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    heatherlew
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    Dave's Picks Volume 28: Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 6/17/76

    This year's Dave's Picks series comes to a close just as the band's getting back together again in '76. By the time the Grateful Dead hit New Jersey’s Capitol Theatre - for the very first time - on 6/17/76, they were buzzing from their reunion, armed with new and revived material, the Rhythm Devils reformed with the mischievous Mickey Hart once again behind the kit. They'd skived off the unwieldy Wall of Sound and scaled back the venues from cavernous arenas to intimate theatres. Quite the treat!

    During the first set, the Dead's playing was nuanced ("Cold Rain And Snow"), detailed ("Looks Like Rain"), and intricate ("The Music Never Stopped"); the singing struck softly ("Row Jimmy") and raised hairs ("Ship Of Fools"). But it’s the big barreling energy of the second set you’ll want to brace yourself for, replete with a disco'd "Dancing In The Streets," a low-down funky “Help”>”Slip”>”Franklin's” and a wind 'em up to wind down "Let It Grow">"Wharf Rat">"Around and Around." Can you keep up? There's only one way to find out.

    This complete show, balanced out with a couple of bonus tracks from 6/23/76 and 6/28/76, was recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.

    Dave's Picks Volume 28 is limited to 18,000 individually-numbered copies*.

    Grab a copy before they're gone, gone, gone.

    *Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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  • simonrob
    Joined:
    When something is wrong...

    The recent epidemic of malfunctioning discs should not be ignored or dismissed with comments like "It will all come good in the end." It should not have gone so badly wrong in the first place and Rhino should be left in no doubt that their market finds this unacceptable.

    Whether or not it has anything to do with cost cutting is something Rhino is unlikely to divulge. That the discs are noticeably thinner and more flexible than the norm and that they are made in Mexico may or may not contribute to the problem, but most sentient beings could put 2 and 2 together and get 4 as the answer.

    To dismiss complaining about this situation as endless whining seems so absurd that it seems aimed purely at provoking a reaction. I hesitate to use the "T-word" but how else should it be described.

    My message to Rhino is: Give us quality products for our money. Surely this is not too much to ask?. What may be too much to ask is for the elusive Dr. Rhino to post an explanation of what has gone amiss recently, but it would be a nice gesture to those having so much trouble trying to resolve issues that they have with recent releases that came to a head with Dave's Picks Volume 28.

  • daverock
    Joined:
    In praise of speaking out

    As I understand it, the people who speak out against receiving a poor quality service make more of a positive contribution to the culture surrounding the product in question than those who don't. Surely, if a profit making organisation can make more profit by cutting costs, they will do so. If, in cutting costs, the quality of the product deteriorates, then it is up to everyone who purchases that product to point out what has happened, with a view to rectifying the situation. If they care about what they are buying, that is.
    Hopefully we have got way past the point where we are mere passive recipients.

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    Happy Day After New Year everyone!!....

    .... sorry I'm late, but to say I tied one on New Year's Eve would be an understatement. Didn't wake up until noon yesterday, and no, I didn't wake up to find out that I was the eyes of the world. I woke up looking for my Excedrin. Here's to a grate 2019 for everyone! Dave's Picks so far sure don't hurt very long..... shameless plug into this!!....
    https://youtu.be/r0oY7OEg4Ik
    ....the chills start at the 15:00 mark. The chills peak at 16:45. There's an I Know You Rider in there trying to escape. Sploooooosh....then it gets really dark, and really weird. I couldn't have asked for anything more.

  • DeadVikes
    Joined:
    Where's Bolo?

    Have not seen a post from Bolo in a long time. Maybe concides with this release and the defective CDs?

  • Trainwrecked
    Joined:
    It's your incessant complaining Sam

    Lol, no I don't work for Rhino. But that's telling, that you think a rhino employee would talk to a customer like that. It just shows how out of touch you are, and belligerent toward the system. The reason I posted my comment is because you are a drag. If it were one time that would be one thing, but you complain about everything, all the time, multiple times. That's reason number one that I posted. You are a buzz kill.

    Reason number two is that I don't want you to f*** it up for those of us who don't think that the occasional exchanging of discs is worth sandbagging the organization that brings us all of this great music. It has never taken me more than an email thread to resolve a product defect. I'm talking mere minutes. You on the other hand make it sound like they're pulling your fingernails out, repeatedly, about the same damn thing. I consider myself a stakeholder and you drive down the stock every time you shoot off your loud mouth. So no need to guess about my motives, you have them right here.

