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    heatherlew
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    "We left with our minds sufficiently blown and still peaking..."

    We're headed back to that peak with the newly returned tapes from Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, 11/6/77. The Grateful Dead's last touring show of 1977 finds them going for broke, taking chances on fan favorites like "Jack Straw," "Friend Of The Devil," and "The Music Never Stopped," carving out righteous grooves on a one-of-kind "Scarlet>Fire" and a tremendous "Truckin'." An ultra high energy show, with a first set that rivals the second? Not unheard of, but definitely rare. Hear for yourself...

    DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 25 features liner notes by Rob Bleetstein, photos by Bob Minkin, and original art by our 2018 Dave's Picks Artist-In-Residence Tim McDonagh. As always, it has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman and it is limited to 18,000 individually numbered copies*.

    *Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

    Get one before they are gone, gone, gone.

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  • dilbert
    Joined:
    Dave and the Dead are going
    Dave and the Dead are going to mine the recently purchased "Betty Boards" for future Dave's Picks and box sets in order to re-coup and make a hefty profit on the expense needed to purchase the tapes. If any 80-90's are to be released, it will be shows with pristine sound (regardless of show performance) as sound trumps performance (according to Dave and the Dead).
  • JimInMD
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    Re: Jack Straw
    Thanks ckcoffman and hseamons. I like both versions better than the one I presented. For some reason I find this interesting.. and I doubt if it will ever be completely resolved.
  • SkullTrip
    Joined:
    re: Frosted re: Peachy
    Thanks, Frosted. Glad I wasn't the only one scratching my noggin there. And I'd categorize my avatar as really Happy-Scary (you probably saw that one coming).
  • Across the Rio
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    Jack Straw
    I always assumed it was taken because Hunter had heard of Jack Straw's Peasant's Revolt of 1381. When I went to University in England for a bit, I had a History prof who lived in Billericay. He had a few of us to his home for the weekend and took us to the forest nearby where he said it was believed Jack Straw was finally captured. Has Hunter ever said why he chose the name?
  • RoxyBlue
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    Frustrated!
    Yesterday, I called the 1-800-440-8025 for the Dead.Net Store in order to purchase Dave's Picks Volume 25 (Broome County Arena, Binghamton, NY - 11/6/77). The CDs went on sale, yesterday, at 10 a.m. January 16th.I was able to connect exactly at 10 am, I was in the cue and then I was disconnected at 10:16 am (dial tone!). I called again same thing happened, disconnected at 10:34 am. Finally, after three attempts, I was connected and the Dead.Net Store sales representative stated the CDs had "sold out 5 or 7 minutes ago". I complained, to him, that I would have been successful in my desire to purchase two CDs of Dave's Picks Vol. 25 had I not been disconnected twice. He apologized and said he had never heard of that happening before (which I found difficult to believe). My other frustration is due to the fact that it was extremely difficult to hear him speak because it was so noisy in the background where the salesperson was working from. I found this experience, unprofessional and completely frustrating plus I had to rearrange my schedule in order to get on the phone right at 10 a.m..
  • Thin
    Joined:
    How is the Dead different?
    SO psyched. This is an amazing show despite the train-wreck beginning of Scarlet Begonias (waaay too slow and low energy - Jerry actually stops playing to tune up where the 2nd verse should be - sounds like a rehearsal), but they recover quickly, and the rest of the song/show is absolutely STUNNING - I can't wait to hear it in full "Norman". I was struck by JimInMD's comment "I don't plan to go nuts when it arrives, I have listened to this show plenty, I will rip it to file, put in on the shelf in my office". Same here. As much as I enjoy getting these amazing well-circulated shows, I get more listening time from shows I didn't know previously (i.e.: 12/7/71 was in my car for a month). As a result I cannot wait to hear 11/17/71 DaP26 - have only heard it once and it's a fantastic show - that will be in my car for a LONG time. And THAT is how the Dead is different from other bands - Their fans go out of their way to AVOID their favorites. I stopped in mid-run the other day to change the music because I had picked a show I loved but knew WAY too well - knowing exactly what's coming can be stifling. It's better when every note and transition is a blind corner.... 5/26/73 is one of my favorite shows ever, but will I ever be able to ENJOY it again??? I know every nuance: stage banter, dropped drumstick, blown lyric, tasty licks.... I love that show but can't bring myself to enjoy it anymore - Its a weird feeling. That's why we're all here - we need to expand our base of Dead to allow the existing shows a chance to breath so we can someday go back to them with fresher ears. And I was not surprised this sold out so fast. The Dead/Rhino have done a brilliant job growing this product from 12k units to 18k units in the past few years. It's a perfect mix of 1) amazing product/packaging (despite the trite, redundant skeleton art), 2) shrewd use of e-mail/social media/website/Rolling Stone/etc, and 3) having the restraint to produce slightly less than initial demand - instant scarcity creates buzz and mystique ("it's new, and you can't have it...")
  • David Duryea
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    untapped era
    I'm hoping for a 10-cd box set of Jerry Garcia's guitar lessons at Dana Morgan Music Studio from '62-'64.
  • 80sfan
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    era argument
    I think it's a mixed bag in terms of the band members' perspectives. Bob has raved about 89-90, but Phil has been quoted saying there was "something" missing after 1974. Guessing if you ask each guy on any given day you'd get a whole bunch of different opinions. All of which is great for since I fall into your 3rd category (love it all depends on my mood). I can't understand the folks who completely rule out any era. Lots of good stuff over 30 years...expand your horizons! In terms of the remaining 2018 releases, I'm hoping for late fall 79, fall 91 and maybe another mini box from 1969!
  • 80sfan
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    era argument
    I think it's a mixed bag in terms of the band members' perspectives. Bob has raved about 89-90, but Phil has been quoted saying there was "something" missing after 1974. Guessing if you ask each guy on any given day you'd get a whole bunch of different opinions. All of which is great for since I fall into your 3rd category (love it all depends on my mood). I can't understand the folks who completely rule out any era. Lots of good stuff over 30 years...expand your horizons! In terms of the remaining 2018 releases, I'm hoping for fall 79, fall 91 and maybe another mini box from 1969!
  • frosted
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    SkullTrip re: Peachy
    I second your emotion, a bit of a head scratcher there, but amusing nonetheless. Oh, and I like your freaky beardless skull avatar too. Can't tell if it's really happy, or just really scary.
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"We left with our minds sufficiently blown and still peaking..."

