Spring 1990, Volume One Box

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August 8, 2012 - 10:43am

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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

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August 4, 2012 - 6:24am

#941

Zuckfun

Joined:
March 18, 2010

Words from the Vault

The following is an excerpt from an interview with David Lemieux: So Nightfall of Diamonds was recorded on multi-track. Is that because they were recording shows for what would become Without a Net? Absolutely. That’s what happened with that one. Certain times and tours and runs of shows were recorded multi-track with the intention of producing an album from them, and fortunately in the case of Without a Net, the Dead happened to be playing really well those three tours. So we’ve got multi-tracks for Without a Net, Downhill From Here, Dozin’ at the Knick, Terrapin Limited, and Nightfall of Diamonds. So that pattern is pretty much what we’re still following, and that goes for a few reasons. One, we don’t have very much multi-track, and what we do have is worth mixing to make proper albums out of, and at the same time, it takes so long to mix a multi-track down to two-track it wouldn’t really be feasible. A two-track release generally takes about four weeks to do and a multi-track takes about eight weeks. Read more: Interview from the Vault - A Conversation with David Lemieux (Part Three) http://www.musicbox-online.com/dl-vault3.html#ixzz22aEUGRMq
August 4, 2012 - 5:55am

#942

Zuckfun

Joined:
March 18, 2010

Sonic Paradise

To the best of my knowledge, the Spring of 1990, along with the latter half of 1989, was recorded on multi-track tapes. This is a new mix, with every effort to make it sound as great as possible. Listening to The Warlocks Box, the sonic glory of multi-track material reveals itself like a flash of audio lightning.
August 4, 2012 - 5:40am

#943

simonrob

Joined:
June 7, 2007

Multi-tracks ?

I have not researched this exhaustively, but as far as I can make out of what has beeh officially released from this period, only "The Warlocks" box was definitely taken from 24 tr. tapes. All other official releases from this period were taken from 2 tr. tapes or the source is indeterminate. Were the 24 tr. tapes recorded by Arista for "Without a net" and remain the property of Arista and the vault only has the 2 tr. tapes? I have no idea. If these recordings were taken from the 24 tr. tapes, I would expect that to be mentioned in the marketing blurb to talk-up this release. As there is no specific mention of which set of tapes was used, I would guess that the 2 tr. tapes were used. I hope clarification is forthcoming and that it turns out that the 24 tr. tapes were available and were used here. However, I expect that the sound quality on this release will be just fine otherwise they would not be releasing such a lavish production.
August 4, 2012 - 5:07am

#944

One Man

Joined:
May 17, 2011

2-Track Source

"Recorded and mixed live by John Cutler" means live-to-2-track to me, which means the multi-track tapes are gathering dust in the vault. There is some chance these mixes will sound relatively okay, but there is no way they could compare to a careful mix from multi-track, because Cutler had his hands full during the shows and this 2-track tape was an afterthought. It's probably just the house mix. I just hate that the better audio source was ignored. Production cost would have been higher, but isn't it more important that the best sound arrives at the listeners' ears?
August 4, 2012 - 4:57am

#945

highthyme

Joined:
March 12, 2009

I'm sure nobody is getting rich here, but

9000 sets at $200 each is not $180,000. It's $1.8 million. Meanwhile, I too would like to know if these are indeed mastered from the 24-track tapes, or if they're taken from Cutler's 2-tracks as Terrapin Limited was in order to avoid conflict with Arista's release of Althea on Without A Net.
August 3, 2012 - 11:59pm

#946

SPACEBROTHER

Joined:
June 4, 2007

2 disc track sources...

