• https://www.dead.net/features/europe-72/holy-s-it%E2%80%99s-complete-europe-%E2%80%9972-box-over-60-discs
    Holy S#%*! It’s the COMPLETE Europe ’72 Box! On Over 60 Discs!

    $450.00
    Europe '72:
    The Complete Recordings


    Hey now! Due to overwhelming demand, surprising even those of us with huge faith in the Europe '72 project, the entire limited edition run of 7,200 boxed sets has sold out in less than 4 days. We thank you beyond words for your support and belief in this unprecedented and wonderful release.

    After lengthy discussions, we've decided we don't want to deprive anyone of this music, some of the finest the Grateful Dead ever performed. Of course, we're keeping to our promise that the boxed set and all of its accouterments will not be made available beyond these 7,200 boxed sets (and wait until you see the case in which the music is housed, the hard-bound coffee-table book, plus all of the other cool surprises we've been unearthing!). But, we're going to offer just the music, all 22 shows, more than 60 CDs, more than 70 hours of music, each show housed in its own packaging, for the same price as the boxed set, $450 including domestic shipping. Although perhaps not as cool as the boxed set, the bottom line is that the most important aspect of Europe '72: The Complete Recordings is going to be made available to all, the music.


    - David Lemieux


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    Because you dared dream this might happen one day… Because you went down to the Gypsy Woman and offered up your first-born to try to make it happen… Because there are enough passionate Dead Heads at Rhino/GD who thought it might be cool for this to happen… It’s happening! Coming in September is a gargantuan, beautifully designed EUROPE ’72 MEGA-BOX SET containing ALL 22 SHOWS of what is arguably the greatest tour the Grateful Dead ever played, on a whopping 60+ DISCS (over 70 hours of music!). Bet you didn’t see that comin’!

    Really, at this point we probably don’t need to lay on too much hype about how wonderful the music is: Chances are, if you’re even considering buying a copy of this stunning box, you already know how amazing the Dead’s tour of Europe in April and May of 1972 was. To review briefly, though, the Dead’s first tour outside of North America took them to all sorts of historic and unusual venues in England, Denmark, West Germany, France, Holland and even tiny Luxembourg. Many members of the Dead “family” came along on what was really an extended working vacation that was designed to both expose the Dead to new audiences and also reward the band for their unlikely conquest of America during the preceding two years. As a hedge against the costs of the nearly two-month trip, the Dead’s label, Warner Bros., paid for the band to lug around a 16-track recorder to capture the entire tour… and we’re glad they did!

    This was a band at the top of its game, still ascending in the wake of three straight hit albums — Workingman’s Dead, American Beauty and the live Grateful Dead (“Skull & Roses”). It had been a year since the lineup had gone to its single-drummer configuration, six months since Keith Godchaux had been broken in as the group’s exceptional pianist, and this marked the first tour to feature Donna Godchaux as a member of the touring band. There was a ton on new, unreleased material that came into the repertoire in the fall of ’71 (after “Skull & Roses” was out) and during the spring of ’72, including “Tennessee Jed,” “Jack Straw,” “Mexicali Blues,” “He’s Gone,” “Comes A Time,” “Ramble on Rose,” “One More Saturday Night,” “Black-Throated Wind,” “Looks Like Rain” and Pigpen’s “Chinatown Shuffle,” “The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion)” and “Mr. Charlie.” (Sadly, this was Pigpen’s final tour.) All those future classics were interspersed with songs from the aforementioned “hit” albums—such as “Uncle John’s Band,” “Brokedown Palace,” “Cumberland Blues,” “Casey Jones,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Bertha,” “Not Fade Away,” et al — and then were topped off by loads of big jamming numbers — the Europe ’72 tour produced spectacular versions of “Dark Star,” “The Other One” “Playing in the Band,” “Truckin’,” “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider,” “Good Lovin’,” “Lovelight” and even the early Pig chestnut “Caution.” And that’s leaving out a truckload of other tunes, too! There wasn’t a clunker show in the bunch, and many are acknowledged today as classics. No doubt you already have some favorites.

    Through the years, there have been a few releases of material from the Europe tour—starting with the 3-album Europe ’72 which knocked our socks off in the fall of that year, and followed many years later by material from a pair of German shows and the fantastic 4-CD Stepping Out, culled from the group’s eight shows in England. Incredibly, though, only one full show from the tour has come out previously: the excellent 4/24 concert in Dusseldorf, Germany, released as Rockin’ the Rhein in 2004.

    Until now, that is. Jeffrey Norman, who has been the primary mixer of Dead archival multi-track material for the past 15 years (Fillmore West ’69, Ladies and Gentlemen…, Rockin’ the Rhein, Nightfall of Diamonds, etc.) has spent many months toiling over the 16-track masters from the tour, and will continue working on the mixes through the Winter and Spring, employing the high-tech Plangent Processes transfer and restoration tools, trying to get every show to sound “just exactly perfect” (as Bob Weir says) for this release. You might think you’ve heard that intense “Dark Star” > “Sugar Mag” > “Caution” from Copenhagen, but I guarantee you’ve never heard it sound this alive! Mastering to HDCD specs is two-time Grammy-winning engineer David Glasser of Airshow Mastering. Needless to say, all the songs that turned up on previous Europe compilations will be appear in their proper show contexts, and in the case of songs from the Europe ’72 album, without overdubs that were added later (where possible).

