking to jump on the rock bandwagon driven by the Beatles. The ensuing decade found them travel a sort of circular path that began with revved-up renditions of their folk and blues favorites. Then they maneuvered through intense, far-reaching, mind-blowing psychedelic experiments, settled into timeless stripped-down Americana, and ended atop a mountain where folk, blues, country, jazz, and psychedelic rock lived in near-perfect harmony.

All of the band's nine official Warner releases (five studio discs, four live) have been superbly remastered and buffed with extra tracks that include unheard studio jams and outtakes, plus contemporaneous live cuts. There's also two discs' worth (one studio, one live) of rare early material that predates their Warner Bros. debut. Each "album" comes in its own package with its own notes, while the box itself offers a 75-page booklet filled with thoughtful essays, personal reflections, and great photos. Clearly, Rhino has thrown down the gauntlet to Deadheads everywhere: they know you have most of this stuff in a variety of forms, but with the bounty of bonus tracks, the superior sound, and the wonderful packaging it's as if they're issuing a challenge not to buy this exquisite collection. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For those with unlimited devotion to one of rock's greatest, February 4, 2002

By	"rockrollmusicislife" (Redding, CT) - See all my reviews

This is a perfect box set, doing what all good box sets should. It is comprehensive (Over 100 pages worth of essay and liner notes. It has excellent sound (recieving the digital remastering treatment). And it has plenty of unreleased material. (Over 7 hours, stretching each disc to 80 minutes in length) You can't go wrong with a 12 cd box set covering the golden era in Dead history.

Birth of the Dead: The Studio Sides- A disc of the Dead's earliest sessions in their entirety. This captures the Dead as a very loose garage band. Shows much influence from the music of early electric Bob Dylan and other folk rock acts of the day. 5 Stars

Birth of the Dead: The Live Sides- Some early material. Relatively typical of an early Dead concert as they explore folk, blues, and rock and spice it up with their own charisma. Though not as engaging as more legendary Dead performances still good. 4 stars.

The Grateful Dead- The first official album. Could have been good, but the Dead seemed to be rushing it and unlike Birth of the Dead couldn't loosen up to the studio. Does contain classic versions of Cream Puff War, Sitting on Top of the World, Morning Dew, and Viola Lee Blues. On live performances the Dead let loose, and are raw and rocking. Album: 4 stars Bonus Tracks: 5 stars

Anthem of the Sun- The second album, containing studio and live tracks merged together to make for a very experimental and interesting album. The Dead are looser and more psychadelic, most notably on their always essential That's It For the Other One jam and the bluesy Caution. Excellent live medley of alligator and caution in the bonus set. Some of the Dead's most psychadelically experimental rock. Album: 5 stars Bonus: 5 stars

Aoxomoxoa- Step backward. Less experimental and a more pop sound. Does contain classic cuts St. stephen and China Cat Sunflower. Another excelent live jam set in the bonis tracks. Not as exciting as Anthem but still a good listen. Album 4 stars Bonus 5 stars

Live/Dead- The Dead's first full length live album is certainly one of the best psychadelic albums ever. Grabs you and doesn't let you go. All time classic jams such as Dark Star and The Eleven make this an all time Dead essential. 5 stars

Workingman's Dead- The first great studio album. After their first two studio albums (Anthem doesn't count) the Dead to come back to simple Americana music. Workingman's dead is mostly lighthearted folk and country, containing such classics as Uncle John's Band, Cumberland Blues, and Casey Jones. While most rock fans will want to ignore, fans of roots music will certainly enjoy it, and it is without a doubt the Dead's best studio album Bonus tracks are not as engaging. Album; 5 stars Bonus: 4 stars.

American Beauty- Much of the same. Catchy, lighthearted, and shows the Dead's maturity as musicians in full bloom. Mellow classics such as Sugar Magnolia, Box of Rain, Ripple, and Truckin' make this one of the Dead's greatest. While not as good as Workingman's Dead it is definetely great relaxation music. Bonus set is average and rather boring. Album: 5 stars Bonus 3 1/2 stars

Grateful Dead- The one originally to be Skull F***. With this live effort the Dead proved they could still be an awesome psychadelic rock band, pumping out a riveting The Other One and the all time greatest Dead song Playing with the Band, not to mention the classic ballad Wharf Rat and the classic medley Not Fade Away/Going Down the Road Feeling Bad. Impressive live outing. Fine bonus set. Album: 5 stars Bonus: 4 stars

