The Grateful Dead – The Best Of The Grateful Dead: Skeletons From The Closet

Title: The Grateful Dead - The Best Of Skeletons From The Closet
Year/Genre/Sub-Genre/City: 1974, Psychedelic Rock, Folk Rock and Country Rock, San Francisco, California 8/26
Matrix #: W 2764
Condition: VG (LM) | Members: Grateful Dead (N/A)
Cultural Facts:

1. Compilation Lore: Released after the Dead had moved on from Warner Bros., Skeletons From The Closet pulled together recordings from 1967 through 1972, spanning their early psychedelia through the rootsier Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty period.
2. Personal Struggle: Founding member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan’s declining health forced him to stop touring in 1972, and he died the following year at only 27, making this compilation one of the first major Dead releases issued after his death.
3. Album Art: The surreal skeleton-and-rose cover was created by celebrated graphic artist John Van Hamersveld, with Bob Seidemann handling art direction, adding another distinctive image to the Dead’s growing skeleton iconography.