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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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  • outpost
    Joined:
    Why The USB
    As I've stated in previous posts, I have every official release, on CD and over 1,000 GD shows in flac, and when 30 trips was announced, I could've got the box, but the USB looked cool, and was in High Res. files (I upload all my CD's to Apple Lossless anyway), so that's why I went for it. I'm not gonna cancel it, but I believe we should get something more than an old backstage pass, for our troubles (even Amazon would treat you better than this !). I just subscribe to Dave's Picks 2016, so a deal there is out, but how about a USB of some classy '60's shows 2/21/69, 11/11/67 etc. Maybe then we will have something to smile about ! Until then, we have put up with endless comments about good the fu%^& box is ! Whoever it is at Rhino or Dead.net Customer Service, who is making the decision to NOT tell people what's going on, wants a kick in the nuts.Maybe they're trying to figure out how to make a $50 USB look like it's worth $700. Even if they dropped the price to $500, but still couldn't say when it would ship, would you buy it ? It's two months overdue, let's hope it doesn't become three.
  • wjonjd
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    Taper Section friend web and GD cultural implications
    I think you're right, it probably had an affect, and not just on the tapers, but on the entire community. Sounds like a fine dissertation research topic to me. Let the scholarship begin!
  • mustin321
    Joined:
    GDM paying for their own tapes
    They WILL actually pay to get their tapes back but its nowhere near the price that is usually requested. Dave always says they won't in his webchats, etc..but thats not exactly true. I forget where I read this...I'll try to find it after work...
  • wjonjd
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    @Charlie, @Gary
    @Charlie, Yes, that was a very interesting article. Is that the one called "What's become of the Betty's?" I don't recall, but it was very informative specifically about the missing Betty Boards. I think many of us are hoping they've come to an agreement with that one hold-out owner, and are keeping it quiet to surprise us (that would be nice, wouldn't it?)! @Gary, thanks - I'm inclined to go with your memory, muddy or not, about 1987. I was never a taper at shows, but we usually got pretty crispy tapes from one of a few different folks (especially you Joel, if you're there!) shortly after the shows we went to, and we had friends that got some great sounding tapes. I was collecting tapes by 81, and when I didn't have a large collection at first, folks were very generous at sharing their favorite low-gen shows. God Bless them all!
  • wjonjd
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    @Rbumkin - I do hope you find some of the '80's ones better.
    Sorry about your experience with the '83 show. I hope you like the ones that come after better, really. Others here have already extolled the virtues of the '84, 87, 88, and 89 shows in particular. I'm very glad that I like what I hear in that show. The Music Never Stopped has plenty of energy (Phil is all over the place.) Jerry has plenty of creative licks everywhere (to my ears) in this show. The Cumberland is fantastic, and the Ramble on Rose smokes. In the second set, the Scarlet Fire is an excellent one, Playing goes interesting places, the Space is unique and goes places, etc. I wasn't familiar with this one before the box (I don't think), so I didn't look at reviews before listening to it (at least, I don't remember doing so), but it's nice to know that I'm not entirely alone: From Deadbase (John W. Scott): "A show that opens with Music Never Stopped, sigh. And they never lose their stride. Cumberland! A little fast, but hot hot hot, hot. Cassidy builds and builds, gaining tempo with intensity. Jerry pours out the notes at a breakneck pace. I keep expecting them to stumble at this pace, the jam is incredible.... the Scarlet was wonderful, one of the best versions that I have ever heard live. It was LONG ... and well jammed..." It goes on about the rest of the show in much the same manner. From the Taping Compendium, which includes MANY negative review for shows throughout 1983; this one was reviewed by Jeff Silberman, one of their most frequent reviewers: "Highlights: The Entire Show "... This show is most excellent, Deadbase ranks it one of the best of that year. The first-set song selection is top-notch from a raging "Music Never Stopped" opener to the smoking "Promised Land" closer. All the songs in between were well played, too. The second set features a dynamite "Scarlet">"Fire," the transition between which is exquisite. "Uncle John's Band" begins the second set proper and leads to a long and wonderful Playing. After the Drums, the highlight is the fine "Truckin'" Reviewers are just one person's subjective opinion, and my own are frequently different than in reviews I read. But, it's nice to know that I'm not entirely imagining things when that Cumberland rocked me out. Jerry is VERY present, and very emotional belting out the last parts of Rample On Rose. I could go on. I think that it is true that the recording is very dry and sterile - it doesn't have the hiss of the '82 show, but there is still a virtually complete lack of audience and a lack of anything to provide a 3D image; it's very clear, but is flat, two-dimensional. I think that can detract from the show, unless you automatically adjust your brain, so to speak, in the same way we used to for some iffy cassette recordings back in the day where you got to where you could automatically adjust without realizing you were doing it, and it was almost like you were at the show.
