Friend Of The Devils: April 1978 FLAC [Digital Boxed Set]
Bit Rate 192/24
YOUR DOWNLOAD WILL BE DELIVERED BY 1PM PST ON 9/20
Curtis Hixon Convention Hall, Tampa, FL 4/6/78
Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, FL 4/7/78
Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Jacksonville, FL 4/8/78
Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA 4/10/78
Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA 4/11/78
Cameron Indoor Stadium, Duke University, Durham, NC 4/12/78
Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA 4/14/78
Huntington Civic Center, Huntington, WV 4/16/78
Recorded By Betty Cantor-Jackson
Newly restored and speed-corrected audio by Plangent Processes
Mastered by Jeffrey Norman
It’s been said before but April ‘78 was an incredible month for the Dead. Like May ‘77, you could throw a dart and guarantee you hit a stellar show. - KyloRensPecs, r/gratefuldead, Reddit
.... April/May '78 has a lot of the same qualities of Spring '77 but with some extra edge and a much bigger sound from the Rhythm Devils. A really special era that often gets neglected. - viewtiful_alan, r/gratefuldead, Reddit
Sportatorium - April 7, 1989
when drums started I thought, oh s*#!, i hate drum solos and Billy and Mickey stopped me in my tracks. Wow, these guys are really good. Little did I know the pervasive influence this phenomena would have on my life. - pearlybakerbest, Dead.net
Huntington Civic Centre, West Virginia – 16 April 1978
This is another must-hear concert by The Grateful Dead. The sound and mix are almost ‘absolutely perfect'... It’s difficult to pick out highlights because everything is played so well; the band are tight, Donna is great and the set list is strong. - Grateful Ted, gratefulted.co.uk
We're hitting the bullseye with the eight previously unreleased stellar shows that make up FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: APRIL 1978. Filled to the brim with peak performances from the Grateful Dead's post-hiatus period, this collection captures the historic tour where "Drums" begat "Space," morphed into "Drums">"Space" and cemented the Rhythm Devils' second-set power move from the music business to the "transportation business."
Spring 1978 finds the Dead consistently weaving spontaneous magic, showing signs of great promise and potential - from the no-nonsense rock'n'roll in Tampa, where scholars cite the first "Drumz" leading into "Space," to the lengthy communal get down in Pembroke Pines to Jacksonville where the twain emerge fully formed, offering the primordial opportunity for "soul retrieval." It's evident in the dynamic range delivered on back-to-back nights at the intimate Fox Theatre and through the laid-back unity of the band's performance in Durham at Duke, a comfort that carries over to Virginia and West Virginia where the playing is unbridled, bursting with momentum, threatening to carry itself away. And nowhere can you hear that more clearly than through Betty Cantor-Jackson's original recordings, reliably crisp, bright, and vivid.
FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: APRIL 1978 has been mastered by Audio Engineer Jeffrey Norman using Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction.
Well
Let me say I heard from MAC and I suggested they should stop selling these FLAC downloads since A: they know they are corrupted B: They are essentially knowingly selling a DEFECTIVE product. That is not good! Marye perhaps you should bring that up with anyone in charge who may actually have their head screwed on correctly. IN the End I needed to dispute the charge with my bank to get ANY customer service for the refund I deserved. That is not good.
Really?
OK, posting a case with FedEx must have skeeved out the thieving driver, as they appeared in my mailbox last night.
That said, the package was 19 CDs in paper sleeves rubber-banded together.
I knew the price was $200. For that price I could choose the high-rez files or the copious printed material. I chose high-rez. I now have CD-rez disks and no printed material. I can't imagine a way to more piss off a loyal consumer likely to spend much more over time than I've seen from this debacle.
EDIT: Just sent that to Mac. Told him he might want to watch this thread.
38 Files are CORRUPT
I don't know why they are still selling this. 38 of the files are corrupt. They need to pull this from the site, and fix the problem. Then send us a email when it's fixed to re-download the shows again. As a long time fan, who consistently purchases releases, I'm very disappointed.
