Spring 1990, Volume One Box

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August 8, 2012 - 10:43am

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jq171(document).ready(function (jq171) { jq171("h2.product_title").each(function(){ var title = jq171(this); var new_title = title.text().replace(' - SOLD OUT', ''); title.text(new_title); }); var covertArtDownloadMarkup = 'Looking for the digital cover art? You can download it here.'; setTimeout(function() { jq171('#digital_cart').append(covertArtDownloadMarkup); }, 500); });
What's Inside:
• 60 page hardcover Smyth-Sewn book featuring essays by Dennis McNally, David Lemieux, and Blair Jackson and photos by Jim Anderson & Mike Laurentis
• 25th Anniversary Tour Program
• Official Band Letters
• 6 Ticket Stubs
• 6 Cloth Sticker Backstage Passes
• 1 Tour Laminate
• Official 1990 Band publicity shot
• 6 complete shows on 18 discs
      • 3/16/90 Capital Center, Landover, MD
      • 3/19/90 Civic Center, Hartford, CT
      • 3/22/90 Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, ON, Canada
      • 3/26/90 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY
      • 3/30/90 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
      • 4/2/90 The Omni, Atlanta, GA

Box Dimensions: 12-1/8" x 3-1/8" x 12-1/8"
Recorded and Mixed Live by John Cutler
Mastered by Jeffrey Norman in HDCD
Original art by Wes Lang
Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 9,000

Introducing The Next Box: Spring 1990!

And now for something a little different. This year's box set - Grateful Dead: Spring 1990 - offers six complete shows from the epic spring '90 tour, one concert from each city the band played, personally selected by Dead vaultmeister and archival release producer David Lemieux. The sizzling six are: 3/16/90 Capital Centre (Landover , MD), 3/19/90 Hartford Civic Center, 3/22/90 Copps Coliseum (Hamilton, Ontario), 3/26/90 Knickerbocker Arena (Albany, NY), 3/30/90 Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, NY) and 4/2/90 The Omni (Atlanta, GA).

In his "Producer's Note" in the beautiful book that is part of the box, Lemieux, who attended the first 10 shows on the tour, states, "To my ears this was the last tour that was consistently great, where every show is excellent, not a dud in the bunch." And Grateful Dead historian Dennis McNally's comprehensive and informative insider's essay in the box is titled "The Last Great Dead Tour." These guys know what they're talking about.

Basically, the band had been on an upward trajectory since Garcia's return to the road in the spring of '87, following his near-death the previous summer. Of course, 1987 was a trip in itself, what with the unexpected mega-success of In the Dark and their first hit single, "Touch of Grey." But the momentum just kept building with each subsequent tour, as Garcia got back up to full speed (and then some!) and the group as a whole was as unified as they had ever been since Brent joined the band in the spring of '79. New original tunes were popping up and the old favorites were imbued with a freshness and spirit that was so uplifting and inspiring. The band was having fun again, and it was downright infectious.

The group's fall 1989 shows-as documented two years ago on the Formerly the Warlocks box (two shows from Hampton, VA, 10/8-9/89) and on the 2001 release Nightfall of Diamonds (a single night in NJ, 10/16/89)- kicked the energy level up another couple of notches, as the band reintroduced such loved classics as "Help on the Way" > "Slipknot!," "Attics of My Life," "Death Don't Have No Mercy" and "Dark Star."

And when the band hit the road in mid-March 1990, they had a bunch of other cool tunes to lay on their unsuspecting crowds, including the return of "Loose Lucy" (last played in 1974; it's not on this box), Brent's "Easy to Love You" (missing since 1980), a rollicking cover of the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time," The Band's "The Weight" (with all four singers taking a verse each) and a lyrically retooled "Black-Throated Wind" (absent since 1974), which elicited huge cheers every time it was played.

Over these six shows, most of the cornerstones of the Dead's repertoire from the era appear-splendid versions of "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain," "China Cat Sunflower" > "I Know You Rider," "Playing in the Band," "Uncle John's Band," "Eyes of the World," "Estimated Prophet," "Truckin'," "Sugar Magnolia," "The Other One," "Terrapin," "Stella Blue," "Feel Like a Stranger," "Bird Song," "Let It Grow," "China Doll," "Box of Rain," "Morning Dew"; you name it. From the fall '89 breakouts come "Help-Slip-Frank," "Attics of My Life" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy." Among the still newish tunes are "Picasso Moon," "Blow Away," "Foolish Heart," "Just a Little Light," "Victim or the Crime," "Standing on the Moon," "We Can Run" and a couple that would get their final plays from the Grateful Dead on this tour-"Built to Last" and "Believe It or Not." There are stirring renditions of "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "Black Muddy River," rockin' takes on "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "Iko Iko" and the only version of the full "Hey Jude" the band attempted in the modern era. And the "Rhythm Devils" and "Space" jams at the heart of each second set are as noisy-beautiful-scary-funny-intense-mysterious-wild as you'd expect/hope for.

Of course, we understand that some of you may have other favorite shows from this tour you wish were included on this box. Really, you can't go wrong with any of them. But at 18 discs, this is still the second largest Grateful Dead box (after Europe '72: The Complete Recordings) that's been released, and the non-inclusion of any other shows from the tour definitely does not preclude their future release! But this seemed like a more manageable way to go, while still giving a sense of the tour's amazing depth and breadth.

Besides the discs themselves, Grateful Dead: Spring 1990 has much to offer, including: a gorgeous 60-page hardcover book containing copious color photos by Jim Anderson and Michael Laurentus, unique artwork by Brooklyn-based fine artist Wes Lang, fascinating business letters and communications related to the tour, a detailed historical essay by Dennis McNally, a Producer's Note by David Lemieux and individual show descriptions by Blair Jackson; a reproduction of the Dead's 1990 tour program (printed and sold later in '90, for the fall and Europe '90 tours); tickets and backstage passes of all six shows; a band publicity photo from 1990 by Ken Friedman; Dennis McNally's tour laminate; and reproductions of the colored 8x10 sheets GDTS sent out with hotel, food and other information for each city on the tour.

