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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.
# 12287 has landed in Sweden ...
And yes, you're absolutely right, I ordered it right away instead of waiting until the last couple of thousands and a lower number ... ;-)
The 1990 box set wasn't charged with Swedish sales taxes and Custom service charges and many other other albums and box sets have slipped through as well. This one didn't. I had to pay about 50 dollars extra, 35 dollars in Swedish sales taxes and 15 dollars in Custom service charges.
My Fillmore West box which I got through eBay, arrived last week to no extra charges. :-)
Micke Östlund,
Växjö, Sweden
Royal Mail
Yes , Riggsjr - delivered by Royal Mail , so VAT and 8 pounds handling charge.
Cheers
Royal Mail
No problem , Riggsjr - pitched up here in Manchester on Friday , so hopefully you will get it soon,
Cheers
Duncan
Mr Charlie & Chinatown Shuffle
Are two songs that you are only gonna hear during Pigpen's ear. If you dont like them, I dont care...but there is a pretty short window of which those songs were played. I personally think those are Pigpen's best songs...knowing that Hunter wrote the lyrics for Mr. Charlie only helps the cause. If no agrees with me that they are his best (original), you have to admit they are about as cool as could be.
Katy111 & Segan
Re 4/24/78 as a candidate for DP7: In the interest of full disclosure, wishful thinking (and a somewhat educated guess) factored into the Guinness calculation! I do know that this show was canned for release several years back, but never quite made it. Can't imagine why - it's a barnburner for sure. Would've been earth-shaking if they'd punched out a better Werewolves...
Star Dark
Yes, 4/24/78 would certainly be welcome. I just saw that Rhino posted a new video on Youtube. It is a clip from the recent Weir Here Over There where Weir and Steve Parish reminisce about the Spring '77 Tour. This lends credence to the idea that they will hold off announcing Dave's Picks 7 until they can sell some more May '77 box sets...
Thanks again dead.net folks
I just hit the 5/13 Other One, and I felt the need to post. As others have said, I think this sounds amazing. I find myself closing my eyes when I listen so that I can "see" where the sound is coming from. Just mind blowing. It may be the best sounding release since the Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack.
Also, this is the first time I've really been psyched about the packaging. Beautiful stuff.
You've really upped your game again this year on all fronts.
One thing that would be nice for the next time you offer downloads (beyond the tag issue that people have already flagged), could you indicate whether the HDCD info is in the FLAC file? I think it's possible to have an HDCD flac (or Apple lossless), but it's also possible to create one without the HDCD info in it.
Weir & Parish on May '77
Segan - Just saw the video. Mr. Weir looked and sounded spectacular - quite sharp and animated. The "time off" (assuming this was taped recently) was apparently well worth it!
Skips vs Bathroom songs
THere are definitely songs I enjoyed live at grateful dead and now furthur shows which I don't appreciate as much on the recordings, even of the same shows.
Sugar Magnolia has been consistently awful since 1971, or maybe 72. It should never have been a hard rocker. Bob was always at his worst when he tried to be a normal rock and roller.
I understand the respect due to Chuck Berry, but gosh, I do press skip if I am familiar with the versions already.
My wife and I see all the Broomfield, Ogden, and Red ROcks shows, and one night, we had both worked that day, and spent the evening arranging the kids, and found ourselves parked far away and hiking up to Red Rocks, we could tell we were missing the first song, and when we got to our seats, we were relieved to find out they were politely getting either One More Saturday Night out of the way, or maybe it was sugar mag, I forget.
WHen Jerry was alive, I always tuned out my seat mates for the ballads. Stella Blue, all those slow ones some of you don't care for. Looks Like Rain as well would grab my attention too. I didn't appreciate Looks Like Rain until my friend Jeff started busking with it in Northampton Mass one summer, then put it on his own cassettes that he sold. He taught me to appreciate that song through his own interpretations of it.
Anyway, some songs are skipworthy in the cd or mp3 player, others are pee-break songs live. Depends a little on my mood, or how invested in the performance the band is.
Brent and I will take you home
I saw someone really appreciating that song earlier in this thread. I always thought (after Brent died) that it was a hollow promise. Those pictures of him singing to his daughter are heartbreaking. She must feel so cheated. He was deep down a self destructive path and made promises he couldn't keep.
