Steal Your Face is a
liveA live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
double albumA double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
by the
Grateful DeadThe Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, released in June 1976. The album was recorded live in concert between October 16 and October 20, 1974 at San Francisco's
Winterland BallroomThe Winterland Ballroom, often referred to as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland, was an old ice skating rink and 5,400-seat music venue in San Francisco, California...
as part of the band's then-"farewell run".
The title of the album derives from the lyrics of "He's Gone" (
Like I told ya, what I said, steal your face right off your head), a song that does not appear on the album.
The album is generally considered by
DeadheadDeadhead or Dead Head is a name given to fans of the American jam band, the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings of shows, a community developed...
s to be the Grateful Dead's least representative live album, both due to the poor sound (some songs had to be overdubbed in the studio) and song selection (it focused on the band's
songs rather than
jams). Indeed the record was dubbed
Steal Your Money by fans at the time (also by the band), as many questioned the band's motives for releasing it. The phrase "Steal Your Money" is widely believed to be have been coined by
Lester BangsLeslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
in his review of the original release: "Steal Your Face? Steal your money more like!"
In an interview,
Jerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
said: "None of us liked it. I'm sure even
PhilPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
and
OwsleyOwsley Stanley also known as Bear, was an essential and transitional personality in the development of the San Francisco Bay counter-culture. Spanning the Beat-era years of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters scenes, he was equally pivotal to the explosion of 1960's Psychedelia culture...
didn't like it that much... I think part of it was that we were not working, and we didn't have anything else to deliver."
Although the album was released during the band's working life (and with its full consent), it was omitted from the 2004 Rhino Records
Beyond Description (1973-1989)Beyond Description is the second twelve-CD boxed set retrospect of the Grateful Dead's studio and live albums. It covers their time with Grateful Dead and Arista Records from 1973 to 1989....
boxed set that otherwise collected all of the Dead's other studio and live works from this era. Instead, a 5-CD album called
The Grateful Dead Movie SoundtrackThe Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack is a five CD live album by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded from October 16 to October 20, 1974, and was released on March 15, 2005....
, which documents the same run of shows as
Steal Your Face, was released concurrently with the boxed set.
When
Steal Your Face was first issued on CD in 1989, the sound quality was greatly improved from the original vinyl release. In 2004 the album was finally re-released in HDCD sound by Rhino Records. Atypical of the Grateful Dead CDs released by Rhino, this release does not contain any bonus tracks.
Disc one
- "Promised Land
"Promised Land" is a song lyric written by Chuck Berry to the melody of "Wabash Cannonball", an American folk song. The song was first recorded in this version by Chuck Berry in 1964 for his album St. Louis to Liverpool. Released in 1965, it was Berry's first single issued following his prison term...
" (Chuck BerryCharles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
) – 3:17
- "Cold Rain and Snow" (trad., arr. Grateful Dead) – 5:38
- "Around and Around
"Around and Around" is a 1958 rock song written and first recorded by Chuck Berry. It originally appeared under the name "Around & Around" as the B-side to the single "Johnny B. Goode".- The Rolling Stones :...
" (Berry) – 5:07
- "Stella Blue" (Robert Hunter
Robert C. Hunter is an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator, and poet, best known for his association with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead.-Biography:He was born Robert Burns in San Luis Obispo, California...
, Jerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
) – 8:48
- "Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo" (Hunter, Garcia) – 8:04
- "Ship of Fools
The ship of fools is an allegory that has long been a fixture in Western literature and art. The allegory depicts a vessel populated by human inhabitants who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, passengers aboard a ship without a pilot, and seemingly ignorant of their own direction...
" (Hunter, Garcia) – 7:01
- "Beat It On Down the Line" (Jesse Fuller
Jesse Fuller was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues".-Early life:...
) – 3:24
Disc two
- "Big River
"Big River" is a song written and originally recorded by Johnny Cash. Released as a single by Sun Records in 1958, it went as high as #4 on the Billboard country music charts and stayed on the charts for 14 weeks...
" (Johnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
) – 4:55
- "Black-Throated Wind
"Black-Throated Wind" is the second track from Bob Weir's solo debut Ace. The song was written by Weir and lyricist John Perry Barlow about the experiences Barlow had on a road trip from New York to San Francisco in 1971...
" (John BarlowJohn Perry Barlow is an American poet and essayist, a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, and a cyberlibertarian political activist who has been associated with both the Democratic and Republican parties. He is also a former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and a founding member of the Electronic...
, Bob WeirBob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
) – 6:07
- "U.S. Blues" (Hunter, Garcia) – 5:42
- "El Paso
"El Paso" is a country and western ballad written and originally recorded by Marty Robbins, and first released on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959. It was released as a single the following month, and became a major hit on both the country and pop music charts, reaching number...
" (Marty RobbinsMartin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
) – 4:17
- "Sugaree
"Sugaree" is a song written by long-time Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by guitarist Jerry Garcia. It was written for Jerry Garcia's first solo album Garcia, which was released in January 1972...
" (Hunter, Garcia) – 7:37
- "It Must Have Been the Roses" (Hunter) – 6:00
- "Casey Jones
"Casey Jones" is a song by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The music was written by Jerry Garcia, and the lyrics are by Robert Hunter. The song first appeared on the Dead's 1970 album Workingman's Dead. Subsequently it was included on a number of their live albums.The Grateful Dead...
" (Hunter, Garcia) – 7:04
Recording dates
According to the Grateful Dead Family Discography, the recording dates for the performances included on
Steal Your Face are thought to be as follows:
- "Casey Jones" - recorded live on October 17, 1974 at the Winterland
The Winterland Ballroom, often referred to as Winterland Arena or simply Winterland, was an old ice skating rink and 5,400-seat music venue in San Francisco, California...
.
- "Ship of Fools", "Beat It On Down the Line" and "Sugaree" - recorded live on October 18, 1974 at the Winterland.
- "Mississippi Half Step Toodeloo", "Black Throated Wind", "U.S. Blues", "Big River" and "El Paso" - recorded live on October 19, 1974 at the Winterland.
- "Promised Land", "Cold Rain and Snow", "Around and Around", "Stella Blue" and "It Must Have Been the Roses" - recorded live on October 20, 1974 at the Winterland.
Musical personnel
- Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
- guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Bob Weir
Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...
- guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals
- Keith Godchaux
Keith Richard Godchaux was a musician best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead.-Biography:Keith Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Concord, California...
- keyboardsA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals
- Donna Jean Godchaux - vocals
- Phil Lesh
Phillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
- bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Bill Kreutzmann
Bill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
- drumsA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Mickey Hart
Mickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
- drumsA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on "The Promised Land"