Grateful Dead May 1977 Box (Digital)

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May 6, 2013 - 10:22am

955 replies

lilgoldie

Joined:
April 3, 2009

What's Inside:
• Five Complete Shows
• 5/11/77 St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
• 5/12/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/13/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/15/77 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO
• 5/17/77 University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
•14 Discs, 111 tracks
•Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman, Plangent Processes playback system for maximum sonic accuracy
•Artwork by Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike
•Period Photos by James R Anderson
•Historical Essay by Steve Silberman
•Individual show liner notes

MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

If you're a Dead Head, chances are you've spent many an hour expounding upon the distinction of May 8, 1977, Cornell University, Barton Hall. Well, at the risk of preaching to the choir, we'd like to reintroduce you to a series of shows that matches said greatness from that same gloriously fertile season. While Barton Hall is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has occasionally flown under the radar due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. May 1977 is set to change all of that with a boxed set that zeroes in on this high-water mark in the Grateful Dead's long strange trip.

For a band resurrecting itself after a 20-month hiatus, there was a great frenzy of expectancy that surrounded the Spring of 1977. We anticipate a grand reoccurrence of this fervor with the release of May 1977, a 14-disc boxed set featuring five complete shows from consecutive stops on that magical tour. Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, the "psychoacoustic phenomena" as Jerry once put it, of St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (5/11) Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL (5/12, 5/13), St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO (5/15) and Coliseum at the University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (5/17) can now finally be appreciated. Each of these shows finds the Dead delivering punchier, more focused sets, tightening up the framework; each night turning out first-ever renditions ("Passenger,""Iko Iko,""Jack-A-Roe"), unloading potent new pairings ("Scarlet Begonias">"Fire On The Mountain", "Estimated Prophet">"Eyes Of The World"), classic covers ("Dancing In The Street") and soon-to-be staples ("Estimated Prophet," "Samson and Delilah"), and ultimately rising up to paradise.

And now for the nitty-gritty...

Due June 11, May 1977 is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies. Presented in a psychedelic box that boasts an intricate die-cut design created by Grammy®-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike, the set also includes a book filled with stories about each show, as well as an in-depth essay by Dead historian Steve Silberman, who delves deep into the history behind the tour and the band’s return from its extended hiatus.

Once these 15,000 boxes are gone, May 1977 and its shows will never be available again on CD. However, the 111 tracks will be made available on release date as FLAC and Apple lossless full-set-only downloads for $99.98.

Like its predecessors Europe '72: The Complete Recordings and Spring 1990, we expect May 1977 to sell out. Your best bet is to pre-order it now, then sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks right here and on Facebook.com/GratefulDead and Youtube.com/gratefuldead.

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June 4, 2013 - 3:45am

#611

One Man

Joined:
May 17, 2011

Vinyl

I am willing to bet the Dick's Picks vinyl sounds much better than the CDs, just like Jeff Norman says. It's hard to imagine the superiority of vinyl until you listen to the same recording back to back on both formats. Even mp3s sound okay until you compare them to a lossless format -- then you realize what you are missing. Zuckfun, that is a good point about the upgrade from hissy cassette bootlegs. I had about a hundred of them back in the day, and now my memory of them is dim. I also spent a lot of time zeroing in on good audio from other sources, and that is where I am coming from these days. I'm an amateur recording engineer, so I know specifically how some of these releases could be better. But as you said, everyone hears something a little different. Besides the original albums (which all sound great to me each in their own way), my favorites are the Fillmore 1969 box, the movie soundtrack, and the Closing of Winterland -- all multi-track recordings professionally mixed by Jeff Norman before he was required by Rhino to cut corners.
June 3, 2013 - 8:13pm

#612

deadegad

Joined:
February 2, 2011

Winterland 73 & 77. . ..

I am not sure about Warlocks vs. Sprig 90 but I concur that Winterland 73 & 77 sound great to me. The Closing of Winterland release sounds equally great. What do you guys think of the 180 gram Dicks Pick's releases? I have heard these 'albums' being 'in living color' sound-wise as opposed to to 'black and white' cd Dick's. Just wondering if when I have the money for a turntable and albums,, etc.. Is it worth the investment? Is the sound that good?
June 3, 2013 - 7:46pm

#613

Zuckfun

Joined:
March 18, 2010

Funny thing about sound...

