Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel

Infobox Album | Name = Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel
Type = Album
Artist = The Grateful Dead


Released = June 27, 1974
Recorded = CBS Studios, San Francisco, CA, 3/30/74 - 4/19/74
Genre = Folk rock, rock
Length = 37:26
Label = Grateful Dead Records
Producer = Grateful Dead
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:st7m96bo3ep6 link]
*Robert Christgau (B-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=1445&name=Grateful+Dead link]
Last album = ""
(1974)
This album = "Grateful Dead From the Mars Hotel"
(1974)
Next album = "Blues for Allah"
(1975)

"Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel" is the seventh studio album by the Grateful Dead. The album in general is regarded as one of the group's best mid-1970s studio releases and strongly overpowers Wake of the Flood and Steal Your Face. It was mostly recorded in April 1974 and originally released on June 27, 1974. It was the second release under the band's own label, Grateful Dead Records, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros. Records.

This was the final album before the band's hiatus from touring in October 1974 during which time the band would finish up the film editing of "The Grateful Dead Movie".

Two songs off this album were rarely played live (Unbroken Chain was played 10 times in 1995; Money Money was played 3 times in May 1974) and one was never played live (Pride of Cucamonga). Pride of Cucamonga and Unbroken Chain are both songs sung by bassist Phil Lesh making these Lesh's final lead vocal work for the Dead for over ten years.

When held upside down in front of a mirror, the graphic on the front of the album cover appears to say "Ugly Rumors" which inspired the name of Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's band, Ugly Rumours.

The album was released in a variety of ways after its original run:
*It was released again on LP in 1980 by Mobile Fidelity Records.
*It was released for the first time on CD in 1985 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab [according to http://www.deaddisc.com; previous version of this article claimed 1995 by Arista] .
*It was remastered, expanded, and released as part of the Beyond Description (1973–1989) 12-CD box set in October 2004.
*The remastered version was then released separately on CD on March 7, 2006 by Rhino Records.

Track listing

Original release

ide one

#"U.S. Blues" (Hunter, Garcia) – 4:42
#"China Doll" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
#"Unbroken Chain" (Lesh, Peterson) – 6:46
#"Loose Lucy" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:22

ide two

#"Scarlet Begonias" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:19
#"Pride of Cucamonga" (Lesh, Peterson) – 4:17
#"Money Money" (Barlow, Weir) – 4:23
#"Ship of Fools" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:27

2004 reissue

#"U.S. Blues" (Hunter, Garcia) – 4:40
#"China Doll" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
#"Unbroken Chain" (Lesh, Peterson) – 6:45
#"Loose Lucy" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:21
#"Scarlet Begonias" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:19
#"Pride of Cucamonga" (Lesh, Peterson) – 4:16
#"Money Money" Barlow, Weir) – 4:24
#"Ship of Fools" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:38
#"Loose Lucy" (alternate take) – 4:43
#"Scarlet Begonias" (live) – 9:09
#"Money Money" (live) – 4:19
#"Wave That Flag" (Garcia, Hunter) (live) – 5:34
#"Let It Rock" (Berry) (live) – 3:22
#"Pride of Cucamonga" (acoustic demo) – 4:24
#"Unbroken Chain" (acoustic demo) – 6:20

Personnel

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

Additional Performers
*John McFee - pedal steel guitar
*Ned Lagin - synthesizers

Production:
*Mary Ann Mayer - illustrations, creation

Bonus tracks production details

*"Loose Lucy" - Studio Outtake, Recorded August 7, 1973
*"Scarlet Begonias" - Live at Winterland - San Francisco, CA - October 16, 1974
*"Money Money" - Live at PNE Coliseum - Vancouver, BC - May 17, 1974
*"Wave That Flag" - Live at Springfield Civic Center - Springfield, MA - March 28, 1973
*"Let It Rock" - Live at Jai-Alai Fronton - Miami, FL - June 23, 1974
*"Pride Of Cucamonga" - Studio Acoustic Demo, Recorded August 4, 1973
*"Unbroken Chain" - Studio Acoustic Demo, Recorded August 11, 1973

Reissue production credits

*David Lemieux, James Austin - reissue producers
*Reggie Collins - annotation
*Joel Selvin - liner notes
*Sheryl Farber - editorial supervision
*Tom Flye - mixing
*Roy Segal - engineer
*Cameron Sears - executive producer
*Jimmy Edwards, Robin Hurley, Hale Milfgrim, Scott Pascucci - associate producer
*Joe Gastwirt - mastering, production consultant
*Eileen Law - research
*Ed Perlstein, Bruce Polonsky, Richard Pechner - photography
*Hugh Brown, Steve Vance - design, reissue art directors
*Steven Chean, Bill Inglot, Jeffrey Norman, Randy Perry - project assistants
*Robert Gatley - mixing assistant
*Ned Lagin - synthesizer
*Mary Ann Mayer - artwork

Charts

Album - Billboard

ee also

*Grateful Dead
*Grateful Dead discography

References