What's Inside:
7 Previously Unreleased Complete Shows On 20 Discs
Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12/09/71
Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 12/10/71
Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 10/17/72
Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 10/18/72
Fox Theatre, St. Louis, MO 10/19/72
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO 10/29/73
Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, MO 10/30/73
Sourced from tapes recorded by Rex Jackson, Owsley "Bear" Stanley, and Kidd Candelario
Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman
Restoration and Speed Correction by Plangent Processes
Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 13,000
Steamboats and BBQ, ice cream cones and Mardi Gras - are you ready to laissez les bons temps rouler with the "gateway" to the Grateful Dead? Meet us, won't you, in St. Louis for seven complete and previously unreleased Dead concerts that capture the heart of the band's affinity for the River City.
LISTEN TO THE RIVER: ST. LOUIS ’71 ’72 ’73 is a 20CD set featuring five shows from the Fox Theatre - December 9 and 10, 1971; October 17-19, 1972; and two from the Kiel Auditorium - October 29 and 30, 1973.
The seven shows in the collection span slightly less than two years, but they represent some of the best shows the Grateful Dead played during some of its peak tours. The music tells the story of a band evolving, changing from one sound to another seamlessly, precipitated – in large part – by significant personnel changes in the Dead’s lineup.
The two 1971 shows feature the original Grateful Dead lineup plus newcomer Keith Godchaux on piano. This version of the band would hold together for the next six months as the Dead embarked upon its Europe ’72 tour. By the time the Dead returned to the Fox Theatre less than a year later, they were without Pigpen, who’d played his final show with the Dead at the Hollywood Bowl on June 17, 1972. A year after the exceptional Fox 1972 shows, the Dead came back to St. Louis, but played the much larger Kiel Auditorium, touring behind the release of WAKE OF THE FLOOD, which came out just two weeks before.
All told, the band played 60 different songs during these shows highlighted by blazing romps through “Beat It On Down The Line” and “One More Saturday Night” and wistful takes on “Row Jimmy” and “Brokedown Palace” (whose lyrics give the collection its name). Meanwhile, the copious jamming ebbed and flowed like the mighty Mississippi River on multiple voyages through “The Other One” and “Dark Star.” Naturally, the band paid tribute to one of its favorite rock and rollers and one of St. Louis’ biggest stars by playing Chuck Berry songs at every show in the collection, including Pigpen galloping through “Run Rudolph Run.”
Each show has been restored and speed corrected using Plangent Processes with mastering by Jeffrey Norman. The collection comes in a slipcase with artwork by Liane Plant and features an 84-page hardbound book as well as other Dead surprises. To set the stage for the music, the liner notes provide several essays about the shows, including one by Sam Cutler, the band’s tour manager during that era, and another by Grateful Dead scholar Nicholas G. Meriwether, among others.
Due October 1st, LISTEN TO THE RIVER: ST. LOUIS ’71 ’72 ’73, is limited to 13,000 individually numbered copies and available exclusively from Dead.net.
Delivery
So I'm curious, those of you who received the box, anyone live on the east coast? Just wondering how far they've made it. I also have a Sunday delivery scheduled. Post office only delivers Amazon on Sunday. Not to mention they are closed Monday. Which means only Amazon then as well. They may deliver priority on Monday but I doubt this box is priority.
Shows package delivered....
....shipping update never changed to "out for delivery". Stayed in "on its way" mode. Delivered by UPS, no USPS. I'm still at work. Will report back later. The digital download comment page is still a shitshow.
Edit. I'm west coast.
shadeyguy I live in…
shadeyguy I live in manhattan and it says sunday the 10th.
This has got to be the worst…
This has got to be the worst box set packaging yet. Unnecessarily large, just for the sake of making it look impressive from the outside, I guess. It's not HUGE, but way bigger than it needs to be. There is so much wasted/unused space that you could fit 5 or 6 more digipacks inside. If you haven't received yours yet, you will see what I mean. Very poor design. I'm disappointed. In my opinion, the ideal package/box design is doing it like the July 1978 box or the first May 1977 box. Keep it minimal! I know I'm not the only one who feels this way as I've read other similar comments about box size/style preferences. No comment on the shows themselves. As long as all the discs play without issues I know what to expect - lots of hours of primo GD listening enjoyment.
Down By The Water…
Anyone seen Dave? He must be down by the water doing a lot of nature watching and videoing! Looking forward to all the details of St. Louis and Dave’s Picks!
Dave’s demise
A rabid pack of sea otters may have gotten him while he was recording the DaP40 announcement.
Here come the kvetchers
As long as I receive the CDs (and they play)....
I don't buy this stuff for the packaging.
That's my point. I don't buy…
That's my point. I don't buy these sets for the packaging either, so I wish they'd stop making these bulky things that take up so much space.
