Beyond Description (1973

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AllMusic
The Music Box
Classic Rock

Beyond Description (1973–1989) is the second twelve-CD box set retrospective of the Grateful Dead's studio and live albums. A companion to The Golden Road (1965–1973) box set, it covers their time on the Grateful Dead Records and Arista Records labels, from 1973 to 1989.

The set contains expanded and remastered versions of all the albums during the brief period with their own label (except Steal Your Face), and during their time on Arista (except Without a Net and later box set So Many Roads). Included are numerous previously unreleased studio outtakes and live tracks. The ten albums in the set are Wake of the Flood, From the Mars Hotel, Blues for Allah, Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street, Go to Heaven, In the Dark, Built to Last, and the two live albums Reckoning and Dead Set (both expanded to two-CD sets).

Pre-ordered copies included a bonus disc with five live tracks and a studio rehearsal. The albums, with the bonus tracks, were given individual release in 2006. Previous box set Dead Zone, released in 1987, contains six of the same albums.

Track listing

See individual album pages for more information

Disc One: Wake of the Flood

Wake of the Flood

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo"	Robert Hunter Jerry Garcia	5:43
2.	"Let Me Sing Your Blues Away"	Hunter Keith Godchaux	3:19
3.	"Row Jimmy"	Hunter Garcia	7:15
4.	"Stella Blue"	Hunter Garcia	6:27
5.	"Here Comes Sunshine"	Hunter Garcia	4:40
6.	"Eyes of the World"	Hunter Garcia	5:16
7.	"Weather Report Suite" "Prelude" (Bob Weir) – 1:22 "Part I" (Eric Andersen, Weir) – 4:14 "Part II (Let it Grow)" (John Perry Barlow, Weir) – 7:08"		12:41

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
8.	"Eyes of the World" (live at Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY; September 7, 1973)	Hunter Garcia	17:02
9.	"Weather Report Suite" "Prelude" (Bob Weir) – 1:22 "Part I" (Eric Andersen, Weir) – 4:14 "Part II (Let it Grow)" (John Perry Barlow, Weir) – 7:08" (studio acoustic demo; August 4, 1973)	Weir Andersen Barlow	12:36
10.	"China Doll" (studio outtake; August 8, 1973)	Hunter Garcia	4:02

Disc Two: From the Mars Hotel

From the Mars Hotel

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"U.S. Blues"	Hunter Garcia	4:42
2.	"China Doll"	Hunter Garcia	4:11
3.	"Unbroken Chain"	Phil Lesh Robert Petersen	6:47
4.	"Loose Lucy"	Hunter Garcia	3:22
5.	"Scarlet Begonias"	Hunter Garcia	4:19
6.	"Pride of Cucamonga"	Lesh Petersen	4:18
7.	"Money Money"	Bob Weir John Perry Barlow	4:23
8.	"Ship of Fools"	Hunter Garcia	5:28

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
9.	"Loose Lucy" (studio outtake; August 7, 1973)	Hunter Garcia	4:41
10.	"Scarlet Begonias" (live at Winterland Arena, San Francisco, CA; October 16, 1974)	Hunter Garcia	9:09
11.	"Money Money" (live at PNE Coliseum, Vancouver, BC; May 17, 1974)	Weir Barlow	4:20
12.	"Wave That Flag" (live at Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA; March 28, 1973)	Hunter Garcia	5:34
13.	"Let It Rock" (live at Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, FL; June 23, 1974)	Chuck Berry	3:19
14.	"Pride of Cucamonga" (studio acoustic demo; August 4, 1973)	Lesh Petersen	4:24
15.	"Unbroken Chain" (studio acoustic demo; August 11, 1973)	Lesh Petersen	6:21

Disc Three: Blues for Allah

Blues for Allah

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Help on the Way" "Slipknot!"	Garcia Hunter Garcia K. Godchaux Kreutzmann Lesh Weir	3:15 4:03
2.	"Franklin's Tower"	Garcia Bill Kreutzmann Hunter	4:32
3.	"King Solomon's Marbles" "Part I. Stronger Than Dirt" "Part II. Milkin' the Turkey"	Lesh Mickey Hart Kreutzmann Lesh	1:55 3:25
4.	"The Music Never Stopped"	Weir Barlow	4:35
5.	"Crazy Fingers"	Garcia Hunter	6:41
6.	"Sage & Spirit"	Weir	3:07
7.	"Blues for Allah" "Sand Castles & Glass Camels" "Unusual Occurrences in the Desert"	Garcia Hunter Garcia D. Godchaux K. Godchaux Hart Kreutzmann Lesh Weir Garcia Hunter	3:21 5:24 3:48

