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    heatherlew
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    RFK Stadium 1989 Box

    LESS THAN 5000 LEFT

    The Grateful Dead battled the elements in July 1989, enduring drenching rains and stifling humidity during back-to-back shows at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in the nation’s capital. In spite of the bleak weather, the band thrilled the massive crowds both nights with triumphant performances that rank among the very best of a busy year that included 74 shows and the release of the group’s final studio album, BUILT TO LAST.

    ROBERT F. KENNEDY STADIUM, WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 12 & 13, 1989 includes two previously unreleased concerts taken from the band’s master 24-track analog recordings, which have been mixed by Jeffrey Norman at TRI Studios and mastered in HDCD by David Glasser. The collection’s colorful slip case features original artwork by Justin Helton and a perfect-bound book with in-depth liner notes written by Dean Budnick, editor-in-chief of Relix magazine. The set will also be available as a digital download in Apple Lossless and FLAC 192/24.

    When Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Brent Mydland, and Bob Weir rolled into D.C. in July 1989 for the Dead’s two-night stand at RFK, the band hit the stage running with a stellar rendition of “Touch Of Grey,” the group’s biggest hit from its only Top 10 album In The Dark, which was released in 1987. The following night, the band returned to its double-platinum commercial breakthrough when it opened the show with a fiery version of “Hell In A Bucket.”

    “RFK Stadium '89 fell right in the middle of one of the best tours of the last 15 years of Grateful Dead performances, with these shows being the sixth and seventh of an 11-show tour. This tour is widely considered the start of a nine month period of sustained excellence, which ran from Summer '89 through Spring '90. The RFK shows are as good as any of the more famous shows from this period, including July 4 in Buffalo, July 7 in Philadelphia, and the Alpine run,” says David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist and the set’s producer. “When Bob Weir has asked me to provide copies of Grateful Dead songs to give to his bandmates to learn and rehearse, he almost always requests Summer '89, and I've often drawn upon the RFK shows for this purpose. It's really that good!”

    Both shows feature standout moments, but the July 12 show is notable for a few reasons. Perhaps the biggest is that the first set featured at least one song sung by each of the band’s four lead singers – Garcia, Weir, Lesh and Mydland – something that rarely happened. Another surprise came when the band opened the second set with “Sugaree,” a song that almost always appeared during the first set.

    Pianist Bruce Hornsby — who briefly joined the band between 1990 and 1992 — is featured on both shows. He played accordion during “Sugaree” and “Man Smart (Woman Smarter),” with a touch of keyboard-tinkling, on July 12, and then played more accordion the following night for “Tennessee Jed” and “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again.”

    For fans of Mydland’s tenure with the Dead – which began in 1979 and ended in 1990 with the keyboardist’s tragic death – these stellar shows capture that incarnation in peak form. Among the long list of highlights are performances of live staples such as “Eyes Of The World,” “Wharf Rat” and “I Need A Miracle,” along with rarities like “To Lay Me Down,” which was played only a few times in 1989. The July 13 show also features the band road-testing “I Will Take You Home,” a track Mydland wrote with Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow that would appear later that fall on Built To Last.

