30 Trips Around The Sun Box & Digital USB

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September 4, 2015 - 10:38am

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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
Text

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June 17, 2015 - 1:00pm

#6591

sfrank115

Joined:
June 17, 2013

Sweeeeeet

Pretty awesome radio show.
June 17, 2015 - 10:27am

#6592

uv1

Joined:
June 21, 2012

Let there be songs to fill the air!

Thanks for that link @frankparry. Can't say I'm impressed with the design of the 4-CD box, but I'll bet the 80-disc box will be awesome. And what a monster it'll have to be. Just look at 80 CD's in your collection and see how much space they take up! I'm betting there will be a cardboard slipcase for each show. Or maybe it'll be in the style of a book. It looks like that's what they went for with the 4-disc set. If that's the case, it may be hard for folks to sell off single shows as we've seen on this board and on eBay. Besides which, I think the idea of breaking up the box defeats the vision that Dave had: i.e. taking in the 30-year journey that was the life of the Grateful Dead. So if you're someone who loves the 70's Dead, this may be an opportunity to have some later era music in your collection. And if you're an 80's/90's lover, then this is the chance to go back a bit further. My story is this: I started listening to the Grateful Dead with the album "Without A Net," so Brent has always sounded great to me. I never did get to see Brent, though. I saw the Dead 4 times -- 3 in '91 and once in '93. I was at the 2 MSG shows before the 9/10/91 show in the box. Then I stopped listening for years. It wasn't until my son was born 3-1/2 years ago that I started listening again. Man, I was HOOKED! I tracked down every Road Trips and Bonus Disc over the next year, and then started in on the Dave's Picks and newer box sets as they came out. Despite my expanding collection, I was still pretty stuck in the late 80's and early 90's. But I slowly worked my way backwards. '77 and '74 offered ample rewards for my listening, but earlier than that was a little too much for me. Kinda raw at times. And Pigpen took some getting used to. So it took me a while to get into '72 and all that the European tour has going for it. Now I can dig it. On the other side of the Dead's career, I shied away from post '91 stuff. Without Hornsby, what magic did the band still have up their sleeves? Then I pulled out th '93 Cal Expo Road Trips this year. I've gotta tell you, it's good. Way better than I thought it should be. So when I first saw this box set, I thought, "Way too expensive," and "Too much stuff that I don't want." But the more I thought about it, the more excited I became to hear those shows from years I had shied away from - pre '72 and post '91. I think the box will be an amazing opportunity to experience the full scope of what the Grateful Dead's music was. Thanks for reading. Reach out your hand If your cup is empty If your cup is full May it be again
June 17, 2015 - 10:11am

#6593

floridabobaloo

Joined:
April 30, 2014

Time being short

I came up with a rather new twist. Listening to an entire show sometimes just isn't possible, so what I've done is to select one disc from a set and create a mix up. Yesterday I started with some 73 and jumped to 90 then back to 72, etc. kinda works with the 50th concept. I have SO much Dead now, I might be able to only enjoy 1 complete show in a day and that would take a while to go thru all of it. So this approach is in play. I'm also rotating in terms of sets too. First sets and then Second.It gives me a broad palate to draw from and lots of years to combine into one big groove for the day. I've read were some folks wouldn't try this, but it's working in the summer heat so far! Enjoy yourselves!
June 17, 2015 - 9:04am

#6594

JimInMD

Joined:
June 27, 2011

Change

There's some good insight into some of the music that influenced Jerry and some of the directions he wanted to explore or did not in the following March '78 JGB interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya2Vv1zcGmY It gives some background on the edgier, harder feel the music took on at that time. There's an interesting piece about new wave and punk that starts about 29 min in. Very interesting stuff.. if you had the same conversation say in '72 or '73, Its very likely names like Django Reinhardt, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis and the like might just pop up. At one point Garcia states, "I like Cheap Trick." A musical Omnivore he was.. 35 min in he speaks highly of the Who and Townsend but says its a drag to do the same show '4 years in a row. Change and reinvention is a part of the golden thread this tapestry is woven from. Anyway, more food for thought. The only thing constant in this world is change.
June 17, 2015 - 8:16am