Europe '72: The all time greatest Dead album. Two live discs of essential Dead, churning, folk and country rock favorites along with one of their greatest live jams (Truckin', Epilogue, Prelude, Morning Dew). '72 captures them performing at their loosest and most charismatic on stage. Not just for all Deadheads, but for everyone who loves good music as well. Excellent bonus set along the same guidelines. Album: 5 stars Bonus: 5 stars

History of the Grateful Dead (Bear's Choice): An album used to end contract with Warner Bros. Fine album that captures the Dead unplugged and playing the blues very impressively. Many impressive moments from Pigpen, who died before this album was released. A fine live album with a fine bonus set. Album: 5 stars Bonus: 5 stars

So if you have some cash to spend then might I consider the most comprehensive Grateful Dead set in the world. Even if you already have these albums you shall not regret it, I guarantee!

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It worked for me ..., May 30, 2002

By	ampar "ampar" (wayback) - See all my reviews

This was a big investment for me. One of those things I buy without telling my wife because I feel slightly guilty (I should have spent the money fixing the water pump ...). That's the first thing you'll consider before buying this, of course, the price tag. In the end I took the plunge. I have all the Dead stuff on vinyl, but hadn't listened to them in a long while. I never considered myself a Deadhead. I'm suspicious of all the Deadhead marketing push, the merchandising, and I didn't revere Jerry Garcia. His decline left me cold. Something about accepting responsibility for your own choices. But anyway. This box.
First off, the packaging is just gorgeous. And that matters. Nothing skimpy here, no compromises. A heavyweight foil-stamped box with a lithographed metal panel. Beautiful. Individual albums in stiff card digipacks with proper booklets. A substantial book packed with great pictures and written without the eulogising that earmarks the dyed-in-the-hemp Deadhead. Nice dry humor. There's even ribbons glued into the box to help you lift out the heavy stacks of CDs. All this stuff matters. If you buy a box set, you're paying for the packaging - the CDs themselves cost about as much as postage stamps to produce.
Then there's the music. Yahey. What a surprise I got. The sound is stunning. To think all this sonic information was always there, but hidden by the medium. All the criticism of the Dead as being [poor] in the studio is revealed as a myth. Not only could these guys play, they could write too. The singing ... I was always the first to admit they're not a vocal band. Their lack of a great vocalist was extraordinary. Maybe they thought it was too showbizzy or something to draft in somebody who could carry a tune. Bob Weir's blue-eyed soul grunts. Jerry's wheezy and cracked straining for the note. This is something that a lot of people who would otherwise enjoy the band are simply never going to get over. And that, as they say, is their loss. I can't say I'd ever listen to a Dead album for the vocals, but they don't bother me. They're part of the texture. And the music is stunning, in its variety (jugband blues to acid rock, lovely country tunes to barrelhouse rock and roll to spaced-out jazz-inflected jams), in its virtuosity (they played off each other like no band before or since), and now, at last, in its sound.
Revelations: plenty. What a fantastic and under-rated album Aoxomoxoa is. The depth of sound on American Beauty. The treasure trove of bonus tracks (not a bummer amongst them).
This box reawaked my appreciation of a great band. It does them justice. It's cheap at the price, and I don't care that the water pump still leaks.
It's that good.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best box set I've seen, July 25, 2002

By	Aaron P. Beck "aaron54de" (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Okay, if you are into the Dead, you know that the music on these CDs is up to par. Well, it's better than you thought. You will most likely hear things on the remastered studio tracks that you never heard off of CD or vinyl before. The bonus material is of equal quality with the previously released studio/live music. And it is both massive and broad. If you are not into the Dead, but you have even a slight interest, this is the thing to get.

The presentation is where this box set excels. Each digipak has the original front and back album artwork (varying between 100% to 85% size so that it fits nicely). Eveything down to the Mouse Studios logo on American Beauty and Workingman's Dead is included. The liner notes are extensive and sometimes enlightening. But overall the set just has a nice, classy, almost literary look and feel to it.

As far as value, this is the nicest box set I have seen. A heavy dose of original art (including many concert poster images) and writing along with twelve 70+ minute, superbly remastered CDs priced at less than [$$$] each makes this a rare value in today's music merchandising. If you are a Deadhead this set is a must-have--even if you already own most of these albums. If you are thinking about buying a pre-1974 Grateful Dead CD, save some more money and get this instead. Its value stretches far beyond the price.