How everyone hears different things. Spring of 90 is the first release (with maybe some 80's releases) where I wasn't thrilled with the sound quality. It still sounds great, it's just bass shy. Check out the bottom end of the Warlocks Box- that is very absent from most of Spring of 90. They're both great recordings, just very different flavors, at least to me. Maybe I'm in the minority, but most of Europe 72 sounds fantastic to me. Is it perfect- of course not, they're not modern professional recordings. Winterland 73 and 77- the sound is about just exactly perfect for me. Maybe it's my memory of hissy distorted cassettes, but I'm consistently thrilled with the sound quality year after year.
June 3, 2013 - 4:34pm

#614

cub

Joined:
March 20, 2008

Eight Days till Shipping

I too want ALL THE WARLOCKS 1989 Shows released as a box, please. I have "American Beauty and Workingman's Dead" dolbyD DVD Audio and so far nothing touches those mixes. But of course those were mixed by band members too. I gladly went furthur and purchased my 77 box over tickets.
June 3, 2013 - 3:38pm

#615

One Man

Joined:
May 17, 2011

Sound Quality (Again)

I find the Warlocks box almost unlistenable because of edgy, digital harshness, among other things. The Spring '90 box is much warmer, but suffers from on-the-fly mixing decisions and therefore unbalanced instrument levels at times. The last release that sounded professionally mixed was (gasp) the Fillmore 1969 box. That one has some ill-matched patches, but that's better than missing parts of the shows. I do like the Betty Boards in general because she obviously paid a lot of attention to making a nice reference tape, even though they were not designed for release. I dare say we will never see another professionally-mixed release from multi-track. The budget has been drastically slashed (hear the Europe box for example) and I think that is a travesty. By cutting corners now, the multi-track archives will never be professionally mixed in our lifetime because profit rules the day and no one cares that the audio quality is getting short-changed when it could in many cases be much, much better. I'm glad I'm not Jeff Norman. That would be painful.
June 3, 2013 - 12:45pm

#616

stoltzfus

Joined:
January 13, 2010

Spacebro, here's hoping you get a gig TODAY and keep your house.

Save your $$$ for the house payment. There is plenty of GD around to listen to.
June 3, 2013 - 10:57am

#617

Zuckfun

Joined:
March 18, 2010

Sounds of the Vault

Spring of '90 sounds great- Every release sounds amazing to me. Such a huge improvement from the sound quality I grew up with. Lucky time to be a fan, that's for sure. Hope things pick up quick for you Spacebro
June 3, 2013 - 10:16am

#618

SPACEBROTHER

Joined:
June 4, 2007

Spring 1990 and the Warlocks Box...

...both sound great on my home system, my computer, my iPod and my car stereo. As of yet, I still haven't ordered the May '77 box. I really want to, but for the last several weeks and through at least the next couple of weeks am financially strapped. I've hit a point of being between jobs and actually hope to keep my home. Bummer. :(
June 3, 2013 - 7:28am

#619

Underthevolcano

Joined:
February 6, 2008

sound quality

I like the Spring 90 sound better than the Warlocks box which I find rough and boomy to my ears. Of course, all this is highly subjective and probably system dependent. I'll keep both of them and happy to do so.
June 2, 2013 - 6:36pm

#620

Star Dark

Joined:
September 5, 2012

BCJ

Betty certainly had the magic touch - in part b/c her mixes were - as I understand it - "off board" and thus much more malleable than the typical SB recording. Owsley's belt buckles and steaks put both his mixes and aggressively egotistical personality to shame - but I digress. If we could only know how a "Betty Board" of 1989-90 would have sounded... :o)

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

Dead Store Products

What's Inside:
• Five Complete Shows
• 5/11/77 St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
• 5/12/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/13/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/15/77 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO
• 5/17/77 University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
•14 Discs, 111 tracks
•Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman, Plangent Processes playback system for maximum sonic accuracy
•Artwork by Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike
•Period Photos by James R Anderson
•Historical Essay by Steve Silberman
•Individual show liner notes

MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

If you're a Dead Head, chances are you've spent many an hour expounding upon the distinction of May 8, 1977, Cornell University, Barton Hall. Well, at the risk of preaching to the choir, we'd like to reintroduce you to a series of shows that matches said greatness from that same gloriously fertile season. While Barton Hall is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has occasionally flown under the radar due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. May 1977 is set to change all of that with a boxed set that zeroes in on this high-water mark in the Grateful Dead's long strange trip.

For a band resurrecting itself after a 20-month hiatus, there was a great frenzy of expectancy that surrounded the Spring of 1977. We anticipate a grand reoccurrence of this fervor with the release of May 1977, a 14-disc boxed set featuring five complete shows from consecutive stops on that magical tour. Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, the "psychoacoustic phenomena" as Jerry once put it, of St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (5/11) Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL (5/12, 5/13), St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO (5/15) and Coliseum at the University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (5/17) can now finally be appreciated. Each of these shows finds the Dead delivering punchier, more focused sets, tightening up the framework; each night turning out first-ever renditions ("Passenger,""Iko Iko,""Jack-A-Roe"), unloading potent new pairings ("Scarlet Begonias">"Fire On The Mountain", "Estimated Prophet">"Eyes Of The World"), classic covers ("Dancing In The Street") and soon-to-be staples ("Estimated Prophet," "Samson and Delilah"), and ultimately rising up to paradise.

