• 955 replies
    lilgoldie
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    Joined:

    What's Inside:
    • Five Complete Shows
    • 5/11/77 St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
    • 5/12/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
    • 5/13/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
    • 5/15/77 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO
    • 5/17/77 University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
    •14 Discs, 111 tracks
    •Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman, Plangent Processes playback system for maximum sonic accuracy
    •Artwork by Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike
    •Period Photos by James R Anderson
    •Historical Essay by Steve Silberman
    •Individual show liner notes

    MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

    If you're a Dead Head, chances are you've spent many an hour expounding upon the distinction of May 8, 1977, Cornell University, Barton Hall. Well, at the risk of preaching to the choir, we'd like to reintroduce you to a series of shows that matches said greatness from that same gloriously fertile season. While Barton Hall is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has occasionally flown under the radar due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. May 1977 is set to change all of that with a boxed set that zeroes in on this high-water mark in the Grateful Dead's long strange trip.

    For a band resurrecting itself after a 20-month hiatus, there was a great frenzy of expectancy that surrounded the Spring of 1977. We anticipate a grand reoccurrence of this fervor with the release of May 1977, a 14-disc boxed set featuring five complete shows from consecutive stops on that magical tour. Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, the "psychoacoustic phenomena" as Jerry once put it, of St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (5/11) Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL (5/12, 5/13), St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO (5/15) and Coliseum at the University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (5/17) can now finally be appreciated. Each of these shows finds the Dead delivering punchier, more focused sets, tightening up the framework; each night turning out first-ever renditions ("Passenger,""Iko Iko,""Jack-A-Roe"), unloading potent new pairings ("Scarlet Begonias">"Fire On The Mountain", "Estimated Prophet">"Eyes Of The World"), classic covers ("Dancing In The Street") and soon-to-be staples ("Estimated Prophet," "Samson and Delilah"), and ultimately rising up to paradise.

    And now for the nitty-gritty...

    Due June 11, May 1977 is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies. Presented in a psychedelic box that boasts an intricate die-cut design created by Grammy®-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike, the set also includes a book filled with stories about each show, as well as an in-depth essay by Dead historian Steve Silberman, who delves deep into the history behind the tour and the band’s return from its extended hiatus.

    Once these 15,000 boxes are gone, May 1977 and its shows will never be available again on CD. However, the 111 tracks will be made available on release date as FLAC and Apple lossless full-set-only downloads for $99.98.

    Like its predecessors Europe '72: The Complete Recordings and Spring 1990, we expect May 1977 to sell out. Your best bet is to pre-order it now, then sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks right here and on Facebook.com/GratefulDead and Youtube.com/gratefuldead.

