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    You can listen to Grateful Dead records over and over again and never understand the attraction they have for certain people until you attend one of their concerts. Sometime during the Dead's usual five-hour set, it will all click: Jerry Garcia's Indian bead string of notes on the guitar, the ozone ooze of the vocal harmonies, the shifting, shuffling rhythm of bassist Phil Lesh and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, and the distant echo of the oldest of American folk music. - Columbia Flier

    "Certain people" will know that we're coming in hot with one that's got all these things and more, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 41: BALTIMORE CIVIC CENTER, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, 5/26/77. Yes, there's still plenty of spectacular May '77 to go around. Nearly chosen for Dave's Picks Vol. 1, 5/26/77 delivers three-fold. There's one count for the energy - all the precision of the Spring tour conjuring up the raw power of the Fall tour that was to come. There's another for the setlist which featured beloved songs from WORKINGMAN'S DEAD and soon-to-be favorites from the freshly recorded TERRAPIN STATION. And a third for its element of surprise (or shall we say surprises) from an astonishingly peak 15-minute "Sugaree" to new delights ("Sunrise," "Passenger," "Jack-A-Roe') to a rare first-set finale of "Bertha" to the second set's "Terrapin>Estimated>Eyes," traveling leaps and bounds towards the improvisational journey that is a nearly 17-minute "Not Fade Away." 

    Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 41: BALTIMORE CIVIC CENTER, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, 5/26/77 was recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

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  • proudfoot
    Joined:
    Trivia

    "yours truly on public saxophone"

    Who said that, and where were they?

    Answer correctly and win a smile

  • Crow Told Me
    Joined:
    That was Rich

    Wow, great story, Rich! Really nicely written. I could almost smell the back seat burning.

    Pretty sure I was at 7.13.84 along with Proudfoot. We used to call those early summer shows at the Greek the High Holy Days. I still wonder why there has never been a Greek box. Tape quality issues, maybe? I sure remember those shows fondly.

    I think maybe that particular show was the one where we decided to get a room at this motel on University Ave maybe a mile from the Greek. Which was convenient cos we were none of us in especially good shape for driving after the show. We had like six of us staying in a one bed motel room. We couldn't really sleep, for various reasons, but fortunately a party started up in the parking lot. The whole hotel was filled with Heads, evidently, because some guy started playing tapes out of his van, that night, but instead of complaining everybody just started hanging out in the parking lot, passing around beers and whatnot. I still remember this one couple, they might've been the owners/managers, they were older, the guy was wearing turban, and they were watching us all with wide eyed amazement, wondering who the hell were these crazy people and what was that music?

  • nitecat
    Joined:
    Third Listen - Dave's 40

    Ok I gave this Dave's release a third listen over the last few days. I really like it. I think Spring 90 was more together and energized, but Summer 90 is pretty damn good. I'm finding I like the second day, 7/19 a little better. It has a Foolish Heart, one of my favs, and some really great guitar work by Jerry throughout. The jam after Playin is really cool, as is the jam out of Uncle John's. I found myself playing those jams a few extra times, they were so good. Jerry sings with passion on all the ballads, even if his voice isn't as sweet as it used to be. The crowd singing the NFA chant at the end gave me shivers, and reminded me how much I loved to see the band with a crowd of deadheads. With such excellent playing, I even look forward to hearing the US Blues encore when we get it in a couple weeks. No shipping notice for me yet.

  • PT Barnum
    Joined:
    gr8 story Rich

    had an olds delta 98 that was as big as that biscayne, that back seat was literally a couch on wheels.

  • proudfoot
    Joined:
    And now

    I think I heard Airto on 4 22 79

    Probably cant be released

    Hot show. Ignore the sfb review in the compendium.

  • proudfoot
    Joined:
    The Great Trek To The Greek

    1984
    Drove from LA to Bay Area on 7 13 84

    Mike's 69 Ford LTD

    big ol' thang

    AC didnt work

    But it got us there and back

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Good story Rich

    Detroit Land Yachts.

    I’m not familiar with the Biscayne but in the mid-80’s my friend had a 67 or 68 Oldsmobile Luxury Sedan that could easily fit 8 teenagers comfortably.

  • Vguy72
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    Awesome story Rich....

    ....slow burn lol.

