30 Trips Around The Sun Box & Digital USB

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September 4, 2015 - 10:38am

7,852 replies

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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February 22, 2016 - 7:18pm

#131

Sun King

Joined:
September 19, 2007

30 Trips

Now that both versions have sold out, and TPTB have said they will not sell them as individual cd's, I wonder how long until they will be sold individually as downloads. I'm certain it will happen.....
February 22, 2016 - 3:06pm

#132

Kayak Guy

Joined:
June 4, 2015

RE: Broken Boxes

I agree with Space on this, the more boxes that get cannibalized, the more valuable my complete box will be. As a collector I have learned to buy whatever dead.net offers the day it is announced and think about it later. This habit started with Dick's Pick 1, years before i got my first CD player for DP 4 to hear the Other One without a cut, and hasn't stopped yet. I sometimes buy 2 copies and open one, rip it and give it away to a friend, keeping the sealed one as my master. As Rhino moves to a more digital friendly distribution, I feel the number of limited edition CDs will get even tighter as they tweek the number needed to pay for the release and then be able to distribute digitally forever. To see this in action look at Robert Fripps DGMlive as a perfect example of commercial digital distribution of an artists archival releases. What is this ebay thing people talk about? ;)
February 22, 2016 - 2:23pm

#133

Born Cross Eye…

Joined:
August 25, 2008

@ reijo29: 1975 Trip - Harmonica player

That's Matt Kelly a friend of Weir's, later a member of Kingfish. Also he plays on Beat It On Down The Line. Low in the mix, bummer.
February 22, 2016 - 2:08pm

#134

Born Cross Eye…

Joined:
August 25, 2008

USB BOLT SOLD OUT!

YAHOOOOO! This edition of the 50th anniversary box FINALLY SOLD OUT!The last time I checked here and tried to buy 15 bolt USB's was Sunday 21 February 2016, I could not buy more than 11. It took some time but dead.net finally sold "every last one" There may be some returns, but essentially they're gone. I bought the 80 CD big box and I love it. Although I was familiar with most of the shows prior to this official release everything sounds like a new suprise. Since there was a delay with the USB package, I wish the 11/14/73 San Diego show was presented in it's correct playing order, as opposed to the CD version and that the Drums> Space on several shows did not have fades. That would have made this USB better than the CD version. Oh well. I now believe that GDP / Rhino know what they're doing. Kudos on a project done well!
February 22, 2016 - 11:51am

#135

reijo29

Joined:
June 18, 2012

1975 Harmonica Trip

Just made it to 1975. Did anyone notice the harmonica playing in the Music Never Stopped? The liner notes do not refer to anyone sitting in
February 22, 2016 - 5:25am

#136

hbob1995

Joined:
June 26, 2007

@Unklesam re: ebay

On your $200 profit you forgot: ebay & Paypal fees are approx. 10%. So your profit is now down to $90. Is it really worth it? You would have to create 30 ebay listings, and make numerous trips to the post office. I myself would not put that kind of effort into making $90. Rock on
February 21, 2016 - 9:00pm

#137

philledawg

Joined:
December 12, 2009

PURCHASING MUSIC WHILE IT IS AVAILABLE...

I will say no more than this...Sorry, Gotta do this up in CAPS! ;) 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN WAS AVAILABLE FOR WELL OVER 5 MONTHS @DEADNET. Shows, are not an excuse. Purchasing extra music, esp. if it's available for AMPLE time......OUT. ;)
February 21, 2016 - 12:54pm

#138

SPACEBROTHER

Joined:
June 4, 2007

Broken Boxes

Breaking up these boxes is a non-sequitur imho. I wouldn't do it because I'm not so era-centric to deny myself the enjoyment of something that was put together as a timeline project. On the other side of that, the more boxes that do get cannibalized will only make the complete sets more valuable, if you're into commodities. If you purchase a show from the box that happens to have a bad disc, good luck getting that replaced.
February 21, 2016 - 10:12am

