30 Trips Around The Sun Box & Digital USB

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September 4, 2015 - 10:38am

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admin

Joined:
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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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September 12, 2015 - 6:34pm

#4641

Chitown rider

Joined:
September 10, 2012

Cover Art

Not sure if these are high enough resolution or not but I use them. https://plus.google.com/photos/106465427611350658328/albums/59784616720…
September 12, 2015 - 5:48pm

#4642

Zuckfun

Joined:
March 18, 2010

Cover Art

Not sure if these can be copied or downloaded, but here's a very complete selection: https://picasaweb.google.com/m/viewer#albumlist/titanarch
September 12, 2015 - 5:24pm

#4643

yetibike

Joined:
November 2, 2010

comdata55 / album art

I usually just run a search in Google Chrome under pics...moe often than not I find something in good resolution that I can use. Sometimes I will open them in Paint to resize or change the pixel resolution. I have found some good images on Wikipedia as well as the GD archive here too. Good luck :)
September 12, 2015 - 4:21pm

#4644

comdata55

Joined:
June 8, 2015

A little off-topic

All this talk about the box vs the USB and sounds quality has motivated me to revisit my digitized versions of the GD albums I own. I'm now trying to re-rip all my GD albums to FLAC to archive them. Does anyone know of a site/repository that has hi-res versions of all of the album covers, even box set album covers?
September 12, 2015 - 3:33pm

#4645

floridabobaloo

Joined:
April 30, 2014

Recording. Just a couple points

Multitrack tape in that period was usually a 2 inch wide reel. The cost was quite expensive. It would run typically at a high speed for the quality of the sound. A reel would go say 10-15 minutes.When we refer to a 8/16/24/32 or how many tracks, the concept is simple. The end result will be a stereo recording. That is L/R OR 2 track. The process begins with the multiple track recording. Yes every voice or instrument is given its own track which can be EQed, given any efx, or processing. Back then16-24 track was the norm. In today's digital world there's really no limit. Then it was limited by the size of the tape. Once a performance was tracked, you would make adjustments to each track, which usually was adjusting the equalization and position in the stereo field. If you want keyboards on the left and guitars more on the right, you dialed that in via the mixing console. The goal of this step was to mix down to a stereo 2 track tape machine. So in essence if you had 24 separate tracks, in the recording phase, you now had the tune mixed to stereo. this is the mixing phase. Finally that stereo tape would be run thru a console once again and those 2 tracks, would be equalized and in some cases, run thru noise reduction, or compression or other sound processing. This is called Mastering. So you have 3 steps in the process from the initial recording of the performance to the final product we buy as a stereo recording. Today the main difference is we use computers and a format of digitally recording as opposed to analog magnetic recorders back in the day. You still have to capture the best performance as cleanly as you can. And you still have to have very good ears! A live 2 track, as said, was simply a stereo copy of the mixing board at a live show to capture the sound of the performance. Most times that tape was used to listen to a performance to evaluate the quality of the performance. 2 track tape is 1/4 inch wide and runs from 7.5-15 inches per second. Called ips. So you will see notes of two track tape at 7.5 ips. Later in the career of the Dead they utilized cassette tapes or DAT ( digital audio tape ) to record the shows. And as stated these weren't recorded to be commercially released. Many bands recorded their shows simply to listen to afterward to see what they sounded like.
September 12, 2015 - 2:54pm

#4646

KeithFan2112

Joined:
August 6, 2014

bohlint / Sound Quality

Expense was a big reason they didn't do more recording with the multi-track in the 70s. I've read that it cost a lot more than two-track, because you have not only the mobile truck business as an added expense, but you also have more expensive tape feeding the multi-track recorders (and a lot more of it - keep in mind, it's like making 8x as many recordings of the same show if you're doing 16 tracks, compared to 2, AND they record faster, which means you go through much more tape per track in a minute than with a two-track machine). As far as comparing the two (two-track vs. multi-track) - There are some really good two-track recordings in the vaults. Everything they've released from 1977 is two-track, and it sounds really good; in fact, I would say most of the '77 stuff sounds better than at least one of the Dead's multi-track releases: Live at the Cow Palace New Year's Eve 1976. Cow Palace doesn't sound horrible, but the tape hiss level is extraordinarily higher than usual, and the fidelity extraordinarily lower (not necessarily due to the multi-track process itself, but probably for other reasons - in general, if done properly, you're going to get a better mix out of multi-track masters). Who knows, maybe they ran out of Maxell XLIIS tapes and put low bias tape in the machine that night ;-). Compared to the Winterland June 1977 box set, for example, Cow Palace does not sound as good, (subjectively speaking of course, but trust me on this one:)
September 12, 2015 - 2:17pm

