Grateful Dead

Maine, I have all the box sets you mentioned, but enjoy FW69 and E72 the most. By far. With regard to E72, the first sets can be similar, but the appeal is in the second sets. Maybe grab yourself an individual show or two from E72 to see for yourself. When I first purchased FW69, I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I do. The recording itself is exceptional. Looking at the cost per disk is one way to arrive at your conclusion. However, I measure it more on how many times am I inclined to listen to a particular release. I have plenty of $10 disks that are still "riding the pine" since the first listen.

Daverock and AJS, thanks for your input. I think I will need to mull this a while... AJS, to answer your question, the only box sets I have are GSTL and Winterland 73. I plan to buy the May 78 box soon. I would love Winterland 77 and Fillmore West 69, but they are even pricier (per disc) than Boxzilla. They each routinely sell on ebay for +/-$400 each, about $40 per disc. The big box seemed a better way to get more bang per buck, so to speak. And the range of shows appeals too... The Europe 72 set is appealing but I'm wary of the repetition from show to show, perhaps needlessly. But there are an awful lot of songs not contained on those 73 discs, that find their way onto the 80 disc TTATS. That said, I'm aware that the Fillmore 69 set is viewed by many as the single best release from the GD, ever... Aaargh! More confused than ever :-) I know, first world problems...

My best guess is a March '73 box with 4-5 shows. This would make me extremely happy.

I'm glad I got it. I can remember thinking when it came out that there were an awful lot of shows included from years I don't listen to much. The shows I listen to most are from 1968-1974, and , though I hate to admit it..1977. That meant I would be shelling out for about 20 shows I wasn't sure I would like. But I can honestly say that I have never been disappointed with a single show I have listened to in the box. And what has happened is that shows from some years that I don't usually listen to-the one in 1988 comes to mind-have shown what I have been missing, and have inspired me to seek out more from the year. I cant remember any details of this 1988 show as I write now-just that I enjoyed it. But its like anything-taste is subjective. Hopefully you will get some feedback from people who see things completely differently from me, then you can sift through and decide if its for you or not. I wouldn't go without food for it.

Only a sick mind could come up with an idea like that... but what to call it? "Music To Slit Your Wrists To" sounds kind of dark... Tell you what, it would be a hell of a thing for our U.S. Army Special Ops to blast outside of ISIS and Al-Qaeda strongholds... we'd have the enemy surrendering in no time.

No way do I drop that kind of money on the box. Not sure what box sets you already have, but for that kind of cash I would purchase both FW69 and E72, then use whatever is left over to purchase individual shows.

Like Guss West below, I too drive a lot for work, about +/- 2000 miles per month. I started this a couple of years ago and, coincidentally or not, that's when I started getting deep into the Dead. They are ideal driving music, as they jam on for long periods, their 3-hour concerts just about fill a typical commute for me, and they don't get me keyed up and enraged the way some of my other listening choices might. (Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats are a great band, but y'know, probably best to leave them out of the car.) Like several of us, I have been on a 1971 tear lately, courtesy of forensic doc. Thanks doc! But also I've been grooving to the Download Series from ( I guess) a few years back. Haven't seen people give that one much love, or else I haven't noticed... But Volume 1 is really good (4/30/77), as is the Family Dog show from 2/4/70 with lots of Pig. Also, advice needed: I missed Boxzilla in 2015 but I have come into a little bit of money. Not an outrageous amount, but enough to treat myself to something. I am seeing Boxzilla on ebay for under $1200, which amounts to less than $15 per disc. I'm tempted... Is it worth the outlay? This is about a 40% markup over the original price, which does not seem outrageous for a limited edition item which is long since sold out. It's also a nice overview of the whole 30 years, which is appealing (and not likely to happen through DaP for a very long time, as others have pointed out.) But I have seen comments here that are critical of some of the performances and, especially, the recording quality of some of these shows. So I'm curious what others think. Thanks!

Maybe they're waiting for Phil's birthday to unveil the new Box......

They should come out with a release along the lines of "Greyfolded", where they use the process called "plunderphonics" to build, layer and fold every version of every Donna and Bob scream from "Playing in the Band" and "One More Saturday Night" (and some of the "Estimated Profit" screams as well). They could call it "Caterwauling: The Banshee Tapes". Ideally, they could edit out all of the instrumentation and musical content and just present the screaming unaccompanied, in full 24 bit HD surround sound.

Here's a nice hypothetical box set, all from Betty Boards: 06.10.76 The Boston Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 06.11.76 The Boston Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts 06.14.76 The Beacon Theater, New York City 06.15.76 The Beacon Theater, New York City 06.29.76 The Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Illinois You could even throw in 6-28 with it.