As we move toward the symbolic end of summer (Labour Day, of course), we have some great music to play spanning about 21 years of Grateful Dead music, from 1968 to 1989, two fine years with which to bookend this week’s offerings.
Our first entry this week is the encore from 8/21/68 at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, a nice, juicy Midnight Hour. Although not quite as prevalent at shows in 1968 as it had been in 1966, the Grateful Dead continued to play monster versions of this Pigpen vehicle.
Next we’ll stop into 1972, to the opening night of the rightfully famous Europe 72 tour, to 4/7/72 in London. From the middle of that night’s first set is a typically hot 1972 rendition of China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider.
In 1976, at the end of their very successful summer of comeback shows, the Grateful Dead entered the studio and recorded a couple of the songs they’d been playing that summer. From one of those sessions on 8/29/76 is this bare-bones Dancing In The Street with only Donna on vocals. While we’re in mid-1970s mode, we also have this terrific Samson and Delilah from 5/12/77 in Chicago. Despite the frequency that song was played in 1976-1977, they never seem to get tired of it, always offering up an inspired rendition.
Finally from the 1970s, on 4/22/78 in Nashville to be precise, we are pleased to bring you a couple of tracks from the second set, starting with the second set opening Lazy Lightning>Supplication and the pre-Drums Estimated Prophet>Eyes of the World, both very nicely performed songs on this night.
Our last stop this week is in New Jersey on 7/10/89, a show that took place in and out of a massive thunderstorm. By request, we have the first set closer, The Music Never Stopped, and from the start of the second set, a great 1989 combination of Foolish Heart, Just a Little Light, Playing In The Band>Uncle John’s Band. What a great tour.
Be sure to check in next week, as we’ll be exploring some intriguing material from 1969 and 1980, and other material between those years, and likely after. We try to surprise even ourselves. Feel free to write with questions or comments.
Please note that beginning today all Taper’s Section audio streams are served via a new media player in both Windows Media Audio and QuickTime Audio formats.
David Lemieux
vault [at] dead.net
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No Thanks Rhino
"Once in a while you get shown the light In the strangest of places if you look at it right"Kind of hard to find that light in this decision.
Bring on Winterland '73 Box!
After this poorly thought out decision to stream only, (among many poor decisions on the part of Rhino) , The only way they can possibly redeem themselves and stand a chance at getting some of my cash is to stop dicking around and release some primo Dead like that '73 Winterland box set we were teased with then left hanging with our D*cks in our hand, or something comperable. What's going on with the DVD releases Rhino? What do you have in store for us faithful DeadHeads Rhino? Is a public statement on your future intentions that difficult? Please stop leaving us hanging.
Poo flinging monkeys
Thanks for the China Rider David. Used Cool Edit to record it and cut it up. Thanks for the hassle Rhino. Some idiot theorized if you put a bunch of monkeys in a room and a typewriter they'd eventually write a novel over like a million years. So is that the same marketing theory you are working with on releases and how to handle the vault. Stop flinging poo at us, you bunch of monkeys. And in the immortal words of Monty Python: "I fart in your general direction"
To The Asshole in The Decision Chain
Maybe the situation looks different from inside your cubicles, boys, but from out here it looks like you're pissing off an ever dwindling market base of Deadheads. Myself, like so many here, I have all the official releases, some of the big box set stuff, most of the Dick's Picks, and frankly -- at the risk of sounding heretical -- I don't think there's any earthshaking, mind-expanding, I-laughed-I-cried-I-saw-God-I-shit-my-pants releases left. I was enjoying downloading some of the weekly stuff, but if you think this move will result in more sales, now or ever, you don't know as much about this market as you think you do. Be glad there's 21 pages of complaints; your real problem will be when we all stop giving a f**k. Have a nice day.
