Go To Heaven (1980) (E.P./Remastered)

Product Summary Label: RHINO / WEA UPC: 00081227328122 Release Date: 4/11/2006 Buy.com Sku: 202415204 Item#: M2VGNY Format:  CD Song Listing Disc 1 Song Title Sample 1. Alabama Getaway ~ Grateful Dead 2. Far From Me ~ Grateful Dead 3. Althea ~ Grateful Dead 4. Feel Like A Stranger ~ Grateful Dead 5. Lost Sailor ~ Grateful Dead 6. Saint Of Circumstance ~ Grateful Dead 7. Antwerp's Placebo (The Plumber) ~ Grateful Dead 8. Easy To Love You ~ Grateful Dead 9. Don't Ease Me In ~ Grateful Dead 10. Peggy-O ~ Grateful Dead 11. What'll You Raise ~ Grateful Dead 12. Jack-A-Roe ~ Grateful Dead 13. Althea ~ Grateful Dead 14. Lost Sailor ~ Grateful Dead 15. Saint Of Circumstance ~ Grateful Dead   Album Notes and Credits Notes & Personnel Info The Grateful Dead: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir (vocals, guitar); Brent Mydland (vocals, keyboards); Phil Lesh (bass); Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann (drums, percussion). Engineers include: Betty Cantor-Jackson, Peter Thea, Bob Matthews. Recorded at Club Front, San Rafael, California. Audio Mixer: Tom Flye. Recording information: Club Front, San Rafael, CA (07/14/1979-10/25/1980); Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY (07/14/1979-10/25/1980). Illustrator: Stanley Mouse. Photographers: Herbert Greene; Bob Seidemann. Arranger: Grateful Dead. By the time the '80s rolled around, the Dead had been through everything from psychedelic experimentalism to country-rock to psuedo-disco, gaining experience and losing bandmembers along the way. GO TO HEAVEN was the debut of keyboardist Brent Mydland, a young, revitalizing force in the group, whose gritty vocals and forceful, bluesy playing brought the band back to earth a bit. This version of the Dead would continue to record and tour throughout the '80s and '90s, and was the most artistically consistent lineup the band ever had. The tunes reflect the band's newly invigorated state, from the jumpy "Alabama Getaway" to the rocking return to the band's roots "Don't Ease Me In." Never really a studio band, the Dead err on the side of caution here, with a production style that's considerably glossier than their contemporaneous live work, but such was the case with nearly all their post-Pigpen albums. GO TO HEAVEN still stands as one of their most consistent latter-day recordings in terms of both songcraft and musicianship. Time has somewhat mellowed the general disdain that critics and Deadheads alike leveled at Go to Heaven upon its release in May of 1980. Granted, none of these readings come close to their perfunctory live counterparts. However, that argument holds true for a vast majority of the Grateful Dead's studio catalog -- which had now grown to include 16 albums. Additionally, this disc marked the beginning of keyboardist Brent Mydland's tenure; he had joined the band in the spring of the previous year and would remain for a decade. All eight of the songs -- not including "Antwerp's Placebo (The Plumber)," which is a 38-second instrumental percussion track -- had either already worked their way into the Dead's live performance repertoire, or would in due time. These include "Althea," "Feel Like a Stranger," and "Saint of Circumstance," as well as the raucous rock & roll opening cut, "Alabama Getaway" -- which was likewise often the band's opening number in concert during the early '80s. In a somewhat Prankster-esque sense of irony, "Don't Ease Me In" -- the disc's final number -- also closed many a first set during this era. Additionally notable about the track is that it was one of the first songs the band performed back in 1965, when they were known as the Warlocks. In terms of the quality of material, Go to Heaven includes few stone gems. Primary among them are Bob Weir's "Lost Sailor" and "Saint of Circumstance" pairing. While obviously not as thoroughly developed as it would become in concert, the lilting melody and fluctuating tempos are reminiscent of his "Weather Report Suite" from the 1973 release Wake of the Flood. The groovin' Jerry Garcia-sung ballad "Althea" is yet another example of a tune that would take on bolder and brighter hues as a concert staple for the remainder of the Dead's performance life. [In 2004, Rhino released a remastered, expanded edition of Go to Heaven as part of the exhaustive 12-disc box Beyond Description (1973-1989); in 2006, this expanded CD was released separately. The expanded disc contained six bonus tracks: studio outtakes of "Peggy-O," "What'll You Raise," and "Jack-A-Roe," plus live versions of "Althea," "Lost Sailor," and "Saint of Circumstance."] ~ Lindsay Planer Producer: Gary Lyons; Stanley Mouse; Jim Welch; David Lemieux (Reissue); James Austin (Reissue)   Compilation Appearances Fillmore-Last Days Great Expectations Around The Fire Joel Whitburn Presents: billboard #1' 60's Rock Experience Casey Kasem: 80s Rocks Greatest Hits / Variou Ladder To The Stars: Garcia Plays Dylan Guitar Rock: Rock Classic 70s / Various I Walk The Line: An All-star Tribute To Johnn Greetings From The West Coast Woodstock - 40 Years on: Back to Yasgur's Farm Limited Edition Boxset Taking Woodstock   Associated Artists and Works Artists, Various The Music Never Stopped: Roots Of The Grateful... ~ Artists, Various Artists, Various Artists, Various Artists, Various Long Strange Trip: Pickin' On The Dead... ~ Artists, Various Artists, Various Electronic Tribute To The Grateful Dead ~ Artists, Various Billy & Terry Smith Billy Smith Dylan, Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan & The Dead [Digipak] ~ Dylan, Bob Gallant, Joe Gallant, Joe Gallant, Joe & Illuminati Gallant, Joe & Illuminati Illuminati (Jazz) Blue Light Rain ~ Jazz Is Dead Joe Gallant & Illuminati Joe Gallant & Illuminati John Oswald/Grateful Dead John Oswald/Grateful Dead John Oswald/Grateful Dead Murray, David Murray, David (Jazz) Murray, David (sax) Murray, David (Saxophone) Pickin' on the Grateful Dead: A Tribute ~ On, Pickin' Pickin' on the Grateful Dead: A Tribute ~ On, Pickin' The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack [Box] ~ Original Soundtrack Oswald, John Oswald, John Pickin' On The Grateful Dead ~ Pickin' On Various Artists The Music Never Stopped: Roots Of The Grateful Dea ~ Various Artists Various Artists Various Artists Long Strange Trip: Swingin' And Pickin' On The Gra ~ Various Artists Various Artists Electronic Tribute To The Grateful Dead ~ Various Artists   Technical Info Release Date : 04/11/2006 Original Release Date : 1980 Catalog ID : 73281 Label : Rhino Records (USA) Number of Discs : 1 Studio/Live : Studio Mono/Stereo : Stereo SPAR Code : n/a UPC : 00081227328122    Related Videos In Search of Solid Ground... 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