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    clayv
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    "Cause it's always like that with the Dead, you know - it's always the whole thing." - News Journal

    As we close out the 2019 Dave Pick's series, we deliver on our promise to give you the "whole thing" with the complete performance from The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 3/24/73 and what a show it was! An upstanding "musical eulogy" to the recently departed Pigpen, the Grateful Dead conducted a potent study in contrasts on this bittersweet night. They found easy balance between tidy jams like "They Love Each Other," "Wave That Flag," "Playing In The Band," and introspective moments on "Stella Blue," "Sing Me Back Home," and a poignant "He's Gone." It was all laid down with a discipline and a polish unheard of in any of the truly exceptional shows that had come before it. Yes, you might say, they cleaned up nice to carry on the legacy as Pig would have wanted.

    Limited to 20,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 32: THE SPECTRUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA 3/24/73 has been mastered to HDCD specs from the 7" and 10" reels by Jeffrey Norman.

    GET IT WHILE YOU CAN

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

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  • carlo13
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    Oh,yeah. Ok

    Last five: 1. Accept- balls to the wall 2.Megadeth-holy wars-the punishment due. 3.Ted nugent-stranglehold. 4.AC/DC- whole lotta rosie. 5.Deep purple-knocking at your back door. There!!

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    Last Fuckin' Five....

    Ween - Colorado 10.30.19 (current)
    GOGD - Dave's 31. Chicago 12.3.79
    Mercyful Fate - Melissa
    Oingo Boingo - Only A Lad
    Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    Harmonizing....

    ....Phish do a good job when barbershop quarteting.
    https://youtu.be/YIyOVw0v5Sk
    "You've really made the grade."

  • carlo13
    Joined:
    Butch

    I would like to add that Crosby stills nash (young), should also be included in your post on harmonizing. They are a great example. Your post was interesting because this subject is a complex process and not really found in bands anymore. Harmonizing requires extreme dedication and time. P.S. thanks Caseyjanes for your jam DS time question. Good one.

  • stoltzfus
    Joined:
    Truckin' > Jam > Dark Star > SMBH

    Superb

  • DeadVikes
    Joined:
    DaveStrang/Download Series

    Thanks Dave. I must have got some defective copies. Bought them from Nugs.net. I will be contacting them.
    By the way, what is your favorite from the Download series. #1 kicks ass, would love to see this released on CD.

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Butch, Donna and Jerry

    They sound pretty good to me when in JGB.

    5-21-76 Don’t Let Go is a good commercial release if you don’t already have it.

    But, your ears are more discerning than mine.

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    I drink the Kool aid

    Thanks GD, Dave, Norman, TPTB, ABCD, etc.
    Rhino too, but you need to pick up your game a bit and stop letting down your loyal customers.

    I’m extremely grateful to be getting these releases on a regular basis. They pretty much always sound better than what was already in circulation, and sometimes we get stuff that wasn’t in circulation.

    And if/when it doesn’t sound the way you wanted it to sound, just remember the caveat emptors that used to come on DP’s.
    (Some people have called for a return of caveats, which isn’t a bad idea)

    Here’s one:

    Dick's Picks differs from our From The Vault series in that we simply did not have access to complete shows (nor the modern mixing capabilities afforded by multitrack tapes) But we think the historical value and musical quality of these tapes more than compensates for any technical anomalies... In other words what you hear is what you get. And what you get ain't bad!

  • Vguy72
    Joined:
    Funny shows....

    ....if you wanna good laugh or twenty, watch Schitts Creek on Netflix.

  • Butch
    Joined:
    Mister heartbreak please read

    Beat It On Down the Line - first let me say, I agree with you, the vocals do not sound good. But it's not for the reason that you say, which is that Donna can't hit a note. Donna sings exactly what she is supposed to be singing exactly the way she's supposed to be singing it. So is Bob Weir. They are not trying to sing the lyrics the exact same way. They are trying to harmonize, which is what the technique is called when one singer sings a verse differently than the other, for a blend that sounds good when sung together properly. For example, one sings the melody "up" and the other sings the melody "down" (or if there are three singers one can sing it "flat") Or they can accent certain lyrics within a verse differently for effect. As I said when this is done properly it sounds really good and is called harmonizing (Yes - All Good People vocal intro).

    The reason it doesn't sound good on this performance (and a lot of these two track tape releases) is because the singers are recorded at two different levels. As you stated yourself the volume of the vocal levels change during parts of this show. What I hear is Donna recorded much louder than Bob - and there's more to it than just volume, let me explain.

