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.
She comes on like a rose
Poison Ivy - o whoa o whoa. Get off the road before she gets crossed - or you're like to get your rear end tossed.
Mr Show
Of all the wonderful side trips to pop up here, never thought Mr Show would. Makes sense it would be the HR Pufnstuf skit. What a brilliant sketch show. Up there with Monty Python, early SNL, and SCTV. Their segues put them much more in line with the Pythons, and of course being in the 90s and on HBO, they could take sketch comedy into R rated areas SNL couldn't. May have to pull out the DVDs and fire up Jeepers Creepers Superstar, some Ronnie Dobbs, recall their take on all those secessionist nuts from Montana in the mid-90s who tried to create their own countries, the wonderful Super Pan, which reminds us only British people can fly, and don't trust pans. All from the warped minds of Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. Most of their players would go on to pretty big careers afterward as well. Some really good stuff. The best of it is like that 10/17/72 Playing in the Band, which is up there with 11/18 and 11/15. But as with all sketch shows, some of the sketches fail to hit. Definitely worth checking out if you like weird humor such as Monty Python.
This Box is hot, hot, hot
Started the day with 12-10-71, now working my way through 10-17-72 and currently on PITB which is mighty fine.
testing testing testing
1 2 3
Apparently no dots are allowed so I am going to go without punctuation
Just wanted to note there is an alternate lyric on BT Wind from Kiel 73
Listen To The River 1973
Excellent audio. That's funny Wilfred T - I could have though sworn he sung something different. Kinda like Veneta's Clover Leaf Town.
Stillwaters
Thanks for the scans. I just saw it in my PM and still needed them. I really appreciate it.
Wilfredtjones says no dots are allowed....
....we'll see about that.
Just finished 10.19.72. The Other One is stellar! Classic '72. What's not to like? I skipped 10.18. Already jumped forward and listened to 10.30.73.
Going with 10.29.73 next, then will wrap it up with 10.18.72 for the win!
Going to check out Dune in IMAX tomorrow. I hear it's a visual and auditory treasure. Courtesy of Hans Zimmer. Plus, it's directed by the same guy that directed Blade Runner 2049, which was incredible. Love me some IMAX. It's the wall of sound in movie format. Worth the extra $.
I can only surmise
as my posts were getting rejected earlier dot dot dot
Stoned me bought tickets for Dune....
....for what I thought was tomorrow. Turns out stoned me bought tix for tonight. To the Batcave son!!
We both loved it. Amazing cinema.
The skull is nature's sculpture…….
50 years ago today………….
Skullfuck aka The Skull Album aka Skull & Roses was released………..
Bertha [4/27/71]-Mama Tried [4/26/71]-Big Railroad Blues [4/5/71]-Playing In The Band [4/6/71]-The Other One [4/28/71]-Me & My Uncle [4/29/71]-Big Boss Man [4/26/71]-Me & Bobby McGee [4/27/71]-Johnny B. Goode [3/24/71]-Wharf Rat [4/26/71]-Not Fade Away/Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad [4/5/71]
The expanded version released in 2003 includes “Oh Boy” and “Hog For You Baby” from the Manhattan Center show of April 6, 1971, as well as a short radio spot. Organ overdubs performed by Merl Saunders were used on Bertha, Playing In The Band, and Wharf Rat. Recording by Betty Cantor and Bob Matthews, artwork by Alton Kelly, photography by Bob Seidemann. It was the first Grateful Dead album to be certified “Gold” by the RIAA.
IMHO, a very fine live album, which we loved dearly and played the ever-loving sh*t out of. But, as fine as it was and is, could it have been better? Maybe. Could’ve done without the drum solo. Why no Hard To Handle? Where was the Morning Dew? And could you imagine IF this has been a 3 record set? That would have been crazy, man, crazy!!!!