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Caveat emptor

    Included on Dick’s Picks to let you know that they weren’t studio recordings and the tapes might not be in the best condition.
    Probably should have used it on the PNW Box to warn that Wall of Sound shows often start with fiddling of the controls to get it just exactly perfect. Seems that a lot of people think they have defective discs because the vocals drop out.

    Now disc skipping, that’s a legitimate defect.

    A new caveat emptor is now needed to warn that your CDs might contain skips.
    My replacements of DaP28 CD3 are supposedly in transit but, based on the post from Judysparty, I’m wondering about the quality of the redo. If it still skips on Let It Grow then that would suggest that the negative used for pressing is defective and wasn’t replaced.
    At this point I wonder if they even still physically stamp a blank, or if they just bought a couple hundred duplicators and now just burn discs.

    My past defects:
    5-5-77 CD2
    8-24-72 CD3

    Golden Road and Beyond Description Boxes (I didn’t try to get replacements):
    Skull Fuck, Dead Set, and another that I don’t remember at this moment.

    And a weird one with Road Trips v1n2+bonus where it plays fine on the stereo but has many skips when copied to a hard drive. I used two different computers and burners and both copies had skips and dropouts, but in different places. After making 5 copies I was able to piece together the good fragments and get a copy on my music player.

    Rockin’ the Rhein:
    CD3 was missing.

    Other people have reported other problems over the years that I never experienced. But, it seems that the frequency and overall number of defects is increasing.
    That’s not a good sign.

    I forgot who said it below, the box cutter blues may have been annoying, but at least the CDs were not defective.

  • unkle sam
    Joined:
    trainwrecked

    I was acknowledging a previous post and I also have been buying literally hundreds of discs and I can only go by what has transpired in the past with what is transpiring now. So, you do what you want to, no one told you to do anything that you don't want to do. You go ahead and blindly purchase your product and I will wait till the reviews come in and we will see who is the happier for it. I guess you have all the time in the world to chase defective disc replacements, I do not. I agree with you that most problems are corrected and Marye is the best person for getting that done. I also agree that you have every right to disagree with what I said, but your tone is rather harsh, do you work for rhino? I know in the past there were no problems with disc, then, all of a sudden, there are, what would you contribute that to? I never mentioned Mexico or inflated costs so where that came from is anybody's guess, I did state that I missed the good old days when Grateful Dead products were made in the USA, yes, and that is true, I do miss those days, but don't try and put words into the conversation that I never said. Also, if you don't think that rhino is making a rather substantial profit from these sales, than you are delusional. Finally, I stated that I would gladly pay more for a quality product, so no one was bitching about the cost, again, you jumped to your own conclusion which is way off base and just, well, wrong. I stand by what I said and if you don't like it, oh well, some folks just can't connect the dots as you put it. I do know one thing, I don't care what you think about my outlook or my grasp of reality, which, by the way, is your opinion, which is wrong again. I don't follow the limited 2 per order comment, but you started to ramble then and the rest is gibberish. I can tell by your demeanor that something I said pissed you off, might it have been the wall/bridge comment? Anyway, something I said upset you and for that I say sorry, but I call them like I see them. 2019 is going to be a great year for me, and my outlook is nothing but positive, and based in a brighter reality than you seem to have and I will continue to speak my mind even if you try and tear me down, "bro"

  • Trainwrecked
    Joined:
    Yawn, give it a rest Sam

    You assume too much. Like for example, how do you know that the problem stems from the discs being made in Mexico is the reason there is a problem? You don't know that making them in the USA will solve anything. And how do you know that the defective disc issue resulted from a move to increase profit at Rhino (and NOT a move to prevent cost increase to the buyer?)

    I've purchased literally hundreds, probably over a thousand Grateful Dead discs from Rhino at this point, and have had very few problems. The problems I have had in the past have been resolved by either Customer Support, marye, or Dr. Rhino.

    Go ahead and cut off your nose to spite your face if you want, but I for one, recognize how fucking good we have it, to be able to purchase all of this music at normal prices. And the prices are normal, you just have to buy in bulk to make the system work. So don't bitch about their profit or what you're paying either.

    You see that sign that says "Limited 2 copies per order?" That's Rhino listening to the people, so get that straight in your head too bro.

