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
Billy the kid / BobT
That's not a bad idea. I can walk for miles at a time and love dogs. Ha. Thanks for the idea. Bob T I would keep the empty box and find out who has not received their box set and send it to their house as an experiment to see what the person posts. Ha. I would have said send it to jim but he just got his. Ha.
Book Spine
Agree with JIMINMD... Either the spine is intentional or the manufacturer took a short cut. The book is held together with twine so I think it's sturdy, but unfortunately the appearance is not that good. It should have a similar look as the CD cases in the set. It's good to know that I did not get a defect copy. The overall design of this box is sweet and the recordings themselves are incredible.
Future Box
Did Dave say 7-18-76 was recorded in multi track and there were plans to release it. Maybe with Roosevelt stadium and the Duke show in a box.
Back to the well
Listening to the first show, love the vibe of this month. Like a good smoothie.
So this has finally pushed me over the edge on something I am apprehensive of and has been debated here ad nauseum. I have all bootlegs for full shows by date in my iTunes library, plus most boxed set shows with the name of the box in brackets: 1974-05-19 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR [Pacific Northwest '73-'74]
However, the Dave's and Dick's Picks are still by name: Dave's Picks, Volume 17: July 19, 1974, Selland Arena, Fresno, CA, given to the nature of them being a 'series'.
But they're not really a series by any genus or cognation, are they...
I think those need to become date driven. Most are easy, but what do with Bonus Discs and other Compilations?? Think of Dave's Bonus 2015, A Frankenstein's Monster for a date-driven taxonomy. HELP.
And does the same apply for standalone releases? Where do you stop? Does it ever make you wonder about the existentialism of the difference between today's 'archival' releases and contemporaneous releases such as Live / Dead? What makes L/D an 'album', deserving of it's artistic name, vs. a mere carbon stamped artifact?
Beauty walks a razor's edge, some day I'll make it mine..
Signed....Noise Maker
The book spine is supposed to be that way
As Carlo pointed out the other day, it allows the book to lay flat while open.
Muleskinner
I too store almost everything by date, and I too have put (probably too much) thought into this.
For a compilation like Skull & Roses, I just go with the year. Its not a 71 show, per se, but it slots in with 71 shows when thats what you're in the mood for.
If its a multi year mix, like Ready or Not from last year, I go with "1990s". It sorts right after 1990 in my list.
Now, take Dave's 6. 12-20-69 and 2-2-70 ? It breaks the algorithm completely. So that one goes into two different folders. Its like two independent shows that just happened to come in the same box.
Ranking Box Sets If I May
#1-Fillmore West 69. The Old Testament.
#2-Europe 72 Complete. The New Testament.
You can rank the rest wherever suits you at the moment. Right now I'd go with...
#3 PNW
#4 Winterland 73 but I've always had trouble with the sound quality.
#5 July 78. I didn't think this one would rate this high but it's turned out to be a guilty pleasure that gets a lot of listens.
#6 Both May 77 boxes.
Muleskinner, itunes
Too late to change your iTunes library, but here’s how I do it just for discussion and/or amusement.
Playlist Folder: Grateful Dead (each band gets a playlist folder)
-> Playlist Folder: for GD each year gets a playlist folder (other bands don’t have enough releases for years to need separate folders)
-> -> Playlist: each show is a separate playlist
Info for each track:
Band: Grateful Dead
Album: the venue the show was at
Album Artist: name of the commercial release - DP#, DaP#, GSTL, S90, S90TOO, E72, FW69, etc.
I then highlight all the tracks of a show and drag the tracks to a folder on another HD. The track info I entered comes along as metadata and is displayed on the screen of my music players (ALAC) and on the dashboard screen in my car (AAC 320 kbps). I use 2 Mac Mini’s and have different audio formats in separate iTunes so they don’t get mixed together (lossless and lossy, a mixup could be a travesty. When riding in the car AAC is good enough due to road noise, and my car only plays lossy mp3).
I use iTunes to manage my iPod Classic which I upgraded to 1 TB with an iFlash Quad adapter (that story has been posted a few time before). The iPod uses ALAC.
Track names are made so that a computer will always order the files chronologically:
GD 1976-06-14 T10 TN Jed (that’s what’s playing right now)
OCD?
What you talkin’ ‘bout Willis?
That’s called organization.
Edit:
Every show gets its own folder and songs from different shows that are released together get broken up into their respective show.
Ripping and organizing...
