• 1,905 replies
    Anusha
    Default Avatar
    Joined:

    Buckle up as we take a deep dive into Giants Stadium!

    What's Inside:

    5 Previously Unreleased Complete Giants Stadium Shows On 14 Discs

    7/12/87 (24-track masters)

    7/9/89  (24-track masters)

    7/10/89 (24-track masters)

    6/16/91 (48-track masters)

    6/17/91 (48-track masters)

    Blu-ray/DVD video of the complete 6/17/91 show, mixed in surround sound  Mixed from the multitrack master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir's TRI Studios Mastered in HDCD by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering with Plangent Processes restoration Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 10,000

    By 1987, the Grateful Dead had lived many of their nine lives but were about to embark on one not a soul had seen coming. In The Dark, their first studio album in seven years, had spawned a hit (A TOP 10 SINGLE FOR THE GRATEFUL DEAD?!) and "Touch Of Grey" begat a new generation with their fanny packs and their MTV and their undeniable quest to join the party already in progress. And boy, did the Dead let them in! But not without fine-tuning their sonic vibes to meet the new demand.

    "The Swamp," as Giants Stadium was affectionately known, along with the grandstands the Dead had been frequenting, would seemingly equate with BIGGER and LOUDER, but the band "remained determined to give equal weight to the more subtle, oblique elements; to the exploratory improvisation and rhythmic complexities; to the fine details of the most heart-rending ballads as well as the weirdest dissonances in the jams."

    With GIANTS STADIUM 1987/1989/1991, we retrace this journey from their 1987 breakthrough to their 1989 revelation ("the closest they ever came to sounding like a really polished stadium-level rock act, but the band’s penchant for breaking out of the constraints of song structure and into freewheeling improvisation will remind you just who you’re listening to here") to their transformative return in 1991, aided by elegance of Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby.

    GIANTS STADIUM: 1987, 1989, 1991 features five previously unreleased shows that were recorded at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on: July 12, 1987; July 9 and 10, 1989; and June 16 and 17, 1991. Originally recorded by John Cutler, each show has been mixed from the multitrack master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, CA, and mastered in HDCD by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering. The first three shows are mixed from 24-track masters. The final two from 1991 are the only Grateful Dead shows ever recorded to 48-track masters. We’re rounding things out with a little visual stimuli -  the entire multi-camera 6/17/91 concert recording on either two DVDs or a single Blu-ray, both with a surround mix by Norman.

    Due September 27th, this release is limited to 10,000 individually numbered copies and available exclusively from Dead.net. We highly suggest you grab a copy while you can so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out.

    Prefer your boxed set byte-sized? The collection will also be available for HD digital download in FLAC and ALAC, exclusively at dead.net, on release day. You can pre-order it now too.

Comments

sort by
Recent
Reset
  • Sixtus_
    Joined:
    re: Lysergia

    That's a good descriptor and this would have been a cool show for said destination. After my morning listen (twice) I found the '75 excerpt from the Bonus Disc to illicit multiple feelings/reactions: this having been only one of very few '75 performances, it must have been a 'WTF' moment when they started playing Blues for Allah - it just sounds SO DIFFERENT than anything they had done before (or ever did after, for that matter). With the Mid-Eastern vibe it seethes with mystery and then it gets into a magnificent meltdown that eventually opens up into the groove of King Solomon's - definitely the highlight in there. It covers a lot of ground in the 31 minutes or so, but again the 'feeling' of this performance is entirely unique.

    Good call on the callback here.

    Sixtus

  • stoltzfus
    Joined:
    3/23/75

    back in college days (82-86) i had a tape of 3/23/75

    during a visit to Lysergia, i experienced that tape.