#139

unkle sam

Joined:
October 3, 2008

limited, collectors items, making profit

There are a lot of people who have always profited from the grateful dead. Jerry didn't mind, look at the parking lots in most dead shows, full of people who made a living from selling stuff to kind folks related to the band and band members. There will always be a demand for these great recordings, limited or not, there will and is a way for the masses to get these shows, if not from a friend via a cdr, then from ebay. There are a lot more people out there nowdays who do buy and sell just for profit on ebay, and why not? Where are you going to get such a great return for your initial investment? Breaking up the boxes and selling each show for, say, 30 bucks, that's a quick (within a week) profit of 200 bucks. Where else are you going to make that kinda of cash for sitting infront of your computer and posting shows? Seriously, if one had the money, could buy up as many as you could afford, hold them for 6 months until sold out, then put them up at twice what you paid, there is no where else anywhere that you are going to get that much return for an investment so fast, nowhere, certainly not the stock market. I know several people who have been doing the resale thing for a few years, first with old lp's that they acquired via estate sales, garage sales or record store buyouts or when a lot of folks "upgraded" to cd's back in the 90's. I for one did not do that, I kept my old records and bought the cd's to play, but that's another story cause cd's don't sound as good as lp's in my opinion. They still do it and with the limited editions of most music nowdays, it's money in the bank, especially dead music. There is money to be made from these kind of investments, one person I know does only that now, puts all up on ebay and makes a tidy profit, all from doing what they love, finding old classics and first issues of old records, clean them up a bit and resale. It's a good thing, a lot of these old original recordings would end up in a dumpster if not for what they do and I salute them for that, they are like the American pickers of the music world. Back in the day of 1.99 records, I would spend hours looking thru stacks of lp's, it was a blast. Next time you got a minute, check out ebay, look what they are getting for old tshirts and old bootleg cds and lps, first press cd's and out of print recordings, there is a gold mine out there in peoples garages and attics and most don't know what they have as far as music recordings and rock and roll memorabilia goes. Back in the day a lot of dead memorabilia was free, but as we all know, there aren't too many free rides left in this country. 4-9-91 is worth a relisten, that second set is smoking with a great foolish heart going into drums and a great TOO>wharf rat coming out of space. Not too bad for an added on show as the first 2 sold out in minutes, so they added the 9th.
February 20, 2016 - 1:03pm

#140

Spoyball

Joined:
April 13, 2015

Broken boxes

I have a few questions on the individual shows being sold on eBay. Does a seller make more selling shows individually? Seems like a lot of work if it's 30 different buyers at once too. By the amount of boxes being broken does that make the 30 trips box unbroken more valuable, being that there's less than 6,500 then? I have no problems with the secondary market, I would have never heard Pure Jerry full series without secondary market. I personally have no desire to sell my 30 Trips but my wife asked if I'd ever sell it and it was a easy no, but my only saving grace with my wife is I tell her my constant GD purchases will always hold value. I recently saw a 30 trips box start at $650 and sold for $1,080. That's holding value. To me, $300 profit isn't worth the " it's all about the music" because I like the the extras, my wife asked about me selling Winterland 73' box my reasoning was it has the lil good ol grateful dead pin, no way I'm selling.

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

Yeah, lol

"Famous, Original Ray's..." and all the variations, heh. There was only one Ray's, though. And now it's gone. Hell, used to be you could still get a decent slice most anywhere. That's all changed, too. Now you can't get a decent slice almost anywhere. Well, at least we still have John's Pizza on Bleecker Street (though that would be a pie, not a slice). So, I go into a deli nowadays and ask for a regular coffee, and they say, "Milk and sugar?" What? I said a REGULAR coffee! Didn't you hear me? Sheesh! That was always known as milk, 2 sugars... I'm a stranger in my own city now.

SF too

Saw this show on HBO called San Francisco 2.0 about how the culture of SF is being destroyed by the influx of tech money into the city.