They played LTGTR twice on that tour, 3/16 and 3/24. To try and narrow down where the songs are from... LTGTR - either 3/16 or 3/24 Stranger - most likely 3/22 but could be 4/2 West LA - 3/22 Easy To Love You - lely 3/22 BIODTL - 3/22 Loser - 3/24 All Over Now - 3/19 or 3/30 Jack-a-Roe - 3/19 Last Time - 3/16 or 3/22 or 4/2 Bird Song - 3/16 Blow Away - most likely 3/16 as the other version from 3/26 is already on Dozin' At The Knick Samson and Delilah - 3/22 Scarlet>Estimated - 3/16 Playin>Eyes - 3/19 Gimme Some Lovin' - 3/26 Dew - 3/26 NFA - 3/30 Attics - 3/30 The more I think about this release, the more I feel that this is by far the best release they have put together yet. I love the E72 box, but these will be in my listening rotation far more. My little Spring '90 story... A friend of mine and I sent out for mail order tickets for Knickerbocker and tried to order by phone but got shut out. Our determinatiuon not-with-standing to see the Dead on this tour because Spring '89 was such a blast, we decided to order tickets over the phone for the Omni when they went on sale. We scored decent Brent/Jerry stage right side seats for the first two nights and behind the stage for the last night. The last Dead show I attended before this run was at Alpine Valley 7/18 (yup, the unfortunately as-of-yet unreleased show screened at movie theatre, which I missed :( ... ), and it was the last time I attended a show where onsight overnight camping and vending still ran rampant. Upon arrival for the first show, we parked in a ramp across the street from the CNN center and home of the Omni. Our first observation was that there was very little vending or obvious camping, which was sort of an expected shock. The shock I didn't expect was hearing about what transpired for the past few day at Nassau. At that point I figured there would be no real suprises, but it was April Fools. Who knows? As things would be, the first night was a great solid show all around. Everything played exceptionally well and the band was fully warmed up. By the second night of the run, which is the one included in this set, we happened to have the great fortune of not only finding out that a freightyard lot behind the CNN Center was opened for Deadheads to camp and vend, despite the rules posted by the band, but by chance, we had even better fortune! Before the show, we pretty much hung out in the makeshift freightyard fteak village were parked near some folks who were taping shows from the tour and rocking recordings from the first night. By this point, I had been going to Grateful Dead concerts for several years already but really only had a vague knowledge of tape trading. As it turned out, after an awesome second show, we headed back to the lot to enjoy the afterglow and chill for a bit before heading to the hotel. Shortly after we arrived back to the car, and having pulled out a couple of lawn chairs and a beverage or three, a brother who appeared to be a little distressed from his out of body experience caught our attention. He decided to approach us as we hung out and told us he had lost track of where his buddies were and asked if he couild hang out with us in case they turned up. We of course said "sure" and he proceeded to tell us that he and his traveling companions were taping the whole tour.By chance, we just so happened to have a stand alone cassette deck with us that he could burn copies to from his rig, and offered him to stay with us, burn tapes from the tour and just drool at the mini goldmine this guy was lugging around with him.We were able to make copies of everything except Nassau and Hartford, including the first and second nights at the Omni. The next day and the third show, we went to the same lot and the taper we met immediately hooked up with his buddies. He was grateful for the place to stay and we were blessed with pristine 1st gen recordings of almost the entire tour. We exchanged contact info with the taper guy from Pennsylvania and he sent us the rest of the tour promptly. This was the first time in my life I had ever recieved a tape of a concert I had attended right after a show, and it was the whole Spring '90 tour! Of course, this experience created a monster. About two or three weeks later, we had invested in the first of many portable recorders and proceeded to push the bounderies of who, what and where we recorded live concerts. What a learning experience THAT whole process was... Of course, there were many other great memories I have from that '90 Omni adventure. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see the Grateful Dead on what I consider to be one of the top two or three tours they ever played. I happen to like apples and oranges. Ultimately, good karma reaps great rewards, and that was our turn to pay it forward and vice/versa. Only at a Grateful Dead concert...
August 3, 2012 - 8:27pm

#947

Little Ben Clock

Joined:
June 7, 2007

Dates for tracks on 2-disc version?