We're headed back to that peak with the newly returned tapes from Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Binghamton, 11/6/77. The Grateful Dead's last touring show of 1977 finds them going for broke, taking chances on fan favorites like "Jack Straw," "Friend Of The Devil," and "The Music Never Stopped," carving out righteous grooves on a one-of-kind "Scarlet>Fire" and a tremendous "Truckin'." An ultra high energy show, with a first set that rivals the second? Not unheard of, but definitely rare. Hear for yourself...

DAVE'S PICKS VOLUME 25 features liner notes by Rob Bleetstein, photos by Bob Minkin, and original art by our 2018 Dave's Picks Artist-In-Residence Tim McDonagh. As always, it has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman and it is limited to 18,000 individually numbered copies*.

*Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

Get one before they are gone, gone, gone.

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14 years 1 month
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Lotta' neg vibes in the comments today - geesh!
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Enough with 1977! Good era, but if there's only 4 releases a year, how about spreading it out some. And Dave's a good guy, but every one of these seaside chats is "blah blah blah, this is a really great show, so order it now".
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6 years 11 months
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Sounds like it's nap-time here in Deadland. So many cranky campers...
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10 years 9 months
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I would, of course, favor a spring '71 box due to the GREASE factor. But we'll have to settle for Summer '73, just to throw off JimInMD. The first such box -- there will be two, eventually -- will be the Watkins Glen soundcheck and show (5) discs, and 7-31-73 and 8-1-73, (3) discs each. After all, this summer is the 45th anniversary... and I have freakin' endless stories about those shows. Or, at least, the beginning of that infinite week-long series of shows.
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By my calculations, yes there has been a lot of 77 lately, but only because it happened to be the year that they chose for the box set last year. You take that away and you just have a couple Dave's Picks, each from a different leg of 1977. What year would you replace it with and not be able to say the same thing? And of course it couldn't be a year like 82 where there are no good tapes according to the people who maintain the tapes but only because it happens to be the year that they chose for the box that last year you take that away and you just have a couple days pics eat from a different leg of 1977 what year would you replace it with a not be able to say the same thing (and of course it couldn't be a year like 82 where there ate no good tapes according to the people who maintain the tapes). I think when one considers the Dave's Picks series, one can only really consider what's in the Dave's Picks series not what came out as a box set, what came out in a different series. Generally speaking if you count up all of the releases from all of the years it's pretty equal, for the years where there are a lot of good available tapes. Just my observation.
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Rumor is they had planned a '68 box, but no one who attended the shows could actually remember them in order to write the booklet.
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interesting, too, that most '68 shows will fit on a single disc. ForensicDoc and I agreed/postulated that that was due to many GD shows in '68 occurring on a bill with other bands, hence a shorter set. But what sets! We'll get a disc-full '68-er with Anthem reissue. Otherwise, I'm hard pressed to forecast how other '68 shows will reach us. Perhaps two long ones in a single, 3-disc DaP? I can underscore your point with the fact that '73 certainly took its toll; cannot imagine '68. Probably better I wasn't 'there,' or I wouldn't be 'here.'
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Well, there are some mighty good versions of this show in the archives, with lots of reviews on one show and a great Tennessee Jed, The attendees said the band was high as ever, well it is 72, Cosmic Charlie will have the Normanized version up on youtube pretty quick, nice artwork. Who recorded this show, is it a BettyBoard? A lot of attendees said that the first set was a lot better than the second set. You know what, I'll listen to 70's Dead before anything put out today anyday, I listened to the 78 show put out last year, man that is really good, and the bonus disc that came with RT #2, wow, great stuff. What song on 24 has the killer bass effect the most? Norman usually nails stuff, he likes mastering the Dead. OHHH, alright, gotta say something about the guitar mag effects pedal special of the year, I used to love pedals when I played guitar , I was lookin at all those pedals and the guys that were using them , Gilmore used 3 compressor pedals, I loved compressor pedals, Gilmore had a dynacomp, boss and one other one to drive all his delay and reverb pedals. I still have one pedal,its'a mxr custom comp,sounds sweet. I had a Keeley and a Wampler compressor before, but these basically use the Ross circuit. What is cool and different is a good orange squeezer, like Knopler on Sultans of Swing. Not one word about Jerry, He had a booster built into his guitar. Jerry made the envelope filter sing,loved that Mutron 3, less than 100 bucks back when it first came out. Not one mention of Jerry or Bobby in that whole mag, downright depressing.
