“Workingman’s Dead,” 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

The original jam band, the Grateful Dead released its two finest studio albums in 1970. “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty” are both getting the 50th anniversary deluxe edition treatment this year. Both are classics. And both capture the Dead in peak form in a recording studio, despite the fact that this iconic San Francisco group typically soared onstage, with the freedom to improvise at length, not in studios.

Wonderfully rootsy and predominantly acoustic, “Workingman’s Dead” has been expanded to a three-cd box set. It offers a lovingly remastered version of the original album, which features such Dead classics as “Casey Jones” and “Uncle John’s Band.” Also included is a recording of the Dead’s epic Feb. 21, 1971, concert at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y. Clocking in at nearly 2½ hours, this two-dozen-song live set features numbers from both “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty.” There’s also an inspired assortment of earlier songs, including a 17-minute version of The Rascals’ “Good Lovin’ ” that boasts a nearly five-minute drum solo by Bill Kreutzmann.

Warner Bros./grateful Dead Production/rhino; three CDS; $28.49