    But first it should be clear, this does not mean that this is the way it came through the PA that night at the show when people in Philadelphia heard them. Completely different listening experience. It is simply a deficiency with two track recordings. You can't harmonize well on the board recording if the mix is uneven. This is one of the reasons that multitrack recordings sound so much better (the levels can be fixed in the production process). It is also one of the reasons Betty Cantor Jackson was so good at her job. She was able to mix a board like nobody's business. At least by 1977 or earliear. I would guess that she did not record this show at the board.

    Mister heartbreak, what you seem to expect is that the two singers should be singing in UNISON on Beat It On Down the Line. Singing in unison is singing the exact same lyrical phrase the exact same way. For example in Scarlet Begonias when Donna and Jerry sing the "get shown the light" lyric.

    I think the bottom line is that you've come to expect something that they weren't going for and that they didn't achieve due to the recording. Screams and non lyrical vocals from Donna aside, she and Jerry were the two best singers in the band hands down, technically speaking. Even at this show.

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"Cause it's always like that with the Dead, you know - it's always the whole thing." - News Journal

As we close out the 2019 Dave Pick's series, we deliver on our promise to give you the "whole thing" with the complete performance from The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 3/24/73 and what a show it was! An upstanding "musical eulogy" to the recently departed Pigpen, the Grateful Dead conducted a potent study in contrasts on this bittersweet night. They found easy balance between tidy jams like "They Love Each Other," "Wave That Flag," "Playing In The Band," and introspective moments on "Stella Blue," "Sing Me Back Home," and a poignant "He's Gone." It was all laid down with a discipline and a polish unheard of in any of the truly exceptional shows that had come before it. Yes, you might say, they cleaned up nice to carry on the legacy as Pig would have wanted.

Limited to 20,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 32: THE SPECTRUM, PHILADELPHIA, PA 3/24/73 has been mastered to HDCD specs from the 7" and 10" reels by Jeffrey Norman.

GET IT WHILE YOU CAN

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

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17 years 6 months

In reply to by carlo13

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You evil bastard! Your an enabler! Turning those poor kids down the road of never ending want, no, need! Lol 😆

Edit; davidsdavis....cool link!

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6 years 7 months
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Nice to see that DP 19 is still popular , I’ve said it before but this show just about has everything a deadhead could want .Guilty pleasures moment :- large G&T with DAP 16 & 21 and Donna singing you ain’t women enough . I know she has her doubters but I for one think she’s the cat’s wishers 😺

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In reply to by perithecat

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C’mon wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 on Sunday morning 🏉

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In reply to by perithecat

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on this bloomin website
dodging work
yes, and wasting time

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PeritheCat, those versions of You Ain't Woman Enough from DaP 16 & 21 are awesome, Donna nails it. Been digging them since those releases came out.

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10 years 9 months

In reply to by davidadavis@gm…

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That's the spirit... after the Colt Park show, and we had ingested fairly large amts of Drivin' that Train, we (well, two of us) ran at full tilt to the parking lot because ... we were superhuman, i.e., young.

God bless public transit. I hate driving on LSD and, um, blow.

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7 years 8 months
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It seems you need a fire plan that best suits your needs for your physical Daps and boxes. Perhaps an airplane inflatable escape chute if you live on a 2nd or higher apartment or house. Most of us on this site have been prepared for this sort of likely predicament.

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9 years 2 months

In reply to by carlo13

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I believe it was called Rocket Vault.
I forgot who proposed it, but if your collection was in the jeopardy, the rocket vault would launch into low earth orbit and wait there for you to call it back when things were safe.

A go fund me page?..........

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That right. I fogot the name of this wonderful device. I think its back in stock.

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5 years 8 months
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I noticed trainwreck was a being a lttle bit lascivious! That's a great word you taught me. Humbled me right up. You better let him know ;-)

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6 years 10 months
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Just be yourself. Where's your regular pic? A woman showing off hairy armpits is kind of like getting a glimpse of bush. That's the pic you ought to go for, not Snoopy on a doghouse.

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9 years 3 months
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Unfortunately after my initial post about the Rock-It Vault on the Giant Box Set thread I was contacted by a government agency and ordered to cease and desist production of the product and all prototypes were seized.

Well, that’s it I guess for the rocket vault......but!......there still could be some potential growth opportunities in Keithfan’s trained Black Lab emergency evacuation. Woof!

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10 years 3 months

In reply to by HippieChick

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Lascivious and lubricious!

Opened the day with the immortal acid/folk classic "Hatched" by Fresh Maggots. I fear another viewing of "Blood on Satan's Claw" may be on the way. British summertime ends tonight. Good ! Time to rock . And roll on Dave's Picks.

