Like all the albums in the ongoing series, Anthem Of The Sun will be released 50 years after its anniversary date as a two-disc deluxe edition that includes the original album with newly remastered sound, plus a bonus disc of unreleased live recordings.
Anthem Of The Sun: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition includes two versions of the original album — one fully remastered from the original 1968 mix, and the other remastered from the more well-known 1971 mix. Both mixes of the albums were mastered by Grammy®-winning engineer David Glasser from the original analog master tapes. The set also includes a bonus disc with a previously unreleased complete live show recorded on October 22, 1967 at Winterland in San Francisco, CA. Newly remastered by Jeffrey Norman, this is the first known recording of the Grateful Dead with Mickey Hart, who joined the band in September 1967.
The band’s most experimental album, Anthem Of The Sun was an unprecedented mix of studio and live recordings stitched together to create a hybrid. Fifty years later, it remains a pinnacle of psychedelic music. It also marked a departure for the band, as they began to channel their creativity into longer jams on songs like “Alligator” and “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” – two live staples of the Dead’s early days.
“This is one the most thrilling albums the Grateful Dead ever produced, mixing portions of live recordings from the first six months of Mickey's tenure with the band, along with studio experimentations that would hint at where the Dead would go when they started recording to 16-track tape the following year,” says archivist and producer David Lemieux. “The 1971 remix, produced in order to make the album more accessible to the newer fans who were brought on board with Workingman's Dead and American Beauty, has been the most commonly heard version for the past 45+ years. However, having this side-by-side with the original 1968 mix demonstrates countless differences, with the original mix being more primal, psychedelic, and experimental. Add to this the first extant live recording featuring Mickey as a member of the Grateful Dead, and you have a very special release in every way.”
The bonus disc that accompanies the deluxe edition features an unreleased recording of the band’s October 22, 1967 concert at Winterland. In addition to performing songs from the group’s eponymous debut (“Beat It On Down The Line” and “Morning Dew”), they also previewed tracks from Anthem Of The Sun (“New Potato Caboose” and parts of “That’s It For The Other One.”) During this period, the band included: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann.
The Anthem Of The Sun features the remastered 1971 mix of the album.