The Best of the Grateful Dead

2015 greatest hits album by Grateful Dead

The "skull and roses" design, with a black background

Greatest hits album by

Grateful Dead

Released

March 31, 2015 (2015-03-31)

Recorded

1967–1989

Genre

Rock

Label

Rhino

Producer

Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead chronology

Dave's Picks Volume 13
(2015)

The Best of the Grateful Dead
(2015)

Dave's Picks Volume 14
(2015)

The Best of the Grateful Dead is an album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It is a two-CD compilation of songs recorded in the studio from throughout their career. It includes at least one track from each of their studio albums, recorded from 1967 to 1989 and arranged in chronological order. It was released by Rhino Records on March 31, 2015.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

The Best of the Grateful Dead includes songs from all the studio albums in the band's discography,^[5] along with one non-album single "Dark Star" (recorded in 1968 as part of the Anthem of the Sun studio sessions).^[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[6]

On AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "[The album] follows a strict chronological sequence, so it takes a little while for the psychedelic haze to lift and the Dead to settle into the rangy, rootsy groove that characterized so much of their existence... From there, many—but by no means all—of the group's warhorses are marched out, all in their studio incarnations.... By celebrating the warts and providing space for that unexpected late–'80s commercial comeback, The Best of the Grateful Dead is a good capsule history of a band that usually defies such straightforward narratives."^[6]

Track listing

Disc one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)"	Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Ron McKernan, Bob Weir	The Grateful Dead (1967)	2:11
2.	"Cream Puff War"	Garcia	The Grateful Dead	2:29
3.	"Born Cross-Eyed"	Weir	Anthem of the Sun (1968)	2:24
4.	"Dark Star"	Garcia, Mickey Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, McKernan, Weir, Robert Hunter	Non-album single (1968)	2:42
5.	"St. Stephen"	Garcia, Lesh, Hunter	Aoxomoxoa (1969)	4:27
6.	"China Cat Sunflower"	Garcia, Hunter	Aoxomoxoa	3:41
7.	"Uncle John's Band"	Garcia, Hunter	Workingman's Dead (1970)	4:44
8.	"Easy Wind"	Hunter	Workingman's Dead	4:58
9.	"Casey Jones"	Garcia, Hunter	Workingman's Dead	4:25
10.	"Truckin'"	Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter	American Beauty (1970)	5:07
11.	"Box of Rain"	Lesh, Hunter	American Beauty	5:19
12.	"Sugar Magnolia"	Weir, Hunter	American Beauty	3:17
13.	"Friend of the Devil"	Garcia, John Dawson, Hunter	American Beauty	3:24
14.	"Ripple"	Garcia, Hunter	American Beauty	4:11
15.	"Eyes of the World"	Garcia, Hunter	Wake of the Flood (1973)	5:18
16.	"Unbroken Chain"	Lesh, Robert Petersen	From the Mars Hotel (1974)	6:45
17.	"Scarlet Begonias"	Garcia, Hunter	From the Mars Hotel	4:19
18.	"The Music Never Stopped"	Weir, John Barlow	Blues for Allah (1975)	4:35
19.	"Estimated Prophet"	Weir, Barlow	Terrapin Station (1977)	5:36

Disc two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"Terrapin Station"	Garcia, Hart, Kreutzmann, Hunter	Terrapin Station	16:22
2.	"Shakedown Street"	Garcia, Hunter	Shakedown Street (1978)	5:00
3.	"I Need a Miracle"	Weir, Barlow	Shakedown Street	3:35
4.	"Fire on the Mountain"	Hart, Hunter	Shakedown Street	3:49
5.	"Feel Like a Stranger"	Weir, Barlow	Go to Heaven (1980)	5:08
6.	"Far from Me"	Brent Mydland	Go to Heaven	3:41
7.	"Touch of Grey"	Garcia, Hunter	In the Dark (1987)	5:50
8.	"Hell in a Bucket"	Weir, Barlow, Mydland	In the Dark	5:38
9.	"Throwing Stones"	Weir, Barlow	In the Dark	7:21
10.	"Black Muddy River"	Garcia, Hunter	In the Dark	6:00
11.	"Blow Away"	Mydland, Barlow	Built to Last (1989)	6:11
12.	"Foolish Heart"	Garcia, Hunter	Built to Last	5:12
13.	"Standing on the Moon"	Garcia, Hunter	Built to Last	5:21