With recordings made by longtime Grateful Dead recordist and producer John Cutler, mastered by Jeffrey Norman in HDCD, you just know it's gonna sound great-and it does!

So, that's the skinny this time 'round. This box is limited to just 9,000 numbered copies - please note, this is the only time these shows will ever be officially available on CD. There will not be an All Music Edition and single shows will not be available physically. Due to ship out August 31st, we anticipate that this extraordinary set will sell-out, so order your copy today!

If you're looking for more of a bite-sized taste of the '90s, Spring 1990: So Glad You Made It, a 2-CD set featuring a handful of favorites, will be in stores on September 18th.

-Blair Jackson

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September 4, 2012 - 7:20am

#401

rbmunkin

Joined:
February 24, 2009

Quality

How would you answer my example in my first post about this:Do you seriously contend that Jerry isn't OBJECTIVELY a better guitarist than me? Comparing Van Gogh vs. Monet is much more difficult of course. I'm trying to make the point by using an absurd example, but a valid one. Personally I think we want to say quality is purely subjective because it's easier to say that. It's too difficult to show objective quality so we don't want to go there. But just because something is difficult doesn't mean it's not reality. This reminds me of the joke: A man is searching on the ground under a street lamp. Someone comes up and asks him if he lost something. He says yes, his keys. Did you lose them here? No, I lost them in the alley but it's too dark there. When looking for objective quality, one must look in the dark alley even though it's easier to see in the subjective lighted area.
September 3, 2012 - 11:38pm

#402

FootBear

Joined:
June 12, 2007

.

.
September 3, 2012 - 10:20pm

#403

antonjo

Joined:
June 4, 2007

that's back on topic?

Who got screwed out of their order is back on topic? Do tell, Footbear, who got screwed out of their order? What started out as a thread that was finally mostly about the music in the box has degenerated into another bile fest. Guess some people feel better having an audience. I'm about done with these boards, myself. Talk about disenchanted and disgusted...... Sheesh.
September 3, 2012 - 7:13pm

#404

Hoopsie

Joined:
January 5, 2012

Spring 1990

March 29, 1990 on VINYL, yes please.
September 3, 2012 - 7:10pm

#405

Hoopsie

Joined:
January 5, 2012

Spring 1990

In a vain effort to return the discussion to the excellent but somewhat inefficiently shipped box set -- I was only able to catch the boys from 85-95, so 89 and 90 stand out as the apex years, with Jerry sounding fresh and not so ragged and tired, and inspired ensemble playing. I am so glad to have this. It will be cherished for years. Wish I was able to catch 5-2-70, but I was still only 4! Geez, you people who were able to see these shows must be practically senior citizens by now! ;-) Now, if only they'd ship my replacement for the cracked Disc 3 of 3/16/90? See, I'm not bitter.
September 3, 2012 - 6:05pm

#406

Tanis Fane

Joined:
August 30, 2012

Quality _is_ subjective, no

Quality _is_ subjective, no matter how you describe it. The idea of one artist being more talented than another is subjective. Is Monet better than Van Gogh? Quality is, for most people, subjective to the price at bidding that has been established by people claiming authority to declare it such. Objectively, something is "good" or "bad" because it has been granted a more desirable status in a given framework. Social capital, if you will. You place great cultural capital in Jerry's playing and thus, for you, he is the best. The value I place on his playing, though high, is not as valuable for me as it is to you. I'd pay more for someone else. (Much as I value/love/geek-out-over the Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd, VU is still, for me, minted from the most valuable coin music/art provides.) You are correct about my mis-attribution of the "bold"-ness, that was someone else calling it that. My mistake. :) But the comparison of Pigpen dying and the band continuing vs. Jerry dying and not continuing, isn't a fair one. The first, a member dies while everyone in the band is still under 30 years of age. When they're all around 50, another one dies after 30 years together. Economics and age played as much a role in that. And then, as you said and I agree, even when the "tribute" bands contained all members but Jerry, it wasn't the same. But neither was a JGB show anything like a GD concert. I'm not attempting to convince you, or anyone, to alter their opinions. You've made a great case as to JG being your favorite guitarist, and that is a valid opinion and reasoning you have. Declare one better than another when you reach a level of quality and performance between Clapton (whom I think is not as favorable as JJ Cale), Hendrix, Garcia, and let's say... Carlos Santana. Who is better? Depends on the night, the performance, the song. Ask most musicians, especially of an age to have seen a taster's choice of Great Guitarist, and Hendrix will, for good reason, be often cited as the best. I think Hendrix was a Beethoven-level musician. Making Garcia a Liszt-level guitarist, doesn't take anything away from him at all. Two entirely different styles, backgrounds, and intentions from each in what they attempted to do musically. Hendrix deliberately complicated his music as he progressed, while Garcia often spoke of enjoying simpler-constructions because it enabled the ability to freely improvise upon it. Personally, I think it's great that you are passionate about this. It's music, and musicians are people we turn to to share the most intimate aspects of our lives: when we're joyous, when we're depressed, when we're furious about blah, blah, or blah. I personally don't think of the ears of the Dead as one being better than another. Nothin' gets me goin' like a scorching rampage through The Eleven (which didn't happen after 70-71), but paring Scarlet & Fire couldn't have happened before 77. Terrapin is easily the most often played live song for me, but that's because there was only a single version of, and terribly recorded, Rosemary. Because they did what they did and continually evolved in their sound and performance, they've given us this huge palette from which we all, evidently, paint our own pictures of the past and what we want them to be for us, and some of these paintings we call masterpieces.
September 3, 2012 - 4:06pm

