Grateful Dead – Grateful Dead [Skull & Roses] (2-LP Yellow Vinyl) Alternate Edition

Learn more about this release in the Grateful Dead's Skull & Roses announcement from August 2021 on jambands.com.

This alternate yellow vinyl pressing of Skull & Roses offers collectors a different color variant of one of the Dead's most essential live albums. Originally released in 1971 and universally known by its Rick Griffin cover art rather than its self-titled name, Skull & Roses captures the Dead at a transitional peak—Pigpen still commanding the blues, Mickey Hart temporarily departed (making this a five-piece recording), and the Workingman's Dead / American Beauty material being integrated into electric sets. This yellow vinyl edition preserves the Fillmore East recordings while adding visual collectibility.

The album remains definitive: "Bertha," "Playing in the Band," "Wharf Rat," and "Truckin'" receive performances that established templates for decades of live shows, while Pigpen's 23-minute "Good Lovin'" and "Not Fade Away" showcase why he was the Dead's original blues heart before Garcia became the focal point. The balance between accessibility and depth made Skull & Roses a commercial success—songs radio could play sitting alongside extended jams that proved the Dead's improvisational genius. Rick Griffin's skeleton-and-roses artwork became as iconic as the music itself.

What makes this yellow vinyl edition valuable is the combination of essential music and limited edition format. Skull & Roses introduced millions to the Dead's live power, and this pressing gives collectors both a crucial album and a unique color variant. The Fillmore East recordings capture the warmth of Garcia's guitar tone and the full frequency range of the band's five-piece lineup during this transitional period.

Limited yellow vinyl alternate edition. Double LP. Recorded Fillmore East and Fillmore West, 1970-1971. Rick Griffin cover art. Five-piece lineup.