    The packaging is, as you might expect, first rate. Each show is its own Digipak, with its own liner notes by top Dead scholars (including David Gans, Steve Silberman, and Nicholas Meriwether) and attendees of some of the concerts, and many never-before-seen photos. Additionally, there is an enormous book worthy of coffee table treatment featuring hundreds more photos and a comprehensive essay by yours truly (Blair Jackson). The box will also contain other memorabilia and ephemera from the tour.

    A rough sketch of the potential packaging.
    Check back soon for more product images.

    At $450, this clearly will not be a box for everyone. In fact, this individually numbered boxed set will be limited to orders placed with a maximum of 7,200 boxes produced. As a special bonus, the first 3,000 orders will receive a personalized copy. Due to the huge manufacturing costs (wait 'til you see it! We're doing something unlike any other boxed set release ever! It's exceptional!!), we need to hit 3,000 sales before we even go into production. If we don't reach 3,000 by April 1st, the boxed set won't be able to happen. This isn't a gun-to-your-head sales pitch. Rather, we want to be open with you about the realities of this release's massive scope and ambition.

    -->

    So dig deep, raid the penny jar, take a weekend job at Jack-in-the-Box, beg your kindly ol’ grandma for some of your inheritance early… Yes, it’s an extravagance, but jeez, you (or your loved one) deserve it! This is way cool.

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  • gratefaldean
    13 years 3 months ago
    More advice
    On opening the steamer trunk. The shipping box this thing came in had a "This End UP" warning on it, long direction is up: the end with the handle is "up." Open the case with the handle up and you won't have to worry about the weight of books ripping the hinges off, the cds will be angled up for easy viewing and removing, and the books will be down in the pouch on the lid.
  • Biggidy
    13 years 3 months ago
    Happily disappointed
    Yes, it is all about the music. and for that I am happy. But there was also the music-only version. I got in early, paid more, and got excited for the "other stuff" And it's the other stuff is a big, big, major disappointment. Even the steamer case is cheap. When you open it up, the top practically rips off the hinges. The CD cases are cheap and are already ripping after having been opened once. The "ephemera" (what kind of word is that anyway) is not a joke, it is non-existant. I reserved early, was sent a code to order a personalized copy Jan 23, had my order in March 2, and filled out my personalization info. I put down my daughters names, hoping that this would be a family keepsake that would literally be passed down through my family. Mine came with no number, no personalization, no nothing. I also find it obnoxious that the track and show info is not included in the discs. You know that people listen digitally now. I want to digitize the collection to listen on my current systems, which are all digital, not to pirate the stuff all over the place. To not include it, is just a pain in the ass. And to include it on only some is just sloppy, like it wasn't even intentional. Don't get it. Yes, it is all about the music, except when you sell a music only version AFTER people have bought a full version, and then come up short with the only stuff that makes a difference between the two.
  • greatnorthspecial
    13 years 3 months ago
    Order Shipped to Old Address Despite Proper Update in ealry JULY
    Well I had not heard anything since the authorization E-Mail around August 19th so I called in today to Dead.NET to check on my order. They said my order shipped on the 29th and they showed it was delivered on the 30th. They confirmed it shipped to my new address which I had given them in early July. Nothing Here! Called backed and Dead.Net gave the tracking #. UPS Tracking system says it was delievred 2 days ago to my old house! Called back Dead.net and they said it should have gone to the new address as that is what they have. I had updated everything properly. They said they would escalate and someone would call me back. from Dead.NET. I hope they resolve this and ship my box to the correct address. I did not have a personalized edition so they should be able to send a new one to the correct address. As for the box sent to the wrong address I suppose Dead.Net and UPS will have to work it out. I really do not want a set that has been sitting out in the sun for a couple days assuming it was not taken by someone.
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$450.00
Europe '72:
The Complete Recordings


Hey now! Due to overwhelming demand, surprising even those of us with huge faith in the Europe '72 project, the entire limited edition run of 7,200 boxed sets has sold out in less than 4 days. We thank you beyond words for your support and belief in this unprecedented and wonderful release.

After lengthy discussions, we've decided we don't want to deprive anyone of this music, some of the finest the Grateful Dead ever performed. Of course, we're keeping to our promise that the boxed set and all of its accouterments will not be made available beyond these 7,200 boxed sets (and wait until you see the case in which the music is housed, the hard-bound coffee-table book, plus all of the other cool surprises we've been unearthing!). But, we're going to offer just the music, all 22 shows, more than 60 CDs, more than 70 hours of music, each show housed in its own packaging, for the same price as the boxed set, $450 including domestic shipping. Although perhaps not as cool as the boxed set, the bottom line is that the most important aspect of Europe '72: The Complete Recordings is going to be made available to all, the music.


- David Lemieux


Because you dared dream this might happen one day… Because you went down to the Gypsy Woman and offered up your first-born to try to make it happen… Because there are enough passionate Dead Heads at Rhino/GD who thought it might be cool for this to happen… It’s happening! Coming in September is a gargantuan, beautifully designed EUROPE ’72 MEGA-BOX SET containing ALL 22 SHOWS of what is arguably the greatest tour the Grateful Dead ever played, on a whopping 60+ DISCS (over 70 hours of music!). Bet you didn’t see that comin’!