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Oroboro - I have my HD backed up and offsite several times over. I think I have about 7 copies scattered across America. On the home front my backup drive is only attached when backups are being done. My "live" copy is in my desktop. I too wasn't sure about the 1K HD,,,, I generally buy 8TB drives for under 200,,, maybe 160-ish. I have a ton of shit on official cds and could re-rip, BUT, I have 10 tons of shit I don't have cd's of. The massive amount I copied from the library, all the live shows I've downloaded from the archive. I'd be shattered if I lost it all. I got over 20 years in this digital copy!

Hey Pericat, stop with all the G&T references! Between surgery, infections, and future colon looks I'm gonna end up dry for about another 2 weeks,,,, and it's already been 3 weeks. I sure could use a nice one, dry nights at work make for a LOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGG night! Good thing I have tabs to keep me going!

Hell, one more thing.....

Anyone big on Melvin Sparks? Recently I scooped all versions of "ain't no sunshine" from my collection, maybe 15 different cuts, one of them was Melvin and his band doing it. Really like the sound of it.

https://archive.org/details/msb1998-11-21.dsbd.flac16

Found I had downloaded all available shows from the archive, but had no studio work. Just bought his album "what you hear is what you get", only one listen so far, but nice. Anyone else hot on this guy?

Better safe than sorry eh? I feel like it’s when your deciding right before the cut off for buying beer, “do we need 2 cases, or should we get three”?.......Better to have too much than not enough!

Melvin Motherjumpin’ Sparks, yaaasssss! I got totally obsessed with Soul Jazz, I don’t like “Acid Jazz”, it doesn’t seem as appropriate to me, fuckimg labels. Some call it Jazz with a backbeat....So about 5-7 years ago I Read this thing in Rolling Stone with Michael Chabon about his upcoming (at the time) book Telegraph Avenue, (great book by the way) about a dude who runs a record shop. Anyway, he gets all into this Soul Jazz stuff and so I got really into it, great, great stuff. Melvin, Idris Muhammad, The Mighty Burner Charles Earling, Donald Byrd, Grover Washington Jr. before he went all Kenny G, Leon Spencer, Dr Lonny Smith etc, so much amazing stuff. Very related to the Stuff Jerry and Merl were doing back then about the same time in the early to mid 70s....if you research it at all it’s so cool what a tight community they had. They all played on each other’s records and gigs. Some of my favorite music of all time!
It was like a Dead binge that lasted at least a year..
So I enjoyed the link because I have some albums but hadn’t really heard any live stuff. Careful, it’s really easy to get sucked down that rabbit hole!
Hope your health shit is all good and your back on track sooner than later, and yasss, that pericat does make those G&Ts sound kinda Lubricious 😉

EDIT; Fresh Maggots.....they sound like a real panty droppers, lol. Daverock, your like an encyclopedia of Weird shit, which is nice!

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Haven't been on the site in a while, so hope everyone is doing well. Was just listening to the always outstanding Charlie Miller's master of 5/22/77, the complete show. And it got me to wondering why only parts of this gig were released as Dick's Picks 3. The whole show is top notch from beginning to end, as are most from that month. Seems a shame to only have a portion of this one officially released.

If anyone is in the know, clue me in. Inquiring minds want to know.

I think that the line of thinking with DP 1-3 was that “people don’t want to pay for 3 CD’s”. Recall that the early 90’s was still the transition from cassette to CD, and a single CD release was around $20.

I couldn’t really afford CD’s at that time, you know once you pay for the necessary items like cigarettes, beer, gas in the car, there wasn’t a lot of money left for CD’s. So I bought blank tapes and made copies of other people’s CD’s.
I did buy From The Vault II on CD when it came out, but everything else was tape copies until around 1997 when I bought all the earlier commercial CD releases that I was missing. I then bought all DP’s as they were announced in the paper GD Bulletin that came by snail mail.

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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Watch the Best Buy website, a few times a year hard drives go on sale for good prices. I recently saw a WD 10 TB for $160, and WD 8 TB for $140. They will be at a really low price for about a week, then go back up, then a few months later drop again.

I have 2 copies of backups on portable 5400 rpm HD’s at work, and a copy at home in a safe. The ‘in use’ HD’s are by the computers but only plugged in while being used. I have two RAID drives, each with two 6 GB WD Black HD’s mirrored as the master copies of AIFF and ALAC files. Also have HD’s with FLAC and AAC files. Those are all backed up on 7200 rpm HD’s, as well as the aforementioned 5400 rpm portables.
And I’m still paranoid about losing it all.
The reason for all the formats is various music players and my car which will play from a USB drive, but only lossy mp3, so I use ASC 320 kbps files which sound pretty good in the car.
I also make CD-R copies of the official releases and use those in the living room. The official releases are packed away in plastic crates.