Nice Job Rhino
The last few vault releases were poor choices. 12/31/76 and 2/19/71, come on? Everyone has very high quality copies of these shows prior to release. The corporate world doesn't understand how The Grateful Dead community works. We don't take what's spoonfed to us. Rumor has it that the next magnificiant release is going to be 8/27/72. Really? There are probably 8 different copies out there that have been remastered and EQed to death. We don't need another one that will cost $29.99. Give the Monday morning downloads back, Give the View from the Vaults back, Give the digital downloads backs, Give the Dick's Pick back! Most importantly, let David do his job! Let him pick the releases. Three from the Vault would have been cool 13 years ago when it was planned for release.
Feedback section
Don't forget to post comments in feedback link at bottom of page - I'm not too sure that the decision makers look at the Forum - although I would be surprised if they ignored this weeks entries.
And Yes I agree 100% that this 'streaming only' decision will only hurt sales
Downloads & marketing stupidity
highcriteria.com for Total Recorder, records streaming audio.
Marketing. Dumb. I'm in the UK, and they've ramped up the postage so that any music I now buy from dead.net attracts import duty. Price doubled in essence. That's me gone, a 56 year old deadhead, buying near as dammit everything they let loose from the Vaults of Heaven.
Way to go, Rhino, as you chappies go. Some marketing research consultant no doubt. And the least they could have done would have been to advertise that this was going to happen. Lack of respect, and stupid. And here.s me with 6 feet of bought Dead shows on a shelf over my desk.
Vault = cash cow? I think they'll be sadly disappointed.
Boo Hiss
Its been said many times already, but I just wanted to add my voice to the choir...
David Lemieux has been doing an awesome job with the Tapers Section. I have enjoyed downloading them to listen on my ipod while driving. Listening (streaming) on my computer is neither enjoyable or often feasible. It's just ridiculous that Rhino won't give fans, many of whom buy many or all of the official releases, an assortment of 8-14 192kb mp3 tracks a week. Thanks for taking away one of the greatest (free) fan-centric initiatives ever offered by GD Productions or one of the labels.
Thanks for all your hard work David, regretfully its going to be difficult for me to check out your offerings on a weekly basis.
Booo Rhino.
my thoughts
I know now that I'm not the only one! Being based in the UK, where there isn't such a community of DeadHeads, it's tough to get a hold of GD material, especially when you try to do the right thing and keep it clean and legal.
Like many I'm selective about what I listen too, and that even applied to the "Tapers' Section".
I'd prefer it to be reinstated, but most of all I'd like at least an explanation (one last week would have been nice!).
Even worse is that Monday is on a Tuesday over here (did anyone consider that!?)
Col
We are your customers
It's interesting to see how many of the commentors have purchased so many official released, this in spite of the ubiquity of Dead shows available elsewhere. Yet the dolts at Rhino decide that they don't want those people as customers; or at least they want to piss them off.
To both Davids - thanks for everything, but you're cogs in the wheels of a profit-making venture. Too bad for all.
Kirk
it's a pity
It's been a real treat listening to this great music and reading David's insightful and upbeat commentary week-by-week. Great job, David! Like everyone else, I'll miss being able to listen to these tunes at my leisure on my iPhone and in my car.
Instead of just pulling the downloads, why not the option of just paying say $5 a week for the bundle. I'd gladly subscribe to something like this.
Think different, Rhino.
No?
OK, I'll beg. Please? Pretty Please?
this bunkness got to give.
love the new site, the weekly dead hour archives, and up until yesterday david's tapers section. no offense to david, of course. this decision to have streaming only audio is definitely LOW BUDGET. please pass along this email to the proper channels, but i feel as if i am writing the white house, in terms of, not a damn thing will change because greedy bastards are making a lot of money. i need my grateful dead damnit. i want rhino to release david pick's, all the way up to volume 100. i have bought every release so far. why stop now. Money green or proletarian gray?
the music stopped
the band's all packed and gone.......were they ever here at all??
Upon even further reflection
I find I am not really angry at Rhino; that would be as pointless as being angry at a junkie for doing another bump.I'm really angry at myself for wanting to believe that a shark could be anything other than a shark.