    You'd be a much happier person with a more positive outlook, not to mention one that is better set in reality, because you do connect a lot of dots on assumption. Maybe 2019 will be a better one for you.

  • Strider 808808
    Joined:
    1/2/70, 12/31/81

    January 2, 1970, Fillmore East was my first Grateful Dead concert. 49 years ago today. I remember it quite clearly. How much tickets cost ($4.50, $5.50), where our seats were, the light show, the opening bands, thus spake zarathustra, the scene on the street. "If I told you all that went down it would burn off both your ears". 12/31/81 was my first New Years Eve Dead concert. Wild times. Thank you Ken Kesey. As for the quote "If you remember the 60s you weren't there", is inaccurate and misleading. And I love Robin Williams and Grace Slick. As for defective discs, some of you remember the 1972 Rolling Stone interview with Jerry Garcia when he talked about defective Skull and Roses vinyl that skipped and how it pissed him off. The Dead have always stood for high quality. Get it together Rhino. Happy New Years.

  • marye
    Joined:
    12/31/81
    Was my second NYE, the first one I had any idea what was going on (first show 12/31/80), and it was and is one of my all time favorites.
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Dave's Picks Volume 28: Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 6/17/76

This year's Dave's Picks series comes to a close just as the band's getting back together again in '76. By the time the Grateful Dead hit New Jersey’s Capitol Theatre - for the very first time - on 6/17/76, they were buzzing from their reunion, armed with new and revived material, the Rhythm Devils reformed with the mischievous Mickey Hart once again behind the kit. They'd skived off the unwieldy Wall of Sound and scaled back the venues from cavernous arenas to intimate theatres. Quite the treat!

During the first set, the Dead's playing was nuanced ("Cold Rain And Snow"), detailed ("Looks Like Rain"), and intricate ("The Music Never Stopped"); the singing struck softly ("Row Jimmy") and raised hairs ("Ship Of Fools"). But it’s the big barreling energy of the second set you’ll want to brace yourself for, replete with a disco'd "Dancing In The Streets," a low-down funky “Help”>”Slip”>”Franklin's” and a wind 'em up to wind down "Let It Grow">"Wharf Rat">"Around and Around." Can you keep up? There's only one way to find out.

This complete show, balanced out with a couple of bonus tracks from 6/23/76 and 6/28/76, was recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman.

Dave's Picks Volume 28 is limited to 18,000 individually-numbered copies*.

Grab a copy before they're gone, gone, gone.

*Limited to 2 per order. Very limited quantity available.

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In reply to by daverock

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The comments certainly are more buried in the site. That seems to be the main complaint. The blinding white is less a big deal. There's a few, including me, that wonders if they buried us to better deal with all the product complaints and to a lesser extent some of the open hostility.

It's a new day, starting on a bright note.. and venturing down the path. It's Big Rock Pow Wow day where I stand. That will surely shake the plaster off the walls and rearrange the matter between my ears.

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Been looking around in the community area and it seems a lot of the comments are scattered all over the place, not like before when we all conjugated in one spot, plus, I don't see any of the on line trolls here anymore, which is a good thing. Just makes me think how many of those trolls were not fans, just trouble makers? Outside agitators they used to be called. I would love me some Bruce and Vince 90's shows released in this series. Dave? Whatdya say?

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In reply to by unkle sam

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We are certainly due a good Bruce show or two.. I would bet there are a few being discussed for future release. Not sure how they are going to treat the Vince era shows. I think the last one released (besides 30 trips) was Cal Expo?? and before that Dicks Picks 27?? I recall a little grumbling when those got released. One day we will see more from this era, however..

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In reply to by MDJim

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I am 100% on board with this idea. We've only been treated to a few official Bruce-infused releases, and we're overdue. I'm particularly partial to the '91 Boston Garden run, but pretty much anything throughout '91 proper would be appreciated and applauded. The energy he brought to the band during this era was entirely palpable especially when her and Jerry would duel back and forth. It was clear they were both having a good time.

Sixtus

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I would love a few 93 shows to get released, I enjoy a good Days Between and other late era songs that have not been heavily released.

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I haven't been on the new site much . . . But it looks like a lot of the old gang is here. Man I've missed this random banter about the Dead, music, life, and whatever.

