Anthem of the Sun

Anthem of the Sun is the second album by American rock band the Grateful Dead, released on July 16, 1968, by Warner Bros-Seven Arts. The album was assembled through a collage-like editing approach helmed by members Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh, in which disparate studio and live performance tapes were blended together to create new hybrid recordings. The band supplemented their performances with instruments such as prepared piano, kazoo, harpsichord, timpani, trumpet, and güiro. The result was an experimental amalgam that is neither a pure studio album nor a live album. The band was joined by Tom Constanten, who contributed avant-garde instrumental and studio techniques influenced by composers John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. It is the first album to feature second drummer Mickey Hart.