The 11/8/70 Show

This show has some interesting things about the set lists: 1st: 'Around And Around' Final: 'Operator', 'Main Ten',' Wake up Little Susie' Only: 'Mystery Train', 'My Babe' Others: 'New Orleans' (Bob) > 'Searchin' (Pigpen) / 'Operator' follows 'Ripple' (I'm a sucker for both). The 'Dancin' Jam' out of 'The Main Ten' & 'Dark Star" has a great spacey feel to it (w/ "Dark Star' traces) before the band finally picks up the pace and goes into a 1970 style 'Dancin' In The Streets'. In short, I love this show! So much so that I downloaded it from Archive, if for no other reason than historical perspective. I find that my hearing adjusts after a few songs. While the sound quality is about the same a few others I downloaded for the same reason are: 4-15-69 (Pig in all his glory) / 3-21-70 / 5-7-70 / 6-24-70 2 shows. / 10-23-70 listen to the guy at the very end! /12-28-70 great audience recording on this one. A show that can only be streamed, but you might want to hear from a cultural standpoint: 6/7/70. The band starts the electric set with 'Cryptical'. As it's winding down you can hear a woman in the audience giving everyone *grief* because they're not doing enough to stop the Vietnam War. The band slows down enough to let her have her say and then slams into 'The Other One'. This show also has the 1st 'Sugar Magnolia' (it sounds like it!) with a 'Louie Louie' tease after it. Sorry for being so long-winded and hope you enjoy.

Countdown Revisited

Either 12 OR 28 days until BOXZILLA ships.

Dantian. Bad news

Reading your posts is making me blue! NYC was the coolest place I'd been back in the day. Starting going in 87 as my landlord lived there. Stayed with her down in University and 14th a bunch of times. Saw some incredible sights just getting a slice and sitting watching the sidewalks. Always a fun time hanging in Manhatten. To think of those icons not there sucks. Didn't Dave like the White Horse Tavern?

NYC?

Don't tell me this town aint got no heart? I hear ya Dantian. But it isn't just NYC. The world is changing. There is still good to be had though. You just gotta poke around.

@BertDert

We will have to just agree to disagree, my friend. Admittedly, both Saved and Street Legal have some individual strong tracks, I don't think either of them stand up as the same quality as most other Dylan albums as a whole. I see you left Down In The Groove off your post. I'll assume that you agree with my assessment of that one as a "turd." Again, even though they are my least-favorite Dylan albums, they are still better than most work by most other artists, IMHO.

The shows that I wish I had in "30 Trips"

French living in France, I have only seen three times the Grateful Dead in my life (in May 1972, in September 1974 and October 1990). The shows that I wish I had in "30 Trips" : 31/12/1972: after Truckin', the longest jam I've ever heard(43 minutes!), and a Morning Dew very well built and very moving; 05/19/1094: a China> Rider and Goin 'Down The Road Feeling Bad very hots, and after Truckin' a jam very blues-jazz, which gives me chills every time I listen; 08.28.1981: the most interesting show I know of to 1981.

FloridaBob, Jim

FloridaBob - Thanks for reminding me that some things are still left...The White Horse is still there, for now. If you stayed on 14th and University, then you may remember Bowlmor Lanes on University Place (just 2 blocks down from your landlord's)? Gone, after 76 years, to make way for yet another "luxury condos" glass tower. I know you play guitar, so maybe you remember Music Row, all those music stores (Sam Ash, Manny's Music, etc.) on 48th Street? All gone now, except for one holdout that won't be there much longer. More luxury condos coming soon. There are a thousand more examples of the above. Don't mean to make you blue, but it is what's happening. Jim - I know, and NY was always changing, but the rate at which they are tearing down the old, beautiful architecture and replacing it with generic high-rises has reached a fever pace. Anyway, I'll shut up now.

Hey Alain

While you may have seen the band "only" 3 times, I think all would agree you were able to see them in 3 of the greatest years possible. If you saw the 5/3/72 Paris show, then I would say , and I think most would agree, you saw one of the greatest Dead shows of all time. 'Jack', 'Jed', and 'China/Rider' were all taken from this show for the original 'Europe '72'. How about it Deadland would you agree? Disagree? Your top 5?

When you say top five 5....