#6595

ToddWCorey70

Joined:
July 30, 2012

Keith

Unfortunately, when I think of Keith's later playing, I invariably think of the Cornell Fire. His blocky repetitive chords are just a sin, and almost ruin this amazing song for me. Give me his early stuff any day, the man was fantastic!
June 17, 2015 - 8:06am

#6596

frankparry

Joined:
June 8, 2007

Box Design

I'm not sure if this has been posted before but the British magazine Uncut has a picture of the 4CD version of 30 Trips box and a description and link to Viola Lee Blues: http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/grateful-dead-exclusive-hear-an-unreleased-…
June 17, 2015 - 7:09am

#6597

MrHeartbreak

Joined:
August 2, 2013

@Thin

"But I think some of the reason he began to decline is the band's '78 swerve into louder, fuzzier, raunchier tones and electric rock 'n roll (vs the ragtime band). When Keith joined in 1971 it was a 1-drummer band and by '73 they were playing light, loose and ragtime/jazzy. But suddenly in '78 they were in full beast mode and a piano doesn't really fit into a raging 2-drummer band easily - must have been frustrating for him." Excellent post, Thin. I never articulated this correctly, and I think you are right. Since we were talking about the "non-factor" issue (and I'd never actually noticed anything BAD before, like the 12/31/78 bad chord), I decided to check out a couple songs from the famous 5/8/77 gig. After all, we all know that show, right? I dialed up Estimated Prophet in the car, and listened for what Keith was doing. Now, granted, I'm cruising down the road in 93-degree Florida heat, so the AC is cranked to the max, but let me just say: during the first 3 minutes or so that I road-tested that song, I did not hear Keith...at all. I could hear everybody else: Phil, Jerry, Bobby, Mickey & Billy. I skipped ahead to Morning Dew, and I heard a little bit of tinkling piano during the first few minutes...nothing bad, but nothing remarkable. Sounded low in the mix, too...very low. Maybe they really did turn his volume down overall? No idea. For contrast, I listened to a Yes show from the same basic era, '78. Rick Wakeman on keyboards. Now, it's not a fair comparison, I know: different band, different style. But I'll tell you what: those keyboards were prominent, I mean PROMINENT, in the mix. All over the place. So maybe it wasn't just drugs, passivity, or whatnot. Maybe he really was mixed intentionally low by the latter years of the Godchauxs' tenure.
June 17, 2015 - 6:51am

#6598

estimated-eyes

Joined:
December 31, 2008

12/31/78

I always liked this show, but Keith is a non-factor and he really blows it toward the end of Good Lovin'-- when the rest of the band stops at one point, Keith hits a big chord. That is one of the worst obvious errors I have heard in all my GD listening, way worse than any vocal flubs they regularly made. Re: Beware Mr. Baker and the Clapton comment, in the movie they talk about Ginger's style a lot and that he was really a jazz drummer thrust into a rock and roll band. Clapton's comment, I think he was more appalled by the comparison to Bonham, you can hear him say, "no, no, Zep..." and then he catches himself before being caught on camera bashing LZ. Ginger could swing, hit 'em hard and provide some world beats, too. I like Keith Moon a lot and find his drumming amazing in his prime. This documentary gave me a better appreciation of Ginger Baker's talents-- in spite of the fact that he is absolutely insane.
June 17, 2015 - 6:38am

#6599

Thin

Joined:
June 21, 2013

Keith "going through Jerry's briefcase"???

