Blues for Allah

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Blues for Allah
Studio album by The Grateful Dead
Released September 1, 1975
Recorded February 27 – May 7, 1975
Genre Jam rock
Acid rock
Jazz rock
Psychedelic blues/Blues rock
Psychedelic folk/Folk rock
Length 44:13
Label Grateful Dead, United Artists[1]
Producer Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead chronology
From the Mars Hotel
(1974)		 Blues for Allah
(1975)		 Steal Your Face
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4.5/5 stars.... [2]
The Daily Vault (B-) [3]
Robert Christgau (C-) [4]
Rolling Stone (mixed) [5]
Sputnikmusic 4.5/5 stars.... [6]

Blues for Allah is the eighth studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded between February 27 and May 7, 1975 and originally released on September 1, 1975. It was the third release under the band's own label, Grateful Dead Records, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros. Records.

It was the first album with Mickey Hart in over four years, and the band's first album since their short hiatus from touring in 1974. Possibly because of late arrival, Mickey Hart's picture does not appear on the back cover.

The album's title track was only performed a handful of times in 1975 and never played again after that, while several other tracks on the album were performed regularly for the rest of the Dead's career.

The album was released for the first time on CD in 1995 by Arista before being remastered, expanded, and released as part of the Beyond Description (1973-1989) 12-CD box set in October 2004. The remastered version was later released separately on CD on March 7, 2006 by Rhino Records.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Original release

[edit] Side one

  1. "Help on the Way" (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter) – 3:15
"Slipknot!" (Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir) – 4:03
  1. "Franklin's Tower" (Garcia, Kreutzmann, Hunter) – 6:37
  2. "King Solomon's Marbles" (Lesh) – 1:55
"Stronger Than Dirt or Milkin' the Turkey" (Mickey Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh) – 5:15
  1. "The Music Never Stopped" (Weir, John Perry Barlow) – 4:35

[edit] Side two

  1. "Crazy Fingers" (Garcia, Hunter) – 6:41
  2. "Sage & Spirit" (Weir) – 3:07
  3. "Blues for Allah" (Hunter, Garcia) – 3:21
"Sand Castles and Glass Camels" (Garcia, Donna Godchaux, K. Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, Weir) – 5:26
"Unusual Occurrences in the Desert" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:48

[edit] 2004 reissue bonus tracks

  1. "Groove #1" (Garcia, K. Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, Weir) – 5:45
  2. "Groove #2" (Garcia, K. Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, Weir) – 7:35
  3. "Distorto" (Garcia) – 8:14
  4. "A to E Flat Jam" (Garcia, K. Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, Weir) – 4:39
  5. "Proto 18 Proper" (Garcia, K. Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, Weir) – 4:18
  6. "Hollywood Cantata" (Weir, Hunter) – 4:14

[edit] Personnel

Grateful Dead:

Additional performers:

Production:

  • Philip Garris - Cover, illustrations
  • Joe Gastwirt - remastering
  • Dan Healy - engineer, mixing
  • Robert Taylor - assistant engineer

[edit] Bonus tracks production details

  • "Groove #1" - instrumental studio outtake on February 27, 1975
  • "Groove #2" - instrumental studio outtake on February 27, 1975
  • "Distorto" - instrumental studio outtake on February 28, 1975
  • "A To E Flat Jam" - instrumental studio outtake on February 27, 1975
  • "Proto 18 Proper" - instrumental studio outtake on February 27, 1975
  • "Hollywood Cantata" - studio outtake on May 7, 1975

[edit] Reissue production credits

  • David Lemieux, James Austin - reissue producers
  • Reggie Collins - annotation
  • David Fricke - liner notes
  • Sheryl Farber - editorial supervision
  • Rob Zi Taylor - assistant engineer
  • Cameron Sears - executive producer
  • Jimmy Edwards, Robin Hurley, Hale Milfgrim, Scott Pascucci - associate producer
  • Joe Gastwirt - mastering, production consultant
  • Eileen Law - research
  • Ed Perlstein, Richard McCaffrey - photography
  • Hugh Brown, Steve Vance - design, reissue art directors
  • Vanessa Atkins, Steven Brown, Betty Cantor, Steven Chean, Brett Cohen, Bill Inglot, Bob Matthews, Jeffrey Norman, Randy Perry - project assistants

[edit] Charts

Album - Billboard

Year Chart Position
1975 Pop Albums 12

Singles - Billboard

Year Single Chart Position
1975 "The Music Never Stopped" Pop Singles 81

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Grateful Dead Records (1973–1976)", The Grateful Dead Family Discography
  2. ^ Planer, Lindsay. Blues for Allah at Allmusic
  3. ^ Thelen, Christopher (November 17, 1999). Blues for Allah, The Daily Vault
  4. ^ Grateful Dead album ratings at RobertChristgau.com
  5. ^ Altman, Billy (October 9, 1975) Blues for Allah, Rolling Stone
  6. ^ Blues for Allah at Sputnikmusic
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blues_for_Allah&oldid=473767448"
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