Go to Heaven

Go to Heaven
Studio album by Grateful Dead
Released	April 28, 1980 (1980-04-28)
Recorded	July 1979-January 1980
Studio	Club Front, San Rafael, CA
Genre	Rock
Length	38:19
Label	Arista
Producer	Gary Lyons
Grateful Dead chronology
Shakedown Street (1978) Go to Heaven (1980) Reckoning (1981)

Go to Heaven is the eleventh studio album by the Grateful Dead, released on Arista Records in April 1980. Compact disc issues appeared in 1987 also on Arista and in 2000 on BMG International. A remastered and expanded reissue appeared as part of the Beyond Description (1973–1989) box set on Rhino Records in October 2004, with the album issued again individually on April 11, 2006. It is the band's first album with keyboard player Brent Mydland, who took over from Keith Godchaux after he and his wife Donna quit the band in 1979.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	C[2]
Rolling Stone	Negative[3]

Go to Heaven received a generally negative response from critics, though a retrospective review in Allmusic remarked that "Time has somewhat mellowed the general disdain that critics and Deadheads alike leveled at Go to Heaven upon its release".^[1] J. M. DeMatteis's review in Rolling Stone summarized the album as "more of the same uninspired fluff that's become the Grateful Dead's recorded stock in trade", though he did praise Brent Mydland's contributions.^[3] Allmusic's retrospective review said that while the tracks were generally weak, a number of the songs were later developed into strong live numbers. Like Rolling Stone, they praised the addition of Mydland to the band's lineup.^[1] In contrast, Robert Christgau, while complimentary of the rendition of "Don't Ease Me In", called Mydland an "utter wimp".^[2]

DeMatteis, who is better known for his work writing comic books, came to regret his review of the album, and ended his career as a music critic as a consequence.^[4]

"Althea" has come to be regarded as a Garcia-Hunter classic, ranking #5 on Stereogum's list of the 10 best Dead songs.^[5]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Alabama Getaway" (Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter) – 3:36 (lead singer: Jerry Garcia)
2. "Far From Me" (Brent Mydland) – 3:40 (lead singer: Brent Mydland)
3. "Althea" (Garcia and Hunter) – 6:51 (lead singer: Jerry Garcia)
4. "Feel Like a Stranger" (John Perry Barlow and Bob Weir) – 5:07 (lead singer: Bob Weir)

Side two

5. "Lost Sailor" (Barlow and Weir) – 5:54 (lead singer: Bob Weir)
6. "Saint of Circumstance" (Barlow and Weir) – 5:40 (lead singer: Bob Weir)
7. "Antwerp's Placebo (The Plumber)" (Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann) – 0:38 (instrumental)
8. "Easy to Love You" (Barlow and Mydland) – 3:40 (lead singer: Brent Mydland)
9. "Don't Ease Me In" (Traditional) – 3:13 (lead singer: Jerry Garcia)

2004 reissue bonus tracks

10. "Peggy-O" (traditional) – 5:51
11. "What'll You Raise" (Hunter) – 4:10
12. "Jack-A-Roe" (traditional) – 4:55
13. "Althea" (live at Radio City Music Hall, October 23, 1980) – 8:17
14. "Lost Sailor" (live at Radio City Music Hall, October 25, 1980) – 6:41
15. "Saint of Circumstance" (live at Radio City Music Hall, October 25, 1980) – 6:35

Personnel

Grateful Dead

• Jerry Garcia – guitar, vocals
• Mickey Hart – drums
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums
• Phil Lesh – bass guitar
• Brent Mydland – keyboards, vocals
• Bob Weir – guitar, vocals

Charts

Billboard

Singles – Billboard

References