The Arista Years (Grateful Dead album)

The Arista Years is a compilation album that chronicles the Grateful Dead's studio and live albums during their time with Arista Records. The album was released on two-CD and two cassette tapes on October 15, 1996. It contains tracks from Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street, Go to Heaven, Reckoning, Dead Set, In the Dark, Built to Last, and Without a Net. The set does not contain any new or expanded recordings. A media outlet sampler, Selections from the Arista Years, was released by Arista in January 1997.

The Arista Years
Compilation album by Grateful Dead
Released	October 15, 1996
Recorded	1977–1990
Genre	Rock, jam band, folk rock
Length	152:07
Label	Arista
Producer	Jerry Garcia, Lowell George
Grateful Dead chronology
Dick's Picks Volume 6 (1996) The Arista Years (1996) Selections from the Arista Years (1997)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Track listing

Disc one

1. "Estimated Prophet" (Barlow, Weir)  – 5:37
2. "Passenger" (Lesh, Monk)  – 2:49
3. "Samson and Delilah" (traditional)  – 3:27
4. "Terrapin Station [medley]" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 16:20
   • Tracks 1–4 originally released on the album Terrapin Station.
5. "Good Lovin'" (Resnick, Clark)  – 4:48
6. "Shakedown Street" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 4:59
7. "Fire on the Mountain" (Hart, Hunter)  – 3:46
8. "I Need a Miracle" (Barlow, Weir)  – 3:33
   • Tracks 5–8 originally released on the album Shakedown Street.
9. "Alabama Getaway" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 3:35
10. "Far from Me" (Mydland)  – 3:39
11. "Saint of Circumstance" (Barlow, Weir)  – 5:40
    • Tracks 9-11 originally released on the album Go to Heaven.
12. "Dire Wolf" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 3:21
13. "Cassidy" (Barlow, Weir)  – 4:33
    • Tracks 12–13 originally released on the album Reckoning.
14. "Feel Like a Stranger" (Barlow, Weir)  – 5:47
15. "Franklin's Tower" (Garcia, Hunter, Kreutzmann)  – 5:37
    • Tracks 14–15 originally released on the album Dead Set.

Disc two

16. "Touch of Grey" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 5:48
17. "Hell in a Bucket" (Barlow, Weir)  – 5:36
18. "West L.A. Fadeaway" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 6:37
19. "Throwing Stones" (Barlow, Weir)  – 7:19
20. "Black Muddy River" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 5:57
    • Tracks 16–20 originally released on the album In the Dark.
21. "Foolish Heart" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 5:10
22. "Built to Last" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 5:03
23. "Just a Little Light" (Barlow, Mydland)  – 4:41
24. "Picasso Moon" (Barlow, Bralove, Weir)  – 6:40
25. "Standing on the Moon" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 5:20
    • Tracks 21–25 originally released on the album Built to Last.
26. "Eyes of the World" (Garcia, Hunter)  – 16:25
    • Track 26 originally released on the album Without a Net.

Personnel

Grateful Dead

• Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
• Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
• Keith Godchaux – keyboards, vocals
• Mickey Hart – drums
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums
• Phil Lesh – bass
• Brent Mydland – keyboards, vocals
• Bob Weir – guitar, vocals

Additional performers

• Jordan Amarantha – percussion
• Branford Marsalis – saxophone (soprano, tenor)
• Matthew Kelly – harmonica, harp
• Tom Scott – saxophone, lyricon

Production

• Jerry Garcia, Lowell George – producers
• Bob Bralove – programming, associate producer
• Betty Cantor-Jackson, John Cutler, Dan Healy, Gary Lyons, Keith Olsen – producers, engineers
• Guy Charbonneau, David DeVore, Tom Flye, Justin Kreutzmann, Bob Matthews, Peter Miller, Jeffrey Norman, David Roberts, Jeff Sterling, Pete Thea, Chris Wiskes – engineers
• Amy Finkle, Stanley Mouse, Gilbert Shelton, Jim Welch – art directors
• Joe Gastwirt – remastering, digital remastering
• Rick Griffin – illustrations
• John Kahn – associate producer, horn arrangements
• Cameron Sears – coordination
• Bob Seidemann – photography
• Christopher Stern – design
• Robbie Taylor – production manager

Charts

Album – Billboard

Year	Chart	Position
1996	Billboard 200	95