Customer Reviews

Infrared Roses

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is IT folks. Did you feel like '90s Grateful Dead was too heavy on the Promised Land's and U.S. Blues' and too light on the excursions into interplanetary tribal weirdness? I did. Thank God for DRUMS > SPACE. If you like to have your mind melted by music that isn't afraid to leave the realm of what many people consider "music" then this is THE Grateful Dead cd to buy. You'll experience everything from electronic insects scurrying through your synapses to primordial psycho-rhythm's that will lull you into a trance state. This is NOT rock and roll.

As a dead head, I don't know how you could dump on this album. If you don't like hearing these guys getting far out on their instruments, then what do you like about the dead? Their beautiful vocals? (hahaha) Sure they definitely play some of the greatest songs ever, but it's their unique jams as well that also serve to set them apart from anybody else. Nobody does it like them!

"Infrared Roses" is an amazing collection of live recordings from The Grateful Dead recorded between 1987 and 1991. Unlike other live albums by the Dead, "Infrared Roses" focuses on the free-form experimental moments that were performed during the second set of every live show. These sections were commonly known as "Drums" and "Space".
Producer and GD soundman Bob Bralove compiled and processed these improvisations into four symphonic-style suites consisting of three movements each. While most of the music is presented untouched, there are several sections that are compiled and mixed from multiple improvisations. The style of these improvisations range from ambient ("Little Nemo in Nightland") to easy listening ("Silver Apples of the Moon" which features pianist Bruce Hornsby performing variations on the Dead classic "Dark Star") to avant-garde (the title track and "Magnesium Nightlight") to jazz ("Apollo at the Ritz" which features saxophone extraordinaire Branford Marsalis) to world music ("Speaking in Swords" and "River of Nine Sorrows").
Also prevailent in this CD is the band's extensive use of Midi technology. On nearly every track, the band uses Midi to trigger the sounds of trumpets, choirs, flutes, voices and various sound effects from their traditional instruments of guitars, bass, keyboards and drums.
As mentioned above "Infrared Roses" is a different kind of Grateful Dead album. The focus is on improvisation and experimentation instead of actual songs (the closing of "Uncle John's Band" can be heard at the beginning of "Riverside Rhapsody" though). This is not recommendend for someone just discovering the Dead. However, it is highly recommended not only for Deadheads but for fans of experimental music, free-form improvisation and jazz. This is a great collection of some of the band's best experimental moments.
Buy this album, turn up the stereo, turn out the lights and listen!!

I mentioned Chess. Reason being, this CD rocks! I swear, It is by far the very best recording made to capture the spirit of a Grateful Dead show. Reading the above reviews, I feel bad for those who sat out, or walked around aimlessly during the (drums/space segment of the show) There are remarkable pieces of raw material that is truly a gem. I take crowd sculpture to begin. That is, by far what a show in the "Parking lot" is about. The people and surrounding area, is the feeling before the "Main Event". Opening to drums, you could eaisly tell that they had came out of "women are smarter"into drums, that is called "Parallelogram", Mickey hart uses his beam very collectivly. Check out "DAFOS" one of his CD's, and hear psyhcopomp. Moving on, "Riverside Rhapsody" is one of the highlights on this disk. It is truly a remarkable piece that captures the "unknown" out of the second verse from "Uncle John's Band". Jerry has some sharp, needle point notes that ring truer than any bell every rung. Myland has done some real awesome sound FX during his years with the band. I say sound fx, because for those who stay the FULL LENGTH, understand, that the DRUMS transport your MIND and BODY into another DEMENSION. That's the whole concept at a show. Myland has add some aewsome flavor SOUNSCAPES for the band during his time period, "infared roses" is an exellent example. Jerry and Brent do real well with the colors while Bob weir and Phil lesh lays down the ground work. When the band turns the corner, it's when the music has reach a new height. The first side of the CD if it's to be described as FEELING, then it is somewhat LIGHT, and cheery. Where as the second side is by far, the DARK SIDE. "Silver apples of the moon" is an actual version pulled from the show of " 10-20-90 Internationales Congress Centrum, Berlin, Germany It was a small portion of Dark Star. It came out of space. So for those who wandered, simply had missed it. "Magnesium Night Light" is just crazy to begin with, It soon mellows out and settles down. After a few interchanges and telepathy, Jerry pulls out of his hat,the opening notes of the OTHER ONE. "Apollo at the ritz" is blended from space and squeezed with a live Birdsong JAM with Brandford Marsalis. So for those who are new to this CD, take the time, to play a Quiet game of chess. If you do, take notice on how the game will be controlled by the background of the music. It will lay it's "SOUNDSCAPES" while you laydown your piece moving. Have fun, and enjoy, you won't be dissapointed. Just keep an extremly OPEN mind. PEACE OUT!