Personnel

Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
Phil Lesh – bass, vocals
Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion
Mickey Hart – drums, percussion
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan – organ, harmonica, percussion, vocals
Tom Constanten – keyboards
Keith Godchaux – keyboards
Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
Brent Mydland – keyboards, vocals

References

^ Giles, Jeff (January 21, 2015). "Grateful Dead Announce 50th Anniversary Compilation and New Archival Live Set", Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
^ "Grateful Dead to Release Best of Compilation to Kick Off 50th Anniversary", jambands.com, January 31, 2015.
^ Lynn, Laura (January 26, 2015). "The Best of the Grateful Dead Arrives March 31", Dubuque's Super Hits 106. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
^ The Best of the Grateful Dead, dead.net, January 15, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
^ ^a ^b The Best of the Grateful Dead, Grateful Dead Family Discography. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
^ ^a ^b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. The Best of the Grateful Dead at AllMusic. Retrieved April 3, 2015.

Grateful Dead

Studio albums

Live albums

Contemporary

Live/Dead
Vintage Dead
Historic Dead
Grateful Dead
Europe '72
History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice)
Steal Your Face
Reckoning
Dead Set
Dylan & the Dead
Without a Net

Retrospective

1990s	One from the Vault Infrared Roses Two from the Vault Grayfolded Hundred Year Hall Dozin' at the Knick Fallout from the Phil Zone Terrapin Station (Limited Edition) Live at the Fillmore East 2-11-69
2000s	Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead Nightfall of Diamonds Postcards of the Hanging Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72 Go to Nassau Birth of the Dead The Closing of Winterland Rockin' the Rhein with the Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack Rare Cuts and Oddities 1966 Truckin' Up to Buffalo Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings Fillmore West 1969 Live at the Cow Palace Three from the Vault Winterland 1973: The Complete Recordings Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978 To Terrapin: Hartford '77 Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings
2010s	Crimson White & Indigo Formerly the Warlocks Europe '72: The Complete Recordings Europe '72 Volume 2 Dark Star Spring 1990 Spring 1990: So Glad You Made It Winterland: May 30th 1971 May 1977 Sunshine Daydream Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 4/18/70 Live at Hampton Coliseum Spring 1990 (The Other One) Wake Up to Find Out Houston, Texas 11-18-1972 30 Trips Around the Sun: The Definitive Live Story 1965–1995 30 Trips Around the Sun Shrine Exposition Hall, Los Angeles, CA 11/10/1967 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 4/25/77 July 1978: The Complete Recordings Red Rocks: 7/8/78 July 29 1966, P.N.E. Garden Aud., Vancouver Canada May 1977: Get Shown the Light Cornell 5/8/77 Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington, D.C., July 12 & 13, 1989 Fillmore West 1969: February 27th Pacific Northwest '73–'74: The Complete Recordings Pacific Northwest '73–'74: Believe It If You Need It Playing in the Band, Seattle, Washington, 5/21/74 The Warfield, San Francisco, California, October 9 & 10, 1980 Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 Saint of Circumstance Ready or Not
2020s	June 1976 Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12-10-71 Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 Lyceum '72: The Complete Recordings Lyceum Theatre, London, England 5/26/72 In and Out of the Garden: Madison Square Garden '81, '82, '83 Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 3/9/81 Here Comes Sunshine 1973 RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C. 6/10/73
View from the Vault	1 2 3 4
Dick's Picks	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36
Road Trips	Vol 1 No 1 Vol 1 No 2 Vol 1 No 3 Vol 1 No 4 Vol 2 No 1 Vol 2 No 2 Vol 2 No 3 Vol 2 No 4 Vol 3 No 1 Vol 3 No 2 Vol 3 No 3 Vol 3 No 4 Vol 4 No 1 Vol 4 No 2 Vol 4 No 3 Vol 4 No 4 Vol 4 No 5
Dave's Picks	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Download Series	1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Family Dog at the Great Highway 9 10 11 12 Spectrum 11/5/79 Spectrum 11/6/79