The otters are forcing Dave...
to open the vault for us! No tunneling necessary!
#6950....
....and, while I agree somewhat on smaller boxes, this one is indeed beautiful and not too big.
Somewhat spoiler. The banter before the 12.9.71 Truckin' is hilarious and somewhat foreshadowing. You'll know what I'm talking about when you hear it. Sounds grate!! Time to change my avatar and turn it to 11!
Nappyrags looking for the #....
....and searching for the sound. Me 2.
On the way...
Mine also arrived in Kentucky early this morning and has an estimated delivery time of Monday morning. I haven't received any request for payment yet so I will be surprised if I see it on Monday. At least it is heading in my direction so I have no reason to complain.
No reason to complain?
Simonrob-not often you can say that! Not you personally, I hasten to add-not often "one" can say that. Still, the day is young.
I'm 10-45am-2.45pm on Monday now, too. I must say, I am looking forward to getting this one more than I have been with any other parcel this year. And there have been a few.
any sound reviews
yet? anyone listen to these shows yet? searching for the sound, is it all there? dropouts? patches? pristine beauty? Bueller? I hear the 72 vinyl is fantastic, sure hope these cds are as phenomenal.
Leave Your Custom Fees In Unmarked Bills By The Third Oak Tree…
Mine is sitting in a government warehouse in the Toronto area, having been held ransom for custom fees. The kidnappers now say I’ll see my box set on Tuesday, as Monday is a national holiday. Calling Eliot Ness…
Re: DaveRock / Light Into Ashes
I will go out on a limb and mirror your remarks. I listened to this run a few years ago, and that's my memory. That PITB/Dark Star Morning Dew sandwich is indeed the special sauce from the whole sequence.
..but in fairness, I have not gotten any of this yet, so no fully cleaned up listens. I could change my mind, but I doubt it.
UK Delivery update
My box now in Philadelphia with a UK delivery time of Monday 12:00 - 15:00. No ransom note yet but I expect I'll get one.
If you believe you have been charged excessively then you can contact UPS Postflights Department to clarify the charges on 0345 7 877877 or send an email to ukpostclearATups.com attaching the dead.net invoice, and make the subject your tracking number.
4073 in Plano
Was here when I got home from work last night!.
The box is nicely printed on and I don't mind the size. What I don't like is the way the cds are in the big box, you have to tip the box over to get them out (or have very long finger nails!) Not a big thing, since I'll only be taking them out to rip. The swag is cute.
Now on to the music!
Oh,,, somebody mentioned wasted space in the box,,, it's not wasted. If you push the hidden button the space will open up into a replica of the stage in 71,,,,, very impressive!!!
..... he's lying! Every time some white reporter shows up he says he box does something special.
it has arrived.
1431 has landed in PA. I won't be able to listen until tonight but i'm so excited it's here.
Was surprised to hear the comments about the size - when it arrived i actually thought it would be bigger. It's basically the size of a personal-sized pizza box. Not bad at all. Enjoy, everyone!
Size doesn't matter....
....that's what my wife says anyways and everyone loves pizza.
As far as the sound, I'm through the '71 shows so far and they sounded excellent 👌. Going to see the new James Bond movie this afternoon then will dip into 1972, which were recorded by Bear, so I'm sure they will be auditory bliss.
Btw, if anyone wants to check out some nifty Grateful Dead playing cards, go to theory11 dot com for some quality ones they offer, among others.
Obligatory joke.
What does James Bond's doorbell sound like?
Dong. Ding Dong.
Have a grate weekend everyone!!
Charges-Music-Box
Ian - thanks for that-I think I'll give them a ring on Monday morning and see if they can account for the £63.15 charge. I've already paid it, but....well, see how far I get.
Jim - yes, my comments are pure speculation, of course, although I have heard 10/18/72 before. For me it is one of the great shows - and about to get better, if the vinyl is anything to go by. The dark horses for me in this set are the 1973 shows. Not much has been said about them so far.
As to the size or look of the actual box-I don't really mind about that. As long as the cds play ok I'm at peace.
Coming Tuesday
Happy to finally get a delivery email. Arriving this coming Tuesday, can’t wait to start listening. I don’t care about the size of the box, I just care about the music. For those who already have it… enjoy your weekend.
Frank Zappa says
Box set dimension is worrying me
I can't hardly sleep at night
'Cause of box set dimension
Lest everyone forget....
....today is the day Dark Star returned 32 years ago.
FOMO NO MO
Just got back from a very windy bike ride to find that #00154 (lowest number yet...must mean I am cool) had landed on my door step. Still no shipping confirmation email, but I am here for the tunes not the emails. The rest of my Saturday has been spoken for! Yippeee!
