Somewhere in the middle of the second set of a Grateful Dead concert came a period of musical improvisation, usually 5 to 15 minutes, sometimes longer. This part of the concert is commonly referred to as "Space," and came right after a drum solo or duet. Infrared Roses is a compilation of these performances. There are no recognizable songs from the band's repertoire on this release (although a theme from "Uncle John's Band" appears at the start of "Riverside Rhapsody," "Infrared Roses" finishes with the band starting to play "I Need a Miracle," and "Magnesium Night Light" includes a quote of the opening theme of "Dark Star"). Robert Hunter, lyricist with the Grateful Dead, created the names of the tracks for the album. The album cover is by Jerry Garcia, who at the time was creating digital art.
Music from Infrared Roses was used as the soundtrack for the 18-minute Grateful Dead video Infrared Sightings.
Track listing
Musicians listed in order of appearance on each track.
"Crowd Sculpture" (Bralove) – 2:21
Deadheads
"Parallelogram" (Hart, Kreutzmann) – 5:06
Bill Kreutzmann - Trap Drums Left, Mickey Hart - Trap Drums Right
Mickey Hart - Beast (Large Drums) and Beam
Bill Kreutzmann - Timbales
"Little Nemo in Nightland" (Bralove, Garcia, Lesh, Weir) – 6:16
Although the editing techniques used for this album make it nearly impossible to identify all of the concerts used, some dates are identifiable. Some tracks may include material from other concerts in addition to those listed.
"Parallelogram" recorded at JFK Stadium on July 7, 1989 (complete show later released on Crimson White & Indigo)
"Riverside Rhapsody" recorded at Giants Stadium on July 10, 1989 (complete show later released on Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991)
"Post-Modern Highrise Table Top Stomp" recorded at Oakland Coliseum on December 28, 1989
"Infrared Roses" recorded at Nassau Coliseum on March 30, 1990 (complete show later released on Spring 1990)
"Magnesium Night Light" recorded at Hampton Coliseum on October 9, 1989 (complete show later released on Formerly the Warlocks. Also used for the video Backstage Pass)
"River of Nine Sorrows" and "Apollo at the Ritz" recorded at Nassau Coliseum on March 29, 1990 (complete show later released on Wake Up to Find Out)
References
^Planer, Lindsay. "Infrared Roses". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2018.