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Postcards of the Hanging is a compilation album by the Grateful Dead. It consists entirely of Bob Dylan covers, performed live in concert, along with a rehearsal performance of "Man of Peace" featuring the Grateful Dead backing Dylan himself.^[3] Bob Weir sings lead on six tracks, Jerry Garcia on two, and Brent Mydland on two. Another Dylan covers collection, Garcia Plays Dylan, includes performances by the Grateful Dead, but mostly by the Jerry Garcia Band and other Garcia side projects.

The title comes from the opening stanza of Dylan's "Desolation Row": "They're selling postcards of the hanging/ They're painting the passports brown."

Content

Seven of the songs on the album originally appeared on the Dylan albums Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited; the remaining three represent Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, and the Leon Russell session that produced "Watching the River Flow" for the Greatest Hits II double-LP. Aside from being from among his most critically revered rock albums, the seven songs date from 1965, the year the long strange trip of the Grateful Dead began. The songs remained in the Dead's live rotation throughout their existence.

Conspicuously absent from the compilation is "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", a song the Dead performed more than 170 times. Conversely, "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" was performed a few times in the early 1990s, and only once in the 1970s – in the version included here, the Dead are accompanied by Dickey Betts and Butch Trucks, of the Allman Brothers Band. Dylan himself leads the band on the final track of the main disc, a rehearsal for the 1987 tour for which the Dead were his backing band.^[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Bob Dylan

1. "When I Paint My Masterpiece" – 6:11
2. "She Belongs to Me" – 7:20
3. "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" – 4:29
4. "Maggie's Farm" – 6:13
5. "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" – 8:07
6. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" – 7:35
7. "Ballad of a Thin Man" – 6:40
8. "Desolation Row" – 9:55
9. "All Along the Watchtower" 5:44
10. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" – 7:23
11. "Man of Peace" – 5:51

Bonus disc

The first release included a limited edition, 2-track bonus CD.

1. "Queen Jane Approximately" – 6:12
2. "Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn)" – 4:02

Recording dates

• "When I Paint My Masterpiece" – October 11, 1989 at Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey
• "She Belongs To Me" – September 15, 1985 at Devore Field, Southwestern University in Chula Vista, California
• "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" – July 12, 1989 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
• "Maggie's Farm" – October 3, 1987 at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California (more songs from this concert on View from the Vault, Volume Three)
• "Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again" – July 16, 1988 at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California
• "It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry" – June 10, 1973 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
• "Ballad of a Thin Man" – April 1, 1988 at Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey (complete concert later released on Road Trips Volume 4 Number 2)
• "Desolation Row" – March 24, 1990 at Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York (more songs from this concert on Without a Net, Dozin' at the Knick and Spring 1990)
• "All Along The Watchtower" – July 4, 1989 at Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, New York (remixed and later released on Truckin' Up to Buffalo)
• "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" – December 3, 1981 at Dane County Coliseum in Madison, Wisconsin
• "Man of Peace" – June 9, 1987 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael, California (Dylan & the Dead summer tour Rehearsal)
• "Queen Jane Approximately" – December 29, 1988 at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California
• "Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn)" – December 30, 1985 at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California

Personnel

• Jerry Garcia – lead guitar, vocals
• Bob Weir – rhythm guitar, vocals
• Phil Lesh – bass guitar, vocals
• Brent Mydland – keyboards, organ, vocals (except track 6)
• Mickey Hart – drums
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums
• Keith Godchaux – piano (track 6)

Additional personnel

• Dickey Betts – guitar (track 6)
• Bob Dylan – acoustic guitar, vocals (track 11)
• Butch Trucks – drums (track 6)

Production

• John Cutler – engineer
• Bill Candelario – engineer
• Jeffrey Norman – mix
• David Gans – compilation producer
• David Lemieux – tape archivist
• Joe Gastwirt – mastering
• Geoff Gans – art direction
• Emily Burnham – illustration and design
• Cassidy Law – album coordination
• Ken Friedman – photography

Charts

Notes