    :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

  • JeffSmith
    Joined:
    SQ: Woodstock Complete vs Woodstock 50 Box

    Hey ICECRMCNKD, You were probably referring to the link I posted last year to Woodstock Project’s “Woodstock Complete”. WS Complete is a very cool bit of sonic archeology by a handful of hardworking members. They’ve been unearthing audio from 1969’s 3-day festival since at least the ‘90s. Its skeleton is comprised of official releases beginning with the original WS Soundtrack, WS2 and subsequent official releases by individual artists, plus the 25th & 40th anniversary collections. Then, for any performances/tracks without official releases, audience recordings of varying sound quality have been inserted (sound familiar? SBDs vs AUDs). It doesn’t stop there – stage announcements, TV & radio reports/interviews, pre-festival radio ads, etc., etc. are all part of Woodstock Complete, and yes there’s sometimes an unavoidable discontinuity in sound quality. There are some pretty cool gems preserved in Woodstock Complete which is updated every few years with new (re)discoveries. It’s uncertain how the recent box will affect its future, but the most recent WS Complete ’16 still includes a lot of amazing historic artifacts that dovetail nicely with the WS 50 Box.

    The just released WS 50 Box (38CD Woodstock - Back To The Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive) that Rhino released this month is a whole ‘nuther animal. Here’s what I’ve gleaned from looking over several shoulders. To begin with, the idea of releasing ALL of the official multi-track stage recordings has heretofore been understood to be an impossible dream. Altho owners of the tapes (Atlantic/Cotillion at the start – now WMG/Rhino) have always owned the multi-tracks, they still need approval from each of the artists (or their reps or executors) to release their individual WS performance. Just one holdout would scuttle any en masse release of the tapes.

    Brian Kehew, who remixed every performance for this box (except for the Hendrix set which includes the Kramer mixes), put it this way on Steve Hoffman: “One of the tenets of getting this many parties to agree to a release was the LOW number of complete boxes being made, a very limited number just for the 50th, no more - and NO downloads or streaming rights at all. I'm not privy to their discussions, but as Mr. [Andy] Zax has most-subtly hinted at over and over here: This is not coming out again, in a reduced or easier form. A small team at Rhino fought and fought to keep this on course, as they knew it deserved to happen. It wasn't easy, fun or even rewarding.”

    ICECRMCNKD, back to your question about sound quality: Zax, Kehew and the Rhino team have produced noticeably improved sound using technology that was not available even for the 40 anniversary release (Polyphonic Tuning for instance). Andy Zax (again, on Hoffman): “Everything was completely remastered from scratch for 2019. The 2009 box was the best we could do at the time—it suffers from the fact that I was forced to include a number of non-Brian Kehew mixes that I don’t like; that we were unable to include three of the artists; and that I was obliged to use the Fillmore versions of “Sea Of Madness” and “Wooden Ships”. All of the audio has been extensively reworked to my satisfaction since then.”

    The Dead’s set is actually pretty good and the Dark Star seems to be a lot better than Jerry remembered. Lovelight’s still a train wreck, but then the Dead was somehow playing while being slowly electrocuted and forgot "when" they were.

    I can only wonder whether the team that pulled off this box isn’t (unofficially) OK about their historic, definitive release of ALL Woodstock official stage recordings now being available as a bootleg download for free. Kinda appropriate considering how tickets for the original Woodstock worked out. . .

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Re: WRS Opener, Seasons Change 8/21/68 and random musings

    Perhaps my favorite WRS Prelude. It's a keeper. I used to have that disc in my CD alarm clock back when I was flying coast to coast every week.. waking up at 4:00 am every Monday. It had a soothing way of brining me out of my needed slumber without shock and awe, as in awe shucks it sucks to wake up at 4 am.

    It's a classic.

    Hope everyone (in the Northern Hemisphere at least) is taking good advantage of the end of summer.. the days are getting shorter and the leaves are starting to turn here in the mountains for the weaker or sickly trees.. a sure sign that summer is short and fall is on its way. Which dovetails nicely into WRS, Darkness falls and seasons change... Did I ever mention I really like top shelf 1974 Grateful Dead? There's something for all seasons.. I think I will play some.

