Go To Heaven

One of my first thoughts when going through my 1980 albums was wondering if I owned any records from that year by American artists. This album by the Grateful Dead is one of the few.



First things first. That album cover is hideous! I suspect it was a joke -- Arista wanted the Dead to be "more commercial", so they decided to go all in and dress in white disco leisure suits.

The music itself isn't the least bit disco, but does sound like they were aiming for mainstream radio play. Most Deadheads hate this album, but it's really not that bad. And I like "Alabama Getaway".



This German TV performance is like a microcosm of the Grateful Dead during the 80s. After the big introduction, they spend two minutes tuning up, and Jerry's mic drops out when he starts singing, but eventually they fount their groove and start rocking.

Go To Heaven was their last studio album for eight years, and it was a commercial and critical dud, but they kept touring and selling out large venues without any new material, and their next studio album was a bona fide hit.