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    Anusha
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    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.

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  • Dennis
    Joined:
    The LP's

    Got email last night,,, lp's being delivered tomorrow!

  • Charlie3
    Joined:
    Earworms

    Been checking out Ken Burns Country Music documentary the last few days - really opened my eyes to some great stuff that I had overlooked to a large extent. Got a couple of earworms stuck in my head as a result - Amarillo by Morning by George Strait, Don't Get Above Your Raisin' covered by Ricky Skaggs, a ton of Waylon Jennings stuff I had forgotten about and a lot more. If you get a chance the documentary is well worth checking out, but be forewarned, you might find that there is a lot of good country music that you've overlooked.

  • Oroborous
    Joined:
    Victum

    I love it!
    The counter to ribbons and roses and dancing bears......if nothing else, think of it as another form of dynamics which was one of the things that made their music so great, or what sixtus said!
    Plus, if you ever had the pleasure of seeing a good one live, phewww. I especially remember the one from Hamilton. We were on the floor sorta near the center which was perfect for when they utilized the surround speakers they had for a while. At the end where the song swirls as it builds to that thundering climax, woowee amazing!

    EDIT; it’s one of my favorite Bob songs and at that point in time, after like 15 years of the same damn cowboy songs over and over and red roosters etc, it was a nice change! Imho of course.

  • HippieChick
    Joined:
    @Dark Star

    I have been on the bus since my late teens. Was dating a guy heavy into them. Had my first climax listening to Stella Blue.

  • jrf68@hotmail.com
    Joined:
    To each his/her own...

    but no, MOJOLOBO, I absolutely do not agree with you. I really like it.
    Do your own editing and leave my DEAD alone please.
    :O)

  • Sixtus_
    Joined:
    That Moment of Triumph

    ....when, during Crazy Fingers on 6/16/91, after Jerry transitions from the final "dark" notes in the closing jam back into the jubilant, light-hearted, triumphant happy notes again....and then Phil starts doing his really fast accompanying bass line. That's one of those spine-tingling, back-O-the-neck hair-raising moments of pure bliss. Then, off into China Cat....

    Moments of inspiration found.

    Box = delivering

    Sixtus

    P.S. Re: Victim - I once used to be in the camp of "press fast forward" whenever it came on. Then, after getting the Spring '90 boxes and giving them several dedicated listens, Victim or the Crime started to take on a different hue. Definitely dark, a bit nasty/naughty, and oh so very intentionally so. After doing some reading on this, more specifically, the band's desire to deliberately go to these intentionally dark places interspersed among much more ear-friendly and upbeat spaces was what got me to appreciate it a lot more. Knowing that they would do this to intentionally make things ominous made the emergence from said dark places that much more poignant and meaningful. Like the old ying/yang or dark side of The Force vs. light side of The Force thing. Moreover, those versions specifically from Spring '90 implement some truly great cacophonous moments. I sort of follow the mantra - 'surrender to the flow' - and allow it to take you places. It surely will, and some added insight is gained along the way and dare I say - enjoyment. I now embrace any Victim I find and give it a good hard listen. And, as noted elsewhere, to each their own. But the world gets a little bigger when we all take a moment to step back and try to appreciate things for what they truly are, not what we wish or want them to be.

  • Dark-Star
    Joined:
    Misspent Youth

    At first Jim I thought you meant that I no longer participate in such seek and find missions. But now I understand your comment to mean that it's all ballbearings nowadays. I mean grams. It's all grams nowadays not ounces.

    Hippiechick you come and go so I never took you for the box set purchasing intense deadhead type of fan. My mistake.

  • mojolobo
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    I'm sure we'd all agree that…

    I'm sure we'd all agree that the Grateful Dead catalog, when viewed as a whole, contains "stronger" numbers and "weaker" numbers-- no need to argue about which is which. But another thing I think 99% of us would agree on is that they only ever wrote one truly BAD song-- "Victim or the Crime". I'm wondering what sort of support I might expect to receive if I were to start a petition to have that awful tune digitally excised from any and all future Grateful Dead releases. I'm not suggesting the Master Tapes be erased or anything like that-- it's part of our History now and we just have to learn to live with that fact. But the world really would be a better place if none of us _ever_ have to hear that appalling cacophony again, wouldn't it?

  • HippieChick
    Joined:
    LMG. And then everyone else.

    I'm sorry to hear that sweetheart. How old are you, if you don't mind sharing.

