The Very Best of Grateful Dead

The Very Best of Grateful Dead is a single-CD compilation album chronicling all the years of the San Francisco psychedelic band the Grateful Dead. It is the first release to document every label the band recorded on: Warner Bros. Records, Grateful Dead Records/United Artists Records and Arista Records. It was released on September 16, 2003.

A songbook under the same name was released alongside this album which provides lyrics and musical tablature.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

On AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said, "The Very Best of Grateful Dead marks the first attempt to do a thorough single-disc overview of the group's career, encompassing not just their classic Warner albums but also the records they cut for their own Grateful Dead/UA and Arista. As always with the Dead, it's hard to condense the band's free-ranging, freewheeling output onto one disc [..] but the 17 tracks here do present nearly all sides of the Dead while hitting their biggest songs. [..] The collection would have been better if sequenced a little more chronologically, but nevertheless it provides a first-class introduction to a band whose catalog can often seem a little unwieldy."^[1]

Track listing

"Truckin'" (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir) – 5:08
- Originally released on the 1970 album American Beauty
"Touch of Grey" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:50
- Originally released on the 1987 album In the Dark
"Sugar Magnolia" (Hunter, Weir) – 3:19
- Originally released on American Beauty
"Casey Jones" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:28
- Originally released on the 1970 album Workingman's Dead
"Uncle John's Band" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:46
- Originally released on Workingman's Dead
"Friend of the Devil" (Dawson, Garcia, Hunter) – 3:24
- Originally released on American Beauty
"Franklin's Tower" (Garcia, Hunter, Bill Kreutzmann) – 4:33
- Originally released on the 1975 album Blues for Allah
"Estimated Prophet" (John Perry Barlow, Weir) – 5:38
- Originally released on the 1977 album Terrapin Station
"Eyes of the World" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:20
- Originally released on the 1973 album Wake of the Flood
"Box of Rain" (Hunter, Lesh) – 5:20
- Originally released on American Beauty
"U.S. Blues" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:40
- Originally released on the 1974 album From the Mars Hotel
"The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)" (Garcia) – 2:12
- Originally released on the 1967 album The Grateful Dead
"One More Saturday Night" (Weir) – 4:50
- Originally released on the 1972 live album Europe '72
"Fire on the Mountain" (Mickey Hart, Hunter) – 3:48
- Originally released on the 1978 album Shakedown Street
"The Music Never Stopped" (Barlow, Weir) – 4:35
- Originally released on Blues for Allah
"Hell in a Bucket" (Barlow, Weir) – 5:38
- Originally released on In the Dark
"Ripple" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
- Originally released on American Beauty

Personnel

Grateful Dead

Tom Constanten – keyboards
Jerry Garcia – guitar, pedal steel, vocals
Donna Godchaux – vocals
Keith Godchaux – keyboards
Mickey Hart – drums
Bill Kreutzmann – drums and percussion
Phil Lesh – bass guitar
Ron McKernan – organs, vocals
Brent Mydland – keyboards
Bob Weir – guitar, vocals

Additional musicians

Jordan Amarantha – percussion on "Fire on the Mountain"
The English Choral – on "Estimated Prophet"
David Grisman – mandolin on "Friend of the Devil" and "Ripple"
John Kahn – horn arrangements on "Fire on the Mountain"
Matthew Kelly – harmonica on "Fire on the Mountain"
David Nelson – electric guitar on "Box of Rain"
The Martyn Ford Orchestra – on "Estimated Prophet"
Merl Saunders – organ on "One More Saturday Night" (later studio overdubs)
Steven Schuster – saxophone on "The Music Never Stopped"
Tom Scott – lyricon and saxophones on "Estimated Prophet"
Dave Torbert – bass guitar on "Box of Rain"
Howard Wales – organ on "Truckin'"

Technical personnel

James Austin – compilation producer
David Lemieux – compilation producer
Cameron Sears – album coordination
Robin Hurley – associate producer
Jimmy Edwards – product manager
Joe Gastwirt – remastering
Gary Peterson – discographical annotation
Vanessa Atkins – editorial supervision
Stanley Mouse – cover art, lettering
Hugh Brown – art direction
Linda Cobb – design
Michael Ochs Archive – photography
Bob Seidemann – photography
Herb Greene – photography
Bruce Polonsky – photography
Fred Ordower – photography
Hale Milgrim – project assistant
Kevin Gore – project assistant
Scott Pascucci – project assistant

Mark Pinkus – project assistant

Tim Scanlin – project assistant
Steven Chean – project assistant
Dennis McNally – project assistant
Jeffrey Norman – project assistant

Charts

Album - Billboard

Year	Chart	Position
2003	The Billboard 200	69^[2]

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart on October 4, 2003. It spent 4 weeks on the chart.

References

1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. The Very Best of Grateful Dead at Allmusic. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
↑ "Billboard album chart history-Grateful Dead". Retrieved March 1, 2009.