Is there any information on the dates for the tracks in the 2-disc version? So far I've gathered it must be as below but I can't find a LTGTR> Stranger anywhere in the fun. Perhaps there will be some very creative edits on the segues. Anyway, if someone can point out where all these tracks come from, I'd be much obliged. For what it's worth, I'm not interested enough in this era to go for the boxset (and it will be the first Dead release I haven't gone for in years, regardless of the era) so I appreciate that the 2-disc set is going to be available. Let The Good Times Roll> [??] Feel Like A Stranger [??] West L.A. Fadeaway [??] Easy To Love You [??] Beat It On Down The Line [??] Loser [24th] It’s All Over Now> [??] Jack-A-Roe [??] The Last Time [??] Bird Song [??] Blow Away [??] --- Samson And Delilah [??] Scarlet Begonias> [16th] Estimated Prophet> [16th] Playing In The Band> [19th] Eyes Of The World [19th] Gimme Some Lovin’> [26th] Morning Dew [26th] Not Fade Away [??] Attics Of My Life [??]
August 3, 2012 - 8:26pm

#948

fluffanutter

Joined:
February 25, 2012

Not just Wes, LedMan

No, many people are getting paid for their work. Here is a short list: John Cutler; David Lemieux; Blair Jackson; Wes Lang; Jeffrey Norman. Then there is all the production costs of the box, jewel trays, doo-dads, and the discs themselves (Lets hope they went first-class on the actual discs this time). All of that has to be taken out of only $180,000. Then there is the attendant vendor for special customer service. So, no, nobody is getting rich. I imagine the royalties going to band members is quite small. They truly are putting the music out there for the fans and that is admirable. Deadheads just love to complain about everything. It is the one thing you can be sure about when there is a new release. I wouldn't have it any other way. What gets me though is the people who hate the complainers. Imagine two heads on one body -- a complainer and a complimenter, always fighting with each other! LMAO!
August 3, 2012 - 7:21pm

#949

fourwindsblow

Joined:
October 13, 2008

Are these from the multi-track recordings?

"Recorded and Mixed Live by John Cutler" Which is why they sound so good.
August 3, 2012 - 6:53pm

#950

snafu

Joined:
April 23, 2008

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.

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

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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

Artwork

I just found it, but thanks for your help.

Recieved mine

I received my set on Thursday [ 6493/9000 ]. USPS left it on my porch because no one was home because, being on vacation, I had taken my family to the beach. I opened it and was very happy to see that all the discs were there and none of them were damaged. The only blemish is a gouge on the back of the Copps Colesium digipack set.

box damaged in shipping

Box set is in and I am psyched. Starting my listening party in 5 minutes but the box itself is damaged. Looks like it was dropped pretty hard on its corner so even the inside box is dented. I am hoping for $200 I can get a replacement box. I have sent a note in to customer service with some pics so hopefully they come thru and fix this issue.

@footbear

Hello Pot...meet Kettle...

Overdose

This is a wonderful time for those of us who are both Deadheads and Zappa Freaks (I don't think they like to be called heads). No need to go into the huge amount of newly released Dead material here that's being handled just fine. But for those of us who grew up loving both the Zappa Family Trust is in the process of reissuing the entire Zappa Catalogue. The approach for that is a little different. Much of what is on CD was remastered by Zappa in the 80's and not to the joy of the purists. He added digital reverb rerecorded bass and drums on the earliest stuff etc. so unlike the Dead releases where we are hearing for the 1st time live shows we only heard on tapes/boots with the Zappa releases it's ok how is this different from the earlier cd releases. Many are the original vinyl mixes on cd for the 1st time. I think I need to take a few weeks off of work to fully digest both the Dead and the Zappa stuff. As I said Overdose. Whatever you may think of Zappa I can't help but think almost everone on this site would agree with one of his quotes--- MUSIC IS THE BEST. And just maybe what I say to my friends who aren't quite so obsessive Music Is Life. Ok back to the task at hand let's see I think another Dead show is called for tonight.

Nevermind

Venting will change nothing

Scrib

A most excellent essay by Scrib... I always like reading his stuff.

The Music Never Stops...

Been listening to the shows for the past few days, and STOKED to have them. Have had most of the shows recorded from the audience for years, but its like discovering them for the first time in this awesome box set. Love the versions of Foolish Heart, Bertha and Scarlet-Fire. And the packaging is awesome, so fancy. Even the Shipping box was custom. Well worth the price.Sorry some people are so negative.... sometimes "shit happens" (I saw may of those bumper stickers in the lot at shows) I think Rhino is a great company and have good customer service. They once replaced a CD that I cracked from removing it from the case.

