During the mid-1970s, the Grateful Dead saga was unfolding like a Greek classic. The Sisyphean Wall Of Sound had nearly broken the band. From it spawned a Medusa head of countless side projects, all deliciously fruitful but woefully not the same as the whole. The chorus lay in wait, pondering the reemergence of their heroes, and wondering if "THE LAST ONE" had really been it...
But in early 1976, Apollonian light and healing would shine upon our intrepid wanderers once again. No more epic battles for the people with cops and lines and tightness, the Dead would return triumphant in smallness, playing intimate theaters and renting equipment along the way. No more ticket scams and greedy promoters, they'd give back with first ever mail-order ticket program, one that had a few kinks to work out but eventually served the fans well.
Musically, June 1976 signaled a Golden Age of harmony and prosperity for the Dead. It marked an Odysseusian-like return for Mickey Hart. Donna Jean was in lock-step with the sirens' call. Jerry and Bob delivered orphic delight with solo musings like "Mission In The Rain" (the only tour they ever played it on), "The Wheel," and "Cassidy," emboldened by group effort. There was fresh repertoire from Blues For Allah, breathing new life to the Dead's continually morphing sound - as Weir once said of the '76 tour, they wanted to play "a little bit of all of it." Old favorites were re-envisioned with cascading tempos and unique sequencing, making the crowd question if they'd ever heard these songs before. And there was comfort and joy in the familiarity of watching the band make it up as they went along. By all means, it was clear that the bacchanalia of live Dead would reign on.
And now the revelry from this epoch, evidenced by the near-studio quality sound captured on two-track live recordings by Betty Cantor-Jackson, lives on, bolstered by Jeffrey Norman's HDCD mastering. It's housed for posterity in a handsome box featuring original art work by Justin Helton. It’s documented in liners by Jesse Jarnow and photos by Grant Gouldon. And it’s ready for a spot on your shelf.
As part of our pre-order for this Dead.net exclusive boxed set, we'll be delivering downloads of each listening party - one for each show included in JUNE 1976 - to purchasers from now until the March 20th release. Order at any time before release and you'll receive all the listening parties to date.
Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 12,000
What's Inside:
- 5 Previously Unreleased Complete Shows On 15 Discs
- Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA 6/10/76
- Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA 6/11/76
- Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 6/14/76
- Beacon Theatre, New York, NY 6/15/76
- Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ 6/19/76
- Sourced from Two-Track Master Tapes, Recorded By Betty Cantor-Jackson
- Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman
- Restoration and Speed Correction by Plangent Processes
re:packaging
"Packaging for the individual shows is essentially the same as the first May '77 box and the July '78 box, again, nice colors on the packaging for the individual shows, and more detailed art on each one. "
Do the CD sleeves have the same layout like the May 1977 boxset? You have to be very careful how you remove the CDs out of the sleeves. I tore the edges on the sleeves slightly due to the tight fit.
Mine came in today WOOT! I…
Mine came in today WOOT! I still havent listened to 2 shows from Giant's Stadium or the Dave's Picks yet
Sound and CD Sleeves
Sounds great so far. Nice Sugaree on 6/10/76.
Nassau1985, the CD sleeves look like exactly the same layout as the May '77 box (and July '78 box), the only difference is the artwork on the sleeves.
JRF68, nice catch on the Dune reference.
Mayor Jimbo
Traded in brewing for roasting.
Good decision, there’s a lot of good beer available out there.
Roasting your own beans also affords better coffee for a significantly lower price.
Package design
Outstanding job. Binding of the book was an unexpected luxe touch. Sets the bar pretty high for the Live/Dead reissue. Can we hope for a 5.1 iteration?
went to see the captain...
north east ohio...digging some lazy lightning on a rainy day, and you can tell all smiles on the dancin' on the second boston show into nice music never stopped..ship oh and now this late set sugaree!!!
Sweet synchronicity
This kind of thing happens to me on a fairly regular basis, and I absolutely LOVE it!
Was listening to "Help On The Way" from 6/14/76 a few minutes ago. My dog was bugging me, so I got up to let her out, and noticed my wife watching news coverage of the coronavirus.
On the screen: a picture of one of our hospital ships with the words "Help On The Way" boldly emblazoned in red next to the picture. Chills, man!
I choose to take that as a sign of hope. Stay healthy, y'all.
You are correct Sixtus....
....it does smell good. #2732 in my soap rubbed raw hands. I really, really needed this today. Thank you dead.net/rhino.
Will listen later. Watching hockey games on YouTube.
