Now Available: The Grateful Dead, 30 Trips Around the Sun

The Grateful Dead have an unparalleled gift for creating full-fledged pop culture events out of thin air, and it’s a gift they’ve demonstrated more than once this year. You may recall how the band had fans reaching into their wallets and preordering a live album documenting concerts that hadn’t even taken place yet (we’re referring, of course, to the audio document of the “Fare Thee Well” shows), and that’s certainly impressive enough in and of itself. To really get an idea of the definition of Dead-ication, though, consider that the announcement about the impending release of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN, a limited-edition 80-disc box set of 30 previously-unreleased live shows – that’s one for each year between 1965 and 1995 – with a price tag of $699.98 - resulted in the set selling out before it’s even scheduled to ship.

Of course, we know that not every Deadhead has the kind of budget required to order a copy of an 80-disc box set, and while we can’t do a lot about the price tag of that particular collection, there’s a consolation prize of sorts that’s in stores today: a four-disc, 30-track compilation which features one song from each of those previously-released live shows.

30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY (1965-1995) isn’t going to make the pain of not being able to afford the whole enchilada fade completely away, but it should certainly serve as salve on the wound with a track listing like this:

Disc One
1. “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” – 1965
2. “Cream Puff War” – 1966
3. “Viola Lee Blues” – 1967
4. “Dark Star” – 1968
5. “Doin’ That Rag” – 1969
6. “Dancing In The Street” – 1970
7. “The Rub” – 1971
8. “Tomorrow Is Forever” – 1972
9. “Here Comes Sunshine” – 1973

Disc Two
1. “Uncle John’s Band” – 1974
2. “Franklin’s Tower” – 1975
3. “Scarlet Begonias” – 1976
4. “Estimated Prophet” – 1977
5. “Samson and Delilah” – 1978
6. “Lost Sailor>Saint Of Circumstance” – 1979
7. “Deep Elem Blues” – 1980

Disc Three
1. “Shakedown Street” – 1981
2. “Bird Song” – 1982
3. “My Brother Esau” – 1983
4. “Feel Like A Stranger” – 1984
5. “Let It Grow” – 1985
6. “Comes A Time” – 1986
7. “Morning Dew” – 1987
8. “Not Fade Away” – 1988

Disc Four
1. “Blow Away” – 1989
2. “Ramble On Rose” – 1990
3. “High Time” – 1991
4. “Althea” – 1992
5. “Broken Arrow” – 1993
6. “So Many Roads” – 1994
7. “Visions Of Johanna” – 1995