The Grateful Dead went into a state of latent activity in the fall of 1974 that lasted until the spring of the following year when the band reconvened at guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir's Ace Studios to record Blues for Allah. The disc was likewise the third to be issued on their own Grateful Dead Records label. When the LP hit shelves in September of 1975, the Dead were still not back on the road -- although they had played a few gigs throughout San Francisco. Obviously, the time off had done the band worlds of good, as Blues for Allah -- more than any past or future studio album -- captures the Dead at their most natural and inspired. The opening combo of "Help on the Way", "Slipknot!" and "Franklin's Tower" is a multi-faceted suite, owing as much to Miles Davis circa the E.S.P. album as to anything the Grateful Dead had been associated with. "Slipknot!" contains chord changes, progressions, and time signatures which become musical riddles for the band to solve -- which they do in the form of "Franklin's Tower". Another highly evolved piece is the rarely performed "King Solomon's Marbles", an instrumental that spotlights, among other things, Keith Godchaux's tastefully unrestrained Fender Rhodes finger work displaying more than just a tinge of Herbie Hancock inspiration. These more aggressive works contrast the delicate musical and lyrical haiku on "Crazy Fingers" containing some of lyricist Robert Hunter's finest and most beautifully arranged verbal images for the band. Weir's guitar solo in "Sage & Spirit" is based on one of his warm-up fingering exercises. Without a doubt, this is one of Weir's finest moments. The light acoustic melody is tinged with an equally beautiful arrangement. While there is definite merit in Blues for Allah's title suite, the subdued chant-like vocals and meandering melody seems incongruous when compared to the remainder of this thoroughly solid effort.

(by Lindsay Planer , All Music Guide)

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»Wenn Sie verwirrt sind, hören Sie Musik!«, lautet Jerry Garcias Empfehlung auf dem 1975 erschienenen Album »Blues for Allah« – und vermutlich hat es selten einen besseren Rat gegeben. Nach fast 20 Monaten selbst auferlegter Pause produzierten Grateful Dead ihr neues Album im Studio von Gitarrist Bob Weir, das er in sein neues Haus in Kalifornien eingebaut hatte. Statt wie üblich Albumversionen von Songs einzuspielen, die auf der Bühne gereift waren, entwickelten die Bandmitglieder das Material diesmal gemeinsam im Studio.

Mit Blues for Allah erfanden sich die Dead im Jahr 1975 neu. Nach Jahren einer gewissen Ziellosigkeit entstand ein Album wie aus einem Guss mit deutlichen Einflüssen im Jazz und einer durchgängigen musikalischen Linie. Teils rein instrumental, teils mit Gesangsparts von Jerry Garcia und Donna Godchaux unterstützt wurde dies die Wiedergeburt der Grateful Dead.