Track Listing

1. Crowd Sculpture
2. Parallelogram
3. Little Nemo in Nightland
4. Riverside Rhapsody
5. Post-Modern Highrise/Table Top Stomp
6. Infrared Roses
7. Silver Apples of the Moon
8. Speaking in Swords
9. Magnesium Night Light
10. Sparrow Hawk Row
11. River of Nine Sorrows - Grateful Dead,
12. Apollo at the Ritz - Grateful Dead,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #184340 in Music
• Released on: 1995-10-10
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live

Customer Reviews

Amazing Saving Grace
This is IT folks. Did you feel like '90s Grateful Dead was too heavy on the Promised Land's and U.S. Blues' and too light on the excursions into interplanetary tribal weirdness? I did. Thank God for DRUMS > SPACE. If you like to have your mind melted by music that isn't afraid to leave the realm of what many people consider "music" then this is THE Grateful Dead cd to buy. You'll experience everything from electronic insects scurrying through your synapses to primordial psycho-rhythm's that will lull you into a trance state. This is NOT rock and roll.

I wish there were more releases like this!
As a dead head, I don't know how you could dump on this album. If you don't like hearing these guys getting far out on their instruments, then what do you like about the dead? Their beautiful vocals? (hahaha) Sure they definitely play some of the greatest songs ever, but it's their unique jams as well that also serve to set them apart from anybody else. Nobody does it like them!

An Hour of Drums and Space!!
"Infrared Roses" is an amazing collection of live recordings from The Grateful Dead recorded between 1987 and 1991. Unlike other live albums by the Dead, "Infrared Roses" focuses on the free-form experimental moments that were performed during the second set of every live show. These sections were commonly known as "Drums" and "Space".
Producer and GD soundman Bob Bralove compiled and processed these improvisations into four symphonic-style suites consisting of three movements each. While most of the music is presented untouched, there are several sections that are compiled and mixed from multiple improvisations. The style of these improvisations range from ambient ("Little Nemo in Nightland") to easy listening ("Silver Apples of the Moon" which features pianist Bruce Hornsby performing variations on the Dead classic "Dark Star") to avant-garde (the title track and "Magnesium Nightlight") to jazz ("Apollo at the Ritz" which features saxophone extraordinaire Branford Marsalis) to world music ("Speaking in Swords" and "River of Nine Sorrows").
Also prevailent in this CD is the band's extensive use of Midi technology. On nearly every track, the band uses Midi to trigger the sounds of trumpets, choirs, flutes, voices and various sound effects from their traditional instruments of guitars, bass, keyboards and drums.
As mentioned above "Infrared Roses" is a different kind of Grateful Dead album. The focus is on improvisation and experimentation instead of actual songs (the closing of "Uncle John's Band" can be heard at the beginning of "Riverside Rhapsody" though). This is not recommendend for someone just discovering the Dead. However, it is highly recommended not only for Deadheads but for fans of experimental music, free-form improvisation and jazz. This is a great collection of some of the band's best experimental moments.
Buy this album, turn up the stereo, turn out the lights and listen!!