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  • #421
    possiblyMaybeAnother
    Joined:
    I was born in the 70s, raised on 80s bands
    I'm not ashamed to admit I love the 80s. Def Leppard pioneered the hard rock ballad. The Cars were doing cool stuff in the studio. Van Halen shredded. Judas Priest was doing its thing. The Police were groundbreaking. Rush consistently evolved their sound, and while some dislike their synth stuff, I really like what they did in the 80s. While I personally don't like Bon Jovi, I have to admit that he and his band came out with exceptional pop songs. Every few years I rediscover how great Yes 90125 is. Prince came out as a major force to be reckoned with (dare I say genius?). Billy Joel put out some nice tunes ("Pressure" is a personal favorite of mine, perfectly capturing the paranoid cold war zeitgeist). Men At Work. J. Geils Band. Golden Earring. The Eurythmics. Duran Duran. Michael Jackson. Every era had its crap. There have always been popular, dismal tunes topping the charts. Someone mentioned "We Built this City." Holy hell what an awful song. "Against All Odds" was like listening to a person's soul leaving the body and embodies everything I dislike about 80s music. Sure, Brent's synth sounds and the MIDI stuff sound dated today. But I won't pigeonhole the amazing musicianship and creativity that the Dead and many others brought to the table simply because they embraced new technology. It's part of growth. I listened to this set last night again and I still dig it. I'm happy I bought it. I hope more from this era gets released, because I will buy each and every show.
  • #422
    Guss West
    Joined:
    80s music to grow up to
    1-99. Metallica. 100. Van Halen 101. Everything else.
  • #423
    direwulf
    Joined:
    Dennis
    I tend to agree with Dennis on this front. Most people are definitely of the mindset, "if I don't know about it and if I didn't hear about it when it came out...well, then there's no good music from (fill in the blank with country, year, decade, etc.)." Deadheads are some of the most polarizing people and it's odd considering how many colors most of them have seen in their lives. There was A LOT of great music from bands that started in the 80's or produced music through the 80's. If you don't know any of it, start looking it's gonna be a long winter in the Northern Hemisphere. I'm not making a list because I've done the work by listening, now it's your turn to put in some work outside the comfort zone.
  • #424
    Sixtus_
    Joined:
    Listening
    This is an interesting topic and I thoroughly enjoy all of the myriad takes on how people listen and to what. Over the past year or so we were gifted a Sonos system, and I've got to say, it has thoroughly grown on me. We have four of these speakers all over the house and once you pick a song/station it is played all through the system (it also has configurations so one speaker can play one thing, and the others can play something else...should there happen to be a conflict of [GASP] a household member preferring something other than GD). It's like satellite radio (I think, I've never actually used any such services) in that you can tap into pretty much any existing radio station, and then they have dedicated stations for whatever genre you want to hear. Of course I have several GD-related stations in the queue, a few of which run full shows back to back, a few of which do a sort of mix of GD and related bands (this is what the GD Pandora station does). In all honesty, I've actually picked up/heard some new stuff (to my ears anyway) doing it this way, songs and bands I otherwise never would have heard of. So in that respect, it definitely has opened up my eyes/ears and set some expectations that new stuff is always just around the corner, as Dennis alluded to. Sixtus
  • #425
    Dennis
    Joined:
    80's Music,,,,, just music
    One of the first signs of old age is saying, "they don't make music like they used to". There is always good music happening. I think I'll disagree with Jim on the virtues of sat radio. They have serious fm at the store with a million channels, pick any channel, ANY CHANNEL, and just like the old AM days, the old FM days you will hear the same songs every day. I've tried the free versions of Pandora(?), choices that seems to work off the logic if you like this song, you should like this one. I start with Frank Sinatra and soon I'm listening to Rammstein???? Even if they don't make good music anymore, there is more music already available then one could ever listen to in one lifetime. Zamfir (Master of the Pan Flute) comes to mind. My limited experience has shown most people stop listening to music right after high school or college. When I go over most people houses I find they have just enough cd's to fill the piece of furniture they bought to hold cd's AND they stopped buying them after school. Most just seem to pick a radio station that plays songs they know, listen to talk radio (excuse me while I rinse the puke out of my mouth) or NPR.............sorry nodded off there for a minute. So don't think "good" music has disappeared, it's all around us. Oh well back to my Al Jolson listening,,, I'm Alabamy bound, There'll be no heebie-jeebies hangin' 'round Just gave the meanest man on earth, all I'm worth, just to put my tootsies in an upper berth
  • #426
    unkle sam
    Joined:
    80's music