  • Charlie3
    Joined:
    May 8, 1977 Cornell
    I read a fairly detailed article in Relix recently that explained the May 8 Cornell tapes and a number of other Betty boards were purchased by third parties when the contents of the storage unit in which they were located were auctioned off in the mid '80s. That was apparently when a sizeable volume of the Betty boards began to circulate. The article states that the tapes are still in the possession of the third parties, who legally own the physical tapes but do not own the rights to the music and therefore can not legally release it commercially. The Dead justifiably don't want to pay to get their own music back and the third parties don't want to give the tapes back for free. If true, seems unlikely that there will be an official release of May 8, '77 Cornell.
  • Gary Farseer
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    wjonjd
    My memory is 1987. At times I was in the taper's section and got to know some of the folks. My memory seems to indicate that Betty swept through in late summer or fall 1987. However, I would not trust my memory 100%. Hope that helps clarify or muddle the situation. Some where around this time we also received the 3/25/66 Trooper's Hall tape. That was wild to get that. I know since we gravitated to taping very quickly, we spent inordinate amount of time in hotels making tapes. Would sometimes have the master of the night's show going and listening and trying to come down, while having another 4-10 decks going making other masters and making tapes everyone was bringing in to get each other copies. Man that was some fun times!
  • rbmunkin
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    Joined:
    1983
    If the 1983 show is the best of that year, wow what a sad year! I forced myself to listen to the whole thing, but I suppose I'll never bother again. Even Jerry at his best in this show is lazy and repetitive. And Bob, his phony vocals make me ill. At this point, I could vote this as the worst Dead show I've heard. So far my feelings about the lame '80's are being born out.
  • wjonjd
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    Tape trading/recording history
    If you have or get the Taping Compendiums, volumes 2 and 3 each have great very lengthy articles in the early sections before the reviews start about tape trading, taping (including detailed and arcane information about equipment and the technology), and soundboards. I just noticed that they say the Cornell Betty tape started making the rounds in 1987. I don't know which is right, 1985 or 1987 - maybe someone can clarify this. Anyway, the compendiums are a lot of fun - lots of great information and reviews of every tape known about to the authors at the time they wrote them.
  • wjonjd
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    Cornell - Nicholas Meriwether
    Here's a great article that covers a little Cornell history by N. Meriwether: https://rockhall.com/story-of-rock/features/all-featured/7745_grateful-…
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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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Greetings Fellow Deadheads, First, my best wishes to Phil. I am thankful that Phil and the others had the vision and the energy to see through a lifetime trip that impacted so many in a positive way. I don't know what life would be like without knowing or feeling their influence in life. Braveheart...my support goes your way. Reflections after a week... Disclaimer: I've been an avid listener for about 30 years, and really enjoy listening to shows in succession through a run, month, season, year. I love following the progression of the Dead through their arc. They morphed so often in fractal way. Few bands have this trajectory. The Beatles morphed so much between every album, and they put out 2 a year for a while! Its amazing. Miles Davis also morphed (evolved, changed...) frequently. That's what makes listening to those bands so interesting to me. The Dead were of that same cloth, and documented much more. They changed so frequently in amazing ways, each direction pushing into an unknown but bravely pursued. I've listened to a lot of Grateful Dead, and the following impressions are mine and not likely to belong to others but possibly might be shared. We all listen to things differently. I've listened to the shows from 1966-1970 in the Big Box, several times. I gave some reviews on 1966-68 shows, and here is 69-70 and a 66-70 synopsis. Mind you, I find almost every show worthy of listening if not for anything other than interest and connecting dots across other shows (especially the 60's). 1969 show - This is a great show. I love the set list, the quality of the sound, and the energy. This show was a week before the Gold Standard Fillmore West shows, so similar level of tightness and energy. I really enjoy the quirky tunes from this show - the semi-acoustic opening and Doing That Rag (for some reason, I love this song a lot). This show has a lot of peaks and valleys musically, and the Dead know it and ride it. This show is exquisite in sound quality, so you can really enjoy it. I like the variation in the typical progression from this period - the Dark Star->Cryptical is fantastic for example, and really compliments the FW shows. The second set (CD) is truly a masterpiece. The St. Stephen-> 11 is exceptional. There's not an 'Eleven' that I can't say I dislike, but I can't think of one I like better than this. It has a lot interesting lead play with