Grateful Dead
Tom Constanten Jerry Garcia Donna Jean Godchaux Keith Godchaux Mickey Hart Robert Hunter Bill Kreutzmann Phil Lesh Ron "Pigpen" McKernan Brent Mydland Bob Weir Vince Welnick
Studio albums	The Grateful Dead Anthem of the Sun Aoxomoxoa Workingman's Dead American Beauty Wake of the Flood From the Mars Hotel Blues for Allah Terrapin Station Shakedown Street Go to Heaven In the Dark Built to Last
Live albums	Live/Dead Vintage Dead Historic Dead Grateful Dead Europe '72 History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One (Bear's Choice) Steal Your Face Reckoning Dead Set Dylan & the Dead Without a Net One from the Vault Infrared Roses Two from the Vault Grayfolded Hundred Year Hall Dozin' at the Knick Fallout from the Phil Zone Terrapin Station (Limited Edition) Live at the Fillmore East 2-11-69 Ladies and Gentlemen... the Grateful Dead Nightfall of Diamonds Postcards of the Hanging Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72 Go to Nassau Birth of the Dead The Closing of Winterland Rockin' the Rhein with the Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack Rare Cuts and Oddities 1966 Truckin' Up to Buffalo Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings Fillmore West 1969 Live at the Cow Palace Three from the Vault Winterland 1973: The Complete Recordings Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978 To Terrapin: Hartford '77 Winterland June 1977: The Complete Recordings Crimson White & Indigo Formerly the Warlocks Europe '72: The Complete Recordings Europe '72 Volume 2 Dark Star Spring 1990 Spring 1990: So Glad You Made It Winterland: May 30th 1971 May 1977 Sunshine Daydream Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 4/18/70 Live at Hampton Coliseum Spring 1990 (The Other One) Wake Up to Find Out Houston, Texas 11-18-1972 30 Trips Around the Sun: The Definitive Live Story 1965–1995 30 Trips Around the Sun Shrine Exposition Hall, Los Angeles, CA 11/10/1967 Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 4/25/77 July 1978: The Complete Recordings Red Rocks: 7/8/78 July 29 1966, P.N.E. Garden Aud., Vancouver Canada May 1977: Get Shown the Light Cornell 5/8/77 Robert F. Kennedy Stadium, Washington, D.C., July 12 & 13, 1989 View from the Vault 1 2 3 4 Dick's Picks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Road Trips Vol 1 No 1 Vol 1 No 2 Vol 1 No 3 Vol 1 No 4 Vol 2 No 1 Vol 2 No 2 Vol 2 No 3 Vol 2 No 4 Vol 3 No 1 Vol 3 No 2 Vol 3 No 3 Vol 3 No 4 Vol 4 No 1 Vol 4 No 2 Vol 4 No 3 Vol 4 No 4 Vol 4 No 5 Dave's Picks 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Digital Download Series 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Family Dog at the Great Highway 9 10 11 12 Spectrum 11/5/79 Spectrum 11/6/79
Compilations	Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of Grateful Dead What a Long Strange Trip It's Been The Arista Years Selections from the Arista Years The Very Best of Grateful Dead Flashback with the Grateful Dead The Best of the Grateful Dead Long Strange Trip
Box sets	Dead Zone: The Grateful Dead CD Collection (1977–1987) So Many Roads (1965–1995) The Golden Road (1965–1973) Beyond Description (1973–1989) The Warner Bros. Studio Albums All the Years Combine: The DVD Collection
Videography	The Grateful Dead Movie Dead Ahead So Far Dead Ringers: The Making of Touch of Grey Backstage Pass Infrared Sightings Ticket to New Year's Downhill from Here Anthem to Beauty Sunshine Daydream Long Strange Trip
Side projects and spin-off bands	The Other Ones The Dead Furthur Dead & Company 2015 tour Summer 2016 tour Summer 2017 tour Jerry Garcia Band RatDog Phil Lesh and Friends Rhythm Devils Donna Jean Godchaux Band Heart of Gold Band Missing Man Formation New Riders of the Purple Sage Old and in the Way Legion of Mary Reconstruction Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band JGB Kingfish Bobby and the Midnites SerialPod BK3 7 Walkers Billy & the Kids
Related	Discography Band members Acid Tests Eric Andersen John Perry Barlow Bill Graham v. Dorling Kindersley Dark Star Orchestra Day of the Dead Deadhead Deadheads for Obama Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead Bob Dylan Fare Thee Well: Celebrating 50 Years of the Grateful Dead (album) Festival Express Bill Graham Gerrit Graham Grateful dead (folklore) Grateful Dead Archive The Grateful Dead Channel The Grateful Dead Family Album Grateful Dead Meet-Up at the Movies Grateful Dead Records Rick Griffin David Grisman Lenny Hart Dan Healy Bruce Hornsby Jazz Is Dead Alton Kelley Steve Kimock Ned Lagin Dick Latvala David Lemieux Branford Marsalis Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions Stanley Mouse The Music Never Stopped The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead Pickin' on the Grateful Dead: A Tribute Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra Relix Reunions of the Grateful Dead Rex Foundation Merl Saunders Rock Scully Bob Seidemann Shakedown Street (vending area) Laurence Shurtliff Owsley Stanley Summer Jam at Watkins Glen Unfinished Grateful Dead album Howard Wales Wall of Sound Wharf Rats
Categories	Grateful Dead Albums Members Songs
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