30 Trips Around The Sun Box & Digital USB

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September 4, 2015 - 10:38am

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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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August 20, 2016 - 11:39am

#71

supe80

Joined:
August 5, 2012

Box Art Work

I hope someone hasn't asked this already. Does anyone know who did the artwork for the outside of the box?
August 16, 2016 - 12:41pm

#72

johnny361

Joined:
November 1, 2012

hi gang

I spent the day with Cobo 1976. I really like these fall 76 shows with Dicks #20 being a personal favorite since it's release many years ago. This Cobo show is really growing on me with each listen. 30 Trips has been a monster to get through but I love the task! There are still shows I haven't spent time with.. but I will!
August 8, 2016 - 7:16am

#73

KYTrips

Joined:
August 25, 2012

1975

So... this is another show that's a bit tough to grade. It's relatively short for a Dead show (I think it was just one long set), and I'm guessing that they were part of a bill that included other bands at this free show in Golden Gate Park. Also, it's one of only 4 shows that they played in 1975, so I'm guess they were a bit rusty, though you wouldn't think so from the performance itself. It starts off with a really sold Help > Slipknot that sounds a bit strange without the third jewel of Franklin's Tower, but that comes later in the show. Then there's a long break as the band attempt to summons a doctor from the crowd because a woman is apparently having a baby somewhere near/behind the stage. This alone makes the show memorable. They then move into a really, really good Music Never Stopped, followed by They Love Each Other. Beat It On Down the Line is above-average, in my opinion and it's followed by a good Franklin's Tower. Big River is straightforward, and the first disc ends with a routine It Must Have Been the Roses. The second disc starts off with an above-average Truckin' followed by a good jam and Drums. That heads into an excellent Stronger Than Dirt/Milkin' the Turkey which eventually leads into 10+ minute Not Fade Away which is light on lyrics and strong on jamming. The show ends with Going Down the Road Feeling Bad and a very energetic One More Saturday Night. The highlight of this show for me is the Music Never Stopped, but there really are no off numbers in the entire show. It's a consistently good show from start to finish. Overall Grade: B
July 23, 2016 - 8:55am

#74

unkle sam

Joined:
October 3, 2008

1990 1994

Just returned from a long road trip and listened to these two shows in their entirety during this trip. 1994 was the first listen. Show starts off with a nice Help>Slip>Franklins that is nice, Jerry in good form and everyone contributing their parts, not the best, but not bad. Then Walkin blues, not my favorite and Bobby's slide work is ok at best, then Atlhea, a good tune done well by Jer. Me and My Uncle, Big River and Just like Tom Thumb's Blues, no real Jerry in MAMU, BR just ok and JLTTB's has Phil taking lead vocals, enough said. An ok So Many Roads and Jerry sounds tired, voice a bit shaky and "old Jerry" sounding. Promised Land is good, with Bobby in fine voice, which ends the first set. Second set starts off with Scarlet>Fire, scarlet is ok but the Fire is grate, with Jerry getting his voice to perform about as good as it can get for these days. Way to go Home is next and I always liked this song, Vince in fine form throughout with Jerry adding some fine lead lines. Then into Saint of Circumstances, no Lost Sailor which I miss and wish they would not have dropped from the list, it's the better of the two tunes. A nice Terrapin with Jerry hitting all the notes and lyrics into a short but very trippy drums into an excellent space with Jerry showing us all that he can still blow heads away. Everytime there is "The last time" after a drums>space you know it was a great drums>space, like you know this could be the last time you ever hear that wonderful sound again. A good but short Stella with Jerry sounding tired in both voice and playing into a good OMSN. The encore is Liberty, a great tune that Jerry flubs the lyric on, but comes back and repeats it right. Thought the sound was ok, but a little boomy All in all a good show but....C+. 1990, good first set with a great Jack-a roe black throated wind ramble on rose and bird song, Jerry in fine voice and playing with bruce on the piano making it all sound nice. The second set here is very good, Chinacat, rider and saint all done well, very deliberate and a bit on the slower side, which is nice. At Crazy fingers and this is where it starts to get real good, the ending jam in Crazy Fingers has a bit of the x factor and was very nice then into Playing>drums>space>playing reprise, just awesome all of it, I highly recommend it. The stella is very nice into throwing stones into a great NFA with crowd chant into a fine one more Saturday nite. All in all a good show from France. The sound was ok, but had a bit of an echo in spots, not sure if it was the audience singing along or an echo, but was a bit distracting in places, a bit boomy in parts also, but all in all, not bad....a solid B. I haven't had time to get to all of them, but these two I took along just to give them a good listen, was not disappointed. For the 90's, both shows were ok, but not the same band we all fell in love with in the 60's and 70's.
July 19, 2016 - 2:12pm