Really, at this point we probably don’t need to lay on too much hype about how wonderful the music is: Chances are, if you’re even considering buying a copy of this stunning box, you already know how amazing the Dead’s tour of Europe in April and May of 1972 was. To review briefly, though, the Dead’s first tour outside of North America took them to all sorts of historic and unusual venues in England, Denmark, West Germany, France, Holland and even tiny Luxembourg. Many members of the Dead “family” came along on what was really an extended working vacation that was designed to both expose the Dead to new audiences and also reward the band for their unlikely conquest of America during the preceding two years. As a hedge against the costs of the nearly two-month trip, the Dead’s label, Warner Bros., paid for the band to lug around a 16-track recorder to capture the entire tour… and we’re glad they did!

This was a band at the top of its game, still ascending in the wake of three straight hit albums — Workingman’s Dead, American Beauty and the live Grateful Dead (“Skull & Roses”). It had been a year since the lineup had gone to its single-drummer configuration, six months since Keith Godchaux had been broken in as the group’s exceptional pianist, and this marked the first tour to feature Donna Godchaux as a member of the touring band. There was a ton on new, unreleased material that came into the repertoire in the fall of ’71 (after “Skull & Roses” was out) and during the spring of ’72, including “Tennessee Jed,” “Jack Straw,” “Mexicali Blues,” “He’s Gone,” “Comes A Time,” “Ramble on Rose,” “One More Saturday Night,” “Black-Throated Wind,” “Looks Like Rain” and Pigpen’s “Chinatown Shuffle,” “The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion)” and “Mr. Charlie.” (Sadly, this was Pigpen’s final tour.) All those future classics were interspersed with songs from the aforementioned “hit” albums—such as “Uncle John’s Band,” “Brokedown Palace,” “Cumberland Blues,” “Casey Jones,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Bertha,” “Not Fade Away,” et al — and then were topped off by loads of big jamming numbers — the Europe ’72 tour produced spectacular versions of “Dark Star,” “The Other One” “Playing in the Band,” “Truckin’,” “China Cat Sunflower” > “I Know You Rider,” “Good Lovin’,” “Lovelight” and even the early Pig chestnut “Caution.” And that’s leaving out a truckload of other tunes, too! There wasn’t a clunker show in the bunch, and many are acknowledged today as classics. No doubt you already have some favorites.

Through the years, there have been a few releases of material from the Europe tour—starting with the 3-album Europe ’72 which knocked our socks off in the fall of that year, and followed many years later by material from a pair of German shows and the fantastic 4-CD Stepping Out, culled from the group’s eight shows in England. Incredibly, though, only one full show from the tour has come out previously: the excellent 4/24 concert in Dusseldorf, Germany, released as Rockin’ the Rhein in 2004.

Until now, that is. Jeffrey Norman, who has been the primary mixer of Dead archival multi-track material for the past 15 years (Fillmore West ’69, Ladies and Gentlemen…, Rockin’ the Rhein, Nightfall of Diamonds, etc.) has spent many months toiling over the 16-track masters from the tour, and will continue working on the mixes through the Winter and Spring, employing the high-tech Plangent Processes transfer and restoration tools, trying to get every show to sound “just exactly perfect” (as Bob Weir says) for this release. You might think you’ve heard that intense “Dark Star” > “Sugar Mag” > “Caution” from Copenhagen, but I guarantee you’ve never heard it sound this alive! Mastering to HDCD specs is two-time Grammy-winning engineer David Glasser of Airshow Mastering. Needless to say, all the songs that turned up on previous Europe compilations will be appear in their proper show contexts, and in the case of songs from the Europe ’72 album, without overdubs that were added later (where possible).

So dig deep, raid the penny jar, take a weekend job at Jack-in-the-Box, beg your kindly ol’ grandma for some of your inheritance early… Yes, it’s an extravagance, but jeez, you (or your loved one) deserve it! This is way cool.

