Album of the Day

To mark a half-century of Grateful Dead music, the "core four" original members - Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir - reunited at Chicago's Soldier Field for one final series of shows together in July. Joined by Trey Anastasio (guitar), Jeff Chimenti (keyboards), and Bruce Hornsby (piano), the group performed two sets of music each night for three nights, nearly 20 years after the band's final concert with Jerry Garcia at the same historic venue. The new 2-CD set THE BEST OF FARE THEE WELL: CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF GRATEFUL DEAD gathers 16 highlights drawn from all three evenings, and includes some of the group's most revered songs, among them “Box Of Rain,” “China Cat Sunflower,” “Truckin',” “Fire On The Mountain” and “Touch Of Grey.” As singers and instrumentalists, everyone rose to the occasion for these stirring shows, and with THE BEST OF FARE THEE WELL, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers go out on a high note.