Bobby Weir was born 79 years ago today. In commemoration of the occasion, Rhino has shared a previously unreleased studio recording from the sessions that yielded Weir’s 2016 album, Blue Mountain. “The Ground Don’t Want Me” features lyrics by Josh Ritter and music by Weir, Ritter and Josh Kaufman.
In addition to Weir who sings and plays both acoustic and electric guitar on the track, “The Ground Don’t Want Me” also features John Mayer (acoustic lead guitar), Jay Lane (drums, percussion), Josh Kaufman (electric guitar, mandolin, harmonica, Hammond organ), Robin Sylvester (bass, backing vocals), Leslie Mendelson (backing vocals) and Annie Nero (backing vocals).
Mayer’s participation is notable, as while he began performing with Weir in Dead & Company during the fall of 2015, he did not officially appear on the 2016 version of Blue Mountain.
The newly released “The Ground Don’t Want Me” can be heard here. Ritter’s interpretation of the song later surfaced as the lead track of his 2019 album Fever Breaks.
Blue Mountain: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition will be released on November 20. It will offer additional unreleased studio recordings along with some live tracks from Weir’s fall 2016 Campfire Tour.
A new 180-gram 2LP vinyl reissue of the original Blue Mountain is also available today exclusively at dead.net.
