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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
    Text

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  • MikeT
    Joined:
    Now I'm stressing.... :)
    So yesterday I was stuck in the computer glitch, and wasn't sure I had an actual order. I called Dead.Net (after a few calls where they couldn't tell me anything), and I was told my original order was "canceled" and I should go ahead and place a new order. I placed a new order and it went through like clockwork. Then last night, after I went to sleep, I received an email from an Edward Watson, that most orders did not go through and I should go ahead and place an order (since their issues were fixed). I saw that email this morning, but since I already placed a good order I didn't think much of it. Just an hour ago, in some online forums people are saying that orders they placed orders while the systems were "stuck" actually went through. I get curious, since I really don't want two $700.00 boxes, and I call Dead.net. I talk to a very nice woman, who seems to confirm that I actually do have two good orders and if I didn't call, I would end up getting two boxes. She gives me the order number for the order I never got a confirmation on (the one that was stuck in process for hours before I "gave up"). It seems to be a good order, so I tell her to go ahead and cancel that order, and make sure I only get one box. She puts me on hold and goes and talks to her supervisor, and then she cancels the order I successfully placed online, for which I got a confirmation email; leaving the one order I never got a confirmation email on (since it was never confirmed and was placed while they were having system issues). I tell her why did you cancel my "good" order, and leave the one order I have no confidence is a good order? She tells me that her supervisor said it didn't matter which order she canceled. So now with boxes selling quickly according to what I was told by the woman on the phone, I supposedly have a good order, but no confirmation that said order is a good order. Why did she cancel the one order I knew was a good order? So I am stressing that somehow they may have a list of all these orders that were supposedly in cancel mode yesterday, that somehow are now "good", like the order she left intact for me, and these orders may get canceled as well (since it was the order I tried to place when the systems went FUBAR). I am actually stressed that in the end I get no box, a box I really want. I was told I would get a confirmation email regarding the order she left in place, but it wasn't a priority right now to get them out. UGH... So I really hope I get a box, or I will be very upset at this entire process. Fingers crossed.
  • reijo29
    Joined:
    5150
    I agree on all your points. And yes to help generate over 5 mil in sales they could have produced a better video. I'm sure the follow up videos will be informative, fun & above all clear. Perhaps Mr. Norman can work his magic & remaster the current DL promo clip?
  • SAMTHARDMAN
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    Joined:
    Minas
    I took the plunge this morning? Yourself? If so, I think we will both need extensive tutoring on how to appreciate the many many discs of the Brent era shows; not to mention the last few. If not for subscription, or this comprehensive box, I would be hard pressed to purchase a show from 78-95 a la carte. There are too many dics in this baby for there not to be lots of great music etched inside. I will be ready to dive in. At some point, I will have to come up for air. God willing, with a smile on my face. Sam T
  • WharfratWhitey
    Joined:
    Every Silver Linings Got A Touch Of Grey
    "but the music is special to me and takes me places." Ditto WH5150. Let's drink to that!
  • WH5150
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    Joined:
    It is a bummer but.......
    The cost is a bummer...... a bummer that while 7 CDs more than Europe '72 it is way more pricey....... a true bummer....... had to really think about it instead of it being an immediate purchase. Though in the end, bit the bullet. took some happy hour drinks to make me do it though. I am bummed it was so pricey and there is a bit of gouging going on. but the music is special to me and takes me places. Do I think that was taken advantage of? yes I do. Do I think I will get my money worth out if it? I guess....... but a bummer they took advantage of our love of the music. Peace Roger PS re-tape the video. Its terrible. Unwatchable. WITF! would any company worth its weight in SPAM post that crappy video. Nope. Its not complicated, if it is too windy tape it indoors. Does this really need spelled out? Apparently
  • mayormarionbarry
    Joined:
    1300 left
    The number of available boxes are going up! Maybe they found more?