Final post on this subject, I promise.
Don't even bother
Just forget about next week David, no one will be here to listen. seriously. everyone just got off the bus last stop. this section is dead. RIP.I wouldn't put anymore effort into this David; if this format is here to stay. you will be wasting your time. too bad really.
Paradise paved for the new parking lot
A PARKING LOT used to be the best place in the world when the boys would be playing later that night. A gathering of the most beautiful people in the world, celebrating the most beautiful event in the world, a GRATEFUL DEAD SHOW!!! But what rhino has done seems to have turned the vault into a parking lot. We find ourselves trapped in that desolate parking lot, our show cancelled and no explanation as to why. What we need is to be heard, appreciated and respected enough for a sincere communication. We speak of BROTHERS and SISTERS and the Grateful Dead COMMUNITY. There is no argument about who owns the music. There is nobody saying that it cannot be taken away. But it should not be taken away like a thief in the night from under our pillows. There is not a chance that the powers that be knew there would be a severe negative reaction. It was calculated and all of this ill-will and disappointment was anticipated and considered acceptable. It is in this, and mainly this, that I have such a problem. Marketing campaigns based on maximizing profits are a part of capitalism today. But I think we come here, to our friends the Grateful Dead, with our Brothers and Sisters to get away from being consumer pawns. We are drawn to the music and community because there is so much corporate manipulation everywhere else. This was a pure and true sanctuary from the feeling of being viewed as pigeons. It was our piece of paradise. And as it was prophesized "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot."
David, thanks again for the work. Thank you so very much. But beware of the fleas - your integrity is facing a great challenge. You have a lot of supporters through it.
Bless all of you today and every tomorrow!!
What An Odd Decision
The switch from downloadable MP3 to streaming media has made the Tapers section of the website 'not worth it.' Most of the recorded historical material being presented here can already be accessed in other more convenient ways and at higher quality. Having said that, I enjoyed this section not because I was listening to anything particularly new, but because it was being programmed differently than I was used to. I enjoyed David's presentation of the material here pretty much the way I enjoy listening to a friends music when I visit them at their house.
It seems to me that websites are about keeping eyeballs focussed on the message(s) the site wants to show. In the commercial arena these messages are usually advertisements that lead to sales. When a site loses eyeballs it has a decreased capacity to present its advertisements and as a result diminishes its capacity for sales. My eyeballs are already shifting to other sites ...
.....
If rhino is only going to continue to sit on the vault and not release anaything (really all they have done is the NYE 76 show, 3 from the vault was already mastered when they took over), then what sense does it make to take away these downloads?
They dont give 2 shits about the GD or thier fans
MP3S PLEASE !!!!!!
come on , they ruined internet archive , now they want to mess up the tapers section !!! lets face it the band is not sellingbe cd because they put out crappy choices ( 12/31/76 & 2/19/71 both shows have been widely circulated / nice quality tapes for years! ) give us heads what we want !!! how about 8/27/72 dvd/cd,you think that might sell ??? how about dave's picks ??? please change back to mp3s dammit !!!!
Streaming
The decision to make the tapers section streaming only is a total disgrace. I only listen to mp3 in the car, as the quality is not good enough to play on a hi fi - and I cannot stream anything into the car.
If they really want to lose their market, then they are going the right way about it.
A better way would be to make the downloads available in flac format and then to charge a $5 or $10 per week subscription.
Get rid of the streaming right away, and go back to mp3, and preferably to flac.
I am not interested in getting the downloads for free, and am quite happy to pay for them if the charge is reasonable.
Nothing new really...
Anyone who followed the sad and disturbing saga of Jordan Zevon vs. Rhino regarding the production of a Warren Zevon box set, when Jordan just wanted to do the best for his late dad, will not be surprised by this turn of events. Rhino are experienced when it comes to pissing people off.
23 pages and counting!
Man, what a f*uck up!
