45 Years Later: Grateful Dead Formally Enter The Brent Mydland Era With ‘Go To Heaven’

Forty-five years of retrospect on the Grateful Dead’s eleventh studio record, Go to Heaven (released 4/28/80) suggests the iconic band’s dislike of studio recording finally got the best of them. 

Consequently, this third effort in a row with an outside producer (by dictum of Arista Records label head Clive Davis) would not accurately highlight either the practical effect of newcomer Brent Mydland’s presence, short-term or long-term.

Suppose the Dead sound detached to a fault throughout these thirty-eight-plus minutes. In that case, it may be due to the imposition of an edict from the label requiring another studio outing before the release of any live titles (such collections would follow the very next year in the form of Reckoning and Dead Set). 

Perhaps as a direct result of that diffident attitude, vocalist/guitarist Jerry Garcia brought in but two compositions completed with his customary songwriting partner, Robert Hunter. Nonetheless, both “Alabama Getaway” and “Althea” would become regular setlist inclusions in subsequent years, even though neither is particularly memorable: the performances almost always transcended the songs themselves, just as they do here.

The same can be said of Myland’s song contributions to this LP.  Written for Weir’s band when Brent was a member, before joining the parent group, “Far from Me” and “Easy to Love You” evince a distinctly pop orientation, far removed from the folk, country, and blues roots of the Grateful Dead. Adding to the sense of displacement is the air of disconnection in the performances: the prominent vocal harmonies are merely a superficial resemblance to the 1970s’ Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty.

In contrast, and in keeping with his evolution as a composer of some quirky renown, Bob Weir’s three contributions (all co-authored with lyricist John Barlow) simultaneously sound of a piece with the Dead oeuvre and in tune with the times. For instance, the funk-based “Feel Like A Stranger” includes Mydland’s Prophet 5 synthesizer, while the vamp at the end sets the stage for extended outros in the concert setting.

“Lost Sailor” and “Saint of Circumstance” share lyric themes married to comparably ghostly melodic changes, so it’s hardly surprising the two were played as a pair in concert. Here, however, they are more than just functional outlines for live renditions: the density of arrangements heralds the technical superiority of the recording location at the Dead’s Club Front studio.

Producer Gary Lyons had previously worked with Foreigner (but did more credible work with Wet Willie), so it’s little surprise his arbitrary approach to overdubs and mixing vexed the band (as did Fleetwood Mac refugee Keith Olsen three years prior on Terrapin Station).  The subtitle of the Rhythm Devils’ cryptic instrumental, “Antwerp’s Placebo (The Plumber),” is reportedly a dig at this rank outsider, but that cut’s only slightly more of a non-sequitur among these nine tracks than the traditional “Don’t Ease Me In.” 

Culled from the Grateful Dead’s earliest days as a jugband, its affable, easygoing shuffle should have countered perceptions of the psychedelic warriors’ surrender to disco (as hinted on the prior album, Shakedown Street, produced by Little Feat’s Lowell George). Unfortunately, its very inclusion and the otherwise astute positioning as the final track does not dispel the vague notion of the sextet as less than fully engaged in the process of making Go To Heaven. 

Furthered by ill-conceived and amorphous cover art (especially the group photo on the front), the nagging sense of discomfort may account for the fact that this was the last Grateful Dead long player for seven years. The next effort, however, would constitute the commercial watershed of In The Dark, boasting the psychedelic warriors’ sole mainstream hit “Touch Of Grey.” It’s an ironic twist befitting the serendipity that blessed the Grateful Dead for much of their history.