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I have just began the musical oddyssey that is E'72, listening through good headphones as I write this. The sound is rich, separated, and clear, heartbreakingly beautiful!!! Wow! Complete too. The boys were obviously peaking creatively and having a blast doing it. What a pleasure to be able to hear 40 year old music so well presented. Listening to this set makes me feel so good, knowing I can hear these glorious and triumphant shows again and again. Long live the Grateful Dead. PIGPEN!!!!
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I haven't played a random disc yet that has any kind of problem. For a four-hundred-and-fifty dollar product I think they should have used plastic protective cases. This is a major problem with this set. Also, they promised more ephemera than they delivered. Much, much more. In short, Rhino is stuck in the old way of presenting multiple discs for sale and in the end we, the die-hard fan base are the ones who end up paying for it. To be fair, $6.17 per disc is not a bad price for the MUSIC, but it wasn't only the music that was promised. That is as succinctly as I can put it. PS: Despite having e-mailed, received a return e-mail confirmation that the addy had been changed, I still wasn't happy. I called CALDEAD and talked to Walter who ASSURED me the addy would be corrected. It wasn't! Only through the UPS guy going beyong and above the call of duty did I get my E72. My rating for the store goes to (F) Never ordering again!.
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Even when they discover unknown videos of Europe shows and offer up a matching suitcase to the steamer trunk full of dvds ?I do understand. Believe me!
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First of all THANKS to GDP/Rhino for a wonderful set, I am very happy with what I got. The quality of the recordings is incredible, compared to what has been in circulation for the past 30+ years, You did a great job. I hope you do more of these extended run sets, I'm thinking spring 1990 from the multitracks or Boston 1991 from the DSBDs... If you do, here's some hints on how to do better it next time. Don't offer it for presale before you know exactly whats going to be in the box. Most of the disappointment I have heard isn't for what's in the box, its what people speculated on for 8 months based on the info last january. The fact it turned into 73 CDs instead of the original 60 cut into your margin, which you will obviously recoup with the music only versions for the same price. The 8 months of hype aboout the mystery goodies and tour ephemera, the misleading photo of ephemera and the sketch of a box that barely resembles what came in the mail is a huge problem, because you made us think that was going to be in the box. If you had just had a photo of the outside of the box and then put in the beautiful hard cover book, UK program replica and the sticker most people would have been more than happy at what they got. In the end the personalization was pretty lame, and you should have just stuck the individually numbered "inspected by" sticker in all 7200 of the boxes and let the person that got the box write in their own name. When you promise a numbered box, you should deliver one, if not, that is false advertising. Seeing how only the 1st 3000 got numbered I suggest we start a database of the rest of the boxes. I have already used my sharpy to number the GD sticker that covers split and claim 3001 of 7200. So in the end the Europe 72 Complete box is fantastic and has some great bonus stuff compared to the Music only version. I'm very happy with what I got, but it is not what I thought I was preordering for 8 months ago.
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16 years 4 months
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Same here too much anticipation to little in box . I'm over the 3001 number but still want to know what it is after 450 dropped you guys should be a bit more organized
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I'm not sure why some folks are so upset about the lack of the extra "ephemera" included in the box. Sure it was in the original description when the set was announced, but pre-production samples are just that, pre-production. They are not the final product. The fact is that the set was originally planned for 60 discs. Is anyone returning the extra dozen discs they actually got ? I doubt it. That said I am satisfied with what I got, I might be a little sad at the lack of extra goodies, but it is the music and the book I really wanted and that's what I got. All I have to do now is Smile, Smile, Smile.
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i'm afraid you're missing the point. true, they went from 60 discs to 73, but they didn't include 13 extra discs of music. instead, adding the extra discs allowed them to preserve the original set lists without having to worry about resequencing or breaking-up jams due to disc changes. i'm, of course, quite happy they went that route. you obviously don't need me to tell you that you are entitled to your own opinion, but the facts remain that they made promises in black and white that ultimately went unkept. there's no denying that. everyone's happy that they are able to listen to this music after the terrific mastering job, but if they were planning on scratching some of the "extras" that were planned up front (when the super-high demand for the product caused a complete meltdown of the ordering process), it would've been nice to know about it.
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if its not to complain, just alittle The music is totally awesome loving every pigpen track! I've been on these boards nearly every day since the November giveaways and then taking advantage of all else there is Thank you! (you know who you are) :D
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Europe '72 is the holy grail of dead tapers, hard to get, clean copies of legendary shows in the European theaters, cudos to Dead.net/Rhino for taking the chance. In the original announcement the number of CDs was predicted to be 60 + (note the plus sign), This was quickly revised as mixing began, (guess that the set list started to demand this in the first few shows). Just at first glance, 22 shows x 3 cds per show = 66 so only 7 extra discs(okay 9 since the tv broadcast is one cd) If you look at the skectch above of the box it looks very similar to the box in hand, but the text in the original announcement (since removed) did go on about all the cool extras to be included in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of history. A re-do Tour program and book do not count as extras. Where is the postcard photos Where is the button Where is the copy of the reviews in local papers Still as said before It's all about the MUSIC So grab your partner and swing and sway Grateful Dead all night and all day. The Sky Was Yellow And The Sun Was Blue People Stopping Strangers Just To Shake Their Hand.
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similar to many, this is not what i preordered. Seems like last minute thrown together 'booklet' that comes with the "coffee table book". A book with another book? Perhaps that was the last minute trade-off for having to produce 12 more disks to get all the music in there... and if that's the trade-off, i'll take it, because its about the music anyway, right? im damn tickled to hear 4/7 as a soundboard. 4/29 in this quality because all circulating versions are terrible. many, many shows previous incomplete that i can listen to in entirety. and the completeness of the recordings - many things im noticing where there are not cuts between songs to take out dead air.. i far prefer that and the resulting extra disks to the "extra goodies we've been unearthing" suggestion. nevertheless, its disappointing that something with the GD name on it got this treatment. i lay the blame fully at rhino's feet. even they lamented not making more, if they couldn't get these right, how dare they? btw, don't understand the comments about the numbered boxes. mine says 0384 of 7200, not 0384 of 3000.....