A remastered 50th anniversary edition was released on June 25, 2021. It did not include the bonus tracks that were found on the 2003 re-issue. However, it did include a bonus disc with material from the July 2, 1971 Fillmore West show. GREAT BIG THANKS!!!
This was the first 1971 live Dead we ever heard, and it sounded mighty fine! And yes, rockers, I still listen to it, it’s been part of the soundtrack to my entire adult life…………
Rock on!!
Doc
Erudition - dust shaken out of a book into an empty skull…..
Too low they build, who build beneath the stars……
50 years ago today…..
October 24, 1971
Eastown Theater, Detroit, Michigan
Set 1: Sugar Magnolia-Deal-El Paso-Tennessee Jed-Jack Straw-China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider-Playing In The Band-Black Peter-Candyman-One More Saturday Night-Casey Jones
Set 2: Truckin'-Ramble On Rose-Mexicali Blues-Dark Star>Me And Bobby McGee-Cumberland Blues-St. Stephen-Johnny B. Goode
Deadicated to FLH, DarklordBerto, dewajack, docmarty, m-skjellyfetti, Cousins Of The Pioneers, simonrob, lycanthrope51, snafu, and otheronerat, because it was a day of rest……..
Super rare Sugar Mags to kick it off. Fine mid first set China/Rider. Unusual, two back-to-back Garcia songs in the first set. Solid Truckin’ to open the second set. Excellent 71 Dark Star, possibly Latvala’s favorite of the year (10/24/71 Dark Star: Killer. “He loved this Dark Star and thought it was out of place for 1971, feeling more like 1969.”).
You don’t hear a lot about this show, but there’s certainly a lot to like here…….
What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?
Rock on!!
Doc
And he that strives to touch the stars,
Oft stumbles at a straw…..
with all the AUD patches
I dont know if 10 29 73 would have otherwise been released for a long time
Makes me doubly glad it was included in this box set release
Really satisfying show I think I may have now come around for my 3rd full listen on it with varying states of attention
All the AUD patches
Makes you wonder if the person doing the recording that night maybe had a little too much too fast and wasn’t paying attention.
I haven’t done a close inspection but assume that the patches are a result of the reel running out of tape.
I’m also glad that both nights at Kiel were released, even with patches.
10/29/73
A great high energy show - definitley worthy of release in my opinion. I always prefer listening to great shows with occassional sound issues to pristine sounding recordings of average shows. Liking 1974, it's just as well, really. That vocal drop out on 5/19/74 ? - no problem here with that, either.
My judgment so far
12 9 71 is ok
12 10 71 is good
10 17 72 is decent
Still waiting for a mindblower
10 18 72 I have heard in the past and I know it's hot
I'M LISTENING TO SEVERAL RIVERS (all in the new box)
A Box from dead.net is always like a Xmas present: it makes you feeling happy and it's full of surprises and discoveries. This time it's Keith Godchaux's playing that comes forth as inventive and rolling as I've heard it seldom before. Also Phil sometimes is the master of ceremonies. And Jerry's guitar is just wonderful singing full of emotion and inspiration. I've only listened to about a quarter of the box, but I can say this is Grateful Dead like I've seldom heard them before. Than Kew! :-) Dig it! Mr. RNB aka Romeo Nathan Bumann
Book missing pages???
The book in my boxset is missing pages 17-20 and pages 21-24 are repeated. Anyone else encounter a book printing issue? Curious if anyone else has noticed an incorrect printing. I have #8,212. I reached out to customer service to see what they can do.
Box
Carlo, I believe that’s a splice.
71 shows have really stood out for me? Sound is amazing on those, especially Kieth. Is he playing an upright on these?
72 kinda got blurred as I played them too much on a loop while working in the garage a few weeks ago.
Remember some awesome TOO spacey weirdness in there somewhere, and of course that 10/18 Playing sandwich is the stand out as I knew it would, but I need better solitary listens to the rest.
