Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel
Encyclopedia
From the Mars Hotel is the seventh studio album
by the Grateful Dead
. It was mostly recorded in April 1974 and originally released on June 27, 1974. It was the second release under the band's own label
, Grateful Dead Records
, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros. Records.
This was the final album before the band's hiatus from touring in October 1974, during which time they would finish up the film editing of The Grateful Dead Movie
.
Two songs from this album were rarely played live ("Unbroken Chain" was played 10 times in 1995; "Money Money" was played three times in May 1974) and one was never played live ("Pride of Cucamonga"). "Pride of Cucamonga" and "Unbroken Chain" are both sung by bassist Phil Lesh
, making these Lesh's final lead vocal work for the Dead for over ten years.
The album cover artwork is of the Mars Hotel, a rundown, skid row flophouse located at 192 Fourth Street in San Francisco. When held upside down in front of a mirror, the graphic on the front of the album cover appears to say "Ugly Rumors". This inspired the name of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
's band, Ugly Rumours
.
The album was released in a variety of ways after its original run:
use a sample from the song "Unbroken Chain" for their song "What Would I Want? Sky" on their EP Fall Be Kind
, and have received great praise from outlets like Pitchfork Media
and Sputnikmusic
for their respectful and interesting usage of the sample. It is also the first sample to ever be cleared for use by the Grateful Dead.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The 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...
. It was mostly recorded in April 1974 and originally released on June 27, 1974. It was the second release under the band's own label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Grateful Dead Records
Grateful Dead Records
In 1973, the Grateful Dead established their own record label, Grateful Dead Records. The band released several vinyl record LPs on this label in the mid-1970s, including Wake of the Flood in 1973, From the Mars Hotel in 1974, Blues for Allah in 1975, and a live double album, Steal Your Face, in...
, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros. Records.
This was the final album before the band's hiatus from touring in October 1974, during which time they would finish up the film editing of The Grateful Dead Movie
The Grateful Dead Movie
The Grateful Dead Movie, released in 1977 and directed by Jerry Garcia, is a film that captures performances from the Grateful Dead's October 1974 five-night stand at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. This end-of-tour run marked the beginning of an extended hiatus for the band, with no...
.
Two songs from this album were rarely played live ("Unbroken Chain" was played 10 times in 1995; "Money Money" was played three times in May 1974) and one was never played live ("Pride of Cucamonga"). "Pride of Cucamonga" and "Unbroken Chain" are both sung by bassist Phil Lesh
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....
, making these Lesh's final lead vocal work for the Dead for over ten years.
The album cover artwork is of the Mars Hotel, a rundown, skid row flophouse located at 192 Fourth Street in San Francisco. When held upside down in front of a mirror, the graphic on the front of the album cover appears to say "Ugly Rumors". This inspired the name of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's band, Ugly Rumours
Ugly Rumours (band)
Ugly Rumours was the name of a rock band founded in part by former UK prime minister Tony Blair, while studying law at St John's College, Oxford during the early 1970s; he sang and played guitar...
.
The album was released in a variety of ways after its original run:
- It was released again on LPGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in 1980 by Mobile Fidelity Records (MFSL 1-172). - It was released for the first time on CD in 1985 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFCD830).
- It was released on CD and cassette in 1989 on its original Grateful Dead Records label.
- It was remastered, expanded, and released as part of the Beyond Description (1973–1989) 12-CD box set in October 2004.
- The remastered version was then released separately on CD on March 7, 2006 by Rhino Records.
Side one
- "U.S. Blues" (HunterRobert Hunter (lyricist)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...
, GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
) – 4:42 - "China Doll" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
- "Unbroken Chain" (LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
, Peterson) – 6:46 - "Loose Lucy" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:22
Side two
- "Scarlet BegoniasScarlet Begonias"Scarlet Begonias" is a song by the Grateful Dead in 4/4 time. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music by Jerry Garcia. The song first appears on the 1974 release Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel....
" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:19 - "Pride of Cucamonga" (Lesh, Peterson) – 4:17
- "Money Money" (BarlowJohn Perry 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...
, WeirBob 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...
) – 4:23 - "Ship of FoolsShip of FoolsThe 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...
" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:27
2004 reissue
- "U.S. Blues" (HunterRobert Hunter (lyricist)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...
, GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
) – 4:40 - "China Doll" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
- "Unbroken Chain" (LeshPhil LeshPhillip Chapman Lesh is a musician and a founding member of the Grateful Dead, with whom he played bass guitar throughout their 30-year career....
