The three Egypt concerts-September 14, 15, 16, 1978-were captured on a 24-track tape recorder with an eye towards putting out a live album to help defray the (considerable) cost of the expedition. When the Dead got home, however, they discovered that the tapes of all of the first night and part of the second were not useable because of technical problems. Then the band got wrapped up in finishing their Shakedown Street album (begun before the Egypt venture), and soon the notion of putting out the Egypt album lost its momentum. But just as Howard Carter and all those other explorers in the '20s and '30s couldn't stay away from the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the Dead weren't about to let those Egypt multitracks stay buried by the sands of time. Next thing you know there's a phone call to ace GD mixer Jeffrey Norman and he and vaultkeeper David Lemieux discover that despite the problems with the first night's tapes, there's still lots of great material available from nights two and three, including: a dynamite "Shakedown Street" (just the second live version ever), "Truckin'," an exquisite "Stella Blue," "Eyes of the World," fresh takes on then-new songs such as "Stagger Lee" and "I Need A Miracle," and the hypnotic Egyptian tune called "Ollin Arageed" that features Hamza El Din and other percussionists, who are then joined by the Dead for a jam into "Fire on the Mountain." Wow!

And the concert video, though rough around the edges in places, is quite a revelation as well. Not only does the DVD include many of the best tunes on the CDs-you'll dig seeing Jerry do some pretty energetic thrashing here and there-it contains two songs not on disc-"Bertha" and "Good Lovin'." The concert material has been mixed in both stereo and surround sound, with two listening options: DTS 5.1 and PCM Stereo. The beautifully designed booklet (with cover inspired by the late, great Alton Kelley's Egypt 1978 tour poster) contains a revealing essay by longtime Ice Nine Publishing chief (and Egypt trip co-organizer) Alan Trist, and many rare photos. All that's missing is sand, the smell of camels and some "hubbly-bubbly"!

Track List Disc 1
1. "Jack Straw"
2. "Row Jimmy"
3. "New, New Minglewood Blues"
4. "Candyman"
5. "Looks Like Rain"
6. "Stagger Lee"
7. "I Need A Miracle"
8. "It's All Over Now"
9. "Deal"

Track List Disc 2
1. "Ollin Arageed"
2. "Fire On The Mountain"
3. "Iko Iko"
4. "Shakedown Street"
5. "Drums"
6. "Space"
7. "Truckin'"
8. "Stella Blue"
9. "Around And Around"

DVD Track Listing
1."Bertha"
2. "Good Lovin'"
3. "Row Jimmy"
4. "New, Minglewood Blues"
5. "Candyman"
6. "Looks Like Rain"
7. "Deal"
8. "Ollin Arageed"
9. "Fire On The Mountain"
10. "Iko Iko"
11. "I Need A Miracle"
12. "It's All Over Now"
13. "Truckin'"
Featurette: "The Vacation Tapes"

Related Links: For more information on GRATEFUL DEAD and the other organizations mentioned please visit the following links -- Dead.net | Buy - Rocking The Cradle

Originally Published: 10/07/2008 on Kweevak.com