Reckoning (Grateful Dead album)
Reckoning is a 1981 live double album by the Grateful Dead. It is the band's sixth live album and seventeenth album overall. It consists of acoustic material recorded live in September and October 1980. Some of the tracks are shortened versions of the live performances.
| Reckoning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | April 1, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | September 25 – October 31, 1980 | |||
| Venue | Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 72:21 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Grateful Dead chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B+[2] |
The material recorded in 1980 was originally intended for release on one double LP set, but the format of the music subsequently steered the Grateful Dead towards the release of two double albums, Reckoning and Dead Set. Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia commented that the band "ended with so much good material that it was a struggle. The idea of just one acoustic and one electric record was sort of pathetic, since our electric tunes are seldom less than eight minutes long. And that meant our fat electric album would have two songs on a side. It was kind of silly."[3]
Initial CD releases omitted one track, "Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie", for space reasons. One CD, tape, and LP release, by Pair/Arista Records in 1984, was given the title For the Faithful....[3] In 1988 the album was re-issued with the original title.
Track listing
Original release
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date and venue | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dire Wolf" | 10/11/80 Warfield Theatre | 3:20 | |
| 2. | "The Race Is On" | Don Rollins | 10/13/80 Warfield Theatre | 2:58 |
| 3. | "Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie" | Elizabeth Cotten | 09/30/80 Warfield Theatre | 6:28 |
| 4. | "It Must Have Been the Roses" | Hunter | 10/26/80 Radio City Music Hall | 6:56 |
| 5. | "Dark Hollow" | Bill Browning | 10/07/80 Warfield Theatre | 3:49 |
| 6. | "China Doll" |
| 10/14/80 Warfield Theatre | 5:22 |
| 7. | "Been All Around This World" | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 10/14/80 Warfield Theatre | 4:31 |
| 8. | "Monkey and the Engineer" | Jesse Fuller | 10/27/80 Radio City Music Hall | 2:37 |
| 9. | "Jack-A-Roe" | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 10/10/80 Warfield Theatre | 4:05 |
| 10. | "Deep Elem Blues" | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 10/11/80 Warfield Theatre | 4:51 |
| 11. | "Cassidy" | 10/14/80 Warfield Theatre | 4:38 | |
| 12. | "To Lay Me Down" |
| 10/25/80 Radio City Music Hall | 8:59 |
| 13. | "Rosalie McFall" | Charlie Monroe | 09/26/80 Warfield Theatre | 2:54 |
| 14. | "On the Road Again" | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 10/30/80 Radio City Music Hall | 3:15 |
| 15. | "Bird Song" |
| 10/14/80 Warfield Theatre | 7:34 |
| 16. | "Ripple" |
| 09/26/80 Warfield Theatre | 4:38 |
2004 Rhino release bonus material, Disc two
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date and venue | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "To Lay Me Down" (Studio Rehearsal) |
| 09/14/80 Club Front | 9:12 |
| 2. | "Iko Iko" | James "Sugar Boy" Crawford, Barbara Anne Hawkins, Rosa Lee Hawkins, Joan Johnson | 10/07/80 Warfield Theatre | 4:23 |
| 3. | "Heaven Help the Fool" (instrumental version) |
| 10/25/80 Radio City Music Hall | 6:18 |
| 4. | "El Paso" | Marty Robbins | 10/13/80 Warfield Theatre | 4:41 |
| 5. | "Sage & Spirit" | Weir | 10/31/80 Radio City Music Hall | 3:14 |
| 6. | "Little Sadie" | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 10/31/80 Radio City Music Hall | 2:45 |
| 7. | "It Must Have Been the Roses" (Alternate Live Version) | Hunter | 10/23/80 Radio City Music Hall | 7:01 |
| 8. | "Dark Hollow" (Alternate Live Version) | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 10/23/80 Radio City Music Hall | 4:30 |
| 9. | "Jack-A-Roe" (Alternate Live Version) | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 10/23/80 Radio City Music Hall | 5:08 |
| 10. | "Cassidy" (Alternate Live Version) |
| 10/23/80 Radio City Music Hall | 5:06 |
| 11. | "China Doll" (Alternate Live Version) |
| 10/23/80 Radio City Music Hall | 5:52 |
| 12. | "Monkey and the Engineer" (Alternate Live Version) | Fuller | 10/23/80 Radio City Music Hall | 2:37 |
| 13. | "Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" (Alternate Live Version) | Cotten | 10/23/80 Radio City Music Hall | 7:13 |
| 14. | "Ripple" (Alternate Live Version) |
| 10/23/80 Radio City Music Hall | 4:37 |
| 15. | "Tom Dooley" | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 11/17/78 Rambler Room | 3:33 |
| 16. | "Deep Elem Blues" (Alternate Live Version) | Trad. arr. Grateful Dead | 11/17/78 Rambler Room | 3:42 |
Personnel
- Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
- Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
- Phil Lesh – bass guitar
- Brent Mydland – piano, harpsichord, vocals (except 1978 tracks)
- Bill Kreutzmann – drums
- Mickey Hart – drums
Production
- Produced by Dan Healy, Betty Cantor-Jackson, Jerry Garcia
- Mixing: Dan Healy
- Recording: Betty Cantor-Jackson
- Engineering: Don Pearson, John Cutler, Dennis Leonard
- Cover illustration: Rick Griffin
- Photography: John Werner
Charts
Album: Billboard
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Pop Albums | 43 |
Singles: Billboard
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | "Dire Wolf" | Mainstream Rock | 37 |
References
- Ruhlman, William. "Reckoning". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- Robert Christgau review
- "Grateful Dead Family Discography: Reckoning". Retrieved 25 June 2009.