....I assume you mean top 5 shows attended. I narrowed it down to a top 6. No particular order, so I will list them chronologically....it was a long time ago.... 7.26.87 Anaheim Stadium. My first Shakedown and Dylan!!! 7.31.88 Laguna Seca. Midnight Hour encore, final Gentlemen Start Your Engines. David Hidalgo sat in on Rooster and West LA. Awesome scene.... 2.12.89 Great Western Forum. More Dylan and Spencer Davis! Second set pre-Drumz was as follows... Iko Iko Monkey & The Engineer Alabama Getaway Dire Wolf Cassidy Memphis Blues-> Drumz ....the night before was excellent as well, but I was really, really tripping hard that night, so a review may be too subjective.... 8.5.89 Cal Expo Playin'->I Know You Rider....nuff said 5.12.91 Shoreline First Train To Cry in almost 20 years. Mother's Day show. Roses everywhere.... 5.31.92 Sam Boyd Silver Bowl Steve Miller opened. Attics out of drumz. Miller sat in on Spoonful->TOO->Dew and the Baba O'Riley->TNK encore.... ....as you can see, I like my guest appearances..... ....honorable mentions. Every other show I saw, except 5.19.95 Sam Boyd. That one was a turd. We almost,(I said almost), walked out. Sensed the storm clouds coming that night....

Dantian and old NYC

Yeah I loved 48th street. I would go to Mannys just for the hang and check the people. Never knew who could walk in there. I remember when Sam Ash bought their shop, that was a heavy blow.One time I watched a guy try and steal a camera from a shop. He grabbed it and ran outside, the shop keeper vaulted over the display and chased him! And I swear to the Lord this is true, the theif ran outside the shop into the street right into the side of a mounted cop! The fool ran straight into the horses side. The cop just reached down and grabbed the guys collar while the shop keeper was screaming in Korean at him. I couldn't believe what I was observing. I laughed over that for hours. Fate was a bitch for that idiot that day. Going down to Washington Square ANYTIME day or night for the wildest collection of folks humanity had to offer. And going up to the west side to hang at Cafe la Fortuna, because that was John and Yokos favorite coffee shop. That's gone now too I know. Hold tight to what's left!

Alain,, u picked some killer shows

12.31.72 - Wow !!!!! 5.19.74 - Wow !!! 8.28.81 - Wow !!! All 3 shows with extra crispy Truckin' ,,, I have had a few I like lately,, I'm sure you have heard.. -Listened to this yesterday- 10.2.72 ,, Truckin' with a couple theme jams into Morning Dew. - one could have been a Uncle John's Band jam.. And they did finish show with UJB ,, a really nice one.. -Listened to 5.14.74 today on Sirius AKA Dave's Picks 9... This one is still in my Top 5 Dave's Picks released so far.. No Truckin' here, but the show before in Reno 5.12.74 !!! Truckin from 5.12.74 is fierce.. Does anyone know what the better sounding venues where the Wall of Sound was featured ?

Patience!

Hello everyone!No early listening for me. I'm waiting for the bi box for maximum effected. Cheers.

Dantian, FloridaBob, Jim

The same thing has been done in Philadelphia over the last 20 years. While not as historically significant I lived in Ocean City, NJ from 1985 until 2012 where 700+ of the old style beach house/bungalows have been torn down to make way for 2-4 story cookie-cutter condos. I assume these are the vacation retreats for the folks buying condos in the glass towers in NYC and Philly. In 2012 I moved to a fish farm outside of Wildwood/Cape May and no longer have to witness the decimation of a once beautiful seaside resort. While Ocean City has always had a religious undercurrent running through it, it's now gone into overdrive with the good "Christian" consensus being Blacks, Jews, Hispanics, and Gays can live anywhere they want as long as it's not next to us.

Vguy72 / Top 5

Top 5 can be any of your choice…shows attended / official releases / a cassette given to you in 1989…whatever floats your boat.

Same sad song here.

We now call it Aspen Hole. After 20 years here I'm probably leaving in the spring. Such a shame....