Rdevil - Can you clarify what is meant by "Keith going through Jerry's briefcase may have been his biggest sin"??? Do you mean he was actually busted rifling through his stuff/stealing Jerry's stash, or was that just a euphemism for "he was doing the same, err…, recreational stuff as Jerry and it had a very negative effect"? I do recall a story from one book where someone had stolen Jerry's stash from his briefcase and he started VERY indiscreetly confronting people "Who took my bindle!" Maybe these stories are related (though probably not - made me think of it though…) I'm mildly uncomfortable that this is getting into unsavory gossip, but I'm hitting "send" anyway...
June 17, 2015 - 6:35am

#6600

Kayak Guy

Joined:
June 4, 2015

Keith vs Mickey

What an interesting take that I never thought about before, it's Mickey's fault ;) It does stand the basic logic test of jazz based piano players were considered part of the rhythm section and the addition of a 2nd drummer would leave less space for Keith in the mix, where as syths, cheesey keyboards and organ would occupy a different spot in a 2 drummer line up. things to listen for in the future. Billy's new book has also given me lots to listen for and highly recommended for his point of view from the drummers seat on the mood/drug consumption of the periods. Jerry seems to be one of the few junkies that could still play well far longer than most of the people around him and even though it became a problem, they let it continue as the money became everyone's drug of choice at the end. meanwhile Weather Report suite from 9/12/73 SBD just shuffled on and Keith is sounding great, too bad theres a bunch of horns soloing where Jerry should be playing and it sounds like a flock of waterfowl having an orgy.

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

Corrupted file

That is about my experience. Out of around 400 tracks two have been corrupted. The only real issue I had was that for the first time it happened (a a year or two back) they brushed me off and I still have an audience version inserted into that show where it gets to that track. I'm happy just to have a download option actually but gets a little hard listening to a new show and getting screeching static and skipping in our ear out of the blue. Either way enjoying most of it. However if it happens on the USB I may feel differently

2/21/95

I used to have this show on cd-r and the source, a soundboard, was good but not remarkable. The music was good, and probably one of the few whole shows of 1995 I really like. I recently streamed the remastered recording that's included in this box and WOW! this show really came alive. Looking forward to when I receive this box.It's my opinion that shipping notices emails may be sent out as early as Monday, October 5th. I have no idea when late will be, but somewhere, somehow, somebody and probably quite a few people will get this big parcel before they they get that shipping notice email. And that too is a bit of humor.

mbarilla / Songs Dropped

I heard an onstage comment from Weir, possibly the Academy of Music (DaP 14) show, where he said they dropped Alligator (and others) because those were tunes they needed two drummers for. Personally, I don't think they needed two for Alligator, if any at all...maybe you could make the argument for The Eleven. Can you imagine St. Stephen and The Eleven in the E72 set list? I've often wondered....

Countdown Revisited

Either 11 OR 27 days until BOXZILLA ships.

DaveStrang

You reveal yourself as one of the bigots you purportedly despise with every comment you make. To lump every Christian in with the few you claim to have had personal experience with, is the definition of prejudice. The fact that you don't realize this is no surprise, as it is commonplace with people who support intolerance of every brand. A guy named Hitler held similar views on what was surely a limited number of personal encounters, and like you, I'm sure those personal encounters themselves were colored by preconceived notions about the target group. I'm not even Christian and I find your remarks offensive, because it's people like you who make the world a worse place.

re: Delivery - 25 or 6 to 4

Staring blindly into spaceGetting up to splash my face Wanting just to stay awake Wondering how much I can take

Delivery

Come delivery day: "Congratulations!! It's a box!!"

Godwin's Law invoked

Once you bring Hitler/Nazis into the argument you lose. In case you're not familiar with this idea, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

HDCD

For those discussing the bit resolution of USB vs the CDs, I'm assuming the CDs will be HDCD encoded, which is standard for the Dave's Picks, and which I believe means 20 bit, not 16-bit.

O.K....

Listening to 10/28/79. Im a recent facebook convert so I joined the Grateful Dead Society. Its pretty cool! Got some primo downloads. I was never a Taper and missed the Archive dls so Im building my show library. Hopefully this week we'll get a shipping notice and Daves 16 announcement! I still say 5/26/77 or hopefully a 71 show!....right Doc!.....Take care folks!!

DROOOOL

5/26/77??? That would be FANtastic.

Paris, May 4, 1972

Wow Alain- your first show was part of the pantheon of great dead shows! What do you remember of that show or the venue: L'Olympia? I don't remember anything from 1972, as I was just a week old when it started :-).

