Grateful Dead - Listen to the River: St. Louis '71 '72 '73 (2021)

Steamboats and BBQ, ice cream cones and Mardi Gras - are you ready to laissez les bons temps rouler with the "gateway" to the Grateful Dead? Meet us, won't you, in St. Louis for seven complete and previously unreleased Dead concerts that capture the heart of the band's affinity for the River City.

LISTEN TO THE RIVER: ST. LOUIS ’71 ’72 ’73 is a 20CD set featuring five shows from the Fox Theatre - December 9 and 10, 1971; October 17-19, 1972; and two from the Kiel Auditorium - October 29 and 30, 1973.

The seven shows in the collection span slightly less than two years, but they represent some of the best shows the Grateful Dead played during some of its peak tours. The music tells the story of a band evolving, changing from one sound to another seamlessly, precipitated – in large part – by significant personnel changes in the Dead’s lineup.

The two 1971 shows feature the original Grateful Dead lineup plus newcomer Keith Godchaux on piano. This version of the band would hold together for the next six months as the Dead embarked upon its Europe ’72 tour. By the time the Dead returned to the Fox Theatre less than a year later, they were without Pigpen, who’d played his final show with the Dead at the Hollywood Bowl on June 17, 1972. A year after the exceptional Fox 1972 shows, the Dead came back to St. Louis, but played the much larger Kiel Auditorium, touring behind the release of WAKE OF THE FLOOD, which came out just two weeks before.

All told, the band played 60 different songs during these shows highlighted by blazing romps through “Beat It On Down The Line” and “One More Saturday Night” and wistful takes on “Row Jimmy” and “Brokedown Palace” (whose lyrics give the collection its name). Meanwhile, the copious jamming ebbed and flowed like the mighty Mississippi River on multiple voyages through “The Other One” and “Dark Star.” Naturally, the band paid tribute to one of its favorite rock and rollers and one of St. Louis’ biggest stars by playing Chuck Berry songs at every show in the collection, including Pigpen galloping through “Run Rudolph Run.”

Each show has been restored and speed corrected using Plangent Processes with mastering by Jeffrey Norman. The collection comes in a slipcase with artwork by Liane Plant and features an 84-page hardbound book as well as other Dead surprises. To set the stage for the music, the liner notes provide several essays about the shows, including one by Sam Cutler, the band’s tour manager during that era, and another by Grateful Dead scholar Nicholas G. Meriwether, among others.

Tracklist
12/9/71 Fox Theatre, St Louis, MO
Disc 1 (01:18:05)
1. Truckin' (12:47)
2. Brown-Eyed Women (04:53)
3. Mr. Charlie (04:13)
4. Jack Straw (05:20)
5. Sugaree (07:52)
6. Beat It On Down The Line (03:54)
7. It Hurts Me Too (06:25)
8. Tennessee Jed (07:28)
9. El Paso (05:13)
10. Run Rudolph Run (03:56)
11. Black Peter (09:27)
12. Playing In The Band (06:37)

Disc 2 (50:42)
1. Casey Jones (06:02)
2. One More Saturday Night (04:39)
3. Ramble On Rose (08:05)
4. Mexicali Blues (03:33)
5. Big Boss Man (05:39)
6. Sugar Magnolia (07:29)
7. Not Fade Away (04:47)
8. Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad (06:29)
9. Not Fade Away (03:59)

12/10/71 Fox Theatre, St Louis, MO
Disc 3 (01:07:25)
1. Bertha (06:32)
2. Me and My Uncle (03:48)
3. Mr. Charlie (04:25)
4. Loser (07:22)
5. Beat It On Down The Line (03:49)
6. Sugaree (08:49)
7. Jack Straw (05:30)
8. Next Time You See Me (04:37)
9. Tennessee Jed (07:43)
10. El Paso (04:56)
11. Big Railroad Blues (04:12)
12. Casey Jones (05:42)

Disc 4 (01:01:19)
1. Good Lovin' (22:12)
2. Brokedown Palace (06:06)
3. Playing In The Band (06:57)
4. Run Rudolph Run (03:39)
5. Deal (05:50)
6. Sugar Magnolia (07:54)
7. Comes A Time (08:41)

Disc 5 (55:14)
1. Truckin' (08:26)
2. Drums (03:21)
3. The Other One (13:13)
4. Sitting On Top Of The World (03:10)
5. The Other One (06:02)
6. Not Fade Away (05:58)
7. Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad (06:13)
8. Not Fade Away (03:59)
9. One More Saturday Night (04:52)

10/17/72 Fox Theatre, St Louis, MO
Disc 6 (01:15:10)
1. Promised Land (04:09)
2. Bird Song (14:59)
3. El Paso (05:03)
4. Sugaree (08:47)
5. Me And My Uncle (03:28)
6. Tennessee Jed (08:24)
7. Big River (05:13)
8. China Cat Sunflower (07:06)
9. I Know You Rider (06:01)
10. Black-Throated Wind (07:07)
11. Deal (04:53)