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  • deadegad
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    Soulless downloading?
    Downloading has been great for taking a ton of music with you every where. Ah the convenience! It is, however, when compared with holding a physical product with artwork, lyrics, credits, etc., a bit soulless. Album/cd releases were glorious times. Ah the experience!. I just can't wait to hold May 77 and explore it while listening. There was time when someone might have had the latest release before everyone else. You would gather together and 'check it out!' It was a communal, almost, ritualistic, experience. Who amongst us, rings up some friends and says "come on over I got the latest Good Ole' GD download?" Heck this started out a with a bit of sarcastic humor but I have just convinced myself that we have indeed lost a bit of our humanity with downloading. We have certainly have lost a good deal of our shared sense of community or communal experience. Haven't we? Shit! I am heading to the kitchen to drink the cooking sherry.
  • Oroboros
    Joined:
    I am with you 100 %, mustin321
    the physical holding of the music itselfand then putting it into the player is engrained from my days with 45s and LPs. Er... those are like bigger CDs, everybody. I do love the art & documentation on them as well. But I sure need to wear my Walgreen readers nowadays, to see on those teeny tiny cases. The days of those big album covers is lonnggg gone. You see the hut, yet you ask, "where should I go for shelter".
  • mustin321
    Joined:
    CD's vs. Digital Media
    Sometimes I feel like I am one of the few on here that still collects CD's but obviously, someone is buying them.I can't stand not having something physical to hold on to.
  • chiclet
    Joined:
    Profit Margin
    Not at all sure what it costs in time and materials to put a set like this together, but the gross sales will only amount to about $2.1 million. Of course the downloads will sell for a long time, but the initial net profit on a limited edition boxed set can't be all that much. I'm just glad to have these things. I have gotten rid of most of my physical media, but these new sets from the vault are just irresistible. I feel like a kid in the record shop again, which is good.
  • Star Dark
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    Best of '85
    Deadegad - I've been pulling for a "Best of '85" set for years, too. But The Powers would have to be very selective - probably no complete shows - which would throw a good percentage of fans into a tizzy. I also have a feeling that certain members of the band aren't particularly fond of that period (despite flurries of sheer brilliance), so final approval might be difficult. Too bad...
  • pghas1
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    future releases drying up -not
    I woudn't be at all concerned with the fan base drying up -clearly the demand for the limited editions exceeds the supply and that is one reason they keep increasing the numbers available. There is no shortage of material in the vault, and they can easily sell 10,000 of anything obviously and when they do its a few million bucks in the bank account. What makes it so impressive that these all sell out, to me, is that just about everything is available for free in a nearly flawless version. I have downloaded versions of 5/19 and 5/21 that I think sound better than the official releases, and all of these shows are on my hard drive as sbd's except 5/12. But like most, I buy these anyway because I believe in the process and I trust the organization to make incredible sounding mixes of everything, plus I love css - much better for the car!! I think they actually have ffnally figured it out - we didnt buy the downlaods all that much, we weren't crazy about partial shows. Deadheads are completists and all about going the whole hog. We want entire shows, entire tours, we want memorabilia that reminds us of when we went, and we love cool artwork and rich, artistic collections of our stuff. My guess would be that with the subscription basis (right up our alley - from who knows hat they'll play or how they'll play it, sign me up to find out, to who knows what they'll release), bonus discs and fantastic boxed sets they have been putting out they have fellt pressure to release more, not less. My only regret is that in 2005 when the Fillmore box was released I was not paying attention and missed it. And even though I have gotten all of theose shows, I'd still love the box.
  • thismikebenz
    Joined:
    "Selections from Summer '85" or other partial show compilations
    Deadegad, THere are some Road Trips series releases that started to follow that pattern. I wonder if Dave's Picks series could do that as well, or are they going to stick to only whole show releases? If they did whole show releases only, then they will probably skip much of the mid to late 80's or I would find myself fast forwarding through some CDs or maybe just popping disc 2 of 3 in a lot and skipping the weaker sets
  • deadegad
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    Joined:
    RFK 73 Bootleg "The Longest Day."
    There is a multi disc bootleg from this show with the GD and the Allmans sets called The Longest Day. Just google the key words and you will find it. I saw it in a bootleg shop in NYC with cool packaging and artwork -- but the $$$ price!!! OMG!!! These boot leg shops charge exorbitant prices. Who want to support that king of artist-ripoff and price gouging anyway?!?! It would be cool to get an official release of those shows and Watkins Glen. They are historic. Regarding the mid to later 80's and perhaps not as many great shows form start to finish? Maybe they could do a say 'Selections form Summer 85?" Or a 1987 Box with the best shows, full or partial, from that year if there is not an outstanding run from a given venue or month. Just a thought. Bottom line; Keep'em coming.
  • The Weve
    Joined:
    RFK 6/09&10/73
    RFK 6/09&10/73.... this too would make another great box. With 2 days of stellar performances from both the Dead & the ABB. Always enjoyed the Dead 06/10 and both days of the Bros, think I'll break these out for a listen.
  • PalmerEldritch
    Joined:
    Summer 1973
    Man, I love that RFK 6/10/73 Dark Star! I'll always remember flipping out on that Dark Star on an airplane flight a few years ago. After years, heck decades, of listening to it, and loving, it- I just really "flipped out" on it on that flight. Can't explain it-except it just really rubbed me the right way! Arguably the greatest Dark Star ever (as are so many others!)
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15 years 7 months

What's Inside:
• Five Complete Shows
• 5/11/77 St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
• 5/12/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/13/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/15/77 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO
• 5/17/77 University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
•14 Discs, 111 tracks
•Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman, Plangent Processes playback system for maximum sonic accuracy
•Artwork by Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike
•Period Photos by James R Anderson
•Historical Essay by Steve Silberman
•Individual show liner notes

MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

If you're a Dead Head, chances are you've spent many an hour expounding upon the distinction of May 8, 1977, Cornell University, Barton Hall. Well, at the risk of preaching to the choir, we'd like to reintroduce you to a series of shows that matches said greatness from that same gloriously fertile season. While Barton Hall is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has occasionally flown under the radar due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. May 1977 is set to change all of that with a boxed set that zeroes in on this high-water mark in the Grateful Dead's long strange trip.