  • Dennis
    Joined:
    sound reproduction
    I've watched a lot of talk about mp3/flac/cd/hd cd/vinyl. What I see as a few points. I have a top notch stereo (Conrad Johnson tube preamp, threshold statis amp with Magneplanner MG3 speakers), it does sound great. When I bought it the salesman had several words of advice, first you audio collection had to be worth 4 times your system or you pissed money away. Two if all you listened to was FM radio, don't buy this system. Third you will ONLY hear this quality if you sit quiet in the right spot. If your doing the dishes, cleaning the house working in the yard you will NEVER hear what the system is reproducing. I don't sit in front of my stereo much anymore, in fact its been stored for quite awhile since the speakers need a fair amount of room to work right. Most of my listening is in the car, on my computer speakers or some wireless shit I have in the garage and backyard. They all sound fine and you will NEVER hear the difference in source material in this listening environment. I have some nice computer speakers (Bose Companion 5), they attach via a usb port and sound incredible for 400 bucks. The junk in garage and backyard sound great while working on cars or floating in pool or weeding backyard. The car system is the "best" stock Toyota Avalon system, sounds good enough. I also have cheap computer speakers scatter around the house and have a cheap laptop I use as a jukebox to stream the music off my hard drive of my desktop. So on Saturday night when me and the wife are getting ready to go to dinner, I hook laptop to bathroom computer speakers and let fly. Echo in bathroom, think you'll hear the difference in flac/mp3? I don't. Certainly you can hear difference in mp3 levels, most of my music is 320 levels, audiobooks are 128. I have found with audiobooks if people rip at a 64 rate there is a ringing sound. Music I will not even take for free if its under 128. 128 sounds fine on cheap wireless speakers in pool while hanging with friends. Size considerations,,, mp3 320 is a lot smaller that wav or flac. May not matter to some, (some commented about eating up GB's), well I have 500,000 songs, by over 6,000 artist and almost fill a 5 TERRA BYTE drive. So even if flac sounded better while cutting the grass :-) I can't fit a half a million songs on a reasonable amount of space. And don't forget, you need TWICE the space so you can backup collection. I have a 5TB drive for backups that I only attach to machine while backing up, then it's unplugged to protect it. Plus I have copies stored outside the house. It has taken 15 years to get to this point so I am WELL backed up. Also too I'm gonna be 60 in January and even though I swear I got great hearing (still the only person who can hear a toilet running in the house!!:-) I still gotta believe I have some high end loss. So you really need to ask yourself how and where do I listen to music. And really what do I listen to. I don't think Andy Williams needs a 30,000 dollar system to listen to on, nice though his voice is! The Dead definitely can utilize a great sound system, full range and large sound stage. MP3's are very convenient, I know Neil Young is going around complaining about them, but you also know that man gotta be half deaf from standing in front of crazy horse and sonic youth :-) So I'll stick with my 320 level mp3 and be able to carry 50,000 songs on vacation in a player the size of bic lighter or hell, your cell phone. PS - there are differences in mp3 players, the iPhone doesn't sound as good as the Samsung, for a player I use a Cowan Iaudio, have the same one for years now. My buddy uses his Samsung galaxy phone and blue tooths it into his car, sounded fine that last time I was out with him.
  • Syracuse78
    Joined:
    Wow, I just tried watching
    Wow, I just tried watching David's video. I usually enjoy those and find his enthusiasm infectious. The first thing he says is how he can't control the wind and some folks don't like it in the videos. Well, I watched two minutes and it was so annoying, I decided it wasn't worth it. I am sure he had interesting comments to make, but it was like listening to a phone conversation that keeps cutting out. I am sure that he is right in that the area he likes to shoot these is inherently windy and he can't stop the wind. But perhaps it might make sense to shoot it somewhere slightly less scenic but a lot quieter. Oh well. I've just been skimming some of these posts. Seems like the usual reaction to a big box. I haven't noticed any comments about the video. Have people watched it? Does the wind/sound issue get less annoying? Hey, this is coming off negatively and other than being disappointed about the video, I think this is a cool release. For all those folks who wanted better representation in the latter years, here's your chance to put your money where your mouth is. For all those who wanted some really early stuff, you should be happy too. For all those who like the late '60s - '77 era, there's more of that! For all those who think music should be free, man, well you're out of luck. lol
  • cheyler196
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    filthy
    I agree with your first sentence. Wholeheartedly. Didn't what I wrote seem to communicate even the TINIEST bit of sarcasm? Or was it the word 'fucking' that offended you? Not that I really care, just wondering. Your political affiliations are showing... I'd apologize but my apologies would not, in fact, be genuine. Cool boxed set, and completely apolitical too! Almost anyway. Still want to get 2-9-73 Maples and hear JG stepping all over Wavy Gravy's 'not political' announcement at the start of the second set.