Disc 7 (01:14:46)
1. Cumberland Blues (06:41)
2. Playing In The Band (23:25)
3. Casey Jones (07:01)
4. Greatest Story Ever Told (05:38)
5. Don't Ease Me In (04:43)
6. Mexicali Blues (03:43)
7. Black Peter (10:07)
8. Me And Bobby McGee (06:24)
9. Bertha (07:04)

Disc 8 (01:10:47)
1. Jack Straw (05:19)
2. Friend Of The Devil (05:15)
3. Beat It On Down The Line (03:30)
4. Ramble On Rose (07:32)
5. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (09:16)
6. Sugar Magnolia (08:50)
7. Not Fade Away (04:36)
8. Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad (10:30)
9. Not Fade Away (03:31)
10. Uncle John's Band (08:10)
11. Johnny B. Goode (04:18)

10/18/72 Fox Theatre, St Louis, MO
Disc 9 (01:19:06)
1. Bertha (06:53)
2. Me And My Uncle (04:04)
3. Don't Ease Me In (04:00)
4. Mexicali Blues (03:52)
5. Brown-Eyed Women (05:25)
6. Beat It On Down The Line (03:26)
7. Bird Song (13:06)
8. Big River (04:53)
9. Loser (06:49)
10. Jack Straw (05:16)
11. Big Railroad Blues (05:07)
12. El Paso (05:03)
13. China Cat Sunflower (06:05)
14. I Know You Rider (05:07)

Disc 10 (01:04:07)
1. Playing In The Band (16:16)
2. Drums (02:46)
3. Dark Star (28:28)
4. Morning Dew (11:06)
5. Playing In The Band (05:31)

Disc 11 (27:58)
1. Deal (05:13)
2. Promised Land (03:59)
3. Brokedown Palace (06:59)
4. One More Saturday Night (04:38)
5. Casey Jones (07:09)

10/19/72 Fox Theatre, St Louis, MO
Disc 12 (01:18:32)
1. Promised Land (04:01)
2. Tennessee Jed (09:08)
3. Jack Straw (05:29)
4. Don't Ease Me In (03:37)
5. Black-Throated Wind (06:56)
6. Sugaree (08:14)
7. Mexicali Blues (03:57)
8. Bertha (06:25)
9. El Paso (04:46)
10. China Cat Sunflower (06:33)
11. I Know You Rider (05:54)
12. Beat It On Down The Line (03:45)
13. Dire Wolf (04:42)
14. Around And Around (05:05)

Disc 13 (33:50)
1. Casey Jones (07:31)
2. Big River (05:18)
3. Friend Of The Devil (04:10)
4. Me And My Uncle (03:51)
5. Bird Song (13:00)

Disc 14 (01:14:07)
1. Truckin' (10:14)
2. Drums (02:19)
3. The Other One (16:24)
4. He's Gone (11:03)
5. The Other One (02:07)
6. Greatest Story Ever Told (05:42)
7. Come A Time (07:54)
8. Not Fade Away (05:23)
9. Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad (08:57)
10. Not Fade Away (04:04)

10/29/73 Kiel Auditorium, St Louis, MO
Disc 15 (01:18:02)
1. Cold Rain And Snow (06:20)
2. Beat It On The Down The Line (03:50)
3. Brown-Eyed Women (05:09)
4. Mexicali Blues (04:05)
5. Don't Ease Me In (03:57)
6. Black-Throated Wind (07:20)
7. Tennessee Jed (08:18)
8. The Race Is On (03:42)
9. Row Jimmy (09:36)
10. El Paso (04:49)
11. Eyes Of The World (15:18)
12. China Doll (05:38)

Disc 16 (40:19)
1. Around And Around (05:34)
2. Promised Land (03:17)
3. Bertha (06:03)
4. Greatest Story Ever Told (05:47)
5. Loser (07:12)
6. Big River (05:44)
7. Brokedown Palace (06:42)

Disc 17 (01:11:00)
1. Truckin' (18:06)
2. Drums (02:25)
3. The Other One (22:13)
4. Wharf Rat (11:14)
5. Sugar Magnolia (10:07)
6. Casey Jones (06:55)

10/30/73 Kiel Auditorium, St Louis, MO
Disc 18 (01:06:12)
1. Here Comes Sunshine (12:30)
2. Me And My Uncle (03:28)
3. Ramble On Rose (06:52)
4. Looks Like Rain (08:03)
5. Deal (05:16)
6. Mexicali Blues (03:42)
7. They Love Each Other (06:01)
8. El Paso (04:54)
9. Row Jimmy (10:18)
10. Jack Straw (05:08)

Disc 19 (01:07:38)
1. China Cat Sunflower (08:57)
2. I Know You Rider (06:09)
3. Playing In The Band (20:26)
4. Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo (08:38)
5. Big River (04:57)
6. Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad (08:33)
7. Johnny B. Goode (04:39)
8. One More Saturday Night (05:19)

Disc 20 (01:09:17)
1. Dark Star (27:57)
2. Stella Blue (07:52)
3. Eyes Of The World (17:37)
4. Weather Report Suite (15:51)