    lots of good finds here, I forgot about the Police, saw them three times from 79 to 83, always a great show, I remember the ghost in the machine tour and I told one of my buddies it was as good as a dead show, he said "don't be sack-religious" Which made me laugh. Also caught Steve Ray in those days, great show but it was after he got busted and had to give us all a talk about the "evils of drugs", I can only imagine how good he was before, never forget the first time I heard his rendition of Voodoo Child, blew me away. Caught U2 also, but that was in 79. In my mind (don't go there) I didn't come out of the seventies until about 83, and I didn't like what I saw so I retreated back into my cave, so it all kinda runs together. I've heard of tumble weeds, but I never tried it, any good? Is it anything like crack weeds? (which are really hard to remove :). Hopefully the west will get some shows next year. Unless they don't tour due to slow ticket sales. Back to D & Co, was any of those shows sold out? I see on ticketmaster still plenty of tickets for most of the shows. Most of the upper level is unsold for the Orlando show. Any one got any thoughts on why this is? Besides the cost of tickets and it being a school nite?
  • #427
    icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    80’s FM radio
    I was saved by an album-oriented rock (AOR) radio station that played 60/70’s bands during the 80’s. In the 90’s this was referred to as ‘Classic Rock’. Also, in the early years of MTV, before music labels prioritized making videos, MTV filled its time with videos from the 60/70’s, a lot of it live concert footage. I was a young teenager at the time and quickly learned that live recordings were better than studio, and that there was a lot of good music from the 60/70’s era. Thus, I was able to ignore the 80’s music scene. Fortunately, many of those older bands had a resurgence in the late-80’s/early-90’s and went on tour, so I got to see many of my favorites live.
  • #428
    JimInMD
    Joined:
    80's
    The biggest problem with the 80's was that radio sucked and corporatism / MTV had pretty much taken over. It isn't that the music sucked it was more that we were silently steered towards what to listen to by fat cats / industry heads and they steered us towards pre-packed but profitable, shrink wrapped pre-packaged crap. The distribution network sucked. It continued into the 90's, if you didn't like the new Indie stations and the new wave/indie bands that permeated through any of the non-conventional radio stations.. the music scene seemed bleak. For a couple years there I felt like a dinosaur.. reverting back to my 'oldies' (mostly GD). It wasn't until Sat Radio came out that I started to see there was a ton of new/great music out there, you just had to poke around. Now we have sat radio, Pandora, Spotify.. and the evolution of digitization. Not that I ever participated.. but how many flash/hard drives have floated around packed with more music than one might ever listen to. There was indeed good music to be had, but if you weren't plugged in, it was easy to miss. You guys keep this up and you might offend one of the more polite and beloved posters here, 80sfan. :D
  • #429
    daverock
    Joined:
    More 80s
    When I think about it, there were quite a few good bands and musicians around in the 1980s. I thought all Stevie Ray Vaughan's albums were amazing too. There was also a great "space rock" band that grew out of the free festival movement in Britain called Ozric Tentacles. What was missing, for me, was the culture that started in the 1960s, and gradually disappeared during the 1970s. In the early and mid 70s, I used to feel a part of something bigger than myself, following bands. My appearance and attitude-and habits all altered. It didn't last...I suppose during the punk era things changed. Maybe it was just the fact that I was in my teens during the 70s, so it was all new to me. I can remember thinking The Dead had split up during the 1980s. They did the two European tours in 1981, and then there was literally nothing about them in the music press for years. This seemed symptomatic of the times to me-everything I thought The Dead had stood for-including they themselves-seemed to have vanished. I only found out they were still going in 1987-and that was when I started collecting tapes.
  • #430
    daverock
    Joined:
    More 80s
    When I think about it, there were quite a few good bands and musicians around in the 1980s. I thought all Stevie Ray Vaughan's albums were amazing too. There was also a great "space rock" band that grew out of the free festival movement in Britain called Ozric Tentacles. What was missing, for me, was the culture that started in the 1960s, and gradually disappeared during the 1970s. In the early and mid 70s, I used to feel a part of something bigger than myself, following bands. My appearance and attitude-and habits all altered. It didn't last...I suppose during the punk era things changed. Maybe it was just the fact that I was in my teens during the 70s, so it was all new to me. I can remember thinking The Dead had split up during the 1980s. They did the two European tours in 1981, and then there was literally nothing about them in the music press for years. This seemed symptomatic of the times to me-everything I thought The Dead had stood for-including they themselves-seemed to have vanished. I only found out they were still going in 1987-and that was when I started collecting tapes.
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Dead Store Products