Rhino has taken 30+ weeks of good will and smart business and destroyed it over night. This move is inexplicable to me. This, plus the infrequent and sparce pace of releases suggests to me that Rhino doesn't know what they're doing. Even the "Store" has fewer choices than it did before the move.
Rhino better get it's act together fast, before their entire Grateful Dead customer base is gone. I suspect that some new Product Manager at Rhino, is about to get sacked.
This sucks
Rhino blows, I loved being able to listen to these on my i pod. Not a wise choice . Thanks for the tease . I will not spend one more dime on any official release this was the last straw. I always loved the way the music was available for the fans. In return I would always buy any new release Dicks or Vault . Screw that now.
We are sorry for you David
Must be like a dream job going down the drain.
this is crazy
why when something good exists must it be taken away
Hello and Goodbye
Within the last few days I became a member because of the Taper's Section...but now it's goodbye. Note to Rhino: decisions like this make me NOT buy your products.
Hey, start sending complaints here ...
I just posted a comment in the Forums>Administration>Users Concerns link on this site. Perhaps somebody "in control" might see our issues more quickly there.
Estimated Profits
Rhino, to date you have not released a single piece of music that I didn't alredy have in my collection. Once or twice you released something with better sound quality, but not by much.
The point is: WE DONT NEED YOU!!!! As a community we already have pretty much every note of music ever played by our heroes. We'll just trade more music, and pirate the stuff we've purchased from you already and distribute it.
I actually purchased numerous releases from Rhino, but will not purchase anything from you in the future. Every time you publish music from GD or Jerry, I will make it a point to publish the exact same release to every single Deadhead I know or meet at a concert. Your rights to this music are as worthless as the clown you have making your decisions.
Enjoyingtheride...
People are, in fact, welcome to post their concerns there, but since there's no telling who from Rhino might be reading that topic, it might be more efficacious to use the Feedback link at the bottom of the page.
Here's what I just mailed to Feedback
A few years ago I saw the www.ERICBURDON.COM site ruined by poor decisions, it even closed down for 2 years, they said repair, maybe someone hacked it, but I don't think so, think it was the vibe getting nasty, because noone in the Burdon management cared for communication.
If you change things, you have to make what management guru Kotter calls "a burning platform." And then communicate, and adjust to make sure you'll succeed. What you are doing now is arrogant, and obviously, it destroys customer relations.
I'm 50, and I started loving the dead, when I brought Anthem Of The Sun home, 12 years old.
I didn't buy it, I borrowed it from the public library system in Denmark, free of charge, and really, you should see my living room, if you want to see the money that went that way. Yes, me and my pals we taped the free library records, and that turned us into fanatic music lovers.
There's two things I do every day: I check www.expectingrain.com for Dylan related news, and I check www.dead.net for downloads. I'm really like a marketing employee working for free, because I talk music with people who listens. But noone will listen if I ain't got some exciting news.
Do I need to say: I'm no longer a member on the Burdon site, and I rarely listen to my Burdon collection of vinyls and cds.
Rule of Businees: Value for the customer, value for the employee, and value for the shareholder.
Thank you for the past, and please reconsider, as even shareholders know what I'm talking about.
With hope from Ole
Can't stream at work, either....
This is a common problem for many people. Streaming is banned from work, because it kills bandwidth for the company. However, downloading does NOT affect the bandwidth (this coming from an IT guy at my work).
Either way, streaming or downloading, we would still be listening for free. So why limit our access to the music in a way that most of us can use?
No one here cares to sell MP3s. This isn't a community that takes advantage like that.
Just my 2 cents.....
??????????
OOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear Rhino
It is clear that the change in policy has offended a substantial portion of the community you are trying to reach. You must understand the the loyal listeners that frequent this section of your web site are in fact you very best customers. I place myself in this camp. In the past 24 months I have purchased multiple hundreds of dollars worth of material; downloads, CD's, DVD, clothing, keepsakes, books... you name it.
I have in fact bought more merchandise in the past several months than all my previous years combined and I have been a fan of the Dead for almost 40 years.