, Peterson) – 6:45 - "Loose Lucy" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:21
- "Scarlet Begonias" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:19
- "Pride of Cucamonga" (Lesh, Peterson) – 4:16
- "Money Money" (BarlowJohn Perry 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...
, WeirBob 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...
) – 4:24 - "Ship of Fools" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:38
- "Loose Lucy" (alternate take) – 4:43
- "Scarlet Begonias" (live) – 9:09
- "Money Money" (live) – 4:19
- "Wave That Flag" (Garcia, Hunter) (live) – 5:34
- "Let It Rock" (BerryChuck 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...
) (live) – 3:22 - "Pride of Cucamonga" (acoustic demo) – 4:24
- "Unbroken Chain" (acoustic demo) – 6:20
Grateful Dead
- Jerry GarciaJerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
– lead guitar, vocals - Bob WeirBob 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...
– guitar, vocals - Keith GodchauxKeith GodchauxKeith 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...
– keyboards, vocals - Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
- Phil LeshPhil LeshPhillip 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, vocals - Bill KreutzmannBill KreutzmannBill Kreutzmann is an American drummer who played with the rock band the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career...
– drums
Additional performers
- John McFeeJohn McFeeJohn McFee is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist, and long time member of the Doobie Brothers.-Biography:...
– pedal steel guitarPedal steel guitarThe pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"... - Ned LaginNed LaginNed Lagin is an American avant-garde keyboardist.Lagin is considered a pioneer in the development and use of minicomputers in real-time stage and studio performance. This included running analogue to digital converters and doing digital signal processing to generate music in the era before digital...
– synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s
Bonus tracks production details
- "Loose Lucy" – studio outtake, recorded August 7, 1973
- "Scarlet Begonias" – live at WinterlandWinterland 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...
, San Francisco, CA, October 16, 1974 - "Money Money" – live at PNE ColiseumPacific ColiseumPacific Coliseum is an indoor arena, at Hastings Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia.Completed in 1968, at the former site of the Pacific National Exhibition, the arena currently holds 16,281, for ice hockey, though capacity at its opening was 15,713....
, Vancouver, BC, May 17, 1974 - "Wave That Flag" – live at Springfield Civic CenterMassMutual CenterThe MassMutual Center is a multi-purpose arena and convention center, in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. Built in the city's Metro Center across from Court Square, the facility opened in 1972 as the Springfield Civic Center and was at that time considered to be the largest arena in the...
, Springfield, MA, March 28, 1973 - "Let It Rock" – live at Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, FL, June 23, 1974 (First and only time ever played in the bands history)
- "Pride Of Cucamonga" – studio acoustic demo, recorded August 4, 1973
- "Unbroken Chain" – studio acoustic demo, recorded August 11, 1973
Reissue production credits
- David Lemieux, James Austin – reissue producers
- Reggie Collins – annotation
- Joel SelvinJoel SelvinJoel Selvin is a San Francisco-based music critic and author known for his weekly column in the San Francisco Chronicle which ran from 1972 to 2009. Selvin has written books covering various aspects of pop music and has interviewed a large number of musical artists...
– liner notes - Sheryl Farber – editorial supervision
- Tom Flye – mixing
- Roy Segal – engineer
- Cameron Sears – executive producer
- Jimmy Edwards, Robin Hurley, Hale Milfgrim, Scott Pascucci – associate producers
- Joe Gastwirt – mastering, production consultant
- Eileen Law – research
- Ed Perlstein, Bruce Polonsky, Richard Pechner – photography
- Hugh Brown, Steve Vance – design, reissue art directors
- Steven Chean, Bill Inglot, Jeffrey Norman, Randy Perry – project assistants
- Robert Gatley – mixing assistant
- Ned Lagin – synthesizer
- Mary Ann Mayer – artwork
Adaptations
Musical group Animal CollectiveAnimal Collective
Animal Collective is an experimental psychedelic band originally from Baltimore, Maryland, currently based in New York City. Animal Collective consists of Avey Tare , Panda Bear , Deakin , and Geologist...
use a sample from the song "Unbroken Chain" for their song "What Would I Want? Sky" on their EP Fall Be Kind
Fall Be Kind
-Personnel:* Avey Tare* Geologist* Panda Bear* Heather McIntosh - Cello on "Graze" and "Bleed" * Ben Allen and Animal Collective - Mixing* Rob Carmichael - Design and layout* Andy Marcinkowski and Aaron Ersoy - Recording assistants-External links:* *...
, and have received great praise from outlets like Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
and Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
for their respectful and interesting usage of the sample. It is also the first sample to ever be cleared for use by the Grateful Dead.
Charts
Album – Billboard| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Pop Albums | 16 |