    One other tidbit I did not know. I was driving home from a back to school thing last night at 7 when TIGDH came on and Lemieux played parts of 8/21/68 Winterland. Apparently, this whole run was recorded on 1" 8-track tapes.. so the whole run was recorded in multi-track similar to Two From The Vault. I did not know that. Honestly, what I heard (at least initially) was not quite as compelling as 2/14/68 and TFTV (both recorded on 1" 8 Track, and both slack-jawed stunners), but still it was a holy shit moment.. like holy shit these shows have to get the Full-Norman, Plangent treatment and get released.. now.

    Not if but when, they have to get released.

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    KF/ Spinners

    Those were the Spinners.....who thought JG was God, and would start to hallucinate after spinning so much. They preferred the concourses so they could congregate and have more room etc, and of course eventually the band started putting speakers out there. Not sure when/where that all started? I think I recall seeing them in the early eighties, but
    A) my memory is always suspect, and
    B) early on I probably was clueless, and
    C) we usually went up front early on so didn’t get out in the halls much..
    That is a great question though!

  • JimInMD
    Joined:
    Dennis

    Check your pm..

  • KeithFan2112
    Joined:
    Oh Dear

    I thought everyone knew about the Beyond Description bonus disc. The WRS prelude features the best vocals I've heard Bobby sing on this piece. It's from the October '74 Winterland run, but not the version that ended up on the movie soundtrack.

    IMHO The Blues For Allah is much better than One From The Vault. The keyboards are stunning. The sound is great - I actually emailed Lemieux a couple of years ago to see if this was a multi-track recording. He said it's not, but it is that good that I couldn't tell.

    Showboat features Keith on vocals with Donna; Jerry plays on it. Not a fantastic composition, but an interesting listen to hear Keith sing. He doesn't sound bad at all, augmented by Donna, but I'm thinking it probably demonstrates the limit of his vocal range.

    Uncle Gary gave me that one. Everyone should have an Uncle Gary. Friend, mentor, DeadHead, good person.

    Oh - what I came on here for - one of my most distinct memories of the 11th from last show in 1995 at the Knickerbocker Arena was all of the twirlers on the concourse. I suppose they were all trippin. At the time I thought it was odd that they we're not inside the doorway of the Arena area to hear the sound better. Yet there they were, hundreds of them around the entire circumference of the concourse of the arena. My question - does anyone know when this behavior started at Grateful Dead concerts? 70s? 80's? 90's? I saw them at JFK in 89, but there was no concourse to speak of that I was anywhere near.

  • Dennis
    Joined:
    3/23/75 Bonus

    Never knew about the bonus disc,,, I also hauled down my copy of Beyond Description,,, not there :-(

    Can anyone out there tighten me up?

    Hard to believe 6/17 isn't in the vault,,, my copy sounds pretty damn good.

  • Sixtus_
    Joined:
    ...that seventy-five show

    Interesting discussion regarding this short/sweet 75 show. As soon as I read this I went and dug out my Beyond Description Box and sure enough, there was the bonus disc hiding away unknowingly for how long...a decade? I've popped that sucker in and am chilling to the WRS opener. I don't recall ever having listed to the '75 piece, so now I'm intrigued.

    Always a stone to turn over on these boards and find a gem. Thanks All.

    Sixtus

    P.S. Daverock - check your PM

  • daverock
    Joined:
    3/23/75 again

    I never knew it had been released already as part of Beyond Description. I had to look up what Beyond Description was, actually. I hesitated over buying it whenever it came out, and then forgot about it. Had I known about this bonus disc, I might have shelled out. Oh well-saved me some money!

    Another interesting thing about the show is that it features both Merl Saunders and Ned Lagin on keyboards, which adds a very different flavour.

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

6 years 7 months

Buckle up as we take a deep dive into Giants Stadium!

