Grateful Dead prep 'Workingman's Dead' reissue w/ unreleased Capitol Theatre concert (stream a track)

The Grateful Dead‘s first of two 1970 albums, Workingman’s Dead, is about to turn 50 this June, and in celebration of that, they’ll put out a 50th anniversary deluxe reissue that comes with a previously unreleased concert recording from Port Chester, New York’s Capitol Theatre on February 21, 1971.

“For an album as important and great as Workingman’s Dead, it seemed appropriate to double the amount of bonus material,” said Grateful Dead archivist and producer David Lemieux (via Rolling Stone). “The show we’ve selected gives a definitive overview of what the band were up to six months after the release of the album and shows the Dead sound that would largely define the next couple of years. From Workingman’s Dead through Europe ’72, the Dead’s sound was Americana, and the live show included here is a workingman’s band playing authentically honest music.”

The liner notes were written by Rolling Stone‘s David Fricke, who adds, “[The Capitol Theatre show was] a great night in what has long been deemed a legendary run, another turning point as the band entered a live era combining the focus of Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty with the exploratory verve of Live/Dead. Many of the classic songs spread across Dead LPs in 1971 and ’72… were introduced that week at the Capitol, and many of them are in this concert, still fresh off the griddle.”

The fiery rendition of “Casey Jones” from that show is streaming now, and you can listen to it and check out the full tracklist below. The reissue comes out July 10 (pre-order).

Meanwhile, Bob Weir continues his ‘Weir Wednesdays’ streaming series tonight (5/6) at 8 PM ET with his Wolf Bros show from 11/5/2018 in Nashville. Tune in for free at Facebook.

Bobby will also be on hand for this week’s Shakedown Stream pre-screening chat. This week’s show is Foxboro, MA 7/2/89. You can submit questions for Bobby to answer here and tune in to the stream here on Thursday (5/8) at 6:30 PM ET.

The Shakedown Streams are mostly being archived, including The Grateful Dead Movie, which you can stream here.

And in more related news, Phil Lesh & the Terrapin Family Band recently did this quarantine performance:

Workingman’s Dead 50th Anniversary Reissue CD Tracklist
Disc One — Original Album Remastered
1. “Uncle John’s Band”
2. “High Time”
3. “Dire Wolf”
4. “New Speedway Boogie”
5. “Cumberland Blues”
6. “Black Peter”
7. “Easy Wind”
8. “Casey Jones”

Disc Two — Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/21/71)
1. “Cold Rain And Snow”
2. “Me and Bobby McGee”
3. “Loser”
4. “Easy Wind”
5. “Playing in the Band”
6. “Bertha”
7. “Me and My Uncle”
8. “Ripple” (False Start)
9. “Ripple”
10. “Next Time You See Me”
11. “Sugar Magnolia”
12. “Greatest Story Ever Told”
13. “Johnny B. Goode”

Disc Three — Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/21/71)
1. “China Cat Sunflower”>
2. “I Know You Rider”>
3. “Bird Song”
4. “Cumberland Blues”
5. “I’m a King Bee”
6. “Beat It on Down The Line”
7. “Wharf Rat”
8. “Truckin’”
9. “Casey Jones”
10. “Good Lovin’”
11. “Uncle John’s Band”

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See where Workingman’s Dead falls in our list of Grateful Dead Studio Albums Ranked Worst to Best.