My better half recently purchased a new and highly functional desktop. Of course these new desktops do not come with CD ROMs so I actually have to buy that separately now. Once I do that my entire collection of music is getting ripped on to the computer and also to back up external hard drive. Up until this point I have been putting music on my work computer. Since work is on hiatus and time at home is plentiful, I can certainly get on this.
I think will follow suit with all GD music and by year. As a matter of fact I will probably upload each sequentially by year. Then I will further organize them into playlists by date. Coincidentally, about 2 years ago, I put together a list of shows that were officially released but are pulled from multiple releases. For example 10/11/77 (although not complete) is pulled from DP 29 hidden tracks and for RT Vol. 1 N. 2. so all of those tracks along with other shows similar to this will go into a playlist in order. This is something I have wanted to do for a while so it will be fun.
I think this has already been mentioned but for those that are interested, that Aquatic Band from Vermont is streaming their show from 8/31/12 for free on their YouTube channel. I am listening to it now - its good stuff.
All good things in all good time.
"Due to global health events beyond our control, your package is being held for delivery at a later date."
Panasonic
I broke out my Panasonic portable tape player and played broome county 11/6/77 and now realize how grateful we are to have any of these boxes and Daps. The difference is night and day for the most part. How sweet it is. I think of the days we compared tape quality from show to show. The only drawback was most tapes were traded and never purchased. Sometimes a joint or two for transaction fees. Peace. P.S. Billy the kid--that blows my friend.
Well, that sucks Billy
Tell them you’ll show up with a trash bag and they can drop it in.
Gnarlywood
Currently jamming Dinner and a Movie with Phish. Sounds great. I missed the Billy Martin John Medeski live stream the other night. Anyone catch that one?
I'm loving the box. Setlist are a bit repetitive, but its holding my interest fine. Of particular mention tonight were the segues between Let it Grow to Dancing in the Streets and then the segue from Dancing to Cosmic Charlie on the Capital Theater show. Very nice.
Also, the Help Slip Franklin on the 1st show at Boston Music Hall has one of the finest transitions from Help into Slip and then Slip in Franklins that i've ever heard. Thats a spot they rarely nailed past '77 and they really drill it here. Cosmic.
Sorry to hear about losing the job Carlo. I feel very fortunate to be able to continue to work from home but i haven't lost sight of the fact that we're all a circumstance or two removed from losing the stability we so cherish. Once this is over we should be able to bounce back well and I hope you find a situation that you're excited about, whatever that may be.
Ranking box sets is tough. I wasn't able to pick up the Fillmore West set, and its not worth to me the current asking prices. Since '73 is my jam I find myself going to PNW quite often. 6-22-73 is a top 5 all-time show for me and worth the price of admission alone. I think the sound of these shows is among the best ever released.
1. 30 trips - something for everyone
2. Winterland '73 - three amazing shows from peak dead
3. PNW '73 and '74 - sound quality and 6-22-73 show make this box special
4. Spring '90 - The Other One - Sounds quality and varied set-lists make this one special. I also love Bobby's sound in this era.
5. Spring '77 (1st Box) - 5-12-77 is a serious sleeper, Tuscaloosa is a top 10 show and St. Louis is so great - Brokedown encore
6. July '78 - Arrowhead is a little gem. Both Red Rocks shows are tops. The middle two lag a bit.
7. Giant's Stadium - the '87 show changed the way I look at '87. What if all '87 was recorded in multitrack? Both '89 shows rip. The Eyes '91 show is great but past my wheelhouse.
8. Get Shown the Light - The buffalo show steals the box. Cornell is hyped but Dancing is best all-time. I can't get into the New Haven show. There' so much '77 out there its tough for this box to shine for me.
Somebody asked about the outside cardboard box on the new box. I save them all, but agree, the way they packaged this one doesn't lend itself to saving it, since you have to cut it down the middle. I'll probably force the issue and save it though.
Thinking about getting a 35th anniversary PRS Custom 24. Anybody have anything to say about Custom 24 vs McCarty 594?
I didn't cook up Trey and Jill's chili recipe....
....but I have a screwdriver on ice and ready for the second set.
Edit. Runaway Jim to open the second set. That makes me smile.
Whoa
I forgot Europe '72. Probably in there before Spring '90 TOO. As Jim mentioned, 1st sets are very similar. I also tire of Pig's 20 minute rants in Lovelight and Good Lovin'. They haven't aged well. There is some absolutely killer stuff in there though. The Dark Stars and Other Ones are amazing on the whole. I also love Two Souls in Communion and Chinatown Shuffle from the Pig.
Too early to rank in the '76 box. It needs to age like a good cheese.
