Harmonix and MTV Games announced that classic songs such as “Truckin’,” “Uncle John’s Band,” “Touch of Grey,” “Sugar Magnolia,” and “Casey Jones” will be featured in the game. And all of the 18 songs offered up will be the master recordings, too (and yes, it makes a difference). Of course, the songs will be available as digitally distributed game levels after the game is released this fall, which means you won’t be able to cue up Dead songs right away. Bummer, man.

Still, Rock Band has an impressive collection of material so far, from Radiohead (“Creep”) and the Ramones (“Blitzkrieg Bop”) to The Pixies (“Wave of Mutiliation”) and The Clash (“Should I Stay Or Should I Go”). And the downloadable content is even better: the full albums from the Who (“Who’s Next”) and Nirvana (“Nevermind”) are already on tap. But Harmonix may have hit the mother lode with the Dead, the original “jam band.”

“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 Paul DeGooyer, MTV's Senior Vice President of Audio, Home Video and Electronic Games, in a press statement. “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.”

Rock Band takes Harmonix’s Guitar Hero formula and expands it by adding drums, bass and vocals to the mix. A drum kit and bass guitar controller will be featured along with the Guitar Hero-style guitar controller. Thus, Rock Band will be more of a collaborative effort, which seems perfectly suited for the Grateful Dead and its rich, multilayered sound and improvisational style.

“Grateful Dead, with their 30 year career and their timeless music, are the perfect addition to Rock Band,” said Mark Pinkus, Rhino’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing, Custom Product & Sync Licensing, in a press statement. “It’s going to be a blast playing along to songs ranging from the Dead’s earliest hit ‘Truckin’’ to their final hit ‘Touch of Grey.’ I’m confident that Rock Band will be instrumental in introducing kids to the magical music of Grateful Dead.”

Rock Band is slated for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this fall. The game doesn’t have an official release date as of yet.