dynamics, and some really funky rhythms. The dual drumming for this show is also exceptional, as it was for 1969 in general. I love the Big Rock Pow Wow shows and the FW shows, and this show measures up. This is a great 1969 show. 1970 show - I love the Dead during this period (first half of 1970). The Morph continues. Country and Western are feeding into their sound now. Some legendary shows from this period (Feb/May FE and Family Dog shows), and it continues with this show. Overall sound and mix quality are very good. Guitars come through very well. Drums sounds great. Phil's bass has a nice bottom end to it. While there were technical on-stage glitches, the band and crowd energy are high. Lots of Bob screaming to pump up the already pumped up crowd. I enjoy the band interplay from these early shows, and with the glitches being worked out plenty of opportunity for mic time for the band. Great China/Rider. They weave the newer Workingman's tunes in very efficiently here. I love the early Candyman, and a very powerful Man's World. Second set is stellar, and they miraculously drop in Dire Wolf between Cryptical and Dancing. The Dancing is full of hot improvisational material. The Lovelight/NFA/Lovelight is excellent...overall a great 70 show that I think ranks up there with the rest of the best from this period. Rank Em: 1966-1970 Hard to do, as they all sound good and capture the band at different stages of morphing through an incredible period of their career. I find almost all shows from this period as typically very good to great, with some being interesting because of circumstance of the band (i.e., Woodstock is a curiosity). So, here's my current order: 1967 & 1969 (tied for first) 1970 1966 1968 I'll report on 71-76 later. Ciao, Tim
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(spoiler alert - just in case you haven't heard this one yet) I rarely state I have a favorite version of any performance but I may have found my favorite version of the Cryptical Envelopment Suite or That's it it the Other One or better put as Cryptical Envelopment > Drums > *****JAM****** > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment (> Dire Wolf) This whole thing was so beautiful & intense & oddly locked in. Normally when the band is perfectly in sync it because everyone is perfectly out of sync, but this was a (once again) unique Grateful Dead...and they were on fire. It was hard to type all of this with my face melting down on the keyboard. And what an absolutely perfect segue way into Dire Wolf to put an extra little icing on the cake.
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Top notch for the era from what is stated about the sound board. I think Bears notes mention John Chester unique sound board. Check out Dicks Picks 4 notes for details and also the Allman Brothers Band - Fillmore East February 1970 CD notes that was released on GDRecords. I think I read someplace Dick L or Bear mentioned the tapes were Mono and Stereo, which may have been the challenge of getting them out? Bear mentions the two bands briefly crossed passed in Atlanta 1969, but did not hear the ABB play live at the time. Only hearing their studio album in Autumn later that year, so it was a treat and sort of surprise for Bear to see 2 trap sets, similar to the GD when they were billed together in Feb1970 "Glorious Sunday morning" - love that
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ziffle - Incredible posts on the 2/13-14/70 runs. Thanks for all that info, and I always love those first-hand stories. Jim - After Ziffle's contextualization of the shows, here is my attempt to explain why I think they chopped up that run when they released DP4, by contextualizing the release. First, this was released in early 1996, very early in the Vault release experiment - and it WAS an experiment at the time. Dick's Picks 1 was a chopped up 73 show - two discs, DP2 was one (awesome) disc, DP3 saw them chopping up one of the all-time 77 Dead shows (also two discs). So, DP4 was the first three-disc release. More expensive, more risky. At the time in the music biz, A two disc CD set was a big deal, and a three-disc set was nearly unheard of - a "box set." The BIG expensive box sets released in the early to mid-90s were things like Marley's Songs of Freedom, or the Police Message in a Box (ALL their albums and singles, from their whole career, on four discs!!!). This was part of a gradual evolution to bigger releases... first to complete shows (Dick's Picks 5!), then two shows together (DP29), then full runs (Fillmore West 69), and still later to complete tours (Europe 72). Now, it's easy to wish they had figured out earlier that we are willing to cough up tons of money for complete, but this is forgetting yet another factor: We were all much younger then, with far less disposable income. In Feb 1996 I had just finished grad school; I had begun my first full-time college teaching gig only a few weeks earlier. I was living in a shack, putting all my money into ramen noodles and paying down student loans. I would NOT have been able to buy full runs, etc. So, in short, the evolution of bigger boxes and more complete releases coincided with (but was not caused by) the evolution of many of the Deadheads to old farts with some money to spend. Co-evolution baby! It's 27 degrees here in western MA. My wife is making scones, my daughter is making Play-doh people, and I haven't heard much of 30 Trips yet, just hard to with all this other stuff going on. But I will - and life is GOOD. Time for more coffee. Cheers everyone ...
