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No 01163 just arrived here in northern Scotland. No hold-ups, fees, etc. - not even a customs sticker. I'm so happy!

Primo top shelf Grateful Dead! God Bless The Grateful Dead!

Ive already gone twice through this top to bottom and to my ears this is about as good as a box set gets - these shows are all so well played from such a prime era and the sound quality is exceptional. I love all the banter they caught as well - really adds to the whole vibe. There are so many highlights on each and every show but right now that Playin' from 12/17/72 is in my head. With a primer of some good indica that is a hell of a 23 minutes journey. Im sure the comparisons have been made before - but some of the deeper explorations on Dark Star/PITB/ Other One that the Dead were up to from 72-74 can remind me of the Miles Davis "Bitches Brew" era band. They were all so in synch and the when you can really hear what everyone is up to, it hits just how far into the jazz-funk-fusion they took it at times and howe damn good they were

I'm trying to take my time and really digest what i'm hearing. I've finished both 71 shows and the first night of the 72 run. I can't tell you how happy i am to have these - great shows, great sound. I'm going to take a couple days off before jumping back in (i also need to give my old eardrums a bit of a rest). Hope everyone is enjoying this...

SteveG, that's EXACTLY what I said when I heard the 13 minute version from 10-18-72. I'm assuming you meant the 23 minute PITB from 10-17-72. The improvisational but tight jazziness made me think of my fusion favorites Return To Forever and Weather Report. Billy IS a jazz drummer. My insight was also indica influenced. Have not found a sativa I really like! Many friends prefer the more cerebral high but for me the initial buzz usually feels more paranoid and most of the strains I've tried have a lousy flavor or aftertaste. Usually an immature greenness or plastic-y. And these are top shelf offerings. Where has all the Paonia gone? (CO W. Slope's equivalent to Humbolt/Mendicino) But I digress. Cheers!

Thanks for the correction on the date. Its the 10/17/72 version indeed. Ive been swimming with all these shows (and the accompanying indicas :) -since Saturday afternoon so Im getting a wee fuzzy :) YES! that 23 minute PITB is as good as any I can think of. Truly Exquisite.

Arrived last evening. Have not had the chance to listen yet, as I was finishing up a re-listen to to Get Shown the Light. Cannot cut that short without listening to all of Buffalo (Help > Slip > Franks, Music, and Comes A Time especially).

Still, everything looks mint. CD all there and look undamaged. Box undamaged. I like the outer box, I must say. Plus as a baldie, the GD bandana with the Listen to the River artwork on it was a cool & unexpected bonus! I get the space issues for the boxes, but most of them have a big box that cannot fit on the shelf (Europe '72, 30 Trips, both the Spring 90's, PNW, Giants). The ones that entirely fit are usually the smaller ones (Fillmore West, Winterland's, Warlocks, RFK). The May '77 and Red Rocks are the exception.

Only negative is the artwork (or lack thereof) on the CD cases. And I kind of like having the setlist on the back. But no biggie. I must say, I do like the artwork on the discs themselves, and the fact that the middle CD spot can come out either side and has a small cutout where it can be grabbed on both sides. That was a nice touch, the middle sucker can be a pain to get out sometimes. An improvement.

Cannot wait to listen, but gotta get finish 5/9/77 first. Some Pig, some primo '72 and jazzy '73. Cannot wait!

In the booklet saying the Dead were a jazz band playing rock & roll. With one drummer, that was certainly true the most from '71-'74.

there is one big bushy plant

they trim everything from that one big bushy plant

then they put it into different packages with different labels and prices

it's all the same stuff, in my opinion

Janis Joplin said, "It's all the same fucking day, man!"

I say, "It's all the same fucking weed, man!"

My beloved thinks I am crazy, but that's my personal opinion.

And it hasn't been the same since they made it legal, anyway.

Just my thoughts.

I need more time to "listen to the river", man!!!

"from Madison Square garden in famous New York city the Grateful Dead" Love it!

Unable to send apparently...anybody else?

What a box set. As others noted, there is a bit of an issue getting the cds safely out of the box, the 1972 shows tend to fall out of mine when I tip the box to remove a show. But really, long run I am going to remove them from the big box and store the shows with the rest of my CD collection. First World problems. Overall, it is a beauty and I like the extras.

Music-- I have only listened to two shows, 12/10/71 and 10/18/72. What exceptional concerts and really good recordings. Bob's and Jerry's guitars are really separated well, Phil pounds away (nice solo on the 72 Dark Star), Billy is always solid and ready to turn on a dime and Keith adds a lot of different piano runs. This is truly my favorite Grateful Dead with the straight up rock and roll of 71 and then the jazz fusion thing from late 72-74. Billy played jazz-style and don't underestimate Bobby's guitar licks under Jerry's lead driving the jazzy style of that era-- what did Bobby say, he channeled Tyner McCoy's piano chords? The Playing-Dark Star-Dew-Playing might be one of my favorite sequences ever. Wow!