Trey is pumping out a song every day for the last five days....
....while in self quarantine. Thats awesome. Not hoping it turns into a box set however, if you catch my drift.
never ever saw the northern lights
farmhouse is an underrated song
each betrayal begins with trust
Trey locked down in the round room?
Like a hamster on a tread wheel is Try going crazy in The Round Room? That might be my favorite Phish disc. I love everything on Round Room except, oh the irony, the title track : Round Room. The Round Room song reminds me of the lameness of John Lennon's Beautiful Boy. Just my opinion -- no offense.
F U C K Y O U R F A C E....
....Chalkdust is the C.
Every man returns to dust.
Mikes rig is impressive and daunting.
No skips on mine Deadvikes. Unsure if that makes you feel any better or not. Just saying.
Mine were clean.
Though one disc was dislodged from its cradle a bit when I opened it. Played fine though.
Finished 2nd listen of 6/11. Good Dead is always better when you pay closer attention. And also at higher volume. Lovely IMHBTR here. Both Boston's have a ballad portion in the first set. Bob = LLR, Jerry = Mission & Roses. Sugar Mag into Eyes is epic & Eyes is at the right tempo. Enjoyed the glacial Stella as well.
Meatstick!!!....
....sorry. Couldn't help myself.
Music soothes the soul.
Box Seedings
I liked the tourney idea expressed earlier. So I will go brackets. Top seeds and lower seeds are easy for me, and YMMV on what is/not considered a Box. 19 team tourney. Some play-in games.
#1 Seeds: 30 Trips, Europe '72, FW '69, Get Shown the Light '77. Two biggest boxes & the three highest peaks (in my view). And the best variety.
Play in games: (Boxes 14-19):
1) Not much new match: #4 seed All the Years Combine (video) vs #5 seed Beyond Description
2) Road match: #4 So Many Roads vs #5 Golden Road.
3) '89 Two show match: #4 Warlocks vs #5 RFK.
#4 Seed with no play in: Spring '90.
#2 Seeds: Winterland '73, June '76, May '77, Spring '90 TOO.
#3 Seeds: PNW, Winterland '77, July '78, Giants.
Winterland '73 is a firm #2 seed. Really tight after that. If one threw out the mega boxes, I have no clue which would be #4. Including ATYC, but only if you don't already have most of the videos.
So Much To Say
I will try to keep it brief..
First, got my box today, beautiful, but just now finished ripping and cleaning up the metadata. If you think Cone Kid is OCD, well.. he likely is but he's got nothing on me. ..but alas, it's so late, my first listen won't happen till tomorrow.
I store by year (YYYY-MM-DD so or sorts as expected) but only for complete shows, compilations and 'albums' mostly get stored by title, thus Aoxomoxoa is stored as such. The default metadata is typically almost unusable. Then you have to put the show in the same folder and name it, and the songs the way they should be. Which usually makes the connection to your software non-existent so you have to connect it again. ..then it's almost exactly perfect.
Did someone mention brackets and March Madness? With perhaps the exception of hockey (which I'm not even into) I almost loath professional sports too much damned money and it's no longer about the fans who fund it all.., but the NCAA tourney is still alright in my book. WTF.. it'd be peaking now. Damned virus.
MHammond. Well said.
Carlo, take the job.. Huge tips await so long as I get my releases at least within the same week as the non-mortals that always seem to get them earlier.
Muleskinner, always a pleasure.
Kate C. Thanks as always for humor and perspective.
Zuckfun.. Glad to see Operation Jalapeno Blues completed on time and under budget.
Box in hand. Let me be first to day, "We need a new release"
Be good, hard times are coming but in times like this, the world needs clear thinking, red eyed deadheads to delineate reality from insanity, hallucinations and facebook.
Order in an Unordered World
I have a folder under Grateful Dead, called "Shows". All shows are in date order "yyyy-mm-dd - venue - location". I have a fold called "Live Albums", box sets are here by name. A Dave's & Dick's folder contain the usual labeling job with "Vol 01 - " added. Back in the "shows" folder I make a note at the end of the show that it can also be found in 'live albums by name (or dave's/Dicks". So I will have two copies of these, the best of the archive and the "official" release.
I think the most important thing about a method of storing is consistency. Shit, at bare minimum something better than "AudioTrack01, AudioTrack02.....
In the end, I have the BEST method!! (God says so, so there!)
Dennis /JiminMD/ thank you both so much!.