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Not surprised this sold out. Even without the subscription's near sellout, this was bound to draw a lot of interest. Heavily traded show from a popular year, and has circulated in high quality for many years. An upgrade certainly gets my attention. I love 11/6/77 as much as the next person, but 5/23/82 Greek is elevated to such a higher level of energy and power, that you just have to hear it for yourself. No collection should be without this in it. https://archive.org/details/gd82-05-23.sbd.gorinsky.5058.sbeok.shnf
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13 years
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To early to muse about Volume 27? I'm leaning toward 12-1-79.
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i'm just like when do I get it? also 2/20/91 is way better than the previous nite. also no word on if there is filler. I get it though why bother paying someone to add a setlist for a show that is going to sell out in minutes and probly get shipped out tomorrow. also there's more '74 than '77 in Dave's Picks. '74 actually dominates the releases
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7 years 3 months
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o4 22 79 brents first show for 27
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I'd like to see the rest of the Veneta week - 8/20-24/72. Go to Deadlists and check the sets - they sure look good to me! Like the '78 box, I love the idea of having the entire week. BTW, has the '78 box sold out? lol
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7 years 4 months
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Would be great if they had a multi track of it. As it is though, not close to Betty Board quality, and a hard listen for me.
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14 years 1 month
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Fuckin' lame -- yet another 70's show. Almost as lame as the prices for Dead & Co. This Dave guy has no care for anything but the 70's Dead which is "a fuckin' shame".
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17 years 5 months
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....good job on changing those last couple of words. Because that was crazy to think, let alone type.
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17 years 6 months
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Just now giving a side by side comparison between 5/23/82 and the "Listening Party" above. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the Greek recording. This Healy recording actually sounds brighter, punchier and fuller than Betty's 11/6/77 tapes. I think both shows and recordings sound great. Apples and oranges to me. You can't really judge every tape recorded in '82 based entirely on the 7/31/82 Manor Downs recording as included in 30 TATS or the Alpine Valley Dicks Picks (both of which I like a lot), even as raw as they are. By the time the sound is dialed in a minute or two into the '82 Greek Shakedown, it's like candy for the ears. If it's not your cup of tea, cool. If you want to hear Jerry perform an inspired "They Love Each Other", drop what your doing and check out the link I posted above. It's a good one. The Let It Grow later in the set will leave jaws dropping to the ground, for those not familiar. edit - I have to add that The Other One from 5/23/82 is a monster. Jerry played it like it was '72 all over again. This song was often comparatively (to the pre-hiatus versions) truncated, especially in the 80's, but not this version. They explore it pretty fully during it's 12 minute duration. The Stella Blue that follows speaks for itself. There are some '89 late Spring and Summer versions of The Other One, such as 5/7/89 that get so far out there, that it's a shame that it hasn't already been released. If the Dead were consciously writing setlists to be thematic on occasion, this is a really dark show, almost frieghtening, yet amazing at the same time.
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so much kvetching, people. predictable as rain in Seattle. I would love love love 66, 67, 68 stuff. I really don't think we're going to get much 80s. except I have advocated for a Greek box. except for one date in 68, all Greeks were in the 80s. my old joke: what does a dosed frog say? "Greeeeeeek....Greeeeeek....Greeeeeeeeeeeeek"
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8/1/73 would be awesome. It's one of my all-time favorite Dead shows. Great Dark Star, great Eyes, great Morning Dew - and then they just keep going!
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8/1/73 would be awesome. It's one of my all-time favorite Dead shows. Great Dark Star, great Eyes, great Morning Dew - and then they just keep going!
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If there is anyone out there that is bummed out that there is another releasefrom the 70's, and wants to sell their copy of Dave's Picks to me, I will gladly buy it from you. I missed the subscription for the first time since this series' inception, and was bummed! Was even more bummed out when I saw that vol.25 is sold out all ready. PM me if you don't need another '77 show and want to sell your copy. Thanks! Chris
