Review: A Non-Dead Head Dives Into The Grateful Dead’s ‘Blues For Allah – 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)’ – A Complex Gem

Around a week and a half ago, the Grateful Dead released Blues For Allah – 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. I’m on record as saying I’m not a Dead Head, although I’ve had friends and known people who were into the Dead since high school. Since I don’t have that Dead Head background I like to take my time on these Deluxe Editions to really dig in. That’s what delayed my posting on this… well that and a small, fun detour into the mind floss that was Foreigner’s 4. And while a guy I used to know once told me when I’d inquired about the Dead’s studio stuff, “The live stuff is the point, man,” I still dig the studio stuff even though I’m really just discovering a lot of it. These Deluxe Editions are an excellent avenue for the casual Dead fan to expand their interest/listening.

My Dead studio album knowledge sort of peaked with their 1970 Americana LPs (Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty). But last year I discovered Mars Hotel: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, and now it’s one of my favorite Dead albums. Of course I’d been a fan of tracks like “Ship Of Fools” and “U.S. Blues” since high school. I can only ask for patience from all of the real hard core Dead fans out there – if I get any of my facts wrong, please let me know in the comments section. I want to learn more about this iconic band. And I’ll admit, I’m a little out of my comfort zone. I typically have a rich history with the music I post about… so bear with me. 

Blues For Allah was originally released in 1975. I didn’t really “come of age” or start listening to music until ’78 or ’79 so I missed out on the original release. Oddly enough though, I seem to remember this album – and again this is through the prism of a guy in middle school, listening to older dudes who don’t always know what they’re talking about – got kind of a mixed reaction from Dead Heads. I remember hearing there were too many instrumentals, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, it’s the Dead. And if I may digress for a moment, is there a more iconic album cover than the skeleton playing violin, wearing a thwab and sitting in the window of what looks like an ancient palace? 

The Dead went on a hiatus from performing live in late 1974, shortly after the release of the aforementioned Mars Hotel. I should probably mention that this was smack in the middle of the Keith (keyboards) and Donna Jean (vocals) Godchaux era. They reconvened to record a new album at the dawn of 1975. Their usual mode of writing songs on the road, during soundchecks and jams on stage, was obviously not an option. They convened at Bob Weir’s home studio and organically started putting the songs together. Clearly they were rejuvenated by the break. One of the complaints I always hear about the Dead – that I’ve heard about other bands like the Allman Brothers or Peter Frampton – was that they never captured in the studio the sound they were able to generate live on stage. For some bands, their live album is the one that finally broke them to a wide audience. I think of all the Dead I’ve heard, this album comes the closest to capturing that on stage vibe. To me, this album has the feel of a live album and we love live albums around here… whether double live or single live.  

I’ll admit, right up front the only track on this album I was familiar with going in was “Franklin’s Tower.” Whenever I hear that song I spend the rest of the day singing, “Roll away the dew…” over and over. I actually put that song on my Playlist: Songs From 1975. I used to say of the Allman Brothers, they were a blues band who played with a jazz ethos with all the improvisation that implies. This album from the Dead also gives me real jazz vibes as well… perhaps it’s the odd chord structures or the flute that shows up later in the record but these guys play their ass off here. The opening songs blow me away. “Help On The Way” is a track that made me think, “Where have you been all my life?” Love the guitar work here. That leads into “Slipknot!” (which on this version of the album is not listed, but it’s the second instrumental piece of “Help On The Way”). “Help On The Way/Slipknot!” might now rank amongst my favorite Dead songs. All that leads into the phenomenal “Franklin’s Tower.” I was blown away by that start for this record. 

“The Music Never Stopped” is up next. My only issue with this track, sung predominantly by Weir, is that it has a preponderance of Donna Jean Godchaux on lead vocals. I love female vocalists but she always sounds like a backup singer who pushed the lead singer off the stage and seized the mic by force. She’s actually relatively restrained on this song, from what I’ve heard of her prior. Despite all that, this is just a great track. “Crazy Fingers” features Jerry Garcia on lead vocals and like “The Music Never Stopped” it’s another great song I was not familiar with. If these tracks made it to the radio, I never heard them? “Sage And Spirit” features the aforementioned flute but it’s a delicate and beautiful instrumental. The only track that leaves me a little cold here, and I hate to admit it, is the 12 minute title suite, “Blues For Allah.” It starts with a chanting vocal typically reserved for those Monks that record albums. I did not like it, “Sam I am.” I felt like this track wanted to take me somewhere but just never arrived. 

In terms of the bonus material – and I’m guessing all of this has been out in the possession of their fans for years – are culled from a few different sets. Even though they were on hiatus, they did play a couple of concerts in order to flesh out the new stuff. One was on 8/12/75 at the Great American Music Hall in their native San Francisco. The first nine tracks on disc 2 are from the soundcheck/rehearsal and I actually love those tracks, perhaps my favorite of the bonus stuff. No audience let in yet, just the band playing tunes, getting them right. After those tracks, the balance of the disc 2 material is from Kezar Stadium, again in SF, from 2/23/75 and features an intro from legendary promoter Bill Graham… he intro’s them as “the Grateful Dead and their friends.” I actually like the live version of “Blues For Allah” better than the studio version. 

The third and final disc from the new box is another live recording, this one from the Tower Theater in Philly from 6/21/76 after the touring hiatus was over. And while most of this stuff has probably been bootlegged it was new to me. The first half of the disc are great performances from this album and they wrap up with “Comes A Time,” a slow roller of a track that I really liked. Next up is a spirited version of “Eyes Of The World” where they absolutely jam for the first six minutes of the 12 minute track. They end with a wonderful 12 minute plus version of “Dancing In The Streets.” Everybody from Martha and the Vandellas to Van Halen to Mick Jagger/David Bowie have done this old Motown chestnut but I’ve always loved this song in the hands of the Dead. I used to hear versions of this at parties in college…but I was drinking pretty heavily back then (on weekends). Although admittedly this version has a lot of Donna Jean’s caterwauling. 

Again, I’m no Dead expert but I came away from this set feeling a lot of love for Blues For Allah. These guys were on a hiatus and put together some really intricate, complex tracks but it all just fits together. While I’m sure none of this bonus material is new to the diehards, it’s a fabulous, easily consumable package for the more casual fan. I saw the Dead in the early 90s with Bruce Hornsby on keyboards and years later I went over to a stock broker’s place for dinner and he played me the recording of the concert I had just seen. I love that about the Grateful Dead fans. This Deluxe Edition has added yet another album to my arsenal of “go to” Dead studio albums. Maybe after all this time I can declare myself a Dead Head? Maybe an honorary one? I hope these Dead Deluxe Editions keep coming! 

Cheers!