RFK Stadium 1989 Box

LESS THAN 5000 LEFT

The Grateful Dead battled the elements in July 1989, enduring drenching rains and stifling humidity during back-to-back shows at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in the nation’s capital. In spite of the bleak weather, the band thrilled the massive crowds both nights with triumphant performances that rank among the very best of a busy year that included 74 shows and the release of the group’s final studio album, BUILT TO LAST.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY STADIUM, WASHINGTON, D.C., JULY 12 & 13, 1989 includes two previously unreleased concerts taken from the band’s master 24-track analog recordings, which have been mixed by Jeffrey Norman at TRI Studios and mastered in HDCD by David Glasser. The collection’s colorful slip case features original artwork by Justin Helton and a perfect-bound book with in-depth liner notes written by Dean Budnick, editor-in-chief of Relix magazine. The set will also be available as a digital download in Apple Lossless and FLAC 192/24.

When Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, Brent Mydland, and Bob Weir rolled into D.C. in July 1989 for the Dead’s two-night stand at RFK, the band hit the stage running with a stellar rendition of “Touch Of Grey,” the group’s biggest hit from its only Top 10 album In The Dark, which was released in 1987. The following night, the band returned to its double-platinum commercial breakthrough when it opened the show with a fiery version of “Hell In A Bucket.”

“RFK Stadium '89 fell right in the middle of one of the best tours of the last 15 years of Grateful Dead performances, with these shows being the sixth and seventh of an 11-show tour. This tour is widely considered the start of a nine month period of sustained excellence, which ran from Summer '89 through Spring '90. The RFK shows are as good as any of the more famous shows from this period, including July 4 in Buffalo, July 7 in Philadelphia, and the Alpine run,” says David Lemieux, Grateful Dead archivist and the set’s producer. “When Bob Weir has asked me to provide copies of Grateful Dead songs to give to his bandmates to learn and rehearse, he almost always requests Summer '89, and I've often drawn upon the RFK shows for this purpose. It's really that good!”

Both shows feature standout moments, but the July 12 show is notable for a few reasons. Perhaps the biggest is that the first set featured at least one song sung by each of the band’s four lead singers – Garcia, Weir, Lesh and Mydland – something that rarely happened. Another surprise came when the band opened the second set with “Sugaree,” a song that almost always appeared during the first set.

Pianist Bruce Hornsby — who briefly joined the band between 1990 and 1992 — is featured on both shows. He played accordion during “Sugaree” and “Man Smart (Woman Smarter),” with a touch of keyboard-tinkling, on July 12, and then played more accordion the following night for “Tennessee Jed” and “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again.”

For fans of Mydland’s tenure with the Dead – which began in 1979 and ended in 1990 with the keyboardist’s tragic death – these stellar shows capture that incarnation in peak form. Among the long list of highlights are performances of live staples such as “Eyes Of The World,” “Wharf Rat” and “I Need A Miracle,” along with rarities like “To Lay Me Down,” which was played only a few times in 1989. The July 13 show also features the band road-testing “I Will Take You Home,” a track Mydland wrote with Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow that would appear later that fall on Built To Last.

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Submitted by Thin on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 12:13

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agreed - Man Smart is a fun ride. Always good for a jam, and this one rocks. Anyone else notice how the pace on Sugaree in the last verse and chorus is inconsistent, with factions trying unsuccessfully to pull it in different directions? It definitely wobbles, but it works - adds character. Raking leaves with RFK rockin' the headphones. So far I like it a lot - Reminds me of the impressive RT '88 shows (3/30 and 4/1/88) in terms of that late '80's "full-band sound", consistent execution - but in '89 they're a little more polished - especially Jerry. The mix is so uncluttered, and they're playing so well that you can HEAR them responding to each other from moment to moment. Fun listening.
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17 years 2 months

Submitted by Vguy72 on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 12:20

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....can't argue with that. Perfect mix. Liking the MIDI "clap" effects that Billy/Mickey throw out there during Eyes. Fun indeed. I recall those MIDI "claps" very well live. Who is this band and why do they keep following me, even now?....1989 was my most attended year. I will wait patiently for a Cal Expo box. Grate run worthy of release....
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17 years 3 months

Submitted by SPACEBROTHER on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 14:00