    I love the box set of course. I have always skipped over drums and Space until this morning. I found some really cool well spacey guitar and I guess synthesizer keyboard parts on June 16. Unfortunately it began getting a little too loud and noisy for me. I wish there was a way to edit out all the best parts of all the different spaces and combine them. All the spaces combined.

    Favorite Robert Hunter words are "the song that Delia sung was look out Stagger Lee" I am no feminist, but it's a hero story to me, where the least likely character of all was the only one brave enough to stand up to the bully.

  • MrEggSandwich
    Joined:
    Got my digital files last night 192/24 are not deliverable.

    Not sure how they didn't know this ahead of time:

    We have been advised that there were issues with the delivery of the Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 FLAC digital files and we apologize for this error and inconvenience. After further investigation with both Jeffrey Norman(mixer) and David Glasser(mastering), it has been determined that the 192/24 resolution for this release is unavailable. The music was mixed and mastered at 96/24, so this is the highest sample rate possible for this release. Please follow these instructions below to download your files:

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6 years 6 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.

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i woke up to find out my box set arrived with nary a shipping notice just like how i like to receive them. i decided to heat some water on the stove and found out about that bad news. my life would be very different without Robert Hunter's words, and the band would have been a very different band had they decided to go on write their own words as well.

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There were days
And there were days
And there were days between
Summer flies and August dies
The world grows dark and mean
Comes the shimmer of the moon
On black infested trees
The singing man is at his song
The holy on their knees
The reckless are out wrecking
The timid plead their pleas
No one knows much more of this
Than anyone can see...

Thank You Robert--Until Next Time

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15 years 10 months
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Such a beautifully done box set and I cannot wait to get lost in it. Thank you!

Mason died on Monday
We bricked him in the wall
All his children grew and grew
They ain't never grew so tall before
They may never grow so tall again
We dug him up on Tuesday
He hardly aged a day
Taught us all we ever knew
We ain't never knew so much before
We may never know so much again
Mason was a mighty man
A mighty man was he
Always said, "When I'm dead and gone
Don't you weep for me"
The wall collapsed on Wednesday
We chalked it up to fate
All his children ran in fear
They ain't never hear it so well before
Swore they'd never show their face again
Thursday came then Friday
With buyers tall and bright
Mason's children cooked the stew
And cleaned up when the feast was through
Swore they'd never [Incomprehensible] before
Take me to the repo man
To pay back what was owed
If he's in some other land
Write it off as stole
Take me to the repo man
To pay back what was owed
If he's in some other land
Write it off as stole....
Wow. I currently have stew on the stove.

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8 years 4 months
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Spinning American Beauty on the ole' vinyl player. Almost all RH songs. So so good.

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13 years 6 months
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Added more to the Great American songbook than many people realize. Truly one of the greatest lyricists of all time. He will be truly missed and always appreciated.

A lovely view of heaven... but I'd rather be with you. (Inscribed on my wedding band.)

Love

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17 years 5 months
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I came out of my Brazilian jiu jujitsu class this afternoon feeling pretty good. It was a long day at work and so those classes usually help to remedy such things. So when I got in my car I got email from Dead.net in my phone that broke the news. I feel devastated. My life has been largely shaped by Star Wars and the Grateful Dead. There is no doubt that Robert Hunters lyrics guided me through life. Of course this will still be the case for me. Its amazing how some people are just so skilled to be able to create things whether be songs or lyrics that transcend people, places, and time.

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16 years 5 months
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For RH:

Thank you for the positive shaping of my world, for the joys and laughter, for the tears and pain, for the encouragement and advice, for making a better world for all of us. For making it so very real, and so so much fun!

I didn't get into the music, the music got into me...………..

In your honor, 12/18/73 Dark Star...……………..

Rock on, and rest in peace......………………

Doc

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In reply to by Gratefulhan

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Sad day indeed.

As KF said, the rock stars of the 60’s/70’s are going to keep peeling away.
From coming in 3’s to coming in multiples of 3’s.

Glad that D&C are still playing the songs. Eventually that will end too.

This afternoon I read the Rolling Stone story. I knew, but had forgotten, that Hunter and Dylan had collaborated. I probably should check that out.

A lot of posts today, so this references a post several pages back where I believe it was Jim who asked if Bolo had ever steered us wrong.
Well, I’m still waiting for an explanation of the Liberace reference.....

‘91 in 48 tracks makes you wish it all came that way.

I BOUGHT YOU A PADDLE FOR YOUR PAPER CANOE.

