By The Grateful Dead, 2005

In October 1974 -- at the peak of their global fame -- the Grateful Dead played five consecutive shows at San Francisco's legendary Winterland. Those dates were recorded and filmed for the 1977 motion picture release The Grateful Dead Movie. This five-disc soundtrack presents all of the music from the movie, plus 32 bonus tracks, including 20 songs exclusive to this set.

Many historic jams that were edited down for the film are restored in their entirety, including the 60-minute blockbuster jam featuring "Sugar Magnolia," "He's Gone," "Jam," "Caution Jam," "Drums," "Space," "Truckin'," "Black Peter," and "Sunshine Daydream." Also included is the now-complete 32-minute "Playing In The Band," cut to half that length on screen. A 24-page booklet contains rare photos and memorabilia from the film.More than just a significantly expanded soundtrack to the new DVD edition of the band's 1974 documentary, the five discs here (taken from a five-night stand at San Francisco's fabled Winterland in October) also document the end of an early Dead era, capturing extensive highlights from the band's final gigs before beginning a performance hiatus that would last until 1976. Typically expansive in scope, yet tightly focused in the interplay of its performances, the anthology kicks off with a brisk slate of upbeat early favorites and then settles back as the band wends its way through spacious, jazzy jams ("Eyes of the World," "Playing in the Band," "Weather Report Suite"), roots-conscious workouts, and the fervent mysticism of Deadhead touchstones like "Dark Star." The recordings also capture the return to action of drummer Mickey Hart after a three-plus-year layoff, and showcase separate percussion solo interludes from both Hart and Bill Kreutzmann.

Containing a considerable number of rich live takes that failed to make the DVD set's bonus outtake disc, this is a an expansive, riveting evocation of the band's early '70s prime--a must for any dedicated Deadhead. --Jerry McCulley

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