What a Long Strange Trip It's Been

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been
Greatest hits album by Grateful Dead
Released	September 1977
Recorded	1967–1972
Genre	Psychedelic rock, country, folk, jam
Length	85:38
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Grateful Dead and Paul L. Wexler
Grateful Dead chronology
Terrapin Station (1977) What a Long Strange Trip It's Been (1977) Shakedown Street (1978)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	B[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been, subtitled The Best of the Grateful Dead, is a compilation album by the Grateful Dead. Initially, it was a two-record LP released September 1, 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. Even though the band left Warner Bros. after their contract was up in order to form their own label, Grateful Dead Records, Warner Bros. continued to release older material from during the contract period.

It marked the first album release of the studio version of "Dark Star," as well as the alternate single mix of its b-side "Born Cross-Eyed."

The title of the compilation comes from the lyrics of one of Robert Hunter's most famous songs, the line from "Truckin'": Lately it occurs to me: What a long, strange trip it's been.

The album was reissued, both as a 2-CD set and on cassette tape, by Warner Bros. in 1989 when the band was revitalized by their latest albums, In the Dark and Built to Last.

Track listing

Side one

1. "New Minglewood Blues" (traditional, credited to McGannahan Skjellyfetti) – 2:34
2. "Cosmic Charlie" (Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter) – 5:30
3. "Truckin'" (Garcia, Hunter, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir) – 5:03
4. "Black Peter" (Garcia and Hunter) – 5:42
5. "Born Cross-Eyed" (Weir) – 2:55

Side two

6. "Ripple" (Garcia and Hunter) – 4:10
7. "Doin' That Rag" (Garcia and Hunter) – 4:40
8. "Dark Star" (Garcia and Hunter) – 2:41
9. "High Time" (Garcia and Hunter) – 5:12
10. "New Speedway Boogie" (Garcia and Hunter) – 4:05

Side three

11. "St. Stephen" (Live, February 27, 1969) (Garcia, Hunter, and Lesh) – 5:22
12. "Jack Straw" (Live, May 3, 1972) (Hunter and Weir) – 4:48
13. "Me and My Uncle" (Live, April 29, 1971) (John Phillips) – 3:03
14. "Tennessee Jed" (Live, May 3, 1972) (Garcia and Hunter) – 7:11

Side four

15. "Cumberland Blues" (Live, April 8, 1972) (Garcia, Hunter, and Lesh) – 5:41
16. "Playing in the Band" (Live, April 6, 1971) (Mickey Hart, Hunter, and Weir) – 4:38
17. "Brown-Eyed Woman" (Live, April 14, 1972) (Garcia and Hunter) – 4:37
18. "Ramble On Rose" (Live, May 26, 1972) (Garcia and Hunter) – 6:01

Production details

• "New, New Minglewood Blues" from The Grateful Dead.
• "Dark Star" and "Born Cross-Eyed" from "Dark Star"/"Born Cross-Eyed" 7" single.
• "Cosmic Charlie" and "Doin' That Rag" from Aoxomoxoa.
• "St. Stephen" recorded live in concert and from Live/Dead.
• "Black Peter", "High Time" and "New Speedway Boogie" from Workingman's Dead.
• "Truckin'" and "Ripple" from American Beauty.
• "Me and My Uncle" and "Playing in the Band" recorded live in concert and from Grateful Dead.
• "Jack Straw", "Tennessee Jed", "Cumberland Blues", "Brown-Eyed Woman" and "Ramble On Rose" recorded live in concert and from Europe '72.

Personnel

Grateful Dead

• Tom Constanten – keyboards
• Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
• Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
• Keith Godchaux – keyboards, vocals
• Mickey Hart – drums
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums
• Phil Lesh – bass guitar
• Ron "Pigpen" McKernan – keyboards, harmonica, vocals
• Bob Weir – guitar, vocals

Technical personnel

• Betty Cantor, Bob Matthews – production, engineering
• David Hassinger, Owsley Stanley – production
• Paul Wexler – executive production

Charts

Billboard

Year	Chart	Position
1977	Pop Albums	121

Certifications

Certification	Date
Gold[4]	August 24, 2001
Platinum[4]

References

1. Ruhlmann, William. What a Long Strange Trip It's Been at AllMusic
2. Grateful Dead album ratings at RobertChristgau.com
3. Grateful Dead Album Guide, Rolling Stone
4. "RIAA Gold & Platinum database-What a Long Strange Trip It's Been". Retrieved February 28, 2009.