The 73s I’ve not listened to as much just because of time etc. first nights ok; fall 73 status quo, but the last night seemed to stand out more, especially that disc 20 like I knew it would!
So I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard, and I’ll definitely be giving them some more proper attention when time allows, but eventually, I’m sure I’ll only listen to a few of the big jam discs on any regular basis. Those 2 Dark Star discs alone were worth the price of admission to me! On the other hand, the repetitiveness isn’t helping my major early seventies burnout…
Overall, I’d consider this one of the better boxes.
Proudfoot
Is good better than decent?
I'm a little slow out of the gate on this box, but i've made it through the two '71 shows. 12-10 beats out 12-9. After my fist listen it almost feels as if there's a missing reel for 12-9. A nasty Hard to Handle, Dark Star Wharf Rat that fits in right before the Sugar Mags - lost to the ravages to time and circumstance and so mind blowing that no one remembers it happened. One can dream.
Sound quality on disc 15, track 10
El Paso sounds like it was punched in from a bad audience tape, it's horrible. I do realise these are not going to sound like a modern live recording, but I was not impressed. I am not an obsessive with the Dead gigs, so would have be happy for El Paso to have been left off. Otherwise the set is pretty good.
Oro
I never heard a splice like that. I'm not sure why a splice would sound muffled. Thanks. I dont know much about the process of splicing on dats or cassette masters. I am intrigued about learning more about this process. I was the type of kid growing up where I would visit friends or family members and when I wanted to know how a clock or anything with gears worked , I would secretly take it apart to see the works. Reassembling it was a different matter.
Carlo
YouTube has a few videos on tape splicing.. if you type Splicing a Tape from YouTube, there are several videos on it.
I'd paste the Lancelot linque but I'd surely be sent to Rhino Jail.
I have had to splice several dozen tapes over the years.. especially 8 tracks. They were always getting eaten up by the car... argh. Cassettes too, but only my favorite, hard to replace soundboards.. never the crappy audience tapes. My splices were low tech.. break out the scotch tape and razor blade and call it a day.
Jim
I thought the splicing technique that the people who master all the Dave's pics and boxes was a more complicated process. I used to splice lots of live dead cassettes back in the day but never thought it was the same basic process in these shows, sans scotch tape. I remember turning live shows on cassette tape into Frankenstein tapes by taking screws, wheels, pressure pads and plastic friction film from my sisters reo speedwagon and def leppard tapes. I still haven't told her.
P.S.- thanks for the info.
The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing…..
50 years ago today…..
October 26, 1971
The Palestra, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
Set 1: Bertha-Playing In The Band-Sugaree-Me And My Uncle-Tennessee Jed-Big Railroad Blues-Me And Bobby McGee-Cumberland Blues-Cold Rain And Snow-Mexicali Blues-Loser-Beat It On Down The Line-El Paso-Comes A Time-One More Saturday Night
Set 2: Ramble On Rose-Sugar Magnolia-Truckin'>drums>The Other One-Johnny B. Goode
Deadicated to Nugent7453, Lovemygirl, 1stshow70878, CaseyJanes, Born Cross Eyed in 1956, 80sfan, Vguy72, jminner, and woodstock950, because Tuesday’s gone……..
For some reason, there was a weird dip in western New York…………
Solid, if unspectacular, first set, followed by a weirdly short second set. Go figure,,,,,,
For some strange reason, in 2005 it was officially released as part of the Digital Download Series. Go figure…,.,..
Still, the Truckin’ and Other One are nice. Here, Garcia’s tone and approach are different than the usual creamy smooth late 71----ragged, jagged, angry, chaotic. Not first tier, or even second, but still worth an occasional listen…….
Rock on!!
Doc
I've been wrestling with Kafka since I was an adolescent
I also spliced cassette tapes with scotch tape
My car tape deck ate a lot of cassettes.
I got pretty good at smoothing out the wrinkled portions that weren’t destroyed, cutting out the ruined part, and making the splice.