  • kevinbrandon
    Joined:
    Hey Cosmicneil-THE OFFER I CANT REFUSE
    I am inerested in your offer pm me
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17 years 8 months

"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
Text

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11 years 3 months
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June 1973 6/10/73 RFK 6/22/73 PNE 6/30/73 Universal $100 It kind of fits nicely with the other mini-boxes...Winterland 1973, Winterland June 1977....and June 1973. I can dream, can't I... Edit: really digging 6/30/73 lately, in case you haven't noticed. The more I listen, the more I'm impressed. It's got that 1977 polish, but with that 1973 sound and vibe; most every tune is executed perfectly, yet still retains that edge that was sometimes lost or at least lessened in later years. Stand out versions of Cumberland Blues, Row Jimmy, and Black Peter especially. Damn, I should have paid more attention to this show before now. But better late than never ;)
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14 years 5 months
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You dropped the blotter box? Far out.
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12 years 11 months
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To be a dad, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DEADLAND!!!!!!!!!!
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11 years
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As for the Wall of Sound Boxset idea, no matter if it is a big Boxset like all the shows not released or smaller blocks of a couple shows, I think it's a great idea and I'd be all over it. Also, Happy Fathers Day to all yinz dads out there. My daughter bought me the Purple Grateful Dad polo from this very Dead site. With my family and my lovely daughter and life, and all of this great music, I am indeed a very Grateful Dad!
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12 years 10 months
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ALL IN for smallish box sets (2-3 shows), a la RFK, Watkins, WOS, etc.And a Happy Father's Day and a Happy Solstice to everyone. It's a beautiful day in Lawrence, Kansas. Peace!
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10 years
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1st Fathers Day for me today.Just started the first night of 1980 Anchorage AK (After listening to The Professor playing the the second set of 6/20/80 this morning) Looking to be a wonderful day!

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10 years 6 months
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How many folks plan on watching the pay per view of the concerts?

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10 years 6 months
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Love the June 73 box idea. 73 is such a great year to my ears.
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12 years
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Floridabobaloo - I'm currently planning on going to the IMAX theater and see on the big screen. A buddy came up with tixs for Santa Clara, will be heading there on Thursday. Update - Just checked with the IMAX theater,,, not showing in IMAX. They have it in a little theater (200 seats) about 50 sold. So I just may watch the streaming version since I've paid for it. Might spring for PPV, then I can record on DVR. My buddy talks like he has the capability to record to dvd from his dvr. I figured all shows will be available on dvd or blu ray for Christmas. Thoughts?
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12 years 6 months
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so i hear lots of folks who want more 80's shows to be released, and other's who aren't as enthused. we're talking boxed sets as well so.......we need to get the MPP shows of the 80's out there. 6 shows, likely 3 discs a show.....a nice little 18 pack. In any case, 6/30/85 must see the light of day. there are few (if any) versions of shakedown that compare...perhaps the 9/10/91 version that is about to be released. it's the show i always toss on when i hear folks pan the 80's. on another note, isn't the reason why 5/8/77 hasn't been officially released is because they don't have and\or lost the master? vicious rumor i know, that's just what i was told years back.....but that could have spawned from heads shaking their heads over why that show has never been released - i can see why one would need some sort of explanation for that :) perhaps it's because there are so many high quality recordings of it already available?
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17 years 4 months
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....good call on that one dantian. Haven't listened to it in quite a while. I remember that show catching my attention years ago. There is a sweet matrix on the archive transferred by Chris Chappel. Grate show. Takes off during the first set Row Jimmy and never looks back. Plus, any show where the second set opener is Greatest Story, is O.K. in my book. ....to all the dad's out there, Happy Father's Day....getting ready to head to the water park. 113 degrees here in Sin City yesterday. Whew!!! The Electric Daisy Carnival is this weekend at the Vegas Speedway. Pray for those poor souls....
