Beyond Description (1973–1989)

2004 box set by Grateful Dead

Beyond Description (1973–1989) is the second twelve-CD box set retrospective of the Grateful Dead's studio and live albums. A companion to The Golden Road (1965–1973) box set, it covers their time on the Grateful Dead Records and Arista Records labels, from 1973 to 1989.

The set contains expanded and remastered versions of all the albums during the brief period with their own label (except Steal Your Face), and during their time on Arista (except Without a Net and later box set So Many Roads). Included are numerous previously unreleased studio outtakes and live tracks. The ten albums in the set are Wake of the Flood, From the Mars Hotel, Blues for Allah, Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street, Go to Heaven, In the Dark, Built to Last, and the two live albums Reckoning and Dead Set (both expanded to two-CD sets).

Pre-ordered copies included a bonus disc with five live tracks and a studio rehearsal. The albums, with the bonus tracks, were given individual release in 2006. Previous box set Dead Zone, released in 1987, contains six of the same albums.

Track listing

See individual album pages for more information

Disc One: Wake of the Flood

• Wake of the Flood

Disc Two: From the Mars Hotel

• From the Mars Hotel

Disc Three: Blues for Allah

• Blues for Allah

Disc Four: Terrapin Station

• Terrapin Station

Disc Five: Shakedown Street

• Shakedown Street

Disc Six: Go to Heaven

• Go to Heaven

Disc Seven: Reckoning, disc 1

• Reckoning Disc 1

• All tracks live at Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA (September 25, 1980 – October 14, 1980) & Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY (October 22, 1980 – October 31, 1980)

Disc Eight: Reckoning, disc 2

• Reckoning Disc 2

Disc Nine: Dead Set, disc 1

• Dead Set Disc 1

• All tracks live at Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA (September 25, 1980 – October 14, 1980) & Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY (October 22, 1980 – October 31, 1980)

Disc Ten: Dead Set, disc 2

• Dead Set Disc 2

Disc Eleven: In the Dark

• In the Dark

Disc Twelve: Built to Last

• Built to Last

Bonus Disc

Notes

1. See The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack for more from this concert
2. See Dead Set for more from this concert

Personnel

Grateful Dead

• Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
• Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
• Phil Lesh – electric bass, vocals
• Donna Godchaux – vocals on discs 1-5
• Keith Godchaux – keyboards, piano, vocals on discs 1-5
• Brent Mydland – keyboards, Hammond organ, vocals on discs 6-12
• Mickey Hart – drums, percussion (except for discs 1 & 2)
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion

Additional performers

• for a comprehensive listing, see individual album pages

Production

• James Austin, David Lemieux – producers
• Cameron Sears – executive producer
• Jimmy Edwards – associate producer
• Robin Hurley – associate producer
• Hale Milgrim – associate producer
• Scott Pascucci – associate producer
• Eileen Law – archival research
• Joe Gastwirt – mastering
• Tom Flye – additional mixing
• Robert Gatley – mixing assistant
• Reggie Collines – discography annotation
• Hugh Brown – reissue art direction
• Steve Vance – design, reissue art direction

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Beyond Description (1973-1989)". AllMusic. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
2. Metzger, John (November 2004). "Grateful Dead - Beyond Description (1973–1989)". The Music Box. 11 (11). Retrieved 2011-12-12.
3. Fielder, Hugh (February 2005). "The Dead Zone". Classic Rock. Vol. 76. London, UK: Future Publishing Ltd. p. 103.