#407

rbmunkin

Joined:
February 24, 2009

subjective/objective

Quality is not purely subjective. No way to prove it to you in words. So I'll stop here. "And without the GD, Jerry wouldn’t be known outside of some audiophiliac music fiends." Nonsense! He was a musician extraordinare and his passion would move him toward notoriety one way or another. He didn't need the Dead, he CREATED the Dead. And he would have done something no matter who he worked with. Hunter and Garcia met completely independent of the Dead. "Jerry without the Dead mostly likely wouldn’t have had Hunter as a song-writing partner, thus none of these songs would have come about." Of course the same exact songs wouldn't have come about, but I certainly wouldn't have cared. All I would care about is hearing Jerry, no matter what he did, because he was GREAT and would have been no matter what. "Favorites are favorites for damn good reasons. But yours are no more objectively the best than mine," I never said that. I said art is not just subjective; that there is an objective component. I never said MY likes were any more objective than any one else's. "You can congratulate yourself all you want for “bold statements” (Jerry is the greatest guitarist is hardly a bold statement on Dead.net." I didn't call it "bold". Another poster did. Anyway, we can agree to disagree. At least we agree about Donna! One more thing: With all the personell changes, the Grateful Dead were great, even after losing Pigpen, and all the other keyboardist they lost, as well as when Mickey was gone. Then when Jerry was gone - poof. No good any more. They didn't continue because they couldn't. But anyone else they lost Jerry could have kept the band going. The post Jerry band called "The Dead" and then "Further"; I'm sorry but they sucked compared to the Grateful Dead. Jerry made the GD, he was the GD, and could have created a great band with any good musicians.
September 3, 2012 - 3:03pm

#408

Tanis Fane

Joined:
August 30, 2012

Opinions are still subjective

So, RBMunkin, In the spirit of analytic debate, he's a response contrary to a number of your "bold" statements. Your analyzing note-by-note and what-have-you, doesn’t mark you as any less subjective than Best Of polls by whomever. Your liking Jerry's guitar work better than anyone else's is one thing, but no matter how much note-by-note comparisons you make, it doesn’t elevate your opinion to the level of objective. “Without Jerry the phenomenon of the Grateful Dead never would have gotten past small clubs if that.” And without the GD, Jerry wouldn’t be known outside of some audiophiliac music fiends. Considering they all talked about how essential each one of them was to the whole, and based their entire musical philosophy around that, you’re deconstructing the Dead is a great theoretic exercise, but one that misunderstands the overall point of the collective being more important aurally than the individual components. “Robert Hunter was a great poet. He's my second favorite Dead.” Absolutely a great poet. Also one who likely would have never written with Jerry without the GD. Hunter knew Kesey from the Menlo Park research. Kesey knew the Dead through Owsley. The Dead played through the Acid Tests. Without that connection, probably no song-writing team of Hunter/Garcia. “Phil was a great musician in many ways but never would have gotten so popular without Jerry.” Maybe. Is Brian Eno “popular”? Is John Cale? Robert Fripp? Phil would have likely progressed along those experimental lines without the GD. “Bob, meh. Very good rhythm guitarist, taught largely by Jerry. Vocals, song writing, and personality - not my cup of tea. He was always jealous of Jerry being the front man. He wanted to be the front man but just plain old didn't have the talent or personality.” Did he now? Good to know. I never thought he was a great guitar player, nor a great song writer, but he did pen the music of Sugar Mag, Looks Like Rain, and belt out a mean Minglewood. GD wouldn’t have been without this finger on the hand. “Drummers - very good but the Dead could have gone on with different ones.” And the sound of “rolling thunder” wouldn’t be. Thus, no Dead as we know it. No Scarlet>Fire, no PITB. “Keyboards - Pigpen was the only GREAT one.”  Not so. But you can believe that all you wish. Pigpen had charisma and was a “stone jack baller and his heart was true” but he couldn’t play piano very well. He blew a mean nasty dirty mouth harp, but his musical ability didn’t span a great spectrum. Keith was quite proficient on piano but limited on organ and the encroaching diversity and array of keyboards. Any discussion of Brent is for another time. “Donna - OMG why was she ever in the Dead?! Just horrible. Sounded like a bag full of cats being hit with a bat. Okay on a couple of studio albums but ruined many a live concert recording.” I agree, but then there a couple of Eyes of the World and Sugar Mag she doesn’t sound bad on. I usually skip tunes if she gets gonna too much. Jerry without the Dead mostly likely wouldn’t have had Hunter as a song-writing partner, thus none of these songs would have come about. Talented as he was, he would likely have been a bit like Ry Cooder, Al Di Meola, and such ilk. Infinitely talented and diverse, but without a band, they go through the ages being treasured by a few, liked by some more, and unknown to most. As for “Hendrix to me was a bit one-sided. The overall sound always sounded a bit the same. Absolutely amazing but limited IMHO” … I think your lack of analyses is demonstrated lacking here. Y’know, cuz 1983 sounds sooooo much like Purple Haze. And Jimi with a 12-string acoustic is the same one-sided sound as when slaughtered ear drums at Monterey with the opening riff of Killing Floor. Favorites are favorites for damn good reasons. But yours are no more objectively the best than mine, VH-1s, or Rolling Stones polls from readers who can’t remember back any further than last summer’s hot thing. You can congratulate yourself all you want for “bold statements” (Jerry is the greatest guitarist is hardly a bold statement on Dead.net. And your argument lacks anything beyond your talk of how awesome you feel when you listen to him play. He’s great. But talk of the “best” is beyond the faculties at hand. Or… ehem… ear. P.S. If anyone is interested in might-have-beens with music, check out a novel called Glimpses by Lewis Shiner. A guy puts on his headphones and hears records by his favorite bands that never were: a Doors album post-LA Woman, Beach Boys beyond Brian Wilson's mental collapse, another Beatles record... that kind of thing.
September 3, 2012 - 2:57pm

#409

streetvan1997

Joined:
September 16, 2009

Also, if you know they are going to sell out so fast make more!

