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    lilgoldie
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    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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  • #671
    deadegad
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    Joined:
    Sell out timeline. . ..
    Yup. Apparently the Spring 1990 sold out in about one month so May 77 appears to be on track for another sold out box-set - fortunately I bought one. Come on June 11th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • #672
    Zuckfun
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    Joined:
    Going, Going, Gone
    Considering almost 10,000 copies sold in two weeks, it seems likely this set will sell out right around or before the official release date of June 11.
  • #673
    unkle sam
    Joined:
    still no sell out?
    I concure, space is the place when it comes to the Dead and they were the onlly ones that did it and they were good at it, without it it's, well 1977.STill no sell out of this series of shows, perhaps this will let Rhino know that we will not buy just anything that they put out, especially so-so shows inbetween great shows.
  • #674
    reijo29
    Joined:
    Bit the Bullet
    okay I finally placed the order.($165 shipped to New York is still quite a steep price for 5 shows). Hope it's great, I do love the Winterland 77 box.
  • #675
    danc
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    Joined:
    return of Space
    I agree that '77 was too revved up at times and that Space as a mood or connective tissue seems missing. In '78 the percussion jams were just great, and lengthy. By '79, there were long stretches of great, adventurous Space back in many second sets. I can recall a few 5 song second sets and just being absolutely numbed by awesome Space. Try one of those Nassau shows from the Fall if you think great Space ended in '74.
  • #676
    dnelse51
    Joined:
    Dead Vinyl
    There are some terrific records available @ various sites Mobile Fidelity,Sound Stage Direct, Analogue Productions. The Mobile Fidelity (MoFi) ones are about the best stuff out there. You will find D'sPks 1-4 All their studio albums etc. @ these sites.
  • #677
    Anna rRxia
    Joined:
    After Hearing
    That 4 of 5 of these shows are available as "A" quality soundboards, one wonders why Rhino would come out with this box set... To be sure, the quality, packaging and production values make it a keeper for those fans of the era. Still, with the release of DaPs 6 and this selection one wonders, given the various limitations, if Rhino is now scraping the bottom of the barrel? One thing that has to be said regardless: How great it is that this many official releases have been deemed worthy.
  • #678
    claney
    Joined:
    Masaki Koike
    I enjoyed the profiles that came in the May newsletter, Jim Anderson, Silberman, and Masaki Koike. Its very cool (aside from being good business practice) that the Dead/Rhino folks give such focus to the artists and liner notes writers... I had never heard of Koike before the May 1977 announcement. I looked him up and I like his aesthetic a LOT. Reminds me a bit of the graphic sensibilities of the McSweeney's journal - a very good thing if you've ever seen those. Koike did the art for the Phish box of the Clifford Ball, amazing stuff. Its funny, but the Grateful Dead makes, in my opinion, far more "serious" music than Phish. Certainly in terms of lyrics (!). But, Phish's graphic design is usually more "serious" lately, and I tend to like it. In short, thought I don't have it in hand yet, I'm saying I'd like to seem more of this kind of look.
  • #679
    claney
    Joined:
    Pitch... yes
    Hi Fourwindsblow... The shows have been put through the Plangent Process. As I understand it the main function is to correct the pitch down to the tiniest detail, very cool. If you heard the Winterland 73 and 77 box sets you get the idea. Those sound so freaking good. EDIT - here is a good description of the Plangent Process from their website: www.plangentprocesses.com
  • #680
    fourwindsblow
    Joined:
    Pitch...
    Will the pitch be correct on these shows????
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Submitted by lilgoldie on
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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.

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

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When will this be available as downloads again? I own the high-res digital download of Get Shown the Light and it is spectacular.
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7 years 9 months

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

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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.
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7 years 9 months

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

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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.
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6 years 3 months

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

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