Reckoning (Grateful Dead album)
Encyclopedia
Reckoning is a 1981 live double album
by the Grateful Dead
.
It consists of acoustic material recorded live in September and October 1980. Some of the tracks are shortened versions of the live performances.
The material recorded in 1980 was originally intended for release on one double LP set. But the format of the music subsequently steered them towards the release of the two double albums, this and Dead Set. Jerry Garcia
commented on this in an interview: "We really ended up with so much good material that it was a struggle. The idea of just one acoustic and one electric record was sort of pathetic, since our electric tunes are seldom less than eight minutes long. And that meant our fat electric album would have two songs on a side. It was kind of silly."
Initial CD releases omitted one track for space reasons. One CD and LP release, by Pair/Arista Records
in 1984, was given the title For The Faithful. In 1988 the album was re-issued with the original title.
in New York
.
Recording dates:
Singles: Billboard
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
by the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
.
It consists of acoustic material recorded live in September and October 1980. Some of the tracks are shortened versions of the live performances.
The material recorded in 1980 was originally intended for release on one double LP set. But the format of the music subsequently steered them towards the release of the two double albums, this and Dead Set. Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
commented on this in an interview: "We really ended up with so much good material that it was a struggle. The idea of just one acoustic and one electric record was sort of pathetic, since our electric tunes are seldom less than eight minutes long. And that meant our fat electric album would have two songs on a side. It was kind of silly."
Initial CD releases omitted one track for space reasons. One CD and LP release, by Pair/Arista Records
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
in 1984, was given the title For The Faithful. In 1988 the album was re-issued with the original title.
Track listing
- "Dire Wolf" (GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
/HunterRobert Hunter (lyricist)Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
) – 3:20 - "The Race Is On" (Rollins) – 2:58
- "Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie" (CottenElizabeth CottenElizabeth "Libba" Cotten was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter.A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. Her approach involved using a right-handed guitar , not re-strung for left-handed playing, essentially, holding a right-handed...
) – 6:28 (Initially omitted from the CD release, included on 2006 remaster.) - "It Must Have Been The Roses" (Hunter) – 6:56
- "Dark Hollow" (Traditional rec. Browning) – 3:49
- "China Doll" (Garcia/Hunter) – 5:22
- "Been All Around This World" (Traditional) – 4:31
- "Monkey And The Engineer" (FullerJesse FullerJesse Fuller was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues".-Early life:...
) – 2:37 - "Jack-A-Roe" (Traditional) – 4:05
- "Deep Elem Blues" (Traditional) – 4:51
- "Cassidy" (WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
/BarlowJohn Perry BarlowJohn Perry Barlow is an American poet and essayist, a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, and a cyberlibertarian political activist who has been associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He is also a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and a founding member of the Electronic...
) – 4:38 - "To Lay Me Down" (Garcia/Hunter) – 8:59
- "Rosalie McFall" (MonroeCharlie MonroeCharlie Monroe was an American country and bluegrass music guitarist.-Biography:Monroe was born on his family's farm in Rosine, Kentucky; he was the older brother of the mandolin player Bill Monroe. His sister Bertha also played guitar, and brother Birch, fiddle...
) – 2:54 - "On The Road Again" (Traditional) – 3:15
- "Bird Song" (Garcia/Hunter) – 7:34
- "RippleRipple (song)Ripple is the sixth song on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty. It was released as the B-side to the single "Truckin'".-Background:...
" (Garcia/Hunter) – 4:38
2006 Bonus Material, Disc two
- "To Lay Me Down" (Garcia/Hunter) – 9:12
- "Iko Iko" (Live) (Traditional/CrawfordJames CrawfordJames Crawford may refer to:*James Crawford , American basketball player, played in the National Basketball League of Australia*James Crawford , Canadian businessman and MP for Brockville, 1867–1872...
) – 4:23 - "Heaven Help The Fool [instrumental version]" (Weir/Barlow) – 6:18
- "El Paso" (Robbins) – 4:41
- "Sage & Spirit" (Weir) – 3:14
- "Little Sadie" (Traditional) – 2:45
- "It Must Have Been The Roses" (Hunter) – 7:01
- "Dark Hollow" (Traditional) – 4:30
- "Jack-A-Roe" (Traditional) – 5:08
- "Cassidy" (Weir/Barlow) – 5:06
- "China Doll" (Garcia/Hunter) – 5:52
- "Monkey And The Engineer" (Fuller) – 2:37
- "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" (Cotten) – 7:13
- "Ripple" (Garcia/Hunter) – 4:37
- "Tom Dooley" (Live, 1978) (Traditional) – 3:33
- "Deep Elem Blues" (Traditional) – 3:42
Musical personnel
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Bob WeirBob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
: guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Phil LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
: bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Brent MydlandBrent MydlandBrent Mydland was the fourth keyboardist to play for the American rock band the Grateful Dead. He was with the band for eleven years, longer than any other keyboardist.- Early life :...
: keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals - Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Mickey HartMickey HartMickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
: drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Recording dates
All tracks (except for the first and the last two on the bonus CD) have been recorded during a 23 show run in September and October 1980 at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco and at Radio City Music HallRadio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Recording dates:
- "To Lay Me Down" (disc 2) recorded at Club Front, San RafaelSan Rafael, CaliforniaSan Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
on September 14, 1980 (studio rehearsal) - "Ripple" (disc 1) recorded at Warfield Theatre on September 26, 1980
- "Iko Iko" (disc 2) recorded at Warfield Theatre on October 7, 1980
- "Jack-A-Roe" (disc 1) recorded at Warfield Theatre on October 10, 1980
- "Dire Wolf" and "Deep Elem Blues" (disc 1) recorded at Warfield Theatre on October 11, 1980
- "The Race Is On" (disc 1) & "El Paso" (disc 2) recorded at Warfield Theatre on October 13, 1980
- Tracks 7–14 (disc 2) recorded at Radio City Music Hall on October 23, 1980 (Complete acoustic first set missing only the opening track; "On The Road Again")
- "Heaven Help The Fool" (disc 2) recorded at Radio City Music Hall on October 25, 1980
- "It Must Have Been The Roses" (disc 1) recorded at Radio City Music Hall on October 26, 1980
- "Monkey And The Engineer" (disc 1) recorded at Radio City Music Hall on October 27, 1980
- "Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie" (disc 1) recorded at Radio City Music Hall on October 30, 1980
- "Sage & Spirit" and "Little Sadie" (disc 2) recorded at Radio City Music Hall on October 31, 1980
- "Tom Dooley" and "Deep Elem Blues" (disc 2) recorded at Rambler Room, Chicago on November 17, 1978
Charts
Album: Billboard| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Pop Albums | 43 |
Singles: Billboard
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | "Dire Wolf" | Mainstream Rock | 37 |