Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (2019) [Hi-Res]

Remastered from the original 1969 recordings: Grateful Dead will continue their ambitious reissue series to commemorate the 50-year anniversary for each of their albums with Aoxomoxoa this June. Like all the albums in this ongoing series, Aoxomoxoa will be released approximately 50 years after its anniversary date as a two-album deluxe edition that includes the original album with newly remastered sound, plus a bonus disc of unreleased live recordings.

Grateful Dead audiovisual archivist Dave Lemieux says: "In 1969, for their third album, the Grateful Dead eschewed outside producers and created Aoxomoxoa themselves, beginning a run of self-produced albums that would continue until 1977. Scrapping the first sessions, which were recorded to eight-track tape, the Dead now had 16 tracks with which to experiment their psychedelic sound, with an album that included entirely Robert Hunter-penned lyrics for the first time."

An enigmatic classic, Aoxomoxoa is messy and murky, mysterious and majestic - a perfect time capsule that is still stubbornly resplendent a half century after it first appeared. The album introduced favorites like "St. Stephen" and "Mountains On The Moon," as well as "China Cat Sunflower" - a song that would continue to remain in the band's repertoire.

The deluxe edition's bonus disc features unreleased live performances captured over several nights in January 1969 at the Avalon Ballroom. Recorded several months before the release of Aoxomoxoa, the live tracks include early versions of two tracks from the album - "Dupree's Diamond Blues" and "Doin' That Rag." The disc also includes the final live performance of "Clementine," a song the band began performing in 1968 but was never released on a studio album. The band also played several songs from its second album, Anthem of the Sun (1968). Highlights include a dynamic romp through "New Potato Caboose" and an electrifying "Alligator>Caution" jam that captures Pigpen at his primal best.

When these shows were recorded, the band members were: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Phil Lesh, Tom Constanten, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann.

Tom Constanten, keyboards
Jerry Garcia, guitar, vocals, lead vocals
Mickey Hart, drums, percussion
Bill Kreutzmann, drums, percussion
Phil Lesh, bass, vocals
Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, keyboards, percussion
Bob Weir, guitar, vocals, co-lead vocals on "St. Stephen"

Recorded September 1968 – March 1969 at Pacific Recording, San Mateo; Pacific High Recording, San Francisco
Produced by Grateful Dead

Digitally remastered