I always put the scotch tape on the back side so that it didn’t drag over the head.
The wrinkled parts of the tape would then be all distorted when it played.
re 10/26/71
I heard that show over the summer
the 2nd set is a monster
it isn't a two hour set, but it is potent
Re: Oroborous post
That mirrors my experience listening to the box.
The '71s really stood out. I had a prior bootleg copy of the Fox show (radio broadcast) but these sound better. Keith is just amazing. I usually give the boxes a once over listen to make sure the discs are OK, but I had to go back & listen to the '71's twice!
Which may have led to the '72s kind of blending together. Lot of song repetition as well. Though the bend towards more jazzy/spacey jamming 8s evident (Bird Song, Playin', Eyes in '73, etc).
There was a funny moment in a Playin' where Donna is about to scream as the Reprise crescendo's, but her voice crumbles & she cannot scream, so Bobby does it for her. Think it was the '73.
I'd much rather have patches than songs missing. No issue there. The out of order last show bugs me a touch, but that is nit picking. Excellent stuff.
We got a lot of full '71s the last couple years. 2/18/71 on the AB 50th with Mickey and the show a couple nights later without him on the AB 50th. Plus the 7/2/71 chunk on Skull & Roses 50th. And now these with Pig & Keith. Last Keith only was Dave's 26 8n 2018.
re: tape woes/ConeKid & Others
...same exact thing with the distortion on this end; in particular, I recall having a really good copy of the 7/8/78 Red Rocks show, and right during the start of Eyes of the World, the tape got messed up and flipped over, but remained in tact like that; so there is a bit of a warble at that spot and then for like 6 seconds, it's the other side of the tape playing which happens to be during a segment of Space, and Donna sounds like she's quietly 'WoooOOOooing' for a few moments; then the tape flips back over, and into the first verse of Eyes.
That awesome tape was forever warbled with a backward flip - but it still worked.
Ahhh, cassette days of yore. We all can relate I'm sure.
Be Well People!
SIxtus
I Was Only Following Orders
I can understand it if they have to shuffle the song order sometimes to make things fit, although I think it’s a little surprising they did it with the 10.30.73 show in this set. By the time we’re all spending $200 for 20 CDs, I don’t think anybody would’ve complained if had to pay a couple bucks more for one more disc, even if it had a short running time. But yeah, that feels nitpicky to even notice, given all the good and great music they just dropped on us.
As long as I’m picking this particular nit: I actually wondered about the song order for 10.18.72. Just because it seemed weird to go from that incredible PITB>drums>DS>MD>PITB sequence and then into Deal and Promised Land, before closing with Brokedown/Saturday/Casey. Also, the guitars are pretty out of tune by the end of that long sequence, and there is a tuning break before Brokedown. Which made me think: I wonder if the actual song order went from the long PITB sammich into Brokedown and then the two rockers at the end? And maybe Deal and Promised were earlier in the second set?
That kind sorta makes sense, but then I checked the set lists posted online for that show online, and they seem to have the songs in the same order as presented in the StL box. So it was just my imagination, running away with me. Again.
Time, he’s waiting in the wings, he speaks of senseless things.
Song order
1 more CD?
There’s enough empty space in the interior of that Box for another 15-20 CD’s.
Adding another CD so that the songs could have stayed in order would have actually made room for some filler…..
But I’m not griping, this Box is awesome and I corrected the song order when I copied the CD’s to my computer and then loaded the shows onto my music players.
Tape-munching car tape deck
My problems were all with commercial cassettes I bought in the 80’s.
I started collecting GD shows in 91 and had a different car that didn’t wreck any ‘valuable’ tapes as far as I can remember. By the late-90’s I had built a pretty decent sounding cassette collection and used the older cassettes with crappier sound to make copies of my better sounding cassettes and then kept those copies in the car. That way if they got wrecked they were just copies.
Patching tapes and tape decks....