77 Dead
Hi Friends and DeadHeads, This music sounds great, I loved 77 a whole lot, between 72 and 77 ,it would be hard to say which year I actually liked best, My favorite release has been for the last few years, "To Terrapin", from May,77. It was released in 09. I still listen to it a lot. I love the 3rd disc that has Estimated Prophet , Terrapin Station, and PITB. This Terrapin doesn't sound right, It is off rhythm or something. Something is off, now it seems to be coming together.The one on "To Terrapin" is perfect. It is a hard song. I went to Englishtown in 9/77 another great show in 77 and also DP 10 on DEc 29 is a great show. Englishtown is DP 15, great recording. I see there are about 2500 left, last month there 3500 left. I am on disability and just can't afford this, I wish it would sell out.
Best,
Jim
77 Dead
Hi Friends and DeadHeads, This music sounds great, I loved 77 a whole lot, between 72 and 77 ,it would be hard to say which year I actually liked best, My favorite release has been for the last few years, "To Terrapin", from May,77. It was released in 09. I still listen to it a lot. I love the 3rd disc that has Estimated Prophet , Terrapin Station, and PITB. This Terrapin doesn't sound right, It is off rhythm or something. Something is off, now it seems to be coming together.The one on "To Terrapin" is perfect. It is a hard song. I went to Englishtown in 9/77 another great show in 77 and also DP 10 on DEc 29 is a great show. Englishtown is DP 15, great recording. I see there are about 2500 left, last month there 3500 left. I am on disability and just can't afford this, I wish it would sell out.
Best,
Jim
.
I haven't bought this set, but a friend of mine who did uploaded it onto one of my ipods. So far after over a week, I've listened to the first show and half of the second show. To me, what I've listened to so far, the first Chicago show is superior to the previous night in St Paul, which in my opinion is a throwaway show. Already being familiar with the whole '77 tour from years of tape trading, I already know that the first night in Chicago and the Alabama shows are the best included in this set. The other three shows, while kind of mediocre for this tour, are almost all skip songs for me. In my opinion, the best of May '77 have already been released (Dicks Picks #3 and #29) or circulate widely (5/8-9/77).
I've been in a streak of some financial turmoil for a few months (hope it turns around soon) so purchasing my own copy of this set just wasn't in the cards for me. In my view, I'm not disappointed that I'm unable to shell out the money for this set. On the one hand, the completionist in me desires this to have it in my collection, on the other hand, I would never listen to it nearly as often as I do any pre-haitus or especially '80s era shows, so the variety craver in me wins out, as does my wallet.
That being said, I did purchase the subscription for this year, as I have for every year that they have been offered, beginning with the final year of the Road Trips series which in my opinion had a far superior release formula of mixing up the program (with something from the '60s, '70's and '80s) than the Dave's Picks series. If either of the next two Dave's Picks for this year are also from the '70s, this current subscription will be my last for the foreseeable future, and I'll just get the ones I want ala carte.
On a final note, I plan on hitting up one of my local best buy stores today to pick up a copy of the new Garcialive Vol 2 from 8/5/90 Greek Theatre. Now that's a show I already know that will get many repeat listening's for me, without a single skip song and within my budget.
Finally, in hindsight and foresight, I'm kind of glad that this years box wasn't an '80s set or a Spring '90 vol 2. I would have one whatever I needed to do to make that happen to be in my collection, even if I had to sacrifice other necessities and/or sell stuff. Perhaps when I have some disposable income down the road, I'll seek out a secondhand hardcopy of this box set to satisfy the completionist side of me.
Seams not glued / Charges
Hello all,
#8625 has arrived to Spain, no extra charges, handling fees or customs, so a great improvement money-wise over DaP6. I wonder why some others in Europe do have to pay. UK deadheads are still charged with extra fees, and it just doesn't make sense since these are delivered via their own national mail service and not a private courier.
Now, something that has happened to other customers:
@ patagonian fox
@ kmbperr
@ wareaglerk
I also have issues with seams not glued properly. Unlike others, in my case it's on 2 different shows, St. Louis and Tuscaloosa, so a bit annoying. I wonder what those other customers have done? Have you tried to glue it yourselves? Are you asking for a replacement?
may77
#9561 arrives in Canada with an extra $13.50 in customs charges. i can live with it, but a box of Phish CDs and DVDs worth about the same amount arrived yesterday with zero extra charges. not sure why it's taking 30-odd years to make free trade truly free, but i'm sure we'll get there one day.
psyched to hear the sounds in the box - it's beautiful.