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first of all, I am sorry. second: the bulk of what you want to hear is in the listening party, anyway. I mean, I like this show and all, but until now, it has left me feeling, "whatever." Especially the Scarlet...rather tepid. with a full Norman, I should get full GD wood with this show. no complaints from me at all. More GD!!! :)))
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15 years 7 months
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Can never get enough 70's, wishing for a 74 BOX set
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I like that. I'm going to keep advocating for a Greek release until either... a) they release at least one (besides the 68 show) or b) I'm dead ...which doesn't mean I'm going to stop advocating for another Red Rocks release, or a Cal expo release, or something from the Frost, or even something from the Blossum Music Theater....
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The Greek 88 copies I had on tape all those years ago sounded pretty good. I have to admit.. I have not really focused on the ones from the Archive that much, but all things considered I think the tape sources from that run sound pretty good to me.
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I have a spare GSTL Box if anyone needs one. It has been opened and all CD’s have been listened to and confirmed to be defect free (5-5-77 CD2 is a replacement because the first one was defective).I’ll sell it for what it cost me plus half of the cost to ship it to you (UPS, U.S. only; if international you pay the shipping and any customs duties). $156 (what is cost me after tax and shipping) $9 (UPS shipping with insurance; U.S. addresses) = $165 PM me if interested.
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9 years 8 months
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i cycle shows on and off my phone (depending on storage) but currently both 5/23/82 and 6/15/85 both happen to be among the rotation. Two great Greek shows, two great sounding boards. As always I'm happy to share if anyone is interested....
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This is a rough two weeks. I wonder if the Truckin' he's raving about is better than the one from a couple nights before (ended up on DP 34). That one caught me by surprise over the summer. Grooving to some Go To Nassau from October '80. I don't know. I like it better than Dead Set. Maybe because it was one of the first Dead CDs I ever heard. Dead Set has a cooler album cover. The Franklin's Tower on Nassau is so damn good. Jerry just wails throughout the solo. The Jack Straw cooks too. Playing in the Band has just the right amount of Hammond. Great mixing. Uh oh, they're home.
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15 years 3 months
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I can ''Burn'' This CD for you when it arrives....Just let me know.No Charge...Just Pay to Ship to you. Thomas.
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15 years 3 months
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s.
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16 years 6 months
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How about a 1970 show and include the New Riders set with it? That would be something different and special. May 1970, preferably.
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16 years 6 months
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How about a 1970 show and include the New Riders set with it? That would be something different and special. May 1970, preferably.
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12 years 9 months
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hey now- anyone have the thirty trips box set for sale? if so please dm me. very interested for my own collection or just burn shows-not for resale- i have # 72 box set- was AWAY and missed this box-noticed one of my favorite shows 9/28/75 thanks- definition of integrity-keeping ones word even if circumstances change-thanks
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1982 is my favorite year, Stolzfus. Release after release from Dave, I think a 1982 show will be released that I can buy. I have tapes of those Greek shows that listened to more than any other shows back in the 90's. Bliss for me. But have not listened to those tapes in many years. Its ridiculous that after 25 years of Dick Picks and Dave Picks they have not released a 82 show!! C'mon already, Dave!
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1982 is my favorite year, Stolzfus. Release after release from Dave, I think a 1982 show will be released that I can buy. I have tapes of those Greek shows that listened to more than any other shows back in the 90's. Bliss for me. But have not listened to those tapes in many years. Its ridiculous that after 25 years of Dick Picks and Dave Picks they have not released a 82 show!! C'mon already, Dave!
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1982 is my favorite year, Stolzfus. Release after release from Dave, I think a 1982 show will be released that I can buy. I have tapes of those Greek shows that listened to more than any other shows back in the 90's. Bliss for me. But have not listened to those tapes in many years. Its ridiculous that after 25 years of Dick Picks and Dave Picks they have not released a 82 show!! C'mon already, Dave!