Resolution. The 24/192…
Resolution. The 24/192 shows are about 5gb a piece. But DO NOT BUY THE FLAC. 38 corrupt files.
Asking for refund
It's been two full weeks since I heard from Mac with customer service. The files are corrupt. DO NOT BUY THE FLAC version of this set.
He offered me the CD set as a replacement but I bought that first and thought I'd take the easy route and download the files instead of ripping. Bleh.
Seems like it's pretty rare to have a release that doesn't have problems. I guess they know we will buy whatever they produce regardless. Very sad
I emailed Mac today and said if I don't have a reply with refund info asap I'm protesting the charge with my credit card. No other options at this point.
Bottom line
They dont care
Truly unfortunate
I will take the CDs every time
Much lower risk
Protest the charge
Huskerwing I did EXACTLY that and voila I heard from MAC after about 4 or 5 attempts over 2 weeks to get some customer service I disputed the charge, Amazing how they respond to Banks. Banks speak louder than words. BTW Marye please pass on to “the Doc” that continuing to sell these files is tantamount to Fraud and Banks don’t like that. This really is amateur hour. I should walk downtown to the Warner offices and see if there is anyone alive there. A music distribution company that can not figure out how to distribute music in the modern era.
Thank you for those who keep trying
I've bought just about every GD archive release since OFTV. I've stopped buying physical box sets because we've moved to a small home and there isn't any room. The high def flacs are perfect because my drive never gets bigger and they sound fantastic.
Anyway, I no longer pre-order the FLACS because there are always issues for a week or two. This release is ridiculous and it may just be the end of my road buying from dead.net.
I want to thank Marye for all the help she has provided to people over the years. You're very kind. I also want to thank the people who did pre-order this release (FLAC) who are trying to work with dead.net to get it right. An exercise in frustration I realize, but I suspect without your efforts, more people would end up with corrupt files.
For what it's worth.
Latest
From Mac:
"Thank you for your email, Ned.
Unfortunately, I am currently awaiting an update on the FLAC files.
In the meantime, we will refund your order. (Please allow up to 5 business days for funds to post to your account.)
We will update you on resolutions for any open FLAC files issues as soon as possible.
I apologize again for this inconvenience.
Sincerely,
Mac
Dead.net Store"
FLAC files still corrupt?
I have been holding out on buying the FLACs as I had issues with corrupt files for several previous releases (definitely HCSS and one of the Angel's Shares) that took a long time to sort out.
Would those who unfortunately took the plunge too early mind letting us know here when they have received corrected files and a non-faulty set is thus available?
Many thanks!
I too am still waiting for…
I too am still waiting for replacement files. I bought the flac files on release day, but did not have time for any critical listening for a while and then found multiple files with annoying drop-outs when I really started digging into the shows. I emailed Customer Service about the issue a bit over a week ago and got an initial email saying that a "technical specialist" would be in touch. Since then, I've heard nothing. It is very disappointing because the sound is excellent on this release and the release is now over a month old.
Status?
I found this thread while searching to see if anyone had reported a glitch I found in the HCS FLAC set (May 26, 1973 Kezar "You Ain't Woman Enough" has a skip although the FLAC passes integrity check...). I'm way behind on my listening of all the sets I've purchased, so frustrating to find errors on stuff I downloaded a year ago and never was informed by customer service proactively. Was willing to give the benefit of the doubt that it hadn't been noted, but after reading this thread I highly doubt it.
I checked my FLACs for the FOTD set and find all the same failures CaptainNedVT documented here back on Sept 24. It looks like no replacement downloads have been issued yet?
I hesitate to contact support & would hope all who purchased would simply be sent a fresh link to download corrected files, I am STILL waiting on my replacement file for the JG Oct 31, 1992 set after emailing like 700 times to what appears to be a blackhole... I assume it is all the same god-awful customer service.
Almanac, is this a joke?
So, these flac files are being advertised in the GD Almanac, but they're still corrupt? Isn't there anybody who can update the files on the download site? Anyone?