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
8.	"Groove #1" (instrumental studio outtake; February 27, 1975)	Garcia K. Godchaux Hart Kreutzmann Lesh Weir	5:42
9.	"Groove #2" (instrumental studio outtake; February 27, 1975)	Garcia K. Godchaux Hart Kreutzmann Lesh Weir	7:32
10.	"Distorto" (instrumental studio outtake; February 28, 1975)	Garcia	8:10
11.	"A to E Flat Jam" (instrumental studio outtake; February 27, 1975)	Garcia K. Godchaux Hart Kreutzmann Lesh Weir	4:35
12.	"Proto 18 Proper" (instrumental studio outtake; February 27, 1975)	Garcia K. Godchaux Hart Kreutzmann Lesh Weir	4:16
13.	"Hollywood Cantata" (studio outtake; May 7, 1975)	Hunter Weir	4:14

Disc Four: Terrapin Station

Terrapin Station

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Estimated Prophet"	Weir Barlow	5:37
2.	"Dancin' in the Streets"	William Stevenson Marvin Gaye I.J. Hunter	3:17
3.	"Passenger"	Phil Lesh Peter Monk	2:48
4.	"Samson & Delilah"	Trad., arranged by Weir	3:39
5.	"Sunrise"	Donna Godchaux	4:04
6.	"Terrapin Part 1" "Lady with a Fan" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:38 "Terrapin Station" (Garcia, Hunter) - 1:55 "Terrapin" (Garcia, Hunter) - 2:14 "Terrapin Transit" (Hart, Kreutzmann) - 1:17 "At a Siding" (Hart, Hunter) - 1:01 "Terrapin Flyer" (Hart, Kreutzmann) - 2:55 "Refrain" (Garcia) - 2:19"		16:23

Bonus tracks on 2004/2006 reissue
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"Peggy-O" (instrumental studio outtake; November 2, 1976)	trad., arr. Grateful Dead	4:42
8.	"The Ascent" (instrumental studio outtake; November 2, 1976)	Grateful Dead	1:58
9.	"Catfish John" (studio outtake; Fall 1976)	Bob McDill Allen Reynolds	4:43
10.	"Equinox" (studio outtake; February 17, 1977)	Lesh	5:15
11.	"Fire on the Mountain" (studio outtake; February, 1977)	Hart Hunter	6:25
12.	"Dancin' in the Streets" (live at Barton Hall, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY; May 8, 1977)	Stevenson Gaye Hunter	16:17

Disc Five: Shakedown Street

Shakedown Street

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Good Lovin'"	Rudy Clark Arthur Resnick	4:51
2.	"France"	Mickey Hart Robert Hunter Bob Weir	4:03
3.	"Shakedown Street"	Garcia Hunter	4:59
4.	"Serengetti"	Hart Bill Kreutzmann	1:59
5.	"Fire on the Mountain"	Hart Hunter	3:46
6.	"I Need a Miracle"	Weir John Perry Barlow	3:36
7.	"From the Heart of Me"	Donna Godchaux	3:23
8.	"Stagger Lee"	Garcia Hunter	3:25
9.	"All New Minglewood Blues"	Noah Lewis	4:12
10.	"If I Had the World to Give"	Garcia Hunter	4:50

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Good Lovin'" (studio outtake; July 28, 1978)	Clark Resnick	4:56
12.	"Ollin Arageed" (live, Giza, Egypt; September 16, 1978)	Hamza El Din	6:30
13.	"Fire on the Mountain" (live, Giza, Egypt; September 16, 1978)	Hart Hunter	13:43
14.	"Stagger Lee" (live, Giza, Egypt; September 15, 1978)	Garcia Hunter	6:39
15.	"All New Minglewood Blues" (live at Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ; November 24, 1978)	trad., arr. Weir	4:34

Disc Six: Go to Heaven

Go to Heaven

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Alabama Getaway"	Garcia Hunter	3:36
2.	"Far From Me"	Mydland	3:41
3.	"Althea"	Garcia Hunter	6:54
4.	"Feel Like a Stranger"	Weir Barlow	5:10
5.	"Lost Sailor"	Weir Barlow	5:54
6.	"Saint of Circumstance"	Weir Barlow	5:39
7.	"Antwerp's Placebo (The Plumber)"	Hart Kreutzmann	0:40
8.	"Easy to Love You"	Mydland Barlow	3:41
9.	"Don't Ease Me In"	trad.; arr. by Grateful Dead	3:16

