Guitar Hero III may be happy cherry-picking the odd song from its featuredartists, but you think that's good enough for Harmonix's next project, Rock Band? Think again, buster. Back in July, it was announced that the multi-instrumental extravaganza will be the first ever game to offer players full length albums in downloadable form, including The Who's iconic 'Who's Next' and Nirvana's 'Nevermind'.

Now, MTV Games has revealed that bluesy rock group Grateful Dead will bejoining the Who boys and Kurt and co., with eighteen tracks from the Sixties/Seventies/Eighties/Nineties rockers due to be made available for Rock Banders. They're all master recordings as well, as is the trend nowadays, and will include such Dead classics as "Truckin'," "Uncle John's Band," "Touch of Grey," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Casey Jones."

Chuffed? We are. We're not alone, either - Paul DeGooyer, MTV's Senior Vice President of Audio, Home Video and Electronic Games, feels the same:

"Grateful Dead's unique fusion of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, and jazz
challenged traditional musical boundaries and pushed the limits of
creativity to produce a signature sound that is undeniably their own," said he.

"With an enormous legion of fans all over the world, Rock Band will give players a chance to interact with the music of these beloved rock pioneers and experience what Grateful Dead did best - jam from the depths of their souls."