Reckoning (thing)

Released on April Fool´s Day 1981, this album documents the Dead´s return to their roots as an acoustic band. Yep before the Dead became the Dead they were a folk/jug band. They left that behind for the psychedelic thing in ´66, but latter returned to it in 1970 with the albums Workingman´s Dead and American Beauty.

Then as suddenly as the acoustic period of 1970 came it was gone again and would not return to their concerts until 1980. Then return it did, and with wonderful melody and color. Reckoning documents an average acoustic setlist of that year. It is a warm, lush and down-home sound, mixing GD originals with songs by Elizabeth Cotten, Bill Browning, Jesse Fuller and several traditional tunes. Another interesting note is that when the album was first released on CD it carried a different name (For The Faithful).

Produced by Dan Healy, Betty Cantor-Jackson and Jerry Garcia the album was recorded live at the Warfield Theater, San Francisco, September 25-October 14, 1980, and at Radio City Music Hall, New York, October 22-31, 1980.