When Bobby started working on ACE at Wally Heider’s Studio in San Francisco in early 1972, he wasn’t planning for the Grateful Dead to be his backing band. It just happened. “I pretty much knew in the back of my mind what would happen,” Weir told Crawdaddy a few months after the sessions. “I go and get the time booked and start putting the material together. Everybody gets wind of the fact I got the time booked and I may be going into the studio. So, one by one, they start coming around…”
It made sense, the band was already familiar with most of the music, having road-tested six of the album’s eight songs, including “Greatest Story Ever Told,” “Mexicali Blues,” and “Playing In The Band,” destined to become one of Weir’s signature tunes. ACE also marked the beginning of Weir’s long-running collaboration with lyricist John Perry Barlow and includes early standouts “Cassidy” and “Looks Like Rain.”
- Bob Weir – lead vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, production
- Jerry Garcia – lead guitar, production; pedal steel guitar on "Looks Like Rain", backup vocals on "Greatest Story Ever Told"
- Keith Godchaux – piano, organ, production
- Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion, production
- Phil Lesh – bass guitar, production; backup vocals on "Mexicali Blues"
with
- Ed Bogas – string arrangement on "Looks Like Rain"
- Snooky Flowers, Luis Gasca and The Space Rangers – horns on "Black-Throated Wind", "Mexicali Blues" and "One More Saturday Night"
- Donna Jean Godchaux – production; backup vocals on "Greatest Story Ever Told", "Walk in the Sunshine", "Playing in the Band" and "Cassidy"
- Dave Torbert – bass guitar on "Greatest Story Ever Told"
Disc 1: Ace (2022 Remaster)
01. Greatest Story Ever Told (3:52)
02. Black-Throated Wind (5:47)
03. Walk in the Sunshine (3:08)
04. Playing in the Band (7:43)
05. Looks Like Rain (6:17)
06. Mexicali Blues (3:29)
07. One More Saturday Night (4:41)
08. Cassidy (3:47)
Disc 2: Live at Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY 4/3/22
01. Greatest Story Ever Told (feat. Tyler Childers) (5:45)
02. Black-Throated Wind (8:02)
03. Walk in the Sunshine (feat. Brittney Spencer) (4:57)
04. Playing in the Band (8:33)
05. Looks Like Rain (feat. Brittney Spencer) (11:01)
06. Mexicali Blues Intro (1:13)
07. Mexicali Blues (6:56)
08. One More Saturday Night (5:19)
09. Cassidy (11:19)
