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July 31, 2024 - 6:48am

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Dead Admin

Joined:
April 28, 2021

Friend of The Devils: April 1978 (Dead.net Exclusive) [19 CD]

WHAT'S INSIDE:
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
Liners By Author Steve Silberman
Artwork By Acclaimed Artist Matthew Brannon
Limited To 10,000 Individually Numbered Copies
Dead.net Exclusive
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.
Individually numbered to 10,000 copies and exclusive to Dead.net, FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: APRIL 1978 has been mastered by Audio Engineer Jeffrey Norman using Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction. Steve Vance designed the collection’s custom box, which features a removable wave drum. (We invite you to unleash your inner Rhythm Devil.) Acclaimed artist Matthew Brannon created the set’s original artwork. The collection also includes a 48-page book with original liner notes by author Steve Silberman and photos by James Anderson, Bob Minkin, and more.

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October 31, 2024 - 5:31pm

#51

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

34 years ago...

I can't say this sort of thing very often, but 34 years ago tonight ( 31st) I saw The Dead at Wembley. And the night before. And the night after.
October 31, 2024 - 4:55pm

#52

billy the kiddd

Joined:
November 8, 2021

Anniversary show 10/31/94. Rolling Stones

30 years ago I was up in Oakland to see the Rolling Stones play on their Voodo Lounge tour. They opened the show with Not Fade Away.
October 31, 2024 - 3:23pm

#53

daverock

Joined:
September 1, 2014

Back to the Box

I also decided to pick up where I'd left off - which was 4/11. Good show - especially the first set and the Scarlet-Fire. Drums is now 22 minutes, though, which dissipates the energy a bit for the last cd.

Bit dischuffed that neither the 1st or the 3rd cd would play on my hi fi. But they played okay on my portable cd player, so I am hoping that now they have been played through once they will work on the main one. Maybe I'll do copies of them, and see if they work any better
October 31, 2024 - 11:02am

#54

1stshow70878

Joined:
September 11, 2014

Back To The Box

Finally getting to Duke and having a great time in 1978. The dynamics of this year are so noticeable. The quiet parts are quieter and the loud parts are louder! Almost like they have that group mind thing down pat. Or like there is a master volume control that keeps everyone in balance. So good. The sound quality of this box is superb.
Cheers
October 26, 2024 - 9:25am

#55

Chuck

Joined:
June 4, 2007

PHIL LESH

DOINGTHENEEDFUL

You are correct To me Phil is as much responsible for the "Grateful Dead" as Jerry
October 26, 2024 - 5:09am

#56

Darkstar BGE

Joined:
November 19, 2016

Friends of the Devil, comfort in the loss

Like many, I work long grueling hours. Toward the end of the Day, I learned Phil had passed. I finished the day stunned. With no thought, I loaded a Binghamton Show into my car cd player (yup, I still have one). That helped me sort things out on my 1/2-hour drive.
Once home, I went first to my beer fridge and grabbed a choice IPA and chilled glass and headed straight to my living room for my "Friends of the Devil" box. I could almost say I own too much Dead, but I didn't have to give it much thought as to what I wanted to hear. I own the majority of the Dead boxes; I have to say this has been one of my favorites. I have been taking my time and savoring the shows. In truth, I've worked through about 75% of this one. I'm usually a methodical listener. Not last night, I just randomly grabbed 4.16.78 and loaded it into the changer. As I sat and listened, texts poured in from friends, knowing I had to be home mourning. 4.16.78 was a joy, it reaffirmed all that Phil and the Dead were and perpetually are. It was like an IV drip; it brought me back to my center. I couldn't ask for a better life support system. Dave and company, thanks for this box. The doctor doesn't make house calls anymore, but if you are feeling loss right now, take one Dead show and call me in the morning! (Thanks for having been in the world Phil!)
P.S. I had trashed the box artwork before this box arrived, it really quite ingenious.
October 25, 2024 - 6:46pm

#57

Doingtheneedful

Joined:
June 11, 2007

Salisbury range is quiet tonight. The big BOMBS are resting...

As I sit down to start the onerous task of shredding Friend of the Devils CD's to add to my "cloud" library, I see the news that Phil has laid his last bomb on this plain. I'm staring out of my den window into the dark, Salisbury Live Fire Range well within earshot, quiet tonight, and I chuckle at the irony.

Here's to Phil. Not just unrivalled at his craft, but also one of the tidiest, most free, incredibly lucid, beyond comparison instrumentalists, Phils is up there in the pantheon of all time great improvisational musicians to ever have played. Phil bought it each and every show... A living oxymoron of precise freeform melody and wildly inventive noise. All performed literally live and without a net. Many a time have I mentally isolated Phil's "space", in awe of the effortless contortionism of his unique antithetical ouvre.