And now for the nitty-gritty...

Due June 11, May 1977 is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies. Presented in a psychedelic box that boasts an intricate die-cut design created by Grammy®-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike, the set also includes a book filled with stories about each show, as well as an in-depth essay by Dead historian Steve Silberman, who delves deep into the history behind the tour and the band’s return from its extended hiatus.

Once these 15,000 boxes are gone, May 1977 and its shows will never be available again on CD. However, the 111 tracks will be made available on release date as FLAC and Apple lossless full-set-only downloads for $99.98.

Like its predecessors Europe '72: The Complete Recordings and Spring 1990, we expect May 1977 to sell out. Your best bet is to pre-order it now, then sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks right here and on Facebook.com/GratefulDead and Youtube.com/gratefuldead.

Nice looking presentation!

Wonder how they dealt with some issues on the masters like the cut in Wharf Rat on 5/11 and the 5/12 Playing in the Band. The circulating copy of 5/13 has sound issues at the end of the tape which may not have been on the master, but both David Gans and David Lemieux have said in the past that the 5/11 and 12 masters have those issues. Not that this will ruin it for me - just curious. Looking forward to another release!

So good

Thank you DL / Dead.net!

Looks awesome !

Just put my order in ..... the packaging looks fantastic. Pretty good value, even shipping to the UK.

Looks good!

I've mentioned this in the Dave's Picks thread, and I'll mention it again here... Dave and tptb have really stepped up the game with the box sets. Between this one from May '77, E72, Spring '90 and the Warlocks boxes, it's a great time to be a Deadhead! As much as I desire more love for '80s releases as individual Daves Picks, I have no comlpaints about this new box.

OK Dave...

you talked me into it...

Holy Crow

Well, this is a surprise - especially given the still-available Winterland '77 box set recorded only a couple of weeks later. I'm curious how the sound of these disks will compare to that of the June material. The performances are almost identical in overall quality/spunk, with quite a bit of overlap in terms of setlists.

May 77

The order is in! May 77 will be coming to Atlanta! The packaging on this box looks outstanding. I agree with SpaceBrother, they seem to step it up a notch year after year. Awesome! Thanks to everyone at Dead.net that make multiple releases and box sets available every year, the dream lives on!

Looks good

Wondering if there will be a bonus cd or some hidden tracks.The June 77 box set from winterland included Bonus CD: Chicago Auditorium Theater, May 12, 1977; Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo> Dancing In The Street Terrapin Station> Playing In The Band> Drums> Not Fade Away> Comes A Time> Playing In The Band Not sure if the June box advertised that or if it was a surprise ( I was surprised).. If you own June box you have will have some duplicates now released on the May 77 box per above.... wishful thinking for some bonus cd when my box arrives. Maybe 5/26. Or 5/8. This looks great and should be a lot of fun to listen too all summer long. Cheers.

hot diggety giggety dog!

every time i think i am done buying discs...the GD comes after me with temptations like this. I have 5/15 and 17 on tape, but haven't listened for a long time (my cassettes are a bit scattered). the other shows I haven't heard except for maybe on the GDHour. oh to be a millionaire.

Order placed

Order placed and confirmed. So none of the stress that I remember from the Europe 72 trunk ordering process where I just did not seem to get through (on January 19, 2011, if I remember correctly, it was a long night here in the Netherlands...). A few years before I ordered the FW69 10cd box rather relaxed, thinking "It may be overkill, but nice to have", only to find out it sold out before its official release date, never to appear in that form again (and btw, it's not overkill). Since that time I'm anxious not to miss official (limited) releases. Glad it worked out fine this time!

MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

Very nice, THANKS Dave ! Looks like this one is back to a smaller size box set so it'll fit on a shelf with the others. No mention of a bonus CD, like Warlocks & Vault boxes. I guess we'll get a surprise bumper sticker

Great box set!

One of my favorite GD eras, great selection of shows. The $139.98 US Dollars seems good but does NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING. Add $11.95 USD as the lowest cost DOMESTIC shipping, the price is "jacked up" to $152. USD. ...I ordered a set, I sure will enjoy it! Thank you very much Dave Lemeiux and all at dead.net/Rhino Records!

