THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “We’re recording close to two albums’ worth of material and distill it into one record, leaving the rest in the can. It’s funny, you know, but I can’t really pin down what kind of album it’s gonna be. I never have been able to tell with past albums either. When I get the final copy home and listen to it, then I’ll be able to look back and see what it is. Right now, all I know is that the tunes are all good. The tunes that me and Robert Hunter wrote are the best we’ve ever written. For sure.” — Jerry Garcia on recording Wake Of The Flood.
We all know what kind of album it became — and now the Dead are cracking open the vaults once again to put you right smack dab in the middle of those sessions. Yep, step back in time to Aug. 6-17, 1973 at Sausalito’s Record Plant, where you’ll be a fly on the wall for more than two hours of expertly curated, previously unreleased tapes from the Wake Of The Flood sessions.
Wake Of The Flood: The Angel’s Share brings together the outtakes, alternate versions, and in-studio conversations behind the creation of the album, including Eyes Of The World, Stella Blue, Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo and every other song on the LP. Some unexpected moments and revelations are found in takes of Let Me Sing Your Blues Away, Keith Godchaux’s first and only vocal on a Grateful Dead studio record, and Bobby Weir’s evolving Weather Report Suite. Also featured is the track Phil’s Song (Unbroken Chain) that appeared on Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel.
As the debut album that would be released on their own record label, Grateful Dead Records, it was a crucial first piece and proof of concept for the independent ecosystem and massive community the band were building. A lot hinged on the LP, yet the music on Wake Of The Flood and Wake Of The Flood: The Angel’s Share shows a fearless sense of experimentation and optimism. While many Wake Of The Flood songs had been road-tested for more than half a year beforehand, Weather Report Suite and Let Me Sing Your Blues Away had never been performed live. The Angel’s Share shows how they all took a new shape at The Record Plant.
The Wake Of The Flood sessions welcomed a wide range of friends and musicians who provided everything from vocals and percussion to saxophone and flute from Martin Fierro, fiddle by bluegrass legend Vassar Clements, and even synths for the first time ever on a Grateful Dead record. Guided by scratch vocal tracks and a tireless work ethic, The Angel’s Share puts everyone back together in the same room, where songs were and will always be living, breathing compositions.”