8521 safe and well in Leeds, UK
I posted last week, but here's an update. 8521 landed on my porch last week in Leeds, UK, by Royal Mail .... NO CHARGES WHATSOEVER !!! Fabulous packaging (slightly uneven sides as mentioned in an earlier post, but has that hand-made look to it) No cracked discs, or split cases.All tested for HDCD on my Denon player, and now all ripped to iTunes. A worthy addition.
8521 safe and well in Leeds, UK
I posted last week, but here's an update. 8521 landed on my porch last week in Leeds, UK, by Royal Mail .... NO CHARGES WHATSOEVER !!! Fabulous packaging (slightly uneven sides as mentioned in an earlier post, but has that hand-made look to it) No cracked discs, or split cases.All tested for HDCD on my Denon player, and now all ripped to iTunes. A worthy addition.
this box is a little tame
I listened to 4-23-77 last night for the 356th time (I think) and it still gets my vote as the single best show from "May 77".
this box is a little tame
I listened to 4-23-77 last night for the 356th time (I think) and it still gets my vote as the single best show from "May 77".
Summer....
..just sitting here on a HOT New England evening ( a rarity!!!) listening to Garcia Live Vol 2...Great Stuff indeed!! Danc, I agree, the 4/23 show is one of my favorites also..saw a lot of shows at that venue!.....Find the tapes PLEASE!!!
Springfield 4-23-77
I was there and it was HOT! Check out the set list. All good.
Safe and Sound in Dundee!
Box number 8801 arrived safely in Bonnie Dundee, Scotland 15 minutes ago. Looks beautiful can't wait to get into it and hear how it sounds!
re: Springfield 4-23-77
Thanks for reminding me about that show as I hadn't listened to it in quite a while. Sounds like a future Dave's Picks if they have the tapes.
I like the way the tracks are titled on the discs in iTunes!!!
Haven't checked al of the posts, so i don't know if anyone has commented on this, but I love the fact that when I roll the discs into iTunes, the song titale and venues are all labelled correctly!!! Thanks to whoever got that right...
Gwydion6/seams not glued
I received a replacement CD case for the show that I had an issue with. Just send an email to the dead.net store and hopefully they will hook you up with a replacement case.
Glad I didn't order...
Gist seems to be:2 out of 5 shows worth having
Glue issues with the packaging (sigh!)
Get 4/23/77 in as good a condition as possible.
I stand by all my comments this week...
Getting back to Bolo's clues
If Dave's Picks Vol 7 is indeed from 4/24/78, and right on the heels of the May '77 box, and with all of the previous picks being from the '70s with the exception of half of Vol 6, you can definitely count me among the disappointed.
The only way I'll ever sign up for another subscription (assuming that V7 is indeed from 4/28/78) is if...a) Vol 8 and 9 are both NOT from the '70s...and... b) the release with the bonus disc is either NOT a '70's pick, or if it's from the newly discovered tapes...and I might even opt out by then, including ala carte.
I have to admit that for my money spent out of good faith for the last year and a half of subscription releases, that I'm beginning to feel short changed. By the time they finally get around to releasing shows that would be more appealing to me, I may opt to skip even those. This has even led me to not be as excited in the possibility of the 8/27/72 Field Trip show being released after it's theatrical showing, as I would be. I'm suffering from '70s fatigue. Too much of a good thing isn't a good thing. It's becoming an exercise in tedium for me.
Dave should have stuck with the Road Trips formula of mixing up the program. 17 releases - 4 with Pigpen, 6 with Keith and/or Donna, 5 with Brent and 2 with Vince and/or Bruce.
My commentary is no reflection on the quality of service here, which has been top notch for me. Just the lack of variety in the subscription department lately.
1980's and 1992, 1993
I wouldn't mind seeing more shows from the 1980's and '92/'93 released (hint, Hint, HINT).
70s
I agree with Spacebrother re: the 1970s releases. Mr. Lemieux needs to expand his horizons a bit with his picks. I am not a completist and look for variety in releases and so far have been pleased I did not go for the subscriptions. I have bought three ala carte with one regret being missing out on the Roosevelt 1974 show. I am happy I got the Mosque 1977 along with the 1977 Dick's Picks from back in the day as that made skipping this box easier. Someday I may download, but that day may not come. The only show here that I really really want is the Tuscaloosa gig.