  • Rich McManus
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    Remembering Baltimore '77

    Burnin' the Seats of the Biscayne
    or
    Leavin' Town a Quart Fuller
    by Rich McManus

    The trip to Baltimore from the District of Columbia is virtually a straight run up the neck of a guitar--almost as invariant as a string. You get on I-95, point the car north and let about 30 minutes go by.

    My brother Tom was the wheelman for the ride up to catch the Dead at Baltimore Civic Center. He was then in his first year of law school and, with proceeds earned from pumping gas, had bought a 1962 Chevy Biscayne, which is basically a living room on tires.

    The bench seats, front and back, were full of guys. There was a cassette player, but it was one of those $89 models plugged into the cigarette lighter, with speaker wires trailing into the rear of the car where they attached to tinny speakers free to wander the car's rear deck as the vehicle pitched and rolled up the highway. At several points, the speaker wire was spliced by hand; once in awhile someone had to reconnect errant strands.

    The tape for the ride up had to be one I had just scored in Chapel Hill, where a kid named Ivan Spector had allowed me to dub cassettes from his reels. He had permitted me to copy an April 1977 WNEW radio performance including a song I had called "Inspiration," and another I labeled "California."

    So we had recent Dead to enjoy as we rolled up 95 on May 26, 1977. Somewhere along the way, a pipe was filled and passed across the expanses of the Biscayne interior. Hand to hand, to mouth, and front to back, crossways, frontways and oops, it fell into the crease in the back seat.

    "A prophet on the burning shore..." Ten minutes after the pipe had made its rounds, reports of the scent of smoke reached the driver. Some in the back seat complained of warm bottoms. But there was no smoke or visible flame, just a persistent odor of burning leaves.

    Tom pulled the Biscayne into a gravel lot near the Civic Center and we all hopped out, more curious now about the source of the smell than about the impending concert. We pulled the rear bench out, flipped it upside down and discovered an ever-expanding black circle in the straw matting that formed the interior of the seat: the thing was on fire, albeit a slow burn. The only thing with which to douse the sleepy blaze was cold beer. It seemed a shame to spend beer on the little fire, but that's what we did, then reloaded the bench in the car.

    On the walk up the ramps inside the Civic Center, I wondered if such a secret fire would outwit our attempts to extinguish it. Would there be just ashes when the show was through?

    We were in the balcony, on the left side as you faced the stage. Jerry was on the far side. All I really remember from that night is Bobby chastising the crowd for arriving late to the show, and Jerry grinning broadly as he rocked back and forth playing, the music rising out of him and his bandmates. They seemed like happy spectators at a circus they had called forth.

    The pipe came with us on the trip inside. There was a girl sitting by herself in the row in front of us. The custom in those days was to pass what you had around. I leaned over to interrupt her concentration on the show, but she declined. She couldn't take her eyes off the stage.

    Walking out after the show, I was convinced I'd just seen the best Dead show of my life. Which is exactly what I thought after leaving perhaps a dozen previous shows. "How can they play any better than that?" we wondered, worn out, giddy.

    "Roll on up, gonna roll back down." One of the guys in our group, Dan, was from Baltimore. He knew of a corner bar nearby where the bartender would fill any container you had with beer, call a price, and you could walk out the door.

    From somewhere within the acreage that is the trunk of the Biscayne, Tom produced an empty glass Tropicana jar. He disappeared into the corner bar, which on that May night was wide open, not even a screen on it, and emerged moments later with a frothing jug that the barman guessed was worth around $2.50.

    "Took a whole pail of water..." The seats were mercifully cool as we whisked down 95, passing the glass from mouth to mouth. The dirty little six-banger under the hood was purring that night, past exits and overpasses and open spaces that are no longer there. It would be almost 20 years before we learned that people taped the show that evening, and would share that show (thanks Rick Wurster and Tom Melvin!) with whomever showed an interest.

    Back then, it was as likely as your pants suddenly bursting into flames that the world's greatest rock and roll band would roll all over the world for 30 years, amaze everyone, and preserve performances--for that broad bench seat that is the future--that burn, unextinguishable, like a secret fire.

