30 Trips Around The Sun Box & Digital USB

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September 4, 2015 - 10:38am

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admin

Joined:
March 9, 2007

"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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July 31, 2015 - 7:01am

#5641

hbob1995

Joined:
June 26, 2007

Shipping costs

As long as you live in the U.S., and place your order before 9/18, Boxzilla has free shipping. The only unfortunates who have to pay are the Heads outside the U.S. Rock on
July 31, 2015 - 6:37am

#5642

mbarilla

Joined:
August 8, 2013

Agree , size and front door

For $50 shipping it should be bigger than Europe 72' Steamer Trunk.. $50 is a lot for shipping!! Spring 90 boxes are a decent size, but I would hope for similar design to Steamer Trunk, in regard to holding the discs. What's up with some updates about this box ? Sirius had some killer 1982 he last few days. Red Rocks and Manor Downs. He's Gone > Truckin from Red Rocks (7.28.82) killer transition at the end of He's Gone and jam out of Truckin is pretty sweet. Call me crazy, but I may like this more than the Scarlet Fire from Manor Downs
July 31, 2015 - 5:10am

#5643

comdata55

Joined:
June 8, 2015

Re: JimInMD

oh it is definitely all about the music in this ginormous box, i just really love the box designs they put out and love seeing all the extras. It's more of a, I know we're not getting this thing for another month and a half coupled with my impatience for it to get here already, lol. on another note, i finally sprung the news of the purchase to the wife over the weekend. she wasn't exactly brimming with joy but she also didn't say cancel the order, so i think that one goes in the win column. As far as the dimensions go, I hope I have to take the front door off the hinges when this thing arrives...or maybe hire a crane to hoist it up so it can be pulled in through the second floor double windows...
July 31, 2015 - 2:48am

#5644

One Man

Joined:
May 17, 2011

Double Blind

Ziffle, try your listening test as a double-blind trial. That is, the person playing the excerpts doesn't know which resolution he is playing, and you don't know which one you are hearing. I'll bet your results are surprising. I did this exact test (using LP clips, as you suggest) at 16/44.1 and 24/96 and was pretty confident I could hear the difference. But - surprise - I was wrong about half the time, which is statistically the same as guessing. Make sure you listen to at least 50 A/B clips. More is better. Use good headphones, studio monitors, whatever you want. I'd be very curious to hear your results.
July 30, 2015 - 9:36pm

#5645

Ziffle

Joined:
July 21, 2015

CD set vs. USB

Dschian makes a good point. If you don't have (or aren't planning to purchase) a top quality playback system, the USB version will probably not provide anything beyond convenience, and might actually sound worse than the CDs. On the other hand, if you do have a fine playback set up (and you know who you are), most assuredly the 96kHz/24 bit USB version will take this set to another level. Try a simple test. Take a nicely mastered LP and record excerpts at different resolutions and word lengths. I have found that every increment up to 96k/24 makes a difference (although 88.2 to 96 at 24 bits is subtle). Some of the soundboards are DAT - 48kHz/16 bits. It is impossible for a 48kHz signal to sound the same downsampled to 44.1 kHz for CD. The original DAT will have more space between the instruments. Whether or not the originally analog recordings sound better is entirely a function of the mastering done. I presume top quality engineering here, in which case it will be much better. The point made about the need for a playback system that will handle a high res signal is well taken. Nonetheless, if I was a young person with a modest stereo, I would buy the USB version for the future. For those happy with a mid-fi system, the CD is likely a better choice.
July 30, 2015 - 9:02pm

#5646

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

Re: comdata55

I wish we could see the box as well. Its the music inside that's important though. If memory serves, I think they had some significant box design modifications for E72 between the mock pictures on dead.net and the final box. I don't think we knew what it looked like until it showed up on the porch. So there must have been some changes along the way. Since this box has even more discs, I bet there was (is) a logistical battle between size and elegance. It has to fit through the front door after all, right. I hate to speculate, but it could be they don't have a finished product to show us yet. ..or Lemieux got into another scuffle with a surely seal after the last seaside chat and wants the bruises to heal before filming again. Pick your poison.
July 30, 2015 - 8:15pm