I want to thank you both for the offer. The generosity, thoughtfulness , and kindness that you both have shown toward me, is far better than any box set. I will pass on the offer at this time. Again, thank you both, you've both made my day.
The earliest Jam
If your in between shows and looking for a palate cleanser checkout the earliest Jam.
https://archive.org/details/gd1966-03-25.139750.sbd.miller.clugston.fla…
Stealin, Jam, Hey Little One, Hog For You Baby, You Don't Have To Ask, Cold Rain & Snow, Next Time You See Me
Initial reaction
My box arrived Monday as scheduled. I love the size of the box. For you that are still waiting, it is very similar to the 2nd May '77 & July '78 boxes. This allows for a nice size book without being too large. (The smaller cd size boxes, Winterland '73 & '77, July '89 D.C., etc. are also good but don't allow for a larger book) The covers & colors here are brilliantly bright and perky.
I am only on the 2nd show so far, I always listen to them in order, and the sound is incredible! How they can take these 44 year old tapes, that were not stored properly at all, and bake them and coax them back to this sound is just incomprehensible to me. I guess it all starts with our queen, Betty Cantor-Jackson. What a magical touch & ear she had / has. Kudos to her. Then Jeffrey Norman, the modern day wizard, has once again worked his magic through all means of modern technology to give us this amazing sounding box. I really don't see how I could be much happier then I am right now!
Sometimes our good friend Mr. Lemieux tends to be a bit hyperbolic, but based on the last two boxes, he was right on! These are not just home runs, but grand slams for sure!
Rock on
1976 boxed set
Enjoying my 1976 boxed set. The music is great as is the packaging and artwork.
Early Jam = Walking the Dog?
That is what it sounded like to me, especially at the beginning. Without the lyrics, of course.
Anyone else get that vibe?
So ManyThoughts
I’m truly enjoying all the conversations and enjoying the box, but only vicariously, through all of your comments. I’m using my non-work time to catch up on other music: Last 5......
Bill Frisell, featuring Dave Holland & Elvin Jones
GOGD-12/20/69
-12/21/69 } yes, Dave’s 6 one at a time
-2/2/70
Bad Company-Desolation Angels
When I rank things, the order ALWAYS changes
Book bindings look like this, we just don’t usually see it because of the book cover. (Don’t watch how the sausage gets made)!!
Boxes & Dave’s are packed in 20-25 count boxes, possibly in numerical order, but after that, they are shipped to warehouse and mixed up, then picked & shipped in a totally random fashion.
We are getting better at accepting each other’s opinions(re:repetition of set lists).
The US will survive Coronavirus.
If I were to pick a favorite version of any Dead song, it would invariably change.
Having said that, any picks for favorite version of China Cat Sunflower?? Most of my faves are pre-China/Rider
Here’s something I saw today that gave me Goosebumps......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1GU1qQ1zQ&list=RDph1GU1qQ1zQ
Mr Ones / China Cat Sunflower
I like the version from 3/16/68 (So Many Roads box set) from the Carousel Ballroom. It comes out of Dark Star, very cool.
Just started 6/15/76 Beacon
This show was the only tapes that I had on Memorex cassettes... Yellow reels and clear cassettes... I can't remember why, yes I can I was in college and had no money!! I am such a fan of 6/14/76 i kept listening to it for a few days... P.S. Jai-Alai Fronton right around the corner.. sorry couldn't resist... bob t
Mr Ones & the Weight
very nice. goosebumps? No tears, no heart!
Watchtower after that very nice, I like this whole series
June 1976 Box Cover Art
01162 arrived apparently pathogen-free late Monday. Sorry it's taking me so long to get Justin Helton's artwork on this box scanned – the extremely cool reflective printing on the actual box is a bitch to scan or photograph. Anyway, altho I just finished correcting the cover art from each show, I'm still working on the actual box and book. Instead of waiting any longer, here's a link each show's cover art (including square versions with titles).
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uwfam4nud0ttbv0/AACPr9g_hY-wklEMfwor73mua?dl…
Bon appétit y'all! This music is magic! Onward.
#00752 Just Delivered ! Thank you!!
My box set was in today's mail. Just the thing to help pass the time while hunkered down here in Seattle for the next two weeks.
A special thank you to the packers, shippers, truckers, mail people, and others who got it to me. There are so many more important things right now than getting this box set to me and I do appreciate it.
White light to the medical personnel and first responders around the world.
Stay safe and healthy my friends and fellow intrepid travelers. We will get by... We will survive.
Thanks Jeff!
