Blues from Allah

+++++++++++++The big band project of 1975. Released in September after nine months work, twice as much as their previous two records combined. It marked a definite move toward more involved, almost jazz-like arrangement. Largely recorded at Weir's home studio, it's the most precisely resolved Grateful Dead album and also marks Keith Godchaux's best effort with the band. He is literally all over the record, from rolling FRANKLIN'S TOWER through the Santana-like jam on STRONGER THAN DIRT, then on the bouncing reggae of CRAZY FINGERS. Another stand-out tune is the Weir/Barlow' s guided tour through the Grateful Dead universe, THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED. JAMIE JENSEN

nr. 1 BLUES FOR ALLAH is quite a mess. High on their recent tour of Egypt, the influence of the sphinx and Great pyramids followed them into the studio. The result is a mixed bag of experimentation and half unrealised ideas. The reggae back-beat of CRAZY FINGERS is pathetic but songs like FRANKLIN'S TOWER and the powerful HELP ON THE WAY save the day. Not their best but ALLAH certainly moves in mysterious ways. rating: 6 EDWIN POUNCEY, NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS, MARCH 25 1989

nr. 2 Garcia's circular opening riff for HELP ON THE WAY was the Dead's most positive move in years, and even that was, well, circular. The country-rock obsession was by now replaced with the more decisive shuffle- boogie rhythms of FRANKLIN'S TOWER and THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED - a misguided attempt at funk, the way that CRAZY FINGERS' soporific off-beat rhythms are a weakly grasped impression of reggae - although the characteristic lengthy noodling was well in evidence on KING SOLOMON'S and the dreary and portentious closing suite of BLUES FOR ALLAH itself. * * ANDY GILL, Q MAGAZINE no. 31

nr. 3 The album includes a number of the Dead's best post-Warners cuts and is worth seeking out. GOLDMINE, JULY 1987

nr. 4 Een van hun beste langspelers, verpakt in een futuristische horror-hoes. De drugs vervangen door religie. Het geluid van de instrumenten is erg droog en clean, waardoor vooral de gitaarsoli af en toe jazzy trekjes krijgen. Een uitstekende LP, waarbij vooral het mystieke ele- ment belangrijk is. Mickey Hart speelt wel mee maar is niet op de achterhoes getekend. OOR, NOVEMBER 1975

nr. 5 Because I cannot listen to most of side two, which is dominated by the obtuse title song and a few related pieces, I almost always put on the first side, which is among my favorite DeaD sides. Made during their "retirement" from live performances, the record, ironically, is the studio album that best captures the way the band playes live. All of side one is terrific, as it moves from song to song with hardly a break. HELP and FRAN- KLIN's TOWER are among Hunter's most abstract songs, and Garcia has come up with the perfect musical accompaniment for each. The side-closing MUSIC NEVER STOPPED is great fun, though much more powerful live. Side two's jewel is the soft reggae tune CRAZY FINGERS. It' s a jazzy, complex album that seems to get better as the years go on. * * * * BLAIR JACKSON

nr. 6 The DeaD have basically relinquished any claim to be taken seriously except as nostalgia mongerers. * Oh no, not DAVE MARSH of the R.S. RECORD GUIDE again, eh...

nr. 7 I've been hyper sensitive to this band's virtues for years. This time I find the arch aimlessness of their musical approach neurasthenic and their general muddle-headedness worthy of Yes or The Strawbs. rating: C- ROBERT CRISTGAU, ROCK ALBUMS OF THE 70'S, 1982

nr. 8 Side one is very inspired and flows all together as one giant piece of music that's worth the trouble of getting into. It may take some time, but in the end it is rewarding. CRAZY FINGERS is a pleasant reggae-like Garcia/Hunter song and SAGE & SPIRIT is a little masterwork. The BLUES FOR ALLAH sequence doesn't succeed for a 100%, but it sees the DeaD exploring new ways again, this time in the studio! * * * ERIK SCHOTHANS, July 1992

nr. 9 STRONGER THAN DIRT especially sounds like a section from a DARK STAR performance that has evolved to a degree that suggest a constant and fruitful evolution in disciplined and coordinate pieces of improvisation .But it's the title track midway through the second side and everything thereafter that sees the Dead really taking chances. BLUES FOR ALLAH is so immediately weird and unlike almost anything they've ever done before that its very presence on an album that mostly deliveres everything a Deadhead could want, is quite disconcerting. A great deal of the album represents a progression and development, but within a style we're all familiar by now, while the rest of it is edging towards ideas that will probably take a while to fully realise. And it's that, the combined qualities of experience, endless ability, and an adventurous spirit that maintain my enthusiastic respect for the Dead and leave me, even now, eagerly awaiting their next album. ANDY CHILDS, Zig Zag Magazine