#5647

Dschian

Joined:
July 31, 2013

CD box set versus Hi-Res option

I went for the box option. Here's why. While I've noticed that hi-res sources can sound better than cds- and I have about 200 hi-res discs in my collection, so I am definitely a believer- I believe that often much of the improvement comes from the advantage also provided by well-done re-mixes or re-masterings that are frequently done for hi-res releases. For example, the use of the Plangent Process for the HD Tracks Studio Albums package would help to improve the sound over prior releases, so that could help to confound listening differences between those tracks and earlier cd releases for the same albums that people have noted. Even apart from these kinds of changes to the source, improvements tend to be heard more from recordings that were otherwise particularly well-made to begin with. For example, a strong orchestral recording from 2005 or 2015 can sound remarkable on SACD, but I have a highly-regarded Universal (Japanese) SACD release of Regatta de Blanc and because of the limits of the source material, even with remastering the improvements are modest- certainly not a must-have difference. The musical content is awesome, but not the acoustical portrait. Crucially, nearly all of the 30 Trips shows are two-tracks (which tend to simplify the acoustic presentation a bit), and the earlier years obviously have variable and often more limited recording quality. While the Dead's official live releases typically sound great to my ears, that's compared to bootlegs or mp3 streams online. I haven't heard them, but for these reasons, comparing the HD Tracks multi-track studio releases of the Dead, or even Wake Up to Find Out (a multi-track from 1990) to two-tracks from 1969 or 1974 or even 1982 (hell, that one could be from a cassette!) is probably misleading. Maybe if you have an amazing audio system or amazing ears or are listening VERY closely, the difference will be significant, but otherwise, I think one is primarily getting convenience and hardly any sonic improvement from the hi-res set, while losing the book and other physical niceties of the box set. The only possible wild-card audio advantage here would be if in your case you have both a cd player a stand-alone DAC unit and the latter one sounds significantly better than the first. The USB set is a fine choice, but for convenience purposes and not primarily audio differences, I would venture.
July 30, 2015 - 7:17pm

#5648

Life may be sw…

Joined:
July 30, 2015

What Jerry Would Really Say About The 50th Merchandise

I'm feeling great about the Band's 50th, loved Santa Clara, excited about the box set and all the other offerings! For those of limited means, check out Archive.org of course where there are tons of free soundboards the band lets stream free. If you have a bit more, get spotify which allows you to stream all Dick's Picks, Road Trips, All Europe 72, plus most studio and other live releases. Earlier in the thread people complained about the Bands money grab. For the cynical Dead Heads who project some nostalgic, Jerry would never allow this nonsense, recall that Jerry sold his artwork on ties for Petes sake! And for those who think the band/Jerry in the good old days wanted to give it All away and not live well, check out this quote from Garcia. Peace to all, and enjoy the celebration and the ever evolving grateful dead derivations! Fuck ‘people’s music’.” laughs Jerry Garcia from a reclining seat in the plush, wood-finished business offices of the band. (The comfortably expansive cluster of rooms are located in a streamlined San Rafael complex.) “I mean, I thought it was a dumb discussion even when it was the big thing awhile back to talk about how music should be free… that music belongs to the people and musicians rip them off. That kind of thing really irks me. “It’s like, in order to get so you can play music you have to sacrifice a lot of what would have been your normal life. You know what I mean? For lack of a better phrase, you have to pay the dues to get so you can play music. It’s not a thing you just do. If that were so, everybody’d be making their own music and there wouldn’t be professional musicians. There’d be no need for them. For someone to deny the fact that you spent a certain amount of your life working on some sort of discipline and learning how to play… that’s the rip-off. That’s the state versus the individual. Anytime someone comes down on artists and claims their work on any level, I think that’s pure bullshit. There’s been too many great musicians who died poor. People’s music… it just ain’t so.”
July 30, 2015 - 5:45pm

#5649

DaveStrang

Joined:
November 9, 2011

@ Clovett / Elvis' 'Can't Help Falling In Love With You'

Quite possibly the most beautiful love song ever written. That's a great "set-list" for your daughters. I'm happy to see folks starting their kids on music when they're so young. I think music for kids is as important as reading. You need to "feed" the ears as well as the eyes. It's not easy to find but I would suggest adding Rickie Lee Jones 'Rainbow Sleeves' to your kids lullaby "set-list". I'm a cantankerous 55 year old, but my eyes still tear up when I hear it. It's absolutely gorgeous. Kudos to you!
July 30, 2015 - 2:41pm

#5650

WharfratWhitey

Joined:
May 19, 2013

Old Man Not Down...

