Grateful Dead Release Surprise Album of "Workingman’s Dead" Outtakes

On the heels of debuting a new deodorant line, the Grateful Dead have put out a digital-only release that will give fans the chance to hear them potentially stinking up the studio.

As another way to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of Workingman’s Dead, the Grateful Dead and Rhino have put out the first compilation of studio outtakes in the history of the pioneering jam band. Containing 64 tracks spanning two hours and 32 minutes, Workingman’s Dead: The Angel’s Share was recorded at Pacific High Recording in the band’s hometown of San Francisco and features at least one outtake of each of the album’s eight songs. In addition to music, the release also includes a handful of tracks featuring banter between bandmates in the studio.

“Much like the whiskey-distillation process, there were also ingredients that were vital to the creation of Workingman’s Dead that were lost and did not end up on the final album, the band’s own version of the ‘angel’s share,’” Rhino said in a statement.

Though it will probably only be listenable for hardcore fans of the band, The Angel’s Share should theoretically showcase the Dead attempting to transition their sound from psychedelic rock to Americana.

“The complete takes show the development,” Grateful Dead legacy manager David Lemieux told Rolling Stone. “The Dead had been playing these songs for so long, in some cases nine months, so they had them down. But this is where the nuances developed.”

Interesting? Potentially. Actually entertaining and enjoyable to listen to? That’s up for debate.

Decide for yourself by streaming the outtake album here on Spotify.

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