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Not quiiiiiiite the same

But anyway

10 9 72

a little "not quite there"

So onward to 11 17 72

I have heard somewhere that thats a good show

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In reply to by icecrmcnkd

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Makes sense. I remember the transition from vinyl and cassette to CD all too well. Definitely pricey at the time, especially for those of us in the early stages of our trajectory. A double disc release was a big deal back then, and Dick's 3 falls right into that timeline. Maybe one day we'll get a newly mastered relaunch of the whole shebang.

On the subject of backups, sounds like we ride the same vibe. I've got every release on FLAC and ALAC with only a few in MP320 (specifically both Spring 90 box sets), plus it's all burned onto CD's to play instead of the originals as well. And all of my backups are backed up on backups that are backed up on back ups.

My greatest fear is that after society collapses, I'll be like Burgess Meredith in that Twilight Zone episode: surrounded by every note of Dead that I own with no way to listen to it.

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5 years 8 months
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Like I said you get the Logitech first :-) you definitely got the better end of the deal. Send me your email.

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9 years 3 months
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Great Twighlight Zone reference, I remember that episode well. I also think about societal collapse and no way to listen to my CD's, but there are a number of ways to generate enough electricity to address that problem. I fear the EMP/Solar Coronal Mass Ejection scenario more just due to the fact that most of the electronics would be fried, thereby placing additional obstacles between me and listening to my CD's. Another Carrington Event would be a real bummer. Time to invest in a massive faraday cage maybe.

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I concur with ice cream cone kid. There's a whole bunch of articles with dick latvala on this one site, and in one of those he explains how the Grateful Dead were very particular about both the marketability of the two-track recordings and the quality of their performances when they first opened the vaults. From what I recall, Phil Lesh in particular had a very close ear on those early Dick's Picks releases. At the time, the conventional wisdom was that fans would not want to spend $25-$30 on a 3 disc mediocre sounding recording. I think even the stellar Betty Boards of 1977 were thought of as less marketable than a multi-track, and it seems they aired on the side of caution by keeping it to 2 discs. Even those two monsters at the Fillmore East were chopped up to ensure the "best songs" comprised the 3-disc set.

Even road trips took that conservative approach on, what half of them? But I suppose markets change too. It's been so long since we saw Jerry that I think most people just want the full show vis a vis - Dave's Picks. I know I'd rather have the whole show. But when I was a casual fan, I would have been okay with probably two-thirds of a show like Dave's Picks Volume 4, I'm happy not to spend the extra money. But I think the hardcore fans are driving the market now and so we're seeing complete shows as a rule, and increased production numbers in Dave's Picks just about every other year.

I have a house full of people for a Halloween party. Would rather have a bong hit in my headphones I'm sitting my glider chair with May 22nd 1977 complete in my ears. Not much of a talker.

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In reply to by Charlie3

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Thanks, Charlie3. Glad I'm not alone. Even though I consider myself a forward thinker, I never much worried about everything going to the proverbial Hell in a hand basket. But with the flagrant fuckery that's been afoot for a while now, it sadly seems imminent.

Almost everything I grew up with that was science fiction has become science fact and part of our day to day. Now they're talking robots being readily available within the next decade. Last damn thing I need is someone hacking into my domestic android so that it I can wake up to find it hovering over me in the middle of the night with glowing red eyes.

Guess I'll just keep enjoying the music while I can and continue backing up my backups.

Thanks for the additional info KeithFan. All seems about right. And I'd be right there beside you at the Halloween party. Much more my style.

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Well, looks like my number finally came up. I've always felt lucky that my Dead.Net orders arrived in a timely fashion and undamaged (aside from a rare few scratched discs, and those only recently with the past couple Dave's Picks).

But it's been almost three weeks since I ordered an extra Giants Stadium box set as a gift for a friend, and still no shipping notice. After numerous emails and phone calls, I finally received an apology via email. Seems Warners/Rhino put their faith in a warehouse that can't handle their business and, until they can, no shipping notice will be forthcoming.

After the last FUBAR warehouse horror, I'd think someone would have learned. But, hey -- I can cancel my oder if I don't feel like waiting. They completely understand.

Wonder how this will all play out with the new Dave's right around the corner and Ready or Not right after that.

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7 years 7 months
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I just purchased the July 78' box. Only like 25 left. Anyone like this box. It seems worth it.