#4647

alvarhanso

Joined:
January 16, 2014

Sound quality redux

One Man pretty well summed it up. The vast majority of tapes were made on from a 2 track mix at the soundboard, and multitrack was used for tours or shows where they were looking to make a live album. Back in the 60s or 70s multitrack recording usually meant using a mobile recording truck outside the venue to record the show and mix it. By the 80s & 90s, multi track recording was easier to accomplish without a mobile unit. Betty Cantor-Jackson is probably the most famous recording engineer the Dead had, she simply had excellent ears & did her mixing live with headphones. Bear was recording while also running sound, so his recordings can suffer from his primary job coming first and taping coming second, though he still made outstanding tapes. The Dead were the first or at least among the very first bands to use a 16 track recorder in the studio, much less for a live recording, so Fillmore West 69 is an aberration for the time, and we have what we have of that run because they specifically set out to record Live Dead and wanted to do it with the best possible fidelity, hence the 16 track. The use of multitrack allows for each member to have their own channel essentially, so that in mixing, if Bob is playing quietly on St Stephen, it can be boosted a bit, or if Pig's organ is a bit loud, it can be attenuated, and the instruments can be panned so that they don't occupy the same space and muddy the mix. The 2 tracks were made for listening the next day, with no real thought that one day 43 years later it might be released
September 12, 2015 - 1:29pm

#4648

drshakedown74

Joined:
August 9, 2011

Listening party 74

Not sure why not here, but there is the UJB from Dijon 74 on Jambase Why is this website so "old" when the Dead family is based in Silicon Valley , home of a million tech savvy deadheads that would build a killer site for fun and free? Weird
September 12, 2015 - 1:07pm

#4649

boblopes

Joined:
January 13, 2009

Wall of Sound in Europe in 1974???

Wow - I can't imagine taking WOS there and needing all the different power converters for just 7 shows. That would've cost big bucks... Couldn't find anything in deadbase or archive, but found this from archive: "Featuring what has to be considered among the very best first sets ever performed by the band, Dijon is clearly THE show of the tour. It's a brilliant performance, among the very best shows of 1974. Several songs are candidates for best ever renditions; most notably the extraordinarily jammed out show opener of Uncle Johns Band and the terrific stand-alone Scarlet Begonias. Playin' in the Band is also exceptionally well played. The solid second set includes a dynamite performance of Eyes of the World and a unique jam suite featuring the first Caution Jam performed since early 1969. This performance is the creme de la creme of the tour! (99 pts) " That sounds awesome...
September 12, 2015 - 12:01pm

#4650

One Man

Joined:
May 17, 2011

Spring 1990

They could have used the multi-tracks for the first Spring '90 box but shamefully cheaped out on us and did not. They went the extra mile on Spring '90 TOO, probably thinking it would help sales. That didn't work out, as the first box sold out quickly and the second hasn't yet. There is a big difference in sound quality between the two. I sold the bad one after spinning it once. The 30 Trips box is mostly 2-track, because shows were usually taped in multi-track only if they were being considered for release. So the vast majority of the vault is 2-track tapes. Some of them sound surprisingly good, but I can't think of one that holds a candle to the best of the multi-track mixes.

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

with

7/5/15 set 2 ending with Playing In The Band reprise!!! then encores

DP 15

8/4/76 with separate DVD or Blu-Ray release later on in the year. Just a WILD guess, HAPPY THURSDAY DEADLAND!!!!!!!

jrf68

Good call. I had to laugh when I read it I was reminded of a show God knows when or where. They encore with Brokedown maybe even 2nd can't remember. We're leaving and someone says wait maybe they'll come back. I said no way they've played Breakdown that would be a good way to walk into the sunset

I hope...

..that surprises are a plenty...Trey covering Terrapin would be nice..let's hope!!

Twenty Years ago today...

Final show I saw- RFK 6/25/95.Oh and the first song is gonna be Passenger

Psssst!

Hey Dave! While everybody's distracted,drop the Swing for 15 or 16.Thanks ;)

Psssst

I think we need to take Dave out and get him good and liquored up.. grease the wheels and get some more righteous music flowing our way. Swing, yes please. Then how about a mini, off the radar RFK/Kezar '73 offering, and throw in a couple WOS as we get him to start nodding off. Good idea, jrf. There's some WV moonshine that floats around these parts that must have some Owsley magic left in it. Lets give him a highball glass of White Lightnin' and see what happens?