First disk Honey sweet.
Sweet as pie. Nice box too. Insert jokes here.>>
Did we all screw up?....
....T.C.'s birthday was yesterday. Im ashamed of myself.
#394 In the house
Upsman dropped it off at 8:15. Have hardly dug into it. Got one cd ripped and my Internet went out, have spent a couple hours on that, as I was watching a free String Cheese webcast of 12/28/18 with Sam Bush and Darol Anger, and wanted that to resume. The contents are gorgeous. Will check out the sound tomorrow. About to read the book. Hope everybody gets theirs in a timely fashion, especially with all that's going on, I know a little music would help salve the soul in these times. I hope Bolo's synchronicity moment is true and that it will get better soon. I fear the response was too slow and that the numbers will only increase as the numbers of people who are tested increases. I hope I'm wrong, and everyone stay safe.
I can't believe I sprayed the box with Lysol. What a different world we're in now...
So Far So Good
Finishing up a first listen to 6/10/76 and my first impressions are all positive. The sound is great, hard to believe what they can coax out of decades old tape, and a testament to Betty's recording skills. Everything sounds nicely balanced, there is nothing that seems low in the mix or too prominent. The show itself is sweet, mellow, goo. It's nice and mellow without being at all low energy. While there are no super-long jams, everything has a nice jammy flow and everything sounded so good it's hard for me to say exactly what stood out more than the rest. This is probably something that would serve as a nice introduction to the Dead for folks. And did I say it sounds fantastic?
No Box For Me
No Box For Me.
No box for me, god only knows where my box be...
You have to wonder if whoever painted help on the way on that mercy first aid boat was enlightened, or at the very least a deadhead. I say yes. Collectively, we do make a difference.
I used to hate the term deadhead, because.. of course.. there's lot's going on in between our ears, almost the exact opposite of dead.. I have grown to accept the term though and now view it as a compliment. More a token of intelligence and certainly not lack thereof.
Help on the Way on the Maiden Ship bringing first aid to those in need? Right on, prove to me a deadhead wasn't responsible.. and good luck with that.
Sounds great so far
One thing that is very unusual about this group of shows is that it's almost the same songs every night. There are way more repeats than any other box I've heard. I think they were easing into it after the long layoff and new approach to the music. Where is Bertha??? She really didn't come around no more!
Agree Completely
on the packaging.
Did I miss the notice on Live/Dead? I thought they were just doing the studio albums?
Anywho, just got done with the first set. Sound is amazing. Show is sweet. I like '76. Weird sets. Kind of loping. They are figuring stuff out with Mickey back.
Also kind of cool that they are starting to release some of the FM shows. I THINK most of these shows were broadcast. In the past, they seemed reluctant to me. Perhaps this opens the floodgates ('71 late fall).
Repeats
The faster we go the rounder we get.. go back to 67, 68 or 69.. but I agree. They hadn't played together in a couple years and were rusty. The repeats were as much to get what they had rehearsed almost exactly perfect before they added new songs as anything else.
I think they played Sampson every night that year except once or twice. But look at the song selection from the Live Dead era. Much less diverse, but kicked extra ass to make up for it.
No Box For Me. :(
So Nice I Listened Twice
To the 6/10/76 Help - Slip - Franklin's Tower that is.
Yes on Repeats
There are some shows missing. That contributes some. The 12th, 17th, and 18th are missing. But even the back to backs have a lot if repeats.
Agree they are figuring stuff out, but also a lot of new material. New stuff got played nearly every night (Estimated in '77), and there is Blues For Allah stuff, Kingfish stuff, and JGB stuff all debuting at the same time.
Edit: 00744. I have the exposed binding thing as well. If it is not on purpose, it seems universal. Does anyone NOT have it? All discs save one firmly in place upon arrival. And that one looked pretty good. Hope it plays OK.
No Box No Box
Jim, sounds like you and I are in the same boat. Maybe Monday.
On a brighter note, and I don't often comment about too much outside the Dead, but here it goes, my brother was diagnosed with the virsus last week and had already recoverd on his own. Great news!
Stay well people and enjoy this music that sat in a storage locker, auctioned off to three different parties and saved by multiple unsung heroes. This one is to you!
Can't wait to get mine.
Yikes, ... Vikes..
Great news. Glad to hear. Heavy shit.. glad he escaped, that's really lucky and great news. Eventually calamity from this monster will affect most here.
Still, great news.. worthy of celebration. What are we listening to or smoking/drinking? hehe.