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Already commented on the high energy renditions of Touch of Grey and an all time great Minglewood from 7/12/89. Here's my song by song take.... Missippi Half-Step - continuation of the high energy from Touch and Minglewood. The band is clearly on and feeling good. Inspired performance. Brent's embellishments are spot on perfect. Tom Thumb Blues - fairly stndard, but well played. Phil was definitely "on" this night, as was everybody. Far From Me - Brent proving himself to be an integral part of the Dead. He was channeling some dark emotions, but keeping it real at the same time. Life isn't always unicorns ands rainbows, and sometimes the most inspired performances come from "real life" emotions. As much as love, happiness and joy evoke inspired music, some of the most effective songs are born out of pain. It doesn't get much more real than that. Mad respect for Brent. Cassidy - Energy level has only increased by this point into this high energy show. Anyone catch the song Weir quotes at the beginning of the main solo section....nah...hah/nah/nah/nah...nah/nah/nah nah...nah-nah-nah...nah-nah-nah...? Cool stuff. A solid performace. The version from Without a Net (12/9/89 Forum) is the definitive electric released performance. FOTD - Despite Bob coming in a little early on the chorus, it's evident that the Dead are performing every song to near perfection. They were like a well oiled machine by '89. You have to go back to May '77 and '72 to find this level of consistency. I like Brent's choice of sound that begins with his solo. Usually he would implement a violin sound. Here he uses a saxophone patch. Cool stuff right there. Jerry's solo shines as well. Also of note, Jerry is in near perfect voice. Promised Land - This song had been such a standard in their setlists, that they usually performed it well, even in their off years. This version is a typically nice capper to what feels like too short of a first set. They were playing so well at this point in their career, that the songs breeze by. So far, I've found nothing to make me feel like they were dragging, or in "dirge" mode. High energy. Onto the second set... Sugaree - Back in the day, I used to say, "Oh no, there's that darn accordian again". I attended the Buckeye Lake show the previous summer in '88, so got to see the first Horsby accordian sit in. Now-a-days, I think the accordian actually added a nice different texture. Suprised Bruce didn't bust it out on Bob's cowboy/polka numbers more often. The '88 Buckeye Lake version still had that brand new accordian smell to it, where this version is executed as if it were pre-recorded, they are so tight. I loved seeing this song live, and this version makes me miss Jerry (and Brent) all that much more. Women Are Smarter - Hearing Bruce on the keys with Brent on the organ together, makes me imagine if Brent had survived, and Bruce were added as a second keyboardist, the two of them together pushed this so far over-the-top, that this becomes definitive by proxy. For this moment in their history, this two-keyboards approach is a true few minutes of magic may be the best "two-keyboardist" bit of music from the Dead's entire 30 year touring career. You'll never find a Pigpen/Constantan, Pigpen/Keith or Vince/Bruce moment that comes remotely close to how awesome this is. I only wish this track would have been mixed with the Key's in the right channel and organ in left channel. If you're not listening in headphones, like I am now, this doesn't matter much. Just my opinion of course. Ship of Fools - For some reason, the dead really seemed to dig deep into this song during the '89 Summer tour. This version is no different. played with precision and emotion. Estimated - Every version performed in '89 was stellar, and this one is no different. Eyes - Much like Estimated, another great version. I think my favorite estimated > Eyes combo from summer '89 might be 6/21/89 Shoreline. Watched the original "pay per view" broadcast, but these are also awesome. Like others, I welcomed the funky versions that began with Knickerbocker 3/25/90, and of course, that all time version with Branford. The uptempo ones from '89 will still quite epic. Another reminder of how much I miss Summer tours with Jerry. Nice little jam at the end of this 7/12 version. Drums - One thing I really liked about the '89 drums segments are how Bill and Mickey would switch up their approaches from show to show. Some shows they would approach with a more traditional drum solo with their trap kits. Other shows would be heavy sonic exploartions with the MIDI trigger pads, while other times they would expore a variet of hand drums that originate from ancient, and even prehisoric cultures. Of course the Beam comes in and we get a "Holy fucking shit!" from Bill. Nice. I remember that from the Meet-up showing. Space - One thing I wish would have translated onto tape were the surround sound effects from the '80s. I remember vididly how sound would bounce around between the front of house p.a. speakers and the repeater towers of speakers further back around the crowd. Dan Healy would control this with joysticks where he could mover any sound around an arena. I saw Pink Floyd do this at the one concert of theirs I caught in '94 (which happened to be the first complete Dark Side of the Moon performance since '76 or '77). I caught the Dead in Spring '89 for what would be among the final pre-MIDI Space segments, then caught them (first on the 6/21 PPV broadcast) at Alpine. '89 through '90 saw some major evolution/changes for the Dead. It was a great time to go to shows (except for Brent dying of course). Miracle - Nice solid version. Short, well played. Average. I really dig the 3/14/90 Cap Center version. Jerry treally digs in deep on that one. Mr. Fantasy - Awesome version. Jerry fully jumps right in on his solos and kills them. Another song that soared in '89, and this one follows suit. Another track that alone makes this set worth the price of admission. Black Peter - I always welcome this song in any setlist. Amazing how well the bands dynamics on this aren't hindered by the fact that it was performed in a massive sports stadium. The subtleties are impeccable. Lovelight - Coming out of Black Peter, it's always nice when a show ends on a bluesy/R&B note. Sure, it's not like the monsters from '70, that could strech for over a half hour, but it still captures some essence from that. Like Goof Lovin', there was ony one Pigpen to sing it. Of course every version that came after would never be the same without him.It's cool that they would still pay a tribute to him by performing these all the way up until the end. Black Muddy River - One of the last of the truly great Garcia/Hunter ballads (along with Standing on the Moon and Days Between), and this one delivers. Overall, the first show is a winner. Sounds awesome. Well performed. Inspired. More of these please! Now onto 7/13/89...
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Submitted by guit30 on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 14:07