I don't have much money at all in this point in my life and it really stinks I can't take advantage of items like this. But all the T shirts are sold out and all the box sets. Is it fans or people who are going to sell them on eBay?
September 3, 2012 - 2:50pm

#410

streetvan1997

Joined:
September 16, 2009

Also where's 3-29-90!!

Isn't that the Bradford Marcalis show? Did I butcher his last names spelling . The eyes of the works from that 3-29 is so sick, but I think it's on Dozin at the Nick

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

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What's Inside:
• 60 page hardcover Smyth-Sewn book featuring essays by Dennis McNally, David Lemieux, and Blair Jackson and photos by Jim Anderson & Mike Laurentis
• 25th Anniversary Tour Program
• Official Band Letters
• 6 Ticket Stubs
• 6 Cloth Sticker Backstage Passes
• 1 Tour Laminate
• Official 1990 Band publicity shot
• 6 complete shows on 18 discs
      • 3/16/90 Capital Center, Landover, MD
      • 3/19/90 Civic Center, Hartford, CT
      • 3/22/90 Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, ON, Canada
      • 3/26/90 Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY
      • 3/30/90 Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY
      • 4/2/90 The Omni, Atlanta, GA

Box Dimensions: 12-1/8" x 3-1/8" x 12-1/8"
Recorded and Mixed Live by John Cutler
Mastered by Jeffrey Norman in HDCD
Original art by Wes Lang
Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 9,000

Introducing The Next Box: Spring 1990!

And now for something a little different. This year's box set - Grateful Dead: Spring 1990 - offers six complete shows from the epic spring '90 tour, one concert from each city the band played, personally selected by Dead vaultmeister and archival release producer David Lemieux. The sizzling six are: 3/16/90 Capital Centre (Landover , MD), 3/19/90 Hartford Civic Center, 3/22/90 Copps Coliseum (Hamilton, Ontario), 3/26/90 Knickerbocker Arena (Albany, NY), 3/30/90 Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, NY) and 4/2/90 The Omni (Atlanta, GA).

In his "Producer's Note" in the beautiful book that is part of the box, Lemieux, who attended the first 10 shows on the tour, states, "To my ears this was the last tour that was consistently great, where every show is excellent, not a dud in the bunch." And Grateful Dead historian Dennis McNally's comprehensive and informative insider's essay in the box is titled "The Last Great Dead Tour." These guys know what they're talking about.

Basically, the band had been on an upward trajectory since Garcia's return to the road in the spring of '87, following his near-death the previous summer. Of course, 1987 was a trip in itself, what with the unexpected mega-success of In the Dark and their first hit single, "Touch of Grey." But the momentum just kept building with each subsequent tour, as Garcia got back up to full speed (and then some!) and the group as a whole was as unified as they had ever been since Brent joined the band in the spring of '79. New original tunes were popping up and the old favorites were imbued with a freshness and spirit that was so uplifting and inspiring. The band was having fun again, and it was downright infectious.

The group's fall 1989 shows-as documented two years ago on the Formerly the Warlocks box (two shows from Hampton, VA, 10/8-9/89) and on the 2001 release Nightfall of Diamonds (a single night in NJ, 10/16/89)- kicked the energy level up another couple of notches, as the band reintroduced such loved classics as "Help on the Way" > "Slipknot!," "Attics of My Life," "Death Don't Have No Mercy" and "Dark Star."

And when the band hit the road in mid-March 1990, they had a bunch of other cool tunes to lay on their unsuspecting crowds, including the return of "Loose Lucy" (last played in 1974; it's not on this box), Brent's "Easy to Love You" (missing since 1980), a rollicking cover of the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time," The Band's "The Weight" (with all four singers taking a verse each) and a lyrically retooled "Black-Throated Wind" (absent since 1974), which elicited huge cheers every time it was played.

Over these six shows, most of the cornerstones of the Dead's repertoire from the era appear-splendid versions of "Scarlet Begonias" > "Fire on the Mountain," "China Cat Sunflower" > "I Know You Rider," "Playing in the Band," "Uncle John's Band," "Eyes of the World," "Estimated Prophet," "Truckin'," "Sugar Magnolia," "The Other One," "Terrapin," "Stella Blue," "Feel Like a Stranger," "Bird Song," "Let It Grow," "China Doll," "Box of Rain," "Morning Dew"; you name it. From the fall '89 breakouts come "Help-Slip-Frank," "Attics of My Life" and "Death Don't Have No Mercy." Among the still newish tunes are "Picasso Moon," "Blow Away," "Foolish Heart," "Just a Little Light," "Victim or the Crime," "Standing on the Moon," "We Can Run" and a couple that would get their final plays from the Grateful Dead on this tour-"Built to Last" and "Believe It or Not." There are stirring renditions of "Dear Mr. Fantasy" and "Black Muddy River," rockin' takes on "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "Iko Iko" and the only version of the full "Hey Jude" the band attempted in the modern era. And the "Rhythm Devils" and "Space" jams at the heart of each second set are as noisy-beautiful-scary-funny-intense-mysterious-wild as you'd expect/hope for.

Of course, we understand that some of you may have other favorite shows from this tour you wish were included on this box. Really, you can't go wrong with any of them. But at 18 discs, this is still the second largest Grateful Dead box (after Europe '72: The Complete Recordings) that's been released, and the non-inclusion of any other shows from the tour definitely does not preclude their future release! But this seemed like a more manageable way to go, while still giving a sense of the tour's amazing depth and breadth.