Davestrang

It's horrible how quickly development can rip your memories to shreds. In St Pete Beach up to Clearwater you can only find a small number of true beach homes left. Can't see the Gulf from the road anymoreBut rarely. I am amazed at the transformation .

Dave Strang

How many Christians have you interviewed to form this opinion? Your comments demonstrate you're no better than those you criticize. Take your slander somewhere else.

how long will 20,000 copies/orders last?

When they say you can download something as a bonus and it's in 96 hz and 428 whatever or it's in really great quality...does that mean burn it to your hard drive so you can burn it to a disc or does it mean listen to it on your device whatever it may be for the better quality...even if you do burn it to a disc there might be space issues if it's so high quality...I remember mp3s when I 1st started using them they took a lot less space than CD recorded discs for the same amounts then I found out the quality wasn't nearly as good.

Change or Grow or Die

Just watched San Francisco 2.0. An interesting but highly distorted one sided view. To anyone who knows history since the industrial revolution there is nothing surprising about what's happening in San Francisco now. How many on this post use Uber, it's there because contrary to what one person said Taxis are extremely economically regulated with severely limited very expensive medallions that went to the connected . How many say I'd never go to Walmart but still buy the most inexpensive package of t shirts atTarget or the other twins of Walmart. How many look for the union label which would cost more. Here's reality almost no one likes change that is part of human development, we decry the loss of the comfortable past. But trying to stop it is like trying to stop the tide

corrupted file

Hey did anyone download Road trips Vol 4 no 3. I bought a few Roadtrips to hold me over waiting for the USB Bolt and the "Box of Rain" in it has a corrupted file. Loud static in several spots and then just skips to next song. I've downloaded the full concert and disc by disc, on different players and it happens on all. Once before i had an issue with a corrupted file on a Dicks pick or something years back and dead.net never fixed it, hoping this time will be different. Not upset, things happen but i'd like the file in a playable form. I called, we will see if anything happens...

Corrupted file

I had the same problem. I sent a note to customer service and after a few days Dr. Rhino sent me links for replacement files. Tell them exactly which files are corrupted.

@ DaveStrang and Mbarilla

DaveStrang,I have unfortunately not attended the show of 5/3/72 but I attended that of 5/4 (with a great, great Dark Star). That was one of the three biggest shows of my life, taking into account all the artists I've seen on stage. And it was the month of my 18 years. The Grateful Dead European tour 1972 tour is probably my favorite. There were many excellent concerts on this tour, and that of May 3 was magical, actually. The Parisian show of September 21, 1974 was not a big show. That is why I am eager to receive 30 Trips and hear the show in Dijon, gave three days earlier. Finally, I was at the concert on October 28, 1990, the tomorrow of the show that is in 30 Trips. Both evenings were very good evenings. I was amazed that 30 Trips has two concerts in France. My top 5? It's difficult. I'm going to try. May 4, 1972, Paris, France August 27, 1972, Veneta, Or. December 31, 1972, San Francisco, Ca. May 19, 1974, Portland, Or. May 8, 1977, Ithaca, NY. Mbarilla, I also really like the concert of May 14, 1974. For cons, I do not know that of October 2, 1972. (Excuse my English).

MinasMorgul

Have you ever lived in Ocean City? Or are you one of the good "Christians" who currently reside there? Or better yet are you one of the good "Christians" who come to Ocean City for 4 months and have the audacity to call yourself a "local"? As for me I lived there for 27 years, day in, day out, hurricanes, Nor'easters and all. During that 27 years I've talked with shopkeepers, people in line at WaWa on Memorial Day weekend when the line was 30 people deep, people at the library (and they have a beautiful, well stocked library) who decried all the "outsiders" moving in when they themselves are only there 4 months out of the year and have never experienced a Nor'easter themselves. My next door neighbor (a 4 month "local") who liberally used the 'N' word was on the verge of selling his condo when a black family just RENTED the bungalow across the street. My own landlord was a racist prick who considered selling for the same reason. He also had the nerve to call himself a "local" yet ran back to Cherry Hill as soon as any storm clouds moved in. Neither sold their property once they found out the black family was only staying for a year. You say "slander" when I'm talking from experience. As for you Morgul HOW DARE YOU liken me to those narrow-minded, racist, bigoted, homophobic good "Christian" sons-of-bitches? F*CK YOU and the horse you came off in!

corrupted file

Thanks, Rhino had a tape about a catalog. Dead.net customer service said they'd look into it. Glad I'm not alone, and they know. Just surprised they don't fix it. In the mean time i just went to archive and inserted an audience copy for now.

