''Ready or Not'' is a live album by the rock band the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

. It contains nine songs recorded at various venues from 1992 to 1995. It was released on November 22, 2019 in LP and CD format.

Unfinished Grateful Dead album

In February 1992, the Grateful Dead began work on recording a new studio album. That album was never completed, and the group disbanded in 1995 following the death of

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

. Most likely the unfinished studio album would have included the songs that appear on ''Ready or Not''.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Fred Thomas wrote, "''Ready or Not'' indeed offers a glimpse of what another studio album from what turned out to be the group's later phase would have sounded like, only with the buffer of comfort that comes from them working out the songs on-stage. It's a document not quite like any of the Dead's hundreds of other archival releases, zeroing in on unfamiliar and exciting material."

Track listing

Personnel

Grateful Dead *

– guitar, vocals *

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

– guitar, vocals *

Phil Lesh Philip Chapman Lesh (born March 15, 1940) is an American musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career. After the band's disbanding in 1995, Lesh continued the tradition of ...

– bass, vocals *

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued ...

– drums *

Mickey Hart Mickey Hart (born Michael Steven Hartman, September 11, 1943) is an American percussionist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 until February 19 ...

– drums *

Vince Welnick Vincent Leo Welnick (February 21, 1951 – June 2, 2006) was an American keyboardist-singer-songwriter best known for playing with the band The Tubes during the 1970s and 1980s and with the Grateful Dead in the 1990s. He was inducted into ...

– keyboards, vocals Production *Produced by Grateful Dead *Produced for release by David Lemieux *Associate Producers: Doran Tyson & Ivette Ramos *Recording: Dan Healy, John Cutler *Mastering: David Glasser *Cover art: Ruben Perez *Photos: Bob Minkin *Design: Steve Vance *Liner notes: Jesse Jarnow

Charts

References

{{Grateful Dead Grateful Dead live albums Rhino Records live albums 2019 live albums