Sound-wise, the first half of 10/18/72 has a bit of a buzz underneath, but it doesn't detract from the whole. There is also a patch in the Sitting on Top of the World from the 71 show, but that may be the best patch I have heard them use over the years. Can't wait to hear the entire box.

Overall, very happy with this box set. Exceptional choices.

I think I have sent you a PM- but it seems to have got tangled up with one I sent Marye a while back ! I'm not quite sure how that happened, so apologies to both of you if that's the case.

Just got mine, have not listened to anything yet but as usual great packaging. I wonder about showing DEAD on outside of cardboard outer wrapping. An incentive to steal perhaps. I knew when coming and own home so waited for mailperson. But if one lives in an apartment with smaller mail box do they just leave it on the floor? Also some little gifts not advertised or needed to sell it. Just some neat surprise additions.

The Fox Box rocks sonically and aesthetically. Great job and thanks to all involved! 71-‘73 high quality Dead! It gets no better. Displayed on the bookcase!

...in la belle province. Considering this whole set is a wonderful lead-up to my absolutely favourite holiday (or perhaps evilday), I'll take the compliment.

#01714 (Low Number) Has Landed In Conway, New Hampshire
Stoked

As others have pointed out, receiving a fancy boxset with Grateful Dead iconography prominently all over it is kind of asking for a mishap. I own my own house now but it wasn't that long ago that I was in an apartment, in a college town. Plus I am hearing many have received banged-up / dented copies of what is truly a work of art in terms of the sweet packaging. Why the heck can't Dead.net just package a box inside of a box and eliminate both of these risks? It's not as if we are getting this stuff for free, y 'know - people are handing over good money for these luxuries. I won't even comment on the fact that UPS Sure Post is also pretty skimpy. I feel lucky that -- this time! -- my package was not lost in some tracking limbo for days or weeks on end.

p.s. I burn CD-R backups and leave the discs in their cases. Best way to avoid scratches and falls, IMO..

Got mine yesterday, just now sampling the music and it's some exciting stuff. And I am another fan of Bill Kreutzmann as a jazz drummer. I know there is always a trade-off in the one drummer vs. two drummer equation but I can never help feeling like Mickey is holding back Billy from doing things are much more interesting and nuanced (this applies to Dead & Co as well, actually...). Yeah there are plenty of songs that would have been impossible with just one drummer, or at least inadequate, but plenty of others where I'll often find myself wishing Mickey would take a break, go and have a smoke or something, or maybe play hand percussion instead of trap kit. Billy had bonafide jazz chops (at least he did between 71-74) and could do really subtle stuff that just ain't possible with the "octopus".

I like the two drummer approach when the band was a six-headed, fire-breathing dragon, '67-'69, even through early '71, but his departure really gave BK opportunity to hone his contributions. After the hiatus, when the band launched from theaters into bigger joints, Mickey's return seemed to work out, although one poster has likened his drumming to "sneakers in the dryer," which I find both hilarious and pretty accurate. By the time the band had reached mega-popularity and the largest venues, Mickey helped BK make drumz-space a show in itself.

Still, I caught a few big shows with just BK and they sure did go over well. (RFK '73, Watkins Glen, Nassau Col 9/73...)

Yet, when I listen to 6-19-76, the drummers work like hand in glove. So it goes.

Quote of the day: "Where has all the Paonia gone?" That's a catchy little tune... (What the hell is Proudfoot smokin'?? It sure ain't all the same, judging from his enthusiastic "interjections"!!)

Just received # 08410. Very nice set!
Started with disc 2 of 10/18/72, Wow!, the Dark Star is like none I've heard before, unique jams abound, and sound quality is stellar!

Nice touch with the patch, stickers and bandana - Maybe the trouble with the downloads is the bandana is getting caught in one of them internet pipes somewhere.....

Anyone else have a quite noticeable skip after the count on BIODTL on disc one of 10/18/72?

Edit: Think it just a Weir vocal slip after the 14 count. Carry on!

Pony Express dropped off #11542 here in the great state of Ute-tah

A happy day indeed!!

Bolderdash, I was curious about your comment, "There are plenty of songs that would have been impossible with just one drummer." Just wondering which you thought those were? I can find stuff to love in every era, but '72-'74 -- peak one drummer -- is really my jam. What are the songs you think that just wouldn't work without two folks behind kits? I love hearing from other Heads about the stuff that might go by me.

