It was recorded on September 16, 1990, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City during the first tour with new keyboardists Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby.

Another Grateful Dead album recorded during the same run of concerts at Madison Square Garden is Road Trips Volume 2 Number 1.

Included with the release is a single sheet of paper folded in half, yielding a four-page enclosure.

The front duplicates the cover of the CD and the back contains an oval-shaped, purple-tinted, monochrome photograph of the band on stage against a background of clouds that merges seamlessly with the clouds on the cover.

The two pages inside contain a wide black-and-white photograph of the entire band on stage along with lists of the contents of and credits for the release.