  • 1stshow70878
    Joined:
    Blues Interpreters

    Not my favorite interpreter but a Muddy & Wolf Joe Bonamassa at Red Rocks show is on PBS next Saturday. Probably an old one recycled for begging. I find him difficult to watch but there's no denying the skill of the once child prodigy. Virtually all the true blues legends have said speed doesn't equal soul, starting with the "British invasion" blues interpreters. But influencers they are and thankfully many of us did trace back the true roots eventually. Give me a Stevie Ray any day.
    Cheers

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You can listen to Grateful Dead records over and over again and never understand the attraction they have for certain people until you attend one of their concerts. Sometime during the Dead's usual five-hour set, it will all click: Jerry Garcia's Indian bead string of notes on the guitar, the ozone ooze of the vocal harmonies, the shifting, shuffling rhythm of bassist Phil Lesh and drummer Bill Kreutzmann, and the distant echo of the oldest of American folk music. - Columbia Flier

"Certain people" will know that we're coming in hot with one that's got all these things and more, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 41: BALTIMORE CIVIC CENTER, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, 5/26/77. Yes, there's still plenty of spectacular May '77 to go around. Nearly chosen for Dave's Picks Vol. 1, 5/26/77 delivers three-fold. There's one count for the energy - all the precision of the Spring tour conjuring up the raw power of the Fall tour that was to come. There's another for the setlist which featured beloved songs from WORKINGMAN'S DEAD and soon-to-be favorites from the freshly recorded TERRAPIN STATION. And a third for its element of surprise (or shall we say surprises) from an astonishingly peak 15-minute "Sugaree" to new delights ("Sunrise," "Passenger," "Jack-A-Roe') to a rare first-set finale of "Bertha" to the second set's "Terrapin>Estimated>Eyes," traveling leaps and bounds towards the improvisational journey that is a nearly 17-minute "Not Fade Away." 

Limited to 25,000 numbered copies, DAVE’S PICKS VOLUME 41: BALTIMORE CIVIC CENTER, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, 5/26/77 was recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson and has been mastered to HDCD specs by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. Grab a copy while you can.

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8 years 8 months
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First one in the door.

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11 years
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Khaaaaan!!!!!! Missed it by THAT much!

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11 years
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Yes! Finally no skeletons. The most stale album cover motif ever.... THANK YOU to the artist for not being lazy.

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I had just returned from six months in Germany with a pocketful of money. My friends and I left Glenmont in 2-3 cars, a bag of really good Colombian and some other goodies. When we got near the Calvert Whiskey sign in Baltimore the traffic slowed and this guy in a car next to me looked over, smiled, stuck his arm out the window and handed me a joint. The traffic began to move quicker and he went ahead. The Sugaree kicked ass. Little Feat played there a few days before if I remember correctly. Then Zeppelin played at the Capitol Centre in Largo, MD. a few days after this Dead show.

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then mentions "different eras." My money is on an '80s box. So unless it's '80 or '81 or from Red Rocks, that'll give me a year to catch up on llistening to my collection...

Ah, the tea leaves. Whatever makes me think I can read them? (I'd be guessing 50 years of hallucingens...)

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12 years 6 months
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Welcome to 2022!!!!!
PLAY DEAD
PLAY DEAD LOUD

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11 years 5 months
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Fancy meeting you all here...let's go! And yes to the no more tired skelly covers....and I'm just about completely recovered from my ice tumble from last month...thanks to all the well wishers here too...what a bunch!

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In reply to by nappyrags

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....Dave scared me at 9:55 in. I thought a meteor was heading his way!
Bald eagle though. Carry on.

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Dave's trivia:
Jack-A-Roe debuted 9 days earlier in Tuscaloosa. Similar intros; love that.
No summer tour with Mickey injured. Always wondered about that gap.
He's named the eagles.
And Baltimore Orioles on there too. Can I count that sighting?
Cheers

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In reply to by 1stshow70878

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I wonder if they were tempted to play a few shows in summer 1977 after Mickey fell off his hoss. If that's what happened-I forget. Would have been interesting if they had.

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In reply to by daverock

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Interesting you mention that juncture when Mickey was hurt.
A fascinating hypothesis of author Blair Jackson is the
big what-if - being what if Mickey hadn't had that accident
and Jerry had presented the next batch of Hunter songs in
the pipeline (Cats Under The Stars) and THAT became the basis
for which the Dead would have started the follow-up to
Terrapin as opposed the varied array of songs that make up
Shakedown Street. Interesting notion ...

