On Friday, Grateful Dead released a soundboard recording of “Truckin’” from The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY on February 18th, 1971. The audio comes from a concert set to be released in full with the 50th anniversary edition of American Beauty on October 30th.
The reissue of American Beauty, announced on Wednesday, is set to feature the full 10-track album remastered from the original 16-track master tapes. This reissue follows the recent remastered release of American Beauty‘s predecessor, Workingman’s Dead, which arrived in July from RHINO.
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The evening of 2/18/71 found the Dead in fine form at The Capitol Theatre, which became a home away from home for the band from 1970 to 1971 as they played 18 shows there in a year’s time. This particular evening saw keyboardist and Dead collaborator Ned Lagin sit in with the band as they debuted a number of new songs including “Wharf Rat”, “Playing In The Band”, “Bertha”, “Greatest Story Ever Told”, and “Loser”.
This rendition of “Truckin’”, which stretches over the eight-minute mark, came in the two-slot of the evening and saw the band especially impassioned as they warmed up the New York crowd. The tune, already well on its way to becoming a fan favorite, featured some stellar vocal work from the band as they were at the height of their emphasis on harmonies. While the improvisation may not be the most inspired or out there, the rollicking autobiographical tale set the tone for what would be an evening to remember.
Listen to the Grateful Dead perform “Truckin’” at The Capitol Theatre on 2/18/71 from the forthcoming American Beauty reissue.
Grateful Dead – “Truckin’” – Port Chester, NY – 2/18/71
[Video: Grateful Dead]
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