The Grateful Dead has announced a 50th-anniversary release of their 1973 album “Wake of the Flood” featuring previously unheard material. As the debut album from their own record label, Grateful Dead Records, “Wake Of The Flood” marked a period of transition, growth, endurance and optimism for the band. While songs like “Eyes Of The World,” “Stella Blue,” and “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” were largely road-tested for more than half a year beforehand, and have remained staples of live sets by any number of Dead-related bands ever since, the album and record label delivered both a profound artistic statement and proof of concept for the community, ideals and future the band were building.
“Wake of the Flood – 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition” will be released September 29th. The collection, will be available as two-CD or digital sets, will include re-mastered versions of the album’s seven original songs, along with previously unreleased demo recordings of “Eyes of the World” and “Here Comes Sunshine” that were recorded in early 1973.
Originally released on October 1973, “Wake of the Flood” was recorded following the death of Grateful Dead founding member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan. It was the first album released on the band’s record label and represented an evolution in their style. The Dead brought a wide variety of influences to the table on the LP, including country, folk, R&B, jazz and rock.
The second disc is made up of live material recorded on November 1st, 1973, at Northwestern University’s McGaw Memorial Hall. The set opens with “Weather Report Suite” and closes with “Mississippi Half-Step.” In between, it features one of the group’s trademark jams, made up of “Morning Dew,” ”Playing in the Band” (twice) and ”Uncle John’s Band.”
“Here Comes Sunshine 1973”, “Dave’s Picks Vols. 45-48”, and Bob Weir “Ace” They were not only one of the most well-documented live acts in history, but quite active in the studio as well, and that means that Dead Heads can always expect plenty of goodies from their vaults. This year’s bounty included an expanded look at their sixth studio LP, 1973’s “Wake of The Flood; Here Comes Sunshine 1973“, a 17-CD anthology of complete shows from their spring tour of that year; four new volumes in the ongoing “Dave’s Picks” series, all featuring classic ’70s concerts; and finally, a reissue of Bob Weir’s debut solo album, “Ace”, which was actually a thinly disguised Dead album.
The Fat Angel Sings 