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17 years
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There were 60 shows in 77. By my count, including Roadtrips, this is the 31st '77 show to be released. So, it's not even in the top half of shows for that year? In comparison, there haven't been 30 releases from the entire decade of the 80's and that includes the 30 Trips box. Sorry. Not sorry that I'm passing. Maybe we need someone with a new perspective.

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15 years 11 months

In reply to by L. Mo.

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Nice nod to the ubiquitous Baltimore Hon beehive hair style from the 60s on the two turtles gracing the cover.The annual HonFest here in B'More has a beehive hair competition to this day.(Good food, funky vibes and lots of local music) I think the turtle on the right is sporting a John Waters mustache. Hairspray anyone...?

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14 years 7 months
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Wasn’t Jack-a-Roe debuted 5/13/77, and not 5/17/77, as Dave and others have mentioned? It’s a good one!

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16 years 3 months
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Def a Hohn Waters reference. Also, anyone notice the crabs chests? One looks like a wolf howling in the left and the right a bird/eagle mid flap?

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3 years 10 months
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Always love the '77 Shows, but have to say that, the 80's were much better than releases reflect, and are due some serious consideration for more releases. Perhaps the most overlooked show ever is Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN on December 5, 1981. UNBELIEVABLY hot show. Are you listening, Dave? If you are, give it a listen!! Space>Wheel>Playing>Stella Blue>Sugar Mags is still smoking in my ears 40 years later. The jam and transition from Stella into Sugar Magnolia is FLAWLESS. 12/6/81 in Chicago the next night is pretty good too . . .

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In reply to by L. Mo.

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I am not a great fan of the 1980s, myself, but that matters not - I do agree with L.MO. that it would be good if we had someone with a new perspective involved in Dead releases. In my field of work, it was unusual to have someone in the same post for more than about 5 years. Having said that, and for better or worse, I was in the same one for over 20 - but that wasn't typical. It was generally considered to be a good thing to have fresh eyes and minds involved.

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I agree with Muffin. Definitely a howling wolf on the chest of the crab on the left. I see a crow on the chest of the one on the right. Did some Googleing last night and the tie ins to Baltimore they used on the cover are really cool. Thanks for those of you who posted about the connections.
I would have had no clue. That's what I love about catching up each morning. It seems that no stone is left unturned here. I am sure we all subscribe to DPs for different reasons. So far, the second release with the bonus disc has been worth the price of admission for me. Everything else is just added enjoyment. Some more than others. But they all bring enjoyment!

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It would be nice if they could release a Dave's Picks from each decade each year, one from the 60s, 70s 80s and 90s.. They might not have enough material from the 60s to do that, but that would be the best way if it were possible.

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If they sounded good they would release them. I think the 1989-1990 shows and box sets demonstrate that there is a desire to release great Dead from any period. It's too bad the high quality reel to reel Betty Boards were on hiatus in the 80s, They appear to have lost interest or budget. It's not as though they have not tried. There are some horrific sounding shows that I think were released as crowd pleasers. Someone here described one of the 80s Dave's Picks sound quality as listening to them through the keyhole of a closed door. The show was all but unlistenable. It's a shame, but it's like the 2nd half of 1970. The shows just are not there in any sort of quality that can be called passable.

Happy New Year all!

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I have not heard this show, but have a hard time imagining it holds up to 5/25 at The Mosque. That show is the gold standard of May 1977. In Dave I trust though. I will put in some time at Th Mosque before #41 hits my door mat. The smoothness and lack of warts on 5/25 was exceptional even for May 77.

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In reply to by Dark-Star

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Not seeing the howling wolf, but that doesn't mean it's not there. I like the crab (Maryland is for crabs), the Baltimore Oriole, the Terrapin (University of Maryland, home of the Terrapins), the beehive and the John Waters reference. One of the orioles even looks like it has a bit of raven in it.

The street scene has a Shakedown Street vibe to it too. Perhaps a nod to Gilbert Shelton (who does not appear to have much to do with Baltimore, but certainly the Grateful Dead).

I'm a fan of this show. Excellent recording, tight show. It works and is sort of on par with Dave's Picks 1.

Fire Lemieux? I don't see that happening anytime soon.