Besides the discs themselves, Grateful Dead: Spring 1990 has much to offer, including: a gorgeous 60-page hardcover book containing copious color photos by Jim Anderson and Michael Laurentus, unique artwork by Brooklyn-based fine artist Wes Lang, fascinating business letters and communications related to the tour, a detailed historical essay by Dennis McNally, a Producer's Note by David Lemieux and individual show descriptions by Blair Jackson; a reproduction of the Dead's 1990 tour program (printed and sold later in '90, for the fall and Europe '90 tours); tickets and backstage passes of all six shows; a band publicity photo from 1990 by Ken Friedman; Dennis McNally's tour laminate; and reproductions of the colored 8x10 sheets GDTS sent out with hotel, food and other information for each city on the tour.

With recordings made by longtime Grateful Dead recordist and producer John Cutler, mastered by Jeffrey Norman in HDCD, you just know it's gonna sound great-and it does!

So, that's the skinny this time 'round. This box is limited to just 9,000 numbered copies - please note, this is the only time these shows will ever be officially available on CD. There will not be an All Music Edition and single shows will not be available physically. Due to ship out August 31st, we anticipate that this extraordinary set will sell-out, so order your copy today!

If you're looking for more of a bite-sized taste of the '90s, Spring 1990: So Glad You Made It, a 2-CD set featuring a handful of favorites, will be in stores on September 18th.

-Blair Jackson

Ordering

Not a glitch! Indeed, I got my receipt just before I got my mail telling me about this. Well done guys!

Reply function

What's the point if it, given that using Reply does not link your post in any way to the post you are responding to?

best run of the 90s

pricey? yes. as a collector of all releases, ordered it. caught all the Albany shows and one from Nassau. great, great shows. the boys got pretty sloppy the rest of their tenure. especially after Brent's saddening demise. it's a beautiful thing to look at my collection of the many, many releases of box sets, dicks's picks, road trips and now dave's picks on my shelf in the den. close my eyes and throw a "dart" at what to pull out and listen to what comes out. never a bad choice, gotta say, it's a beautiful collection. keep 'em coming boys. regardless of pricing, i can never get enough. as been said, you don't HAVE to buy 'em. as a hard core deadhead my options for whichever decade i want to listen to, i've got tons of choices. happy 70th my friend Jerry- you are very, very missed, it's nice to know that my grandfathers are in heaven getting guitar lesson from the best...stay happy, and, as is motto in life= HAVE A GOOD TIME- ALL THE TIME!!! my daily dose of the dead keeps me goin' and smiling....stay grateful all ya'll......funny story- as a flight attendant we would have these pre-made boarding tapes we would play for the whole boarding process. horrible "musak" that would drive me nuts. i would take the cassettes, bring them home and record the dead over them. so now people boarding the plane would stop a second, realize, hey! is that the dead i hear? far out, man! good, good times. made the flight a 1000% better. ahhh, good times..........

3-16-90

Love this show! Love that it's being released. Pretty much changed my life... I would add to David Lemieux's comments that the Stella Blue from this show is an all time favorite! Happy Birthday Jerry!

why is everything limited numbered releases

I've noticed this new trend towards limiting the number of albums pressed of these shows. The only reason I can figure for this is to preserve the $ value. Once they sell out the prices can get pushed up. I'm not a fan of this. Wish I could afford all these releases the minute they pop up but I can't. Is the GD machine so desperate for money right now that they force us to hop on these packages as soon as they are pushed out? Whats wrong with just making these box sets avail, you're still going to sell an insane amount of them. After all, they are vaults of Grateful Dead shows

Really happy about this box

Really happy about this box and I hope there are more tours released like this (full tours would be better). Have a question, why the indian?

Looks Good

I'm looking forward to this box set very much. I was at some of these shows, my first show was 3/19/90( I was a late bloomer!) and I've been patiently waiting for its release all this time! I was a little taken aback by the price at first but what the hell, I missed out on the other box sets ( except the Winterland ones) and I'm not missing out on another! Just make payments on your credit card like I will and it will be paid for in a couple of months,no problem! If you dont like it, dont buy it! As far as Brent is concerned: Great keyboard player,adequate vocalist but his songs I could do without.which leads to the subject: How about some more Pigpen material ! We could certainly use some more 60's Dead! DP 4 maybe?! Anyway, waiting for DP 3 to pass my time until the Box set arrives! Happy Birthday Jerry!! I had a great tribute to you on your B day and we will never forget you!!! Rock on people and take care!!! ;)

Anna rRxia

Oh Anna! First you promise you'll steal these shows rather than buy them, then you tell us what Jerry would think? For a lady, you've got some big cojones!

PS limited quantities

PS limited quantities encourage sales and if the product sells out it removes the need for storage. A sellout of 9K boxes at $200 a pop is nothing to shake a stick at.

Bob and Mickey interview on Spring 1990 from Rolling Stone

is here http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-grateful-dead-commemor…

REDDOOG

Jesus just remembered REDDOOG (Run Every Drug Dealer Out Of Georgia) at the Omni shows. Scary stuff!

yup

yup, no qualms there. rhino has snookered me in the past and I think it is extremely poor taste to use somebody's birthday as a promotional gimmick, especially somebody who is dead.

what would St. Jerry think?