The Rhino deal...yeaaaahhh. This has been a match almost made in heaven if you're a guy like me that enjoys the nicely packaged, historical write ups, photos, top-shelfie Dead. But I offer you a sample from the WharfratWhitey Vault. A fairly well known ditty that goes like this: 'I wish they would do some general non-limited releases like Crimson, Truckin' Up, Ladies & Gentlemen, Fillmore East 1969, etc.' You guys remember this popular ditty of mine. Give me a reason to go to my local record store more than twice per year(RSD, RSDBF). Peace.

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

Dead Store Products

"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

Mini-box wish

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 ;)

Great Cornell Conspiracy

https://archive.org/post/93123/conspiracy-theory

Mhammond12

You dropped the blotter box? Far out.

Grateful....

To be a dad, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DEADLAND!!!!!!!!!!

Wall of Sound boxset, awesome idea

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!

Mini box sets yes please

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!

Road Trips: Summer '71 BONUS DISC

Anyone looking for a CHEAP copy of the Road Trips: Summer '71 BONUS DISC, head on over to Murfie.com https://www.murfie.com/albums/grateful-dead-road-trips-volume-1-number-… It's only a few bucks plus shipping.

Happy Fathers Day!

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!

Curiously wondering

How many folks plan on watching the pay per view of the concerts?

Dantian .... YES

Love the June 73 box idea. 73 is such a great year to my ears.

Curiously Wondering Reply

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?

MPP Love

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?

6.30.73 Universal Ampitheatre....

....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....

Newsweek special

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

uv1 - road trips summer 71 bonus disc

Gone already!

Download Series

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.

@impervious - Betty Boards

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.

@One Man - Download Series

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).

Europe '72 Complete Box

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

Re: E72 box

Gone in a flash! Thanks Eugene, enjoy!!

Re: E72 box

Gone in a flash! Thanks Eugene, enjoy!!

Serendipity....

....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....

embarassment of riches

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.

rdevil

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.

$700 box and Customer Service failure

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.

Oz

Hi, Are you Australian or American?

Embarassment over $700

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.

Download Series

Volume 1, 4/30/77 is a must have! Classic 1977.

Download Series June 1976 !!!

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.

RE: Download Series

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.

Wall Of Sound boxset

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!

Embarrassed by 30 Trips

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?

30 Trips Business Case

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….

1969-04-05

That is such a hot show, good call. One of the best Dark Stars of the year.

Re: Business Case

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...

Re: Download series

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!

Caution (Hiker On Tracks)

Just curious, which 8?

Business Case 8

11/10/6710/20/68 2/22/69 5/15/70 3/18/71 9/24/72 9/28/75 10/27/79

Business Case 8 - Woops

4/15/70

My GRATE 8

11/10/679/24/72 9/28/75 4/25/77 10/27/79 5/16/81 10/21/83 10/12/84

Younger

I was born and raised in the U.S. but have been in Australia for nearly 7 years now. Check you PM.

KeithFan2112 - US Blues, since you asked

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

Train Rider - Wall of Sound in Lego - Killer Idea..

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.

Re: Download Series

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..

CC number changes

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.

US Blues

The mentions of US Blues, and 4/12/78 still gets my vote as the most charged up version I've heard. So if you just had 4 cups of coffee, and are looking for a version to fit the mood... https://archive.org/details/gd1978-04-12.sbd.miller.106985.flac16

GD legos

Saw some pictures of this on TotD a few weeks back. https://www.etsy.com/listing/210892284/jerry-garcia-gift-jgb-grateful-d… Apparently this is/was a real item. The WOS lego kit really is a good idea.

Duke/4-12-78

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........

4/12/78 Duke U !!!!!!

Great show despite early mike problems. The film footage does show a very animated Jerry just like you say.

Re: CC number change

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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