Less than a week after the final gig of the summer, the Dead walked into the studio. Without Pig and Mickey, the band was pared down to the original quartet of Garcia, Kreutzmann, Lesh, and Weir, with the addition of Keith and Donna Godchaux. They also had a wide range of friends and colleagues they could call on for color; ten more musicians provided everything from additional vocals and percussion to horns, harmonica, and even violin, courtesy of Bluegrass legend Vassar Clements, who had started playing with Garcia’s Bluegrass band Old & In The Way the month before. They would give Wake a tapestry of tones that Garcia would use to superb effect, from Clements’ tasteful counterpoint on “Mississippi Half-Step” to Martin Fierro’s soulful sax on “Let Me Sing Your Blues Away.” Garcia provided one of the most distinctive embellishments, a poignant pedal steel that could soar above the melody or subside into subtlety. His brilliant lines imbued the album with its pastoral feel, giving “Stella Blue” in particular an aching wistfulness that brought out every phrase of his vocals and every nuance of Hunter’s lyrics. – Nicholas G. Meriwether, “Wake Of The Flood (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)” Liner Notes
As the debut album from their own record label, Grateful Dead Records, “Wake Of The Flood” marked a period of transition, growth, endurance and optimism for the band. While songs like “Eyes Of The World,” “Stella Blue,” and “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” were largely road-tested for more than half a year beforehand, and have remained staples of live sets by any number of Dead-related bands ever since, the album and record label delivered both a profound artistic statement and proof of concept for the community, ideals and future the band were building.
On September 29th, we’ll honor that artistic statement with “Wake Of The Flood (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)“. Available as a 2CD set and digitally, the 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition features the album’s seven original songs and previously unreleased demo recordings of “Eyes Of The World” and “Here Comes Sunshine.” It also includes a bonus disc of live material from the final night of a brief tour that immediately followed Wake Of The Flood’s release. Captured at Northwestern University’s McGaw Memorial Hall on November 1st, 1973, the set is bookended with “Weather Report Suite” and “Mississippi Half-Step,” and features one of the most creative and inspired jams of the entire run: “Morning Dew”>“Playing In The Band”>“Uncle John’s Band”>“Playing In The Band.”
Pre-Order the 2xCD Set here: https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/special-collections/wake-of-the-flood/wake-of-the-flood-50th-anniversary-deluxe-edition-%5B2cd%5D/603497833870.html
Tracklist:
DISC ONE
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
Let Me Sing Your Blues Away
Row Jimmy
Stella Blue
Here Comes Sunshine
Eyes Of The World
Weather Report Suite
~Bonus Tracks~
Eyes Of The World (Demo)
Here Comes Sunshine (Demo)
DISC TWO
MCGAW MEMORIAL HALL, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY EVANSTON, IL (11/1/73)
Weather Report Suite
Morning Dew
Playing In The Band
Uncle John’s Band
Playing In The Band
Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
Pre-Order the Hi-Def Digital (ALAC) here: https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/special-collections/wake-of-the-flood/wake-of-the-flood-50th-anniversary-deluxe-edition-%5Balac%5D/603497833863.html
Pre-Order the Hi-Def Digital (FLAC) here: https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/special-collections/wake-of-the-flood/wake-of-the-flood-50th-anniversary-deluxe-edition-%5Bflac%5D/081227827816.html
LIMITED-EDITION WAKE OF THE FLOOD VINYL
Oh, and there’s hot wax too! All pressings of “Wake Of The Flood (50th Anniversary Remaster)” feature Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction, are newly mastered by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer, David Glasser, and have been produced for release by Archivist David Lemieux.
Pre-Order the Picture Disc here: https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/special-collections/wake-of-the-flood/wake-of-the-flood-50th-anniversary-picture-disc-%5B1lp%5D/603497833856.html
Tracklist:
- Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
- Let Me Sing Your Blues Away
- Row Jimmy
- Stella Blue
- Here Comes Sunshine
- Eyes Of The World
- Weather Report Suite
Pre-Order the Dead.net Exclusive “Watermark” Custom Vinyl (Limited Edition of 5.000) here: https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/special-collections/wake-of-the-flood/wake-of-the-flood-50th-anniversary-remaster-dead.net-exclusive-%5B1lp%5D/081227827700.html
Tracklist:
1. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
2. Let Me Sing Your Blues Away
3. Row Jimmy
4. Stella Blue
5. Here Comes Sunshine
6. Eyes Of The World
7. Weather Report Suite
Pre-Order the 180-Gram Black Vinyl here: https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/special-collections/wake-of-the-flood/wake-of-the-flood-50th-anniversary-remaster-%5B1lp-black-vinyl%5D/603497833849.html
Tracklist:
1. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo
2. Let Me Sing Your Blues Away
3. Row Jimmy
4. Stella Blue
5. Here Comes Sunshine
6. Eyes Of The World
7. Weather Report Suite
Stream “Eyes Of The World (Demo)” through the youTube player below:
Stream the track here: https://gd.lnk.to/EOTWDemo
In early 1973, just before the Grateful Dead performed on February 9th, Jerry Garcia recorded demos of the new songs he and Robert Hunter had been creating. These demos featured Jerry doing the singing and playing, and he presumably shared them with the band members so they could start learning the new songs. Amongst these demos was this beautiful “Eyes Of The World” providing the basis of what would become one of the Dead‘s most beloved and frequently played songs for the next 20+ years. – David Lemieux
