[Originally published 7/24/25]: The Grateful Dead will mark the 50th anniversary of 1975’s Blues for Allah, their eighth studio album, with a new deluxe reissue set to arrive on September 12th via Rhino. The updated release features a newly remastered version of the original LP as well as nearly two hours of unreleased recordings from rehearsals, soundchecks, and live concerts from that era.
Among the highlights of previously unheard material on Blues for Allah (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) are rehearsals from the Grateful Dead’s soundcheck at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall (8/12/75), including album tracks “Sage & Spirit”, “Help On The Way”, “Slipknot!”, and “Franklin’s Tower”. The collection continues with performances from the Dead’s shows at Pennsylvania’s Tower Theatre (6/21/76–6/22/76) including five Blues for Allah songs, plus selections from Bill Graham‘s SNACK (Students Need Athletics, Culture, and Kicks) Benefit at Kezar Stadium (3/23/75) featuring one of only three known Grateful Dead performances of “King Solomon’s Marbles”.
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When the Grateful Dead took a self-imposed hiatus in 1974 after their farewell October run at Winterland Ballroom, they left the road with no clear sense of when—or if—they’d return. A year later, they surprised everyone with Blues for Allah, which the band recorded in novel fashion at Bob Weir‘s home studio almost entirely without pre-written material. Robert Hunter wrote lyrics on the spot. Keith Godchaux‘s keys gave the album spacious texture. Donna Jean Godchaux‘s harmonies added new layers to songs like “The Music Never Stopped”. “Crazy Fingers” became, in late bassist Phil Lesh‘s words, “a marvelous essay in smoky ambiguity.” Drummer Bill Kreutzmann noted the title suite “bordered on acid-jazz composition,” a notion underscored by Mickey Hart‘s incorporation of unorthodox sounds including field recordings of crickets.
“Blues for Allah is the Dead’s unique vision, a deeply humane parable that framed their own artistic renewal in the most inclusive, expansive terms,” writes Nicholas G. Meriwether, executive director of the Grateful Dead Studies Association and author of the 50th-anniversary deluxe edition liner notes. “Fifty years later, it remains one of their most musically successful and resolutely experimental albums.”
We can certainly agree with Meriwether’s assessment: In our 2020 ranking of the Grateful Dead’s 13 studio albums, we gave Blues for Allah the #1 slot. Read our full ranking of Grateful Dead albums from worst to best here.
Related: Grateful Dead Studio Albums Ranked Worst To Best
News of the Blues for Allah reissue arrived alongside the first single from the remastered LP, “The Music Never Stopped”. Listen to the remastered audio below.
Grateful Dead – “The Music Never Stopped” (2025 Remaster)
[UPDATE 8/12/25]: In anticipation of the upcoming release of Blues for Allah (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition), the Grateful Dead have shared a previously unreleased recording of the band rehearsing “Crazy Fingers” during soundcheck at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall on August 12th, 1975—exactly 50 years ago today.
“One of the most ethereally psychedelic lyrics in the entire Grateful Dead canon, this beautiful ballad by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter is like a beautiful dreamscape, like a feather drifting from the sky and landing gently,” said band archivist David Lemieux. “This rendition is from the Dead’s rehearsal/soundcheck at the Great American Music Hall on 8/12/75, the day before the classic One From The Vault show. Practice makes perfect!”
Listen to the newly released single below or on your preferred streaming platform.
Grateful Dead – “Crazy Fingers” (Live at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA, Soundcheck/Rehearsal, 8/12/1975)
Blues for Allah (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) will be released in various formats including on 180-gram black vinyl, picture disc, and a limited-edition “Midnight Fire” custom vinyl, exclusive to Dead.net. The custom vinyl includes a replica lyric sheet with English and Arabic translations, just like the original. A Blu-ray edition will also be available exclusively at Rhino.com, featuring four new mixes of the album by acclaimed producer Steven Wilson: Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround, hi-resolution stereo, and an instrumental mix.
Pre-order your copy of the Grateful Dead Blues for Allah 50th-anniversary deluxe reissue in various physical and digital formats here. Click below to view the three-CD tracklist.