Been really diving into 73 lately. I've always loved Dave's 21, and then the PNW box, of course, and now I'm on Winterland 73. The cojtinued emphasis on the songs, but with the increasingly looser amd freer jams intersprersed. The emergence of Playin as a jam vehicle. Good stuff.

Concurrently, also been slowly working my way through the Warfield run. 9/30/80 is my fav, so far, and also the last one I listened too (but I repeat myself). The sound quality is the biggest differntiator as the shows are very similar, so far. Good stuff, and would make a great box set some day.

Just put in for the week of New Years off from work and have that blocked off to listen to as many 12/31 shows as life permits.

Peace out

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In reply to by NCDead

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1990 isn't a date that normally follows on from the word "Europe", but thanks to the generosity of one of the posters on here, I finally got to hear a recording of the Wembley 10/31/90 show. I enjoyed the music at all three London shows in 1990, but haven't heard them since, and have always assumed that they were great if you were, less so if you weren't. Wrong again! The opening Help/Slipknot/Franklins is superb-a great feel to it. I enjoyed the whole show, so I dug out the Paris show from 27th, in the 30 Trips box. This may be even better. I haven't listened to the whole show yet, but its got a great China Cat/Rider nestled in there. Bird Song features in both shows too, leading into Promised Land to close the first sets. Good stuff.

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In reply to by daverock

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Daverock, if I am not mistaken, ole' Brucey was on that Europe '90 tour, and he added some awesome stuff. The shows you mentioned are my my radar; and I also remember finding a pretty good near-sbd copy of the 20-OCT-90 show in Berlin years ago, and what I find hilarious now is that (A) I've easily found a copy of what I found back then on the interwebs (see link below) and (B) how obvious it is that whoever wrote down this setlist was either waaay tripping or had no idea what they were listening to:

https://www.discogs.com/Grateful-Dead-Live-In-Berlin/release/3850365

The Shakedown the night prior is also one for the ages.

Sixtus

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In reply to by Sixtus_

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You Have Step Uptown and Checkeroo are my favs! I'm totally buying that.

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In reply to by Roguedeadguy

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From the Urban Dictionary:

Not a full scale check of the surrounding area but a quick scan around.
I'll just have a checkeroo to make sure I didn't leave my stash behind in the hotel room.

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In reply to by Sixtus_

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Yes, Bruce was there. It was very strange on the 1st night-10/30/90. Bruce led the jam out of first set closer, Let It Grow into one of his own compositions, Valley Road. I had never heard it before, and by the look on the bands faces-neither had they. It didn't seem sympathetic to Let it Grow at all-and as I remember it both band and audience stood there with bemused faces as Bruce obliviously and enthusiastically played on. It had all gone very quite by the time he had finished, and the band shuffled off stage. It wasn't bad-just unexpected.

I love that Valley Road, especially the loose Bruce/Jerry interplay before the song. I wasn't there though, interesting comment on body language, etc. It was the second of six times played, the first in Germany 8 days earlier. I always looked it as a solo song that he just wasted to play with the boys.

As most have said, I am a big fan of the energy Bruce brought and man can that guy play the piano.

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In reply to by MDJim

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The previous site did have a lot of spam issues, as well as commentary that wasn’t always appropriate for a commercial product sales website. People are starting to filter back in here, I imagine that more will reappear when 2-26-77 starts arriving in mailboxes.
The white background actually makes it easier to read on a phone, so I’m all for it. With the old yellow background I was having trouble reading the text on a phone. I rarely read these boards on a computer, just phone or tablet.

Valley Road 10-22-90
https://youtu.be/IG2aLwil6Bk

It was played a few times.

Just checkaroo-ing in

Now, how ‘bout some reCAPTCHA crosswalks.....or fire hydrants......or cars......or buses....or traffic lights.....
When do I get the dancing bears reCAPTCHA?

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In reply to by MDJim

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I *know* I'm not the only one who's forgotten to do that particular checkeroo :)

To the housekeeping staff at The Sleepy Fawn Motel . . . you're welcome.