....tapes broke. Taped. Connecting several tape decks together recording shows. There was always one guy who wanted to record double speed. He was kicked out unceremoniously.
I recall the Nakamichi Dragon being the big dick on the block back then.
Everyone loved that guy.
I still have all my tapes btw.
Just Googled the Dragon tape deck. For $2100, you can own one!!
We are all living memorials……
50 years ago today…..
October 27, 1971
Onondaga War Memorial Auditorium, Syracuse, New York
Set 1: Casey Jones-Me And My Uncle-Deal-Jack Straw-Tennessee Jed-Beat It On Down The Line-Sugaree-Playing In The Band-Comes A Time-Mexicali Blues-Big Railroad Blues-Cumberland Blues-One More Saturday Night
Set 2: Bertha-Me And Bobby McGee-Ramble On Rose-Sugar Magnolia-Brown Eyed Women-Truckin'-Not Fade Away>drums>jam>Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad>Not Fade Away
Deadicated to stopbath, sherdeep, Butch, Syracuse78, unkle sam, snoone, seabird17, iGrateful, baltimoretool, and Erikandjenn , because hump day…….
Even an “average1971 show” has its high points…………
Speaking of which, here the Dead start off high. Decent doses of country-western-Weir-Bakersfield. Fine, hard rockin’ conclusions to both sets. Maybe not classic, but certainly worth a listen!
Rock on!!
Doc
But what is a memorial, when you come right down to it, but a commemoration of wounds endured……
I'm Back with a Big Grin
Guess everybody's got the Listen to the River cover art they need by now. Sounds like Stillwater stepped up too. Thanks! I just got back from the Dead & Company shows in Dallasn (w/ Billy) and Colorado (w/o Billy). My box landed while I was away.
Anyway, I'll still scan and tweak the box, and email a lynx to those who've sent me their email address in case you still can use 'em. Sorry for the delay. (But not that much: D&Co and the tribe were long overdue and definitely restorative.) Onward.
65 years ago...
On a Saturday morning on October 27th, 1956, I came into this world. I'm looking younger than my 65 years, but feelin' older with aches and pains, etc...
Sometime in the early 70s, probably 1971, I heard Truckin' on the FM radio, and not too long after that, I heard a truncated version of Truckin' on an AM station. About that time, I was in a records music department of a department store and saw the Truckin'/ Ripple 45r.p.m. 7" single for a mere 49 cents and I bought it!
On Sunday, June 10th, 1973 I went to my 1st rock concert, which was a Grateful Dead & Allman Brothers Band extravaganza. If you were there, you know the events...
This Listen To The River box set encompasses my early GD experiences.
Now I'm listening to a beautiful stereo soundboard (or pre-FM) recording of 10/27/1971, following forensenicdoceleven's tribute to almost all, if not all, and probably all of his favored year of 1971.
I always found 1971 to be very enjoyable, one of my favorite GD years, and thanks to Doc, has helped me rediscover the wonders of nature of GD 1971.
Happy Birthday BCE
Happy Birthday Born Crossed Eyed!
What a run. I am sure quite the experience to get your start in 73, pretty sweet.
Sad to say
I still have a double deck used for transferring tapes. The last time I did that was late 90's or so. Have a bunch of tapes but when I found archive and official releases, I cooled to the tape swapping thing. Sux, cause life got busy and lost contact to some great friends...
Oh yeah got the box a couple weeks back but still havent busted it open yet. Hopefully. Friday afternoon.
Jeff Smith...seeing Dead and Caravan I am sure was fun. Meant to say thanks a year ago when you posted Don Pearson's obituary. Sorry, am moving much to slow these days. I still have some things to post about Meyer and Ultrasound, and my last 6 weeks of development.
Hope all are well!!!
G
Happy bday BCE
You and Hendrixfreak should be rewarded with a GD/ABB Box that includes all the 73 shows.
I would buy it immediately.
