The Deadhead's Taping Compendium, Volume 1: An In-Depth Guide to the Music of the Grateful Dead on Tape, 1959-1974

Michael Getz and John Dwork are serious deadheads. The two "passionately and relentlessly record and trade the Dead's music on tape." Who better then to compile a "database" of recorded Grateful Dead music? In this, the first volume, Getz and Dwork cover the years 1959 (the date of the first pre-Grateful Dead recordings) to 1974 (the year the band took an 18-month hiatus from touring). The listings are chronological and include the location of each show, the set list, source and length information, a quality rating, and a review of the recording.

Just in case this mass of detailed information about every known Grateful Dead recording made over an almost-20-year period does not satisfy your yen for the Dead, the book includes a centerfold of color photos of the band in concert. Additionally, the authors introduce the compendium with a philosophical assessment of the taping phenomenon, and interviews with the likes of soundman Owsley "Bear" Stanley and official Dead tape archivist Dick Latvala. A smattering of black-and-white photos and reproductions of original ticket stubs are sprinkled throughout. This book is almost sure to extend the long, strange trip of the Grateful Dead fan who opens it.