Red Fox, Blue Sox, No Box for Mox.
6.11.76 Boston Music Hall....
....Candyman. Highlight. re; only made it through Candyman so far.
I started with this show first, because I heard it was pretty good.
And I'm feeling fine 🤞
Stay safe everybody (+ My last 5)
In these days of self-isolation it is great to take a break from the news and telecommuting (which is for the birds!) and scroll through the comments. I especially enjoy reading what you are all spinning.
As I write I am listening to Pat Metheny's latest, "From This Place", for the umpteenth time since I picked it up a few weeks back. The players he has assembled here—Linda May Han Oh (bass), Gwilym Simcock (drums), and the amazing Antonio Sánchez (drums)—are unmatched in their ability to listen and respond to each other and their leader. (Little wonder as they had been touring together for a few years before stepping into the studio.) While the orchestrations may put off some of the jazz purists out there, to my ears this is one of Metheny's best since the height of the Pat Metheny Group.
But enough preaching! Here are the other 4 of my last 5:
Nick Cave and Warren Ellis: "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" soundtrack
Bob Dylan: "Good As I Been to You"
Good Old GD: "The Warfield: October 9th and 10th, 1980"
Patti Smith: "Peace and Noise"
Stay safe everybody. "We will get by!"
Edit: Gwilym Simcock is on piano with Metheny
Sorry for the misattribution.
A sublime listen...
I arrived home from work yesterday to find #2266 waiting for me in its precious little box. Beautiful packaging. The folks in Rhino's art department continue to stun with their brilliantly executed concepts.
The slower tempos remind me of Dead & Company. The band are clearly listening to each other throughout these shows, something that would sadly disappear soon enough.
Anyway it's all burned into the master hard drive now and will inform the rest of the weekend. Thank you, Dave, Rhino, UPS, and... the Good ol' Grateful Dead!
New Box - YUM!
76 is some damn fine drinking coffee, making bacon, chillin' at home on a Saturday morning Dead! Almost through 6/10 (in the DEEP of Playin') and I have to say, this box tickles my fancy both song-wise and sound-wise. Sure, there are a lot of repeats, but thankfully, I am a fan of all the songs! Now, a late 90s box with multiple "Wave to the Winds" and "Libertys" - not so much. Still, I'd probably buy it :)
Wash yer hands, ya filthy animals, and stay safe!
Peace
He knew when to foldem'
Kenny Rogers dead at 81. Not really of fan, but you got to know his songs AND if you're old enough you'll remember his Quick-Pickin' & Fun Strummin' Home Guitar Course!
Misc.
Vikes--good to hear about your brother! Maybe today is the day us Mini-Sotans get our box?
Kenny Rogers--Double bummer. Today is the day a bunch of us were to gather in person for the 32nd year of drafting our fantasy baseball teams. Long story, but the gist of it is that we have a tradition of singing "The Gambler" each year as part of the silly fun. Can't believe that I woke up feeling cruddy about not having Draft Day, then hear about Kenny. Okay. You needed a diversion, so here's the long part. There used to be a major-league pitcher by the name of Kenny Rogers. He was a real decent pitcher for quite a while, and one year, as we auctioned off this pitcher, someone started singing "The Gambler." One by one, we all joined in. Each year thereafter we would intentionally sing that song when we auctioned off that pitcher. After Rogers retired, we named the draft portion of the day "Kenny Rogers Ultimate Draft" (KRUD), so that we could invoke that name and sing the song. We have had a lot of odd looks from servers over the years as they walk into our party room while we are singing. By the time we're simply drafting players, we have reached the crud of MLB. (still fine players and human beings . . . )
Jim--sounds like we've gone opposite ways with our brewing! I did all-grain forever, then quit brewing when my sons were young. When I returned to brewing a while back, I did mostly steeped grains with extract. The secret is--DON'T BOIL THE EXTRACT!! My first batch back (E.S.B.) was done that way, and it took Best in Show at the MN State Fair competition (700 entries!). Shortly thereafter my wife and I cut way back on our alcohol consumption, so I decided to start making 1/3 batches--1.75 gallons. So now I usually bottle, given that there are only about 16 bottles per batch.
Carlo--kegs are expensive, and I have too many. Maybe with some donations by you to some funds set up recently to keep musicians and bartenders solvent in these trying times I would just send you some . . . Let's think about that, eh?
He sat in with Phish at Bonnaroo....
https://youtu.be/Ao0Ea72F4-w
....he had to know when to fold them eventually.
