REVINYLIZATION

The magnificent eight

The Story of the Grateful Dead, a 14-LP, 8-album collection of Grateful Dead recordings with booklet and deluxe packaging, from Vinyl Me, Please (VMP-A006, 2020), is intended as a curated sampling of the high points in the Dead’s extensive catalog. The first seven albums were cut from analog tape, while Without a Net comes from the original digital master. The sound is breathtaking.

I remember buying at an old bookstore on E. 7th St. around the called Max. When I got home, my parents were out, so I put it on the old Magnavox console in the living room, which was used to play show tunes, Andy Williams, and Sinatra. Here it was, the Dead in all their glory, four sides of music that sounded like it belonged together and some of the most exciting guitar work I’d ever heard.