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Ok, I pretty much am a member of the 70's mafia, but this show just got put on youtube,and the sound quality is incredible for even a 24 track show. https://youtu.be/FrEjD2w7BdU
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8 years 10 months

Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 15:37

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Once again these CD’s were mastered as if they were cassette tapes: Drums ends, Space starts, after about 10 seconds Space fades out, fast forward to the end of side A, flip tape, press play, relisten to end of Drums, Space starts.... Don’t Dave and Jeff realize how stupid that sounds when listening on a portable music player, or even when using a CD changer? Here’s what I did using Toast 15, which is basic compared to something like Audacity, but it works. I didn’t compare waveforms, just listened to it and it sounded good to my ears. 12th Drums stop 09:14:00 Space start 00:18:00 crossfade 00:00:30 13th Drums stop 08:03:00 Space start 00:23:00 crossfade 00:00:30 I don’t have to do that with Charlie Miller shows......
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9 years 5 months

Submitted by LoveJerry on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 16:26

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Doesn't hold a candle to the 70s Dead, but Space is in wet dreamville with Brent, so we can be happy for that. It's the best ever right Space? Wooopppeee, Spacebrother says that Hammond is all we need!!! Huge line at the Kid Rock store!
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6 years 10 months

Submitted by possiblyMaybeAnother on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 16:31

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Yeah I'm with you on this. I love the "mini box" format. Like you said, it allows the production to be the best quality and results in a product that's affordable for most. I'd totally be on board for 3-4 of these a year. This sounds INCREDIBLE. I'm so glad I bought this. The booklet is high quality, as is the packaging. Well done, Dead people!
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17 years 2 months

Submitted by Vguy72 on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 17:10

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....yeah. 80's Dead is a different animal than 70's Dead. We all know that. Then why, lovejerry, do you feel the need to re-stoke the fire? Guess it gets you off somehow. I don't understand....
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8 years 10 months

Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 18:01

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That someone who loves Jerry would love all Jerry...Apparently not. He sounds pretty good to me on this release.
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13 years 2 months

Submitted by JimInMD on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 18:12

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Love Jerry and SpaceBro are dating again. I hope I get an invite to the wedding. DSO agreed to do the music, but they are having a difficult time deciding what show they are going to play for such an auspicious occasion...
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13 years 4 months

Submitted by Thats_Otis on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 20:05

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Nice write up :) 7/13 is even better (In my Humble Opinion..) The 1st set on that one is my favorite of the bunch on first go-through. Who pissed in LoveJerry's Cheerios? C'mon, someone's gotta fess up... Peace
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13 years 2 months

Submitted by JimInMD on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 20:15

