Grateful Dead – Enjoying the Ride 60-CD 60th Anniversary Release
Spring 2025 is a busy time for Deadheads. First off, Dave’s Picks subscribers are poised to receive their quarter two release, #54 Baltimore Civic Center 3-26-73 (along with the highly coveted subscriber’s bonus disc). Also, pre-orders are still under way for the massive 60 CD Enjoying The Ride boxed set celebrating the band’s sixtieth anniversary, and just announced today, a fresh take of the band’s Greatest Hits is also now available for pre-order on CD as well as and LP release (available exclusively via Dead.Net only).
Today’s focus though is on the 60th Anniversary offering. Enjoying The Ride is a sweeping 60-CD collection that maps an epic cross-country road trip along the “Heady Highway” with stops at storied venues where the music, the moment, and the magic of the Dead reliably converged.
Spanning 25 years of legendary live performances, this expansive compendium spotlights defining shows from 1969 to 1994 at 20 venues that consistently inspired the band to new heights.
With the exception of a few tracks from earlier releases, virtually all of the music on Enjoying The Ride is previously unreleased, with more than 450 tracks and more than 60 hours of music. Of the 20 shows in the collection, 17 are presented in full, with some featuring additional material from the same venue. The remaining three, Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Boston Music Hall, are curated from multiple performances at each venue, capturing key moments on those legendary stages.
These performances were originally recorded by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, Betty Cantor-Jackson, Kidd Candelario, Dan Healy, and John Cutler. David Glasser and Jeffrey Norman restored and mastered the performances, with select ones using Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction for optimal sound quality. Based on the streaming copy I was provided for review purposes, everything I’ve heard so far is simply exceptional. I’m particularly excited about the two ’71 Capitol Theatre dates, the pair of ’72 Boston Music Hall shows, and the Alpine Valley ’81 among so many more. A complete show listing of what’s included can be found below.
As usual, the team over a Rhino look to have knocked it out of the park on the physical copies. It’s all housed in a custom keepsake box inspired by the experience of traveling from city to city to see the Dead at legendary venues across America. Inside, a beautifully detailed tour guide features liner notes by Jesse Jarnow (author and co-host of the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast) and a producer’s note from archivist David Lemieux, an essay by the Owsley Stanley Foundation, and much more. The set is richly illustrated with photos, including many taken at the shows featured in the collection.
Due May 30th, this one is limited to 6,000 individually numbered copies. It’s exclusive to Dead.net, and as of April 24th, only 300 copies remained available. We invite you to take this not-so-little piece of the road home. Find out more information and pre-order your copy here: https://store.dead.net
Enjoy our previous related coverage here: Show Review: Dead and Company, Two in Texas
WHAT’S INSIDE:
Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA (4/5/69) – Cassette
Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/5/69)
Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/7/69)
Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA (6/8/69)
Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/24/71)
Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY (2/20/71)
Fillmore East, New York, NY (4/25/71)
Fillmore East, New York, NY (4/27/71)
Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA (9/15/72)
Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA (9/16/72)
Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY (3/16/73)
Winterland, San Francisco, CA (3/20/77)
Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA (5/13/78)
Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO (8/12/79)
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (8/23/80)
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, WI (7/11/81)
Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, CT (3/14/81)
Hampton Coliseum, Hampton, VA (5/1/81)
Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA (8/20/83)
Greek Theatre, University of California, Berkeley, CA (7/13/84)
Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA (11/21/85)
Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, Oakland, CA (11/22/85)
Madison Square Garden, New York City, NY (9/16/87)
Deer Creek Music Center, Noblesville, IN (7/15/89)
Oakland Coliseum Arena, Oakland, CA (12/27/89)
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA (5/12/91)
Capital Centre, Landover MD (3/17/93)
Capital Centre, Landover MD (9/15/82)
Boston Garden, Boston, MA (10/3/94)