You might ask "why the renewed interest" and the answer is easy, because of this site. "Why do I come to this site"? - to get my weekly fix of Dead MP3's. Take that away, and I will loose interest in the site. I loose interest in the site and all the other stuff fades away - out of site, out of mind.
I guess the question you need to ask is "Is it worth losing the loyal?" The casual Dead Head (if there is such a thing), does not know about the site and is not down-loading free MP3's in place of buying music - it does not work that way. The true Dead Head's are doing both - downloading the free MP3's AND buying the CD's. These are the folks that are offended; myself included. Do you really want to drive away those folks that are most loyal to the music, your site and ultimately.... your merchandise?
Attention
Feedback only accepts 1000 characters.BETTER A WORD MAN THAN A BIRD MAN
Soothing news: I'm listening to the new MOUNTAIN record: MASTERS OF WAR (Big Rock Records). It's all Dylan tunes and it's great and it reminds me that RYAN ADAMS recently said: I'm listening to BLACK SABBATH VOL. 4, because it has that creepy beauty like early dead.
Yes, I'm out of tune, and writing in the wrong forum, but hell, I'm upset and I know chaos rules in systems with lack of communication.
And, hey, you Rhino Marketing guys: I know that Adams is on LostHighwayRecords, and Mountain seems like an indie thing, and you know what: Elementary Business School will tell you that what supports the interest for a market will be the benefit of all. On a higher level (dead-related ;-) you can even read an edition of the I CHING that covers that for organisations, yes, it's true.
Just Know one thihng
Thomas DRhino will not see a penny from me again..I feel like I have so much more to say but its been said real good already...Later
loss of visitors/supporters
tj crowley
you guys put alot of work into this site and gotta say, it's beautiful...but what a loss as myself and many others will not support/visit due to loss of downloading..sorry.....
Oooooooh . . .
Here's what I just posted to Feedback, as marye so delicately suggested. Sigh.
As someone who has spent thousands of dollars going to Dead shows (first show 5/7/77 Ithaca NY), buying albums, cassette tapes and CDs I want to express my displeasure with the abrupt changing of the scope and workability of the Taper's Section. It seems a bit sad that you think that David throwing up a few gems per week to download will hurt your brand.
Heck, it only serves to increase your brand awareness by providing consistent, repeated exposure to the fans, insuring weekly contact in between your CD releases. (I've purchased both the 12/31/76 and 2/19/71 releases.)
Now I wish you had never started the Taper's Section with mp3 downloads. It only makes me angry at the "brand."
soo lost in a haze
When I first logged into the Taper's section I could not get the first link, Midnight Hour to play, it was trying to make me choose players I don't have, so I started at the 26th page of comments and read backward (yeah that is how I take written tests, also- backwards...) then I decided to try a link I already know I listened to last week and then they all worked- still with what I think is that new little blockwindabobber. Puters- I have one, but i jest don't get it. Glad I am listening to the new ones now.
gd downloads
Please tell me you are going to change it back to the way it was...please. The music is for our enjoyment only. We like to listen to the music in our cars and home stereos. This Streaming only format is not good. Yesterday was a very sad day when this happened.
whatever....
Pretty crappy development......having not paid for anything I am not sure it is a bait-n-switch but it sucks nonetheless as I and obviosuly hundreds of others loved the mp3's. Par for the course though as far as GD stuff goes these days though.
Farethee well...
Rhino gave and then took away,Took away on a rainy day.
But "everything you have is just more that you can lose"
Thank you for the memories,
Thank you for the tunes.
No sounds in France
I've tried HARD to hear your audio streams but it don't WORK
Always searching the stream; that's not a good job
Before you make the change DID YOU TRY IT ?
I got a very good ,up to 2000 Ko/s (20Mb/s) ,internet connection & No GD Music
Whatever!!!!
In a world so full of FUCKING greed, this was just another small oasis of kindness,... Destroyed.