The Music Never Stops...

Thank You Rhino

So very happy, So very excellent!

The band is on fire!The mix is near perfect! Brent is playing out of his mind! Possibly the best box yet.

iTunes Zappa

Been listening to the '88 Zappa tour. Really the best band you never heard!!!

where the rivers end or where the rivers start

Was fortunate to see the Best Band You Never Heard in '88 ~ a unique version of genius. (I guess that's what makes genius genius.) But to the band at hand...... Had a wonderful time reliving 3-16-90 last night. The band is super hot, Bob is in especially fine vocal form, so is Jerry for that matter, Phil is all over it on bass, and it's one of those nights where "when the drummers are hot, the band is hot." The first set is worth owning for its own sake, Good Times Roll is really inspired, Touch of Grey is a marvelous version, really picking up steam for the finale, Minglewood cooks (nice 3-go-round opening solo from Jerry), Peggy-O is beautifully rendered, Bird Song is even more epic than I remember, and the show stoppers ~ Black-Throated & Blow Away ~ what can you say...two very emotional moments. Scarlet inspires a full post-jam before the surprise ~ and very hot ~ Estimated, and Ship of Fools is intense and VERY inspired. Jerry seems to be searching for the right effect on his first Women Are Smarter solo, but finds it during the verse before his second ~ and tears in accordingly. Brent's now-permanently-stolen "little boy sit on the corner and cry" verse was fun to hear again. The Last Time ~ the encore ~ is about the only thing that's ragged vocally (moreso than I remember) but finds pure magic once Brent joins Jerry on the outro harmonies and Bob takes over the lead scatting. Leaving this show, it was my favorite of the Landover run and hearing it again it's hard to argue. My verdict on the mix is, I'm loving it. Could multi-track have brought out a little more Jerry vocal here, or Billy snare there? Undoubtedly. However, these live mixes really sound LIVE. The vocals, Jerry's lead guitar, and other elements really capture the sound of the venue, and the energy of the event. I think something important would've (or certainly could've) been lost in a multi-tracking mix translation. Moved chronologically to Hartford today, but cheated and jumped to 2nd set. Box of Rain is about as quintessential a version as you're going to hear; Phil's vocal is strong and poignant, and the harmonies on the finale are studio-perfect. As if while recently reworking Attics, they'd shored up on Box, as well. Vocal flubs notwithstanding ~ and Jerry doesn't let them stand in his way (as he occasionally could on a lesser night) ~ the Foolish Heart is a wonderful version, flawless and soaring jam. Playin' -> Eyes -> Drums....nice. Great organ from Brent on Playin'. To Blair's liner note point (which I read after), Drums really does flow right on with the beat the drummers have been chasing relentlessly all through Eyes. Sounds like Jerry has left the stage a little before the others as the Eyes jam winds down, or else he's MIDI'd his guitar into something purely percussive.....will just have to hear it again to be sure... Promise I won't post my own personal review of every show! But it's been great listening this weekend, psyched for Copps and can't wait for Nassau. (And Footbear, I do feel for you ~ I'd be bummed if I wasn't in a position to obtain these shows in particular, and I know I'm very lucky that some of these big releases have happened while I was.)

Mystery compartments?

This is very sweet. I'm gonna try and take my time rather than ripping through every show (save one as mentioned below) on a consecutive bender like I did w/E '72. (Yeah, i know, like that'll work) Did anybody find anything in the right-hand side of the box when you open it? I didn't, but it just seemed like it was made w/something in there since they put a finger hole in, and left side has all the stubs/passes, etc.. These cd sleeves are way better than Europe box; those were thinner and looked cool in the steamer trunk, but I must've ripped half of them. (Also hope those don't develop any scratches/skips from sliding them in and out-hasn't happened to me yet) Through tremendous willpower and sensei-like strength, I've saved the Rotterdam show from Europe to listen to in my old age and decrepitude; don't think I can do the same with one of these six! Anyone who has never heard 3/30 Nassau is in for a treat-that show is just flawless execution but still with total adventurousness and improvisation IMO, and the pre-drums setlist is extraordinary. Definitely hope they do release 3/29 in its entirety down the road; don't know if any of the remaining 9 are really worthy or not as I haven't heard most of them.

dvd

Does anyone know if there will be dvd releases from this tour?

dvd

Does anyone know if there will be dvd releases from this tour?