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Oh Dave why did you have to lumber us with 4 glasses again!?!?

Or, why not make the glasses like DaP's,,, sign up once and get all four?

But noooooooo, now every 3 months I need to watch for the release of the new glass and hope I don't get snookered on one of the glasses.

Thanks Dave!

:-) ( I like the glasses)

OK, maybe the axe was better.

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Hey rockers!!

I let TPTB know, in no uncertain terms, that should DL be fired, I would, on a strictly temporary basis, step up and assume the reins.

However, fans of post-hiatus shows might force my early retirement.................

Doc
Making tough decisions that may make someone unhappy is something to get good at doing......

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....to Dennis' point, the frenzy to get a glass is a reminder that even for the stoudt hearted there still remains a challenge or two to overcome. These reminders are appreciated. I also dig this artwork, and I've hung out in Balti many a time (my younger bro used to live there for about a decade) so it's a nice reminder of good times.

This show is super tight as well, haven't listened in a while but do recall. I never rebuke an Estimated > Eyes.

Be Well People.
Sixtus

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9 years 9 months
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billfgrady and DV had it right. First Jack-A-Roe 5-13-77 and second one 5-15-77 so 5-26-77 is goin' down the line.
Dave, how do you remember all those dates and shows? K for close on that one.
Cheers

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2 years 5 months
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Does anyone know where to change your shipping address for Dave's Picks subscirption people since they will automatically get sent to us?
Thanks in advance!

Hey Now!

You can reach out to GD customer service via email with your updated info and they should be able to assist. I had to do this 2 years ago when we moved and it was pulled off without a hitch.

Sixtus

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3 years 8 months
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There are certain jobs where you just have to accept it that you can't please everyone. President of the United States, Grateful Dead archivist, stuff like that.

Interesting to hear that this DaP marks the release of more than half (31 of 60) of all 1977 shows. But whether that glass is half empty or half full depends on how you slice the salami.

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14 years 9 months
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Just think how much better the GD would have been if they’d replaced the lead guitarist in 1976. I mean 11 years is enough for anyone. (/sarcasm).

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9 years 8 months
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With a little research I am seeing that John Waters’ Desperate Living was released in Baltimore on May 23 or 27, 1977. Not quite the perfect fit as found in the May 25 Richmond show coinciding with Star Wars but with this in mind, maybe Richmond was only selected for Vol 1 because of the all too perfect synchronicity for starting out the DaP series? And of the two, this is in fact the BETTER show???

I could give it much comparative thought when the release arrives…. and then my ears will remind me to simply enjoy.

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In reply to by Colin Gould

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Colin - I'm sure Dave would be chuffed at having his contribution to the overall scheme of things compared to Jerry's !
I wasn't trying to suggest that Dave should be "sacked", by the way - that would be unforgivable after all the great work he has done in preserving the Dead's legacy. Just that things could be refreshed if someone new was to have more input.
Having said that - 1977 may still be prioritised whoever is at the helm - its a popular year, and the main goal of Deadnet is to sell stuff. But to me it now sounds like very middle of the road Dead. As Todd Rundgren once sang - "You want the obvious-you get the obvious."

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16 years
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Hey rockers!!

If we get the obvious, where are the 1970 shows?????????

Just asking.................

Doc
It requires a very unusual mind to undertake the analysis of the obvious.......

According to the crack customer service team at dead dot net, there is only one way to handle address changes. You must contact customer service and have the subscription address changed to:

JimInMD
Baltimore Civic Center, Box 1968
Baltimore, MD 21211

(or you could do as Sixtus suggests, up to you) :D

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10 years 5 months
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Just one song? Just the US Blues from 13 years later? And 45 min of blank space? Why even bother putting a US Blues on there? None of the 5/22/77 material that was left off of DP3 is usable? Makes no sense to me. The Jack Straw, Ship of Fools and Other One> Stella Blue 5/18/77 could have fit, unless that show is a potential DaP, but that's why I allowed myself to hope that some of the missing 5/22 material would be used. Shame.

The Sugaree from this show is fantastic, and I liked the 2nd set Jam. The Jack a Roe sounds fantastic in the listening party, and love Jerry's use of the Octave Divider and MuTron on Uncle John's, a great sound.

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I concur both in reasoning and conclusions

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