On Tuesday (5.02) the Grateful Dead announced the release of Here Comes Sunshine 1973, a 17-CD boxset featuring five previously unreleased concerts.
The limited-edition collection will include five hours of audio from the group’s shows in Des Moines, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and two gigs in Washington D.C., between May 13 and June 10, 1973.
In a statement about the collection, legacy manager David Lemieux said “In my early tape-trading days, I only had a few 1973 shows, but my goodness, did I ever love them. There was a fresh, nimble feel that was entirely different from the 1972 Dead sound taking all of the great elements of the Year of Europe and building upon that excellence.” “Even with hundreds of tapes at my fingertips, I returned to these 1973 shows frequently. That old saying, ‘I listened to that show so often, I wore the tape out?’ It was created because of shows like this.”
Classic tracks like “Bertha,” “Looks Like Rain,” “Loser,” “Mexicali Blues,” “Tennessee Jed,” “China Cat Sunflower,” and “Wharf Rat,” will be included in the 10,000 limited-numbered copies, and the first performances of tracks from Wake of the Flood, are also featured.
The box itself was designed by Masaki Koike, who used “vibrant graphics and unexpected treasures” and Ray Robertson penned the liner notes. Each show will be packages in individual, custom-designed folios with additional, show-specific notes by Robertson. It will also feature a poster of an illustration by Mary Ann Mayer.
Fans of the iconic band can purchase the boxset on Dead.net and digital versions for $100 or $125 on the website. Also in the collection are tracks like “China Doll,” “Loose Lucy,” and “Wave That Flag” from their 1974 From the Mars Hotel.
Along with Here Comes Sunshine 1973, the group is releasing a 4-CD, 8-LP set of the group’s performance at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Owsley “Bear” Stanley recorded the show that the press release describes as the group’s “most unique, powerful, and inspired performances.” The group is also dropping “Ramble on Rose” from that show as a digital single.
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Author: Al Denté
Photo: Herb Green – Public Domain