I always enjoy the pro scans you send our way. Like Jim, ripping these CDs was the first action I took when the box arrived. Of course I had to have artwork associated with it before I uploaded it to my phone. Your scans sure look better than the method I used up until now: download of the main cover art, and then use of my cell phone to change the hue five different times. Mine looked like a bunch of Easter eggs until I added the cartoon effect. Bottom line is I'm all set now, thanks.
I've listened to this box about four times now. Unbelievably good, but I do need to move to a different year for a little bit. As somebody mentioned already it is absolutely incredible that the tapes sound this good after all this time.
So I switched over to 1972. It always bothered me that the 30 Trips show have Jerry very low in the mix. No problem, just shift the balance to the left a little bit and everything works out just fine. I can't even hear an imbalance now - sounds just exactly perfect. It's an otherwise was perfectly recorded and mastered show. The blistering opening riff of Big Railroad Blues is great start to a show. The Bird Song keeps getting higher and higher in the ranks of Bird Songs.
Digitally I store mine in chronological order by show. There are one or two exceptions. For example I kept this box set together instead of putting the show from the 17th that was released as Dave's Picks something amongst it. I tried doing it the other way a few years ago, where I kept all of the Dick's Picks together, all the Dave's Picks together, all of the Road Trips together, etc. I DO keep the soundboard shows separated from the official releases. I just restart in chronological order after the official releases are done.
Speaking of soundboards... I've only ever heard bits and pieces of RFK 6/10/73. I felt it this was one that deserve to be listened to for the first time and its virgin state; but there was no way I could ignore the Dark Star, the Bird Song, the Playing in the Band, etc. Freewill broke down and I listened to it last week. I knew that was going to happen oh, but it did it anyway. It's like sitting at the bar of a strip club for too long. Eventually you're going back to the champagne room no matter what your original intentions were. The show is just amazing. I think it's just about time to pay whoever needs to be paid and get that released nationally. The tapes are really really good. The only problem I had was Jerry coming out of the wrong ear, but just flip your headphones and you're good. What a Dark Star.
It's difficult to rank box sets, not even going to try.
Take care everyone.
Not Sold Out yet?
Golly, I'm shocked! This is such a great set! Familiar Songs with unfamiliar arrangements, so much energy radiating from the Band, great Sound Quality-- what the heck are folks waiting for? A must-have.
China Cat box Dylan
I also like the early China Cats, and the way it snakes into The Eleven. After 1968, the China Cat-Riders from 1972 stand out and the ones fromm 1974 are epic.
Thinking of the boxes, I would agree with mhammond, the top two for me, by some margin, are FW 1969 and Europe 72. And I haven't even got FW69. But thanks to the vinyl releases and the kindness of an irregular poster on here, I have all the music. After that, it varies. Probably Winterland Fall 73.
After listening to the Band, I decided to check out some of the Dylan ones I have had for a while, but have never got round to listening to much. I started with "Modern Times" from 2006, and I was well impressed. Several of the songs have very similar arrangements to pre existing blues themes, but they are beautifully reworked by the superb band ( with a little "b"), and the lyrics add to and develop the originals. Inspired by, and in the spirit of the blues. Great album.
Nice aside form Mr Ones about how we are getting better at accepting each others opinions. I have always enjoyed discussing things, and sometimes it doesn't actually matter to me that much whether someone agree with my opinion or not. It interests me reading how people see things differently from myself. So long as we respect each other, we are doing alright.
play for change
Thanks Mr Ones,
The weight a great song, so good vocals & music from human from earth!
Manu Dibongo died in Paris from covid 2 days ago at the age of 86 RIP Manu.
playlist of yesterday
Dicks picks 20 to get a taste of 76
Soft Machine 6
Peter Grenn Splinter group Blues don't change
Al di meola All your life
Miles Davis we want Miles
and afrijazzy Manu Dibango.
Today a bit Road trip Boston June 9 , one of my favourite.
You likely already have a look at this saynete from LoloYodel, I warmly recommand; may someone recognize all the dancers?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmz_PL8t1rU
stayswise@home
Re: Dicks Picks 20
Under-rated in my opinion. Listen to the ferocious guitar playing in Supplication for example.. and don't forget to turn it up.
Good reminder, Sheik.
Mr. Ones, I also very much enjoyed The Weight. Thank you. I don't have a great answer to a spellbinding pre-rider China Cat. I'm a big fan of the Big Rock Pow Wow road trips, so I have to toss 5/24/69 out there, I also liked the one on Dicks Picks 22 from Kings Beach Bowl, Tahoe 2/23/68.