Grateful Dead

Has anyone tried purchasing/downloading the FLAC files? I plan on buying them but I'm waiting a bit in the hope that the process will be painless. It looks like a nice compact box but I've decided to minimize the physical "stuff" in my life. Edit ... "duh". Someone a few posts ago said they bought the download. I guess I'll go ahead and give it a try.

Thanks Jim, I will try that.

...how do you burn it to CD? Windows Media returned an error.Thanks

I'm a fan of all era's too.. I think this set defines the term Full Norman. I really appreciate it when they pull out all the stops restoring this stuff, making it sound as good as it can be. Does anyone remember the liner notes from Two From the Vault? "The concert was recorded on a then-state-of-the-art, one-inch 8-track tape machine that was supplied by the band's record label, Warner Bros. The record company also insisted on supplying engineers who turned out to be unfamiliar with the close miking technique involved in recording rock music. Consequently, each of the eight tracks contained significant leakage from all of the other instruments in the band, resulting in severe phase cancellation problems. Almost twenty-four years later, Don Pearson and producer Dan Healy solved this problem by employing a B&K 2032 Fast Fourier transform (FFT) digital spectrum analyzer to measure the delay in time between the different microphones, using the track of bassist Phil Lesh as the time centerpiece. The delay times were fed into a TC1280 stereo digital delay, which, along with careful mixing, resulted in a nearly perfect stereo image." I get giddy when they go the extra mile. Like the stand-out job on Two From the Vault, This re-master does the music justice, almost exactly perfect.

Thanks for the great write-up... love the great enthusiasm.I’m a fan of all eras - these shows surprised me. Set lists look average but i’m loving them so far - a lot more than I thought I would!

Quick review... Hell in a Bucket - Like the previous night, the second show begins with high energy. Phil drops that little Dark Star tease before launching into HIAB, and the crowd erupts. Of course, Jerry's just ripping the solos throughout like he's on a mission. The mix on this is incredible. Every element is perfectly audible and big sounding. Phat. Makes me yearn for the return of summer and cranking this up outdoors. Cold Rain and Snow - Always a welcome song, and in the secong first set slot. A double opener. A good sign of a great show ahead. Again, the B3 sounds awesome in the mix. Always a most natural fit with the Dead's sound, going back to their roots. Soulful. Little Red Rooster - Nice solid version of this. The crowd very audibly erupts when Brent takes his vocal turn and solo. He may have been in a lot of emotional pain, but in turn, his performances come from a very "real" place. Sometimes the most inspired art comes from pain and heartache. The expression of emotion through art is very powerful, and it really pushed the whole band to dig in deeper here. Tennessee Jed - In comes Bruce. Top notch reading of a classic favorite. This is about the point the stereo gets cranked up, and who cares what the neighbors think. Bruce's back-up vocal contributions round out an aleady big vocal harmony. When I first saw Bruce sit in with the Dead at Buckeye Lake in '88, I was familiar with his music, but was somewhat on the fence with him at the time. After that experience at Buckeye Lake, I was sold on him. A natural and great fit with the Dead and perfect successor to Brent. Stuck Inside of Mobile - They did this one at Buckeye Lake with Bruce the previous summer, and it worked well there, as it does here. This is a typically solid version. To Lay Me Down - This song had become increasingly rare in the setlists by this point into their career, so anytime they broke it out was a special treat, and this version is beautifully executed. This recording captures the subtleties and nuances beatifully. No small feat considering this happened in a massive sports stadium in front of a massive crowd. Another case of "this song alone makes the set worth the price of admission". Let It Grow - Epic. The clarity and fullness of this recording blows my mind. This is one of those versions that gradually builds up into this total beast. By the time the get into the solo section out of the "Rise and Fall" line, Jerry just unleases the beast and Brent chases him around nicely. They then settle into a nice groove on the key change for a while before coming in for the last vocals, then the final jam before the set break. "We'll be back in just a little bit." ~ Bob He's Gone - Extremely rare for this as a set opener in any era, and this version jumps right in. Awesome version. Looks Like Rain - Another well performed song where the clarity of the mix reveals the subtleties and nuances nicely. A perfect version of LLR. Terrapin - The perfect song choice to follow He's Gone > LLR, and this performance is typically awesome for '89, where every version was equally epic. The natural direction for this song to evolve into is when they started adding the "jam" to the end of it during the Spring '90 tour. An area where the Dead clearly evolved for the better. Jerry is clearly engaged to the fullest capacity and inspired. His closing solo is a monster. Drums - The first nights Drums started off as a more traditional drum solo leading into the beam. The second night goes into a more sonically explorative percussion jam complete with loops, trigger pad, delay/reverb effects. More of a psychedelic approach. They do add in some hand drums (talking drums) for good measure. Has to be heard. They pull out all the stops. The "Beam" sounds particularly nice on these recordings. Space - Some hints and teases of The Other One leading into Brent doing an almost Bruce Horsby inspired intro into I Will Take You Home, making this a unique performance. I Will Take You Home - Interesting how Brent could go from expressing his pain through sound, then to something as tender as this song. He was a musical genius. The Other One - This performance rolls in like an oncoming thunderstorm that establishes the groove, then explodes into a cataclysmic onslaught. Jerry doesn't hold back one bit either. Awesome. The sonic dance between Jerry and Brent is something to behold. Wharf Rat - A nice reading of a classic favorite. Jerry kills it. Brent on the B3 pours out of the speakers like a ray of gospel flavored sunshine on a summer day. Another powerful moment that benefits from a mix that reveals more subtleties and nuances (words of the day I guess). Throwing Stones - A nice reading of this often played song. A couple of spots where Bob hesitates. The sound of the crowd response eads me to believe something must have been going on in the moment. SAt this point, it's a party. Good Lovin' - A rare choice out of Throwing Stones, which was usually NFA. Like with throwing Stones, at this point it's a party. US Blues - As strong as a version as one could hope for to close out a strong show. Jerry once again kills it. Note - Bob sounded like he had some tuning issues during Hell In a Bucket and the first couple of notes he played on Cold Rain and Snow, which he immediately fixed. All in all, a strong two show run during a peak period for the band. I will get a lot of mileage out of these. Thanks again Dave, Norman and everybody else at Rhino and employed by the Dead to bring these out. When does the full Alpine run get released on CD?! This review has been brought to you courtesy of Kid Rock, Nickleback and Katy Perry's left shark.

