Reckoning (200g Analog Remaster)

Quantity:   

Acoustic Dead! In the fall of 1980, the Grateful Dead purposefully played a series of shows at two venues (the Warfield Theater in San Francisco and Radio City Music Hall in New York City) that were considerably smaller than the stadiums and arenas the band, by that point, regularly sold-out. The group did so with the express interest of recording in an intimate space the opening portion of each show, a stripped-down acoustic set featuring Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir playing acoustic guitars, Brent Mydland playing piano, drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart helming reduced percussion kits, and bassist Phil Lesh turning his electric volume down considerably.

The group mixed classic folk and country tunes along with bare-bones originals and collected some of the best of these performances on Reckoning, an obvious ode to the band's early 1960s origins of folk, bluegrass and country. These are the sounds from which this whole long, strange trip was born. Garcia, in particular, shines radiantly, via his warm voice and interwoven guitar lines.

The production, as with many records focused on the bare essentials and on unplugged elements, portrays the group in close proximity to one another, each note and phrase blending together, each member's passages heard in a distinctive space. Reckoning should particularly appeal to music lovers that prefer a rootsy Dead that isn't give over to jamming. As such, the songs here are tight and compact, and yet dynamically delicate and eminently soulful.

And they've never sounded better. Cut from the original analog masters and pressed at Quality Record Pressings, this edition of Reckoning lays waste to the original LP edition and blows away the digitally remastered CD, with plusher tones, wider and deeper soundstages, and more palpable acoustic body. Don't miss this acoustic gem!