WHAT'S INCLUDED:
- Lyceum Theatre, London, England (5/23/72)
- Lyceum Theatre, London, England (5/24/72)
- Lyceum Theatre, London, England (5/25/72)
- Lyceum Theatre, London, England (5/26/72)
- Sourced from recordings by Betty Cantor, Janet Furman, Bob Matthews, Rosie & Wizard
- Mastered by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer David Glasser
- Restoration and Speed Correction by Plangent Processes
"What fans heard in these four {Lyceum} shows was both a history of the Dead and a survey of their unique vision of American music, from folk to rock, with blues and R&B and country-and-western and Bakersfield all included, all melded together by the improvisational spirit of American jazz in a small-group format that owed much to European classical music.
The repertoire made a statement: this is who we are. And while that honored their roots and surveyed their history and evolution, the overwhelming focus was on the present. At the Lyceum, showgoers heard a tapestry of music that knit together the disparate strands of the ’60s psychedelic baroque of AOXOMOXOA and LIVE/DEAD with the Americana turn epitomized by WORKINGMAN’S DEAD and AMERICAN BEAUTY, which in many ways both continued and culminated in Skull and Roses. English fans were especially delighted to hear the new songs — for fans accustomed to bands using concerts to promote their records, that kind of generosity was striking. Those songs showed a band that was consolidating and deepening its distinctive approach to American vernacular music while still expanding the range of what that could include. Pigpen’s two originals added a distinctive flourish, but the new tunes also made it clear that Weir had emerged in his own right as a singer and songwriter, as well as showing that the wellsprings that fed Garcia and Hunter’s music were drawing on ever deeper aquifers." - Nicholas Meriwether
Imagine, if you will, being amongst the first to witness the merry band of misfits that had taken over the good ol' U.S. of A. conquer foreign lands. When the Grateful Dead first unleashed their magic on the cautiously optimistic patrons of Wembley on 4/7/72 and 4/8/72, it was with the idea they would have just these two nights to impress a traditionally reserved London crowd. It turned out to be a smashing success, and they set about locking in four dates at one of London’s most storied venues, the Lyceum Theatre, to wrap up what some consider one of the greatest tours in rock history.
On these four nights, we find the band hell-bent on telling 'em "how it's gonna be," and boy, did they ever. Powered by what Jerry called "peak optimism," they delivered a steady dose of "primal Dead," - sometimes searing, sometimes soulful, sometimes serious, but always unwavering in focus. This willful determination moved them through transitive takes on "Dark Star," to majestic heights with "The Other One," through marathon runs of "Playing," another minute, another mile. It found Phil, philosophizing on how to "put our music into a place," Bob and Jerry masterfully dueling as two of the top songwriters of their time, Bill elegantly ferrying songs to new lengths, and new members Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux adding organic warmth. And Pigpen? Well, he dotted his beloved classics - "Good Lovin'," "Mr. Charlie," "Lovelight," "Two Souls In Communion" - through set after set, conjuring up more clarity and charisma than anyone would have expected for his final few shows.
I rename all my files
Even the torrents.
That way they will be displayed chronologically by a computer or music player:
GD 1969-11-02 T01 Cold Rain and Snow
GD 1969-11-02 T02 etc…..
All songs for a given show go into a folder, named with the band and date.
No artwork included, need to use all available space for audio files (my music players use microSDXC cards, my car stereo will play mp3 files from a USB flash drive - I use AAC 320 kbps).
When importing CD’s to a computer I don’t have the computer connected to the internet. That way it can’t search and find the track names, which wouldn’t be how I wanted them and I would have to retype them anyway.
Although the tagging is…
Although the tagging is bizarre (as usual, so I guess it isn't really bizarre in the GD universe, and fortunately there are batch tag editors), the sound quality (of the 24/96 FLAC) and editing is welcome. If one doesn't care about hi-res digital and have already edited and EQ'ed your older copies of these shows, the FLACs may not be worth it. For those who do appreciate the sonic benefits of 24/96 compared to 16/44.1 I think the FLACs are worthwhile.
Latest FLAC Downloads
Just got an email with download code. Still not right. 5/26 show is missing songs. Should have been obvious since that show had the smallest size but is the longest by far. Eventually they will get this right but no telling when….
Curious about how this happened...
I'm curious about the difficulty of getting this right, from a project management/quality control perspective. I've bought three large sets' DLs prior to this one and aside from the time it took to DL them and not being able to easily merge some tracks* they were fine. I hope they find the cookbook they used for those three and reinstitute the QC in time for the MSG release.
*Issuing China Cat Sunflower and I Know You Rider as two separate tracks is the kind of thing which in prior centuries would get your name knitted, in code, by a lady sitting by a fire. Thou shalt not.
Still not right?
Maybe they should put everyone out of their misery and just send thumb drives.
Song missing from 05.26.72
C'mon folks. You are getting close. You almost made this work.
