Infrared Roses – Grateful Dead

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.