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12 years 2 months
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His words are timeless. Composed for everyone, yet crafted in a manner that allowed each of us to interpret them as our own.

Thank you kind sir.

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9 years 1 month
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When it seems like the night will last forever,
And there's nothing left to do but count the years,
When the strings of my heart begin to sever,
And stones fall from my eyes instead of tears,

You will be my missed. Thanks for it all. Be at peace.

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11 years 4 months
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My Giant’s Stadium box set arrived on the same day as Mr. Hunter’s passing...this box set will have a special personal meaning for me now and will be remembered as the “Special One” In my collection. Thank you for your lyrics of peace to all...RIP RH. I imagine you and Jerry have a lot of catching up to do!

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7 years
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Don’t you worry anymore.....Thank you for the kind words and for getting me through some of my hardest days Robert Hunter. Say hello to my mom for me if you find the time.

KCJ

Stay strong my friends...Every silver linings gotta touch of grey

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16 years 8 months
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#1) Just off the top of my head there was that time in August 1984. The show that we attended was The Jerry Garcia Band, Caldwell College (8-11-84) and had Bob Hunter as the opener. This venue on school grounds was outdoors and completely wide open all around the back n side stage area. There were speakers set up facing back stage to fill in the sound for the area's ticketless car campers and acts like Bob Hunter got his Chevette parked-in. We had our boom-box on the roof of Hunter's car recording Jerry. Just about when Jerry was ripping' into Cats Down Under the Stars, this high voice started to yell to everyone " Hey Can get your box off my car". Everyone was dancin' and ignored him. Then Hunter got into the rental and went to take off, with box on roof being saved. Man he is high stung!

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10 years 5 months
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but our passionate attempts to say goodbye to Robert make up for it. Onward.

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7 years
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It's nice to hear this pathetic business can deliver box sets to those who purchased CDs. The digital download however is broken and "Customer Service" is just two words. My credit card was charged well in advance, which would be fine if delivery of the FLAC 192/24 files was as promised. My initial email regarding this issue remains unacknowledged with a second sent this evening. I'm not holding my breath for a response. I also placed two phone calls which did nothing but waste my time. Time to get the credit card companies involved, four days of crickets is enough.

I hear ya man.. and you are justified to be a little miffed.. but hang in there, they will make right on this. Just give them a week or so. You can PM MaryE here too, it will probably help. I am 100% confident you will be made whole. I realize these are hallow words, but we have waited almost 30 years for this and someone screwed up a little.. but I believe we are still inside the official release date by a bit, right? Be patient and give them another week to make good.

Complaining now on these boards won't do much good. It's a somber time.. As for the money grab comment, I respectfully disagree. There aren't huge numbers here. I bet they wish they were.

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it's midnight and im still ripping this box set. i must say i'm surprised to see this one dwindle down in stock so fast, the groans from all the 80's shows from 30 Trips made me think this will be sitting here for a few years like the Spring '90 box sets did. All i can say is the '87 show seems to be of sparkling crystal clarity from what i heard. and am quite glad i have the RFK box set for it makes a nice companion piece to this and i believe it sold out now.

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7 years 7 months
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Cub, i hear ya, But who does that to a strangers car nomatter what their doing?

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17 years 5 months

In reply to by JimInMD

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....that I cried more today than on August 9th, 1995? Didn't cry when Barlow passed.
Serious question....I'm a mess.

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10 years 3 months
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I was always struck by the generosity of spirit in Robert Hunter's words, which were unique in the context of the other "rock" song lyrics I heard in the 1970s. The lyrics to the songs on American Beauty, in particular, seemed to me to have more in common with those found in books of spiritual wisdom, like the Tao Te Ching, rather than those found on other rock albums of the era.

I also think his talent was hidden to some extent, by the fact that his words were sung by Jerry and Bob. I have a tendency to think , when listening to, say Eyes of the World or Playing in the Band ( to pluck two songs out of thin air) that Jerry and Bob are singing their own words, rather than interpreting the words of Robert.

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Ugh, I have never had such bad luck with Dead orders this year -- first I did not get the second to last Dave's Pick with bonus disc -- still waiting on that.

Now I did not get the giants box set w/ blu ray -- UPS says it was delivered but it was never there -- and now the blu ray is sold out

Dear Dead.net Customer,

We have been advised that there have been issues with the delivery of the Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 Digital files.

Our digital team is currently fixing this issue and will redeliver your files within the next 3 business days.

You will receive an email from Dead.net with further instructions on how to download your updated files.