Benefit for the Creamery

40 years ago, today...

Honestly,

it's a bit of let down to (finally) be among the first to own a limited edition set such as this and there not be a bonus disc included.

Oops

Double post

Yes!

I got 898/9000 in the mail this morning, though my order status still says "In Process". Beautiful box. Thanks, Rhino/GDM.

Yes!

I got 898/9000 in the mail this morning, though my order status still says "In Process". Beautiful box. Thanks, Rhino/GDM.

Had to Happen Sooner or Later

I've been ordering from Dead.net for 14 years, never had a single problem!! Now I have 2!! No Dave's 3, but more importantly, my Hartford show had a Copps disc one. So now I have 2 disc one's from Copps, and no disc one for Hartford. I emailed Customer Service and they got back to me right away, so hopefully that is a good sign. Anyone else get a wrong disc, or am I the only lucky one to have two copies of Copps set I?

Anybody know

Does anybody know how many sets are now left? I know a couple of people (myself included) who sprung for the set the moment the shipping announcement hit on late Thursday.

still waiting

paid for overnight shipping and am still waiting to hear anything. my order has been in process for almost 2 weeks. any word or update on when overnight shippers box will send would be amazing at this point..

Forry!! Exact Same Issue Here

Just read your post, too bad you didn't get an extra Hartford set one instead, we could have done a trade and avoided Customer Care all together. They said they would get back to me about sending a replacement disc within 72 hours. Let me know how it turns out for you, I'll do the same. Burnsy

Best tours

What are people's favorite tours?I'm endlessly amazed at how often people ignore 1970. For instance, in the book this set came with Lemieux says 1990, Europe 72, fall 73, spring 77. Hello? These are great in their way, yes, but none of them can TOUCH 1970! Damn, it irks me that so few Dead Heads seem to realize how amazing 1970 was. LISTEN TO DICK'S PICKS 8 FOR INSTANCE! No way is there better Jerry. Disk 2 is freakin' amazing. By the way, one of my disks in this set is cracked. I emailed dead.net. I sure hope they can send me a new disk without me sending the whole set back! And what happens if they are sold out? I hope they have extra disks for this kind of problem. UPDATE: Aha! Now I get it. David was 19 in the early '90's and not born in 1970! That might explain it. Most Dead Heads I know think the tours they actually experienced are the best ever. But I didn't see 1970 in person either. I'm a child of 76-77 mostly. One other thing: on page 3 of the book there is a photo with a red circle on it that is supposed to be circling David in the tapers section. For the life of me I can't see a person at all in that circle! In the very center of the circle is something that looks like a square brown thing, sort of like a paper bag. David, are you wearing a bag over your head? LOL!

Dave's 3

itsburnsy says he's having a problem: "No Dave's 3". That's not out yet, is it? If it is, I also didn't get it yet.

update for folks with broken/defective/wrong disc issues

Please contact the Spring 90 Store customer service, not Dr. Rhino. If this doesn't work, get back to me. Thanks.

and if you did not get your Dave's Picks 3 yet

and have not already done so, please DO send email with the details to Dr. Rhino, drrhino (at) rhino.com

Best Yet!

This is the best release yet. I'm a very satisfied customer. This is, IMHO, the hight point of the Dead's career. In terms of musicianship and variety (not to mention the quality of recordings) there is nothing that tops 89/90. Everything about this release is top notch. Apparently, Europe /72 was a learning experience for Rhino. This box is much better done. Reasonable roll out and release date, good promos, nice packaging, great mixing and mastering. The only thing that might top this would be a box of the Dylan/Dead collaboration. Or Spring /90 Part II. I'm taking a week of vacation, leaving Texas, heading West. There is no better way to listen to the Dead than while driving the Great American Desert in a two-seater with a sound system that can make the floor shake. Six days and six shows, W TX, NM, AZ, maybe on to CA. Just a mile to go, my old buddy your moving much too slow.