Awwww what the hell....

....I went with Viola Lee Blues. It goes to show, you don't ever know....

By the way....

....pay attention to the listening party. It changes every five days or so....

Openning/closing guesses

Golden RoadWe Bid You Goodnight Marty

Show opener . . .

Beat It On Down the Line, with a 50-beat opener, with a huge number on the big screen counting the beats from 1 up to 50 (for 50 years, get it?).

Jim, Jrf

Don't mean a thing, if we don't get that Swing. Count me in! Also would very gladly take Kezar, RFK, PNE, (dare I even say Curtis Hixon?) Really, any and all of the thus far criminally under-represented '73 is fine with me. Bring it on.

Solid Sound?

Anyone here going to be at the Wilco Solid Sound Festival in North Adams, MA? I'm most excited about seeing the Charles Lloyd Quartet, actually. Anyway, I'm volunteering at the festival as a "Green Team Leader" to help with recycling and composting. Should be pretty easy to find :) (Follow your nose to the compost bins ha har).

6/27 Opener

One More Saturday Nite>Bertha>Greatest Nancy said don't get crazy Ron you know what just to do. Enjoy the show all, damn I miss Jerry.

fair thee well

I have zero interest in thses shows of the box with it but see it like an over priced concert t-shirt. Something people will buy who go to see these shows. It will sell well at the shows but don't think hard core dead collectors will have that much interest. the big box seems like they avoided shows that might interfere with a future box or seminal dead release but though the variety of shows and eras will be my most listened to box.. i am not a huge 90s guy 69-85 but the spring boxes are growing on me to the point they are most listened to because of their sound quality variety of songs and are well played. All the other boxes have better shows but like europe 72 and the fillmore west but the sameness work against them.

Question re Santa Clara YouTube PPV

Thinking of purchasing the YouTube PPV tomorrow..anybody knows if you can only watch it live, or will Youtube keep it up a few days? Won't be home on time on Sunday, hoping I can catch it later. Thanks!

Re: Cousins

If you go to the Youtube Fare Thee Well sight, it says live stream and gives a countdown to when the stream will start. For the life of me, I can't imagine they would lock into a rigid timeslot like that though.. If your on the East Coast, it would be great to watch half and catch the second set the next day.. I'm hoping for a Help>Slip>Franks with a blazing Hornsby piano meltdown embedded somewhere in the transition or Franklins Jam.

Thx Jim

Also, I just called Youtube, the stream will be available for 24 hours after the event. Not a bad deal for $19.99. I'll have Shakedown St. in the kitchen, and gold circle seating on the couch :-)

My Wife's Prediction for first song...

...and she's not a Deadhead by the way but she has become very tolerant. Mason's Children I was sort of shocked she even knew that title of a song but then when I got to thinking about it that would be pretty special. We shall see. Enjoy the shows everyone!

Santa Clara webcast

According to the official page The MLB.com has a 30 day unlimited period of access to the rebroadcast and the youtube version seems like a 1 day event. With the MLB version you can go visit friends and rewatch it at their place.

Disappointed

So, now as fully expected, the video of the shows are for sale. The prices seem quite high. I'm not sure I would pay that much for three shows when Jerry was alive and playing. Like some of the other folks who posted, I would probably watch the video for free, but not interested in paying for it (at least right now). My biggest disappointment is in the all-or-nothing 30 trips sets. I would certainly be interested in say a five pack of my choice for $125 or something like that. But the full 30 and no split options except the "Best of", which is not for me. I'm fine with the offerings and prices for anyone who finds them fair. Sadly, for me I'm just disappointed.

Back to regularly scheduled previous trips programing

6/26/74 aka Dick's 12 - stare inducing GOGD at its best. Nada mas.

Listening party pt. 3

Goodies:)

Masons Great Grand Children

Dead Heads 8 to 88 will be in attendance tomorrow, Sunday and next weekend. My first live GD song was Masons Children over 45 years ago. My last live GD song was Liberty in Salt Lake City over 20 years ago. Both seem apropos for my journey through life.

This sound check is good.

This sound check is good. anyone else listening?

Yeah, I'm listening....

