Album of the Day

ANTHEM OF THE SUN was an unprecedented mix of live recordings (from the first six months of Mickey Hart's tenure with the band) and studio experimentations hinting at where the Grateful Dead would soon go when they started using a 16-track tape machine. The 1968 collection marked a departure from the band's debut, as the group began to channel their creativity into longer jams on songs like “Alligator” and “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” – two concert staples of the Dead’s early days. Among the most thrilling albums the Grateful Dead ever produced, ANTHEM OF THE SUN captures the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers at the summit of psychedelic music, and we'll give it another spin in honor of Jerry Garcia, born on this day in 1942.