@itsburnsy-Thanks,I will keep you informed.

Talked to Dead.net customer service today and was told that they would get a replacement disc out to me also,but they could not say when it would be processed and mailed.I'll let you know how things go.thanks!

@itsburnsy-Thanks,I will keep you informed.

A very good choice of shows

THANK YOU VERY MUCH! These shows sound great so far. My tastes in GD music are mostly the early 70's - 1970 - '73, with the full range being the 1960's to about 1984. The shows that were released in this box satisfies me very well. I don't think I will order a "Spring 1990, Volume 2" if this is ever considered by The Powers That Be. I would be extremely happy if "Sunshine Daydream" / 8/27/72 were ever to be released - either as two separate entities: GDP & the owners of "Sunshine Daydream" or a two products from GDP, similar to the "Truckin' Up To Buffalo" releases, or a single package like "Crimson, White & Indigo"

Ziggybirds

I have passed along your message.

Highway robbery

So because you people who pay $200 for these shows, or $500 for Europe 72'; people like me who listen to these shows on archive.org discover that we can't listen to soundboards anymore and now get told to go buy music that has and should always stay free.

should always stay free?

Plucky, I'm not sure why you and others believe that soundboards recorded by the band for the band (or in the case of Fall '89->Spring '90, specifically for commercial release) should be free ~ as opposed to audience recordings taped by tapers. But you do have a point ~ if a release is a limited quantity run, and you CAN'T buy it once it's sold out ~ then I don't know why audio streams would be removed for those. At the end of the day, though, the music still belongs to the band ~ not to us (unless we taped it). As for audience tapers who were allowed to plug into the soundboard who share THEIR soundboard tapes on the Archive ~ and maybe that's what you meant ~ well, room for debate, there, I suppose. But even then, I think the pendulum lands on the band ~ the tapers allowed to access the soundboard received a gift that night, and that should not preclude the band's ultimate ownership of the feed from its own soundboard. Just my opinion.

Free?

I don't remember very many free concert tickets.

folks who are being told to mail back their whole box when they

have a defective disc--I have just conferred with the boss, and he says NO, DO NOT SEND THE WHOLE BOX BACK, and has reminded customer service that we don't want this. Instead, please send your info to deadnet@custhelp.com and we'll try to get it resolved speedily. Keep me posted. Thanks.

2432 / 9000

opening this boxset was magical. So much thought and detail are packed in. Beyone thrilled. and the sound is pretty damn excellent (even though they cheesed out on the 24track). Seriously, it sounds fantastic. Happy times

Phi Krappa Zappa

Hey now, snafu. Grate to meet another Zappa Freak. I just received the 4 disc set, put out by Vaulter Native Records, of Zappa & The Mothers at Carnegie Hall - October 11, 1971, in the mail. It also includes the opening set by The Persuasions. I'm listening to it right now. I'm very happy to report that the sound is excellent on what I've heard so far. It brings back great memories. I had front row seats for the 7:30 show. The discs have both the 7:30 and 11:00 Zappa shows. Highly recommended to all.

Perfect

double post

Perfect

Got #5645 in NH today and I'd say it's nearly perfect. This is a beautiful, beautiful box -- great production, plentiful goodies, spectacular sound and playing. Thanks to all involved! I love seeing all of the tour logistics, like the roadies' breakfast supplies and schedule.

the best

This is by far the best dead release yet can't wait for vol 2

We can share the music

We can share the music we can share the wine because we done shared all of mine. Because people like us pay $200 for these shows these shows get beautifully mixed and mastered -- and eventually everyone in the GD community will have it. I am sure there are people who have bought who will share it. Just look around a bit. I'm with you though, I don't know why they remove it from archive.org. I can't see how streaming rough "mixes" at a low bit/sec hurts sells of the polished product. In fact, I would think they could use it as advertisement. But I know nothing about the business of it.

just exactly perfect...