@ Alain

Your English is fine, there's no need for excuses. I admire you greatly for having seen any of the Europe '72 shows. 5/4/72 was a great concert also. 'Sugar Magnolia' was taken from this show for the original Europe '72 album, so I think that speaks for how highly it's regarded as well. The inclusion of 2 shows from France is an indication that your country brought out that special GD *magic* too. I can well understand your excitement over 30 Trips!

@davestrang aka bigot

You sir are way out of line. There are many obnoxious things I could write about you and your thoughts but I don't want to turn this into the Zappa site. I'll leave my simple truth in the title say what needs to be said

@Snafu

I won't get into childish name calling as you have("@davestrang aka bigot"). If my reply to MinasMorgul upsets you or seems harsh, too bad. I DO NOT appreciate being likened to elitist snobs who care more about the color of someone's skin and the contents of their wallet and bank account instead of the content of their character and their personal achievements. The experiences I recounted in my reply to MinasMorgul are all true and my opinions of the residents come from 27 years of living among them. The truth is unpleasant sometimes but it's still the truth. That being said, I will not look for, nor reply to any further posts from you or MinasMorgul. I won't turn this into a p*ssing contest.

WHOA GUYS!!!

Start behaving like Dead Heads again.. chill out. I don't want to see you bickering over anything more than which '77 show was the best.

Corrupted files

DallanW - Mine was a different volume. It is easy for files to become corrupted, not the sources but the generated copy for download. Customer service here is excellent, it's just a small number of people with a lot of demanding customers. I have bought many gigs of download files. Out of roughly 400 separate tracks, two were defective. That is about 99.5% perfect files. Not bad, pretty damn good, basically excellent quality control. I wish everything I dealt with met the standards here!

MMmmmmm....

Big fat Elk brisket goin' on 7hrs in the crock-pot.:-) ...and Blanton's ...and Bird Song-Dave's 11 :)

Mmmmmm...

That sounds effing amazing jrf68. I love crock pot meals. Set it, start drinking/listening to music.. then have a great meal hours later. My "go to" is usually pot roast.

Damn it

Now I'm hungry for pot roast...and where am I going to get pot roast this time of night?

hungry

might be easier to roast some pot

I don't know, Rdevil

then I'd really be hungry. Though it might shift the focus of my desire more towards cookies, so you may have a point there.

Pot roast....

....try it with capers and wrapped in bacon....Great, now I'm hungry too....

if pigpen and jerry were still alive

they'd be a straight blues band, unparalleled

Over-rated

Am I the only Deadhead on this planet (and elsewhere) that thinks 1977 is an over-rated year, regarding the quality of live GD performances? Please don't get me wrong, I believe that 1977 is a great year filled with terrific performances. However, the manner in which many folks write about or discuss shows from this year makes it seem that this was the absolute peak in GD performance history. Of course, I know many heads believe that 1977 was the peak year of live GD, but personally I feel the year receives too much hype. The band's performances are extremely tight during 1977, almost to the point of sounding overly rehearsed. I've heard some folks attribute the high level of "tightness" to the unique studio sessions related to the recording of Terrapin Station. Gone were the completely improvised jams typical of the pre-hiatus version of the band. The band's jams had evolved from unconfined spaciness and chaos to controlled structure and discipline. Songs like Estimated Prophet and Terrapin Station were/are terrific, but their internal jams are certainly structured and controlled. This is simply an observation and not a complaint, as these tunes are among my favorites. However, these tunes are restricted from really going "out there," which ultimately limits the ability to stretch the songs to a point that makes versions vastly unique from each other. In contrast, versions of Dark Star, The Other One, Playing In The Band, Truckin' etc. from the early '70s (e.g. '72-'74) were usually marathon-like adventures into the far out unknown, the complete opposite of structure and control. Heck, even versions of The Other One from 1977 were relatively brief and ordered, and of course Dark Star was well in hibernation during this year (era). In summary, I feel the band was very tight and well-behaved in 1977, but totally loose, unrestrained and at their improvisational best in 1972-1974. These terms used to characterize the GD in 1972-1974 are terms that best define the band, which explain why the band's heyday was during this period. Order and structure are terms that most characterize the GD from 1977, which is why I don't consider 1977 the pinnacle year of the GD. I suppose I'm addressing this topic because I'm confused as to why 1977 often appears to be considered the 'Holy Grail' for GD performing years. Everything about pre-hiatus GD best characterize the band in my opinion. Of course, the words "in my opinion" are key here. I'm certainly not intending to initiate a battle here, but perhaps a few folks can try to explain to me why 1977 deserves all the hype. Nighty night, y'all.