But alas...there's the issue of the missing songs from 5.26. My set is missing tracks 18 and 19.
Please try again.
Missing Tracks Flac
Finally was able to download the flac files but like others my download was missing tracks for 5/26. I was missing: 5, 6, 13, 18, 19, 26, 29. I really think they are trying to make this right, so hopefully there is Help on the WAY :)
Tracks missing from 5/26 show
Mine are also missing those 7 tracks--5, 6, 13, 18, 19, 26 and 29
The Fails Never Stop
It's a lot of material to listen through (if you got all the songs from each night.) During the weeks we all had only 5/26 to listen to it became rapidly apparent that Truckin had a huge whole in the middle.
So does The Other One on 5/24. What is really annoying is that it is a remarkable rendtion.
Another email off to the folks at Rhino or wherever our complaints go. Really quite pathetic.
Are these files worth an upgrade from the 2011 box set?
So, I'd be interested in knowing whether the problem with these files has been resolved and whether the improved 24/96 quality is worth the upgrade from the 2011 CDs, which were long ago ripped to my digital files? I'm still on the fence about buying the downloads, assuming that they are finally fully available. Thanks for anyone's thoughts.
RE: DFBWM
IMO, they are not worth the money. I have been ranting about the fact that - while these are "remastered" - they are not "remixed". A "remix" AND "Remaster" would be where the gold would be. In fact, if these were right from the alleged 24/96 files from the 2011 release, they would not even be "remastered". I still believe these shows were mastered in 16/44 but I can't confirm that.
I think whatever someone wishes to "hear" from this release, they will "hear". I didn't detect any noticeable difference between the cd's or the 16 bit DD files available since 2011, 2014 respectively.
I would save my money. No wait. I DID save my money. The only gripe I have with this set is the complete botch job Rhino handed out to those who did spend their $100 in good faith.
I don't think it's safe to…
I don't think it's safe to buy the FLAC, I think there are still songs missing.
I Prefer the 96-24 files
I have only compared a few of the 96-24 files to their equivalents from the suitcase release but, to my aging ears, the 96-24 files sound cleaner, clearer, and perhaps less dynamically compressed. Whether you would hear a difference depends on a lot of factors, including how resolving your system is. In any event, I suggest waiting until Rhino gets the fourth show fixed, unless you just can't wait and are willing to take a risk on the 7 missing tracks.
Has anyone got the complete set downloaded yet?
I am comfortable with the 96-24 issues, but don't want to purchase until the downloads for all shows are complete i.e. all songs and the middle-minutes of Truckin'. Can someone let us know when this point is reached.
missing tracks
I compared the tracks I managed to download with the listing of the LPs of 5/26
The tracks I have are numbered 85-115 consecutively
The only difference is there is a break in the other one- morning dew on the LP (22 side B)
These were downloaded before I got the email saying they were fixed. They are FLAC not Apple Lossless
I have yet to listen to everything to see if there are gaps
A month on and still people haven't got what they ordered is not exactly impressive, but completely expected based on the past performance of these folks
Finally - Success
Ok - after keeping up on the threads and the last note from Arthur, I tool the plunge and purchased the Flac download. Everything worked smoothly and they were all labeled correctly. I compared the tracks to the LP's and they were all there. Finally, I listened to the 5/26 Truckin' and can confirm that the entire 17 minutes were there - no blank space. So it looks like after some drama -Rhino finally got it right.
As far as sound, they sound really good to me. I have not done a direct comparison to the 2011 stuff, but this sounds crisp and clear - or maybe I just want to believe that and be happy. There are bigger problems in the world.
Anyway, all's well that end's well. Fare thee well.
All Sorted
Support emailed me a new download code overnight and now I have the full 26/5 show in 24/96.
I'll see you all in the MSG comments in a few weeks for the same fun again!
Still no response to my…
Still no response to my notification of the receipt of the four shows with tracks missing.
Stuff 'em. I'll go elsewhere. Last time deadnet gets a penny of me. EVERY download is a problem. EVERY time,
FLAC 94/24 files are an incremental and not revalatory upgrade
So now that the download problems are finally resolved, I took the plunge and bought the hi-res FLAC files. They do sound great, but when I A/B'd them against EAC rips of the 2011 CDs, I found that the sound was slightly better, but only at the margins. (I played them back on a system with McIntosh power (separates), B&W 702 signatures with a Cambridge Audio Azur 851n streamer connected to an external hard drive.)
Yes, there was a bit more clarity in the drums/symbols and piano, and Phil's bass packed a tad more punch. The most distinctive increase in fidelity IMHO is in the sharpness of the vocals, particularly Jerry on his ballads (and Donna too when she signs Sing Me Back Home with Jerry). On the other hand, the 2011 mixes have 98-99% of what you hear on the hi-res versions.
If you don't have these shows, then by all means buy the FLAC files. If you have them, then these files are for those audiophiles out there who have to have the best sounding version of every show. Cheers!