Today, the soundtrack for the Amir Bar-Lev-directed Grateful Dead documentary Long Strange Trip has been released. The 2-CD set contains 19 tracks, some are unreleased and many were remastered, and feature songs spanning from 1969 to 1989. The collection was produced by Amir with the help of Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux.
The Long Strange Trip film first premiered on January 23, 2017, at the Sundance Film Festival. It was released to movie theaters with a one-night only nationwide screening on May 25, and begins a one week limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles starting today. The film will be shown on Amazon Prime Video starting on June 2, 2017
In a statement with JamBase, Lemieux shared a comment about the soundtrack: "All in all, this is unlike any other Grateful Dead release we’ve ever produced — just as the film is unlike any other Grateful Dead audiovisual document ever made. Then again, it’s simply unlike any other music documentary ever made, which is appropriate considering that there’s no band like the Grateful Dead."
Long Strange Trip mixes studio recordings with live performances, and features previously unreleased versions of "Dark Star" from 2/14/1970, "China Cat Sunflower" from 6/21/1971, "I Know You Rider" from 6/21/1971, "The Music Never Stopped" from 8/13/1975, and "Dear Mr. Fantasy" > "Hey Jude" from 7/2/1989.
This is an album that should satisfy longtime deadheads and casual fans. The band took many twists and turns from 1965 to 1995, and while this collection doesn't include much material from the earliest or latest years like 2015's 30 Trips Around the Sun collection, it does make for a great listen and helps show why the band was so special and continues to endure.
Pick up the album on Amazon. You can also stream it above, via Spotify.
For more, check out the Grateful Dead Zumic artist page.
