Grateful Dead: Steal Your Face (Remastered)

The original release of the Grateful Dead's Steal Your Face album in 1976 was largely panned by fans. The mix was muddy, there were weird phase anomalies, and hardcore Deadheads were perplexed by the lack of extended jams. It was recorded at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco October 16 to 20th during the band's "Wall of Sound" era. It was ironic that this legendary live sound setup brought new levels of defined clarity to the band's live performances, but the recording lacked those very elements. As mentioned, the album contains compact versions of songs typically included in the Dead's first sets. The album may have been a bit of an afterthought for the band, as Jerry Garcia and Phil Lesh were deep into editing The Grateful Dead Movie, but the playing is generally solid. The album contains great versions of "Stella Blue," "Sugaree," "U.S. Blues," and a slower, but still powerful version of "Cold Rain & Snow". Also noteworthy is "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" and Bob Weir's "Black Throated Wind." In general, this album captures what the band was up to in 1974. 

The 50th anniversary vinyl package of this 2-LP release features a nice photo-filled gatefold; a "Stealie" sticker sheet; is pressed on red, blue, and black vinyl, and is limited to 3000 copies. This David Glasser remastered version of Steal Your Face certainly brings a new level of definition, space around the individual instruments, and clarity to Phil Lesh's bass. Originally recorded by Bill Wolf and Fred Bradford, mixed by Bear (Augustus Owsley Stanley III) with John Neal. An interesting side note: Richard Factor [Tape Op #130] of Eventide Clockworks is also given a shout out on the original back cover credits for creating the technology the band used for recording and processing their sound. 

I am always going to recommend Cornell '77 as a go to example of the Dead in peak form, but as is true with any band or artist that released music and played live shows for decades on end, there will be plus and minus moments in that timeline. Steal Your Face is just one document, from one of the Grateful Dead's many eras. This newly updated audio of the band in 1974 is worth having. 

Official Release Date: June 26th

Pre-Order HERE