The folks at Rhino put out Grateful Dead vault releases at a blistering pace last year, but all has been quiet on the Western front for the past few months… until today. To Terrapin: Hartford ’77 contains every note the Dead played on May 28, 1977 at the Hartford Civic Center. This three-disc release is available now for pre-order before the April 7th ship date.

For the band, 1977 was a year of remarkable change as they added the songs recorded for the Terrapin Station release to their repertoire and got their sealegs back after taking a hiatus from touring between Oct. ’74 and June ’76. Spring 1977 featured arguably the most consistently awesome performances the band ever played and 5/28/77 offers a glimpse of the greatness they acheived that tour.

In listening to the Betty Boards that have circulated for years and Jay Ashley’s extra-cripsy remaster of those tapes, some noteworthy moments include the blisteringly-beautiful 21 minute Sugaree, the loooooooooong post Drums section and a picture-perfect take on the brand-new Terrapin Station. For $17.98 you can’t go wrong. Nice work Rhino, now keep ‘em coming.

Scott Bernstein

Scott Bernstein co-founded Hidden Track in October 2006 and was managing editor until taking over as EiC in January 2008. Scotty also writes for Relix Magazine and curates YEMblog.com.

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