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Space recommended 10/31/80 and the fireworks began. In her defense.. she always dreamed of getting married to 6/10/73. It's going to be a long week.
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17 years 3 months

Submitted by SPACEBROTHER on Sun, 11/12/2017 - 20:35

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Sign me up for the prenup. ;) If Kid Rock isn't to your liking, there's always Nickleback.
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8 years 10 months

Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 04:46

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Someone mentioned the other day about splitting collections during divorce proceedings. In this case it would be an easy split between 78-79.
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9 years 3 months

Submitted by Kayak Guy on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 09:25

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A very detailed review, thanks for posting.I really like the box, I hope all future "small box" releases follows this format. Those multitracks sound fantastic, they do have overlap fades, like people still listen to CDs and need to be reminded the band didn't stop before the media ran out. It's played well, all of Summer 89 was, but this box has the set lists laggards I find hard to get psyched about. Out of the whole Summer 89 tour this was the 2 shows I wanted released the least. On the good side it means all the other multitrack boxes from the tour will be better from now on, because I will buy them all. The Meet Up at the Movie of the 12th was a lot of fun, mainly due to the interaction of Jerry and Brent captured by the cameras. Without the visuals, it's just a well played and recorded run at the end of the old set lists and before the Fall 89 tour when they broke out a bunch of older stuff to freshen up the stale set lists from summer. I look forward to your review of the 13th.
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9 years 5 months

Submitted by LoveJerry on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 09:14

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My position is simple. I'm not going to sit back while Spacebrother continues his pattern of abuse toward anyone who doesn't care of the 80s. He did okay for awhile and I was quiet. But then he offered this zinger last week (and I quote Spacebrother): "It's the "Deader than thou" folks who won't pony up for this. It's cheaper than the cost of the Dave's Picks subscription for crying out loud. Great multi-track recordings of a couple of great shows from one of the bands geatest tours. Why would active music purchasing Deadheads pass on such a generous treat? If so-called fans listen to that Let It Grow from the Listening Party, and still pass on this, they might as well quit listening to the Dead all together and sell or trade their collections for Kid Rock albums. That's about as lame as they are." So, in Spacebrother's own words, if you don't like the 80s, he attacks people in mass. He makes it clear that he holds you in contempt, and he speaks to you with condescension. You've been stamped with unflattering labels by Spacebrother: "Deader Than Thou", "so-called fans", "lame", etc. This is unacceptable, because these are personal comments toward a very large group of dead.net participants who don't share Spacebrother's enthusiasm for the 80s. Until Spacebrother apologizes, I will continue to call him out on his social offenses, and demand civilized discourse. I will no longer suppress my personal feelings about the 80s Dead, which I have been doing for many months after a talk with JimInMD. I am sorry to others besides Spacebrother who don't like my commentary on the 80s Dead, but it's just how I feel, and how many others here feel (I have an Inbox full of PMs from people who are also tired of Spacebrother's unchecked behavior, and who support me in my effort to hold him accountable). Spacebrother is finished running amok here. If Space, you apologize to the room for your comments which I've copy/pasted here, I will consider it a fresh start. You almost got there for awhile, but as has been typical for you've reverted to your old ways, which is what happened here with your comment about all of us "lame" people.
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Submitted by Mytime on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 10:12

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Glad he's happy and love his passion. If you don't like the 80s, why are you in a thread about 89 rfk to begin with?
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Submitted by Vguy72 on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 11:00

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....you kinda sound like me when I saw the Dead play Black Muddy River for an encore three shows in a row. Kinda....
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Submitted by David Duryea on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 11:05

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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…
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Submitted by possiblyMaybeAnother on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 11:10

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So-and-so needs to apologize? So much drama. I got my popcorn and my foldy chair. This is just too good.
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Submitted by azipple@gmail.com on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 12:07

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This is not my favorite period for the Dead but the RFK concerts are really strong. The cuts with Hornsby are real treats.
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Submitted by Jason Wilder on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 12:17

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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?
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Submitted by SPACEBROTHER on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 13:16

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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.
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Submitted by Kjohnduff1 on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 13:54

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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!
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Submitted by JimInMD on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 14:04

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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.
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Submitted by JimInMD on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 15:46