1977 overrated

I personally enjoy 1969 and 1973 the most, with more listening going to 69. But I wouldn't say 77was overrated, check out Scarlet/Fires, 10/29/77 or the 5/15 Dancing. But yeah I can see what your saying about not going as farout.

7/3/66

I'm not really a fan of 1966 shows the Dead are still just a dance band. All I have are the official released recordings of Birth of the Dead & Rare Cuts & Oddies. This show seems complete and I still welcome this li'l jem. I streamed some of it and it's good, but really just a novelty for me.

HDCD

Are the box set CD's HDCD it's not mentioned in the description?

lol madpanic

I never heard of that one, but lol, so funny. It didn't take long to get there either - do you think if DaP 16 is anything between 68 - 78 there'll be posts about Dave Lemieux that invoke Godwin's theory? homey - good question - I'm guessing no, since they didn't mention it.

first set of 10 maxell's from taper and tie die guy

KG out of Rockford Ill, One of the old timer tapers and Tye Dye Artist. Was kind enough to take his time to record me 10 cassettes back in 1988. At 19 years old it was my first batch of bootlegs I had ever owned. What a treat. I had seen The Grateful Dead at Alpine since 1985. The tapes changed everything. A pack of 10 Maxcell Cassettes. This was in 1988 at the University Of Kansas. One reason I bring this up is that is that the 5/7/77 Barton Hall show was in the batch. Great show. But also was the, Swing Auditorium. Fist show with Estimated and Terrapin Played. The 1980 Alaska show. Big Railroad Blues. Now I am trying to remember all of them. But the show that I liked the best was a tape that read Muir Beach Acid Test. 1965. With all the early stuff on it. Anyone remember That TAPE ?

HDCD

HDCD has some controversial aspects, partly because of questions about compatibility with non-HDCD players. Here is an interesting article: http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/HFN/HDCD/Enigma.html I've compared ripped (non-HDCD) tracks from the Europe '72 set with HDCD playback, and to my ears, certainly the HDCD version is noticeably better, and I would not enjoy listening to HDCD discs played through a conventional CD player. But a question remains (for me): does the HDCD disc sound better than a well mastered CD? A CD mastered done right, and without excessive compression may be as good. HDCD is not true 20 bit playback at all levels, it impacts softer sounds that might suffer from dithering in conventional CD mastering. These problems are eliminated in 192 or 96 kHz at 24 bits files, that are effectively clones of the master tapes. Interesting the HDCD is not mentioned in the promo for 30 Trips.

30 Trips 10/12/84

Just heard the Cold Rain and Snow. Yes, this show will do just fine. Yessiree.

For '77 Enthusiasts

There are some good audience tapes on Archive.org for '77 that can be downloaded. The ones I found were:2/26/77 San Bernadino, CA 2/27/77 Santa Barbara, CA 4/23/77 Springfield, MA 5/8/77 Ithaca, NY The Barton Hall show will at least give you an idea of what all the fuss is about. Greatest show of all time? Top Ten? You be the judge. Certainly none have been 'Norman-ized' but are definitely listenable. Non '77: 12/28/70 El Monte, CA 8/6/71 Hollywood, CA

@ wjonjd 10/12/84

I love this show, too and I wanna hear the whole show. But there's a problem with the Morning Dew. I was going to burn a copy for a friend who is not buying the box, and he asked if the Dew was a complete soundboard or does it have an audience patch in it. All circulating copies have an audience patch in them, as far as I know. When I stream-checked for him, I gave him the bad news. Personally for me, it does matter very much, because this Dew is hot. I can live with that choice the producers of this box set made.

Corrupted files

Wow, I got a completely different purchase, new different download and i am up to two tracks with corrupted files here! Holy Smokes, what is up. In years of occasionally buying them i had only one and now three tracks so far in two shows. I think i am done buying the downloads…..

