• 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
Reset
  • allman
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    listening party?
    Little Ben Clock I couldn't agree more with your post. Maybe there should be a listening party posted demonstrating how the tapes for Dave's pick #6 sounded when they were returned. That might be interesting and help to stop the personal attacks.
  • Little Ben Clock
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Sound quality
    Well, I innocently asked about the Europe '72 sound quality complaints. I didn't expect quite this level of criticism directed towards Mr Norman. I think one thing that is worth considering - if you haven't heard the master tapes, you don't know how a recording "should" sound. We don't know what condition tapes are in, what the budgets for projects are and what the bosses ask of the engineer. More extraordinary was this outburst in an earlier post: "then, we come to Dave's picks 6, what's up with the pitch? why so shallow, no depth, can't hear certain players during the tunes, sometimes they come up, sometimes they disappear, what the hell is going on? " You realise you're talking about a 43 year old recording, some of which was sitting in a box in someone's roof don't know? What do you propose the engineer do - travel back in time and tell Owsley to change his mix? What's wrong with the pitch? Sometimes you can't hear different players at different times because they play more quietly than other times. I actually think DP Vol. 6 sounds great. A nice, roomy Owsley recording, captured with the minimum of microphones. Pure sound. Then there's this: "Dare I say it, who is this Jeff Norman guy? where did he come from?...Mr Norman, how about doing a mix right for once, tell the powers that be that you won't do it if it ain't right." Outrageous. Personal attacks - and don't deny this is a personal attack - have no place in the discussion of sound quality. Try to show some respect to the guy who has prepared some wonderful music for us. If you don't agree with his mixing or mastering choices, fair enough but if you don't even understand what he does, don't hurl insults at him.
  • katky111
    Joined:
    mere dictum
    rusty, I dearly wish I could have exercised your discipline with regard to this entirely superfluous release; alas, like a package of Oreos, if they're on the counter I'll surely eat every last one. However, I am resolved to be economically within the parsimonious confines of my abode on the evening of August 1st... Mr. Mike, crack is a terrible thing - so, put down the pipe and start playing complete shows; remember, friends don't let friends play Dead compilations...peace/katie
  • mrmike5
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Re this set...
    I don't have "To Terrapin" but my main Dead listening is via my ipod and whatever 6 CDS make it into my car's CD changer. It'll be a challenge to figure out which 6 out of this set would make it, right now, I have Dave's 6 and 3 or something like that, and like them both pretty well. But then I have my playlists. I like to take the chunks of shows and toss them into playlists. I will admit I don't have any "China Dolls" in my frequent hits. I have "show" playlists too but, if I'm at work for 8 hours, I toss on a playlist and let it roll and like what I hear. I'll check the whole sets out, since I have 2 weeks off *and* an new couch for our sunroom coming and it'll be great to check them out. I presume there'll be some parts that will be sick and I'll toss them onto the "AAASickDead" playlist [AAA so it's on top of the list of playlists...] and jam all day. Sure there's some odd transitions every now and then when "album shuffle" goes from 1977 to 1969 but I can roll with it...
  • rusty string
    Joined:
    May or no May
    double post
  • rusty string
    Joined:
    May or no May
    Strange as it may seem, I decided not to buy this new box set after listening to "To Terrapin" recently. The reason why? Hartford 77 is just TOO good. Honestly, I was afraid of not listening to that wonderful release any more (at least for some time) after receiving the 14 CD box. There is another reason as well: The Prophets, Samsons and BEW alone make up two CDs of music. That's more of these songs than I need for everyday use.However, I'd still love to get another glimpse into that wonderful era of Dead music, so what about a 2 CD compilation of May 77? Have there been any news/rumours yet? Looking forward to all your reviews!
  • NorthwestGA_Matt
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Shipping soon
    I agree, I have no problem with eBay sellers. I am just ready to see that box land in Atlanta!!
  • unkle sam
    Joined:
    you my friend need a new sound system
    Hi everyone, sure got you all talking about sound quality, which is a good thing. As far as a sound system, had it for years, some parts over 40 years and there ain't too much better out there, it ain't new, but it kicks butt, I won't discribe it lets just say "top of the line".My beef is really about quality, and I buy these releases due to the fact that I want a better sound that what I all ready have, but it ain't happening and I'm not tone deaf so I can hear and what I hear is sub par. Now the real arguement is will you pay for better sounding releases? I doubt it. Now that I know that these new Dick's picks on vinylare from the master tape, that's the way to go. I really have no beef with Norman, he just does what seems to be the norm today, just get it done and collect the cash. Can't blame him I guess, but if I had these masterpieces and was able to upgrade them, they would be the best sounding releases that you could get on the market today. I wouldn't have the job for long, rhino would put a stop to all that studio time. It's an opinion, some agree and some don't, but I will have my opinion and saying my sound system sucks or that I don't appreciate this music, the best music ever made, is, well insulting, so you have your opinion and I have mine, let's just keep it at that. You all go ahead, I'm gonna wait on all future releases until I hear it first, then decide to buy or not. I guess some don't seem to mind that the best music in the world is getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Why the beef with ebay sellers? For those of you who think that capitalism ain't all bad, it's a great way to make some cash from yourold worn out cd's and lp's. It's the system that makes these recordings valuable for resale, not the individual.
  • hb672
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    dave's #7
    anyone catch what it will be?
  • Syracuse78
    Joined:
    I see *one* box on eBay. I
    I see *one* box on eBay. I suppose one could focus on the fact that they must be shipping them if someone already got it. That seems like good news! I do wonder who the folks are who are big enough fans to shell out $300 for a box of five shows, yet uninformed enough to not realize that they aren't even sold out.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

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.

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

7 years 4 months
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
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
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
Permalink

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