Well, for the 3rd time in the last five releases (30 Trips, Get Shown the Light, and now this) I have defective discs. Disc 3 of night one has some yellow crud on it that I cannot get off even with repeated uses of Disc Doctor. Really loving that you can no longer talk to a customer service rep. How is it that I never have issues with any of the Dave's Picks, but all these special archival releases are screwed up? Anyone else or am I just special?

This is not my favorite period for the Dead but the RFK concerts are really strong. The cuts with Hornsby are real treats.

So-and-so needs to apologize? So much drama. I got my popcorn and my foldy chair. This is just too good.

Midnight cafe has a free download of 4/7/85 at the Spectrum. With Why Don't We Do It In The Road and a Keep Your Day Job encore. I'm a woefully stuck in the sixties GD kind of guy, but I'm happy to see others find enjoyment in any Dead year. Grateful Dead April 7, 1985 The Spectrum Philadelphia, PA Download: FLAC/MP3 This is a flac encoded & tagged version of shnid: 3346 SOURCE: CSBD>DAT>CDR>EAC>SHN(non-seekable) Seed Shns by Scott Z — Thanks! Seeded to etree by darrin (dnsacks@usa.net) on 2/14/2001 –Set 1– 101-d1t01 – Why Don’t We Do It in the Road 102-d1t02 – Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo 103-d1t03 – CC Rider 104-d1t04 – Bird Song 105-d1t05 – Dancin’ in the Streets 106-d1t06 – Deal –Set 2– 201-d1t07 – Shakedown Street -> 202-d1t08 – Samson & Delilah 203-d2t01 – She Belongs to Me -> 204-d2t02 – Man Samrt (Woman Are Smarter) -> 205-d2t03 – Drums -> 206-d2t04 – Space -> 207-d2t05 – Gimme Some Lovin’ -> 208-d2t06 – Truckin’ -> 209-d2t07 – Smokestack Lightnin’ -> 210-d2t08 – Morning Dew -> 211-d2t09 – Sugar Magnolia –Encore– 212-d2t10 – Keep Your Day Job Enjoy! https://themidnightcafe.org/2017/11/13/lossless-bootleg-bonanza-gratefu…