Personally, I think that Phil was to the 'Dead's lower register, what Jerry was to the High side. It seems almost sacrilegious to suggest it, but I'll put my money down and suggest that Phil's space in the band was as pivotal as Jerry's... No Phil, no 'Dead.

Thank the maker that we have all of this legacy music available still. I look forward - should I be so lucky -
to many more years of getting lost in the Phil Zone.

Rest up old boy. You done good! Best to Phil's family and friends. Thank you in absentia to the donors and their families who helped Phil in later life. I hope there's some salve in the legacy and the joy still to share and share again.

x
October 25, 2024 - 1:37pm

#58

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

Monter Flicker

Phil just passed away. It's a sad day at casa JimInMD. I am flying my freak flag at half mast. Phil was a legend, a talented musician, he spoke his mind and he was a kind soul.

I had the pleasure of meeting him once, we hung out and drank beer for four or five hours and talked Grateful Dead and assorted stuff. I will never forget that night.

Rest in peace Phil. Let it be known you made a great difference in this world. Come hell or high water I was going to venture to the Capitol Theatre this March to see his 85th Birthday shows if they could pull it off. I'll have to wait until I get to the other side to make that happen.

Such a bummer.. no smiles for me today.
October 24, 2024 - 1:54pm

#59

augwest11

Joined:
July 11, 2009

FRIEND OF THE DEVILS FLAC 192/24 DEBACLE

Count me among the disappointed customers who shelled out hard-earned currency for a very flawed product. I lost count of the number of songs across various shows in the set that were marred by skips and pauses.

When I first reported this I received a quick reply and a new set of download links. There was no acknowledgement of the problem, just new links. I downloaded one of them and it too had songs with skips. I have since reached out again, and now the folks at dead.net/rhino are silent.

I'll provide an update if I hear anything. In the meantime, anyone else who has experienced the same thing with the Friend of the Devils download set, please make your voice heard.
October 23, 2024 - 10:21am

#60

mmonhart

Joined:
October 23, 2024

Friend of Devil Flac problem

I also found numerous skips and gaps even after downloading the flac files twice. Support has been unresponsive. I finally instituted a disputed charge

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

Dead Store Products

Friend of The Devils: April 1978 (Dead.net Exclusive) [19 CD]

WHAT'S INSIDE:
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
Liners By Author Steve Silberman
Artwork By Acclaimed Artist Matthew Brannon

Limited To 10,000 Individually Numbered Copies
Dead.net Exclusive

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.

Individually numbered to 10,000 copies and exclusive to Dead.net, FRIEND OF THE DEVILS: APRIL 1978 has been mastered by Audio Engineer Jeffrey Norman using Plangent Processes tape restoration and speed correction. Steve Vance designed the collection’s custom box, which features a removable wave drum. (We invite you to unleash your inner Rhythm Devil.) Acclaimed artist Matthew Brannon created the set’s original artwork. The collection also includes a 48-page book with original liner notes by author Steve Silberman and photos by James Anderson, Bob Minkin, and more.

Corrupt 24/192 files

@CmdrDarklighter

The flac files for this box are corrupt. For whatever reason, they're still for sale. Some of us have tried slugging it out with support, the higher ups, and whatnot. Nothing has changed.
The flac files are still full of drop outs and digital stuttering. The alac files, I believe, are ok.

Great Box Set!

Just got done listening to the Box set in order, plus threw William and Mary in there to make it like I was on tour. I have to say that it was a very enjoyable experience. All the Box sets are excellent, but this one really brought a smile to my face. There's a looseness to the playing that makes it incredibly easy to enjoy - plus the sound is killer!! Going to need to relisten to July '78 now.

Now, let's scrape up anything listenable for that Fall 1970 Box set.

4/10-11/78

I was able to get in both shows last night. The band is on fire, and there is a looseness to the playing, but also some really focused jamming

Scar>Fire from 4/11/78 almost set my damn house on fire!!!

Still

Working my way through the box, because life…
Listening to 4/11 now. You ain’t wrong JONATHAN918@GD. The Scarlet>Fire is smokin’!

Still working my way also

Listening to the tour chronologically, I'm up to Duke and enjoying it immensely. This is a grate box!

What's the companion show from this tour already released?

Taking it easy

I'm taking my time with the box too - I played the 1st cd of 4/14 this morning and every song is spot on. Great Tennessee Jed, but there isn't a weak song in the set.

