Bear's Choice 50

Rich Mahan (0:05)

The Good Ol Grateful Deadcast, the official podcast of the Grateful Dead. I'm Rich Mahan with Jesse Jarnow, exploring the music and legacy of the Grateful Dead for the Committed And The Curious.

Ladies and gentlemen, fellow Deadheads, welcome to season seven of The Good Ol Grateful Deadcast. I'm your co-host Rich Mahan. Thank you very much for tuning in. Well, we hope you enjoyed the past two episodes covering the life and times of Ron Pigpen McKernan. This episode follows suit thematically as we cover the 50th anniversary of Bear's Choice, the history of the Grateful Dead, Volume One, which is widely regarded as the Dead's tribute to Pigpen.

Head on over to dead.net/deadcast and check out all of our past episodes, including the complete seasons one through six. You can link from there to your favorite podcasting platform so you can listen how you like to listen. Please help this podcast by subscribing, hitting that like button, and if the spirit moves you, leave us a review. Thank you very much. You know we have transcripts for a lot of your favorite Deadcast episodes now, right? Well, those of you waiting on season one don't have to wait any longer. Season one transcripts are now up for your viewing pleasure at dead.net/deadcastdashindex. Check them out. Announcing History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One Bear's Choice 50th Anniversary Remaster. This is the original album, newly remastered by Grammy award-winning engineer David Glasser using Plangent processes from the original analog two-track tapes recorded live by Owsley Bear Stanley at the famed Fillmore East on February 13th and 14th, 1970

There are two versions available, a black 180-gram vinyl edition and a limited-edition custom vinyl available exclusively at dead.net. Both of these releases are out as of May 5th, but you can pre-order any and all of the Bear's Choice 50th Anniversary Remaster releases and merch over at dead.net. And thanks to everyone who has left their stories at stories.dead.net, we're now asking you to share your stories of serendipity, miracles, and the most unbelievable, craziest stories ever told. Share those stories over at stories.dead.net, and you just may hear yourself on the Deadcast.

Bear's Choice, The History of the Grateful Dead, Volume One, documents an important period in the band's progression and pays tribute to their fallen bandmate, Ron Pigpen McKernan. What is it that makes this album special? Well, let's hand it off to Jesse Jarnow as he takes us on a deep dive into the music and the backstage happenings at the Fillmore East where this classic music was recorded.

Jesse Jarnow (3:33)

In the summer of 1973, The Grateful Dead put out their fourth live album in five years. History of The Grateful Dead, volume one. Bear's Choice.

It was different in several key ways from the double albums Live Dead and Skull and Roses, released in the falls of 1969 and 1971 respectively, and the triple LP Europe 72 released in fall 1972 For starters, Bear's Choice, as most people know the album, was a single disc. And unlike their previous live albums, it included a side of acoustic music.

The music on Bear's Choice was recorded in February 1970, barely three years old when the album came out. It was the first official archival Dead release. With so many other archival albums released subsequently, and even so many Dead live albums already on the market, both legal and otherwise, when it came out in 1973, I can say from personal experience that it's easy for Bear's Choice to slip through the cracks of the Dead's discography. Not today. Another way to say that is that Bear's Choice is also an easy album to underestimate, but it's also a special place all its own. And that's where we're going today. Please welcome back Good Ol Grateful Dead archivist and Legacy Manager David Lemieux.

David Lemieux (5:53)

I remember getting that album when I was probably 15 years old. And by then I'd heard from the live canon, Live Dead, Skull and Roses, Europe 72, Dead Set and Reckoning. So I then got Bear's Choice and expected it to sound similar, multi-track, et cetera. And I put it on and I certainly was not disappointed, but I was in awe of how different it sounded.

I've never thought of the album as history of the Grateful Dead Volume One parentheses.

It's just Bear's Choice. And I see the title when we see internal documents on this, I'm like, oh yeah, it's called, but it's just Bear's Choice. Just as we all have our other phrases for Skull and Roses, you know, it's just the way it is.

Jesse Jarnow (6:40)

The Bear in question was Augustus Owsley Stanley III, AKA Owsley, AKA Bear. Known for being the world's first and best underground LSD chemist, he was also the Grateful Dead's primary sound engineer in 1966 and again from 1968 through 1970