Postcards of the Hanging

Postcards of the Hanging
Live album by
The Grateful Dead
ReleasedMarch 2002
RecordedJune 10, 1973 – March 24, 1990
GenreRock
Length75:39
(bonus disc 10:14)
LabelGrateful Dead / Arista / Rhino
The Grateful Dead chronology
Dick's Picks Volume 24
(2002) 		Postcards of the Hanging
(2002) 		Dick's Picks Volume 25
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Music Box[2]

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 five tracks, Jerry Garcia on three, and Phil Lesh on one ("Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"); Weir and Garcia also alternate on one ("Maggie's Farm"). Another Dylan covers collection, Garcia Plays Dylan, includes several performances by the Grateful Dead, but mostly by the Jerry Garcia Band and other Garcia side projects. An album of live performances containing Dylan and the Grateful Dead performing together was released in 1989 as "Dylan & the Dead."

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."

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Allmusic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference MusicBox was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference DeadDisc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).