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I vote yes, most of those shows are top notch, new energy, new keyboardists and Jerry on fire. What's not to love? I would love to see these all released via box set, like E72, that would be awesome. For the same price too and not on cheap disks. There are a lot of fantastic shows with Bruce and Vince at the Ivory, check out those 3 shows from April in Orlando 91, I was there and it was like stepping back in time to the 60's, lots of freaks, flowers in their hair, no hassles from the police, in fact, they were quite friendly, and really good doses everywhere. I wouldn't mind that 81 Europe tour being released either, that Barcelona show from that tour is just frigging awesome. Give us some European Dead love Dave, I'm sure these would sell like hotcakes.
Valley road was a Bruce song that was played by the boys for Bruce, his big hit back then and, well, it was a big hit for Bruce. It's good to see the E90 tour getting some love by others other than me. Would that make you guys the other ones? :)

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In reply to by unkle sam

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Still no Dave's 28.
I don't know what to think anymore...
:O(

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I would be into another release from this tour. The 10/27/90 paris show from the 30 trip's box is a monster. would also love to see Compton Terrace and McNichols from Dec '90 released. Those shows were epic. Especially 12/9/90. Awesome show.

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In reply to by unkle sam

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That would be an exciting and off the wall choice for a box set. As would Europe 1981-which is all but lost in the mists of time.

Thinking back to Bruce playing Valley Road with the band on 10/30/90-at that time, I had never heard of Bruce, and had never heard Valley Road before. Maybe because I was so bemused, I projected this state on to everybody else-including the band.

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In reply to by daverock

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All this talk of Europe, especially Europe 81 reminded me of days long ago when Rhino used to sponsor Blair Jackson to write here once a month in the form of Blair's Golden Road.

There's a great write-up on the '81 European Tours (there were two that year). He gives great praise for the performances but alas it was the mix that makes these shows difficult to release. Check out his comments below, very well written and on point.

https://www.dead.net/features/blair-jackson/blair-s-golden-road-blog-fo…

If only we could go back in time and brainwash the boys and management not to pull the plug on 'high end' recordings in 1979 forward... I believe if the 80's forward got the Betty Treatment they would not be so oft maligned..

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I "hate" this new format. I guess I am just getting....old!
Mr. Pete------->
aging hippie

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In reply to by mbarilla

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I always liked Bruce's solo stuff for the most part; I recall fondly that song 'Mandolin Rain' as it was playing a lot on the radio when I was enduring a devastating break up (why was it me always getting dumped?!?!), and that song just rang the true note of the soul in the same way that song describes. But it's pretty catchy nonetheless, if not a little lovey-ballady but hey they can't all be groovy rockers. He also does a solid Jack Straw on that 'Deadicated' album from the early '90's.

Of course I will use every opportunity to tout a favorite Bruce/Garcia-moment so do your soul a favor and go listen to this Foolish Heart - especially the jam at the end. OH Man. And the show overall is pretty great - indicative of the magic that was conjured during his tenure.

https://archive.org/details/gd1990-12-28.sbd.miller.114440.flac16

Sixtus

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Just wondering if anyone who got skipping discs on this release has received replacement discs yet. I am still waiting for replacements for discs 1 and 3 myself.

Listening to the Road Trips '69 Big Rock Pow Wow release today. I picked it up recently and haven't had a chance to give it a full listen, but I saw someone on here (MDJim?) mention it in the last few days and thought I should try and give the whole thing a listen.

I knew y'all would make it right, in the end.

Good on ya, "Mac" and Team Rhino!

As an aside, I understand why you had to create a new website, with the incumbent latest security features, but I am no longer contributing due to the onerous and sterile nature of the interaction. *Shrugs*

MOST IMPORTANTLY, THANK YOU FOR RELEASING THE SWING!!!
2-26-77 ARE BELONG TO US !!! !!!

Peace.Love.Disc.

Happy Holidaze!

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Thanks Icecrmcnkd, Bob T., and Guss West. I got that email this evening as well, makes me feel a lot better to know that the replacement discs should be on the way soon. I kind of figured there were a lot of replacement discs needed based on the number of comments from folks who got skipping discs. I am really looking forward to playing this release through without skips, as it sounds fantastic other than the skips.

Nice to see an uptick in the rate of posting, I really dig reading everyone's comments on these releases and other things to check out.

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Fantastic farewell gig by The Pretty Things in London two nights ago. They brought the house down for the final time with a blistering set that focussed on many of the great records they made in the 1960's leading up to the album Parachute. They also covered some authentic sounding country blues, with Dick Taylor playing superb acoustic slide. They also played a fair bit off their best album-one of the best psychedelic albums to come out of England-S.F.Sorrow, and the classic psych single Defecting Grey from the same year, 1968. They were joined by no less than Dave Gilmour, who jammed convincingly on several songs-a swell as a grumpy looking Van Morrison.
A truly great band and night.

