• Post reply
    955 replies
    lilgoldie
    Default Avatar
    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.

Comments

sort by
Recent
Recent Oldest A to Z Z to A
Reset
  • #681
    mustin321
    Joined:
    Downloading
    I am not against downloading, especially when its legal. Its just not my preference. Also, I think its great that May 77 has a download option. Anyway you get the music is fine by me. Especially if you enjoy it and then rave about on here. (or not too, I guess...its still interesting to hear what people have to say) I have a lot of friends who like the music but the conversations tend to drift when I start talking specifics...which is why I come here. Anyways, Im done rambling...can't wait to hear these shows!
  • #682
    Zuckfun
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Vinyl Dick's Picks...
    Perhaps this is already known- the entire Dick's Picks series is being released on vinyl, through Brookvale Records. Many who are knowledgable about sound, say there's really no comparison between vinyl and digital, in terms of sound quality. To paraphrase Jeffrey Norman, whereas Dick's Picks on cd is in black and white, the new vinyl mix is in color. Pretty strong sentiments from our beloved grand master of super sonics.
  • #683
    scincidentmd
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Downloading Options
    It is nice that there is a downloading option for this box set. It would be nice if the Spring 1990 box was offered as a download as well.
  • #684
    jasia52
    Joined:
    Limited Editions
    I agree with Mustin's comment about vinyl ... I have a few obscure LPs including both versions of Aoxomoxoa and the K&D LP, but the digital versions are much cleaner-sounding. 1977 was a great year for the Dead, who played in my home area of Washington, DC & Baltimore. Back then, I listened to their music on vinyl LP almost exclusively, so the live shows were very intense and often introduced "new material" to my ears for the first time (such as Terrapin Station).
  • #685
    jasia52
    Joined:
    Limited Editions
    I agree with Mustin's comment about vinyl ... I have a few obscure LPs including both versions of Aoxomoxoa and the K&D LP, but the digital versions are much cleaner-sounding. 1977 was a great year for the Dead, who played in my home area of Washington, DC & Baltimore. Back then, I listened to their music on vinyl LP almost exclusively, so the live shows were very intense and often introduced "new material" to my ears for the first time (such as Terrapin Station).
  • #686
    blacksharpie
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Re: Summer 1973
    I'd love to see a summer '73 box or Dave's Picks. RFK or Watkins Glen or Roosevelt Stadium would be great, especially if the package could include the sets by the Allmans and/or The Band. (Well, maybe not The Band's set from 7-31, it's very weak.) The Watkins Glen release by The Band wasn't really from Watkins Glen. See the great analysis here: http://theband.hiof.no/articles/wg_pat_brennan.html The real Band set (and the post-show jam) is up on one of the bit torrent sites right now. Anyway, I'd really like to see some releases where the warm-up act's sets are included. I know, it's really unlikely considering the licensing that would be involved, but it would be cool.
  • #687
    mustin321
    Joined:
    @Oroboros
    I wouldnt say that the days of vinyl are over. Grateful Dead have released several Record Store Day vinyls. Also, the original Aoxomoxoa mix was relased on vinyl which is pretty sweet. Then there is the solo stuff like Robert Hunter's tales of the great rum runner and Keith & Donna's album which I think are only availabe on vinyl. So, there are plenty of goodies out there. As much fun as having a physical CD, nothing beats putting a needle on a record.
  • #688
    Mayor of Bay Terrace
    Joined:
    tombstone is right!!!
    why limited editions .....we always buy the good ones.....AND THE 11 shows prior to this box set were some of the finest shows in dead history ....they were in one area and were well rested ..not to mention the nights Phil And Garcia went to museums....INSPIRED
  • #689
    Chris Grand
    Joined:
    re: "prog rock snore"
    "To me, Terrapin Station was a prog-rock snore except for a couple minutes of weirdness..." no doubt TS (along with nearly everything on "blues for allah") has its prog rock sensibilities, but it's just off-kilter enough that it's still dead...to their credit they did not perform the more orchestrated parts of the suite on-stage. i guess its just a preference...do you like your dead loose, ragged & feral or tight, focused & synchronized? i like them both, own both, play both and enjoy both
  • #690
    rocknreel
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Spaceless 1977- eh
    1977 is when I hopped off the bus. SPACE was what I went to Dead shows for, mostly; give me 1969 and '70 any day. We'd dose good and hope for a Dark Star... I loved the weird "Seastones" stuff Phil turned out during intermissions with Ned Lagin in '74. I remember an interview with Bobby around this time, talking about the "more focused...tightened-up framework" (quoting from above) where he said that he would look out at the audience during the space jams, and the crowd would look befuddled and not know what was going on. Jeez, that's a complaint? At one time that was the INTENT! 1977: To me, Terrapin Station was a prog-rock snore except for a couple minutes of weirdness, and when they finally brought back Saint Stephen in a truncated FIVE MINUTE VERSION (?!!??!!?)- that was it for me. This is one box I'll pass on.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years 7 months
Submitted by lilgoldie on
Forums
Dead Store Products

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.

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

7 years 4 months

Submitted by icenine2 on Wed, 01/31/2018 - 14:07

Permalink

When will this be available as downloads again? I own the high-res digital download of Get Shown the Light and it is spectacular.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

7 years 9 months

Submitted by Sawwwn on Thu, 07/12/2018 - 07:03

Permalink

Oh man! Still waiting for these (May 77 and July 78) to be available for download! Please open this up or at least stop listing them as available. Killing me.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

7 years 9 months

Submitted by Sawwwn on Thu, 07/12/2018 - 07:04

Permalink

Oh man! Still waiting for these (May 77 and July 78) to be available for download! Please open this up or at least stop listing them as available. Killing me.
user picture

Member for

6 years 3 months

Submitted by DanielSpace on Mon, 08/13/2018 - 13:02

Permalink

I think a fundraiser for the tapes is the dumbest idea Ive ever heard.
product sku
081227965365