#75

KYTrips

Joined:
August 25, 2012

1974

I will go out on a limb here and officially declare the 1974 show as the first "miss" of this embarrassment of riches known as 30 Trips Around the Sun. First of all, there are a few sound-related issues that I had to overcome. The overall sound "quality" is very good, but I definitely thought that Jerry's guitar was too low in the mix (who does that... puts Jerry's guitar low in the mix?!!!?) and then there is the issue with the vocals for the first 2 songs of the second set ("Loose Lucy" and "Big River") which are missing. I mean... they're there, but they're apparently not being picked up by the mic intended to pick them up or they didn't make it to the recorder... Whatever's going on, they're not to be heard in these recordings, unless you lean into the speaker and hear them buried somewhere off in the distance. In any event, it annoys me, and I think it spoils what would have otherwise been a pretty decent "Loose Lucy" (one of my faves). In addition, this show contains a between sets "Seastones." Not my favorite in any case. So... this show was fighting an uphill battle for me. The show kinda begins with the boys being a bit sloppy. The "Uncle John's Band" opener is nice, but uneven. "Jack Straw", "Friend of the Devil" and "Black-Throated Wind" are all unremarkable. The standalone "Scarlet Begonias" is a notch up from the previous songs, but that tune was still really finding its legs in the Dead's repertoire in '74. The next 5 tunes are again, unremarkable. The first CD ends with a nice "To Lay Me Down." I have to admit, I'm partial to this song. I've always loved it and thought it was underrated as a Dead song. The first set ends with a 23+ minute Playing In the Band which is good, but again, nothing special for this era. Then we are faced with "Seastones" and the aural problems mentioned previously to start the second set. A good "Peggy O" and an unremarkable "Me and My Uncle" round out Disc 2. The meat of this show (and presumably, the reason it was included in 30 TATS) is in Disc 3. Things finally take off with a wonderful "Eyes of the World" and the rest of the show is pretty darn good. Highlights for me included the Truckin' > Drums > Caution Jam sequence, which is pretty hot. The "Drums" is particularly interesting in that in addition to Billy on drums, Phil is also participatory in the part of the show. "Ship of Fools" is really nice and smooth and the "Johnny B. Goode" to close the set is also pretty smokin'. "U.S. Blues" is a good encore and a nice way to round out the evening. I'll be brutally honest... I don't think this show would have ever merited release on it's own, so it was, in my opinion, thrown into this box set. I certainly hope it's not the best there is remaining in the vault from 1974. However, I'd be less than honest if I didn't acknowledge that the third disc of the show is pretty darn good. But it certainly was my least favorite show thus far in the box. Grade: C+
July 18, 2016 - 7:59am

#76

KYTrips

Joined:
August 25, 2012

1973

It took me a little while longer to get to this review than I would have liked... Life's been busy with vacation and then I was in trial for a week (I'm an attorney... don't throw rocks), so my listening has been sporadic for the past few weeks. At any rate, let me start off by saying that this show is a total GEM!! Although I don't think it's the best of the box, so far, I do think it might be my favorite so far. It starts off again with a "Big Railroad Blues" which to me is a sign of good things to come (see my review from 1972). The next few songs (Jack Straw, Sugaree, Mexicali Blues) are all good, but nothing special. After all, it's just the first set. But then, this show morphs into a classic. "Here Comes Sunshine" is one of those songs that I absolutely love, and that I feel the band didn't play often enough. Accordingly, it was, in my opinion, a treat when it did show up in a setlist. Well... this one may be the best HCS EVER! It's so melodic and the playing so smooth, with a killer jam in the middle of it. It ebbs and flows nicely and you know from this point going forward that "tonight" is going to be "one of those nights." The other part about this show that is a bit different is that the first set is EPIC in length. It's actually longer than the second set, and the goodies start showing up much earlier than in a typical Dead show. I'm not going to go song-by-song, but the remaining highlights of the first set for me are: an appearance of "The Race Is On"; a very nice "Brown-Eyed Women"; "Tennessee Jed" and a late-first set China>Rider. The first set closes out (more than mid-way through Disc 2) with a hot "Around and Around."As good as the first set is, the second set is even better (although I still think the overall highlight of the show is still the "Here Comes Sunshine" in the first set). Due to timing issues, the second set actually starts on Disc 3, with the final three (3) songs on the set appearing at the end of Disc 2. I definitely recommend listening in the order in which the show was played. And let me tell you, Disc 3 is awesome!!! It is basically a non-stop, continuous 70+ minute jam which begins with an excellent "Truckin'" which then morphs into an unbelievable, three-part "The Other One" sandwich, which has "Big River" and "Eyes of the World" for the filling. It is hypnotic the way the boys weave in and out of "The Other One" throughout this portion of the show, never losing stride and hitting on all cylinders. Finally... the last portion of "The Other One" leads into a great "Wharf Rat", and they finally silence their instruments for a few fleeting moments. The show closes with three (3) stand-alones... "Me and My Uncle" (which seems strange to hear this late in a show), "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" and "One More Saturday Night". They're all good, but it's almost impossible to top that which just went down in the first 70+ minutes of this set. I definitely see myself coming back to this show over and over in the future. Show grade: "A- to A", depending upon my mood. Again... I don't think it's the best show, so far, but I do think it's my favorite!
May 24, 2016 - 11:10am