I think he'd be ok with this release. He wanted to quit touring, according to a late-in-life RS interview, but kept going for the others in the organization who relied on the GD for $$$. some posters' (posers?) probable response to finding out they get to travel back in time to hear the GD at Ventura: "sand's too hot water's too cold guys too young girls too old waves too big and gnarly for me" (thanks to the ancient band the Surf Punks...wish I had kept that album) GD and Rhino ptb, please forgive the whiners. Keep the smorgasbord of GD coming!!!

got them all, plus the ones they left out, why bother

all the so called "extras" aren't real, they are copies, so worthless, they have overpriced this to the point that the ebayers won't even touch it, there is no room for profit, all the meat has been cleaned off the bone by rhino, first, the e72 ripoff, promises not kept, crappy product, no customer service, now this, copies of copies of extras that were all given out for free at the shows, the 1990 spring experience, how can they call it this? there was no feeling of being ripped off in spring of 1990, so the "experience" here is flawed. They got everyone on board with this, interviews with living band members trying to remember what happened back then, even Mcnally commenting about this being the best of the last, if that is so and the band members have a say in what else gets released, then this will be the only release we will see from the 90's. You know, after 35 plus years of being a deadhead I just won't do this, rhino is not to be trusted and if you think they care about the dead experience, you really haven't read all these posts, or the e72 thread, or experienced what it is like to be ripped off by these people. It's heartbreaking and will make you bitter towards any future releases by rhino, so to quote annarrxia, you can't fool me again.

Are these from the multi-track recordings?

Can we get a confirmation that the Spring 1990 Box Set is culled from the multi-track recordings (a la Without a Net, Nightfall, Terrapin Station, Formerly Warlocks) or not?? I'm assuming they would have stated it, if so. I sure hope they did, but i'm skeptical. Come on Rhino.

Super pumped

I'm really geeked for this release. Yes, it comes at a time when I probably shouldn't buy it, but I did. I was hoping that it would be the ENTIRE spring run, even if 3/15 was a repeat, but I'm more than pleased with the shows on offer here. Couple that with the fact that there's still potential to release the rest of the tour at a later date and I find very little to complain about here. (For those clamoring for 3/29, there might be royalty issues dealing with Branford's label, etc. I know the discussion about guests has been hashed many times before.) I've had these shows in great SBD/MTX for years and listen to them frequently. I actually just listened to the entire tour in the past month because I knew this might be a possibility and it hasn't disappointed. I am kind of surprised that they didn't offer free domestic shipping on this one like they did for the E72 set. That would have been nice, especially since my state charged tax as well (not sure if every state does that for internet transactions). Is the price per disc a bit high? Yes, but I'll pay it. As a Deadhead and a collector it will be worthwhile for me. It's easy to justify the upfront expense now rather than the price gauging later. ($100 for the 1 CD Rare Cuts and Oddities? I need it for my collection, but please....) Buying this just means there will be fewer non-Dead related purchases for the remainder of the year. I'm fine with that. I applaud David, Mark Pinkus, and the GD/Rhino crews for their work on this and other sets they have put together. While others seem to have a constant struggle with Rhino I, for one, haven't had any insurmountable issues thus far (knock on wood). The ordering process for this was very smooth/easy so it's all good in my opinion.

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?

I really want a Lear jet but I can't afford one. If I complain to the Learjet corporation, maybe they will make me one that is in my price range. Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends. Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends, So Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?

Recordings

It says these were recorded by John Cutler, so read between the lines... Weren't all these other releases also recorded by John Cutler? Without A Net, Dozin At The Knick, Terrapin Limited, Nightfall of Diamonds, Truckin Up To Buffalo, and Crimson White and Indigo. This box set is contemporary to all those, so it makes sense that these will be multi-track, at least they better be at this price point.

Some happy, some sad...

Of course. With such a library to choose from, and so many different opinions and tastes, there are bound to be a million different thoughts on this, but seriously, I can't wait. I was so happy that you could now host a listening party for one on an Ipad! That alone made this well worth it. Personally, I love spring of 1990 and this was awesome. Thank you, friends.

Amen

Its unbelievable. Really is. This stuff is top notch quality. No other band put beautiful stuff out like this Spring 90 box. Rhino has always been mark of quality. That's why the boys went with Rhino. These boxes are real treasures to be enjoyed as we grow old. Yeah Europe 72 box shipping went bit crazy but so what. They worked hard to fix it and ultimately everyone got their box. If u don't like it listen on archive for free but it's worth every cent of 200 bucks.

Another good box of music!

Thanks! It's NOT the whole tour, but I really don't want that all at once. This looks interesting, a great selection of shows. I wasn't at any of these shows, nor have I ever had any them as audience recordings or unofficial soundboards.

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, March 29, 1990, Uniondale, NY

I'm sad to see that this concert is not one of those included in the box set, because I absolutely love the Bird Song with Branford Marsalis included from it on So Many Roads. Can someone please tell me if the whole show is available elsewhere?

hope you have some $$$ left over

because Jerry is back!!!! http://jerrygarcia.shop.musictoday.com/Dept.aspx?cp=640_57727

garcia live volume 1

at $25 for 3 discs -- if they get to 6 volumes that'll be $150. Bargain-town!!! If you're crazy enough to think that, by comparison this Dead release is at least 33% more valuable... well, I probably agree with you!! But I'll have to have the Jerry too -- thanks for the info, Mr. Badger.

1990 set

Why not DVD?

dvds

love this box set i think its the best release ever bought it right away just wish they would have put dvds in this one

Listening Party

Where did it go? I was so excited for that thing! I probably listened to it too many times in the last 24 hours and it imploded. Sorry.

