Jerry Garcia Band‘s classic album Cats Under The Stars is a beloved part of Jerry Garcia’s discography, containing Garcia/Robert Hunter masterpieces like “Rubin and Cherise,” “Cats Under The Stars,” and “Gomorrah”. This year also happens to coincide with both the 40th anniversary of the album’s creation in addition to Jerry Garcia’s 75th birthday year. As a special treat to commemorate these landmark anniversaries, the seminal album from the Grateful Dead guitarist is being reissued on vinyl via Round Records, and the re-issue drops today.
For the 40th anniversary edition of Cats Under The Stars (featuring remastered audio by Fred Kevorkian at Kevorkian Mastering), Round Records is offering two different vinyl pressings—a limited-edition pressing of 5,000 marbled gold 180gram vinyl with individually numbered foil-stamped packaging and a more standard 180gram black vinyl version—both of which have been pressed by Quality Record Pressings in Salina, Kansas from lacquers cut by Ron McMaster at Capitol Studios.
Cats Under The Stars was first recorded and mixed in 1977 at the Grateful Dead’s Club Front, marking Jerry’s fourth solo studio record and the only studio album technically attributed to Jerry Garcia Band. Featuring John Kahn, Ron Tutt, Keith and Donna Godchaux, as well as contributions from Merl Saunders, Maria Muldaur, and more, the album has become iconic, partially in part because of its beloved Egyptian-inspired cover art by Stanley Mouse, which was inspired by the Grateful Dead’s historic shows at the Great Pyramids of Giza.
Garcia went on record as saying that Cats Under The Stars was his favorite studio project, noting in the late 80s that “The record I worked hardest at and liked best was Cats Under The Stars. That was kind of like my baby.” In the 90s, Garcia elaborated on what made the album so special, stating, “[Cats Under The Stars] had everything – chops, production, songs.”
You can pick up the 40th-anniversary re-issue of Jerry Garcia Band’s Cats Under The Stars on the Garcia Family Provisions website here.