NO

'77 is definitely not overrated. I am listening to May 11 as I type this. Honestly... I have heard the whole repertoire with the Dead.. excepting probably most of '82-'95. As far as classic Dead goes, I think spring '77 is unparalleled. I love some late sixties/early seventies Dead.. make no mistake. But spring '77 just tickles my brain more than anything else. I played 4/22/78 earlier tonight, before putting on 5/11/77. The unmistakeable difference is that I felt I had to monitor the sound and be sure it wasn't too loud and obnoxious for my roommate while playing '78. Then, with '77... it was just elegant... no way it could possibly be noise pollution.

Oh Yeah

And Jerry.. man.. he was just doing it all on a night like 5/11/77. Insane guitar playing. They were ALL on fire in that time.

Music To Eat

Hampton Grease Band. Just sayin.

@ Nanno-1974

I feel things like you. I think it's the return of the second drummer who made the big difference between the freedom of improvisation before the hiatus (freedom which allowed the music often explore unknown territories and galaxies) and jams more orderly and wiser from 1976.The debate is as old as the Grateful Dead are. Personally, I do not judge, I like the Grateful Dead in all its aspects. But my heart and my mind go first to the period before 1975. And when the GD had only one drummer, music seems to have breathed me more fully, more freely, more boldly. All this is of course personal taste.

STILL some of the USB Sets available-- weird!

The Hardbound Book and the Scroll and the golden 45 all seem like pretty cool extras but I thought it was supposed to be all about The Music! Besides taking up an inordinate amount of shelf space, why would ANYONE pay the same money for 44.1khz / 16-bit recordings of these 30 Shows when you could have 96kHz / 24-bit recordings for the same price? Nutty! I'm bummed that I have to wait a little longer for my USB version but it's gonna be GREAT when it finally arrives! And for the Folks who only bought this Set strictly as a Collector's Item, the run of 1000 USB Lightning Bolts are gonna be a lot rarer than the 5000 CD versions will ever be.....

Blanton's and Hot Bird Songs?

I'm in. I just need to call in sick for work tomorrow in advance. I don't reach for bourbon often, but Blanton's is just about my favorite.