I wasn't aware of a companion show, but as one was mentioned I went and had a look at my Daves Picks. Stone me - number 37 is 4/15/78.

Almost There

Started the 4/16 show today. The lead-off Jack Straw is a ripper!
I’m pleased with the box as well.

Great Box

I took my time going through the shows in this box and found them all enjoyable, but I particularly liked the 4/16/78 show. I listened to it again in the last week or so, and it seemed just about perfect. I seem to recall that 4/14/78 also really hit the spot on the first run through, but I have not given it a second listen yet.

The thing I really liked about this particular run of shows is hearing the evolution of the drums-space interlude at the point it began. All the dead shows that I saw were basically mid to late 1980s and a couple in the '90s, so the drums-space interlude was a part of pretty much every show that I saw, so really cool to hear that show format being established in these shows. It helps that I typically really dig the drums-space interludes, just cool to hear where it goes, and to hear the transition into whatever song came after the interlude. Good stuff.

FOTD's Box Cover Art

Sorry I’ve taken so long. You’ve probably already got this covered, but I finally got around to working on Matthew Brannon’s artwork for the FOTDs Box. I started with images cedartree96 posted on reddit. They are good scans, but needed some serious color correction based on the CD sleeves in my box. Also, the backgrounds aren't exactly the same as what’s on the sleeves in my box – maybe artist’s proofs? Anyway, if you still need ‘em, here’s what I've got:

"3w dot" dropbox "dot" com/scl/fo/1i777b15ncbxwvr70duv3/AMlHEK_DvPU2BqZh0ugjeGM?rlkey=26r5ro33aig037ckir7xtknqs&st=snd7kum7&dl=0

Finished

Took a road trip to southern Ohio yesterday and finished the box set. Looks like it’s against conventional wisdom, but my favorite show is 4/8. The second CD really hits the spot! I’m very happy overall, and will be coming back to these shows often.
PS, I just realized I haven’t gone through the booklet yet! Haha!

RONMARLEY

Nice work man!

I still haven't picked a favorite show from the box yet, but 4/8/78 is a contender for sure

I forget where I read it, but 4/8/78 might have been Dick Latvala pick for best as well. Half Step and Scar>Fire are monster versions!!

Rock on, gang

DV’s Notebook

Hey JONATHAN918@GD…
You are right on about Dick! Thanks for sending me on a hunt. If you Google “dick latvala 4-8-78”, the second link will take you to his notebook pages at GDSets dot com. Pretty cool to see his opinion change over time.

Same Here

4/8/78 is my favored too.
Scarle/Fire - celestial!
Cheers

Woops

Was thinking 4/6…

Yep

4-6-78 was my favorite.
Duke was good too.
Maybe 4-15-78 (Wm. & Mary DaP 37) was the best of the bunch?
First time through though. Will read the booklet when I start going through it again. Been saving that to form my own opinions first.
Cheers

Box Booklet

Just finished reading, and it’s an excellent guide to the shows. It’s always cool when you lean something new about the band. 1STSHOW70878, you were wise to wait; it might have influenced your opinion.
It’s very well written. It’s also sad that it’s one of the last writings by Steve Silberman.

4/8/1978

Just listening to 4/8/1978 Veterans Memorial through my Marantz/Martin Logan ESL9 system and this show sounds fabulous. Drums set is especially awesome . The sound stage places each dum in a space of their own. Can't wait to make it through the other shows. So glad I bought this.

The Duke Lp/CD set was reviewed

in The Absolute Sound January 2025 addition by Jeff Wilson, a self described fan. Decent review, but he blows JGs age lol, and ironically he doesn’t talk much about the audio. The main pic has to be from later in the year as bobs playing an Ibanez Musician Series which he didn’t start trying until May. (at least from all the pics I’ve researched?) But always fun to see the boys get acknowledged.

what happened to comments

on Dave's picks? Not showing up anymore...

It moved

Go to Recent Posts (top right drop down)
New title is Dave's 52 Take 2.
MaryE explains old one died.
I.T. issue I guess.
Cheers

Yeah, so sorry

I messed up...but head on over to Take 2

Thanks 1st show! (and Marye)

Found the new thread.

Great box!

Finally made it through the whole box, including the Dave's 37 which is part of the tour. Dave's 37 is a little more octane than those shows in the box, but they're all really good. I'm wondering if there were other releases from this tour besides DaP37??

081227816759

Product Magento URL

https://store.dead.net/en/grateful-dead/special-collections/friend-of-the-devils/friend-of-the-devils-april-1978-dead.net-exclusive-%5B19-cd%5D/081227816759.html