For a band resurrecting itself after a 20-month hiatus, there was a great frenzy of expectancy that surrounded the Spring of 1977. We anticipate a grand reoccurrence of this fervor with the release of May 1977, a 14-disc boxed set featuring five complete shows from consecutive stops on that magical tour. Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, the "psychoacoustic phenomena" as Jerry once put it, of St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (5/11) Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL (5/12, 5/13), St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO (5/15) and Coliseum at the University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (5/17) can now finally be appreciated. Each of these shows finds the Dead delivering punchier, more focused sets, tightening up the framework; each night turning out first-ever renditions ("Passenger,""Iko Iko,""Jack-A-Roe"), unloading potent new pairings ("Scarlet Begonias">"Fire On The Mountain", "Estimated Prophet">"Eyes Of The World"), classic covers ("Dancing In The Street") and soon-to-be staples ("Estimated Prophet," "Samson and Delilah"), and ultimately rising up to paradise.

And now for the nitty-gritty...

Due June 11, May 1977 is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies. Presented in a psychedelic box that boasts an intricate die-cut design created by Grammy®-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike, the set also includes a book filled with stories about each show, as well as an in-depth essay by Dead historian Steve Silberman, who delves deep into the history behind the tour and the band’s return from its extended hiatus.

Once these 15,000 boxes are gone, May 1977 and its shows will never be available again on CD. However, the 111 tracks will be made available on release date as FLAC and Apple lossless full-set-only downloads for $99.98.

Like its predecessors Europe '72: The Complete Recordings and Spring 1990, we expect May 1977 to sell out. Your best bet is to pre-order it now, then sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks right here and on Facebook.com/GratefulDead and Youtube.com/gratefuldead.

