The Very Best of the Grateful Dead

Infobox Album |
Name = The Very Best of the Grateful Dead
Type = Compilation album
Artist = Grateful Dead


Released = September 16, 2003
Recorded = Various
Genre = Country rock, Folk-rock, Rock
Length =
Label = Rhino Records
Producer = James Austin
David Lemieux
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:up2uak4kam3m link]
Last album = "Birth of the Dead"
(2003)
This album = "The Very Best of the Grateful Dead"
(2003)
Next album = "The Closing of Winterland"
(2004)

"The Very Best of the Grateful Dead" is a single-CD compilation album chronicling all the years of the San Francisco psychedelic band the Grateful Dead. It is the first release to document every label the band has played on; Warner Bros. Records, Arista Records and Grateful Dead Records/United Artists Records. It was released on September 16, 2003.

A songbook under the same name was released alongside this album which provides lyrics and musical tablature.

Track listing

#"Truckin'" (Garcia, Hunter, Lesh, Weir) – 5:08
#"Touch of Grey" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:50
#"Sugar Magnolia" (Hunter, Weir) – 3:19
#"Casey Jones" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:28
#"Uncle John's Band" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:46
#"Friend of the Devil" (Dawson, Garcia, Hunter) – 3:24
#"Franklin's Tower" (Garcia, Hunter, Kreutzmann) – 4:33
#"Estimated Prophet" (Barlow, Weir) – 5:38
#"Eyes of the World" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:20
#"Box of Rain" (Hunter, Lesh) – 5:20
#"U.S. Blues" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:40
#"The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)" (Garcia) – 2:12
#"One More Saturday Night" (Weir) – 4:50
#"Fire on the Mountain" (Hart, Hunter) – 3:48
#"The Music Never Stopped" (Barlow, Weir) – 4:35
#"Hell in a Bucket" (Barlow, Weir) – 5:38
#"Ripple" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10

Personnel

Grateful Dead:
*Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
*Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
*Phil Lesh - bass
*Bill Kreutzmann - drums
*Mickey Hart - drums
*Tom Constanten - keyboards
*Ron McKernan - organs, vocals
*Keith Godchaux
*Donna Godchaux
*Brent MydlandAdditional performers:
*Dave Torbert - bass on "Box Of Rain"
*Dave Nelson - electric guitar on "Box Of Rain"
*David Grisman - mandolin on "Friend Of The Devil" and "Ripple"
*Merl Saunders - organ on "One More Saturday Night" (later studio overdubs)
*Steven Schuster - saxophone on "The Music Never Stopped"
*Tom Scott - lyricon and saxophones on "Estimated Prophet"
*The Martyn Ford Orchestra - on "Estimated Prophet"
*The English Choral - on "Estimated Prophet"
*Jordan Amarantha - percussion on "Fire on the Mountain"
*Matthew Kelly - harp on "Fire on the Mountain"
*John Kahn - horn arrangements on "Fire on the Mountain"
*Howard Wales - organ on Truckin'Production:

*James Austin, David Lemieux - compilation producers
*Cameron Sears - album coordination
*Robin Hurley - associate producer
*Jimmy Edwards - product manager
*Joe Gastwirt - remastering
*Gary Peterson - discographical annotation
*Vanessa Atkins - editorial supervision
*Stanley Mouse - cover art, lettering
*Hugh Brown - art direction
*Linda Cobb - design
*Michael Ochs Archive, Bob Seidemann, Herb Greene, Bruce Polonsky, Fred Ordower - photography
*Hale Milgrim, Kevin Gore, Scott Pascucci, Mark Pinkus, Tim Scanlin, Steven Chean, Dennis McNally, Jeffrey Norman - project assistants

Track details

*"The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)" is taken from the The Grateful Dead.
*"Uncle John's Band" and "Casey Jones" are taken from Workingman's Dead.
*"Truckin'", "Sugar Magnolia", "Box Of Rain", "Ripple" and "Friend Of The Devil" are taken from American Beauty.
*"One More Saturday Night" is taken from Europe '72.
*"Eyes Of The World" is taken from Wake of the Flood.
*"U.S. Blues" is taken from From the Mars Hotel.
*"Franklin's Tower" and "The Music Never Stopped" are taken from Blues for Allah.
*"Estimated Prophet" is taken from Terrapin Station.
*"Fire On The Mountain" is taken from Shakedown Street.
*"Touch of Grey" and "Hell in a Bucket" are taken from In the Dark.

Charts

Album - Billboard

* The album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart on October 4, 2003. It spent 4 weeks on the chart.

ee also

*Grateful Dead discography