New To The Archive: Grateful Dead ‘Terrapin Station’ Demos

One of the Grateful Dead’s most memorable studio recordings was the impressively expansive presentation of “Terrapin Station.” An extensive batch of demos of the 1977 LP’s title track has been posted to the Live Music Archive featuring two of the members of the Dead working on portions of the complex suite.

The final “Terrapin Station” recording took up the entire B-side of the album produced by Keith Olsen. The seven-composition suite is broken out on the record as “Lady With A Fan,” “Terrapin Station,” “Terrapin,” “Terrapin Transit,” “At A Siding,” “Terrapin Flyer” and “Refrain.” Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and guitarist Jerry Garcia were responsible for writing most of the parts of the song but drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann also helped compose portions of the track. Additionally, Hunter penned additional elements of the “Terrapin Station” suite which were never recorded or played live.

In 1976, late Bay Area musician Jim McPherson joined Mickey, Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh at Hart’s The Barn studio in Novato, California to work on the non-Hunter/Garcia aspects of “Terrapin Station.” Split into six different tracks, the demos find the three musicians performing various takes on “Terrapin Transit,” “At A Siding” and “Terrapin Flyer.” Of particular note is the inclusion on a couple of the tracks of McPherson singing otherwise unknown lyrics. Listen to the demos here:

Tracklist

1. Flyer Jam 1
2. Flyer Jam 2
3. Transit And Siding (lyrics)
4. Transit And Siding (instrumental)
5. Flyer (instrumental with piano)
6. Flyer Sliding Refrain

[Hat Tip – Jesse Jarnow]