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Peggy-O" (studio outtake; July 16, 1979)	trad.; arr. by Grateful Dead	5:51
11.	"What'll You Raise" (studio outtake; July 16, 1979)	Garcia Hunter	4:08
12.	"Jack-A-Roe" (studio outtake; July 14, 1979)	trad.; arr. by Grateful Dead	4:55
13.	"Althea" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	Garcia Hunter	8:17
14.	"Lost Sailor" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City; October 25, 1980)	Weir Barlow	6:42
15.	"Saint of Circumstance" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 25, 1980)	Weir Barlow	6:35

Disc Seven: Reckoning , disc 1

Reckoning Disc 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dire Wolf"	Garcia Hunter	3:20
2.	"The Race Is On"	Don Rollins	2:58
3.	"Oh Babe, It Ain't No Lie"	Elizabeth Cotten	6:28
4.	"It Must Have Been The Roses"	Hunter	6:56
5.	"Dark Hollow"	William "Bill" Browning	3:49
6.	"China Doll"	Garcia Hunter	5:22
7.	"Been All Around This World"	Traditional	4:31
8.	"Monkey And The Engineer"	Jesse Fuller	2:37
9.	"Jack-A-Roe"	Traditional	4:05
10.	"Deep Elem Blues"	Traditional	4:51
11.	"Cassidy"	Weir Barlow	4:38
12.	"To Lay Me Down"	Garcia Hunter	8:59
13.	"Rosalie McFall"	Charlie Monroe	2:54
14.	"On The Road Again"	Traditional	3:15
15.	"Bird Song"	Garcia Hunter	7:34
16.	"Ripple"	Garcia Hunter	4:38

All tracks live at Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA (September 25, 1980 – October 14, 1980) & Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY (October 22, 1980 – October 31, 1980)

Disc Eight: Reckoning , disc 2

Reckoning Disc 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"To Lay Me Down" (studio rehearsal; September 14, 1980)	Garcia Hunter	9:12
2.	"Iko Iko" (live at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; October 7, 1980)	Traditional/Crawford	4:23
3.	"Heaven Help The Fool" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 25, 1980)	Weir Barlow	6:18
4.	"El Paso" (live at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; October 13, 1980)	Robbins	4:41
5.	"Sage & Spirit" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 31, 1980)	Weir	3:14
6.	"Little Sadie" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 31, 1980)	trad., arr. Grateful Dead	2:45
7.	"It Must Have Been The Roses" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	Hunter	7:01
8.	"Dark Hollow" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	trad., arr. Grateful Dead	4:30
9.	"Jack-A-Roe" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	trad., arr. Grateful Dead	5:08
10.	"Cassidy" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	Weir Barlow	5:06
11.	"China Doll" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	Garcia Hunter	5:52
12.	"Monkey And The Engineer" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	Fuller	2:37
13.	"Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	Cotten	7:13
14.	"Ripple" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 23, 1980)	Garcia Hunter	4:37
15.	"Tom Dooley" (live at Rambler Room, Loyola Univ., Chicago, IL; November 17, 1978)	trad., arr. Grateful Dead	3:33
16.	"Deep Elem Blues" (live at Rambler Room, Loyola Univ., Chicago, IL; November 17, 1978)	trad., arr. Grateful Dead	3:42

Disc Nine: Dead Set , disc 1

Dead Set Disc 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Samson and Delilah"	trad., arr. Weir	5:02
2.	"Friend of the Devil"	John Dawson Hunter Garcia	7:28
3.	"New Minglewood Blues"	trad., arr. Weir	4:41
4.	"Deal"	Hunter Garcia	4:36
5.	"Candyman"	Hunter Garcia	7:15
6.	"Little Red Rooster"	Willie Dixon	4:31
7.	"Loser"	Hunter Garcia	5:45
8.	"Passenger"	Peter Monk Lesh	3:21
9.	"Feel Like a Stranger"	Barlow Weir	5:41
10.	"Franklin's Tower"	Hunter Garcia Kreutzmann	5:22
11.	"Rhythm Devils"	Hart Kreutzmann	4:02
12.	"Space"	Hart Kreutzmann Lesh Brent Mydland	2:29
13.	"Fire on the Mountain"	Hunter Hart	6:30
14.	"Greatest Story Ever Told"	Hunter Hart Weir	4:04
15.	"Brokedown Palace"	Hunter Garcia	5:42

All tracks live at Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA (September 25, 1980 – October 14, 1980) & Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY (October 22, 1980 – October 31, 1980)

