#165
by Jon Rosenberg
The Grateful Dead
Go to Heaven
Genre: Damn hippie music
Allen’s Rating: 1.5 out of 5
Jon’s Rating: 4 for Deadheads/3 for non-Deadheads
Allen’s Highlights:
Alabama Getaway
Jon’s Highlights:
Alabama Getaway
Feel Like a Stranger
Lost Sailor
Saint of Circumstance
Oy, that album cover! But, wait, I’m getting ahead of myself here.
Full disclosure: I am a Deadhead. I got “on the bus” in 1987 and am still enjoying the ride. And even though I only got to see the band live with Jerry Garcia a handful of times, I’ve listened to hundreds of shows on cassettes, CDs, etc. But lest you think that my 30+ years of “Deadication” will bias my review in any way, I must inform you that we Deadheads are known to be quite the prickly lot when it comes to the band we love, and can be more than a little hyper-critical – especially regarding their studio albums. In case you don’t know, the Dead’s reputation was forged mainly through their live shows where the songs were stretched out with long, improvisational, psychedelic jams. Still reading?
So the Dead’s studio albums have always been problematic. The songs are tight and concise and totally lacking in the energy and excitement of live versions. But that doesn’t mean they’re bad or unlistenable. The Dead have produced some fantastic studio albums. “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty” are masterpieces by any standard. Those both came out in 1970. Their 11th album, “Go to Heaven,” came out exactly one decade later. It was the first to feature new keyboard player Brent Mydland – their third full-time keyboard player in 15 years (and you thought being the drummer in Spinal Tap was a risky gig!)
I was never a big Brent fan. I always found his voice grating and the two songs he contributed to this album would fit better on a Doobie Brothers record. But in a live context, the dude could jam, adding some nice colors to the extended workouts – and, hey, Jerry liked him so who am I to argue? Unfortunately, this is the 80’s and soon Brent was playing less of that sweet, sweet Hammond B3 organ and more cheesy synthesizers. Fortunately, there aren’t a lot of synths on “Go to Heaven.”
“Alabama Getaway,” one of only two Jerry Garcia/ Robert Hunter compositions here, is a fun, bouncy opener that was always great live. The other, “Althea,” was never one of my faves, but apparently John Mayer loves it! “Feel Like a Stranger,” by Bob Weir and his lyricist buddy John Perry Barlow, is a bit synth-y, but it works, giving the song an appropriately spacey vibe. For me, the centerpiece of the album is the Weir/Barlow mini-suite of Lost Sailor segued into Saint of Circumstance. With great lyrics and sparse, atmospheric playing, it really takes you on a journey.
This isn’t a great album. Nor is it terrible. I think it probably sounds a lot better now than it did to Deadheads in 1980, many of whom probably didn’t even buy it because of the cover depicting the band in white disco suits! Oy, that cover! What were they thinking?
https://open.spotify.com/album/6x3mttp1a5pLHj8rDDSEbT?si=UglehOb0QiGY3mT1VK5ACw
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