What's Inside:

5 Previously Unreleased Complete Giants Stadium Shows On 14 Discs

7/12/87 (24-track masters)

7/9/89  (24-track masters)

7/10/89 (24-track masters)

6/16/91 (48-track masters)

6/17/91 (48-track masters)

Blu-ray/DVD video of the complete 6/17/91 show, mixed in surround sound  Mixed from the multitrack master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir's TRI Studios Mastered in HDCD by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering with Plangent Processes restoration Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 10,000

By 1987, the Grateful Dead had lived many of their nine lives but were about to embark on one not a soul had seen coming. In The Dark, their first studio album in seven years, had spawned a hit (A TOP 10 SINGLE FOR THE GRATEFUL DEAD?!) and "Touch Of Grey" begat a new generation with their fanny packs and their MTV and their undeniable quest to join the party already in progress. And boy, did the Dead let them in! But not without fine-tuning their sonic vibes to meet the new demand.

"The Swamp," as Giants Stadium was affectionately known, along with the grandstands the Dead had been frequenting, would seemingly equate with BIGGER and LOUDER, but the band "remained determined to give equal weight to the more subtle, oblique elements; to the exploratory improvisation and rhythmic complexities; to the fine details of the most heart-rending ballads as well as the weirdest dissonances in the jams."

With GIANTS STADIUM 1987/1989/1991, we retrace this journey from their 1987 breakthrough to their 1989 revelation ("the closest they ever came to sounding like a really polished stadium-level rock act, but the band’s penchant for breaking out of the constraints of song structure and into freewheeling improvisation will remind you just who you’re listening to here") to their transformative return in 1991, aided by elegance of Vince Welnick and Bruce Hornsby.

GIANTS STADIUM: 1987, 1989, 1991 features five previously unreleased shows that were recorded at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on: July 12, 1987; July 9 and 10, 1989; and June 16 and 17, 1991. Originally recorded by John Cutler, each show has been mixed from the multitrack master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir's TRI Studios in San Rafael, CA, and mastered in HDCD by David Glasser at Airshow Mastering. The first three shows are mixed from 24-track masters. The final two from 1991 are the only Grateful Dead shows ever recorded to 48-track masters. We’re rounding things out with a little visual stimuli -  the entire multi-camera 6/17/91 concert recording on either two DVDs or a single Blu-ray, both with a surround mix by Norman.

Due September 27th, this release is limited to 10,000 individually numbered copies and available exclusively from Dead.net. We highly suggest you grab a copy while you can so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out.

Prefer your boxed set byte-sized? The collection will also be available for HD digital download in FLAC and ALAC, exclusively at dead.net, on release day. You can pre-order it now too.

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 7 months

In reply to by Vguy72

Permalink

Wasn't that a Dylan/Dead show? Any word if the Dylan stuff is included?

user picture

Member for

11 years 4 months

In reply to by 80sfan

Permalink

Very, very nice to see something different as far as eras go.
:O)

user picture

Member for

15 years 2 months
Permalink

I’ve placed an order. The process was amazingly pain free, no queues no failure to get to the payment method. Let’s hope the rest of the supply chain is as straightforward. Looking forward to getting it.

user picture

Member for

7 years 7 months
Permalink

so glad we are getting a Blu-ray with this release

just ordered, can't wait :)

user picture

Member for

15 years 10 months

In reply to by Vguy72

Permalink

9999 left ;)

Going to MUATM @ Cabot in Beverly MA with Not Fade Away playing a preshow show.

user picture

Member for

9 years 1 month

In reply to by boblopes

Permalink

I predicted 10 am PST for the announcement.

Ordered the Blu-ray Box.
Can’t wait until September, I want it now.

user picture

Member for

15 years 10 months
Permalink

I'm sure the Dylan set is excluded, why this is a 14 rather than 15CD box. Those '87 second sets were nice and compact.

Can't wait for this one!

user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

I like the multi-year span on this box set as well as last year's PNW set. I hope this is the new trend. As always...GO BRENT!

