More than four decades after the Grateful Dead turned “Shakedown Street” into a sprawling showcase at Merriweather Post Pavilion, one of the song’s most celebrated live performances is finally getting an official release.
The band has released its June 30, 1985 performance of “Shakedown Street,” a roughly 15-minute rendition recorded at the Columbia, Maryland venue during the Grateful Dead’s 20th anniversary tour.
For longtime Deadheads, this is hardly an obscure selection pulled randomly from the vault. The Merriweather performance has spent decades near the top of fan discussions about the greatest versions of “Shakedown Street,” the title track from the band’s 1978 studio album.
The performance finds the Dead stretching comfortably beyond the song’s basic framework. Jerry Garcia leads the group into an extended improvisational section, with the rest of the band responding as the jam develops and gathers momentum. Keyboardist Brent Mydland also plays a prominent role in a performance that has become one of the enduring favorites of the era.
Now the recording is serving as a preview of “Summer Magic 1985,” an extensive archival collection due September 18.
The 20-CD set captures seven complete concerts from the Grateful Dead’s 20th anniversary run. It begins with the band’s three-night stand at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley on June 14, 15 and 16 before moving to Saratoga Performing Arts Center on June 27 and Hershey Park Stadium on June 28. The collection concludes with the June 30 and July 1 concerts at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
The recordings were originally captured by Dan Healy and have been mastered for the new release by Grammy-winning engineer David Glasser.
Collectors interested in the physical edition will have a relatively limited window. Production is capped at 10,000 individually numbered box sets. Digital editions in ALAC and high-resolution FLAC formats are also scheduled to arrive September 18.
Fans who primarily want the Merriweather performance will have another option. The complete June 30, 1985 concert is also receiving a standalone release on CD, vinyl and digital platforms on the same date.
For a band whose live legacy has been preserved through decades of tapes, trades and passionate debate over individual performances, the release gives one particularly famous night an official place in the Grateful Dead catalog.
And for anyone who has spent years arguing about which “Shakedown Street” reigns supreme, September may provide a good excuse to start the debate all over again.