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A wonderful band back in the day. Great to hear they can still cut it. They were always better than the Rolling Stones in my book. Parents with daughters feared their influence more than that of the Rolling Stones - which should be considered a compliment of some sort.

Looks like its gonna be a white Christmas - on this website, at least.

Archaeologists in Egypt have made an exciting tomb discovery - the final resting place of a high priest, untouched for 4,400 years. Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, described the find as "one of a kind in the last decades".

This is obviously secret code to play From Egypt with Love or the October 78 Winterland road trip shows, July 78.. it matters not. I don't take these things lightly.. what have we to lose? Besides.. discovering 4,400 year old treasures deserves a little celebratory activities.

.....I've always known high priests are good for something! Just have to wait 4000+ years for exhumation. So party it will be. Sounds like a good ride for Me and My Abrictosaurus.

Finally bought the last hole in my dead DVD collection, Trucking up to Buffalo. Have owned the CDs for years. Man, what a great show on DVD. 5.1 surround
sound and it sounds great, brings back a lot of good memories for how shows were in the late 80s. It has been almost 9 years since we have had a video release, with CW & I being the last in 2010. I would love to see them get back to releasing some more late 80s shows as well as 1990s. How great would it be to have some of those Spring 1990 shows in blue-ray with surround sound. I know I would be all over that.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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You would recommend surround sound then? I haven't got it, but a lot of these box sets and anniversary releases seem to have discs with this sort of sound. The new version of Electric Ladyland boasts a surround sound disc, I notice, and I have numerous King Crimson discs also with surround sound lying dormant in the box.

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In reply to by daverock

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I'll give my humble opinion without going too deep into the technical rabbit hole.

I rarely listen to straight music on surround sound and I don't have many albums remixed for surround sound (DVD Audio of American Beauty and Workingman's Dead come to mind). But lots of older stuff is getting re-released as Blu Ray audio DVDs (like The Grateful Dead Movie some years back).

I pay attention when something is remixed for Blu Ray. I believe the Ice Cream Cone Kid sort of started this side trip talking about great sound on the reissue of The Song Remains The Same on Blu Ray. Since there are more tracks and more audio storage capacity built into this medium (left front, right front, center front, subwoofer, left back, right back).. this necessitates a remix to take advantage of the new sound options. If they do a really good job on the re-mix it can make a big difference both played back in Surround Sound or as stereo.

So it's both the sound and hopefully a more insightful mix that can make it worthwhile. It seems more prevalent in concert DVDs and movies, less options for standard albums. There's more to it but that's my simplified, boiled down take. If I have something wrong/distorted/omitted, hopefully someone will chime in with other insights.

Where's wjonjd when you need him?

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In reply to by MDJim

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Yes, that makes sense that a disc would need to be remixed specifically for surround sound for optimum effect. Maybe a bit like how an album needs to be mixed specifically for vinyl, to get the best sound, rather than using the same mix that has been released on cd. Obviously, I am straying out of my comfort zone talking about such issues.

I have had surround sound - blu ray discs at that-thrust on me somewhat through buying box sets. This last day or so I have been listening to the studio albums from King Crimson's "Sailors Tales" box set-Wake of Poseidon, Lizard and Islands. They sound, in their stereo version on cd, simply amazing. But there are also blu ray discs with the same material mixed for surround sound. I can't help wondering what I am missing out on-if anything.

Conversely several 1960s albums sound better in mono-Piper At The Gates of Dawn and Sergeant Pepper come to mind. There seems to be too much choice, in a way. I often put a disc in-this obviously applies to films too - and am perplexed by the range of options concerning sound. This abundance of choice isn't confined to sound, either. Try buying a coffee in London.

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In reply to by daverock

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Playing a 2-track stereo mix on a 5.1 surround system won’t get you any added benefit, and it may not even sound as good as on a stereo.