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some of the complaints remind me of that scene from the Grateful Dead Movie, where the guy is complaining about all the 'production' of the filming, etc. and another man nails him to the reality wall about being right in line to see the movie when it comes out... are you really willing to put in writing that you'll never by another grateful dead recording because you didn't get any reproduction tickets, stickers, maps or buttons? what's more important, celebrating the most recorded band in history or lamenting rhino's failures?
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kewe65, most gripes about the numbering is that apparently only the first 3,000 are numbered. My box isn't numbered, and as I was a latercomer, I'm sure I'm in the over 3,000 crowd. Since a bunch of the boxes are unnumbered, who's to say that Rhino didn't make up 10,000 boxes instead of 7,200-- or 15,000 or whatever? We're just taking Rhino's word that 7,200 sets were made, since we can't verify that three people got number 6,273 or whatever. It's going to hurt the collectability factor ten years from now when some of us start falling over dead and our heirs dispose of our stuff...
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I can't believe they dropped the ball on that one. I don't think anybody can say Rhino didn't screw the pooch there. There's "marketing" and some puffed up happy talk is expected, but there was NO mention of only the personalized editions being numbered, and the added expense of numbering ALL the boxes - as anybody who bought one no doubt thought they would be - would have been minimal. Rhino advertised a "limited, numbered" set and they didn't produce that. That's just a great big burn, IMHO. I'm sure the set would still have sold out just as quickly if TPTB hadn't mentioned any "ephemera" or whatever the hell they called it, but they DID mention it, there's a very misleading photograph showing it, all the special boxes they've put out recently had it and they totally bailed on this one. Somewhere there's a suit wearing douchebag beancounter to blame. LOL. I will continue to buy the product because (A) it is "all about the music", and (B) they are the only ones that sell it. I will keep in mind that anything else said about the product being sold may not be true, however. Hope Deadcorp takes a long hard look at Rhino vs other options when the marketing agreement runs out, though. I think the boys can do better.
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Pigpen is jamming his ass off Good Lovin, I have my headphones on, amazing sound. I have been reading the comments since this whole trip begin. Some are mad, some are happy, some are just plain hateful. I feel like they did lead us to believe that more stuff would be in the box, I can do without buttons, picks etc. I was hoping for a DVD sort of like the DVD that was in the Egypt 78 set, old film clips, a few songs etc. This was a real surprise for me, Youtube has some clips available. I spent some time looking over the book, it is great, well done. The other book, well it's just there. I'm still very happy to have it, the music is great, really amazing GD. Remember when the Dick's Picks series stopped, all the legal stuff was going on? It was a long time before we got anything. Now we have the Road Trips series and lots of big releases. I'm sure we will get more in the future. I'm sure this was a learning experience for Rhino, next round will go down a little smoother. I'm happy that the powers to be saw to it that this tour was recorded in 1972, enjoy the music, the best days are ahead of us. Coconut Phil, living Free.
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Totally psyched to get mine. I have to admit I was a little bummed at the lack of goodies in the box. I did not purchase the box for these things but they made it seem like the box would be full of groovy stuff (maps, etc.). It wouldn't have been difficult to print up a few more of these things. The music is spectacular. That is why I bought the set. I don't have buyers remorse. Not at all. I just thought there would be more goodies. In fact, since there isn't more to it, the trunk seems to be a little too much. But I will be listening to great music for a long time!!!
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Today's my birthday, and I had hoped.. but all things come to those who wait. I'm envious of all of those of you who are already getting familiar with the music. I was at one of the 72 concerts (Bickershaw) so that's some consolation as I wait. I'm not concerned about the prospect of small numbers of goodies - after all, when I preordered the only option was the boxed set and the only reason for buying was the music. Mine's supposed to be personalised, so the numbering issue (and I agree it's a real one) doesn't affect me personally. But what does concern me - a lot - is the unbelievably inadequate customer service experience I've had. In late July i had several email interchanges about my need to change the cc I had used for the preauthorisation. I was told I would be emailed prior to the dispatch date and given the opportunity to change card if necessary. It never happened, and as this thread picked up this issue, I dug deep into the pockets to phone from the UK to make sure the change was recorded. I was assured by a very laid back guy that it had been and all would be well. It hadn't and it wasn't. I had an email on the 31st saying how the European deliveries were going to be handled, which was positive, and then a further email on the 1st saying that my card hadn't processed auccessfully. So another call from the UK - 16 minute wait on the supposedly dedicated international number before anyone answered. Again the rep was calm and positive, took the replacement number and said all would be well. But couldn't actually process the order, only saying that they would contact again if there was a problem. What do I have to do to get these guys to take my money? I really don't want to lose this at this stage....
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On September 3rd, 2011 kewe65 said: what's more important, celebrating the most recorded band in history or lamenting rhino's failures? I'd rather celebrate the most recorded band in history, and my favorite band, the Grateful Dead. I think Rhino did a decent job with this mega-box project, more than likely there were budget cuts in the project which resulted in not the heaviest paper stock being used for the sleeves to house the discs. But for $450, it is still a bargain, and I am grateful for that. I thank all who made this project happen and see the light of day. Thank you!
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Pissed or Blissed it's all the samethe music is what matters and this is some matter-rific music Very pleased so far with the sound of the discs. Now the other part We now understand why the music-only version is the same price. and as has been stated previously the advertised box was 60+ cds (over 70 hours of music) in a special box designed to look like a steamer trunk with a hard cover book a tour program and many other surprises that they had been unearthing in the research for this special box set. Tickets, show bills, local articles and reviews of the shows The photos are fantastic. but no road map no dvd no postcards buttons, no drawer in the trunk, I understand the digipaks as thats the RT format. but I guess we got spoiled with the Warlocks Box Now that was a great box. Still have to lay all the E'72 covers out. well back to the show only 68 to go The Sky Was Yellow And The Sun Was Blue People Stopping Strangers Just To Shake Their Hand.