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started on the 95 show, very nice, if you notice, this show and a few others were recorded by John Cutler vs others by Dan Healy, the Cutler shows are recorded much better. 94 show is very good, there seems to be a drop out or digi skip when help on the way goes into slipknot, from track 1 to 2, anybody else got this? 93, right away you notice the sound quality is not as good as 95 and 94, recorded by Healy, but a fine show non the less. 92 Hell in a Bucket on this show and 93 show, not my favorite opener and why 2 in a row? Healy again and Bucket starts off inferior recording, but gets better as the show progresses. 91 great show, 8 man band with Hornsby and Branford, great sound, better Healy recording. 90, another great show, with Bruce and Vince, Bruce really did fit in great with this band. 89, 24 track, recorded by Cutler, this is the shit here, best show of 89. I have stories about this weekend in Miami, but will save those for another post. 88, inferior sound quality again and there are way better 88 shows to pick from, why this one? must be the Touch of Gray. The fall 88 tour was hands down better than the spring or summer tour. 87 and 86, 2 discs, short shows, no big jams, nothing special here and another hell in a bucket. I will say the Terrapin from 86 is pretty sweet. I did not go to Dead shows in 86 or 87, giving Jerry some breathing room after his near brush with death. 85 is a very nice show, there were a lot of good shows in 85, especially on the fall tour. The Cutler shows are all top notch recordings, the Healy shows, not so much. I will be listening to the rest of these 8o's shows today, so far, no real problems with discs or anything, the sleeves are way better than those ones from E72, which ripped if you tried to get the disc out, these are much better, the box is nice but won't last very long, made of cardboard, but is a bit sturdier than E72's box, which is very fragile. Love the book, the stories in it are awesome and the way that half is one side up and the other half is up side down, is this the way everyone's is or is mine just put together wrong? doesn't matter, still all there and quite cool. All in all, a good 11 shows to start off the listening experience, I would have chosen better shows for 85 86 87 and 88, but I don't have access to the vault and the shows I would have picked may be worse recordings than these, who knows? Just my opinions and are subject to discussion. More later, have a great day, freezing here in the mountains this am, gonna be a long long cold winter, good thing I have this box to keep me warm :)
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13 years 9 months
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Actually, when I first posted I listed 5/11/72, and then immediately said "Oh merde!! I better change that to 5/4 before Alain sees!!!!" and quickly changed it. LOL, that's the truth. :):). "Tragedy narrowly averted!"
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17 years 4 months
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I may be cut from the same paisley cloth as Mr. Ziffle. In the early 60s I used to watch Chiller Theater out of N.Y.C. It was hosted by none other than the famous John Zacherley. He would do these great comic interludes during horror movies. Voodoo Island stands out in my mind. Fast forward to WNEW in the late 60s. Cutting edge radio that was thought provoking. I remember a DJ by the name of Roscoe who would read works he had written. Really deep material. As for FM radio in the present day, there are some true free form seat of the pants DJs that can inspire and heal the listeners. The history of Underground Radio really begins with Tom Donahue and KMPX in the Bay Area. Playing complete albums and capturing the spirit of long songs such as Viola Lee Blues or Butterfield Blues Bands song East/West. I believe those pioneers of the mid 60s took great inspiration from classical ragas of India and extended jams of John Coltrane. And going back earlier, dance marathons anyone? But I digress. Certainly Jack Kerouac used spontaneous prose as a form "stretching out". Anyway Ziffle and I must have been at some of the same Dead concerts at the Fillmore East and the Capitol Theater (Port Chester). My fourth row center seat at the Fillmore 9/19/70. Maybe it was Mr. Ziff or one of his buddies who sold it to me on the street before the show for face value. ($5:50) Long live Zacheley! Love and healing to Phil.
