Dead Set is the seventh live album (eighteenth overall) by the Grateful Dead. It was released in August 1981 on Arista.

Dead Set
A skeleton wearing an Uncle Sam hat views San Francisco from the Marin Headlands.
Live album by
ReleasedAugust 26, 1981
RecordedSeptember 25 – October 31, 1980
GenreJam rock
Length73:51
LabelArista (original release)
Rhino (2008 reissue)
Producer
Grateful Dead chronology
Reckoning
(1981)
Dead Set
(1981)
In the Dark
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

The album contains live material recorded between September and October 1980 at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco and Radio City Music Hall in New York. Original CD pressings omitted the track "Space" so the entire album could fit on one CD. However, "Space" was included when the album was rereleased as part of the 2004 Beyond Description box set, as well as on one CD in 2006. The 2006 release also included a bonus CD of live material.

Dead Set is essentially a companion release to Reckoning, a 1981 release of songs featuring acoustic instruments: both of the albums were recorded at the same runs of concerts. Due to the length of the Dead's songs, several tracks from Dead Set were edited for release on vinyl, and the edited versions have been retained on CD reissues.

The album's cover features an Uncle Sam skeleton perched on the Marin Headlands looking at the view of San Francisco, with a striking twilight sky reflecting off the bay. The back cover of the original gatefold album continues this image, except that it shows a view of Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Track listing

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Original release

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Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date & venueLength
1."Samson and Delilah"Trad., arr. Bob Weir10/10/80 Warfield Theatre5:02
2."Friend of the Devil"10/27/80 Radio City Music Hall7:28
3."New Minglewood Blues"Trad., arr. Grateful Dead10/10/80 Warfield Theatre4:41
4."Deal"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
10/04/80 Warfield Theatre4:36
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date & venueLength
5."Candyman"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
10/29/80 Radio City Music Hall7:15
6."Little Red Rooster"Willie Dixon10/29/80 Radio City Music Hall4:31
7."Loser"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
10/11/80 Warfield Theatre5:45
Side C
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date & venueLength
8."Passenger"
10/11/80 Warfield Theatre3:21
9."Feel Like a Stranger"10/04/80 Warfield Theatre5:41
10."Franklin's Tower"
10/25/80 Radio City Music Hall5:22
11."Rhythm Devils"
10/31/80 Radio City Music Hall4:02
Side D
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date & venueLength
12."Space" (on original LP and later CD releases, not on original CD release.)
10/31/80 Radio City Music Hall2:29
13."Fire on the Mountain"
  • Hart
  • Hunter
10/31/80 Radio City Music Hall6:30
14."Greatest Story Ever Told"
  • Hart
  • Weir
  • Hunter
10/09/80 Warfield Theatre4:04
15."Brokedown Palace"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
10/03/80 Warfield Theatre5:42
Total length:77:33

2004 Rhino reissue bonus disc

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No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date & venueLength
1."Let It Grow"
  • Weir
  • Barlow
10/26/80 Radio City Music Hall9:38
2."Sugaree"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
10/26/80 Radio City Music Hall9:51
3."C.C. Rider"Trad., arr. Grateful Dead10/13/80 Warfield Theater7:17
4."Row Jimmy"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
10/10/80 Warfield Theatre10:14
5."Lazy Lightnin'"
  • Weir
  • Barlow
10/13/80 Warfield Theatre2:53
6."Supplication"
  • Weir
  • Barlow
10/13/80 Warfield Theatre5:50
7."High Time"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
10/25/80 Radio City Music Hall8:40
8."Jack Straw"
  • Weir
  • Hunter
10/10/80 Warfield Theatre6:17
9."Shakedown Street"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
10/07/80 Warfield Theatre10:42
10."Not Fade Away"10/04/80 Warfield Theatre4:50
Total length:76:44

Personnel

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Grateful Dead

Production

Recording dates

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Dead Set was recorded during the same shows as Reckoning.

  • October 3, 1980 Warfield Theatre: "Brokedown Palace"
  • October 4, 1980 Warfield Theatre: "Deal", "Feel Like a Stranger", and "Not Fade Away"
  • October 7, 1980 Warfield Theatre: "Shakedown Street"
  • October 9, 1980 Warfield Theatre: "Greatest Story Ever Told"
  • October 10, 1980 Warfield Theatre: "Samson and Delilah", "New Minglewood Blues", "Row Jimmy", and "Jack Straw"
  • October 11, 1980 Warfield Theatre: "Loser" and "Passenger"
  • October 13, 1980 Warfield Theatre: "C.C. Rider", "Lazy Lightnin', and "Supplication"
  • October 25, 1980 Radio City Music Hall: "Franklin's Tower" and "High Time"
  • October 26, 1980 Radio City Music Hall: "Let It Grow" and "Sugaree"
  • October 27, 1980 Radio City Music Hall: "Friend of the Devil"
  • October 29, 1980 Radio City Music Hall: "Candyman" and "Little Red Rooster"
  • October 31, 1980 Radio City Music Hall: "Rhythm Devils", "Space", and "Fire on the Mountain"

Charts

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AlbumBillboard

Year Chart Position
1981 Pop Albums 29

Notes

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  1. ^ Planer, Lindsay. "Dead Set". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
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  • Dead.net, the official homepage of the Grateful Dead.