Steal Your Face, or is that Steal Your Money

[KCJones]

Hmmmm, interesting fact I just read. The double "Live" album 1976 release, Steal Your Face, actually had ALL the vocals and many of the instrumental tracks overdubbed in the studio. You can read about it on Bears page..."no-one could make a silk purse out of this pig's ear."

http://www.thebear.org/albums.html

There is also some really great narratives here on his recording techniques and facts from his time as the Dead's sound designer/engineer.

[Tennessee Jedi]

Never knew that ...
I started listening to it again because JDARKS tabs from the album.
If I remember right there is a whole bunch of drama behind this album from the guy who recorded it to the reasons they made the record.
Its alright but I dont think it will ever be a "Must have" album ...

[strumminsix]

Man that was common for the boys. It's been said "they were not purists". GD Live had dubs, E72 had dubs, even Merle was included on some of the "refining"

[Tennessee Jedi]

Thats weird - a band that made its bones by playing live used the studio to sweeten up up its "Live" sound.
I have mixed feelings about this.
Skull and Roses and E72 are two great albums in GD history.I love 'em.
A non Head has probably heard the J.B.Goode or Me and Bob McGee or the Bertha from GD Live and the One More Sat Nite from E72 on the radio.The non Head would think the Dead is about the live show and POOF !!! a legend is born.
About the Skull and Roses Bertha - they should have sweetened some of Jerry's notes from the solo !

[KCJones]

And, the funny thing is, the live albums they "fixed" include some poor examples of their live stuff too date. I mean, in the early days even, they already had a vault full of stuff that was better than the "fixed" stuff, why wasn't it used instead. Go figure ...

[Tennessee Jedi]

I bet most of the "Vault" recordings aren't album quality recordings.
The record co. probably spent some big bucks on a mobile recording truck and said "Give us a Gold record boys " ...

[CountryMile Cadillac]

The boys were not big fans of this album either as I recall, it was also left oout of the 'Beyond Description' box set

[deadguise]

The Dead were under pressure by Ron Rackow to put the album out. I have the vinyl album and remember how lousy the vocals sounded (lots of slurring) probably caused by the phase cancelling mics. The Grateful Dead Movie sound track and DVD release were much improved.

[berryjonas]

SYF served as my first, albeit somewhat adulterated, exposure to the Grateful Dead as a live act. The El Paso, Stella Blue, and Black Throated Wind are still some of my favorite versions. I think some people disparage the album because they think the band completely hated it. It is a snapshot of a wonderful period in time. I unabashedly cope to enjoying the album.

[Reuben]

I though the album was decent-with above average versions of 1/2 Step and Cold Rain & Snow. The sound is muddy though, and I wouldn't even put it into teh same category as One From the Vault II.

[Pete B.]

I have a seriously hard time believing that ANYthing on SYF was "fixed" in the studio (ala E72 and Skull & Roses LP's).
Yes, there are some serious Grateful Dead "moments" on SYF... most of them during the jams.
Some specifics include...
The tone and playing of Bobbys parts on Miss Halfstep.
The mix of Jerry's solo combined with Keiths piano on Miss Halftsep is clearly greater than the sum of it's parts.
The tone and playing of Jerry's parts on BTW.
The tone and playing of Jerry's parts on Big River.
Stella Blue, overall a good take for the boys.
BIODTL, also a good take, even for Donna. Jerry plays some "inverted ascending triplettes" that kill.
The tone of Jerry's intro and solo (and "the licks" he always plays in general) on CR&S.
Jerry's soloing throughout ElPaso.
I personlly liked that take of Promised Land for the guitar riffs.

With that said, there are a half dozen numbers on that recording that I go to other versions of for higher satsifaction.
I agree that this is a notable "snapshot" of the reality of what was going down at the time on stage... warts and all.

[jonarobb]

Although Bear was there along with Phil for the mixing of the tracks, I think he had a brain fart when saying vocals and instrumentals were overdubbed. Jerry is quoted elsewhere as saying that his association with Steal Your Face ended with the last note of the Winterland 74' run. I believe it's the Blair Jackson 1981 interview.

[bodiddley]

One vote here for "Steal Your Money".

[Pete B.]

Infared Roses was the steal-your-money disk, for me.

[tigerstrat]

Infared Roses was the steal-your-money disk, for me.

One of their cooler releases of the final ten years imho. Or didn't you know it was going to be all Drums & Space? ... or did you know it, but you didn't like the included versions of D/S?

iirc, it was released when I was in Oakland, the day after the Halloween run, followed by the massive impromptu Bill Graham tribute in GG Park a couple days later.