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

15 years 7 months

In reply to by 80sfan

Permalink

I just watched David's seaside chat and he confirms they did NOT include the Dylan/Dead set. I was really looking forward to that set so quite disappointing to say the least.

user picture

Member for

9 years 1 month

In reply to by icecrmcnkd

Permalink

Cool that it is the same years as Electric On The Eel.

user picture

Member for

15 years 7 months
Permalink

Blu-Ray and 5 shows is nice! I was at at both the 6/16/91 and 6/17/91 shows. Maybe one of the '89 shows. No Dylan included on the '87, probably hard to put that together rights wise. Ordered the Blu-Ray so about 99,995 left :-)

Sound should be great given the Multi-Tracks. Grew up in NJ and saw tons of Giants' games at this stadium. Looking forward!

user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

... if this had sold out before everyone got home from the movies.

Should be no problems with the sound quality on this set.

user picture

Member for

14 years 1 month
Permalink

Is this the first official BluRay? All of my videos are DVD or VHS (Yes, I still have several of these).

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

5 years 4 months
Permalink

is
Touch of Grey
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
from 7/12/87 included?

user picture

Member for

8 years 1 month
Permalink

...have to agree with forensicdoceleven's comment. Succinct and to-the-point: Garbage

...PIG PEN will return

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

9 years 7 months

In reply to by JackstrawJay

Permalink

This looks really cool – i love the late 80s/early 90s as everyone knows. I love the packaging of this release. I even like the price. I have really no complaints.....however, i’m probably going to sit this one out. I just don’t see myself listening to this as often as the others and don't want to spend money just for it to sit on the shelf.

Last year, when the 73/74 boxset came out i told everyone that, for once, i feel pretty complete. I’m at the point where I’ll always do the DaP subscription but i’m going to be a bit more picky about the box sets.

I hope everyone who gets this loves the hell out of it. Already looking forward to next year!

...is another man's treasure.

And just because I like to poke the bear sometimes and armchair psychologists felt good about ripping on Jerry a day before his birthday yesterday...this one's for you guys.
Pigpen was a drunk and a lush. Your precious version of this band would have kept going on had he not been a loadie you whiners.

let the rotten tomato throwing commence!

user picture

Member for

16 years 2 months
Permalink

I was at the June 16th show Jerry was playing hot! Didn't make it to the 17th.

user picture

Member for

14 years 1 month

In reply to by 80sfan

Permalink

I feel like a summer 91 box would have been a real gem. The giants shows in addition to sandstone, buckeye lake, and soldier field would have been, well, pretty darn sweet.

I will probably opt for the stand alone and put the rest towards next years Dave’s Picks. Hoping for a sell out so these years get more love from GDP.

No complaints but rather a huge thank you for shining a light on the Vince years (with Bruce!) and more Brent is always welcome too.

user picture

Member for

7 years 9 months
Permalink

...now what are you all going to speculate on? The next Dave's, I guess. Amazingly crisp, pain-free ordering from Dead.net, a pleasant surprise. Still I just happened to come on and randomly check the boards when I saw it. Never got the email announcement or anything... could be demand will heat up by this evening.

Anyone on the fence about acquiring a Blu-ray player, do so if possible. The pricing has come way down and yes, they are better than dvd.

Not going to the movies tonight... staying in and watching the Broncos second-string. At least this video will be available next month.

user picture

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

I'm down for this one. I know the '91 Dark Star show pretty well, but somewhat less familiar with the others. This box is going to sound great and have some great music in it.

Not sure why some people have to be so negative about it.

user picture

Member for

9 years 2 months
Permalink

I was at the July 12, 1987 show, looking forward to hearing it all again. Looks like it should be some cool late era dead, a period during which Garcia seemed reinvigorated as I recall. I remember when they started back up in '87 Jerry just seemed more animated on stage, looked more like he was having a good time on stage.

