Grateful Dead - Blues for Allah (2LP, Ultra Analog, Half-speed Mastering, 45 RPM)
ORDER LIMITED TO ONE ITEM PER CUSTOMER
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Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
Keith Godchaux – keyboards, vocals
Mickey Hart – percussion, crickets
Bill Kreutzmann – drums, percussion
Phil Lesh – bass guitar
Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
Steven Schuster – flute, reeds
Ned Lagin - keyboards
2 LPs, gatefold jacket
Limited to 4,000 numbered copies
Original analog Master tape : YES
Half-speed Mastering
GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ LP
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 45RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : RTI
Label : MOFI
Original Label : Grateful Dead Records
Recorded February 27 - May 7, 1975 at Ace's, Mill Valley, California
Engineered & mixed by Dan Healy
Produced by The Grateful Dead
Remastered by Rob LoVerde
Originally released in 1975
Reissued in 2019
Tracks:
Side A:
- Help on the Way
- Slipknot!
- Franklin's Tower
Side B:
- King Solomon's Marbles - Part I: Stronger Than Dirt
- King Solomon's Marbles - Part II: Milkin' the Turkey
- The Music Never Stopped
Side C:
- Crazy Fingers
- Sage & Spirit
Side D:
- Blues for Allah - Sand Castles & Glass Camels
- Blues for Allah - Unusual Occurrences in the Desert
Reviews :
"The Grateful Dead went into a state of latent activity in the fall of 1974 that lasted until the spring of the following year when the band reconvened at guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir's Ace Studios to record Blues for Allah. The disc was likewise the third to be issued on their own Grateful Dead Records label. When the LP hit shelves in September of 1975, the Dead were still not back on the road -- although they had played a few gigs throughout San Francisco. Obviously, the time off had done the band worlds of good, as Blues for Allah -- more than any past or future studio album -- captures the Dead at their most natural and inspired. The opening combo of "Help on the Way," "Slipknot!," and "Franklin's Tower" is a multifaceted suite, owing as much to Miles Davis circa the E.S.P. album as to anything the Grateful Dead had been associated with. "Slipknot!" contains chord changes, progressions, and time signatures which become musical riddles for the band to solve -- which they do in the form of "Franklin's Tower." Another highly evolved piece is the rarely performed "King Solomon's Marbles," an instrumental that spotlights, among other things, Keith Godchaux's tastefully unrestrained Fender Rhodes finger work displaying more than just a tinge of Herbie Hancock inspiration. These more aggressive works contrast the delicate musical and lyrical haiku on "Crazy Fingers" containing some of lyricist Robert Hunter's finest and most beautifully arranged verbal images for the band. Weir's guitar solo in "Sage & Spirit" is based on one of his warm-up fingering exercises. Without a doubt, this is one of Weir's finest moments. The light acoustic melody is tinged with an equally beautiful arrangement. While there is definite merit in Blues for Allah's title suite, the subdued chant-like vocals and meandering melody seems incongruous when compared to the remainder of this thoroughly solid effort." AllMusic Review by Lindsay Planer
Ultra Analog™ : The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ Series stems from the use of the Gain 2 system, mastered at half speed from the original master tapes where possible, capturing and uncovering as before undiscovered sonic information.
Half-speed mastering. In half-speed mastering, the whole process is slowed down to half of the original speed. A typical 33 1/3 rpm record is cut at 16 2/3 rpm. The source material is also slowed down (reducing the pitch in the process) meaning the final record will still sound normal when played back. Slowing the whole process down allows more time, which means the end result sounds better and is more efficient — allowing engineering to minimize the effects of inherent limitations within the vinyl format. The result is a more accurate and more open high-frequency response in the half speed vinyl when compared with a normal speed recording.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 4,5 / 5 , Discogs : 4,25 / 5