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10 years 7 months
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Not sure who posted about Walmart in Boston having Newsweek 50th but thanks! I checked and Walmart in Walpole and they had a few copies left too ... Saugus to far to ride
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13 years 6 months
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Off topic and rambling, but -- I purchased one Download Series show several years ago (The Great Highway 2/4/70) and somehow the FLAC files would not behave with my file manager. So I forgot about it and bought no more downloads, thinking the problem was beyond my reach. Then today I randomly happened upon the FLAC files while looking for something else and brought them into my WAV editor (Peak LE for Mac). Each file (song) came in with 3 HOURS of incoherent digital noise at the end, which I easily edited out. Then I saved the files to WAV and knit them back together. And I gotta say, this download is extraordinary. The St. Stephen>NFA> St. Steve is unusual in arrangement (they skip the "lady finger" bridge altogether, maybe to just keep it rocking) and it segues into a slowly loping MIdnight Hour the likes of which I have never heard. The jamming in this is sublime. The filler songs from 10/5/70 and 12/31/70 are similarly odd. Where have I been all these years? It makes me want to spend the considerable dough to investigate the rest of the Download Series.
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17 years 3 months
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Hi Impervious - Yes indeed, 5/8/77, and many other great shows, have long been missing from the Vault. They were in legendary recordist Betty Cantor-Jackson's storage locker, and when she fell behind on payments the storage contents were auctioned off. Several individuals thus ended up with these precious reels. So on the down side, all those awesome tapes are missing from the Vault; on the other hand, copies of them have been circulating for a couple of decades. The reason you are seeing so much speculation about an imminent release of Cornell is that these so-called "Betty Boards" may have finally found their way back to the Vault. For full details, and a fascinating article, check out "What's Become of the Betty's" from Relix Magazine: http://www.relix.com/articles/detail/whats_become_of_the_bettys EDIT - PS: I was vociferous on this board that the big 50th release would be some kind of Betty Board release including Cornell. I'm still eating my hat, one tiny bite each day.
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17 years 3 months
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Hey One Man, That 2/4/70 show is a wild release. If you haven't heard it yet, DS 6 (3/17/68) is primo Dead, not just (arguably) the best of the DS, but one of their best releases, period. Also DS 4 (6/18/76) is lovely. There seems to be a consensus that the download series is hit or miss, so it's worth sampling first. You can find them all in Spotify, which is great for me because I despise paying money for intangible downloads; but I like the band getting royalties when I listen on Spotify. Even if you don't subscribe you can listen to those shows for free (plus all the Road Trips, Dicks Picks, etc).
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15 years 10 months
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Hi all, Just throwing it out there, I have a new in box E72, complete series, in the suitcase with everything. Still in the original shipping box. $600 includes shipping. Email directly to dmi953@aol.com if interested. Thanks
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15 years 10 months
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Gone in a flash! Thanks Eugene, enjoy!!
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15 years 10 months
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Gone in a flash! Thanks Eugene, enjoy!!
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17 years 4 months
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....at it's best. The wife and I like to watch food oriented tv. Just now, on a show called fast food flip, one of the contestants presented a sandwich called smoked stacked lightnin'. That was cool....looked tasty too....
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17 years
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Just wondering, has anyone else felt a little embarrassed to tell friends that they're spending $700+ on CDs? I got together with my cousin this weekend, he's who first turned me on the Dead but he's not into it to the point of collecting shows or even listening to complete shows. The new box came up in conversation but it was strange explaining the cost to him and his girlfriend. After all, this truly is a luxury purchase, at least for someone in my financial situation (teenagers and mortgage). But it's a purchase I ultimately felt I couldn't live without so I'll be working my ass off this summer to pay for it.
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13 years 11 months
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I was speaking with a mate at the Pub the other week and was telling him about the box. His first question was how much and when I told him he just said that's really not to bad. He was a bit surprised it's only 700. But I look at it like any hobby or love one might have. Some people have classic cars, mortorcyles, some like to buy property and renovate to flip and make a buck. Home brewing. I personally have a 60 litre and a 50 litre Port keg. You want to know what a cooper charges to hand make a keg? Plus paying $7 to $10 a litre for bulk port. Since living down under my attitude to money has changed, partly due to my wife being really good at spending and budgeting. Now If I was still living in the States it would be harder for me to make the purchase, but I'd be working my ass off to make sure I'd get it. But I do feel a bit embarressed telling people the price I'm spending a this box. I know exactly where you are coming from.
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11 years 3 months
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After the customer service failure when this was announced, did anybody with issues ever get any type of compensation from CS or just an email saying they were sorry and thanks for your order ? When I spoke to the CS reps during this debacle it was made clear Upper Management was going to toss out a bone for going through that fiasco. But apparently that slipped through the cracks. The box better arrive flawless and no more slip ups. And no promotion for Father's Day,,, damn Rhino is slipping fast,, Garcia site has really stepped up their game and I think they even use the same shotty CS musicdirect. Leads me to believe it's Rhino slipping fast.
