Rhino is launching a new career-spanning archival series honoring Robert Hunter's work as a solo artist with a deluxe reissue of his 1974 debut, Tales of the Great Rum Runners. While Hunter is widely revered as the primary lyricist for the Grateful Dead, this series will explore the depth of his solo work, offering a renewed appreciation for his exceptional artistry.

This Deluxe Edition introduces a freshly remastered version of the original album alongside 16 previously unreleased recordings, including alternate versions of album tracks and several session outtakes. All the music has been remastered from the original master tapes by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer David Glasser using Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction.

Originally released in spring 1974, Tales Of The Great Rum Runners marked the inaugural release on Round Records, an offshoot of the newly formed Grateful Dead Records. Among its 13 tracks were several destined to become staples of Hunter's live repertoire, like “Boys In The Barroom,” “Rum Runners,” and “It Must Have Been The Roses.”

Recorded at Mickey Hart's converted barn studio in Novato, California, the album reveals Hunter's multifaceted talents and features him singing and playing various instruments, including guitar, tin whistle, and bagpipes on “Children's Lament.” He was accompanied by a revolving cast of Bay Area musicians on the album, including Jerry Garcia, Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux, and Mickey Hart of the Dead, as well as guitarist Barry Melton (Country Joe & The Fish), bassist David Freiberg (Quicksilver Messenger Service/Jefferson Starship), and pedal steel guitarist Buddy Cage (New Riders Of The Purple Sage).

Tales Of The Great Rum Runners (Deluxe Edition) comes with 16 previously unreleased bonus tracks, offering new insight into the album's evolution. Among these are alternate versions of six songs that made the album (“Keys To The Rain” and “It Must Have Been The Roses”), plus ten gems that did not (“The Word,” “Buck Dancer's Choice,” and “Elijah.”)

In the collection's liner notes, Jesse Jarnow (author, DJ, and co-host of the “Good Ol' Grateful Deadcast”) deftly captures the essence of the album: “The music was as warm and handmade as the tapestries and tie-dyes adorning the Barn studio walls, an idiosyncratic continuation of the cosmic folk vocabulary that Hunter and Dead explored on Workingman's Dead and American Beauty. In an era when the Dead's own studio albums were growing slicker, Rum Runners doubled down on organic earthiness.”


Disc One: Original Album (2024 Remaster)

1. “Lady Simplicity”

2. “That Train”

3. “Dry Dusty Road”

4. “I Heard You Singing”

5. “Rum Runners”

6. “Children's Lament”

7. “Maybe She's A Bluebird”

8. “Boys In The Barroom”

9. “It Must Have Been The Roses”

10. “Arizona Lightning”

11. “Standing At Your Door”

12. “Mad”

13. “Keys To The Rain”



Disc Two: Bonus Tracks (2024 Remaster)

1. “Boys In The Barroom” – Alternate Version *

2. “Elijah” *

3. “The Word” *

4. “Rum Runners” – Alternate Version *

5. “It Must Have Been The Roses” – Alternate Version *

6. “Road Hog” *

7. “Green Briar Song” *

8. “Reelin' And A-Pitchin'” *

9. “Briney Deep” *

10. “Children's Lament” – Alternate Version *

11. “Lady Simplicity” – Alternate Version *

12. “Southern Fried Shuffle” *

13. “West Virginia Steel Guitar” *

14. “Buck Dancer's Choice” *

15. “Boats” *

16. “Keys To The Rain” – Alternate Version *