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Thanks for the trip down memory lane. During high school I can remember tuning in my old Sony radio to late night radio up and down the East Coast. I lived on a peninsula that jutted out in the Chesapeake Bay and I could tune in all sorts of stations late at night. WNEW stands out as does WBZ in Boston. I remember hearing new albums by the Ultimate Spinach and Beacon Street Union while listening to the "Boss sound of Bosstown on WBZ. Both stations turned me on to lots of great music. Washington, DC had a great station in WHFS, Home Grown Radio, broadcasting from high atop the towers in Bethesda, MD. Great radio back in the day! Some high value headphones you might want to consider... Sennheiser Momentum - Closed back phones in on ear or around ear models - Bass forward phones. Music Direct has some incredible sales on both models Sennheiser HD 558 or 598 - Nice spacious sound - very good for listening to live performances or action movies. Grado - Grado SR 125 - Nice open sound stage that lets you hear a lot of detail. Choose any of the Prestige models and I think you would be happy. Alessandro Series by Grado - You are on the stage with the band with incredible focus on guitars. The MS1 comes in two prices $99 and $109. Can't go wrong with either. Google Alessandro High End to purchase. Grado headphones are handmade in Brooklyn HiFi Man RE400 - In ear phones. Nice for travel and noise isolation. Hard to beat for around $79 The Audeze headphone mentioned earlier are exceptional - just a little out of my price range... Thanks for all the good stuff here!
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be well soon , and thank you Mr Lesh for all the music and the enthusiasm you still invest in keeping the Dead alive.As i`m still waiting on my Boxzilla i roam through my collection of shows , today is Phil time in the Purple Zone......listen to that bass guitar tones an take a ride
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15 years 1 month
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3/18/71 is not listed in Taping Compendium and only second set listed in Deadbase. Is this show fairly new to circulation? Anyone know?
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17 years 4 months
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On 7/3/66 Disc One, in the first few seconds of Dancing In The Streetis there a complete drop out of the right channel only leaving sound on the left channel for a second or two? Just asking to see if I need to ask for a replacement.
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This box is clearly a labor of love and is spectacular!!! The jump between 66 and 67 is a quantum leap that can only be explained by alien intervention, and I am doing my best to go from start to finish to get the sense of their artistic development. My wife knew there was a contest so she (gasp!!!) opened my box set with the kids while I was at work. When I came home my kids ran to tell me they didn't find a prize in the box, so I asked them if they opened the secret complement. It blew their minds when I flipped open the lower flap and then I told them there was a book of spells and pulled out the "leather" bound book with the skeleton imprints and their jaw dropped. They believed me for a second, but then I told them it really wasn't a book of spells, but there was a secret scroll... Oh to be young and full of wonder. But the real reason I'm posting is that my buddy is a urologist as assures my that Mr. Lesh's diagnosis is very, very favorable and that he would expect him to recover fully from this. Get well soon Mr. Lesh!!!
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As long as we're throwing around Zacherle comments, I have an original LP from Zac from the day. It contained crazy songs, like Hurry Bury Baby, Monster Mash, Popeye (the gravedigger), Gravy (with some cyanide). This was the first of two albums he did. Has an interview (fake) on back cover, where he ends up eating the interviewer. Fast forward a shitload of years and they release both albums on a double cd. Listening to Hurry Bury Baby right now. Stupid, funny stuff,,,good for driving my wife nuts. Don't know how many know him, but on Metv on Saturday nights there is guy call Svengoulie, does the same stick out of Chicago and has been doing it since like 75. He shows cheap horror/monster movies does jokes in between commericals and usually does a song about the movie (music based on another song) This week he had a Bob Hope "horror" movie. A link to Hurry, Bury Baby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dL-BkanY8I
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that Donovan played the Fillmore before he played the Civic. And a whole lot of British artists from the Beatles on down were at least tourists in the SF scene. But Donovan's stuff in particular was part of the scene, from Mellow Yellow on at least, and it's what you'd hear coming out of windows a whole lot. It would be hard to be in the scene and not be really aware of it, I think.
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....up comes Augusta. Well, don't mind if I do!....raging Stranger to start....a beautiful beginning to a beautiful day....Sound is impeccable yet again. The box that keeps on giving....
