One of the first Dead albums I procured was Without A Net. That may be why I like the 89-90 period so much, but Althea was one of the cuts on that record. I’ve always been a sucker for a song that tells a story, and although Althea does not contain a cohesive narrative, so to speak, there are just enough elements here to keep me guessing.
One of the neat things about Althea, in my opinion, is that it sounds good played at a brisker pace as well as at a slower pace. This is the case for all of the Dead’s tunes, but Althea seems malleable enough that it works no matter the tempo.
I can’t imagine Althea as a bathroom break song for anyone, although I’m sure there are those out there who dislike the song. I can, however, imagine an entire stadium belting out “you know this space is getting hot!” just before Jerry rips into a solo. Did that ever happen? If so, I’d love to hear about it.
One final, random comment on this: I’m on a committee at work and one of the other people also on the committee is named Anthea, with an “N” rather than an “L”, however I thought it was Althea the first time I met her and now I sing this in my head during meetings.
Jerry’s first solo goes beyond simply working off the melody. The pick-up notes for the solo sound so very nice. I don’t know how he coaxes that sound out of his guitar but it’s great.
In his second solo the Big Man seems to be sliding around a lot more. I think it’s Weir who is using an actual slide at times in the song, but I mean just sliding into notes in different parts of the neck sans an actual slide. He’s precise enough that it doesn’t sound sloppy, but it has an extra greasy feel to it that just fits the groove of this version.
All told, a nice, laid back version of this tune.
This song was fresh at the time but it comes off a bit mild at the top. Garcia sings just slightly detachedly through the first verses. His playing is cool rather than hot. This was a good tune to include on this release given the era, although there are better versions. The bridge hits, accompanied by some not-awful Weir slides. It still does not heat up like you’d expect, though. You’ve gotta give them credit for doing it just like they felt. That would be sleepy, I guess. It’s not just Jerry, it’s everyone’s reaction to him also. As the last few rounds float by, they suddenly catch a large bit of fire. I hope you don’t get burned (you won’t, it cools very quickly after that).
A few days late here, but wanted to add how much I like this song. Go to Heaven is probably not a big favorite among deadheads but I played it a lot years before I saw the Dead live and really enjoyed it. Althea was easily my favorite song on the album.
I’m looking at the track listing for Go To Heaven right now and I have to say that the only song I don’t really like on the original release is Lost Sailor. I never understood the appeal of that song. It just sounds bad to me. The Brent songs have even grown on me over the years. I think Easy To Love You is the better of the two, but Far From Me isn’t horrible. I like the latter day version of ETLY, a la Spring 1990. Regardless, Althea is far and away the crown jewel of this album. It’s a song I never tire of.