1977

My opinion is that no, 1977 is not overrated; 1972 and 1977 are my two favorite years. It is true that they no longer reached the kinds of deep space after the hiatus that they had previously, and I won't argue that it was or was not because of the return of Mickey, because I don't know. However, I will point out that they DID reach very psychedelic deep space from 67 thru early 71. They had both drummers during all those years. Think Dark Star in 1969 and 1970, and many, many, other examples. Yes, these deep spaces were different than than later in '71, 72, 73, and 74, but wouldn't that be expected anyway? Unlike the two deviled beast prior to 2/71, the two deviled beast from 1976 onward either didn't, or could no longer, reach those same deep psychedelic spaces. I'm using psychedelic not in the sense the media does, but in the sense I think deadheads will understand - the kind of jams that just take your mind OUT there. However, before 2/71 they also had lots and lots of jamming of a different kinds. Think how they could jam for half an hour on Lovelight, blues based jamming that could get plenty weird, but often wasn't weird, just prime examples of group musical conversation. Viola Lee Blues is another example. Although The Other One frequently went into deep space, it just as often went into more structured jams, where they tore into it as a group mind. Well, I would say that 1977 was one of their ultimate peaks. Nanno, you refer to the "professionalism" of their sound, but I would say that many (most?) heads that revere 77 do so because of the outrageous emotional power they brought in 77. They were frequently having whole group mind "musical conversations" of an intensity unparalleled. These group excursions were no less group excursions just because they didn't go into deep psychedelic spaces. The jams in Mississippi, Sugaree, Let It Grow, The Other One, Truckin', Not Fade Away, Dew, Dancin' In The Street, Franklin's Tower, Scarlet-Fire, Playin', not to mention the ballads, had an emotional power that were psychic nuclear bombs, and group improvisation at its finest. Many feel their ability to reach the most emotionally intense musical peaks on a consistent basis reached its apex in 1977. I think that the 72-74 has my favorite deep space moments. 77 has my favorite emotionally powerful group playing. I'm thrilled I have both (and all the other years, too!) So, no, I don't think 77 is overrated. It's revered for different reasons than 72-74, but those reasons are still quintessentially Dead.

1972-74 vs 1977 nearly worlds apart, both nearly equal beasts

In the Europe 72 tour, Keith is a fairly new to the band,, but "Old Piano" player as joked during one of the AOM March 72' shows.. The Drugs consumed were different,, I'm guessing more LSD was dropped during 1972-74.. Compared to the thrill of new drugs encountered in 1976-77,, 72-74, The band was with 1 drummer, new songs emerge and for some part ,, was dropping some songs like Alligator,, maybe Keith didn't sound right on that one,, always wondered why that was dropped, even when Pigpen was still with them, the AOM or Europe 72 not played.. The tunes developed through time and some got stronger,, some weaker. Check out a "Tennessee Jed" from multiple eras,, 1971 maybe (Dave's Picks 3 = 10.22.71) , then a version from Europe 72,, then go to Wall of Sound maybe,, even use(Dave's Picks 9 - 5.14.74) Tennessee Jed.. and then compare to May 77 version and final stop is Spring 1978 at 5.17.78..

Confused - Mojobrojo...

I am having difficulty understanding your recent post. In one sentence you say (quite correctly) that you thought it was supposed to be all about the music, but in the next sentence you suggest that it is really all about the number of bits per dollar, that 24 bits resolution rather than 16 bits resolution is a better deal. Indeed at 24 bits you get 50% more bits for your money, but really it is all about the music not the number of bits. Have you possibly been persuaded by the arguments that the number of bits and the frequency (96kHz/24-bit vs. 44.1kHz/16-bit) results in a higher quality listening experience?

My credit card expiration date

The credit card I use the most for online purchases expired September 2015, so I used another one for buying of this box. It expires April 2020, 4/20. If you see the humor here, that's good. If not, sorry too bad that you don't get the joke.

1977

Thanks to those who entered the discussion regarding 1977 GD. There have been some good comments posted, which I generally agree with. The issue ultimately comes down to personal preference, and I certainly ain't going to mess with trying to influence the personal preference of anyone. I completely respect those that love 1977 GD, or any performing year for that matter. I agree, it is difficult to compare 1972-GD with 1977-GD, as these two eras are different on so many levels. The spacey improvisation (i.e. 1972-1974) I crave on a daily basis is simply not available in 1977 GD, therefore I haven't turned-on a show from 1977 (or 1976-1978) for quite some time. I know that a lot of Deadheads get off on 1977 GD, which is a wonderful thing. I love all eras of GD, but my personal addiction is the pre-hiatus sound, particularly the 1972-1974 era. I believe this era captures everything that the band is about. The degree of tightness in 1977 is very impressive, and I enjoy the sound of the era, but I usually require more adventure and space. Thank you especially for not making this a personal debate. The civil replies are very much appreciated. Please continue to comment, if so inclined. Perhaps I should turn on a show from May 1977... Thanks again.

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