Grateful Dead is an album by rock band the Grateful Dead. Released on September 24, 1971[3] on Warner Bros. Records, it is their second livedouble album and their seventh album overall. Although published without a title, it is generally known by the names Skull and Roses (due to its iconic cover art) and Skull Fuck (the name the band originally wanted to give to the album, which was rejected by the record company). It was the group's first album to be certified gold by the RIAA[4] and remained their best seller until surpassed by Skeletons from the Closet.
Unlike Live/Dead, the album contained several lead and background vocal overdubs. For the three new original compositions ("Bertha", "Playing in the Band", and "Wharf Rat"), the band invited Jerry Garcia associate Merl Saunders to overdub organ parts. This made the organ playing of Saunders more prominent than that of Pigpen, whose contributions tend to be buried in the mix.
"Playing in the Band" received a good amount of airplay, and became the Dead's most played song in concert (a studio version was released the following year on rhythm guitarist Bob Weir's solo album Ace).[5] The closing segue of "Not Fade Away" into "Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad" also received airplay and became a fan favorite.
Opening track "Bertha" fades in on the original version of the album, in semblance of entering the performance space. A longer, full opening is used on CD/digital copies. More tracks from the same source concerts were later released on Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead.
The album was remastered and expanded for the 2001 box set The Golden Road. This version, with three bonus tracks (two contemporaneous live tracks and a hidden promotional track) and the extended "Bertha", was released separately, in 2003.
The 50th Anniversary Edition of Skull and Roses was released on June 25, 2021, in CD, LP, and digital formats. The CD includes a bonus disc of songs recorded live at the Fillmore West in San Francisco on July 2, 1971.[6]
Title and message
Look up mind-blowing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
When the band submitted "Skull Fuck" (a contemporary euphemism for "blow your mind") as the album title, it was rejected by the record label. Ultimately the agreement was made that the album would be published without the title appearing anywhere on the record labels or cover artwork. Though the band refers to the album by this title, and it has long been known to fans (through interviews with band members, the Deadhead network and other outlets), the alternate, descriptive title "Skull & Roses" developed among distributors, music buyers and reviewers as a graphic incipit from the cover artwork.
Drummer Bill Kreutzmann explained the lack of a title on the artwork and labels, "...the original name was going to be "Skull Fuck". This was a time long before rap artists like Eminem numbed concerned citizens to the idea of offensive language in music. Warner Brothers freaked out on us. They said stores would boycott it and we wouldn't be able to get it on shelves."[7]
Inside the gatefold of the original LP, the band reached out directly to its burgeoning fan base, which had begun to attend multiple concerts in a row and collect live audio tapes of each concert, with a message reading:
Dead Freaks Unite: Who are you? Where are you? How are you? Send us your name and address and we'll keep you informed. Dead Heads, P.O. Box 1065, San Rafael, California 94901.
↑ Scott, John W.; Dolgushkin, Mike; Nixon, Stu. (1999). DeadBase XI: The Complete Guide to Grateful Dead Song Lists. Cornish, NH: DeadBase. ISBN1-877657-22-0.
Live/Dead is the first official live album released by the rock band Grateful Dead. Recorded over a series of concerts in early 1969 and released later the same year, it was the first live rock album to use 16-track recording.
Anthem of the Sun is the second album by rock band the Grateful Dead, released in 1968 on Warner Bros/Seven Arts. It is the first album to feature second drummer Mickey Hart. The band was also joined by Tom Constanten, who contributed avant-garde instrumental and studio techniques influenced by composers John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen.
The Grateful Dead is the debut studio album of the Grateful Dead. It was released by Warner Bros. Records in March 1967. According to the biographies of both bassist Phil Lesh and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, the band released the album as San Francisco's Grateful Dead.
Europe '72 is a live triple album by the Grateful Dead, released in November 1972. It is the band's third live album and their eighth album overall. It covers the band's tour of Western Europe in April and May that year, and showcases live favourites, extended improvisations and several new songs including "Jack Straw" and "Brown Eyed Women". The album was the first to include pianist Keith Godchaux and his wife, vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux, and the last to feature founding member Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, who died shortly after its release.
Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings is a 10-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains four complete concerts recorded on February 27, February 28, March 1, and March 2, 1969, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco. The album was remixed from the original 16-track concert soundboard tapes. It was released as a box set in November 2005, in a limited edition of 10,000 copies.