30 Trips HDCD

The image of the 4-CD 30 Trips mini-box appears to have the HDCD logo. The image I found of the back cover isn't too clear, but I'm pretty sure. Maybe someone who bought the mini box can check and post. If the mini box is HDCD its a good bet the big box is. Incidentally, all the Dead's shows prior to them using digital recording at the shows (late 80's or 90's), were recorded to analog reel to reel or to analog cassette tapes. The former gets no more than 13-bit equivalent, the latter less than 10 (sometimes as low as 5 or 6 bits). You can't take a 13 bit recording of, say, a Europe 72 show, transfer it to a 20 bit medium, and somehow have added audio information to the file. The 16 bits of CD are already more bits than the original recording. Edit: Also, based on the link Ziffle provided, it appears distinctly possible that, because of the peculiar way HDCD is encoded into the 16 bit CD, that we would have been better off without the HDCD encoding at all. It looks like, because of the problems it creates in a regular CD player, the best way to use these HDCDs is to rip to wav, then expand the files to 20-bit using hdcd.exe (or something equivalent on a Mac). Then, losslessly compress to flac, or, if you use mp3, compress to mp3. Either way, compressing AFTER expanding out the HDCD encoding will alleviate the peak problems described in the link. The resulting flac (or other lossless) file will now have the HDCD information in a 20 (or 24) bit file, so you should get the advantages (if any) of HDCD without having to use an HDCD compatible player. Even though mp3s won't have this, they will still benefit from this process because you will have removed the peak compression problems caused by the HDCD encoding.

@Born X-Eyed

I didn't get to the Dew yet. I've heard it's a monster. Didn't know about the AUD patch, but I'm glad to have this show, too. Very.

30 Trips

I was one of the "30 Trippers" that was unable to control my desire to stream some of the shows from 30 Trips. I tried to only listen to the later era stuff from the box, but in the end I couldn't avoid listening to large parts of the '72-'73 shows...gosh darn it. Needless-to-say, the '72 and '73 shows are f-ing spectacular, of course. Anyway, I completely enjoyed the show from 10/12/1984! It is definitely a hot one, and I know you all will love it. The sound quality isn't the best (but it's fine), however the performance certainly makes up for it.

I didn't even try to hold out

I knew I wouldn't be able to hold off, so I never even tried :) I've been working forward from the beginning. I've been thrilled with every show so far. The 5/16/81 show has the largest AUD patch (the whole last few songs), but it's a great show. The 8/31/82 has the lowest overall sound quality, but that show is also great, and the sound is acceptable, just a larger than normal amount of tape hiss. I'm still on the '84 show. If things stay this strong, I will be a very happy camper.

anyone still waiting?

Anyone out there still waiting for the big box to arrive on your doorstep before listening?

Paris, May 4, 1972

Richard, In May 1972 I was still a teenager, I began to get old now. The concert on May 4th was fantastic, magical! I did not know the music of the Grateful Dead before, I had never heard of the Dead disk. So I discovered while live concert. I had the impression of a lively music, a music that was a living being, which evolved by itself. I had never before heard anything like Dark Star, it was really incredible. I was also struck by the diversity of the group's repertoire. I tried to dance, but it was not easy at all between the seats of the theater of Olympia. I remember having considered the Good Lovin 'played that night was for me an exuberant célébration. As I said here a day or two, this show is one of the three shows that have marked me most in my life. And you, what was your first Dead show?

yes - still waiting

haven't streamed a note. if i wanted digital product, i would've bought it. not complaining about the delay either - it's more important to get it right.

re: Midway/re: Alain/re: Nanno

Midway, I, too had a tape labeled Muir Beach Acid Test but I was always skeptical about the veracity of the date and venue. I also had a tape labeled Magoo's Pizza Parlor but I'm pretty sure it was some early studio stuff. Alain, fantastic post--loved hearing your first reaction to the Dead, especially since you weren't familiar with their music when you saw them for the first time. It was quite the opposite for me. My first show was Brent's penultimate show and I was well aware of the scene and the format and much of the band's history at the time; circumstances had prevented me from seeing them earlier. I was very impressed with the music and surprised by how prominent a role Brent played and how much he fired up the crowd.

Yup, me too.

Haven't streamed and feeling no desire to do so. Looking forward to kicking back and getting lost in the ozone, but I'm a patient man. No knock on streamers, to each his or her own ...