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I don't like those RT packages, they are scary. The art and all is cool but I worry about scratching the discs every time I take one out - which is only once now that I make a copy of the discs first thing. I could've sworn that somebody official said the E72 CD containers weren't gonna be cardboard sleeves but something more archival. Maybe it was in one of the interviews, I don't remember. Another misleading item in that damn photo up there LMAO. Hopefully I'll get to see for myself soon.
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16 years 3 months
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For those who couldn't get in on the "Europe '72: The Complete Recordings" deluxe limited edition mega box set (the 7200) and have bought the "All Music Edition", like me, I wish those two books that came with that set would be made available, either seperately or as a bundle.Forget the steamer trunk case.
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15 years 11 months
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Haaaaahahahahahahaha oh my god that's a good one. What the hell are you smoking?? And pass it this way! That's easy to say I suppose if you didn't experience any problems. "I won't take your life won't even take a limb just unload my shotgun and take a little skin"
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13 years 10 months
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QUOTE:"We hope you are enjoying the sights and sounds of your Europe ‘72: The Complete Recordings box set! The label containing your official box number is about to clear customs and will be shipped to you shortly. You’ll then be able to customize your box by affixing your official unique number anywhere you’d like. If you have any questions, please contact Dead.net customer service" This for people (like me) with a box between 3001 and 7200. Many, many thanks to forum moderator marye for making this happen!!
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17 years 5 months
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I also received an e-mail from dead.net regarding the shipping of a "shipping label for the Europe'72 box"As stated above, Thanks Marye for the intervention. In regards to the digipaks and the photo of the jewel case in the announcement of the Box Set The case in the photo is the 1st disc of the Europe '72 album from the Golden Road box set and check the drawing, the trunk was supposed to have a drawer under the digipaks. Oh well, still have lots of music to listen to, and since it's never enough Anyone heard any news about the next RoadTrips release (4.5 or 5.1 ?) Keep on Truckin' The Sky Was Yellow And The Sun Was Blue People Stopping Strangers Just To Shake Their Hand.
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15 years 6 months
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I never had a thought of that sketch becoming reality, you could tell that was gonna be too expensive and time consuming to build, if even possible with cardboard. I also recognized the Europe 72 case, I just didn't realize that the photo was just a bunch of crap thrown together for a web page graphic, I thought it was meant to be at least somewhat representative of the final product, and that the CD cases in this box set were going to be of the same style as the studio album box sets.
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17 years 6 months
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but quite a few good folks were involved in remedying this numbering situation, bless 'em, and things will soon be the way they oughta... Sorry for the difficulties.
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13 years 10 months
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"You’ll then be able to customize your box by affixing your official unique number anywhere you’d like." As much as a hassle as this has to be, I'll bet there's someone in TPTB who'd like to tell us where to stick our numbered label. ;-) Thanks for listening!
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13 years 10 months
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...let's see if we can get rhino to send us more goodies (buttons, maps, etc.) Start the rally cry, "We want more junk in the trunk!" Up to show #6 now - they sure did have one hell of a band. Loving the Pig tunes...
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13 years 10 months
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Can you love this: "The label containing your official box number is about to clear customs and will be shipped to you shortly. You’ll then be able to customize your box by affixing your official unique number anywhere you’d like."At present time I do not have any tats. I now know what I will have tattooed on me and where. Youse guys are too good.
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17 years 5 months
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That maybe when the earthquake hit the East Coast there were little pockets of the area that became disjointed in time, say the fulfillment center in PA? Seems like a reasonable explanation for the out-of-sync nature of the release of this box: shipping notices sent after receipt of the package; boxes in limbo; my personal favorite -- cc preauthorization done as promised, received the box and more than a week later, still no charge against my credit card. Not that I can complain much about not being charged, but for budgeting purposes I was planning on this sucker falling into this month's AMEX billing cycle, and now I'm closing in on that closing date. Hmmm...someone call someone at the PA place and just casually ask what the date is.
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This product did not come as described. It lacked many of the goodies that were promised and that whole thing was a hype to get this project off the ground with pre-orders. The box itself is very flimsy and the cardboard holders for the discs (instead of sturdy plastic) have already torn, even though I'm very careful trying in trying get the discs out. The cardboard cases don't even measure up to the quality of the Road Trips releases. I just listened to Newcastle and was not at all happy with the sound quality and led to the question: just how much work was dedicated to improving the sound quality of each show? I am definitely not a happy camper and feel we got the cheapest possible product for the money. Yes, I know it's not about the ephemera, but the music but here even the music storage containers do not seem to made to do their jobs, nor is the music much improved. I am leaning toward returning my box based on the reasons mentioned above. Then there was the whole problem of trying to correct an incorrect address that never did get straightened out. I mat return my box for credit seeing how it is such a shoddy product. For $450 they could have provided plastic protective containers and worked harder on making each show sound better. As it was, they turned out the cheapest product they could for the maximum product. I am very diasppointed in dead.net, Rhino and whomever else had anything to do with this..
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15 years 11 months
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Hahaha, thanks for making me laugh. I am leaning more towards incompetence and maybe a dash of not enough employees. I have talked to these people a dozen times now. The stories are always different, no one talks to each other, no one knows what's going on. What a great business model. "I won't take your life won't even take a limb just unload my shotgun and take a little skin"