This album is pieced together from different abstract moments from many live live shows. Its all stuck together to form one coherent (or else incoherent) kind of unified mood masterpiece. Some are saying in their reviews that these are like the places in the show where they might go to the restroom or sit down and blaze a bowl. There are no moments at a dead show worth missing. They just aim at diversity. Achieving a sort of mystic and spiritual level is the goal usually somewhere in the beginning of second set. If you like that free and mystic or cryptical kind of sound this is your album. If you want the first set kind of bouncy happy afternoon music then just keep on listening to American Beauty. This one is more for sleeping by.

It is what it is. A great collection of improv. You can't go wrong with this cd if you are a fan of the deads more free form, abstract moments. This may not be a cd you will play start to finish too much...but it's there when you need it. A must for any dead fan!

I loved this album (!)...when i bought it, i wanted everyone i knew to own a copy...so here i am, buying two more copies to give as gifts. Hopefully my friends will love this as much as i do. Each gift will come with instructions that require the recipient to sit, in sweats, on the floor, in the dark, with the sterio on...or twirling, twirling, twirling...for those who don't dance...

This album draws from the true test of creativity, improvisation, something the Grateful Dead used to achieve new heights, and some new lows. Infared Roses is all on the high side. The selections come from Drumz, Space & Dark Star of their live shows and have crystal clear sound. I've played tracks on the Radio before and received calls into the studio with enthusiastic comments.

SPACE JAM EXCERPTS FROM VARIOUS 1989/90 CONCERTS

This CD was originally released in 1991. It is concert excerpts from the 1989 and 1990 tours (with and without Brent Mydland). It comes from the same tours as the wonderful live CD, Without A Net (one of the Dead's best). It is 58 minutes long and the sound quality is excellent. It originally came in a nice cardboard foldout case. There are good liner notes and credits explaining what the CD is about.

I think this is an excellent concept. The same style of music is taken from different concerts and consolidated on one CD. What you get is a very cohesive package. If you want to hear some good space jamming, here you have it with no interruptions. It is the perfect use of a compact disc. (It is also what made Without A Net so good....a 2 CD set of mellow, but excellent peformances).

For buying music on CD's, I think this concept is much better than getting a full concert on a CD, with all of the ups and downs. Here you get a CD that is great throughout with only the best performances. If you want a full concert, then you should get a DVD where you can better appreciate the full experience.

So how is the music on this CD? There are many great moments, but it is a little uneven. Some of the pieces are a little too short, so they come off as little snippets, and sometimes the editing isn't that great, and pieces sound like they were yanked out of longer songs. Also, I find it hard to beleive that they could only find 58 minutes of great space jamming from two years of Dead concerts.

But, might complaints are minor, and this is mostly a very satisfying CD (if you like Dead space jams). The last 8 minutes are sensational and make it worth getting this CD.

There are different kinds of pieces on this CD. There are some drum solos. There are some great keyboard solos (with Bruce Hornsby). There is a lot of guitar. And the final 8 minutes features some manic synthesizers and some great sax from Branford Marsalis.

If you are a complete concert junky, than you might not like this CD. I don't really like complete concert CD's because you get a lot of junk in them. I like when someone can go through and pick out the best performances during a tour and consolidate that into a single package. I just don't have the time or money to listen to every single concert that is out there.


--The sound quality is excellent, but not as good as some of the later Dead CD's. This was recorded before the Dead started using HDCD technology. With HDCD, some unused bits were now being used to record with a 20 bit resolution instead of the standard 16 bits. This would sound better on a standard CD player, and would sound fantastic on a CD player with an HDCD decoder. Many Grateful Dead, Roger Waters and other CD's were recorded with HDCD. But then Microsoft bought it and killed it.

Most casual listeners would think this album is a compilation of useless noise. Think of how much creativity these fellas put into making this confusion. Sit back and listen to the space take you away...classic...uh..noise record.