While the consistency might not be there every night, there must certainly be plenty of good shows from the early 1980s in the vault. I would also like to see 1987 represented someday and more from 1988 through summer 1989.
While I think that the download option is hurting sales of the box a bit, I think Grateful Dead 1977 releases may have reached a saturation point and I hope David keeps them in the vault for a couple years.
One last note-- please release more DVDs, including one best of Pigpen DVD. Pretty please.....
Overlooked 80's
Not that this excuses or mitigates the dearth of 80's releases, but here's one that seems to have flown well under radar: The CD soundtrack to View From the Vault Vol. 4. Pretty sweet for '87, despite the fact that Jerry was still remounting his saddle. Incredible sound quality, and only 25 bones(!)
Hey Spacebro
want to split the next subscription?
60s 70s its mine
80s 90s its yours
settle the balance at the end of the year.
It would be very surprising
It would be very surprising if they followed up a '77 box with a '78 DaP. Very surprising. Really, really surprising.
78 Surprising
Agreed - unless the Dead Powers assumed May '77 would sell like hotcakes & stir up a late-70's firestorm. That obviously hasn't happened..!
May 13, '77
Beautiful 'Friend of the Devil'.Best I think I've heard. Really great.
77 to 78
It has always amazed me how much the music declined from 77 to 78. I really like 77 and any release from that year is welcome imo but 78 kind of sucks in comparison. Ill admit that the rumors about Dave's Picks 7 have me less than excited. Lets all hope that the rumors are WRONG.
4/24/78
77 was certainly more consistent than 78, but there were still some good shows in 78 including in Normal, Illinois. I am thinking more and more that it will be 4/24/78 for Dave's Picks 7 due to the fact that I tried going to the Dave's Pick's 5 announcement address bar and then changing the 5 to a 7, changing the date to 042478, and changing the location from "ucla" to "normal". Instead of getting the file not found page, I got "Service Unavailable". I tried another date and got the "file not found" message. I then tried the dead.net homepage and got the "Service Unavailable" message. I'm wondering if I stumbled onto something or if the page was just being glitchy. In any case, I've been wrong about Dave's Picks that I've tried to guess, so don't put too much stock in my ramblings...
re 77 to 78 Decline
anrumler - I don't think many would dispute the noticeable decline from '77 to '78. That said, the latter year's high points are the bee's knees - a strange brew of tight and loose the band never revisited. I love Chris Grand's description: "1977 with a mean streak!"
If we ever needed a '78 release (excluding the GREAT Dick's Picks 18), 4/24/78 would prolly be it. I just hope - if that show IS on the agenda - that the pitch is corrected. (Circulating soundboards run a bit too slow... 'specially the encore.)
Future releases
I'll add my voice to the chorus. I'm in favour of nothing post-70s. In fact, I'm strongly in favour of pre-retirement releases.
I've skipped the last two boxes - Spring '90 (I got the sampler, which I haven't got around to listening to) and May '77. I'll probably get May '77 eventually but I really feel like I have enough already with DP 29, DP 3, Dave's Picks 1, To Terrapin, Winterland '77 and Pure Jerry 1. I'm just not that keen to get even more Spring '77 right now. I do applaud the download option though. Thank you for giving us that choice.
That said, I'm a big fan of much of '78. I actually think Autumn/Winter '77 and '78 has higher highs. It's much less smooth but the best moments are great.
Now something like Dave's Picks 6?? Bring it on. There is an energy, edge and risk that I hear in to everything pre-retirement that is missing from '75 onwards. There are of course still many great moments throughout the rest of the band's history but I'm much less compelled by consistency being swapped for risk, which is how post-retirement feels to me.
So, Dave, while I have enjoyed all the Dave's Picks releases, let's see a box set that comes from '68-'74 (Fillmore East '70 now that you seem to have the reels for 11 February, Berkley Aug '71, Winterland Feb '74). Also lets see the next Dave's Picks that comes from the returned tapes. Based on what you said, I think one of them must be 10 December '69.
new box sets
looks like rhino is going to release a few box sets in july. amazon already has three sets up. although those are only downloads. they're called Complete Live Rarities Collection, Live Albums Collection and Complete Studio Rarities Collection.
new box sets
After a quick check these seem to be
1. All the Live extras from the Golden Road and Beyond Description Box Sets (live bonus tracks from all the studio remasters plus Birth of the Dead)
2. The Remasters of Live Dead, the Grateful Dead, Bear's Choice, Europe 72, Reckoning, Dead Set and Without a Net
3. All the Studio extras from the Golden Road and Beyond Description Box Sets (studio bonus tracks from all the studio remasters plus Birth of the Dead)
So nothing new (unless they have hidden some extras in there)
No idea why they are choosing to do this.
New box sets - MP3
Yes, these songs have all been released for years now as The Badger has stated. My guess is Rhino is aiming at new listeners(younger)and this will be only released as MP3. I don't think too many folks on these pages will be ordering them.
Great sounds, great packaging, but was u stoned????
First, I am enjoying the music tremendously...these are upgrades to the soundboards that have been available through archive.org (love you, Charlie Miller!) and for the music alone it is worth the $140...the music is why we buy these things in the first place. No one can argue that the Dead are percolating throughout these performance. The packaging is top notch, and it's great to have all this music on CD form instead of mp3.
But who did the track labeling when the CDs' were burned...not the labels on the physical outsides of the discs, but the embedded information you see when you put them in to play them?
May 11 St Paul is spelled as st pual on Discs One and Three.... oh, and Disc Two avoids that problem...instead it gives this track listing (does any one recognize where this is from?:
"The Golden Road (To Unlimited Devotion)" (Grateful Dead) – 2:07
"Beat It on Down the Line" (Jesse Fuller) – 2:27
"Good Morning Little School Girl" (Sonny Boy Williamson) – 5:56
"Cold Rain and Snow" (Obray Ramsey) – 2:25
"Sitting on Top of the World" (Lonnie Chatmon and Walter Vinson) – 2:01
"Cream Puff War" (Jerry Garcia) – 2:25
Yep and the artwork too is from the first ever Dead album! Some strong ganja while labeling the CDs? It gets better...
Well, the second album May 12, disc one and three have st paul (spelled correctly though) and the date of May 12, disc two just has the date...oh, this was the Auditorium Theater in Chicago? Relax dude the track lists are correct....
And May 13? Track listings, correct! Date, right on! Let's just leave off the location since that's too much to type and we can't seem to get it right anyway...
May 15, off to St Louis...we got the first disc perfect...disc two and three, well, you already knew the first one was from St Louis, no need to add that to the embedded information, hmmm?
And May 17, here we are in Alabama...go Tide! Wow, we get Memorial Coliseum, University of Alabama, and the date!!!! How come they all weren't that way??? Guess the ganj finally wore off!
I know sounds like I'm just an old griper, but geez! What happens when I want to cross reference my library? Or put these stuff into a format that I can play on my iPod?
Would be great to get some feedback from the producers of this set...did anyone bother to check what was being burned or is it only on my edition number 12,833?
sorry it repeated previous post...deleted it!
sorry it repeated previous post...deleted it!
5/15/77: HOT
I listened to an old copy just now...it's as hot as I remembered.
too bad 5/18/77 couldn't have been included in this box set.
fwiw:
5/11 never heard it
5/12 never heard it
5/13 old cassette of first set (sette?)
5/15 second set on cassette and whole show on disc
5/17 on cassette...where did I put that? I will find it sometime soon.
Thank you DaL and ptb for all the great music.
:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Data
For those complaining about errant tagging on these CDs I just want to point out that VERY few CDs are pressed with the CD info on them, including these.
There are a couple of different databases that programs like iTunes, et al, query automatically when you insert a CD and these pull the CD data. Furthermore, I would be willing to bet that record companies do not invest in updating those databases with all their releases. What you are left with then is basically the tagging idioms of the first person who updates the database. This is why there are frequently misspellings and other errors.
Not trying to start a flame war or lambaste anyone. Just pointing this out so that people atop blaming Rhino for something they likely had no part in.
My editorial on all this is: so what if the tags are wrong or not how you want them. It takes all of 1-2 minutes to update the tag data to your preferred syntax. If incorrect tag data is the biggest complaint about this set then Rhinp/GDP is doing something very right.
product sku
081227965365