....the tracks sound great. I really didn't want SOTM to end....great stuff.

opening song

Jack straw , Stranger

Sound Check Set List from last night

Althea, Brown Eyed Women, Truckin, Uncle John's Band jam, [airplane noises, Bobby wants more monitor], UJB jam, Alligator x2, [security guard sunset aficionado], Cumberland Blues, Born Cross-eyed, Cream Puff War, St. Stephen>The Eleven>William Tell>Eleven>[dogs barking]>Lovelight, Space, Drums

"Name That Song" contest

Final tally: 73 entries, 32 different songs. 73 - hmmm. Wonder if that means anything?? Everyone have a blast tonight. Enjoy the music and hug somebody!

name that song

I ended up picking Viola Lee because I missed the 6:00 start time and figured Music Never Stopped was chosen by a lot. I wish I had thought about Unbroken Chain, though. I think that could be an amazing opener for tonight.

Dang you bolo24,, 73 ?

I would like to think that means you have a crispy soundboard recording of the Playing in the Band from 6.26.73,, that you will be sending out to all 73 entrants in the "Name That Song" contest ?? EDIT: it could also mean the Promised Land is the opener, same as 1973

First choice from the box set?

I pulled the trigger on the big box. My question is for those who also ordered, what will be the FIRST show you listen to? I think mine will be 10/12/84. Although I've had a copy for years, I really want to hear it remastered, and hopefully the Dew in its entirety. What say you?

first choice, either 69-70-72-81-89

not sure but those look pretty appetizing to me

Re: hed76

First, Congrats on scoring the box. I'm probably going to go in order.. but in all honesty, 10/12/84 has my attention. I, too, have had this forever.. and my MDew has an audience patch right when it starts to get good. The same thing with my William and Mary '73.. just when it gets heady, theres a tape flip/aud patch. I cant see them releasing without cleaning it up, can you? ..and I bet this takes months to get through all these shows in a meaningful manner.

Agreed Jim

I've heard a board of '84 Augusta that almost had a complete Dew, but I really hope they've got the complete show done. I'm also really looking forward to the Golden Gate park '75. Though I've got a copy of that too, the remastered version must be amazing. Such a unique sound for that year, and so few shows..

An option

for how to listen to Boxzilla is from the day you get it - ship is 9/18? - by date. 9/24/72 followed by GGP would be a fine way to start your listening experience, no? And, of course, you'll have both 9/18/74 & 9/18/87 from which to choose to close. Happy listening, y'all.

The 1st show on my "listening party"

Will be 10/27/79, I spent $758.08 JUST for that one, however you can be rest assured EVERY show chosen is worthy to be included in this box. Am I the only one surprised that this hasn't sold out yet, let's see what happens AFTER the FTW shows. There might be a "rush" to dead.net with credit/debit cards in hand. HAPPY SATURDAY, DEADLAND!!!!!!!

Sunday 6/28

Hey there - THis is a Loooonnnngggg shot but here goes: Would anyone that is already going to the Santa Clara show on Sunday who has (2) GA lawn seats like to trade for section 127 row 11 seats 17 & 18 tickets? These are directly behind the stage. I am trying to get with my friends who are all down on the lawn. shoot me a message if you could be my Miracle! -B

;-)

I'm gonna listen to the bonus disc first!

Almost showtime....

....and I must admit, I'm getting tingly. ...

first song

Is reportedly (I'm not streaming this one) Truckin'

3 minutes in

The boys may prove me to be an idiot over the next week, but halfway thru Truckin the live show seems a much better buy then the dvd, so many memories watching the show live , but I doubt I'll want to replay this later. Live is powerful though, combo of the now plus all those memories..

Cumberland Blues

Man, Trey and Bruce are having fun together. 1. Truckin 2. UJB 3. Alligator-> 4. Cumberland Blues

Go Trey!

Cream Puff War yeah!

SC

...Born Cross Eyed -> Cream Puff war

Viola!!!

They've settled into a nice groove... Right on....

Jam

Where's this jam from on the YouTube PPV?

Can't wait for Chi-town!

Wow, looks like a great setlist and show!Will have to wait till the 3rd Congrats mb for guessing Truckin. Either had to be that or PITB.I think PITB would have been the perfect opener, but truckin made more sense.

Second Set

Long set break. The break was longer than the first set, about 1 hour 20 minutes. EE into D. Star to start off. The theme thus far has been 60's songs for the most part. I'm wondering if they plan to have set lists progressively forward in time for the next four shows.

2nd set

Cryptical -> Dark Star Phil vocals a little on the rough side.

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