Blues for Allah

Blues for Allah
A painting of a skeleton with long white hair wearing a red robe and sunglasses, playing a violin
Studio album by Grateful Dead
Released September 1, 1975
Recorded February 27 – May 7, 1975
Genre Progressive Rock, Acid rock, jam rock, jazz rock, psychedelic blues, blues rock, psychedelic folk, folk rock
Length 44:13
Label Grateful Dead, United Artists[1]
Producer Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead chronology

From the Mars Hotel
(1974)		 Blues for Allah
(1975)		 Steal Your Face
(1976)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [2]
Robert Christgau C−[3]
Rolling Stone (mixed) [4]
Sputnikmusic [5]

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,[6] while several other tracks on the album were performed regularly for the rest of the Dead's career, such as Franklin's Tower, Crazy Fingers, and The Music Never Stopped.

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.

Origin

Robert Hunter (lyricist) wrote[7] that the title track for the album is a eulogy to Saudi Arabia's King Faisal. Hunter claims that King Faisal was a fan of the Grateful Dead. King Faisal was assassinated by his nephew Faisal bin Musaid in the year the album was released.

Track listing

Side one
  1. "Help on the Way" (Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter) – 3:15
"Slipknot!" (Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bob Weir) – 4:03
  1. "Franklin's Tower" (Garcia, Hunter, and Kreutzmann) – 4:37
  2. "King Solomon's Marbles:"
"Part 1: Stronger Than Dirt" (Lesh) – 1:55
"Part 2: Milkin' the Turkey" (Mickey Hart, Kreutzmann, and Lesh) – 3:25
  1. "The Music Never Stopped" (John Perry Barlow and Weir) – 4:35
Side two
  1. "Crazy Fingers" (Garcia and Hunter) – 6:41
  2. "Sage & Spirit" (instrumental) (Weir) – 3:07
  3. "Blues for Allah" (Garcia and Hunter) – 3:21
"Sand Castles and Glass Camels" (Garcia, Donna Godchaux, Keith Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, and Weir) – 5:26
"Unusual Occurrences in the Desert" (Garcia and Hunter) – 3:48
2004 reissue bonus tracks
  1. "Groove #1" (Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, and Weir) – 5:45
  2. "Groove #2" (Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, and Weir) – 7:35
  3. "Distorto" (Garcia) – 8:14
  4. "A to E Flat Jam" (Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, and Weir) – 4:39
  5. "Proto 18 Proper" (Garcia, Keith Godchaux, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, and Weir) – 4:18
  6. "Hollywood Cantata" (Hunter and Weir) – 4:14

Personnel

Grateful Dead
Additional musicians
Technical personnel
Reissue personnel

Charts

Billboard

Year Chart Position
1975 Pop Albums 12

Singles – Billboard

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

References

  1. ↑ "Grateful Dead Records (1973–1976)", The Grateful Dead Family Discography
  2. ↑ Planer, Lindsay. Blues for Allah at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Grateful Dead album ratings at RobertChristgau.com
  4. ↑ Altman, Billy (October 9, 1975) Blues for Allah, Rolling Stone
  5. ↑ Blues for Allah at Sputnikmusic
  6. ↑ "The Annotated "Blues For Allah"".
  7. ↑ Hunter, Robert (1993). Box Of Rain. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140134513.

External links