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10 years 7 months
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Comments not showing even on phone so hopefully this isn't showing up as three for you guys. Donovan made several trips to the states in 65/66, appearing on TV's Rainbow Quest and other shows with psychedelic material and Shawn Phillips on Sitar, as well as Newport 65. He also was generally hanging out with heads/musicians, and going to the happening spots while in the states at this time. His 1965 album Fairytale contained many obvious drug references and psychedelic material; such as Summerday Reflection, Sunny Goodge Street and Candyman etc, and there was a mystical/celtic vibe throughout the album. His very early 66 singles containing Hey GYP, and the Trip were a hits with the heads at the time and his 1966 (a lot recorded in 65) Sunshine Superman album was one of the first to be full blown psychedelia on every track. He was the first high profile drug bust so that limited his traveling later on, but before that He stated that he saw JAirplane before they had Grace and the Mamas/Papas, both of which he mentions in his song fat angel (later covered live by JA). It would've been hard not to be aware of him since early 65 due to his presence on the radio/tv and his being part of the forefront of the psychedelic music changes going on. The Dead were hip to the early changes, listening to Coltrane and being involved themselves so its safe to say they were listening to Donovan atleast a little in 65 and the more so after The Trip single and Sunshine album in 66. Mellow Yellow was the next after Sunshine and was a lot less trippy, and by 67 Donovan had given up most drugs in favor of meditation and urged others to do so also so he became a little less popular with the trippers.
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....that the Dead soundchecked HCS before the 10.22.83 Carrier Dome show. They also never played Delaware....random musings
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10 years 2 months
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I have just finished listening to the 60s shows in the box-everyone a gem. I have been reading Nick Merriwethers excellent commentary in the book as I have been going along. I started reading his account on 1970-and on page 45 he notes that the Dead played 2 shows in England that year-at Newcastle and London. This is the first time I have heard of them playing London in that year. I just wondered, with no disrespect to Nick who's writing is inspiring on many levels-if they actually did or not. Actually, listening to those 60s shows reminds me of what drew me to The Dead in the first place back in the mid 1970s. It was harder to immediately relate to their 1970s albums-maybe because I come from England, and they were informed more by traditional American music. But the first albums up to and including Live Dead-they really were something else!
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It's in the master tape. Can we blame Bear for this tiny little imperfection? Too bad Jeff Norman or Dave Glasser couldn't fix it.
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I've noticed for the past several weeks that this page will not initially load and display on my iPhone in portrait mode, but I can turn it sideways - to landscape - and then return to portrait, and it will display properly.
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I listened to '71, '77 and part of '91. '71 didn't blow my mind. It was good, of course, but after the preceding shows, it's just slightly less amazing. '77 show also did not blow my mind. That would probably be the biggest shocker of the weekend. I enjoyed it, but it definitely isn't even close to one of my favorites from spring '77. '91 show made me stop and take notice. I had only really listened to DP27 from '92, as far as late '80s - early '90s shows go. And I did enjoy THAT one to an extent. With this show, I felt Jerry's voice had kind of a weak quality, but the playing and the quality of the sound were pretty darn good. Plus the whole Marsalis thing going on. I only got through disc 1 of this show, but I'll definitely be finishing it soon. *EDIT* Another hugely obvious difference in sound with this '91 show.. the audience. This is the first of the 30 trips shows I've heard from after the "Touch Head" phenomena. It sounds a lot more like a vast sea of applause than I've heard before.
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Set 2. 9-13-93.
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9 years 10 months
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Arrived at my PO box in Northern NJ last Saturday, October 10th without the shipping confirmation email or UPS MI tracking no. I have the ticket for 5-27-93 Cal Expo Amphitheatre and backstage pass 2-24-95 Oakland Coliseum Arena, and my box is lined with red velvet. All discs look to be accounted for. I waited until today for my grand opening ceremony with my obligatory cup of tea. I actually repackaged it and unboxed it again to give it all a second look, and am savoring everything, visually at least, for the moment. My copy of DP 19 from RGM, 10-19-73, arrived yesterday as well, in time for the 42nd anniversary. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank this wonderful community of deadheads for the hours of entertainment and information your posts have provided for this newbie. And to Phil and to Dave S, especially, I'd like you to know that you both are in my Deadprayers.
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14 years
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Hey Ziffle, couldn't agree with you more in principle about changing the order of the songs... But just wanted to let you know that the Dark Star from Dick's Picks 4 is actually from the late show of 2/13/70 and the Cryptical is too. On 2/13/70 Cryptical followed Dark Star just like it appears on Dick's Pick 4.