I thought I could only eat just one...

I am rapidly developing a collecting sickness for this stuff!

Looks great

Ordered and looking forward to it...keep up the great new releases!

Looking Forward To This......

There'll be one on it's way to Dublin, Ireland as well. Looking forward to it.

I'm IN !!

I'll tell my wife to cancel any plans for the kids to get me a Fathers Day gift this year :-) LOV LOVE LOVE this period! Bonus Disc Cornell? I know ... I'm asking too much now... I'll stop! iGrateful (I really am...)

Nice, very very nice...

A problem-free, transparent and simple ordering process that went through quickly without a hitch. Praise is due here as there have been so many different problems in the past. $24.99 International shipping to the Netherlands is fair. 5 minutes after receiving my confirmation mail I received the announcement mail - oh ain't I just on the ball tonight. Coming hard on the heels of the wondrous "Dave's Picks 6" the standard is being set very high lately. I hope they manage to maintain this for the remainig "Dave's Picks" for this year. Now its time to calm down and watch Dave's Seaside Special.

Bonus material?

Is there any Bonus material considering this partially duplicates the Winterland 77 bonus disc? ( 5-12-77) Will the sound be noticeably better? ( The W77 Bonus disc sounds pretty good to me) Opps I see other posted the same

some of my fav shows

...from a peak time. Wore out my 5.13.77 cassettes have dls, but looking forward to the mastered cds. #jazzed

Dimensions of Box?

I was thinking this would be over 150.00 and just plain out of my range, but this price may sucker me in, comes to around 28 bucks a show. I'm not sure Weve, that it is really the same size as, say, the Winterland boxes. Anyone know the dimensions of the box? It actually looks like the box and individual show cases are more like DVD case dimensions (taller). Not a big deal, though I prefer the ones that can sit on the CD shelf with the other stuff... Packaging and everything about this looks amazing.. the only show I really thought I wanted was 5/17 but whoah is this tempting...

oh goodness gracious....

....another box set NOT to be missed. well, got my order in,..and will be eagerly waiting to hear some of the very VERY best of the good ole grateful dead.

Sweet!

Ordered - looks very nice!!

A bit of a disapointment

I have collected all of the box sets but think I'll pass on this one. Obviously Dave is found of Spring 1977. The first Dave's Pick was the 5/25/1977 show. However, not sure that May 1977 has been "under the radar" as Dave as noted. Dicks' Picks had 5/19 and 5/21; Dick's Picks #3 had 5/22; GD to Terrapin had the 5/28 show plus, like another person posted, a good bulk of the Chicago 5/12 show was on the bonus disc in the Winterland 1977 box set. Unless you were personally at these shows I don't see anything spectacular about these sets that differs from what was already released...

Thank you

Many many thanks. Always my favorite year.

I'm in!

There'll be another one to Spain too! This is my first GD box set and although I still haven't developed a proper fondness for 77 I'm sure I'll end up loving this year in the future. Just checked out the listening party and I'm amazed at the quality of the recordings, really clear and spaced instruments, I'm just loving it. A bit of a personal story here, this reminds me of the time I missed on the FW69 box set. I must have been like 20 years old when it was released and had never bought anything online so I was a bit dubious about spending that much money ... result: I missed the deadline so I couldn't get hold of it. Then, with Europe 72, I just wasn't checking dead.net that often (I was kind of disconnected from the world wide web at that time) and, consequently, missed it too. Well, now I think I've learned the lesson and one of these will make its way to Spain in June :)

Have to admit

All I really know of May 1977 is 5/8 and the official fourteen or fifteen discs worth of releases so far. And that has me convinced. I'm in.

Box

Wow, that looks beautiful.

Industry Standard

Now that concert releases are en vogue, I am buying more music than ever (Allman Bros/The Doors/Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna/Janis/Country Joe/The Byrds), but nothing rivals the comprehensive quality of DaPs and the recent history of GD box sets (audio quality to liner notes). Now if CSN (and Y) would just contract Rhino and open up their achive... Additionally, a strong '78 show - something on par with 5/14 (if you haven't heard it, find the awesome SBD - definitely one of my 20 desert island picks) - would cap a remarkable run of releases from the band's strongest years and put me in an amenable mood for an 80s installment. Thanks GD Productions, Rhino, Dave, and deadnet for the continued brilliant work! Peace/Katie P.S.: Whether the bumper sticker is an intended accessory to the box or not, pls. print a batch for separate sale in the store!

Yess, Yess, Yess!

Thank you to all involved. Can't wait to see & hear this gem. It is indeed a great time to be a Deadhead :) <3

Can't wait!!