Good to see that the nattering nabobs of negativity wasted no time in condemning this release;) At least the condemnation was concise. I get if you feel that the dead peaked well before this period and have no interest, but what exactly do you get by hopping on here to let us know it is "garbage"? I mean do what you like, I just don't quite get it.

user picture

Member for

13 years 1 month
Permalink

More post-Keith material is always appreciated.

------

user picture

Member for

16 years 1 month
Permalink

I have every show from the box on video but I don't have the audio from muti-track master recordings. So I would just like to say thank you.

user picture

Member for

8 years 7 months
Permalink

...a grateful Deadhead I am, not a robot!
Artwork is Amazing too, I love it! 🙏❤️💀
PS: turn it upside down, notice anything😉
...it’s the Rock Mountain/structure on the ‘New Jersey TurnPike’ ,on the way to ‘Giants Stadium’!!!

user picture

Member for

10 years 1 month
Permalink

Very nice. Psyched for this era and these shows. Especially with ole Brucey!

Sixtus

user picture

Member for

16 years 1 month
Permalink

The first words at the top.

That is funny when we were at the 16 we were joking that we needed seat belts.

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

17 years 5 months
Permalink

Wow, first boxed set I haven't been interested in. Those who are looking forward to it, enjoy!

user picture

Member for

8 years 1 month

In reply to by Sixtus_

Permalink

This is sweet and another surprise at least for me. The Veneta Box also had a bluray. So this would be the second one to date. Why not move it up and make it a 4k release. Either way, this will be a great box! Excited and the cost is perfect. Will be seeing it tonight

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

10 years 3 months

In reply to by bigbrownie

Permalink

@bigbrownie. I think this is the second official blu ray. The sunshine daydream box was available on blu ray.

user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

Sweet. Hope it's still available over the weekend. Soonest I can order is Monday. Only 10k units? Yikes.

I need this.

Edit - Was able to secure one. So geeked.

user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

Yep, even in Deadland there are the privilged. It's the Dead. It's Jerry. It's a from 3 peak years. Why bother complaining about not liking the era? Just skip it. Gives me a chance to get one. I'm glad the negative folks are passing. This is my SWEET SPOT!

user picture

Member for

10 years 3 months

In reply to by cheyler196

Permalink

These shows don't mean so much to me, so I will happily pass this one by. There are so many other attractions out there. I would be tempted by the stand alone 1991 set, which looks to be the cherry on the cake-but I would prefer to buy it off Amazon UK than dead.net to bypass the potential hassles/postage charges.

user picture

Member for

8 years 7 months
Permalink

...Also what’s Grateful is the performance on July 10th 1989...Great drum jam with ‘Willie Green’ from the ‘Neville Brothers’ and the rest of them on thru >>>
*Iko Iko
*All Along The Watchtower
*Morning Dew
*Sugar Magnolia
Encore:
*Knockin' On Heaven's Door
🙏❤️😎

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

12 years 4 months
Permalink

These are good shows but I just won't get around to listening to them that much, and I don't really want the box and whatnot.

user picture

Member for

13 years 1 month
Permalink

...Has Been Spanked!"...Opps, nope,..."The I, Has Been Dotted!"...damn, wait a sec,..."The Antenna, Has Been Adjusted!"...no, wrong..."The Truth, Has Been Stretched!"...wait, that's not it..."The Meatloaf, Has Been Seasoned"...dang it, one more..."The Order, Has Been Placed! That's what I meant!

user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

hey all, hope you're as excited as i am about the new box set. i like all eras under the sun. my official prediction: Summer '90 is off. but i am still not disappointed. i kinda like a bit of variety of eras in one box set. we'll be getting some brent, and we'll be getting post brent. which i know that makes me an oddball but i really REALLY like post brent. also glad it won't be a long wait for the set to be released. hopefully wont be a rush job.

user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

I'd have to say August is my favorite month so far. Jerry and (looks like) Hunter in a VW bus-o-copter with Palm Tree size MJ trees on the beach. I'll have a nice time looking at this one all month. Wish y'all could see it! It's good.

Happy Box release day everyone! For the record, I'm in on the box w/ DVD. Looking forward to it!

user picture

Member for

6 years 9 months
Permalink

...as I went to the 7/4/87 at Sullivan Stadium 8 days before this, and it was disappointing. Or so I remember. My final show as it turned out (only saw 2 though, plus a Jerry solo show... ). I moved to AZ soon after and got into the west coast pre-grunge bands like L7, Jane's Addiction, Faith No More and so on. But I digress.

The set lists posted here piqued my curiosity, so I went onto the archive to check them out and... wow. The 7/12/87 shows opens with a ripping "Hell in a Bucket," then straight into a sweet "West LA Fadeaway." Both Jerry and Bob sound totally focused and on their game, and the band sounds tight too. Lots of energy, on-pitch singing, snappy guitar licks. The drums were locked in. Brent was low in the matrix mix that I heard, but still, he seemed to be adding stuff without the plinky-plink sounds that I find annoying. Other strong songs in the show include "Loser" and "Throwing Stones/Not Fade Away." I was just cherry picking and listening to clips, not the whole show. But at this point I was pretty intrigued.

I then jumped ahead 2 shows to do more sampling, this time from the 7/10/89 show. "Franklin's Tower," "Walkin' Blues" and "Jack-A-Roe" are three of my favorite songs, and they're teed up right there for a first-set trifecta, along with "The Music Never Stopped" that features some pretty funky licks from Phil, albeit a somewhat tepid (to my ears) final solo from Jerry. The second set has some good later-era songs, including a 10-minute "Foolish Heart" and a nice fat "Iko Iko," among other things. Plus a "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" closer... Which I had seen at the 1987 show but which wasn't included as the encore on this set's first show (probably because Dylan had played along with them). Again, the energy sounded really strong. They weren't phoning this one in, from what I could hear on these boards. And these were just matrixes from the archive -- I can't imagine how they will sound as fully realized 24-track or 48-track recordings.

At this point I'm thinking this set will be tough to resist. But I still wasn't sure.

So I trundled on over to the 6/17/9 show. This one sounds unique. It open with "Eyes," which is pretty unusual, I think. (Correct me if I'm wrong....) Then three different "Dark Star" teases before they finally dive into it for real (for a short time -- 9 minutes or so, but still) shows them in a playful mood that could bring them to new corners of their musical map even 25 years into the trip. What finally sealed it for me was the 10-minute, skronking and stomping, greasy and jammy "New Speedway Boogie" deep in the second set. They sound like the band is rising up out of the swampy earth like some kind of primordial, prehistoric beast. Jerry's voice isn't polished (was it ever?) but he's in tune and gets the words right. I had my order placed before they got to the second verse.

Anybody on the fence about this release, my suggestion is to dig around the archive a little. You may (like me!) be surprised at what these shows have...

Forgive the rambling!

user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

In light of the passing of Art "Papa Funk" Neville and the guest appearance on the later half of 7/10/89 2nd Set, this set takes on an especially important tribute (for me anyways) to another legend gone. R.I.P. Papa Funk.

Similar to Dave's experience with coming into the Dead, I came onboard in 84 at 16 years old. Caught my 2nd and 3rd shows at Alpine in 86 then 4th thru 6th at Alpine 87 a couple of weeks before this 87 Giants show.

Caught 1 show in 88 at Buckeye , then by 89 started upping my attendance by attending multiple shows on multiple tours. All in all about 50 shows between 84 to 95 plus two JGB shows in 91.

87 through 91 was filled with consistently fantastic music from what I attended and know these Giants shows are all A+++ Dead.

Thank you for releasing this. Now back to my Neville binge.

user picture

Member for

17 years 6 months
Permalink

I have followed the discussion of gueses of wgatc6the box would be on the DaP 31 comments. I am fairly certain someone called this correctly or very close to it. Who ever you are nice work!