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13 years 10 months
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Amazing how peoples perceptions of events can differ. Tuesday laying in the dark, headphones on, listening in amazement, marveling at the mix and sound quality. These tapes are almost forty years old and the sound is incredible! I was trying to follow Phil, but then there was Bobby, Keith tickling the keys in the background, omg, that's Pigpen on organ in there, wait here comes Jerry, WAIT, I was following Phil. Almost too much music! There are a lot of shows I saw that were not as clear as what we have here.Last night I woke up to Phil thundering into the Other One. Laid there for awhile in the dark with a grin on my face. So many good days ahead. Lamagonzo, sorry your experience is so different. Like my brother always liked to say, "One man's ceiling is another man's floor." He loved ten minute drum solos. I think the drum solos here are just about perfect in lenght :-)
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16 years 2 months
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Upon first seeing this box set, it's a beautiful thing, upon closer inspection, there are a few things that, well, just ain't right. I've only listened to 2 disks so far, Disk 1 from the first show and the Darkstar disk from the second, it's a lot to absorb, but is it my ear or does this mix sound loud to anyone else? It's like the gain is turned all the way up, it's in your face all the time. On Disk 1 it starts out with Greatest Story, very muddy sound, then Bobby announces technical difficulties and the sound clears up, but it is loud, almost blaring. Someone else stated that they were following Phil, then... here comes this and that, but where did Phil go? It's like the mix follows one member, then another, but what about the group sound? First it's too much Phil, then he's gone. The packaging reminds me of most rhino released made in china stuff, cheap, flimsy and not very practical if you plan on using this box, I can see this thing in a very short time being ripped up and taped up, both outside and inside, there are all ready reports of ripped sleeves. I haven't had the time yet to compare 4-26 hundred year hall released in the 90's to this one, nor have I had time to listen and compare to the soundboards and audience recordings I all ready have of these shows, which will be the final test, but from what I remember, the soundboards have a nice, rich feel to them. In my opinion, they may have rushed this production, if I remember right, Mr. Norman stated that it would take a week per show to mix these tapes, yet they were completed end of July. I admit that I have not listened to that many disks yet, but if these two are an example of what is to come, I will be sad. This was a golden opportunity for rhino to step up and put out a quality product, instead, I received an inferior product void of most all promised extras. I have heard better sounding soundboard tapes of these shows and what is lacking is feeling, it's like they could have served up a meal fit for kings and queens, instead, I got a burger thrown on a plate. This will be my last purchase from rhino, until I have seen and heard the finished product, which means that I will miss out on most new releases, but if they are like this, maybe that's a good thing. Lamo, I agree with sending this one back, but who will pay for the return postage? I think there will be a lot of these up on ebay after everyone gets a chance to really listen to them. I will rip these to my computer, and then, ebay, here we come. .
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...not saying all the shows were lacking the proper work-up. I do understand we are dealing with 40 year old tapes made with a 40 year old state of the art machine. Is it just me or is the 5/15/70 FE Road trips sound quality just that much better? A little more time on sound, a couple of tweaks on the quality issues and I would have been very happy. I know there were a lot of people jonesing for this thing but they should have stuck to the "We will issue no recording before it is properly prepared."
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15 years 10 months
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I received an email today telling me that my box had been shipped - good news considering it arrived more than a week ago. What I have listened to has been great -- but for those who still don't get the point - Is my life going to improver appreciably with a retro map of Europe? No. But the deal is - and this is true in any advertisement - if you have provided a picture of an item that, is what you have to sell unless there is a disclaimer -- So if your Sunday circular shows a picture of the Europe 72 box set at 19.99, unless they say "while supplies last" they have to sell it you at that price or give you a rain check. And as was mentioned before - I looked at the CD case as pictured and thought "that will be cool" and the CD cases are nothing like that - that's a problem. I'm blowing a gasket over this or feeling a need to go to therapy? Hardly.
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15 years 6 months
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...but I still feel like a sucker LOL. It'll be interesting to see how much they end up selling the book for separately (and they will, you can bet on it) since that will be the big plus in getting the limited edition set vs the music only set.
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15 years 6 months
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...I can't find one of the books for sale separately yet, although the individual shows are up for bid. There are a bunch of the sets available, both opened and unopened but the prices seem to have come down somewhat. The idiot of the day award goes to the guy who's trying to sell ONLY THE BOX with a starting bid of over five hundred bucks LOL. The only bigger idiot is whoever buys it; that's a darn pricey cardboard box.
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13 years 10 months
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Overall, I can't complain about the sound. To my ears they seem to be an improvement over the circulating sources. I cannot say though that I have A/B these against the official releases such as Hundred Year Hall, which was one of my favorates.I posted early about the goodies. Again it would have been nice for one reason. This is the holy Grail of Dead runs. If Rhino were to pull out the stops for one release, this should have been it. I understand that the trade-off was that we went from 60 discs to 73. That's cool. After all it is about the music. But I've heard that phrase before at shows, right after someone spilt their 10th beer all over my girlfirend cause they were to tore up to walk to their seats from the concession stand. So I'm about 10 shows into this thing and the sleeves have little tears in them from the inital time I got the discs out. They are so friggin' tight.I don't think we should be afraid to handle them but what are these things gonna look like after a few spins.I can tell you I don't think you can keep these pristine and frankly I do like to take care of my purchases like many of you. The packages are worse than the road trips series. Maybe if the tear is bad enough Dead.net will send us a replacement for one or 2 sleeves, but not the whole box and not for everyone that will eventually need one. Short term solution...So I thought I'd rip this into Itunes so I can just put the box away until I can rip play copies.... and there is no info encoded. So dead-end there too. Some shows have been entered by fans but c'mon why? I am