This looks great. Love these Box Sets. I have the 5/13 Chicago show already. They must have cut out the "dead air" in between songs in the first set. Song times on my version are much longer.

The Wheel is turning..........

This looks great, sweet price too. Already placed my order, it will sale out soon enough. Coming on the heels of DP6 which is awesome, the Bonus CD is simply amazing. Thanks to all involved in bring this out to the Deadheads of the world. Keep it coming!

Wondering about those four shows

Dave Any chance you could enlighten us as to the history of those missing tapes (Buffalo, Cornell, New Haven etc)? I'm sure others have heard the story before, but I've always wondered what happened to them? Thanks!

it took me...

...a grand total of 45 seconds to order this. Just about as fast as I could type. 5-13-77 was always one of my favorite tapes, especially set 1.

What a pleasant coincidence

I was listening this morning to 5/9/77 from War Memorial , Buffalo , one of my favourite GD shows of the 70s, and I was thinking to myself how great the band sounded during that tour and how many great shows they did in a row. Tonight I check the mail and find this...unbelievable. Thanks Dave (and all the people at dead.net) you did it again, what a faboulous pick! I had just received DP vol.6 and l didn't have the time to listen to it yet, but let me tell you that you haven't missed a beat lately. You put out the wonderful DP vol 5 from 11/17/73 Pauley Pavillion which is, hands down, in my top five ever. My favourite era being the fall / winter of 73 followed by winter /spring 69/70, spring 77 and june '76. Yeah I know I'm a little biased on the 70s but it seems I got "reasons of plenty" for that. And I'm , definitely, in good company. Peace & cheers from Italy.

May 1977***

Order placed. I really like way these box sets coming out. 1977 was a great year musically for the band. Estimated Prophet was the bands new psychedelic lightningbolt tune right to head. "California, Ill be knocking on the golden door, Like an angel, standing in a shaft of light, rising up to paradise, I know im gonna shine" Along with all the other great first year renditions for 77'. God I miss this band. Thanks again for this great box set. Craig

LOVE IT

Placed my order, Can't wait....................Keep the physical CD and DVD releases coming!! Chuck

How fast will this one sell out?????

Do you think I could wait a couple of weeks before pre ordering or will it be too late??????? Funds are tight this week. How fast did the other limited editions sell out? The Furthur Capitol shows and summer shows announcement cost me. . . ..

Courious

Was wondering if 5-12 was a Soundboard source. I only have an Aud. form that Chicago night? This would REALLY be sweet to own then!

How fast will it sell?

Deadegad, no one knows. But the Europe set sold out in a couple of days! I missed it. I didn't make the mistake of waiting for this one.

addictive as crack.

i can't believe i bought this box set. its not like i need more '70s dead. at least the setlists look great. i sort of feel bad for all those heads who overpaid for the "winterland june '77" bonus disc. sold mine for $85. that poor guy is probably kicking himself. ----

Hot Damn

I love Betty Boards!

Thank you.....May I have another!!!!

Grateful to have a show from Chi Town performed on my Birthday. Hey, I was only 9 years old on May 12, 1977, but I already had an understanding for how to shake my bones to the beat of the music. "In another times forgotten space," but the music not fade away. Thank you, David!

Oh Yeah!

Awesome Mr. L 2013 is really shaping up. Sometime in the future we'll discuss the Palladium 77 Box Set Oh Yeah!

Bring it on!!

Just placed my order. Tuscaloosa. Whoo-hoo! My DP6 should be on my doorstep when is get home tonight. As a lot of people have already said, this year is a good year to be a Deadhead. And it's only May!

cover art

can we please get some more images of this box set? ----

1977

I got on the bus late, in the early early ninties, I have gone through several phases and in 1977 your always in heaven. I know some folks swear by 73, i have my 80's bud's (who doesnt love brent and jerry singining in harmony), somtimes you have to go back to the roots and rap with the pig and tell it like it is, but 77 really is some of the cleanest best dead ever and it always has you sitting thier going wow....when/where is this show from again.....? I was playing DP 15 at one of the red rocks furthur shows a couple of years back and had a huge party gather aournd our truck, it was awesome. Thanks DAVE JD

How fast will the box go...

Europe '72 sold out (7200 copies) in four days- $450. Spring of '90 (9000 copies) took about a month- $200. There's 15,000 of this set of magnificence- $139. While there's "more" available, it's also more affordable. But then again, so was Spring of '90, relative to Europe '72. Also, these shows are available for purchase as downloads. 1977 is a very popular year. Still should be able to wait a week (or two) and buy it then, if budget allows. But if it sells out in two days, then Wow.

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