Upon completion, you will have the correct number of shows that you ordered, at the correct bit rate.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Dead.net Customer Service

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Thank you Robert. Thank you for taking a piece of your personal life, which I know through interviews you wrre a very private man, and sharing them with us for the benefit of all. Life gave you an opportunity to step up and be a giver with your gift, and you accepted that opportunity with grace and humility. God bless you.

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5 years 10 months
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Wow! Great shows...I was at all of them...brought me back! Thx for making them available✌

Fare you well, Robert...I've been blessed to have been going to shows since 1980 so I've definitely enjoyed your music for a very long time. With loads of love, peace and appreciation...fly on the wings of angels...❤😇✌

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Trying to find answers and solace....as I was listening to the 7/10/89 show coming in to work today, and it got to the end of Uncle John's Band, it suddenly struck me that I HAD HEARD THIS ALL BEFORE:

As it heads into the final refrain after the last lyrics, the song dissipates into a somewhat spacey jam which is none other that the "Riverside Rhapsody" track from 'Infrared Roses', that sneaky album released in late 1991 that only encompasses drums and space tracks. Incidentally, on that CD, "Riverside Rhapsody" is among the only tracks wherein you can actually hear a melody from an actual song - most of the others are literally snippets and unless you have an amazing penchant for this sort of identification, it's fairly tricky to pinpoint which show they are being pulled from.

Anyway, just thought I'd toss that tidbit out there for anyone else who may find this sort of 'gem finding' of value - even as we mourn our dear poet and inspiration.

Sixtus

Amazing catch Sixtus.. and an under-rated, fun album. The late era drums/space could be amazing under the right conditions.

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9 years 2 months
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I haven't listened to the '89 shows yet, but while scanning through the book from the box I did notice that they reference the same Infrared Roses connection with the 7/10/89 UJB that Sixtus points out. Nice catch Sixtus. Planning on spinning that show later today but the chance of me connecting something to Infrared Roses after all these years was likely pretty low without the heads up.

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6 years 10 months
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That may be the most inspiring lyric for me personally. It makes me feel both spiritually connected to it all, while inspired to fully comprehend "it".

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13 years
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My sincere condolences to the Hunter Family as well as the Grateful Dead Family.

As the Grateful Dead Community Family we at least have Mr. Hunter's lyrics, poetry and prose to console us...

'You took me (us) to the farthest stars
and Shakedown Street's grimy bars...'

For that good Sir I thank you...sometimes there aren't enough words.

Agree, what a cool line. It's one of the few things Hunter reveals too..
___________________________
"I was very impressed with T.S. Eliot around the time I was writing Dark Star," Hunter said, and one line was clearly influenced by a line in 'The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock' - "Let us go then, you and I, when the evening is spread out against the sky." "Beyond that, that's just my kind of imagery.... I don't have any idea what the 'transitive nightfall of diamonds' means. It sounded good at the time. It brings up something that you can see."
___________________________

So it's one of those lines that pretty much means exactly what you want it to mean.

I got that quote from David Dodd's Greatest Stories Ever Told. I used to read that blog every month, and miss it. I also liked Blair Jacksons blog.. but the name escapes me. It's been years since Rhino sponsored any of that stuff.

https://www.dead.net/features/greatest-stories-ever-told/greatest-stori…

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17 years 5 months
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Goin' home, goin' home, by the riverside i will rest my bones,
Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul.

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10 years

In reply to by wadeocu

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That is an interesting find, the 'Unfinished Album' placeholder - and from none other than GD Productions, so we know it's likely not a knockoff.

Now, how one may find such a gem embedded within the bowels of AMAZON, I have no idea. Most impressive.

I also found this when doing a bit of sleuthing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfinished_Grateful_Dead_album

And it looks like a few others would be left out, including 'Childhood's End' and 'If the Shoe Fits'....each of which I have only heard one time.

Again, the words of Hunter are all over this - which is fitting.

I always loved 'Lazy River Road'. Truly invokes the 'Hunteresque' notions of his most famous lore.

Sixtus

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17 years 5 months
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So many to choose from, but the first one to come to mind is one a friend pointed out to me 46 years ago:
Nine mile skid on a 10 mile ride, hot as a pistol but cool inside

R.I.P. indeed Robert

Rock on

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17 years 5 months
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In 2003 I bought the book, Box Of Rain. It has the lyrics of ALL of Robert's song through 2003.
I just looked on Amazon today for this. New copy is $400!!!
Boy am I glad I got mine when it was "normal" price

Rock on

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