Jerry Garcia Band - Cats Under The Stars (40th Anniversary Edition) (2017) [Hi-Res]

On October 13th, Round Records will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Cats Under The Stars with a pair of 180gram vinyl reissues of the classic album. Both editions are now available for pre-order here. Recorded and mixed in 1977 at the Grateful Dead’s Club Front, Cats Under The Stars represents Garcia’s 4th solo studio record and the only studio record presented as the Jerry Garcia Band. Garcia enlisted John Kahn, Ron Tutt as well as Keith & Donna Godchaux for the recordings with contributions from Merl Saunders and Maria Muldaur, among others. The album’s iconic cover art was created by Stanley Mouse who drew his inspiration from Egyptian iconography while the Grateful Dead were planning their landmark performances at the Great Pyramids of Giza.

Garcia regarded Cats Under The Stars as his favorite of all his studio projects. In the late 80’s Garcia remarked, “The record I worked hardest at and liked best was Cats Under The Stars. That was kind of like my baby.” Speaking about the recording specifically, Garcia stated “I worked real hard at it and was very diligent and almost scientific about it. There was a lot of heart in it, you might say.” In another interview, he added, “That’s the one I’m happiest with, from every point of view in which I operate on that record.” In the 1990’s Garcia succinctly stated, “[Cats Under The Stars] had everything – chops, production, songs.” Those songs which included the Garcia/Hunter masterpieces “Rubin and Cherise,” “Cats Under The Stars,” and “Gomorrah” would long remain staples of Jerry Garcia Band sets while versions of “Palm Sunday” and “Rhapsody In Red” capture Garcia at his best in the studio setting.

Cats Under The Stars will be reissued in two vinyl configurations – a limited edition pressing of 5,000 marbled gold 180gram vinyl with individually numbered foil-stamped packaging and a 180gram black vinyl version. Both 40th anniversary Cats Under The Stars reissues are pressed to 180gram vinyl by Quality Record Pressings in Salina, Kansas from lacquers cut by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios and remastered audio by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering.