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"When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux
We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.
The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.
The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.
The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.
Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.
(Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)
ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.
*Helpful hints for using your USB:
Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.
Viewing the digital book:
You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.
To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.
Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
PDF
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if i can take the sixties and
if i can take the sixties and seventies shows you can have the eighties and nineties!!!
the eighties heads should be
the eighties heads should be happy!! as a seventies fan each one of these shows locked in this big box that needs a big golden key is painful
Credit Card Authorization...
..for those asking or wondering, if you go to the "help" section of the store site here, you can see the policy that when you pre-order a product your card is authorized for the purchase amount and then that is reflected on your card for 3-5 days before dropping off. You will then be charged for the purchase amount once the product actually ships (or near that time anyway).
So, yes, that helps and was the major reason I could pull the trigger on this box earlier today.
Thrice the Bruce
I have to say, I'm happy that they maximized the Horsby content with 3 shows featuring him. Really pleased with 3/20/92 - Darkstar>drums>other one>standing - come on! Bird Song is particularly good. I count this one as among the best I saw. I was in the middle of the floor in the sweet spot with no "distractions" for almost the entire show. I remember the light show being particularly inspiring and "thick" that night and it took me a while to figure out that it was because of all the smoke in the place - lots of American cigs and Lebanese hash!
now let's complain about the set
Ha so now that it seems the site is working can we complain about the set. I get the 30 show 1 for each year but... I would rather have a box for each decade spread over the next 18 months. I'm such a good guy I'd even start with 85-95 LOL. one question why is this the only site that when you're writing and make a mistake instead of just backspacing you have to put the cursor physically before the letter to delete. Waiting waiting waiting (what now defunct store was that for their sales
Did I get that right?
Did I get that right? Only two shows are multi-track? And David Glasser is doing the mastering? Helping Jeffery Norman rush this out to make the Anniversary deadline? No thanks. I'm passing on this.
The sound is going to be less than stellar. Mark my words. I just do not like Mr. Glasser's GD mastering, although the work he did on the latest meet-up at the movies was a big improvement over "Crimson, White, and Indigo."
And why is the digital edition the same price as the hard copy? That must certainly be a typo. If not, the USB buyers are heavily subsidizing the cost for the other folks buying the box. I don't see why I should subsidize some chucklehead collecting doo-dads. (Sorry about that. I couldn't resist. I love you. I really do. And Chinese children need those jobs making paper cutouts. And I'm sure the Brazilians are not cutting down the good parts of the rain forest to humor the nostalgia of ageing, wealthy American Boomers. They're probably cutting down parts that needed to be cut.)
Why didn't they divide this box into two boxes -- pre-'75 and post-'75? Similar to the way the studio box sets are split? Some of us (including me) don't care for early Dead and some have no truck with later Dead.
Very excited about this, but the negatives are too great. I'll be picking this up via secondary sources.
mojoman
That about sums it up for me too. I know it's not popular or politically correct to say, but I really couldn't care less about their "whole career." I'm just interested in the stuff I like.
I'm almost tempted to buy the damn thing just for those shows I want, and sell the rest a la carte on ebay.
clmartin
"And why is the digital edition the same price as the hard copy?"
Because the digital version contains "hi-res" files, and people are willing to pay a premium for a placebo effect. Never mind that you could simply buy your own USB drive for 30 bucks and transfer the CDs to it with no detectable loss in sound quality.
$50 shows Update
Still Available:
76, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88, 89, 90
PM me if you want 'em
be positive about this great release
I like to come to this site because I want a break from the obnoxious bitheads who have an opinion about anything and everything; most of it just bunk and whining.
The spiteful comments here are shameful for those who are making them.
If you don't want the box set, don't buy it.
And why bother complaining about it. They will sell this out regardless of what you think. And the threats about torrenting them down, shame on you. These guys are trying to provide a quality product that will be a collector's piece.
These shows are being released with quality remastering. The sound will be great. They have already released over what, 100 shows via CD so this adds to the collection. The Fillmore East shows from 2/70 have already been released. I am not sure what you complainers are looking for at this point.
To those who get a copy of this set, enjoy!!
snafu & gdhead77
Wooostah.How's that? I know,I know. No offence,just givin' it a try.
:)
9 out of 10
From the list of DL's 10 essential GD shows, only 5/8/77 remains unreleased. 3 shows he mentioned are included with this enormous set- 11/10/67, 2/22/69 and 10/12/84, and 6 are previously released.
Last yammering of the day.
I promise. ;)
Thinking on it,if anyone had told me back when that we would ever see this much quality Dead in quality form I woulda laughed.
If anyone told me that they would eventually put out a giant box containing a show for every year they played,I would've thought you were 4 window-panes short of the fuckin' funny farm.
:)
Last yammering of the day.
Remember the days of 10th generation cassettes from the audience?
Yes, things sure have come a long way.
What's missing
Great concept and of course I've ordered - but there's something missing....
That's right - 80 cds - 73 hours playing time - average 54 mins per disc.
CDs hold up to 79.10 (check out the new Grobschnitt box to see how that can be achieved to a fan's delight).
The Dead could have used same approach here i.e. killer filler per year to boost out discs (same approach used on Golden Road and Beyond Description).
Hoping there's some sort of bonus incentive for those of us who have invested heavily in this....
Oh and I do need some bonus for having to listen to an 83 Day Job and an 87 Dough Knees after all (and listen to 93,94 and 95 shows)......
So, GD ... what bonuses are in store.....video content would be nice...when was the last view from the vault huh?
"this was never meant to be a private party"
this line was written by the band after the scene got big in 88 or 89. it was after touch of grey, and all of a sudden there were more heads than tickets. the band said if you don't have a ticket, don't come. that's was fare. so many people were showing up that the band was told they were no longer welcome at certain places. the band said, everyone is welcome, old and new fans alike. popularity is not a bad thing.
aren't the rhino people doing the opposite? if you don't have the money, you aren't welcome. look, i understand that when rhino bought the vault, they did it as an investment. this is how they make money. i just want them to be careful that they are not pricing too many fans out of the game. there are a lot of shows that fans have been waiting to see them put out, but now you can't touch them without paying an exorbitant amount of money.
please be careful rhino, "this was never meant to be a private party"
Oh, Lindley Meadows
Why have you eluded me so? Must I slay the behemoth in order to bask in your glory?
Let me think about this...
most looking forward to...
11/10/67, 2/22/69, 4/15/70, 11/14/73, 9/18/74, 9/28/75, 10/27/79, 9/18/87, 10/26/89, and 9/10/91. Those are some all-timers, right there. Second tier are 10/20/68, 9/24/72, 4/25/77, 5/16/81, and 7/31/82.
I've never heard the '76 and '78 shows. How are they?
I have no complaints ...
But I'm not sure I will try to order this box set. So there is a lot I would like to have but a lot from 1979 and onwards I'm not that wild about. Besides I'm not done with the Europe '72 box set yet ... and I haven't begun listening to the first 1990 box set or the 1977 one from 2013.
Yes, I AM a Deadhead but I also like a lot of other music. The last couple of weeks I have been going through a larger jazz purchase I made in April 2013, so I'm not 100 percent up to date with a lot of purchases I made in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Especially purchases I made in 2013.
No, I'm not a millionaire ... I just happened to purchase a lot more in 2012, 2013 and 2014 than I ususally have been doing all of the years before that. An old dream was to purchase a big box of records and have it in a closet and just reach into the box and grab a record (of any kind) when I would feel a need for it. Even though I haven't been storing my purchases like that, I now know how it would feel to have the box in the closet. It feels very stressing ... having a lot of music/records to listen to ... as time gets by and a lot of other records "need" to be bought ...
So I guess I will pass on this box set release ... although having it would have been great. But when could I get time to listen to it? I haven't unwrapped the latest eight volumes of Dave's Picks yet ... I don't want to listen without listening ... so to speak ... so I will focus on going through what I have before I buy any more extensive box sets ...
Micke Östlund,
Växjö, Sweden
100 bucks a month
If you put away 100 dollars a month or pay 100 dollars a month on the cc. This box would be paid off by Christmas.
4 CD Version - 30 Trips Around The Sun
Will the 4 CD version of 30 Trips Around The Sun just be available via Dead.net or will it also be available via all the usual retail outlets?
itunes will have the 4 cd version
Which would make one believe that individual shows would eventually be available via itunes...
As for the computer problems, this site is probably hosted by some company with a minimal compute power - a few servers, load balancer and storage - could even be cloud hosted and is probably not beefy enough to handle the amount of traffic yesterday generated. If the dead.net store was a link to another vendor, such as Rhino's distributor, well the redirect could be the bottleneck. I'm purely speculating. But if it is just rackspace that GDP is renting, it's gonna be a lot smaller than one would expect. We're not talking the Dick Cheney supercomputer here... Yes, from past history, they probably should've been prepared, but how many releases have actually brought down dead.net - possibly three???
Took the plunge for the boxset. Will cut out that extra fancy occassional cup of coffee I have a couple of times a week...
I'm looking forward to the release, a lot of shows have been touted here for years. I was lucky enough to be at the Oxford Speedway shows and the 94 Boston Garden show, so the box will have a special place for me. Been asking for those shows I attended to be released. Made a cd copy with fancy graphics of a mtx of the Boston show for my buddy for his birthday last year. He plays that show at least a couple of times a month and still raves about it.
If memory serves......
When they announced Europe '72 didn't they say 7200 copies and that's it. Then it sold out and they announced the all music edition. Then they announced single shows. Which are all still available. There is no way they don't sell single shows. Wait till this box sells out. 10 80's shows, they won't leave that much money on the table.
It's all good, they love us and want us to dig the music.
I am not sure what you complainers are looking for at this point
1. The ability to buy individual shows (Lindley Meadows, for example) show without having to shell out 700 dollars for the whole box set or paying outrageous prices on amazon or eBay for people who buy the set purely as an investment2. The ability for as many people to purchase individual shows as would like.
Are you really not sure? Do you work for Rhino?
Boxed In Or Out
I'm very excited about this box despite all my gripes yesterday. I imagined this box was going to happen late last year and well into this year and it did. It made sense. I also imagined a show or two per month throughout 2015. Music wise everybody's favorite era gets represented and thanks yous go out to Dave, Rhino, Norman, etc. The number were getting low this morning so impulses out another card with a little green real estate on it and placed an order. Went through no problem but I was a little gun shy after yesterday. Ultimately it would be nice to see the individual shows released. Individual shows for Spring Too, with the exception of 3/29 were not released individually as dead.net stated they wouldn't be. Does this mean they might change their mind? I hope so. Folks have been calling for 80's for awhile now. This set seems exclusively inclusive. Hope the good music and vibes can be spread around. Peace.
I'm pulling my May '77 Two box speculation out of the consideration for he rest of this year.
@ Minus Morgul
Awhile ago you predicted "The box to rule all boxes". I guess we can no say that you knocked that one out of the park!!
Rock on
Seaside Chat
Including the Byrds and the Airplane. The west coast rocks! "Book the bands Wayne and the people will come."
I don't get it
Why has the band's musical legacy become so exclusive? Many of the folks who made them successful have been closed out from enjoying the recordings because of the rather large financial commitment required to participate, or even if they fail to subscribe to other offers. As someone who has been a fan since 1969, I'm both amused and saddened by the way this thing has evolved. I've never been opposed to the band reaping all the benefits that a free-market system can bestow - it's what drives innovation and investment. My complaint is with the discriminating of who can and can't afford a $700 box set and the warnings that if you don't buy this right away, you will not be able to purchase individual shows and almost by implication, you will not be part of the "celebration". What makes it worse is that these sets, ostensibly reserved for the most dedicated fans who will without hesitation part with $700, will end up on eBay for ridiculous prices. So much for catering to the real Deadhead. More money could have been made and many, many more fans could have been satisfied and felt a part of the anniversary by a far different marketing strategy. I really wonder how Jerry would have felt about all this?
30 shows in a row
This is quite a spectacular release that is sure to spark a lot of hype, speculation, and emotions. Limited to 6500 box sets and 1000 USB copies makes this one of the rarer sets Dead.net and Rhino have put out. I also think that the phrase "Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD" holds a clue that, sometime in the not too distant future, individual shows may be sold via digital download. After looking at the show list, I find that I have several of these shows, some of which are excellent soundboards mastered by Charlie Miller. I've found in the past that some of the upgrades from Miller Soundboard to official release were not that much of an upgrade or no real appreciable difference. So if I can fill in the gaps of this collection by waiting for digital downloads, I'd much rather do that. Slick books with fancy essays and extras trinkets are nice, the 7" recording is just a trinket since I ditched vinyl and the turntable years ago. Dust collectors for other people to stroke their egos with. For me it is all about the music and only about the music because the Music Never Stopped!!!
30 Trips Around The Sun
I love this box. Gonna listen to it in reverse order I'm a sixties guy.
Well, everybody's dancing in a ring around the sun
Nobody's finished, we ain't even begun
So take off your shoes, child, and take off your hat
Try on your wings and find out where it's at.
Hey,hey
Mhmm
I finally caved and bought one up this morning. The hold will come off the card in a few days and I can come up with a way to pay for it by September. The fact that a song from the band's first recording together and their final song played together are provided as a vinyl bookend is a fitting way to tie the days between together. The whole box is basically a personal museum exhibit chronicling the full life cycle of a mutant-freak earth-born organism delivered from the cosmos. Once I came to that conclusion I had to swindle my way in some how.
I can change what card I want charged after the hold comes off correct?
Came to the same conclusion
Came to the same conclusion this morning. I'll figure out a payment plan for myself to get this paid off before it ships.
Re: I Don't Get It: 30 Trips Around The Sun
Well said edwardbe, I agree whole heartedly. The price of this box set is more than some people pay for a month of rent or a car payment w/insurance. I work with individuals that live off of $700 a month (utilities, transportation, food, medication etc.). I am sorry, but for me, I feel that the legacy of the Greatful Dead has been tarnished with the price of this box set. I can't speak for the band, but, once again for me, this feels like it goes directly against the spirit that was behind letting folks record the concerts.
Please
I understand -- but don't agree -- with the complaints: The set is too expensive, the "real" deadheads are excluded, not all the shows are great, Jerry wouldn't approve of such a cash grab!
What I can't understand are the folks who make those complaints the reason the won't buy the set, but then turn around and say that they'll get the set by other means.
OK, we get it. You really do want it. You just can't or don't want to pay for it, so you're gonna steal it by getting a ripped FLAC/MP3.
Maybe don't tell us that, huh?
The Dead
"The Dead should never do anything that everyone can't afford" is not a coherent philosophy, much less something that was ever the band's legacy or the spirit of allowing taping, but it is the essence of what a lot of folks here are saying.
It's bunk.
You know, In My Opinion, man.
You don't actually have to pay til September.
Not really tarnished. Things as old as this band do tarnish a little. But, can something so amazing as the Grateful Dead really be that tarnished by that which in the grand scheme of things is insignificant.
If your financial and personal business is that tight can you even afford a $20 show? I know I've been there...for many years until I turned it around by the skin of my teeth. I can't "afford" this and now will be scrambling to save cash but it's on hold til then, so I can figure something out. I don't have kids so WTF.
The price of the box.
To me those who are complaining about the rich being the only ones who can afford the Box are just wrong. I make $11.75 an hour and just purchased the box. I don't have kids so that helps. My health insurance is paid by my employer, so again lucky there. After tax the Box costs almost exactly $25 a show, not bad at all. Plus you get all of the goodies (and oh my! some tasty extras indeed!!)You just have to purchase the 30 shows all at once :)
So, yeah it is expensive and no the rich 1%'s are not the only ones who are going to purchase this Box. Two folks I know who are in the same tax bracket as me have also purchased the Box.
My personal wish was for a '73 Box but this Box seems much much more appropriate for the 50th celebration. There is plenty of time for my dream Box(es) to be released. The 30 Trips Box seems to fit perfectly into the 50th slot.
So, I guess my two cents is...very well done Dave and Rhino Folks!!!
Ditto
Ditto. Despite my CC still jammed up with spurious charges I pulled out another card and let er rip. Last night I remember checking stock and there was at least 4000 units left give or take the 8 I might have locked up. This morning I checked and there was over 1000. I couldn't wait for my CC to clear out. Didn't want to miss this. It is huge. I'll find a way to cut back on some thing over the next few months and squirrel some away so that this will get paid for and I won't have a heart attack. I feel bad though that this limited format has essentially become the only way in which music is being released. This is the biggest by far and though I can't wait for it to arrive by 18 wheeler in September, I hope this is as big as it ever gets. One and done. It's a lot to ask of fans. I think numbered to 19650 would have been better. This may sell out by the end of the day.
Less than 1900
I guess I'll have to live on pb&j and oatmeal for a couple months, but it will be worth it.
I buy these release's so one day when the world is right I will share with all who are interested in the music.
Exclusivity
Every single Dave's and Dick's Picks was available (albeit some only briefly) as a single release. The Dick's Picks that went out of print are getting reissued.
Every Europe '72 show was made available as a single release.
Veneta 1972 was available as a stand-alone release.
Truckin' Up To Buffalo, Crimson White & Indigo, and Nightfall of Diamonds -- all single show releases.
Rocking The Cradle was a nice little condensation of the Egypt shows.
Houston 11/18/72 and Family Dog 4/18/70 -- outstandingly affordable single-CD releases.
Some wonderful, approachable small box sets in Winterland 1977, Winterland 1973, and the Warlocks show box.
One could go on. The facts are that there are far more "affordable" releases than there are exclusive, "definitive," expensive releases.
There's pretty much a firm commitment to releasing individual shows every calendar quarter for the foreseeable future!!
But this is the band's 50th Anniversary and I'd say they ought to be able to commemorate that with one of these monolithic, sweeping productions that really attempts to map their legacy. These may not actually be The Very Best shows remaining in the vault for each of the band's 30 years, but they are for the most part unarguably great shows and without having seen the final product this certainly looks like a pretty good shot at a very elusive target.
There's every hint between the lines that -- eventually -- these shows are going to be available individually in some format other than CD.
But even if that weren't the case it's just not true that either A) mammoth exclusive sets are the only way stuff is being released, or B) something called "the spirit" of the Grateful Dead demands that every release be one *you* can afford.
There is so much official small-release music, so much free (as in free to you, not to the people hosting it for you!) unofficial downloadable audience and soundboard material, that the only possible interpretation of these complaints is a negative one: self-entitlement.
product sku
081227955892