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ITunes will do it.. it's a free download if you don't have it loaded. To burn.. create a playlist, put a discs worth of songs on the playlist.. right click the playlist and select Burn To Disc. For GD there is a setting that MUST be selected.. it's called something like Gap Between Songs or something similar.. just select None. Oh.. you would have to import the shows into ITunes. For that.. select File / Add Folder to Library and assuming you have one show per folder, it imports the whole show.
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Submitted by Cousins Of The… on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 14:41

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Thanks Jim, I will try that.
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Submitted by MadDoc on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 15:21

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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.
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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:15

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I and many others had a defective CD3 on DaP24.I also had a defective 5-5-77 CD2. So, you are not alone. Best to email Dr. Rhino. drrhino@wmgcustomerservice.com
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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:19

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You had me at Fourier Transform.....
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Submitted by Butch on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:20

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I dont appreciate Spacebrother's "if you don't like the 80s then you're a lame ass" attitude around here. He states his opinions as if their facts, and then gets nasty with people who don't agree. No class whatsoever. I believe anyone who makes the kinds of globally offensive remarks reposted by LoveJerry should be moderated off the site.
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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:22

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You can’t burn Apple Lossless (ALAC) to CD, you must first convert to WAV (PC) or AIFF (Mac), then burn those to CD.
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Submitted by Cousins Of The… on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:27

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It worked after I installed iTunes as Jim recommended, I assume iTunes did the conversion. Thanks for the tip though.
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Submitted by One Man on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:37

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Have not had time to fully engage as yet, but wife (love her) went out to dinner with a friend and this thing is now filling my living room with immense sound. I agree with an earlier poster that if you just unleash the Full Norman on these ancient tapes, modern glory will result. Give him an impossible deadline (E72 box) and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will be squandered. Stop that -- don't get me started! All of the Summer '89 releases thus far have been fab, and this one of course fits right in. I'm not often in the mood for post-70s Dead, but right now I am, and this huge sonic barrage satisfies in every way. Across the Rio Grandeeeeo...
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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:50

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Is that I actually know what Fourier Transform means...
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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:50

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Is that I actually know what Fourier Transform means...
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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 16:50

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Is that I actually know what Fourier Transform means...
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Submitted by JimInMD on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 17:12

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..of course you do. Like the trajectory of the ice cream cone that hit your head is phase offset from the trajectory of a cone that might make it into your mouth. Had you only Fourier Transformed the path of your ice cream, you not be hungry and your hair would not be sticky and rainbow colored. Double and triple posts.. there was a period of time, like a week when I figured out how to get rid of double posts. If you double posted or wrote something then thought better of it.. you used to be able to get rid of it. You could edit the post.. toss in a link, then it asked you to type the secret code to get the post to stick. If you screwed up the secret code three times the entire post would disappear. This lasted for about a week after I figured that out, then they changed their programming and it no longer works.
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Submitted by icecrmcnkd on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 17:28

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Actually, rubbing ice cream on my forehead is what gives me the clairvoyance to comprehend a Fourier Transform.Ice cream headaches are the widow to the universe’s secrets...
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Submitted by BigDeadFan on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 17:32

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are there scans of the cover art available for the two digipacks?
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Submitted by One Man on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 17:48

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Here's something. It's not a Fourier Transform. It is something. Let's say all you have is your portable music playing device (phone, iPod, whatever) and you want a portable way to make it pretty loud. There is a "personal PA" made by Powerwerks (yes, they spell it like that) and it has a 1/8" input on Channel 3 with tone controls. It sums the stereo signal to mono and plays through two 4 inch drivers and a horn tweeter. I'm listening to some Get Shown the Light material right now and it's WAY better and louder than those little bluetooth speaker devices. This rig is designed to amplify, say, an acoustic guitar and vocal on Channels 1 and 2, and it's great at that too. No, I do not own stock in Earthwerks nor do I know anyone who works (werks) there. I just am amazed at this little box playing Grateful Dead music in my house right now. Yes, I went upstairs to the office to pay some bills and I'm very successfully procrastinating by writing this.
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Submitted by One Man on Mon, 11/13/2017 - 17:50

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It has bluetooth too. But don't do that. Use wires.
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