Customer Reviews

Steal Your Face

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

 

 

While many people will go out of their way to tell you that this is a terrible album, the truth is that they're are some very good performances on it. I have several different versions of it on cd. The first, is a version made in W. Germany on the Line label which sounds more like the original lp version than the American versions. Both have different strenghts and weaknesses. Now as far as the album itself. The sound quality on this is quite different than on the others released by the band and that's part of what gives this album a rather different sound. The opening Promised Land rocks pretty well with Mickey putting his only guest appearence on the record. Cold, Rain and Snow is a nice choice and given that this is the only one of '74 it's a pretty cool pick. Around And Around is actually played with more fire than some of the other versions out there. Stella Blue is hypnotic and comes across sounding unlike any other version out there. Mississippi Half Step really illistrates the differences between the two different cd versions. On the import(as well as the lp)near the end during the beginning of the "across the rio-grandio" verse Bob strums this cool guitar riff and Jerry, Bob and Donna come in with this beautiful vocal harmony. On the U.S. cd versions Bob's voice is pushed into the back and Donna's voice is raised too loud. Next up, a beautiful Ship Of Fools. Beat It On Down The Line comes across better on the US release as both the original lp and import cd release has Phil's voice mixed out. Big River is pretty good. Black-Throated Wind brings back memories of the '72-'74 era. U.S. Blues is a good rocker and is the one used in the Grateful Dead Movie. El Paso is weak for this era as was Beat It On Down The Line. Sugaree is strong and is a good example why this was used as bonus material on the Grateful Dead Movie DVD. It Must Have Been The Roses is very pretty. The closing Casey Jones is the one used in the Movie again. All in all, not a bad release and there are worse ones out there.

I know this album gets terrible marks for the sound quality, but this was one of the peak performing years for the Grateful Dead, and if you can get past the sound, the music is great. This was originally released as a sort of companion to the Grateful Dead movie, recorded while filming, but with a differing song list. The question I have is why all of these songs weren't remixed and put out on the new Grateful Dead movie box set (which, by the way, is terrific). Where is the "Big River", the "It Must Have Been The Roses"? This is the definitive recording of "Big River", and this is the album where Keith really shines as a counterpoint to Jerry; you can hear them listening and responding to each other. When I first got this album in the '70s, my parents (who also loved this record) thought the piano player was the leader of the band. No one would be making these complaints if they could hear the music as it has the potential to be.

For that matter, why didn't they give this the remastering treatment and put it in the new "Beyond Description" box? It is the only band record on the Grateful Dead label that wasn't included. Sometimes life just ain't fair. I guess the slower tempos and airy moods of this album never caught on with the audience. It caught on with me though.

While we're at it, why didn't they include "Without A Net"? I think that's the only Arista album missing from the box set. And everyone likes that one, so there's no excuse.

I REALLY CAN'T SEE THE BAD REVIEWS THAT THESE CD'S GET. I SAT DOWN TO WHAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE A COUPLE OF GOOD RENDITIONS BUT LITTLE DID I EXPECT WHAT I GOT !! I'M NOT ONE TO WRITE LONG REVIEWS, BUT I'II JUST SAY THIS IS A FIVE STAR CD TO ME. FINE RENDITIONS OF GREAT SONGS !! THE SOUND OF THESE CD'S ARE REALLY GOOD ALSO. IF YOU DO BUY THIS AND ENJOY IT AS MUCH AS I DO, THEN WRITE A FIVE STAR REVIEW AND LET'S GET THE RATINGS HIGHER ON THIS GREAT COLLECTION FROM THE FINEST GROUP I EVER HEARD!! THANKS

Tonight I found the vinyl version of Steal Your Face, and just enjoyed it immensely. For me that is what the Dead always will be about. By the way when was their sound ever clean and tecnically superlative?? Definitely not at their shows. However the band just plays on and the vibes made it happen.

Maybe reviewers should just chill a bit and feel the music and get into their body and out of their heads. It is what it is...

