From the Mars Hotel

From the Mars Hotel
Studio album by The Grateful Dead
Released	June 27, 1974
Recorded	CBS Studios, San Francisco, CA, 3/30/74 – 4/19/74
Genre	Acid rock Jam rock Psychedelic blues/Blues rock Psychedelic folk/Folk rock Country rock
Length	37:26
Label	Grateful Dead Records
Producer	Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead chronology
Skeletons from the Closet: The Best of Grateful Dead (1974) From the Mars Hotel (1974) Blues for Allah (1975)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	(B-) [2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

From the Mars Hotel is the seventh studio album by the Grateful Dead. It was mostly recorded in April 1974 and originally released on June 27, 1974. It was the second release under the band's own label, Grateful Dead Records, after fulfilling their contract with Warner Bros. Records.

This was the final album before the band's hiatus from touring in October 1974, during which time they would finish up the film editing of The Grateful Dead Movie.

Two songs from this album were rarely played live ("Unbroken Chain" was played 10 times in 1995; "Money Money" was played three times in May 1974) and one was never played live ("Pride of Cucamonga"). "Pride of Cucamonga" and "Unbroken Chain" are both sung by bassist Phil Lesh, making these Lesh's final lead vocal work for the Dead for over ten years.

When held upside down in front of a mirror, the graphic on the front of the album cover appears to say "Ugly Rumors". This inspired the name of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's band, Ugly Rumours.^[4]

The album was released in a variety of ways after its original run:

• It was released again on LP in 1980 by Mobile Fidelity Records (MFSL 1-172).
• It was released for the first time on CD in 1985 by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MFCD830).^[5]
• It was released on CD and cassette in 1989 on its original Grateful Dead Records label.^[6]
• It was remastered, expanded, and released as part of the Beyond Description (1973–1989) 12-CD box set in October 2004.
• The remastered version was then released separately on CD on March 7, 2006 by Rhino Records.

Track listing

Original release

Side one

1. "U.S. Blues" (Hunter, Garcia) – 4:42
2. "China Doll" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
3. "Unbroken Chain" (Lesh, Peterson) – 6:46
4. "Loose Lucy" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:22

Side two

5. "Scarlet Begonias" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:19
6. "Pride of Cucamonga" (Lesh, Peterson) – 4:17
7. "Money Money" (Barlow, Weir) – 4:23
8. "Ship of Fools" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:27

2004 reissue

1. "U.S. Blues" (Hunter, Garcia) – 4:40
2. "China Doll" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:10
3. "Unbroken Chain" (Lesh, Peterson) – 6:45
4. "Loose Lucy" (Garcia, Hunter) – 3:21
5. "Scarlet Begonias" (Garcia, Hunter) – 4:19
6. "Pride of Cucamonga" (Lesh, Peterson) – 4:16
7. "Money Money" (Barlow, Weir) – 4:24
8. "Ship of Fools" (Garcia, Hunter) – 5:38
9. "Loose Lucy" (alternate take) – 4:43
10. "Scarlet Begonias" (live) – 9:09
11. "Money Money" (live) – 4:19
12. "Wave That Flag" (Garcia, Hunter) (live) – 5:34
13. "Let It Rock" (Berry) (live) – 3:22
14. "Pride of Cucamonga" (acoustic demo) – 4:24
15. "Unbroken Chain" (acoustic demo) – 6:20

Personnel

Grateful Dead

• Jerry Garcia – lead guitar, vocals
• Bob Weir – guitar, vocals
• Keith Godchaux – keyboards, vocals
• Donna Jean Godchaux – vocals
• Phil Lesh – bass, vocals
• Bill Kreutzmann – drums

Additional performers

• John McFee – pedal steel guitar
• Ned Lagin – synthesizers

Production

• George Horn – mastering
• Mary Ann Mayer – illustrations, creation

Bonus tracks production details

• "Loose Lucy" – studio outtake, recorded August 7, 1973
• "Scarlet Begonias" – live at Winterland, San Francisco, CA, October 16, 1974
• "Money Money" – live at PNE Coliseum, Vancouver, BC, May 17, 1974
• "Wave That Flag" – live at Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA, March 28, 1973
• "Let It Rock" – live at Jai-Alai Fronton, Miami, FL, June 23, 1974 (First and only time ever played in the bands history)
• "Pride Of Cucamonga" – studio acoustic demo, recorded August 4, 1973
• "Unbroken Chain" – studio acoustic demo, recorded August 11, 1973

Reissue production credits

• David Lemieux, James Austin – reissue producers
• Reggie Collins – annotation
• Joel Selvin – liner notes
• Sheryl Farber – editorial supervision
• Tom Flye – mixing
• Roy Segal – engineer
• Cameron Sears – executive producer
• Jimmy Edwards, Robin Hurley, Hale Milfgrim, Scott Pascucci – associate producers
• Joe Gastwirt – mastering, production consultant
• Eileen Law – research
• Ed Perlstein, Bruce Polonsky, Richard Pechner – photography
• Hugh Brown, Steve Vance – design, reissue art directors
• Steven Chean, Bill Inglot, Jeffrey Norman, Randy Perry – project assistants
• Robert Gatley – mixing assistant
• Ned Lagin – synthesizer
• Mary Ann Mayer – artwork

Adaptations

Musical group Animal Collective use a sample from the song "Unbroken Chain" for their song "What Would I Want? Sky" on their EP Fall Be Kind, and have received great praise from outlets like Pitchfork Media and Sputnikmusic for their respectful and interesting usage of the sample. It is also the first sample to ever be cleared for use by the Grateful Dead.^[7]

Charts

Album – Billboard

Year	Chart	Position
1974	Pop Albums	16

References

1. ^ Iyengar, Vik. From the Mars Hotel at Allmusic
2. ^ Christgau, Robert. Grateful Dead album reviews at robertchristgau.com
3. ^ The Grateful Dead Album Guide, Rolling Stone
4. ^ 'He even wanted to rehearse' by Kamal Ahmed, observer.guardian.co.uk, April 27 2003, Retrieved October 21, 2010.
5. ^ "Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel". http://www.deaddisc.com/disc/From_The_Mars_Hotel.htm. Retrieved February 14, 2010. 
6. ^ "Grateful Dead, The - From The Mars Hotel at Discogs". http://www.discogs.com/Grateful-Dead-From-The-Mars-Hotel/master/18467. Retrieved February 14, 2010. 
7. ^ Rosen, Jody (23 November 2009). "Animal Collective Fall Be Kind Domino". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/fall-be-kind-20091123. Retrieved 26 September 2011.