Same Here

I haven't streamed a note or read a word. It's a Xmas gift and since the family goes their own way on Xmas day I plan on diving in head first. Nothing against the streamers and readers, in fact I'm happy to read the positive reports on the quality of the sound and the shows.

re:Nanno

I agree with you, Nanno about '72-74 although technically, and you may agree, I think that era begins when Keith joins the band in Fall of '71. Is 1977 overrated? In many ways this is a matter of linguistics--does everyone agree on how '77 is rated? For my preference 1977 IS overrated in that my top ten, maybe even top 20 favorite shows are all pre-hiatus shows, while many regard '77 as their favorite year. To me those early Keith years with one drummer are the absolute best for many of the reasons you mentioned. But calling '77 overrated doesn't mean I don't think it's great; I do think it's great and listen to shows from that year as well as 76 very often. Wjond, I liked your post on '77 and I think you're right about how they played with such emotion. There are so many highlights from that year and your post made me think of the Comes a Time from 5-9 and the Wharf Rat from 5-7 among many others. I love that stuff; but overall, my favorite is the wide open jamming from the so called "golden era." To each his own, it's all good, as illustrated by the shows in this box. There's a lot to love from every year. But we all have our favorites.

:/

;)

HDCD

I think I asked Lemieux if the box was HDCD and replied yes. I wouldn't see them changing for the box, everything else.. right?

Re: rdevil

This is an adventure that I have started this May 4, 1972. How could I know at the time that, 39 years later, I will be thanked in the liner notes that accompany the Europe '72 box? I say that here because I am very proud, as you can imagine.

Sunken Condos

I just gotta mention, to me this is Donald Fagen's best solo work (and I do own and love the preceeding trilogy of Fagen albums...OK, maybe its a tie with Nightfly). I loved it when it first came out a few years ago, but it has really grown on me even more since then. I never attached any significance to the title, but the irony is not lost on me in light of my rantings from a couple of nights ago. Heh. By the way, "Miss Marlene" from the song could only have been running out from Bowlmor (closed now to make way for condos, as I was telling FloridaBob who used to stay nearby) when she was hit by that taxi. I'm having a very strange week... Anyway, don't miss this album if you're a Steely or Fagen fan.

shows available- UPDATE

Had a few orders whove paid and some who havent so for now those shows are still available - $55 per show inc shipping from oz (sent day i get box): show available still are 68 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 92 93 94 95 Also taking offers on scroll, single and book from box as a set or per item Also $200US for the 18cd dylan cutting edge hi-rez download card Also the complete Allman Brothers Band 2012 tour box set - wooden box and 64cds with brochure and numbered - $750US + shipping - rare and out of print And anyone into very rare prog/psych rock I have the ORGINAL 12 inch size box set of God and Hair - the 12cd set of Ya How ha 13 (Father Yod) the original numbered box with large 12 inch jap book and a free father yod/family book and extra cd and sticker!!!! MEGA MEGA rare.... Email me ONLY at gilmourstephen@hotmail.com - first come first served and I accept paypal Also the Dead May 77 box too!!! Willing to do a swap too on the 30 trips box or dylan 18cd box unopened for the Europe 72 steamer trunk numbered.....

Countdown Revisited

Either 10 OR 26 days until BOXZILLA ships.

still waiting

Except for the AUD patch, I have not streamed the shows, frankly I'm a little bummed they are using shows with AUD patches for this release. I was hoping to hear the SBDs of what's missing on the recordings in circulation, to know that isn't the case took the mystery out of the box for me.

Bring on the Box !!! And Dave's Picks 16 !!!

