| "Althea" | |
|---|---|
| Song bythe Grateful Dead | |
| from the albumGo to Heaven | |
| Released | April 28, 1980 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 6:51 |
| Label | Arista |
| Songwriters | |
| Producer | Gary Lyons |
"Althea" is a song by theGrateful Dead, with lyrics written byRobert Hunter and music byJerry Garcia. It first appeared as the third track on the band's 1980 studio albumGo to Heaven. Along with "Alabama Getaway", it is one of only two Garcia–Hunter compositions on the album.
The song was first performed live on August 4, 1979, at theOakland Civic Auditorium inOakland, California. "Althea" would hold a steady place in the band's repertoire, being played consistently from its debut to the band's final days in 1995, with its final performance occurring at the band's penultimate show on July 8, 1995, atSoldier Field inChicago, Illinois.[2]
When performed in concert, the song almost exclusively appeared in the first set. It was performed over 270 times by the Grateful Dead.[2] "Althea" has been performed by several Grateful Dead offshoots, includingDead & Company,RatDog, andPhil Lesh and Friends.[3]
Several lines in the song referenceWilliam Shakespeare'stragedyHamlet. Namely, the lines, "You may be a clown in the burying ground", "You may be the fate ofOphelia", and "Perchance to dream".[4][5] The latter phrase is famously featured in the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy spoken byHamlet in the tragedy's third act.
In a 2015 interview withRolling Stone, Hunter was asked byDavid Browne if "Althea" was written about Garcia, to which Hunter promptly answered that it was not. When asked further about certain lines in the song that seem to reference Garcia's worsening drug usage — like "ain't nobody messing with you but you / but your friends are getting most concerned" — Hunter replied,
You know, people think I have a lot more intention at what I do because it sounds very focused and intentional. Sometimes I just write the next line that occurs to me, and then I stand back and look at it and say, "This looks like it works." But that does kind of sound like a message to him. Therewere other people messing with him.[6]
In a song review forAllMusic, Lindsay Planer wrote,
This slightly skewed love song is arguably the best Jerry Garcia/Robert Hunter collaboration onGo to Heaven.... The studio version doesn't display the subtleties of the Dead's instrumental interaction as keenly as live renditions — such as the one on the two-CD setGo to Nassau. However, Garcia incorporates mini guitar solos as a counterbalance eventually expanded between the verses.Brent Mydland — who joined the Dead just prior toGo to Heaven — would also weave some bright and lyrical lines behind Garcia's lead.[4]
In aRolling Stone list of Jerry Garcia's fifty greatest songs, "Althea" came in twentieth, with the description reading,
By the beginning of the Eighties, Garcia and Hunter weren't writing together as much as they once had, but when they did collaborate, they could still summon up the old magic. The slow, lovely "Althea" stands out on 1980's lacklusterGo to Heaven...[7]
Stereogum rated "Althea" as one of the Grateful Dead's best songs, saying "the studio version of 'Althea,' found on the underratedGo to Heaven album, captures the band at its swampiest."[1]
"Althea" was a key contributing factor to the formation ofDead & Company. GuitaristJohn Mayer first heard the song in 2011 onPandora and became infatuated with the Grateful Dead. While guest hostingThe Late Late Show in 2015, Mayer invited former Grateful Dead guitaristBob Weir to appear on the show as a musical guest. The two performed "Althea", and Mayer was invited to join Dead & Company shortly thereafter.[8][9][10]
Reggae bandCulture covered "Althea" on the 1997compilation albumFire on the Mountain: Reggae Celebrates the Grateful Dead, Volume 2.[11]
The song was covered on the 2016 compilation albumDay of the Dead by Winston Marshall, Kodiak Blue, and Shura.
Cheval Sombre covered the song in 2021 on hisEPAlthea.[12]
"Althea" was covered onJaime Wyatt's 2023 albumFeel Good, featuringBlack Pumas guitaristAdrian Quesada.[13]