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been is the second compilation album by American rock band Grateful Dead. It was released August 18, 1977 by Warner Bros. Records, three and a half years after the Skeletons from the Closet compilation. Both albums are subtitled "The Best of the Grateful Dead". Unlike the previous compilation, What a Long Strange Trip It's Been is a double album.
History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One is a live album by the Grateful Dead. It is their fourth live album and their ninth album overall. Released in July 1973 on Warner Bros. Records, it offers concert highlights recorded February 13 and 14, 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City. Often known simply as Bear's Choice, the title references band soundman Owsley "Bear" Stanley. It was originally intended to be the first volume of a series.
The Golden Road (1965–1973) is a twelve-CD box set of the Grateful Dead's studio and live albums released during their time with Warner Bros. Records, from 1965 to 1973. After 1973, the band went on to create its own label, Grateful Dead Records. Also included in the box set is a two-disc bonus album, Birth of the Dead, containing very early recordings of the band.
Hundred Year Hall is a two-CD live album by the Grateful Dead. It was the first album to be released after Jerry Garcia's death, and one of the first releases in a continuing rush of live albums from the band's vault. It contains about two thirds of the April 26 concert at the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt, West Germany, during the Dead's Spring 1972 tour of Europe. Disc one includes a number of songs from the first set, followed by the last part of the second set. Disc two includes the first part of the second set.
Live at the Fillmore East 2-11-69 is a double live album by the Grateful Dead recorded during the Live/Dead tour on February 11, 1969, at the Fillmore East in New York City. The first disc represents the early show that night, the second the late show. The Dead opened for Janis Joplin. This album contains the first Grateful Dead CD release of the Beatles' "Hey Jude".
Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead is a four-CD live album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded at the April 25–29, 1971 shows at the Fillmore East in New York City. Some songs on the eponymous live album Grateful Dead were recorded at these shows as well. The album, released in October 2000, was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 6, 2002. Unlike Dick's Picks, Road Trips, Dave's Picks, and certain other of the band's archival series of live album releases, which are simply two-track stereo recordings made from the soundboard during the concert, the shows on Ladies and Gentlemen were recorded on a 16-track multitrack recorder and were mixed down to stereo just prior to the album's 2000 release.
Fillmore West 1969 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contain selected songs recorded at the Fillmore West in San Francisco on February 27 through March 2, 1969. The album was remixed and remastered from the original 16-track concert soundboard tapes. The album is packaged as a hardcover booklet, with photos of the band and an essay by Dennis McNally.
Rare Cuts and Oddities 1966 is an album of live and studio tracks recorded by the rock band the Grateful Dead in 1966. It was released on CD by Grateful Dead Records on March 25, 2005.
Three from the Vault is a live album by the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete show recorded on February 19, 1971 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. It was released on June 26, 2007.
Road Trips Volume 2 Number 2 is a two-CD live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The sixth in their "Road Trips" series of albums, it was the first to contain a complete concert—the February 14, 1968, show at the Carousel Ballroom in San Francisco, California. Bonus material on Disc 1, as well as the bonus disc offered to early purchasers, comes from the Grateful Dead and Quicksilver Messenger Service "Tour of the Great Pacific Northwest", immediately preceding the Carousel Ballroom show. The album was released on March 21, 2009.
Dave's Picks Volume 14 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead containing the concert recorded March 26, 1972 at the Academy of Music in New York City It was released on May 1, 2015 as a limited edition of 16,500 numbered copies. Recorded during a seven-day run at the venue, the shows were the final American Grateful Dead shows before the Europe '72 tour commenced.
30 Trips Around the Sun: The Definitive Live Story 1965–1995 is a four-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains 30 songs recorded in concert—one from each of the years 1966 through 1995—plus one song recorded in a 1965 studio session. All of the tracks are selected from the 80-CD box set 30 Trips Around the Sun, which contains 30 previously unreleased complete shows. The album was released on September 18, 2015. A chronological sampling format was also used for the 5-disc set So Many Roads (1965–1995).
The Best of the Grateful Dead Live is a compilation album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains songs that were recorded live in concert and previously released on other Grateful Dead albums. It was released on March 23, 2018.
Lyceum Theatre, London, England 5/26/72 is a four-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded at the Lyceum Theatre on May 26, 1972 – the last show of the band's Europe '72 tour. It was released on July 29, 2022.
Lyceum '72: The Complete Recordings is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. Packaged as a box set of 24 LPs, it contains four complete concerts recorded at the Lyceum Theatre in London on May 23, 24, 25, and 26, 1972. It was released on July 29, 2022, in a limited edition of 4,000 copies.
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