DING DING DING

Hola! Got mine in. Really loaoking forward to it. Saw the Atlanta shows, and thought they were terrific. My favorite show of the year though was the return to Kentucky (How bout it Colonel Dave L!). Really, really nice Box, love the new art . . . not as goofy as the E72 box thankfully. One question for Lang though is what is with the Native AMerican iconography with an east coast tour? One other note - we now have Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench (and Rose de facto) in the Hall of Fame. IT IS TIME FOR DAVEY! The Cyclone of Woodford County, KY

Jerry 80

Hola! This looks like an amazing release to follow on the other release from this Tour (which came with a great tee shirt). I was at the two Lisner shows in Washington (GWU's campus theater). Rather interesting to see Jerry without Keith and Donna. THis was pre-Internet, cell phone and immediacy of information so we had no clue what the band would look like other than the Godchaux' were no longer in the Dead (and were replaced with some weird guy who looked like he was somewhere in space with those weird eyes - though he came to be a critical part of the Band, and a damn fine one at that). Of course, the prior release was Kean College, 2/28/80, and the Bonus disk (with a killer WIPMM) was from 2/29 and had one tune from 3/1. What a treasure trove this month! YIPEE FOR BEIN A HIPEE! Mr. Happy

spring '90!

This is sweet. Thank you! David Lemieux for choosing the 3/30 show; all my deadhead friends always disagreed with me, but I always thought this show was the killer of that run, (if not the whole tour) even better than the great Branford show. I remember taping it live off WNEW FM in NYC at Manhattan College all those years ago and just being blown away at how HOT and TIGHT Jerry sounded in the slipknot and the dire wolf. We were having a raging kegger in our dorm and I had a tape running off a cheapo boom box playing the radio broadcast, but the tape came out great. Those were glorious times! The 3/28 show which I went to turned out to be my last Brent show, was awesome (and awesomely psychedelicized), AND was STILL probably the weakest of the three at Nassau. That tour was KILLER. Maybe not Europe '72, but still friggin' great! Also, cool that they're including the Help>Slip>franks and Loser from Albany; I remeber endlessly bitchin when Dozin' didn't have those. BTW, Messr. Lemieux, you mention the calaypso jam after Women r smarter in the Landover show; another show that has a cool post WrS jam from that era is the previous fall Meadowlands show from 10/14/89, which is a really good to great show that has always been overshadowed by the legendary 10/16 show. Not to mention being overshadowed by the goonish brendan byrne security that run, that night which a guy from my high school died at that show. Those east coast tours were getting crazy by '89-'90, but damn the music was sick!

busted 3/17/90 cap center

its been a long time since i thought about these shows or even that year.cant remember how many times before this show i seen the dead or should i say expericed the parking lot.i was 18 years old and had only started to experiment w/lsd. so i bought 2 sheets of lsd and shortly after met a cute girl and we were in the process of dosing when this long haired wanna be hippie comes up to me and asks to buy some of what he seen us eating.i said no that i dont sell.after hassling me to buy some cause he said he wanted to head in and didnt have time to look for his own.long story short-i gave,not sold,5 hits to him.next thing i know,he puts 20 bucks in my flannel shirt pocket and pulls a badge and says your under arrest.they were calling me the rabbit after what happned next.i jumped and ran through the lot, in and out of cars while people were watching all this and urging me to keep running!LOL.you all might not believe this,but suddenly all the hippies that were undercover cops came out of nowhere and they tackled my ass.they(pigs)were all laughing afterwards saying nice try and calling me a rabbit, that i just up and tried to get gone.this is funny reliving this now.they busted so many people at this show we were put in school buses and taken to jail.i seen at least 2 buses that night filled.another thing that sucked for me that night was i just turned 18 a few months earlier,so when they came on the bus,they said anyone under 18 off the bus,calling your parents,the rest of us went to jail.did 5 days then made bail.had to fake a rehab stint and then 3yrs probation.one more thing,when i was cuffed with my hands behind my back and just waiting with all these hippies around me,which were all cops,(cops dressed like us,heads)but if you had just showed up from another part of the lot and did not just see what happened you would think we were a bunch of heads just hanging out,anyway this dude comes up to us and he is like,whats up everybody whats going on.just bullshitting.but i know he is swinging and (so do the pigs) and before he incriminates himself,i swing my back around to show him that i'm cuffed.we look at each other,i say nothing,he says,right on,man.and walks away.they did try to pursue him but he said nothing incriminating and he just kept walking.i felt great to save a fellow headhead,if only this nite. watching the olympics now,playing shine on you crazy diamond for the balance beam,awesome!! -- the bus came by and i got on,thats when it all began,for the next 22years for me and still going. i love you so much grateful dead,thank you.you all helped me to change my life for the better. 420- i say pigs but i do have respect,don't kid yourself.

tough choice

First of all, there's no need to complain about "whining" or "bitching" about this release. People are just communicating their preferences.This release looks great and it's from a really good year (although I'm among those who would have prefered more 70s). The dilemma for me is the price. My first reaction was that it was overpriced but after giving it some thought it's not terribly overpriced. If eliminating the "goodies" would drive the price down I'd be all for that. I don't need a replica backstage pass, it won't do me any good now--I just want the shows. Mainly, though, for my wallet, this box is just too big. A three show box at half the price would be a no-brainer. And why does this tour get a six show box? Yes it was very good but certainly not in the same category as any tour from '73 or '77 and the two Winterland boxes were smaller and much more affordable. I might still go for this, there is a lot of great music here but I'm on the fence because it's a lot of money to shell out at one time. And quite honestly, I don't reach for 80s/90s Dead all that often when deciding what to listen to. I hope future boxes fall into the $100 and under price range. Also, very interesting choice to choose six shows from six different cities. My first thought was to prefer full runs of cities but this might work out pretty well.

listening party

Anyone else notice the pauses between songs in the listening party? This raises a big red flag for me. Do the songs on this release have the same pauses in between? That would be a deal breaker for me. I"m not sure about this release anyway, but if there are pauses between each song, each transition and each jam then that devalues this release considerably. WTF?

if this shop

will be the only source to buy this utterly overpriced box set than... I am out!gladly!