happy with the music, the sounds, the intangible. Rhino really cut corners. I don't understand why Rhino didn't take a few more weeks to figure out the cost to upgrade into better cases, figure out how many discs they would really need per show and either come up with a vision that they could deliver BEFORE setting a price not half-way through after they hyped the product and realized they couldn't deliver. Before is the the key. Then the bean counters won't have to worry about losing their bonuses for securing production facilities that can undercut other production facility contracts. And hay, if we ponied up $450 for these what would another $50 or so more be if they would have taken their time? Let's not even go into the pre-order fiasco/gimmik. I'm disgusted by these limited editions marketing ploys that leave people out, make others rush into it and feed the ebay speculators. I'm sure sales of Europe 72 have cemented the posiblity of boxing up other tour legs and runs because we will buy it despite Rhino's business shortcomings, and let's face it this isn't the first. Like I said, if they were going to do one box set right, this would have been the one .How many free passes to these guys get?
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17 years 5 months
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My shipping notification arrived yesterday...9 days after I received the box. I assume that my credit card charge will soon follow. Do we really need more proof that we are dealing with a rift in the space-time continuum at Rhino Central?
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15 years 2 months
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"I will rip these to my computer, and then, ebay, here we come." In other words, "It sucks, but I plan to steal the music off it anyway."
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13 years 10 months
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Poor Sam has been drug thru this whole hellish affair for eight painful months to find he has purchased a pile of dung the smell of which offends his senses. At least allow him the compensation of dumping this pile of crap, 70+hours and how many gigs that he'll never listen to onto his computer to assuage his hurt!More than one box set for sale on ebay has gone this route no doubt. Oh, wait, whatI meant to say was, "be cool rrot...it's all about the music." like a knife in the back and more of the same, except my current favorite line is chuba, chuba
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13 years 4 months
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Day 8 of "life after the E72 box". Some thoughts. (1) Sound quality. Sounds super to me. But, I'm no audiophile. I have pretty low end equipment and get my best sound from my Iphone, so maybe my opinion can be easily dismissed. I can hear the difference between Steppin Out and the 4/7 and 4/8 shows and can understand why some prefer Steppin Out. But I also like the sound of the new E72 versions, and I think a case could be made that the Steppin out versions sound a bit more manipulated and the new versions have a more natural sound. I love both mixes and think its a good thing to hear different mixes. The music is so blindingly great its hard for me to pay too much attention to the mix, frankly. Makes me glad I 'm not an audiophile. Grade A (2) The Box. I admit when I first saw the box sketch months ago, I hoped it would be like one of the Columbia Miles Davis or Coltrane metal boxes- those are fantastic boxes, if you havent seen them. Rugged metal construction and excellent CD holders, also compact size and convenient booklet format. But that would have made the set preposterously heavy and probably sent the price over $1000 or more. Its a well made, economical box. I love the way it looks more and more each day. Grade A. (3) CD sleeves. They are low quality, no doubt about it. Not such a big deal though. Grade C-. (4) Accoutrements. Excellent hardcover book. Excellent essays in book and on sleeves. Great artwork, better than any previous boxset, except the classic Fillmore box art. Does any one really care about extra ephemera? When was the last time you "enjoyed" that little cardboard hat and guitar from the JGB set? Grade A-. All in all Grade A. Thanks to everyone who made it possible.
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13 years 10 months
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Bucket, Here is is! Damn spammers
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15 years
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Still waiting for mine here near San Francisco. Apparently, there's some kind of glitch between Rhino and my bank. When they try to charge my card and input the expiration date, as they have 5 or 6 times now, it gets kicked back as "incorrect expiration." No one knows why at this point, but they're working on it. This is the only card I use and it's swiped several times a day without problems. Go figure. Soooo.....gonna fire up "Steppin' Out" to fill the void for now. Happy for those of you who are already enjoying your new treasures!
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13 years 10 months
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bolo24, I'd suggest contacting your bank; financial institutions tend to pay more attention when their customer is complaining vs. some merchant like dead.net. Speaking as someone in the payment card industry, expiration date denials shouldn't be that hard to figure out. Do you know if the date that dead.net is submitting is the same as what's physically embossed on your card? Is it a date like 12/11 which could lead to a month/year swap? Was the card recently reissued (did you recently get a new physical card)? Does someone else in your family have a second physical card, and does it have the same embossed date? You mentioned that swiped transactions are working, where the expiration date is being read off the magnetic stripe on the card; are other manually-entered transactions working, such other internet purchases? This is all stuff that could help your bank or their processor diagnose the problem. My guess is dead.net is resubmitting the same expiration date, and without someone determining if the date they're sending, or the date the bank/processor is comparing it to, is the one that's wrong, it's not going to go through. (In fact, the repeated submissions could trigger denials for suspected fraud.)
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15 years
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Thanks for the input. Yeah, I spoke with my bank, and they confirmed that Rhino has been trying but always kicked back for expiration. I called Rhino and held on the phone as they tried it again, confirming the correct date as they went - still no go. So, the bank says it's an input error, Rhino says they're entering it correctly. Hypnocracy in action? A tear in the fabric of the chrono-synclastic infundibulum? I dunno - I suspect the Bozos are behind it. Tomorrow's another day!
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17 years 5 months
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Finally finished the first show, wow, no wonder they love the dead in europethat was some opener for an young band in a foreign land, lovin' the pigpen stuff, and the sound is wonderful, running it from a yamaha dvd carousel thru a yamaha amp to RSL 5/8/15 from 1975 sounds sweet. well back to the past The Sky Was Yellow And The Sun Was Blue People Stopping Strangers Just To Shake Their Hand.
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16 years 4 months
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Let's all kick back and enjoy these sweet sounds and count our blessings. I am truly grateful for this set. This music is my mantra.