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15 years 4 months
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Hi, Are you Australian or American?
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15 years 4 months
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Anyone I would care to tell that I bought this box set at this price already knows that $700 likely represents less than 1/200-300th of what I have spent on tickets, travel, tapes, cassettes, cassette and DAT decks, CDs, hard drives and official purchases and downloads feeding this jones over the past 30 years.
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15 years 2 months
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Volume 1, 4/30/77 is a must have! Classic 1977.
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11 years 3 months
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nearly flawless performance.. and agreed 4.30.77 Download plus filler is also essential. Dave's Picks is basically the Download series,, just cheaper without the packaging and physical product.
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15 years 2 months
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6/18/76 is also top notch. If you can't wait for the 30 Trips box to arrive, a few of these downloads will help. I'm not a huge fan of late 80's, but 3/27/88 download is really nice, with a killer Scarlet/Fire.
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9 years 5 months
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I love the Fathead idea for the Wall of Sound box set. As an avid Adult fan of Lego, my dream has always been to see the Wall of Sound done as a lego set with the band in minifigure form on stage in front of it! How cool would that be?! There isn't any amount of money I wouldn't pay for that! HA!
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10 years 3 months
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Yeah, it's a little embarrassing talking about spending 700 on CDs. I find I have to justify it with the "it's my hobby" defense. 1976 was the first download series I picked up. There is a really tight U.S. Blues on there (and how often does anyone say "check out THAT U.S. Blues...") You also get the rare Mission in the Rain, Mama Tried, High Time, and Crazy Fingers, as well as two Wheels (which is always welcome in my living room). But really, the U.S. Blues is the diamond in the rough, despite some low vocals. 1977 is indeed required listening. Also features the rare Mama Tried (lol - how rare can this song be?!?). But check out The St. Stephen => NFA => Stella Blue => St. Stephen - this is really an ass kicker, the way they slipped Stella in there, and just the performance of St Stephen and NFA - I usually don't like NFA in the middle, but it's sooo good here, it cannot be denied. BTW - Download Series 1972 has the only Stella Blue from '72 commercially available that I am aware of. The key to the Grateful Dead Download Series, is to burn them to CD. For some reason, I could not get into them when I was just listening off of the iPod. This sounds strange, but there is something to it psychologically...for me...what?
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10 years 2 months
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I got to do some hiking last weekend and for those of you that hike, you know it gives you plenty of time to let your mind wander. I thought about this box set and the business case behind it. A sentence stuck in my mind when I read the Rolling Stone article. It said something about having to obtain ‘rights’ or ‘licenses’ for each show. Did anyone else catch that? It got me thinking that the business case for a release might be pretty complex. To me, the tape is in the vault. Transfer it to digital do some mastering and produce some CDs. (Please excuse my brevity, I truly don’t mean to trivialize that part or the production process.) But what are the other costs? Is there some fee that needs to be paid to use the name of Madison Square Garden? Or Fillmore East? I forget that anything that is commercially released results in many hands stuck out looking for their share, even if it is the Grateful Dead. So balance all the costs (including the ones of which I’m unaware) against sales volume and price. There’s a minimum quantity that need to be sold to break even and then there’s the necessary quantity for the corporation to make a target profit. I’ll suggest, and now I become controversial, that some shows or years will sell more than others. The projected business case for some will be easily approved and others, well not so easily. I’m putting myself in Dave L’s position. How do we release shows that don’t support a business case? Here’s the genius. Pack shows whose business cases don’t work, with others that have an incredible business case. Personally, if these 30 shows were sold individually I’d only buy eight. But by me buying all 30, I’m supporting the release of great shows that may have never been because it wasn’t financially justifiable. Back to hiking….
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14 years 4 months
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That is such a hot show, good call. One of the best Dark Stars of the year.
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15 years 10 months
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Venues require clearances for shows, yes. Madison Square Garden and The Hollywood Bowl are known for being very pricey. There's also the large amount of cover songs in each show that have publishing rights issues that need to be sorted out. When people moan about the price of a box set like this, just think of how many cover songs there are and how much of the profit needs to go towards songwriting royalties. Then there's the book, surely it will contain newspaper clippings and reviews, etc. Old show posters, well, there's some more clearance work required to use those. If there are any special guests (apparently the 1970 has some?) there's something else as well...
