Steal Your Face

Infobox Album | Name = Steal Your Face
Type = Live album
Artist = The Grateful Dead


Released = June 1976
Recorded = October 16 - 20, 1974
Genre = Folk rock, jazz fusion, rock
Length = 84:13
Label = Grateful Dead Records
Producer = Grateful Dead
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|1.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hifyxqu5ldae link]
*"Rolling Stone" (unfavorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thegratefuldead/albums/album/137377/review/5943273/steal_your_face link]

Last album = "Blues for Allah"
(1975)
This album = "Steal Your Face"
(1976)
Next album = "Terrapin Station"
(1977)

"Steal Your Face" is a live double album by the Grateful Dead, released in June 1976. The album was recorded live in concert between October 16 and October 20, 1974 at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom as part of the band's then-"farewell run."

The title of the album derives from the lyrics of "He's Gone" ("Like I told ya, what I said, steal your face right off your head"), a song that fittingly does not appear on the album.

The album is generally considered by Dead Heads to be the Grateful Dead's worst live album, both due to the poor sound (some songs had to be overdubbed in the studio [http://tcgdd.freeyellow.com/tcgdd.txt] ) and song selection (it focused on the band's "songs" rather than "jams", although to more casual listeners that is often an improvement). Indeed the record was dubbed "Steal Your Money" by fans at the time (also by the band), as many questioned the band's motives for releasing it.

In an interview, Jerry Garcia said: "None of us liked it. I'm sure even Phil and Owsley didn't like it that much ... I think part of it was that we were not working, and we didn't have anything else to deliver." [http://deaddisc.com/disc/Steal_Your_Face.htm]

Significantly, although the album was released during the band's working life (and with its full consent), it was omitted from the 2004 Rhino Records "Beyond Description (1973-1989)" boxed set that otherwise collected all of the Dead's other studio and live works from this era. Instead, a 5-CD album called "The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack", which documents the same run of shows as "Steal Your Face", was released concurrently with the boxed set. Fans generally consider it to be the better representation of the Grateful Dead during this time period.

When "Steal Your Face" was first issued on CD in 1989, the sound quality was greatly improved from the original vinyl release. In 2005 the album was finally re-released in HDCD sound by Rhino Records, though without any bonus tracks.

Track listing

Disc one

#"Promised Land" (Berry) – 3:17
#"Cold Rain and Snow" (trad., arr. Grateful Dead) – 5:38
#"Around and Around" (Berry) – 5:07
#"Stella Blue" (Hunter, Garcia) – 8:48
#"Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" (Hunter, Garcia) – 8:04
#"Ship of Fools" (Hunter, Garcia) – 7:01
#"Beat It On Down the Line" (Fuller) – 3:24

Disc two

#"Big River" (Cash) – 4:55
#"Black-Throated Wind" (Barlow, Weir) – 6:07
#U.S. Blues (Hunter, Garcia) – 5:42
#"El Paso" (Robbins) – 4:17
#"Sugaree" (Hunter, Garcia) – 7:37
#"It Must Have Been the Roses" (Hunter) – 6:00
#"Casey Jones" (Hunter, Garcia) – 7:04

Track production details

*"Casey Jones" - recorded live on October 17, 1974 at the Winterland.
*"Ship of Fools", "Beat It On Down the Line", "Big River" and "Sugaree" - recorded live on October 18, 1974 at the Winterland.
*"Mississippi Half Step Toodeloo", "Black Throated Wind", "U.S. Blues" and "El Paso" - recorded live on October 19, 1974 at the Winterland.
*"Promised Land", "Cold Rain and Snow", "Around and Around", "Stella Blue" and "It Must Have Been the Roses" - recorded live on October 20, 1974 at the Winterland.

Musical personnel

*Jerry Garcia - guitar, vocals
*Bob Weir - guitar, vocals
*Keith Godchaux - keyboards, vocals
*Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals
*Phil Lesh - bass guitar
*Bill Kreutzmann - drums

*Mickey Hart - drums on "The Promised Land"