And so it continues
Uuuuugggghhhhh, Box was “out for delivery” at 10:30 at the local UPS just a mere 5 miles away.....then log said “delivered at 7:24 pm”.....NOT!, no box! WTF? All vey strange as we get all our stuff at the PO, that’s how it was addressed? UPS tracking did have a weird log before “out for delivery”: “apartment or address changed”? WTF?
Funny thing is a truck did stop across the street at about that stated delivery time, but we asked them if they received the wrong package, but alas no.
Also went to the ole ladies place of business because once they somehow delivered something there that was supposed to be PO. Not sure how they figured that, perhaps because she receives a ton of packages for work they just knew.? It is a pretty small town.
Spent hours on the phone last night on hold, never even got a person!
Of course it’s saturday, or I’d go to the local place. Went there last night after the first round of waiting on the phone, said fug it and drive over....”it’s on a truck, they haven’t been to the post office yet, so it will either be dropped there, or it will get delivered, but not sure which”? Huh? I should have asked about the “address change”....idiot!
So yeah, not to be a bummer, but looks like this lil buckeroo is not getting a box, at least not anytime soon. And of course there’s talk the Governor is going to shut the state down Monday so that means no going to the local shop,
Uuuuugggghhhhh! I’m really starting to freak out, it’s like everyday it’s something else. Am I cursed? Am I the victim or the crime? Yee-gads.
Anyway, don’t mean to let my shit wind foul all yalls parade. Sounds like a real Bobbie Dazzler! Enjoy Onward Mates! Through the fog...
DEADVIKES: glad to hear your Bros ok! On top of feeling so shitty, psychologically it has to be brutal.
Just Dropped In
This is how I prefer to remember Kenny Rogers. Not much on country, hate it, in fact. Plus, the dearly departed Mickey Jones was on drums for New Edition. When Levon Helm quit touring with Bob Dylan and The Band due to the boos, Mickey was the replacement, and became a great character actor. Kenny was a decent actor. Never got to try his fried chicken, but it made for a helluva Seinfeld. Sail on to your Island in the Stream, Kenny.
Also, thank you to the Coen Brothers for using this song so perfectly in The Big Lebowski.
6/10
Got lost in that very deep and Spacey Playing in the Band, only to have it aided out of the cosmos and to a very interesting transition into Dancing in the Street. Love me some disco Dancin. Especially these early nuggets, before the Wawa, having tons of fun with the two drummers. Super-solid show out of the gate for this box. And I can actually finally hear Jerry beautifully. Prior copies of mine of this had Jerry way down, almost inaudible in the mix.
Peace and resilience to everyone out there and hang in there, those who have delivery woes.
Tomorrow will be Sunday
Born of rainy Saturday.
Sixtus
#4964
Just reported for duty.
I had a panic for moment when I thought the 1st disc was defective. My laptop CD drive wasn't reading it. But I think its more a problem with my CD drive --- its taking forever to read and spin up the discs. But they work eventually.
Spinning a Chuck Berry record while ripping the discs. 6-10 is on deck.
CD covers for iTunes
Are the individual CD covers available somewhere? Would like to use them for iTunes but haven't found them.
noticed the cover of the last show is different, with hands...
Boston Music Hall security
The booklet that came with the June 1976 box set says the Boston Music Hall shows had intense security. Pat downs, dogs, "the tightest security this side of Los Alamos". Seriously? I was there for two of the shows and so ZERO cops. People running around shouting "acid for sale, acid, get your acid" and waiving sheets of acid. Literally the LEAST security I have EVER seen at a concert. Why the odd discrepancy? Weird.
CoVid19 on packages? Not likely.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/21/can-coronavirus-t…
BTW: Looks like my Pan(demic)dora's Box will arrive Monday afternoon – I'll scan/correct artwork as soon as I can after it lands and post a link.
Hey gang, just dropping by to say hell-o
Nothing like a global pandemic to enable me to laugh off the "next week" expected arrival of the '76 box...
And I do have quite the pile to get through before then:
Cream '68 Farewell box
Dylan '66 box (yes, STILL WORKING THRU IT)
Dylan, Travelin' Through (w/Johnny Cash tracks)
GarciaLive #12
Hendrix BoG (takin' my time)
And, let's face it, major re-listening opportunities: PNW '73, ABB '71 & '73, The Band (and excellent Woodstock set) and a few hundred officially released GD shows, not to mention the hard drive with hundreds more Charlie Millers from ForensicDoc ...