Right On BCE'd
Great to hear from you, happy birthday and a great little tidbit regarding your first show. Talk about a grand entrance. You could have just hung up your hat with the satisfaction that you might never see another concert as good as that adventure in DC. Holy cow. A sort of drop the mic moment.
Again, happy BD, wishing you many, many more..
Happy belated birthday Born-Cross Eyed....
....onward!!
I'm a sucker for birthdays. My Google calendar is jam packed.
Which reminds me, my longest known friend Ty, who I've known since I was 8, turns 50 on the 29th.
He currently lives in Chicago. I should go visit him unannounced lol.
UPS to UK charges
Hi, to any UK folks who have been charged a lot of VAT/import duty by UPS. I was charged £107, £67 of it COD and then I got another invoice for £43. I challenged both charges. It took a long time to find someone at UPS who could do something about it. it's like the blind leading the partially sighted there. Anyway, in the end I got a reply saying I had been overcharged because UPS had entered the wrong commodity code in the HMRC system. They confirmed I had been over charged, the correct charge being £30.55.
If you think you have been overcharged , challenge it. I think Brexit has caused this confusion.
UPS charges
Thanks for that information, Tony. I live in the UK and was charged £63.15 extras for the box. I phoned them up to challenge them, and I was told it was the correct figure, made up from £17.58 duty, £34.07 VAT and £11.50 surcharge - whatever that is. I just let it go, but maybe I will ring them back later today. I wasn't charged anything extra for the "Light Into Ashes" double album, though.
REM Sleep and weird goings on
Had a weird dream this morning. I guess I was at a D&C show, on the lawn. Not sure because venue seemed small. My freaky friend was there. The friend I havent seen in almost 2 decades. Not sure if I bought the item/package, but felt more like USPS delivered the item to me at the show. The item included 2 complete shows on CD and 2 shows on DVD. As I opened it, the items inside contained incredible artwork so much that I was amazed by it and was sorting thru the stuff when many more people showed up. That caused me to get a little apprehensive that some one would walk off with something. The only show that I got too look at closely was 4/12/89. Unsure if I have heard it, but probably so 30+ years ago, as I saw multiple shows that tour but not that show. Set list looks tasty. The package also included an incredible tie-dye, I mean that late 80's lot tie dye with intense official GD silk screening copyrighted artwork. It also contained about say a 20X30 image of the artwork from 8/13/75, One from the Vault, printed on high quality and durable cloth. Now that thing was sweet. Last thing I remember was saying something to my freaky friend. Maybe he will come back into my life sometime soon...who knows? One of the most vivid dreams I have had in a long time.
more on UPS
Hi daverock
The 11.50 is what they call disbursements and it is a handling charge. I did have to pay that as well. I looked at the gov.uk site and import duty is 2.5%. or less. I used a tool on the simplyduty site and it says duty is 0, I am not sure about that. The HS code is 85234910 for music CDs.
WEA also have a role to play here as when I finally got hold of someone at UPS who could help, they sent me a copy of the WEA import document and they had the HS code as 6103.22, which is cotton clothing, T-shirts etc.
It's a mess really. I will think twice before ordering another set, especially after hearing the poor audio quality on the '73 shows in this set.
More on UPS
Thanks Tony57 and Dave Rock,
At least i am not alone.
After being annoyed and bemused at what I thought was excessive UPS charges of £63.15 which i reluctantly paid . And had not got anywhere with emails to UPS or Dead.net. I recieved an invoice/reciept from UPS in the post that I opened today, and it lists the make up as £11.50 Disbursement Fee, £17.58 Duty and £34.07 VAT on a Merch Value of £ 146.56 ($199.98 * 0.7328). I have just spent an hour or so on gov.uk and using their calculator (code 8523492000) all I should have paid was about £29.30 - just VAT and No Duty. I have a UPS number at Feltham to call - fingers crossed. But what a ******* mess.