You are off to a great start, but those Kraken jerseys are awesome.

He's the one in the GK shirt

have landed in the Bay Area and it looks fantastic. Reading everybodys comments, I'm sure it sounds fantastic too.

Who's that knockin' at my door at 8pm on a rainy Tuesday night? Why the friendly guy from UPS! Big surprise, but a very pleasant surprise at that!

Delivery notice on October 6th; delivery on October 12th - one week exactly. Record time. Maybe Dave put in a word on my behalf as a fellow Islander? Whatever the reason, grateful indeed.

Time to press "play".

well, "impossible" was too strong a word... Mostly I point to these below because they are all songs that I only know with the two of them (I'm not up to speed on Billy & The Kids and I need to fix that). These come to mind:
Help->Slipnot>Franklin's
Lazy Lightning>Supplication (and yes I know Kingfish did it first with just one drummer but still..)
Samson & Delilah
Fire On The Mountain
*St. Stephen (originally left this out because it seemed obvious)
Dancing In The Street
...probably a few others, but yeah not a huge list really..

So, obviously not "impossible", they can and have been executed by just one drummer. Maybe I was trying to throw a sop to the Mickey-heads out there. I appreciate the extra texture and occasional poly-rhythms of having eight limbs on those, is all.

Regarding "sneakers in a drier", I've heard that phrase used just to describe the Dead's drum sound in general during the 1980s, or maybe more specifically Healy's mix of the drums. But it probably does come down to Mickey. I've noticed he is playing with some kind of BDSM toys instead of sticks now, too...

....definitely worth checking out on relisten dot net.
Good game. That was a deflection, not a kick.
Seattle sweaters are sweet.

Bolderdash - I assumed you were talking about the 1967-1970 period when you suggested that some songs sounded better with two drummers. To me, everything they played sounded great ( not necessarily better) with two drummers up until about mid 1969. When they started playing more country based material, the great 7 man band suddenly sounded a bit cumbersome to me. They still cooked on the jams, but I'm not sure Mickey-or T.C. come to that, had much to say on "Uncle John's" and the country covers. Something that stymied 1970, to my ears, a bit.

As for when Mickey rejoined - I don't know about that. It would have been interesting to hear Help-Slipknot Franklins with just Bill. What I will also say, though, is when I saw them at Wembley, on 11/1/90, drums and space were the most enjoyable sections of the show. Very powerful and out there - it doesn't really come across on recordings.
To pick a song that defined the two drummer power, I would go for "The Eleven". "The Other One" also rocked like never again between 1968-70 - my favourite ever version being 5/2/70. It became totally different after Mickey left, and even more so when Keith joined. Still execeptional, but with completely different dynamics.

Help Slip Franklin may have sounded better with just Billy. I'm all for Mickey during the primal Dead years, but compare just about anything from the 1 drummer period to the same song in the 2 drummer period, and 9x out of 10 it sounds better with Bill alone. 2 drummers detract from a lot of those early songs. Mickey's one great contribution after his return was composing FOTM. For the most part I prefer Scarlet Begonias with 2 drummers but was it worth the trade off? Not to me. Then all the sudden Bobby is playing weird sounding guitars and changing his style to find his sonic place on stage and Keith was just sitting back going who is this guy and why is he kissing my wife? Not to mention making more noise than a busted chainsaw. I can't hear my piano, time to get a louder electric one.

Awesome box set, a dream come true.

Something's wrong with private messages, can't find the one I sent you yesterday, or any from this year.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the Starday box...

very interesting opening with "Truckin" unusual usually a second setter. Also the longest tune of the night.

I can do either. Though I do think the two drummer adds quite a bit with more going on in the background and ups the energy at times.

That was a damn funny post. Thank you.

Vguy - looked to me like a kick, but nothing I will ever lose sleep over.

Hoping to get to the box tonight.

PMs are not working.

but no one listened to me

sports...be gone!

I have to agree: in most cases BK > BK + MH.

Two drummers were indeed great during the primal Dead years, and I wouldn’t change a note of Live Dead or just about anything else I’ve heard from ’69. And there are years like ‘77 when the two drummers were really working together well. But I think that there are reasons that the Dead were at a peak from ’71-’74, and one of them is that BK had a lot more freedom when he didn’t have to worry about what Mickey was doing, and he played with incredible finesse and responsiveness to what the band was doing and better dynamics than we usually got with the two drummer lineups.

And he was funky! For whatever reason, Bill always seems to have a little New Orleans in his bass drum playing, and he kind of invented his own brand of laid back funk (with that New Orleans accent on the end of four) that you can hear on Tennessee and He’s Gone and some others.

