In the Dark
A black background with the eyes of the band visible
Studio album by
Grateful Dead
ReleasedJuly 6, 1987 (1987-07-06)
RecordedJanuary 6–13, 1987
StudioMarin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael, California
Genre
Length40:37
LabelArista
Producer
Grateful Dead chronology
Dead Set
(1981)		 In the Dark
(1987)		 Dead Zone: The Grateful Dead CD Collection (1977–1987)
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert ChristgauC+[2]
Rolling StoneFavorable[3]

In the Dark is the twelfth studio album (nineteenth overall) by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded in January 1987, and released on July 6, 1987.

In the Dark was the band's first album in six years, and its first studio album since 1980's Go to Heaven. It became unexpectedly popular, achieving double platinum certification in the U.S. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, the Grateful Dead's only top ten album. The peppy "Touch of Grey" peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, the band's only top forty single;[4] it also became a frequently played music video on MTV. "Hell in a Bucket" and "Throwing Stones" (for which videos were also made) also achieved significant album-oriented rock radio airplay.

Production

In the Dark was recorded in just a week, between January 6 and 13, 1987 at Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, San Rafael, California, with production by Jerry Garcia and John Cutler. Most of the songs had been played by the Dead since 1982 or 1983, which gave them a five-year edge on perfecting them for the album. After the critically panned Go to Heaven, which contained songs that were mostly under a year old, the maturity of In the Dark was significantly more appreciated.

Since the band had been playing the songs for some time, they decided to record the baseline tracks for the album in a darkened theater ("In the Dark") that was empty (no audience), on a stage with the same lighting as they would use on tour (just to have the band perform in a more comfortable, familiar setting). The idea was to capture the "feel" they had for the songs as if they were playing them to a live audience.

Drummer Bill Kreutzmann reminisced, "We ran all the electric instruments through amplifiers in the basement, in isolation rooms, and kept the drums bright and loud on stage. Everything was fed to a recording truck parked outside the venue. Everybody played their parts in real time, together. When we took breaks, we'd go into the wings by the stage door and sit there and talk about what we'd just done. Talking about the music, then going right out to play the music, then talking about it some more was something that we really should've done more often — the analysis served the songs and the camaraderie served the band. It really put us in a good spot."[5]

They then brought these recorded tracks to the studio and, if needed, "cleaned" them up, overdubbing them or redoing a guitar, vocal, keyboard, or drum track in the studio using the same riffs they used on the stage recording.

Garcia spoke about the recording in an interview; "Marin Vets turns out to be an incredibly nice room to record in. There's something about the formal atmosphere in there that makes us work. When we set up at Front Street to work, a lot of times we just sort of dissolve into hanging out. Going in Marin Vets without an audience and playing just to ourselves was in the nature of an experiment..."[6]

In the Dark was released on CD in 1987 by Arista Records[6] before being re-released in 2000 by BMG International. It was then remastered, expanded, and released with new cover art as part of the Beyond Description (1973–1989) 12-CD box set in October 2004. The remastered version was later released separately on CD, on April 11, 2006, by Rhino Records.

Cover art

The cover art for the album was designed by Randy Tuten. The lettering forms the shape of an eye. Inside the lettering are photos of the band members' eyes. On the original LP, the photos were right side up, but when the album was released on CD in 1987, the photos were upside down.[7] Though the band joked that the extra eye belonged to the Ayatollah Khomeini, it actually belonged to their long-time promoter, Bill Graham.[6]

Track listing

Original release

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead SingerLength
1."Touch of Grey"
Jerry Garcia5:47
2."Hell in a Bucket"
Bob Weir5:35
3."When Push Comes to Shove"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
Garcia4:05
4."West L.A. Fadeaway"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
Garcia6:39
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead SingerLength
5."Tons of Steel"MydlandBrent Mydland5:15
6."Throwing Stones"
  • Barlow
  • Weir
Weir7:18
7."Black Muddy River"
  • Garcia
  • Hunter
Garcia5:58

Note: "My Brother Esau" (written by Weir and Barlow), the B-side of the "Touch of Grey" single, was omitted from the LP and CD releases of In the Dark, but was included on the cassette as the fourth track, as well as the 2004 reissue as the eighth track.

2004 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleRecording DateLength
9."West L.A. Fadeaway" (alternate version)1984-03 Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA7:09
10."Black Muddy River" (studio outtake)1986-12-05 Club Front, San Rafael, CA5:41
11."When Push Comes to Shove" (studio outtake)1986-12-05 Club Front, San Rafael, CA4:22
12."Touch of Grey" (studio outtake)1982-08 Club Front, San Rafael, CA5:47
13."Throwing Stones" (live)1987-07-04 Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, MA9:36

Personnel

Charts

Album - Billboard

Year Chart Position
1987 The Billboard 200 6[9]

Singles - Billboard

Year Single Chart Position
1987 "Touch of Grey" Mainstream Rock Tracks 1[10]
The Billboard Hot 100 9[10]
Adult Contemporary 15[10]
"Hell in a Bucket" Mainstream Rock Tracks 3[10]
"West L.A. Fadeaway" Mainstream Rock Tracks 40[10]
"Throwing Stones" Mainstream Rock Tracks 15[10]

Certifications

Certifications for In the Dark
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[12] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Connolly, Dave. "In the Dark". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  4. ↑ Albano, Ric (September 7, 2012). "In the Dark by Grateful Dead", Classic Rock Review. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  5. ↑ Kreutzmann, Bill (2015). Deal. St. Martin's Press, New York. Chapter 18. ISBN 978-1-250-03380-2.
  6. 1 2 3 In the Dark Notes - at deaddisc.com. Retrieved May 10, 2011
  7. ↑ In the Dark at www.randytuten.com , official website of Randy Tuten. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Hell in a Bucket", dead.net. retrieved March 29, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Billboard album chart history-Grateful Dead". Retrieved March 1, 2009.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Billboard singles chart history-Grateful Dead". Retrieved March 1, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Grateful Dead – In the Dark". Music Canada. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
  12. ↑ "American album certifications – Grateful Dead – In the Dark". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 19, 2022.
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