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Hey Ziffle, couldn't agree with you more in principle about changing the order of the songs... But just wanted to let you know that the Dark Star from Dick's Picks 4 is actually from the late show of 2/13/70 and the Cryptical is too. On 2/13/70 Cryptical followed Dark Star just like it appears on Dick's Pick 4.
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I asked elsewhere about this recently and learned a lot. It appears that they were due to play a gig at the Lyceum with Fleetwood Mac on 25 May 1970 (the day after the Hollywood Festival). The gig is listed in Deadbase 50. Apparently they could not play due to problems with work permits, but JG (at least) did attend. They also used the Roundhouse to rehearse on the 23rd for the Hollywood Festival and there's film in the vault of them doing so. This is a message sent to a friend from David Lemieux on the subject. Exciting. "While sorting through the 1974 Grateful Dead Movie outtakes, all 16mm film, I came across several unlabeled cans of 16mm film. It turns out they were from 5/24/70, as apparently a camera crew followed the band for the 3 days they were in England, including 40 minutes of footage arriving at the airport, band and crew; an excursion to a river where the band had loads of promo photos taken; shots at the hotel learning how to convert US money to pounds; walking around London; 30 minutes of footage of the band at a Warner Bros. party for the band (hilarious. Pigpen when confronted with a camera and mic: "I ain't sayin' nothin'!"); the band rehearsing at a beautiful little theatre, where they jam an electric Man's World and an amazing version of Candyman; and, best of all, two songs from 2 cameras from the show, Good Lovin' and Casey Jones. I am very eager to do something major with this material. Being on film, it has held up quite well."
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Welcome back Mr. Badger. Its been a while! That there is film of the Dead in England in 1970 is an amazing revelation. Indeed, do something major with it!
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....hey Simon and Badger!! Don't be such strangers. Always enjoyed your comments....if I recall correctly, you are both in Europe. Interaction is only a clicky away....

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hippiedarkstar, Thanks for clarifying.... Ziffle's post got me digging around, as I'd always believed the Dick's 4 Dark Star to be the true 2/13 one also. Several years ago, Taper's Section (when it was downloadable) had a DS that David labeled as the 2/14 early show at that time ~ clocks in at 23:38. Alas, it cuts off JUST before the next song, presumably St. Stephen. But I don't have the rest, so I can't confirm. badger, Tantalizing quote from David, thanks for sharing.... Funny, I nearly just posted the other day that yours was my favorite dead.net avatar of all time!
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9 years 3 months
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hippiedarkstar, antonjo I would be very pleased to have been mistaken, and truly put my foot in mouth, by assuming that DP4 was the 2/14 early. But there's an easy answer, I will listen to both and post back to the board. I was a lazy bum last night and just listened a bit, and not carefully. 2/14 is distinctive.

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Let my fingers do the walking last night, and they landed on '74. Considered listening in order, but after the hoppin' pace of '66, I was ready for something mellower than a mind-shattering '67. Love this choice. The first set has to be one of the best of '74. Uncle John's opener delivers 2nd set intensity right out of the gate. Jack Straw is starting to stretch out a little...love what Billy, then Keith, then Jerry do just before the "leavin' Texas" verse; Billy just goes for it, with the confidence he'll be able to quiet down in time (and does), then Keith throws in a nice little lick, which Jerry then answers in the little moment of space left before Bob starts singing. Keith is really present in the first set. I love how much Rhodes he plays in this show, gives it that Blues For Allah feel. A rare post-72/pre-hiatus Friend of the Devil is a treat, sounding just like '74 Dead while still nailing the original arrangement; Billy sounds psyched to be playing it. The country tunes, Mexicali through Race Is On, sound really authentic, in large part due to Donna's input. Her voice really shines on this show, especially the country harmonies but also her Scarlet wail, which is particularly spacey, Jerry even seeming to play off of it. She's nice on Ship of Fools, too. But the country blue ribbon goes to a sublime To Lay Me Down, where Jerry's voice sounds like '72, clear, confident, and sweet, with Donna once again keeping the harmony bar high. (Looking forward to that '72 Tomorrow Is Forever....) The Playin' that closes the set is right up there with the two on Dick's 31 from a month & a half earlier as perfect manifestations of jazz-Dead (Dick's 28 is another). Not an unexciting minute in all 23. What a set. Loose Lucy launches with such a phat groove, it really is too bad that, as others have noted, the vocals are all but missing. What happened after the first set? How come it wasn't rectified in shorter order? That groove doesn't miss, though...the music stays tight and hot. A similar issue, slightly less severe, plagues the U.S. Blues encore, also. Truth be told, vocal mix is a bit wishy-washy throughout the show, and not this recording's strong point. That said, I'm SO glad David chose this show. The band is on, and obviously having fun ~ the energy is just really cozy. And the instrument mix is superb. Even Billy's ride cymbal is present. Billy's tremendous throughout this show. The Caution jam, coming out of a particularly cool Drums, is the jamming highlight for me ~ where they get into that certain groove that's pure '74/prelude-to-'75. Even as they're playing a very old tune (and this is truly Caution, not merely suggesting it). Between this, the Eyes outro, the Uncle John's jam, and Scarlet, the jazz 'n space lovers get what they came for, but the songs are really showcased here, too. Bear with the vocals, and there are sweet returns here.... (having just heard the '66 show previously, the contrast of electric jug rave-up with 73's Bakersfield approach on "Beat It On Down the Line" just reminds me again how much I love this band....)