My M.O. for new material, as in DPs etc, is one good listen, then onto the shelf they go. That way, when I pull them out for the long-delayed second listen, they're really fresh -- I get two good jolts from each release. Alternatively, I copy my favorite songs for the long drives into the backcountry. Typically that starts in ~2 weeks but is certain to be delayed this year. Although, talk about social distancing...
Also, I am fortunate to own (and know how to play) three really nice acoustic guitars (a flawless 15-year-old Martin D35, a battered 45-year-old Mossman and a new-ish acoustic-electric Taylor) and, on the electric front, a Strat, an SG, a 1964 Gretsch 6120, etc etc. (meaning, I'm not listing the other five).
So on the last two days of snow and cold here in dear old Colorado, I'd build a fire (in the wood stove, but that may change) and sit down with a healthy serving of Jameson and an extra large spleef (early: Sativa, later: Indica -- JimMD DID ASK! a few pages back) and my how the time flies! Then it's on to the super-terrific "The Fantastic Films of Ray Harryhausen," who was -- to those of you who don't know -- an early expert at delightfully cheesy science fiction animation/special effects. (More Indica indicated here, towards midnight). Edit: only a matter of time til I turn to the stash of Rolling Stones vault videos, except the ones in which Mick wears too much makeup...
Rest assured that I know no one could possibly give a hoot what I'm doing but as I live alone
I HAVE TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE MYSELF FROM MYSELF. So here I am, reporting in! Note: just a tad early to hit the pipe just yet....
More bad news: the longer this shut-down goes, the more likely you will be subjected to more GD concert reminiscences......... so the worst is still ahead!
Seriously now (*rimshot*) stay safe, check on your neighbors (but carefully), be patient. It's good to know this twisted little community is out there, somewhere..............
Box set bliiss
What a great day! It sounds like everyone is really digging this new box set. I glad, but not at all suprised, 1976 is one of my favorite years for the Dead. My box set may come on 3/25/20, but no rush, all good things in all good time.
New Hendrix Box: Songs for Groovy Children?
Has any bought this and what's your opinion of it? Likewise, how is the Dylan Rolling Thunder Box?
Quick Samson synchronicity
Don't know how many here are fans of The Far Side, but Gary Larson started putting them online back in December, and he does a Daily Dose of a couple to several cartoons from across the years, as well as special features of several grouped together. As I'm about to rip 6/11/76 disc 3, I pop the disc in and go to thefarside.com for my Daily Dose, and the first cartoon matches up with the Samson & Delilah that's now emanating from my speakers.
Re: 6/11
Yep, 6/11 takes My Cake and has been a long-sought after relic; I had even emailed Dave at one point many years ago to which he confirmed that it was among the missing Betty's at the time. But how happy he would be if one day it was able to be released.
Here we are, folks.
Super awesome special in my eyes. Any of those Betty's seeing the light of day again is A Miracle.
Sixtus
P.S. This Eyes. The first 6 minutes are pure Bliss. Who's playing lead? Phil and Jerry contend and spiral for position; there are various movements, dips and cresendos. The groove Moves In and Out until utter coalesceance.
The Far Side
Along with Calvin and Hobbes, arguably the two best comic strips ever created.
I purchased the complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes. Read it to the kids every night when they were younger. The Far Side was a but too advanced for them. Both are classics.
FLAC download
I bought the flac high def download. One 27.3 GB file. As far as I can tell, it's complete and sounds fantastic. It's going to take a while to listen to all five shows. No electronic booklet. The box set looks great, but I don't need no more physical CDs!
Greetings deadegad! The Hendrix box...
So here we have the most complete (still lacking two songs, I believe) version of the two-night, four-show BoG over New Year's '69-70. It was created from the master reels that Paul Allen owned, so I believe the SQ will never get better. There seems to be some controversy over the song sequencing. Add in the fact that the shows were decidedly uneven -- despite massive rehearsing, Jimi went for songs they hadn't mastered, displaying his willingness to take risks and fail. But at least two-thirds of this box is mind-blowing Jimi, with soul backing of Buddy and Billy. It has all kinds of warts (Buddy getting too vocal at times) but you cannot beat Jimi Hendrix at the Fillmore East.
So if you dig Jimi, get it! My opinion is highly personal ("hendrixfreak," right?), but based on purchasing the BoG LP when it came out in '70, then literally about 25 discs of BoG boots and all official releases over the years of the shows and the rehearsals. The new box, Songs for Groovy Children (horrible title), is the version to end the collecting saga in this particular instance.