So I bought the blu rey version without hesitation. I am excited simply because I really got turned on the summer 91 tour about a year ago, so that is enticing on it's own. I only got to see the Dead with Vince so essentially he is my guy. I have able to have seen Bruce in post Jerry line ups and he is just great. So once I started to explore 91 shows they just clicked for me. Now having 2 more summer 89 shows is great, really can't go wrong there. Adding that 87 show is the icing on the cake. Admittedly I am not as much if a fan of 87 shows. I had many in tapes back in the day and besides 9/18, I remember an 87 Foxboro show standing out. Also TPTB have only released 3 87 shows with one being the aforementioned 9/18 show, plus the View from the Vault shows. I think this box set is covering a lot of good ground musically so it is win for me.

I ended up skipping the MUATM this evening. Although it would have been cool to have watched the 6/17 show on the big screen, I am feeling good that I will be able to watch it whenever I want on blu Rey. More importantly I spent the early afternoon with my wife visiting and catching up with one of my buddies, his wife and kids. I dont get to see many of my friends too often just due to work and life responsibilities...never know when some one will not be on this Earth anymore so I try to make time to see people. So after spending that time with my buddy, my wife and I got a bite to eat and went home. I am now going to fine tune myself, spin a few shows and relax. This is a good way to start The Days Between.

Peace to you all...

user picture

Member for

6 years 10 months
Permalink

Well maybe they mixed Brent out since its multtrack. Im happy for the people that got their wish, but I just cant stand it. I was at 2 of these shows, had a blast, but being there and hearing a palyback are 2 separate things. It ain't selling out by Monday. Right in the nuts.

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years 1 month
Permalink

I'm just not buying Dave's hyperbole after the most recent Dave's Picks. Its a decent show but in my opinion not even in same orbit as the Fillmore East show that preceded it. He's gotta sell/move product I guess.
This boxed set is a pass for me.

user picture

Member for

10 years 3 months
Permalink

Ok cool.

I was skeptical at first, I find the connection tenuous in the sense of consecutive shows across multiple years in a 65,000 seat arena, but shortly came around to the idea of multiple years of shows in good quality that people think highly of.

I love the connective tissue in releases like Europe '72, Spring '90 or even PNW '73/74, so I'm still not completely sold on (to me) an impersonal stadium across 5 years, but I'm more excited about the specific shows and the Blu-Ray as I read about them.

Brent > Vince/Bruce, I'm supportive as a neophyte still taking on anything I can get. Listening to GarciaLive 11 Deal from 1993 right now, I love the comment earlier about how this set matches the year of Jerry on the Eel. Happy birthday!

Brent, Vince, Bruce, anyways, I love it. Glad to see them represented, I want to hear it all. I don't blame anyone that isn't a fan, but I'm on board.

No you can't find it in no night club or no yacht club
And it ain't in the seats of a supper club
And sure as hell you're bound to tell
That no matter how hard you rub
You just ain't a-gonna find it on yer ticket stub

I'd never have expected them to strike a deal with Dylan & Co for his set of 7/12/87, but it's still too bad. Jerry and the boys pushing him to some rarities and ultimately the advent of the Neverending Tour in 1988 (check out Chronicles), not to mention the first Tomorrow is a Long Time since 4/12/63 Town Hall NYC, featuring Jerry on pedal steel for the first time in 15 years. Switching now to the Dylan boot of 7/12/87, I presume ya'll have it if you want it but I'm more than happy to provide if not, from the Dylan side of the road...got 4/12/63 too, and that should not be missed, period motherfucker. That's the one with the Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie..

And though it's only my opinion
I may be right or wrong
You'll find them both
In the Grand Canyon
At sundown

product sku
081227923716
Product Magento URL
https://store.dead.net/special-edition-shops/giants-stadium/giants-stadium-1987-1989-1991-boxed-set.html