To my ears, Mickey’s fills are often not in time, and I think it sometimes messes up what Bill is doing, that always bugs me. Not a big fan of cowbell, either. But the main thing that happened with two drummers in the later years is that the drums got louder, and there was a heavier accent on 2 and 4, and maybe that needed to happen when the Dead started playing football stadiums, but for me the music just loses some of the funk and some of the jazziness it had with just Bill. IMO, and all the other standard disclaimers about this being only what I hear, and you are free to dig on whatever version of the band floats yr proverbial boat. Meanwhile, I’ll be digging the StL set, in large part for its large doses of BK.

Somebody said, Is there funk after death?

Cousins...sorry, I've just tried again, starting with a new message - but it's just rebounded back to me.
The Starday box is a great historical document, looks beautiful and has a great hard back book full of information on the recordings and artists. It features more hillbilly than rockabilly - which is slightly outside my comfort zone. But none the worse for that. The sound quality is good-bearing in mind the fact that this were originally very rudimentary recordings.
Incidentally, I bought this box on the strength of two 3 cd sets I got last year of recordings made on the Starday label-named respectively "It's Saturday Night !" and "Teenage Blues". They are on the budget Fantastic Voyage label-but sound great - more weighted towards rockabilly, and featuring many tracks that are on the big box.

Sorry for jamming up space with a non Dead post. Still enjoying the new box. Superb the way Truckin", on 12/10/71, starts to move into a different dimension as it winds down. The music up to this point seemed more earth bound - which is fine-I am not a creature of the air - but the show, and the box as a whole, really takes off from this verison of "Truckin" onwards.

Nice to see your thinkin', Bolderdash. Fun to imagine what some of that later stuff would've sounded like with only one person behind a kit. I can picture a few things where leaner might not be better.

yeah, i received the box, it's beautiful if not totally practical in design, but then how practical is it to buy a $200 set and then proceed to listen to all of it for free on the archive while waiting for it (which is what i did), so i obtained a tape including most of the 2nd set of 12/10/71 during the one year i lived in st louis (during 11th grade), and even though my old tape had a minor warble especially on a couple of the early tunes it sounded so great and so different from the modern dead of that era (1983), i wore it out, it was one of my first early 70's jam tapes, now with dozens and dozens of primo early 70s other ones easily available i still think 12/10/71 is a stand-out, i never even considered until last night that sittin on top of the world with its "mississippi river so big and wide" opening line makes perfect sense in that particular river town, i have always loved the piano sound with all that sustain pedal action in Dec 71, i have listened to all the 71 discs so far and they sound perfect, and so glad they included the hilarious banter prior to the 12/10 /71 truckin, my old tape had it but versions on the archive don't, thanks

#859 and in one piece. Love the 70's. Jeff Smith, has yours arrived as I'm ripping to the computer now and missing ur great covers
drp out

I placed an order 2 weeks ago for a St. Lous long sleeve shirt. You took my money, but my item still hasn’t shipped. I tried to contact customer support, but the phone number no longer works. I sent an email, but no response. The lack of support for a band this rich is maddening.

My box will likely arrive today. I'll update later with number. I hope it's 00420. Thanks Dead.net!

To contact Customer Service you should use the contact formula which can be found at

store.dead.net/contacts

I'm pretty sure telephone and email contact has been rendered obsolete and is no longer possible.

Yeah. I did that too. Got a reference number, but no reply.

Mine arrived today. #7985. I figured out why they didn't do an unboxing video. How would you do it? It would be a lot of fumbling around.

The problem with these CD slipcases is the minute you pull a CD out of the case you will have scratches. Same issue with E72 and 30 Trips. I really prefer the digi packs they use for the Dave's, PNW, 90s box sets etc.

Looking forward to the music!

Box arrived today.
1) Does anyone have the artwork for the individual shows?
2) Lots of scratches, thinking condition of CDs may have played a part in the delay. Anyone have Dr Rhino contact info?
Thanks in advance!

Real cool, man. The box itself has its problems but the music is what counts. I have a few minor scratches on disk 10 (of course it the Darkstar disk) but it is what it is. Book is real cool and the extras are cool too. The first disk is sounding great. It's nice to hear new releases close to the 60s. Nice banter too. The picture of keith having a smoke might be the coolest pic.of the year.

Box# 00420 delivered at 4:20 Pm CST :-) :-) :-)

This kind of stuff RARELY happens to me. So I am sooooooo HAPPY!!!!!!!!!

Thank you Dead.net for my early Birthday and Christmas present!

What a WONDERFUL surprise. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!