Still no stream for me,, too many other shows to listen to on Sirius, Tapers, JOTW, Jeebs Stash Predicting Dave's 16 is a show from 1980 or 1976... Bring on a Matrix !!! J. Norman !!! Seems like Dave's 15 (4.22.78) was primed up for a Box set that never happened, along with Dave's 7 (4.24.78) ,, the pick that followed Normal, IL - Dave's 8 super Matrix and probably my favorite release from Dave's Picks !! It's time for another 1980 Matrix people. Acoustic / Electric 3 sets !!! October Warfield show ,,, 2nd , 3rd, or 4th !!!! Or 1976 - plenty to choose

random shows

10-13-68, 1-26-69, 8-3-69, 11-2-69, 10-9-72, 8-28-82, 4-24-88, would all be welcome releases for me. Especially 1-26-69, 8/3/69 and 10-9-72.

Confused, no. Convinced, YES!

You sound like someone who has had less than satisfactory results with higher-resolution recordings. I know the arguments about the CD "Red Book" spec meeting or exceeding the range of Human Hearing (true for some but not for all) and I know there are people who are simply "sticks in the mud" and give themselves credit for knowing a lot more than they actually know (I hope you're not one of those!)I don't know how much money you'd need to spend to have a substantially improved Listening Experience with High-Rez recordings from a standard Home Stereo but I can state definitively that a $200 pair of Headphones and a "clean" Amp is all you need to hear how amazing a 96kHz / 24-bit recording sounds compared to its lesser cousins. 192kHz / 24-bit even more so! But if you don't have the "ear" to hear the difference, stick with CDs. If you're truly a Music Lover though, you owe it to yourself to upgrade your Headphones (not Ear Buds, Headphones!) and give those High-Rez recordings another chance. Like any Album, some are much better recorded and produced than others but when you find a particularly tasty old favorite, it's a near-mystical Audio experience!

Shadow Boxing The Apocalypse book

As soon as I got the .pdf, I started to read it and I liked it very much. The first few "pages" were OK, BUT I don't like to scroll up and down and after a short while I gave up trying to read it. I don't that format of those two open pages at a time. A single page would have let me read the whole book at once. I went back and read a paragraph or a page at a time, but I'd rather have the physical hard copy of a book in front of me. In the Dead Heads Tell Their Tales section, I only read two and I gave up. I tried it again and only read two of the special boxes and gave up. It was the same with the Show Notes from Dave Lemieux, although they were much easier to read, so much so that I could almost hear the wind and other sound that accompany his seaside chat videos. I just wonder if these notes will be in the book or on each on the disc cases. For me, the streaming and the pdf are just a tasty sampler, I'd rather have the CD box or the USB box. Sample as much or as little as you want, or none at all, as I read some of the comments in this thread. All I really can do is wait for the box to arrive - I have more than enough patience to do that and we will get our boxes soon. OK, where's that shipping notice email?

Confused, no. Convinced, YES!

It is an interesting topic, but there are many variables and I believe that it is somewhat expensive to set up a stereo that will provide satisfactory playback of hi-res files; it may not be worth it for the majority of listeners, given that CD reproduction has improved to such an extent. Consider the volume control. Many (most?) receivers these days come with a digital control. But these are difficult to implement and only a few can provide the full quality available in hi-res files. For anyone interested in this, here is a fascinating presentation by ES concerning their Sabre 32 bit DAC as a volume control: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYjHKv2_OqQ But these are expensive, and even so, the best analog controls provide a finer reproduction, especially a lower listening levels. Mallinson also doesn't directly address the tiny signals in the upper harmonics that seem to me to get lost with a digital control. I tried using the Sabre control, and went back to my analog preamp. It wasn't perfect. Which is only to say, different strokes for different folks. The CDs offer a lot, not to mention the esthetics of the object, the USB offers something else, but without a well thought out sound system, the result may be worse that the CDs (as examples, IM distortion, jitter problems, brick wall filtering by the receiver).

Streaming...

I only streamed the vinyl single, because I don't have my record player hooked up at the moment. I really don't want to hear these shows in mp3. Plus, I just picked up Spring 1990 (TOO) and So Many Roads. Lots of stuff to listen to..I can wait.

Ball Is Finally Rolling?

I just checked my 30 Trips order online, and the status has changed from "Backordered" to "In Process," and the estimated shipping date has disappeared. Could Boxilla finally be close to shipping?? I would LOVE to see this on my doorstep before the end of the week!

081227955892