THE BEST OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD LIVE is the ultimate live collection, a two-disc set with recordings selected from the band's official live albums on Warner Bros. and Arista, plus a few tracks from their many archival live releases, beginning with "St. Stephen" - from the group's first official live album, 1969's Live/Dead - and ending with the poignant "So Many Roads," taken from the band's final concert at Chicago's Soldier Field in July of 1995
"We wanted to follow up the 2015 The Best Of The Grateful Dead studio set with a live counterpart, and have focused our efforts on the band's primary live albums as well as some key tracks from archival concert releases," says band archivist and producer David Lemieux. "Just as there was nothing like a Grateful Dead concert, there is also nothing like a live Grateful Dead recording; it's no secret that as good as the Dead's studio recordings were, they excelled in front of an audience, and this set provides an overview of just how great the Dead were live in concert."
THE BEST OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD LIVE features liner notes by Blair Jackson, and photos by Jay Blakesberg and Mary Ann Mayer. As always, it has been mastered to HDCD specs by David Glasser.
The music will be available through digital and streaming services as well. On the same date, Volume One of the collection will also be available on 180-gram vinyl as a 2-LP set, covering the first half of the album. Volume Two on vinyl will be released at a later date.