It makes me angry how late Dead albums and this album are hated so much. Poor sound quality my a**. The songs are great. Maybe they do sound a little tired, but most of the Deads music isnt fast paced and speedy. He's gone, and Mississippi half step are two of the highlights, to me, on this album. But i dont think ive ever heard a jumpy version of those songs. Worst dead release ever? Wow, you guys are really Grateful, arent you?! I laugh when I hear people judge a band like the Grateful Dead so harsh. All of the fame was put on them, they never asked for it, they didnt try and look pretty, and sound like music from the heavens above. they had fun and jammed. it aint supposed to be pretty.

if you get confused, listen to the music play.

Even during my years as a music critic for PlainSpeak magazine, I never
did a review for a Dead album. Too many irrational rabid fans I guess,
I mean I have seen them from Philly to Santa Fe, I did a tour following
them in a western sweep, but maybe too much of a sacred cow? This is one
of those CD's that seemed to get better the farther you got away from the
issue date of 1974. Maybe like fine French champagne, or maybe it was
the band I was doing sound and lights for at the time, Crossfire, who
never rose above the college, outdoor concert arena, played some of
the cuts from this album, and I kinda started to like them, crave them
is more like it, that I bought the CD, I had owned the album at one time,
but because it did not give me what I wanted from the Dead at the time it
went by the wayside. It is like a post card from the Dead saying high
there, even though we are in an experimental phase of long space jams
at the moment, we still love you. Or now it seems like that to me now.
This is after a wildly Gonzo, mispent, well extended youth. But this
CD is a Dead CD, and it is not a rehash, or a compilation of former work,
no matter what win, loose, or draw this is a Grateful Dead CD, accept
no substitutes.

Although this live CD has gotten much negative press over the years and the recording quality leaves much to be desired from an "official" live release there are nonetheless and despite the conventional "wisdom" inspired versions of Cold Rain & Snow, Promised Land,Mississippi Half Step,Black Throated Wind,El Paso,Big River, Stella Blue and Around & Around.

The sound quality on this release is horrendous and the performances aren't much better. The drums come across like cardboard boxes while the bass sounds like a dull thud with the occasional annoying buzz.

Some have argued that Winterland, where these performances were recorded in October 1974, had such horrible acoustics that a good-sounding live album was next to impossible to record there. The stunning and highly recommended Closing of Winterland CD puts that falsehood to rest. Needless to say, this set will MAYBE find its way into your CD player once or twice before it's permanantly and justifiably retired.

For GOOD live Dead, try any of the 32 volumes of Dick's Picks along with Europe '72, Live Dead, the aforementioned Closing of Winterland, and Without a Net.

Much as I want to like this effort, I have to side with the folks panning it. First off, the entire album sounds as though it was recorded with a hand-held microphone in the upper decks of Winterland- the recording simply has no punch or presence at all. Secondly, the performances are generally uninspired, but that's really no suprise, as the October '74 Winterland shows comprise perhaps the most overrated run in GD history. I also agree that the song selection is a bit odd and is missing the trademark jams, but considering this was the band's fifth live album in less than seven years, my guess is they were trying to focus on material that hadn't already been issued.

As noted by someone else, this album was released as a sort of free-standing, unofficial "companion" to the GD movie- that is, different performances lifted from the same set of shows portrayed in the film. However, a year or so ago the movie was re-released on DVD in dramatically expanded form, accompanied by a marvelous five-disc "official" sountrack; it covers all the music from the film plus a whole lot more. It also boasts crisper-sounding, superior versions of four songs off Steal Your Face. In other words, it renders this much-maligned album essentially obsolete for all but complete fanatics. Unless you are hell-bent on collecting every single note the Grateful Dead ever released, you'd be better advised to spend your money on any number of band's four dozen or so archival concert releases.

I never understood why people called this "steal your money." This has always been my favorite dead release. I'm a keith fan, and he has to be in the mix for me to be happy. He is at the forefront on this collection and his interplay with Garcia is noteworthy. Yes, there are no extended jams and mostly set one material but the set two material from these same nights is plentiful in the Grateful Dead Movie releases. I actually love the imperfections in the sound on this recording. It really makes me feel as if I'm there. (I also prefer Garcia's mix on the GD movie rather than the new mix.) Keith, you are my GD MVP! If you only own one GD CD this should be it.