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13 years 2 months
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Good get Carlo...obviously the 7/7/78 show is the crown jewel, but I have the Arrowhead and St Paul shows consistently in rotation, and the box/packaging is pretty sweet as well, you won't be disappointed. I'm still kind of surprised it's still available....Enjoy.

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7 years 8 months
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Right on Washington, robbz. Strange it's still around, so I popped the wallet and wait for the show.

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17 years 5 months

In reply to by carlo13

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....money well spent. Top shelf artwork as well. Watch you get a # in the hundreds. Ha.

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9 years 3 months
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That box had some good shows and some particularly tasty versions of Estimated Prophet as I recall. Good call on picking it up before it sold out Carlo13, you won't regret it. As Vguy72 noted, the artwork on that box is top shelf, possibly my favorite box set art so far. And I will agree with what just about everyone else noted as well, that Arrowhead show is fantastic.

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Thanks guys. I'm really excited. All I know is that peggy-o is a real tear jerker.

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17 years 5 months

In reply to by carlo13

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....and some other shows from the seventh month in the year of our lord 1978.

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17 years 6 months

In reply to by SkullTrip

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Anyone remeber that movie Cherry 2000 with Melania Griffin......I so had a crush on the Cherry 2000, lol

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17 years 6 months
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Hey Carlo, you will not be disappointed with that box set. I got mine only a few months ago after a lengthy procrastination episode. I took the sage advice of many of the regular posters here. They are like high Jedi Master Council for the Grateful Dead. So when this crew says a show or box set is good, I trust 'em. Enjoy!

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I chortle to myself about future world rendering all my digital shit useless. I envision turning my turntable by hand and having a straight pin stuck in a rolled cone of paper and listening to my vinyl. Quiet listening only, not much volume control on a tube of paper!

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10 years 3 months

In reply to by Gratefulhan

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Three of the best shows from 1978 in that there box. Maybe one of the reasons it works so well, for me, is that expectations are, or were, a bit lower for me concerning 78. Everyone and his mother knows about 1977, but 1978 is often written off a bit. But the best shows from this year are great, and with three of them (at least) in this box, its a win-win (win)situation.

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Message me if you need one, I accidentally ordered 2 Subscriptions last October. Cost + shipping... Rainy Sunday here in New England. Also read the thread of the July 78 box. If you haven't ordered yet and there are only 25 left someone said... Get going.. it's that good!! Bob t

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14 years 11 months
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absolutely magnificent release.

I got mine
now you get yours

befo' they have no mo'
to sell

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Don't know why but days like today in the fall with the leaves all orange, red and yellow, (rainy and grey all day) make me appreciate the song so much!! 11/11/73 Winterland playing now with all the outside elements helping... It's the perfect song or sound track for days like today in Rhode Island..

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Daverock summed it up perfectly. My expectations were pretty low on the 78 box, mostly due to my own unfamiliarity with that particular year, and also blurbs that I'd read about 78 shows being uneven at best and just plain bad at worst. But it knocked me sideways on first listen and quickly became a favorite. It also got me listening to more 78 in general.

While each show is great in its own way, 7/1, 7/3, and 7/7 get the most play, with 7/7 being the gem (for me at least).

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That 1978 box is just sweet. LOVE the Saint Paul show from it, but maybe it's just because I live there? Nah. That show straight rocks. LOVE the Saint Paul show from the 1977 box, too.

Minority opinion, but I don't mind when the release of a show that isn't a top-100 concert includes just the best moments. For me, some of the early 1973 shows only get interesting in the second set. They were playing basically every song they knew every night, so to my ear they understandably didn't go all out until they reached a point in the show where there was "only" an hour left. There's no way they could play hard for thirty songs, so I somewhat prefer later 1973, when they trimmed the setlist down, so that they could put the pedal to the metal almost from the get-go.

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I was always going back and forth at this item trying to convince myself if it was a good deal. It was not the money but the thought of it being put away and not being listened to enough but now thanks to all you guys I believe it was a good move. plus it's got arrowhead.

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In reply to by carlo13

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Soars from the very first note of the very first song in the very first show. There are some bobby slide hero moments.. but it's a gem. I am in the Arrowhead camp, but I really like the Estimated Eyes on 7/5 and both Red Rocks shows are spectacular.

It's a no-brainer.

I don't see this going for mega bucks on eBay simply because the release numbers are up.. but one things for sure. This will sell out over the next couple weeks and the price is going to do nothing but go up from there. For anyone out there that has a little scratch and is still on the fence, do yourself a favor.

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