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Steal Your Face
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Steal Your Face
Steal Your Face is a live double album by the Grateful Dead, released in June 1976. It is the band's fifth live album and thirteenth overall. The album was recorded October 17–20, 1974, at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, during a "farewell run" that preceded a then-indefinite hiatus. It was the fourth and final album released by the band on their original Grateful Dead Records label. The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack, a second album from the same run of shows, was released in 2005.
After a grueling schedule, caused in part by the cost of the band's unwieldy "Wall of Sound" public address system, the decision was made to stop touring and performing as the Grateful Dead, short of disbanding. Averaging over 600 speakers powered by a minimum of 48 600-watt amplifiers, the massive and experimental sound reinforcement system advanced the technology, but presented an array of physical, audio, and technical difficulties. It required four semi-trailer trucks to transport, and due to the rigging time, necessitated two leapfrogging road crews with separate scaffolding sets. Adding the employees required to operate the band's Grateful Dead Records label (and sublabel Round Records), publishing entity, direct-to-fan mailers, and other business operations, personnel required was several hundred.
Bassist Phil Lesh recalled the "stresses and strains associated with large-scale touring – together with the devastating loss of [lead singer/organist] Pigpen – were starting to create cracks and crevices in our unanimity of purpose. ... Too many gigs, too much money spent, and too many people trying to get backstage all added up to a potentially explosive broth. Something had to give – so before it did, we made a decision to take some time off." Drummer Bill Kreutzmann stated, "I didn't think the Wall of Sound sounded great, but our interplay at some of those shows was phenomenal. At some point, though, that’s not enough. By the end of 1974, Jerry was done being that kind of hero. He was ready for a change of scene. He needed a break from it. I honored his decision, and the rest of us did, too." Although the hiatus was short-lived (the band began recording a new album just months later), a five-date "farewell" run was scheduled for October 16–20, 1974, in San Francisco. In addition to recording the concerts on two 16-track machines, the shows were filmed for a movie release.
The completion of The Grateful Dead Movie would take nearly three years. In the meantime, band manager Ron Rakow agreed to the delivery of a soundtrack album to United Artists Records in return for additional organizational and film production costs. With lead guitarist Jerry Garcia focused on the film's sound synchronization and editing, Lesh and sound man Owsley Stanley were tasked with finishing the album tie-in first. Rather than a soundtrack for the yet-uncompleted film, the pair separately reviewed the audio from copies of Garcia's work tapes, then selected concert performances for a double-live album.
Because the sound system was stacked behind the band, restricted-frequency differential microphones were used in pairs, to prevent bleed and feedback loops. One was wired out-of-phase in a phase-cancellation scheme requiring the singers to position very close to the microphones. This, along with the lack of a sound/mixing board, created sonic anomalies during tape mixing. Additionally, the drum tracks suffered from distortion. Some vocals were lost – particularly those by backing vocalist Donna Godchaux – needing to be dubbed in the studio.
At the time of production, quadraphonic technology appeared ascendant. In anticipation, the album was mixed for the QS standard – one of several competing vinyl matrix formats. Rather than a dedicated stereo mix, during mastering, the quadraphonic mix was folded down to two channels. Lesh explained Bear and he decided to mix "the whole thing in 'quad' ... the result was a glutinous mud bath of sound, through which any music was scarcely discernible. Bear and I went to Rakow, telling him the recordings were unusable. He brushed our objections aside, saying, 'They’ll buy it anyway; we need this record.' It’s a wonder the record was finished; the fact it was released – against my better judgment – shows how desperate we were for product to take up the slack from lack of touring income". Ultimately, by the time the album was released, the Grateful Dead resumed touring. With the movie unfinished, the album was instead promoted in conjunction with the tour.
Although the song does not appear on the album, the title derives from the lyrics of "He's Gone":
Like I told you, what I said
Steal your face right off your head
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Steal Your Face
Steal Your Face is a live double album by the Grateful Dead, released in June 1976. It is the band's fifth live album and thirteenth overall. The album was recorded October 17–20, 1974, at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom, during a "farewell run" that preceded a then-indefinite hiatus. It was the fourth and final album released by the band on their original Grateful Dead Records label. The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack, a second album from the same run of shows, was released in 2005.
After a grueling schedule, caused in part by the cost of the band's unwieldy "Wall of Sound" public address system, the decision was made to stop touring and performing as the Grateful Dead, short of disbanding. Averaging over 600 speakers powered by a minimum of 48 600-watt amplifiers, the massive and experimental sound reinforcement system advanced the technology, but presented an array of physical, audio, and technical difficulties. It required four semi-trailer trucks to transport, and due to the rigging time, necessitated two leapfrogging road crews with separate scaffolding sets. Adding the employees required to operate the band's Grateful Dead Records label (and sublabel Round Records), publishing entity, direct-to-fan mailers, and other business operations, personnel required was several hundred.
Bassist Phil Lesh recalled the "stresses and strains associated with large-scale touring – together with the devastating loss of [lead singer/organist] Pigpen – were starting to create cracks and crevices in our unanimity of purpose. ... Too many gigs, too much money spent, and too many people trying to get backstage all added up to a potentially explosive broth. Something had to give – so before it did, we made a decision to take some time off." Drummer Bill Kreutzmann stated, "I didn't think the Wall of Sound sounded great, but our interplay at some of those shows was phenomenal. At some point, though, that’s not enough. By the end of 1974, Jerry was done being that kind of hero. He was ready for a change of scene. He needed a break from it. I honored his decision, and the rest of us did, too." Although the hiatus was short-lived (the band began recording a new album just months later), a five-date "farewell" run was scheduled for October 16–20, 1974, in San Francisco. In addition to recording the concerts on two 16-track machines, the shows were filmed for a movie release.
The completion of The Grateful Dead Movie would take nearly three years. In the meantime, band manager Ron Rakow agreed to the delivery of a soundtrack album to United Artists Records in return for additional organizational and film production costs. With lead guitarist Jerry Garcia focused on the film's sound synchronization and editing, Lesh and sound man Owsley Stanley were tasked with finishing the album tie-in first. Rather than a soundtrack for the yet-uncompleted film, the pair separately reviewed the audio from copies of Garcia's work tapes, then selected concert performances for a double-live album.
Because the sound system was stacked behind the band, restricted-frequency differential microphones were used in pairs, to prevent bleed and feedback loops. One was wired out-of-phase in a phase-cancellation scheme requiring the singers to position very close to the microphones. This, along with the lack of a sound/mixing board, created sonic anomalies during tape mixing. Additionally, the drum tracks suffered from distortion. Some vocals were lost – particularly those by backing vocalist Donna Godchaux – needing to be dubbed in the studio.
At the time of production, quadraphonic technology appeared ascendant. In anticipation, the album was mixed for the QS standard – one of several competing vinyl matrix formats. Rather than a dedicated stereo mix, during mastering, the quadraphonic mix was folded down to two channels. Lesh explained Bear and he decided to mix "the whole thing in 'quad' ... the result was a glutinous mud bath of sound, through which any music was scarcely discernible. Bear and I went to Rakow, telling him the recordings were unusable. He brushed our objections aside, saying, 'They’ll buy it anyway; we need this record.' It’s a wonder the record was finished; the fact it was released – against my better judgment – shows how desperate we were for product to take up the slack from lack of touring income". Ultimately, by the time the album was released, the Grateful Dead resumed touring. With the movie unfinished, the album was instead promoted in conjunction with the tour.
Although the song does not appear on the album, the title derives from the lyrics of "He's Gone":
Like I told you, what I said
Steal your face right off your head