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Please get in touch buddy - I need your mailing address//// PS Listened to 66 again last night 3rd time in a row - what a killer - makes 68 seem more disapppointing. PS Whoever posted about 77 being a bit of a letdown was right - there were better shows to release from that year...and we know which And 91 - yup blew me away (despite it being a vince show) - I might tape over Vince's name on my box and write Bruce on it
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.
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Lowspark ... What a great show! I remember this one very well. What a time at MSG!!! What I remember most is somehow feeling very at home in the stadium, wandering around at set break. I distinctly remember the Spinners in the corridor as the second set broke out broke out with a delirious HSF and that amazing second set fuelled by Branford magic. This was a highlight for my show days - for real. Alas, no box copy for me, sniff. I have my denon tapes though! In my car right now, matter of fact.
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In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] often for their own amusement. I'm not sure wiping Vince from the memory of the GD will upset anyone or create any emotional response (like Vince's keyboard skills lol) right? Therefore the definition of troll does not equate. Prove me wrong ;)
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Are you referring to 'way to go home' lol... But an outstanding terrapin if i recall....don't really listen to post-Brent shows - affects my emotional and mental wellbeing
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17 years 4 months
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....but you didn't listen to the Scarlet -> Fire? Esp Fire? It interests me that you can like a band, but totally diss them because of a new member....I thought the same thing when Ronnie James Dio took over for Ozzy. And that turned out alright....
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14 years 11 months
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compare it to 3.22.90 - and that's NOT followed by way to go home (lol)
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9 years 3 months
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Yes, antonjo and hippiedarkstar (and others that PM'd me). I must have been burned out last night, the DP4 is certainly not the 2/14/70 early show Dark Star. Incredible though, that between 2/13 and 2/14 they evolved. For anyone that hasn't listened, 2/14/70 early Dark Star-SS-the 11-Lovelight is extraordinary, fluid, marred only by a missing couple of minutes of SS (I edited in a crossfade in my listening copy to ease the pain). I believe that the great recording by Bear is still circulating, at least as an mp3.
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....his playing got much better in 93-94 and '95 to some extent. Never had an issue with his vox. The SLC show gives a preview of what could have been. They were all ON. Yes, even Vince & Jerry. A new petal was unfolding in their sound. Unfortunately, the stem was cut....and here we are
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14 years 11 months
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here we are..... we've ended up here.....fucking Mayer.....
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...not familiar enough with him to set a grade. So I won't....
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14 years 5 months
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In the liner notes that come with this CD, David L. states-> "We are proud that we got a couple of multitracks in this box". So my question is- besides this show, can anyone please tell me what the other multitrack show is? Any help with the answer would be greatly appreciated. thanks!
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10 years 2 months
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Thanks for getting back to me, cosmicbadger. I had no idea the band were scheduled to play at The Lyceum in 1970. It would be great if they released a dvd of that film you mention of their visit. Actually, that would have made a nice addition to the 50th box. Maybe it could be included as a bonus with a future Daves Picks.
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The folks who are producing the upcoming Dead movie showed a few clips of the aforementioned England film at the GD conference in San Jose last year, so we'll probably see some of it when the movie comes out. The footage featuring Pigpen was pretty amusing.
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11 years 2 months
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would be nice if all folks with order number to 30 trips got 1 free movie ticket to see film.. HAAHAHA wouldn't that be kind if the Rhinos tossed a bone *for folks that have a few bones to spare, here is something to think about https://www.gofundme.com/3b6av9j4
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