Last night
Listened to Yes Relayer all the way through
Some sections were out there
Some was good
Some was....meh
A pretty thick chunk of musical meat all around
Box arrived
Where is the number on the box, I looked all over the external box and internal box. Also, the corner of the box got bent in a little during shipping, not a huge deal, but I would prefer perfect. Live with it?
#9367 in the house
The Apollo has landed... the set opens with a great deal of witty banter before a 12/9/71 "Truckin'" with Phil telling people they can go across town and listen to Grand Funk Railroad... so far so good, great era, great set list, great vibes.
The limited edition # is stamped in foil on the back of the book. This is indeed a beautiful set, if there's one thing Rhino does well it is package art design. A thin, slim volume that is very bookshelf friendly, the inks are beautiful and I give it 5 stars out of 5. I am rarely disappointed by the design of these boxes, each unlike another and this one is no exception.
Glass of Jack Daniel's in hand and EVH Frankenstrat on my lap, I now leave you to embark on an hours long listening binge.
Bon Voyage!
\m/
Jack Daniel's??....
....apologies ledded. But you really need to step up your whiskey/bourbon game. Other than that, rock on.
Box number
I see it. Executed to rip and play the music. Can’t get enough 71.
Well rowjimmy7....
....what's the number? We're waiting.
You joined on my birthday btw. Cool.
Firing up 10.12.72 now.
I'm excited.
Ledded brought up a good point regarding the boxes. Every one of them is different. Even the Spring 90 and Spring TOO don't exactly match.
It's like the island of lost toys, but in Dead Box fashion lol.
Bird Song in the second slot on 10.12.72? That works. The sound is impeccable and no skips so far.
Thanks Bear!! Truly a magician/scientist. Onward!!
Discs sliding out....
....yup. Should have included some
ribbons. Minor complaint though.
Felt inserts in the digipacs wouldn't hurt either.
3234
Got mine. The hardcover book has a whole section of pages that were manufactured upside down from page 5 through page 12. Page 4 goes to an upside down page 12. Anybody else have this printing mistake? If so than someone forgot to proof read the final product. If it's just mine I received a misprinted book.
yep
Disk 1 had some minor scratches on arrival. That would have helped. So far the other disks all look good. Again, they all play fine, just not quite perfect. My Giants Stadium box was the same. One of the digipaks wasn’t glued so the disk slid to the bottom. Minor issues though. As long as the disks are ok.
Upside down pages....
....I have a poster from the 1999 Bob Dylan/Paul Simon tour that says Las Vegas, CA.
Walked up to the merch stand after the show and the vendor said "All we have left are these misprints."
I should've bought three.
Lucky Bro.
I'll be damned...
if the band in the first set of 12-9-71 -- Brown-Eyed Women, Mr. Charlie, and Tennessee Jed -- doesn't sound almost exactly like the Euro '72 band of four months later with Keith in high gear after two months in the keyboard chair. I know that shouldn't be astonishing -- only four months from St Louis to Europe -- but the sound quality and the playing were so close I had to comment.
As for the book, I had multiple pages glued together by a tiny area near the binding and the pages got damaged as I easee them apart. Otherwise, nice packaging, although I'll probably toss the box itself and shelve the individual shows chronologically in my '66 to '75 shelf.
A note on sound quality...
Did anyone else notice that the first set on 12-9-71 begins with quite muffled sound on Truckin'? At first I was taken aback, but the sound quickly improved to astounding quality -- but right at the start it's sub-par.
That is all for now. Finishing the first show tonight and taking a few days' break til 12-10-71.
Listen To The River - Unboxing CD Box Set???
Looking forward to this.
Surprised that we really have not seen the box set.
It is the level of creativity to these packages that keeps winning me over.
Has anyone done an unboxing YouTube video yet?
The Dead.net web site really is not showing much.
Sunday delivery
USPS left it at my front door before 1pm.
Did a quick inspection and the box itself is an epic waste of space. Approximately 3/8 of the interior is just air. So, not just a waste of shelf space but also a waste of materials and resources.
Looks like my book was printed correctly.
CD cases are paperboard like 30 Trips and Road Trips.
Overall dimensions, for those who haven’t received it but want to know, it’s a little bit smaller than an LP vinyl case and about 3 inches thick.
Will give a first listen tonight.
1971 is really 1972. And 1972 is really 1973.
No box yet, but thinking along the lines of Hendrixfeaks last but one post, I would say that when I think of 1971, as a year, I tend to think of the 5 man and not the one with Keith and Donna in it. From the moment Keith joined the sound changed to that explored in 1972. So 1972, for me starts in October 1971 and ends with Pigpens last show in summer 1972. Which is when 1973 starts.
The same argument applies to earlier years to some extent, too. The division of the bands progress and sound as being typified by particular years is quite arbitarary, when you come to think about it.