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15 years 10 months
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I've said before and I'll say it again, I'd definitely be up for purchasing a box of the download series on proper CDs with proper covers, etc. I absolutely refuse to pay for downloads, it goes against everything I believe in!
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10 years 2 months
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11/10/6710/20/68 2/22/69 5/15/70 3/18/71 9/24/72 9/28/75 10/27/79
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12 years 11 months
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11/10/679/24/72 9/28/75 4/25/77 10/27/79 5/16/81 10/21/83 10/12/84
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13 years 11 months
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I was born and raised in the U.S. but have been in Australia for nearly 7 years now. Check you PM.
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11 years 3 months
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6.30.74 has a Killer US Blues,, been hiding out, in a Rock n Roll band And yes indeed the Dark Star from 4.5.69 is a treat,, And one more,, KeithFan2112, I was gonna post about that Stella Blue,, I think you are onto something with that one. That Stella Blue creeps right in. And good Eye on the 1972. Check out the Ramble on Rose from that one. I think you will enjoy
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13 years 4 months
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I want to see a pic when you are done. I have a 7 year old that loves Lego's, so I help him build them. The WOS Lego idea is worth doing and I can't wait to see a lego Jerry, Phil, Bobby, Keith, etc. Very cool. In fact, if Lego developed one, I would definitely buy it. I have a buddy that's a train fanatic. We have spent many a night drinking Bordeaux and Port till the wee hours re-building the Western Maryland train line in miniature circa 1950 or so, focusing on the Blackwater Canyon in WV. Its HO scale complete w/ waterfalls, a coal town in the mountains, beautiful cool scenery in miniature, etc. We even threw in some home made mini kayakers dropping off the waterfalls to make it seem real (even though people weren't kayaking waterfalls in the 50's). Anyway.. I digress, except that's where I am watching the PPV Fare The Well shows, and the GD always had great train theme if you think about it.
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13 years 4 months
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I had all the download series.. but had PC crash at about the same time both my music backups stopped working (the were the same model Western Digitals, and apparently that model had issues). Anyway.. I still had them on my IPod, so I got some software that pulled them down to my HD. ..but it only seemed to work alphabetically through the letter S. So I have all the Alligators through Smokestacks, but none of The Other Ones, Weather Report Suites, etc. This really only affected my download series shows. I'm with MLavallee, give me the physical product, it doesn't just puke and quit working, plus we get some usually decent artwork to look at just in case we are in the mood to zone out a bit..
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17 years 4 months
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I ordered the 30 trips set when the announcement came along. Then, my credit card number changed. I called support to let them know my number had changed and they informed me that I had to cancel my original order and create a new one. Apparently they had no way to modify the order. I'm assuming if the set had been sold out I would have been out of luck. So, if your CC is going to expire or your number changes for whatever reason then give their support line a call ASAP. Frankly, I think it's unfortunate that they can't handle this sort of situation when a pre-order takes months to fulfill. I'm issued a new CC every time some big store is hacked which seems to be more and more frequent. I'm just hoping I can hold onto this number until September.
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10 years 6 months
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The loser and minglewood are completely outrageous as well..... Listen to the jam coming back in from the solo in loser...... Drums are just blazing.... And in the minglewood jerry literally does a leg kick and is hunching like a rabid dog during the solo.... I have never seen anything like it..... And then the U.S. blues..... Channelling his inner Keith Townsend, jerry rocks out the windmills with reckless abandon.... Check it out on YouTube... Your eyes won't believe it.... I'm guessing some rich duke kid had some killer coke and got himself backstage with it.... I've never seen the band so blatantly high on cocaine.... And forgive me, but I kinda think some shows are awesome because of it......red rocks 78 anyone??? Univ of Minnesota 71 ..... You know what I'm talking about........
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13 years 9 months
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Great show despite early mike problems. The film footage does show a very animated Jerry just like you say.
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16 years 6 months
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I also had my credit card number changed. When I called customer service they told me not to worry and that any previous purchases from my old card should be applied to my new card. She also said they can't change card numbers in the system right now and to call back in two weeks if I was still concerned.
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