from the box it was shipped in to the flyers showing camping areas, hotels and restaurants. The mix is superb. I haven't played my tapes for oh....7 or 8 years. And probably never will again. Most of my shows attended were in '89 and '90 and after listening to all the seventies releases recently, forgot how freaking good they were at this point in their trip. Brent is on literal FIRE!!!!. Tight and precise...they WERE a well oiled machine about now. Drumz and space are incredible every show presented here. Don't skip those tracks. The calypso jam out of Women Smarter was classic. Repeated that track 3 times in a row, dancing the whole time. The box is awesome. Artwork kickass. Worth every penny.......Now about Dave's Picks 3...Hmmm..still waiting for that one. Hear it's really good too, but I'm on this 1990 kick right about now. Thanks for reading. God Bless the Grateful Dead. p.s. gonna save that shipping box as well. you never know when you may have to move and lug your precious belongings along with you.

I got a miracle once...

And gave out 2 or 3

Happy!

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this set! I love this era of Grateful Dead so much. Unfortunately, I cannot afford this set. I know I'm missing out, but I picked up the downloads of the Pittsburgh shows from 4/2/89 and 4/3/89, so I can kinda live vicariously through those. Plus the download was $19.00 for two complete shows. I think I'll get the 2-disc compilation when it's available. Keep the positive vibes comin everyone! Cheers to Spring '90. This set will probably be worth more than the Fillmore set when it's all said and done. If it's still available around September 12 or 13, I may pick it up. Can't wait for the next DP release! C'mon 60's show!

Happy!

Just got mine in the mail today. It was here before I knew it, as i finally got my order in on Thursday. I've got the majority of this tour on tape as well and the Hartford 3-19 as well as 3-16 Cap Centre shows where pretty solid. the bird song from 3-16 is mind blowing. unfortunately my first show was 7-19-95, and never got to see the dead in it's peak years, but after listening to this it makes me feel as if i was there. From the shows I've heard so far as I'm listening to them in order as we speak. The mix sounds very well balanced and appealing to the ears. These shows were very well prepared. overall very happy myself. thanks David, Jeffery, and the entire GD staff. Hey David, for the next vault show please select 4-2-73 Boston Garden, or maybe a box of 87' Red Rocks. oO!!!! If the box looks anything like the spring 90' tour, I'll be for sure in on a buy for it. just for a heads up, I'll definitley be purchasing vol 2 as well. pCe!!

Fall ' 89...

I f you have 2- track recordings of Fall tour ' 89 that sound like these do. Could you please release them? Spring box Vol. 2 I'm in. These sound so good!

Thoughts on re-sale

This box is already worth half of what some Fillmore '69 sets are currently going for on eBay, many those now being rather well-circulated and banged up. What concerns me is that there is definitely not nearly the demand for this set as there was Fillmore '69 or even Europe '72. This lack of demand will definitely affect re-sale value. It will take much longer for somebody willing to dish out $600 for this set versus Fillmore '69. Enough time has elapsed so that the gameplayers who would have been willing to drop $600 at re-sale have now had their chance to purchase one brand new. I've got to admit that I'm sort of confused by the suckers who have their Spring '90 box listed on eBay right now while the set is still available here. I suspect that there's about 800 left in the warehouse, and those 800 will take some time to sell through.

Christmas In August???

Got my Spring 1990 box on Friday. I was pleasantly surprised to find it waiting for me when I got home from work, especially considering I only paid for the standard shipping, and wasn't expecting it to be shipped before the end of the month. All I can say is "Wow!" This thing is a beauty. I didn't order the Europe '72 set when it came out (mainly due to the price tag), but now I'm going to totally reconsider that. The sound quality on these discs is fantastic. The set definately captures a moment in time for me. I'd forgotten how vital Brent had become to the sound of the Dead at this point in time. Makes me wish I'd appreciated him more when he was around. The first set of the Cap Centre show is flawless. Can't wait to dig into the rest of this box. Heck, I was still enjoying Dave's Picks, Vol.3 when this arrived, so now I'm Dead-set for the near future. Also, the extras (especially the tour program and the hardcover book) are very cool. A lot of thought went into this thing, and I'm looking forward to future similar treatment for these GD box sets.

product sku

GRA9900088