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7 years 10 months
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Five-to-ten, probably, for anyone but Garcia. Another couple magnificent photos posted from that person who seemingly has access to scores of rare brilliant images I always enjoy and have never seen. Listening to a lot of Gregg Allman today. Awesome. Totally stoked about this 1977 show, love me some Seventies Dead. Just grateful that this series is so popular and will likely continue forever. Or at least as long as I'm interested. Cheers all! \m/
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9 years 2 months
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Saw the reference to listening to Greg Allman today - funny, I was listening to the Allman Brothers Fillmore '71 complete recordings that I just recently picked up. Good stuff. I hadn't even realized that it was available until recently.
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Released in 1981 before CD's as a double album on vinyl. Two discs, two sides each @ ~18 to 20 minutes per side. The original format was ill-suited for what they were trying to do. Additionally it was heavily edited, vocals touched up and the like. Admittingly, I loved it.. still do I guess, especially the Fire/Drums/Space/Franklins, but it always felt like they forced it to me. It's incredible that Go To Nassau is the only other release they have so far been able to conjure from the multi-tracks from that tour. Lets hope they are saving something for the 50th anniversary of 1980 (their 15th anniversary as a band) and we finally get another multi-track release from this run. It's hard for me to compare the two, some of the material on Dead Set was hand picked for the album, choice material from the tour. Yet, I find myself agreeing that a single hot show from the same tour recorded to the same standards has a better feel 38 years later...
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I would have bet large sums of money that the remainder of 11/2/77 would have been on here. There's plenty of room, especially at the end of disc two, so perhaps the tracks from 11/2 are on here, but just not listed? Here's hoping . . .
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11 years 4 months
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For those who are lamenting the fact that we're getting another '77 release, check out the rankings for 11/6/77 on headyversion.com. Both Truckin' and Music Never Stopped are "top 5" versions, according to users. That's all the justification you need. In some ways, I think it's hard to find release-worthy FULL shows, but when it's got 2 songs considered "top 5" versions by many, that's pretty good. Even ol' Dave said he'd put this show in his personal top 40. Also, Nov. 6th is my birthday and I went to grad school in Binghamton, so that gives this a certain "it" factor for me. Heh. I actually saw one concert in the Broome County Arena while I was there: Frank Zappa, 3/17/88. That was a great show, too!
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Just where did Hunter come up with the name Jack Straw? Perhaps he had parts of it in his head when he lived in the UK circa 1970?? (think I'm right about that). Ten years ago, if you googled Jack Straw you got John Whitaker "Jack" Straw, who was serving in Parliament from 1979 to 2015, specifically as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001 and Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 under Tony Blair. You got pages and pages of replies for this guy before you came to the legendary song from Hunter and Weir. Now, I am glad to report.. you get pages and pages of GD related pages related to the song that will surely outlive that talking head. But where did the name come from? David Dodd's Annotated GD research mentions the name Pick Up Sticks was called Jack Straw, it also mentions the name Jack Straw being attributed to people (in England) going back to the 1300's. I would like to think there might be a connection between the British politician who was active as a labor union leader about the time Hunter was living in the UK and the story he and Bobby decided to put to music in the summer of 1971?? (first performed on 10/19/71- Northrop Auditorium, U. Of Minn. - Minneapolis, MN) Sorry for the rant, Jack Strawberry's post and creative username got me thinking of all the Jack Straws in the world. I guess Jack Straw intrigues me still.
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Binghamton is a classic show.. Call it sacrilege, but 77 does not always make my blood boil like say 1974, 1972 or 1968.. but it's a very good year and 11/6 is a great show. I don't plan to go nuts when it arrives, I have listened to this show plenty, I will rip it to file, put in on the shelf in my office next to the last Dave's Picks and eventually listen to it when I am in the mood and properly mood enhanced. But it is a great show, a giant.. and I am very glad to see it get sunlight and proper restoration and remastering. It is more than worthy. The 71 bonanza that's coming our way next.. is a twofer I am not quite so familiar with, so I might have to get electrically mood enhances for the first listen to that one. I am actually more psyched about it. Well, Binghamton too.. go bold or don't go at all, which is exactly what Dave seems to being these days.
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