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11 years 4 months
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I am still enjoying this box. Have gone through the entire run multiple times. After hearing a lot of 77 it's nice to go to the later years...but coming back again for another listen and it's just amazing how you find even more to love within this set. Now if I could only get my hands on spring 90 and Europe 72!
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10 years 9 months
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Holy smokes I'm like a kid on Christmas morning checking the mail everyday after work! Can't wait to jam this.
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16 years 9 months
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I have been cranking this box on my car system while commuting and can't get enough of it. I reminds me of the old days when I wore out that Skull and Roses live lp set with constant listening. There is something about 1977. Also 1969, 1970, 1976, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1990 oh and 1988, 1989-ah well I could go on.
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11 years 4 months
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This is some incredible music. Took a break for a while after first getting it but it is so so good to come back to. St. Paul and Tuscaloosa are my favorite two but there is something wonderful in each show. Best sound quality for sure goes to the 11th. We have had some great releases lately. Am so grateful to have this on my bookshelf. Thanks again and again. To anyone not sure if they want this because there is already a lot of 77 released, just get it. The box is beautiful. Love the fact that I can have this physical media on my shelf. The sound quality is sure worth it. Windows media player decodes HDCD btw...really makes these discs shine.
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15 years 6 months
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This box is something special , I listened to May 11, and it blew me away again. Just great stuff
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11 years 4 months
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LIke many others, I have so much '77 stuff I was not excited when this came out. Thanks to a night of heavy drinking, I pulled out the credit card and dove in when judgement was impaired. I am so glad I did, I just keep coming back to this. Maybe it is the beautiful sound, or great performances, I don't know. I love almost all the releases, but this one just seems extra nice.
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15 years 6 months
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I am excited to see that this box set is on the UPS truck waiting to be delivered to my home sometime today! Decided to take the plunge and finally order this set. Looking forward to some heady jams this week.
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16 years 9 months
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looks like the physical set will sell out shortly. I got mine a long time ago and still have it in regular rotation. I'm a little surprised this took so long to sell out given the quality of the performance and beauty of the physical product. What is next on the release agenda?
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15 years 6 months
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Finally got my set yesterday. I listened to the first set of the St. Paul show, and I'm glad I decided to get it. The St. Paul show has such a unique and warm sound to it. I really like the feel. The boys blister through a number of the songs, and they are all really unique. Looking forward to enjoying the second set tonight.
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15 years 6 months
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SO GLAD I purchased this set. It gives me a whole new appreciation and understanding for 1977. As a 20+ year 'Dead Freak' I have never fully understood the power of 1977, until I heard a string of shows consecutively, in their rightful context. We all know 1977 is majestic, but I think I have come to take it for granted. As a tape trader, I would come across a random 1977 here and there...5/8/77, 11/4/77, 6/9/77, 11/6/77/ 2/26/77, 12/29/77, and embrace each and every one with exuberance, but casually move on to another era or decade. Over the past few nights, I have been delving into this box set and have a whole new appreciation for the music of the Grateful Dead. I have listened to the first 3.5 shows in their entirety and am blown away. I cannot wait for Tuscaloosa tomorrow!!! To hear the ebb and flow of each show in its proper context is unspeakable. The transformation of the music from night to night is uncanny. The 2nd night in Chicago is the only 'clunker' of the bunch, but with that being said, there are some serious moments of serendipity and majesty in that show. I cannot wait to piggy back on this box set and listen to the Fox and Lakeland shows and the Sportatorium show, followed by 'To Terrapin' after I have completed the adventure of this box set. On a side note, the 'Terrapin' from the first night in Chicago is one of the most beautiful versions I have ever heard. Bobby hits those notes just like it begins on the album, and he keeps going with the lick. It is rare to hear a version of "Terrapin' were Bobby keeps hitting that lick (put it on, you'll know what I am talking about). It's so bright and beautiful. Thanks Dave!!!
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15 years 6 months
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Oh, and that Dancin' from STL is so groovy. It rivals the legendary one from Dick's Picks 25 and Winterland '78 (From Egypt with Love). My jaw dropped...
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17 years 5 months
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Like you kevjones, I'm a sucker for '77 and '78 Dancin' in the Streets. Not sure the one from 10-20 Winterland graced RT 1.4 though. It's just not there. Oh well. Have fun on your May '77 excursion! DP 29 is going to be nice, real nice...
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14 years
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Believe it or not, I missed this box and just picked it up on Ebay. Wow I'm sure glad I did. I'm still working through St. Louis, looking forward to the Dancing, and the Terrapin mentioned below. The sound is pretty damn good for 1/4 inch, thanks to the amazing Betty! I hope she gets her share of this pie. She deserves it.
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9 years 2 months
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Happy as hell, but wondering is there a CD version of Cornell Barton hall 1977 officially released,just wondering, if is a get able or is it just something best left as the unicorn out on tape ? I still have two tape decks . Thanks anyone
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17 years 5 months
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Chris killer, it's not in the vault therefore not fully released. One song from Cornell is available, Dancin' in the Streets, on the So Many Roads box set. The 5 cd 'So Many Roads' box set is still available for sale on this website last I checked. I hope this helps.
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9 years 2 months
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that single track from Barton Hall is actually on the 12cd set Beyond Description (1973-1989). I believe they have only one set from the show in the vault. Either way the existing copies on the internet are near perfect...at least the one I found. On ebay I saw 2LP set of the show from an Italian record company. Who knows what that sounds like
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g-leben.blogspot.com Planet outdoor fell from the sky. The RV rental company located Estourmel, opposite the SDA, was well off since 2010, the year of its creation. The schedule and bookings were even more promising, a few months of the summer: for this long weekend of Ascension, several campers had thus been sold. shoeboxgenealogy.blogspot.com
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My partner and I absolutely love your blog and find many of your post’s to be just what I’m looking for. Does one offer guest writers to write content for you personally? I wouldn’t mind writing a post or elaborating on a lot of the subjects you write in relation to here. Again, awesome site!http://www.machanic.net http://www.anniversarygiftsforcouples.com
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7 years 9 months
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Been hoping to buy a digital download for months. Is this option returning soon?
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7 years 6 months
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Is anyone else having issues downloading this from Warner Music? I have tried numerous times after purchasing the FLAC files and each time the download fails. So far the most I have been able to get is all but the last two songs from the first show, plus it takes FOREVER even on a (supposedly) fast cable connection. Can these shows be delivered in separate downloads?
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7 years 8 months
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The comments suggest that I can pre-order it and that it would be available on June 11th. How do I pre-order (or order now that it is June 14th) this boxed set?
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7 years 3 months
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Solid offer for the music community, although it's a bit pricey?! JUST A BIT! Lol, I'm already spending a bunch of money on music promotion services.
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6 years 11 months
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