I’m not sure if a studio recording will gain anything by being mixed in 5.1, but a live recording seems to get a fuller, fill-the-room feel (although I did see comments that Quadrophenia sounds great). The recently released Song Remains The Same on BluRay audio sounds awesome; mixed from the original multi tracks to hi-res Blu-ray audio. With Blu-ray audio you get hi-res lossless, but you still need the TV turned on to navigate through the menu.
What system you have also matters. I have an Onkyo 5.1 Home Theater system, not too pricey and sounds great, but the Blu-ray player makes a big difference. Originally I had a Samsung player, but when I got the Fare Thee Well Blu-rays the sound wasn’t that great. I then ponied up for an Onkyo player to go with the Onkyo 5.1 system and the improvement in sound quality was amazing. I think that the Samsung player (~$70) is just meant for playing movies, whereas the Onkyo player has a better audio chip in it.

The other thing about Blu-ray audio is that you usually get both the 5.1 and stereo mixes, so you can do your own comparison.

But what do I know, I’ve started buying vinyl too......

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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Correct.. but usually if they go through the effort to create a surround sound mix, they toss in a remastered stereo mix too.. which does sometimes sound better than the original stereo mix.

Speaking of remixed multi-tracks, I listened to parts of the 10/8/89 and 10/9/89 Hampton Formerly the Warlocks shows. I had forgotten how powerful that slipknot! was on the 10/8 Help/Slip/Franklins breakout. I know the DS gets all the hype from this run, but don't overlook the H/S/F's and Morning Dew from the night before.. plus that haunting Death Don't Have No Mercy and soulful Attics are a real treat. The sound is good, but not as good the Spring 90 TOO boxset. Oh well, still two great shows regardless of era.

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I do not have a surround sound system, but it seems to me that if you want true surround sound you would have to remix the sound to get each instrument or player positioned in the proper speaker, would you not? If there are 5 speakers, you would have 4 for the highs and the midranges and 1 for the base line, is this not correct? I know when I had my quad set up years ago, the albums were mixed to quad sound, that is to say that certain instruments came out of certain speakers, and sometimes they were switched around, moving in stereo you might say. Most of these quad mixes were definitely different that their stereo counterparts and gave a "new and different" sound to the music. Does surround sound do the same thing? I have heard it in stores with movies, but never with just music. It really doesn't seem possible to remix a two track recording to surround sound and have it sound different except that the sound is now coming out of 5 speakers verses just 2 in stereo. I do believe that digital music could be remastered to surround sound but analog tapes, like 2 track or even 8 track, would be very difficult to remaster to get that true surround sound sound. Anybody got any thoughts on this? I have been curious about surround sound, but if it's just to get the sound to come out of 5 speakers instead of 2, doesn't seem like much of an incentive to invest in. Any engineers out there with any info on this topic who would care to enlighten us?

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My head is configured for stereo i.e. I have two ears, one on each side of my head. Maybe I'm missing the point here.

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In reply to by simonrob

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But hearing is 3-dimensional, which is why you can tell the direction of a sound.

I think that surround sound is an attempt to produce 3D sound, which helps with movies, and seems to sound pretty good with some concert recordings.

Sam,
My 5.1 is five speakers (center, L R stereo, L R surround) plus the subwoofer.

I have a regular stereo system with 2 speakers and a subwoofer for stereo audio recordings. And a 5.1 home theater system for TV, DVD, Blu-ray. The surround sound works quite well for watching hockey, it does have a 3D sound effect, especially when they crash into the boards.

The Warlocks release is the best 89 release they have put out. Two really good shows. This one they used Plangent. Not sure why they have not used this process again for the late 80s or 90s. Hope they go back to it!

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All that fancy talk aside, Van Morrison gunned down the old man with a transistor radio.

\m/

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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If anyone doesn't have the 89 RFK release, I would jump on at $44 right now with the 25 days of Christmas. Great deal and you won't be disappointed. Always loved Phil and Just Like Thumb's Blues. Or you could wait and try to buy in on eBay in a couple years for $300?.

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In reply to by DeadVikes

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Looks like we are getting another two from early 1970 as Dave's Picks 30. 2019 is shaping up to be a particularly good year.

So, we get a phat double-dose right outta the gate into 2019....first, Schwiiiiing!!!!! Then, 1/2/70...??? I mean, that Dark Star knocked me over the first time I heard it....totally epic. The rest of the show....momentum like a rolling freight train.

Good news for a pre-Holiday offering.

Hope The Clan is well!
Sixtus

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In reply to by Sixtus_

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Wow is right.. a one two punch if ever I have seen one. Super stoked for these first two offerings. Just say yes to Plangent.. Kayak Guy is right!

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