When you're ready to become your parents...meh

"...hope I d-d-die before I get old..." Thank you David, GD.net & Rhino! Great work (again)...

i'm in

Grate choice, David. Consistently entertaining late period run. The sound system and electronics were top notch and the Dead were having a blast with the technology available to them. A welcome addition to the collection, in my opinion. A healthy band with a smiling Jerry was always a good thing. Is a video release from these shows on the horizon? as no DVD is included in the box as an extra? BTW, the doodads will be fun-good response to those who felt that there weren't enough doodads in the Europe 72 box-I know i kept lookinh for "the hidden steamer trunk drawer on that one"-never did find that drawer though.

Overpriced!

Overpriced? Only compared to the bargain that was the E72 box. Compared to other dead boxes, not overpriced. Warlocks box? More expensive per disc than this. Beyond Description? More expensive -- and it's a re-release! Basically same price structure as Winterland boxes, only this one now has a seemingly more lavish production -- so value for money has gone up, not down. Don't give a damn about the doodads? Me either, but the point remains: pricing same as Winterlands. So, weren't the Warlocks and Winterland boxes overpriced? Not a chance, if you judge by the prices of archival boxes from other artists. Here's a very typical (but awesome) example; Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton, released on Mosaic, 10 CDs, $136. "I can't afford it" and "it's overpriced" are not the same thing.

oversea postage & taxes included

Q. who buys a 18 cds bulk all at once? A: cd junkies!

Thanks Badger for the Jerry Band Link

Awesome to see some new Jerry Band material finally getting released. Also they are offering a 24bit digital download which is really great!!! I am psyched to have a super high quality recording of both these shows. Promintory Rider from this show and caldrone are a favorite of mine. Pumped for this and the new box set...

Praising and complaining.

It is just too easy to praise or complain now - and one has an audience. The interweb makes it so easy to let the world see your humble (or not so humble) opinion and reply to it with agreement, disagreement or in extreme cases with personal attacks. And then there are the trolls. Before the advent of the web it was not so easy and certainly not public. When "Go to heaven" was released, how many people sat down and put pen to paper and wrote a letter (remember them?) to the record company complaining that the cover art sucked? Nobody knows, nobody will ever know and certainly nobody cares. How many people who post their opinions on here do it to try and get things improved and how many do it just to gain a few seconds of attention? That is a bit easier to assess. Do not misunderstand me here - I am not complaining about the openness of the web or about the people who post on here, I am merely noting the changes that the web has brought about. Just as with social media, the whole philosophy of communication has changed dramatically since the introduction of the web.

Another great choice for release

Don't need/want the extra stuff, though it is an inexpensive way to up the price for the package. We will see how long this takes to sell out, My guess is that it will be a few weeks. People who don't need the artwork or the other extras will wait for the digital genie, as was noted by another poster earlier. I am psyched for another Jerry release. It is way overdue and actually more welcome news than this box. But I am happy for you 9k boxers. Please enjoy this spectacular onslaught of sound!

Poetry420

Hey now, I was at those shows too, same thing, 18, didn't end up on the School Bus fortunately, but have been on "the" bus ever since. There's a reason we called it the "Crap" Centre, security and cops were ridiculous. The 1990 shows were particularily bad as I recall. As for the box set, I'm in, I cut my teeth on this tour.

Artwork

A humble request regarding artwork. It would be GREAT if the artwork for each individual show would be posted here on dead.net. Yes, we can scan the covers, but they don't look as good (to me at least). For those that digitize for iTunes, etc., it's nice to have the artwork. Thanks again DL/MP, et. al.

Spring '90 Box Set

I did not get to attend any of these shows but I think this box set looks great and I am pumped for it. Compared to other offerings from other artists, I think this set is priced fairly. I always say, nobody is forcing you to buy it. If for any reason you do not want it, just pass it by. Don't slam Rhino, the Dead, David L., or anyone else. Just wait for the next release and hopefully you will be happy with that one. For me, this one looks awesome. Rock on & peace out.

order numbers

I wonder if the order numbers would give a clue as to how many orders have been placed. My order number is 88084XX, with the 88084 part being relevant. My order date was 08-01-12 09:10:23 AM, which was literally right as the information went live. I noticed the Spring 1990 order page appear in the tracker (dead.net/tracker) a minute or two before the home page was updated.

Jerry release

Looks like the Jerry vault is finally starting to open! All good things in all good time.

QUALITY RELEASE

This is a quality release folks. If you haven't already, use your favorite search engine and learn what a "Smyth-Sewn" book is. I'm glad to see that this set comes with jewel trays. This will reduce the chances of scratching the discs. I also prefer the engraved metal which has the # of 9000 instead of a sticker. The 03/16/90 preview sounds great! Love the mix... I've read some of the recent posts and one thing that should be considered is that the artist Wes Lang also has to be paid for his work. If someone has also mentioned this then I'm just repeating it. I read his bio last night and also the interview concerning this exciting release. I also notice that Rhino is using a different source for customer service. When taking into consideration the quality materials, time and effort that was put into this release, the price tag is very reasonable.. I don't think Rhino, Wes and anyone else is getting rich from this release.

Sounds good!

I'm digging the listening party jams. The band sounds great and tight. Like a lot of others, I have been listening to a lot of early 70's Dead. This is a nice change and it really is solid Dead. Ordered the new Jerry Garcia Vol.1 yesterday. I was really surprised to see the link in a post. Nice to see a new JGB release coming our way, hopefully it will continue. I'm happy with all the music that will be shipping my way soon enough. Phil

Bummer

When everything else looks so good why did they have to use jewell cases. Will they replace the scratched discs that will be so prevelent. Oh well they'll just have to learn from their mistakes.

Are these from the multi-track recordings?

"Recorded and Mixed Live by John Cutler" Which is why they sound so good.

product sku

GRA9900088