Disc Ten: Dead Set , disc 2

Dead Set Disc 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Let It Grow" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 26, 1980)	Barlow Weir	9:38
2.	"Sugaree" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 26, 1980)	Hunter Garcia	9:51
3.	"C.C. Rider" (live at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; October 13, 1980)	trad., arr. Weir	7:17
4.	"Row Jimmy" (live at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; October 10, 1980)	Hunter Garcia	10:14
5.	"Lazy Lightnin'" (live at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco; October 13, 1980)	Barlow Weir	2:53
6.	"Supplication" (live at Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; October 13, 1980)	Barlow Weir	5:50
7.	"High Time" (live at Radio City Music Hall, New York City, NY; October 25, 1980)	Hunter Garcia	8:40
8.	"Jack Straw" (live at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; October 10, 1980)	Hunter Weir	6:17
9.	"Shakedown Street" (live at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco; October 7, 1980)	Hunter Garcia	10:42
10.	"Not Fade Away" (live at the Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; October 4, 1980)	Buddy Holly Norman Petty	4:50

Disc Eleven: In the Dark

In the Dark

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Touch of Grey"	Garcia Hunter	5:47
2.	"Hell in a Bucket"	Barlow Weir Mydland	5:35
3.	"When Push Comes to Shove"	Garcia Hunter	4:05
4.	"West L.A. Fadeaway"	Garcia Hunter	6:39
5.	"Tons of Steel"	Mydland	5:15
6.	"Throwing Stones"	Barlow Weir	7:18
7.	"Black Muddy River"	Garcia Hunter	5:58

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
8.	"My Brother Esau" (single B-side)	Barlow Weir	4:17
9.	"West L.A. Fadeaway" (alternate studio version; March, 1984)	Garcia Hunter	7:08
10.	"Black Muddy River" (studio rehearsal; December 5, 1986)	Garcia Hunter	5:41
11.	"When Push Comes to Shove" (studio rehearsal; December 5, 1986)	Garcia Hunter	4:22
12.	"Touch of Grey" (studio rehearsal; August, 1982)	Garcia Hunter	5:47
13.	"Throwing Stones" (live at Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, MA; July 4, 1987)	Barlow Weir	9:36

Disc Twelve: Built to Last

Built to Last

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Foolish Heart"	Garcia Hunter	5:10
2.	"Just a Little Light"	Barlow Mydland	4:43
3.	"Built to Last"	Garcia Hunter	5:04
4.	"Blow Away"	Barlow Mydland	6:11
5.	"Victim or the Crime"	Gerrit Graham Weir	7:35
6.	"We Can Run"	Barlow Mydland	5:32
7.	"Standing on the Moon"	Garcia Hunter	5:20
8.	"Picasso Moon"	Barlow Bob Bralove Weir	6:42
9.	"I Will Take You Home"	Barlow Mydland	3:45

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Foolish Heart" (live at Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy, WI; July 19, 1989)	Garcia Hunter	11:31
11.	"Blow Away" (live at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA; July 7, 1989)	Barlow Mydland	12:02
12.	"California Earthquake (Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On)" (live at Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA; October 20, 1989)	Rodney Crowell	5:59

Bonus Disc

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Weather Report Suite" "Prelude" "Part I" "Part II: Let it Grow" (live at Winterland, San Francisco, CA; October 17, 1974)	Weir Andersen Barlow	16:57
2.	"Blues for Allah" → "Stronger than Dirt or Milkin' the Turkey" → "Drums" → "Stronger than Dirt or Milkin' the Turkey" → "Blues for Allah" (live at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA; March 23, 1975)	Garcia Hunter D. Godchaux K. Godchaux Hart Kreutzmann Lesh Weir / Lesh Hart Kreutzmann / Hart Kreutzmann	31:45
3.	"Showboat" (band rehearsal; August 12, 1975)	K. Godchaux D. Godchaux Brian Godchaux	2:41
4.	"Shakedown Street" (live at McNichols Arena, Denver, CO; August 13, 1979)	Hunter Garcia	11:53
5.	"Far From Me" (live at Capital Centre, Landover, MD; August 31, 1980)	Mydland	3:57
6.	"Estimated Prophet" (live at Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA; October 10, 1980)	Weir Barlow	10:46

Notes

Personnel

Grateful Dead

Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
Phil Lesh – electric bass, vocals
Donna Godchaux – vocals on discs 1–5
Keith Godchaux – keyboards, piano, vocals on discs 1–5
Brent Mydland – keyboards, Hammond organ, vocals on discs 6–12
Mickey Hart – drums, percussion (except for discs 1 & 2)
Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion

Additional performers

for a comprehensive listing, see individual album pages

Production

James Austin, David Lemieux – producers
Cameron Sears – executive producer
Jimmy Edwards – associate producer
Robin Hurley – associate producer
Hale Milgrim – associate producer
Scott Pascucci – associate producer
Eileen Law – archival research
Joe Gastwirt – mastering
Tom Flye – additional mixing
Robert Gatley – mixing assistant
Reggie Collines – discography annotation
Hugh Brown – reissue art direction
Steve Vance – design, reissue art direction