#77

KYTrips

Joined:
August 25, 2012

Ahhh.... 1972

If ever there was a more stellar year in GD history, I'm not sure what it would be (okay, okay... I realize this topic is up for debate, but I cast my lot with 1972). That being said, I had really high expectations for this show, as I do almost all '72 shows. This one didn't disappoint. However, I do think that this show will suffer a fate of being underplayed by many Heads, as it's so close in proximity to the DP 11 show from the Stanley Theater in Jersey City that took place 3 nights after this gem. I do think the Stanley Theater show is better, but this one is pretty great too. My only knock on this show... I think the sound is a bit spotty. There's one period in the show where the tape hiss is very audible and a bit distracting until you realize you're just gonna have to deal with it. The show opens with one of my personal faves... "Big Railroad Blues". You know a show is gonna be good when they open with this one. Everything in this show is filled with energy. Hell... I even liked "Mexicali Blues" which to me is usually a snoozer. "Loser" and "Black-Throated Wind" both deliver, while the band takes a bit of a breather in a subpar "Cumberland Blues" in my opinion. "Sugaree" is great (as per usual), and is followed by a consistent run of "El Paso", "Tennesse Jed" and BIODTL. In my opinion, this show REALLY gets rolling when they break into "Bird Song" later in the 1st Set. I've heard much better versions of "Big River", but the first set closes with an awesome "Brown-Eyed Women" and a MONSTER "Playing In the Band." Not bad... and that was just the 1st Set!!!The 2nd Set kills! The boys keep raising the pot (no pun intended) with each subsequent song, starting with "Greatest Story Ever Told" and continuing through "Bertha", "Promised Land", a beautiful "Fried of the Devil" and "Jack Straw". Things fall off a bit when they play "Tomorrow is Forever", a short-lived song in the Dead repertoire for good reason in my opinion. Then they ease back into things with MAMU before they head into "Dark Star" which is sandwiched around a nice little drum solo by Billy. Out of "Dark Star"?... Why yes, I do believe I will take a China Cat>Rider. And it's a good one. The show closes with the Bobby one-two.... "Sugar Magnolia" and "One More Saturday Night". All in all, a great show. Grade: A-
May 23, 2016 - 6:56am

#78

Cousins Of The…

Joined:
September 10, 2009

1971??

I have not gone through the 2nd set of 1971...and yes, I listed 1985 twice, my mistake.
May 23, 2016 - 2:58am

#79

One Man

Joined:
May 17, 2011

1971?

I don't see 1971 on your list. And is something listed twice?
May 16, 2016 - 12:19pm

#80

Cousins Of The…

Joined:
September 10, 2009

1984!

I'm usually partial to the 60's and 70s, however this show is tremendous! short but impeccable first set, from beginning to end; second set is quite adventurous, with a long UJB, a standalone Playin' reprise and a killer Morning Dew. My favorite 80's Trip so far. Revising my rankings... 1970 1967 1973 1975 1974 1972 1976 1968 1984 1969 1977 1983 1991 1979 1980 1981 1982 1978 1990 1993 1992 1966 1985 1986 1994 1985 1995 1987 1989 1988

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

The Dave's Pick Rumor of Greek 1984 is based

on a post in this thread from October 21 at 5:05pm where there was a spotting on dead.net of a banner saying that Dave's Pick 17 would be July 13, 1984 at the Greek, which apparently was immediately taken down. I posted a copy of this on my Dead blog http://gratefulseconds.blogspot.com/2015/10/daves-picks-17-berkeley-gre… My raising of the rumor is based on several actual dead.net readers seeing this banner. I do not know if it is true, but it would be cool. I'd still prefer the 1982 Greek shows or the 1972 Berkeley High School (Community Theater) shows

I think that might have been

a tongue-in-cheek comment from .5 miles, though I could be wrong.

The Days Between from Jerry Memorial

While at the Jerry Memorial in GGP - "the days between" was playing on the sound system - it to this day is the most amazing version I have ever heard with a long intro. It sounded like it might have been a studio version?? Very long. Can anyone shed some light for me on this? Thanks so much.

memorial

Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 10:38:18 -0700From: kraitch@EECS.Berkeley.EDU (mark kraitchman) To: dead-heads@nemesis.Berkeley.EDU Subject: setlist [Sunday August 13, 1995] What follows is mostly a setlist posted to rec.music.gdead by David Gans (with a few embellishments). If anybody has more complete transcriptions of the speeches please share them. Note the music was previous recordings; except for the parade and drumming there was no live music... It is estimated that about 20,000 people were there. Sunday August 13, 1995 Golden Gate Park Polo Field, San Francisco CA Jerry Garcia Memorial Gathering Days Between - Spring tour 1994 composite http://hake.com/gordon/latest.html

Days Between

can be found here http://www.gdhour.com/music/daysbetween-composite.mp3 This composite is taken from the 3/28/94 and 4/4/94 performances; Thanks to David Gans

Capitol Theater Playin' Reprise

My socks were blown off by the Wharf Rat outro Jam into the Playing reprise ever since I heard it again this past spring while I was volunteering picking up (tons of) trash at a beautiful local park. Once upon a time, when mp3 files where made freely downloadable at the Taper's Section, the segment from Terrapin on through the end of the show was one of the selections distributed. So, when I noticed this was the 1977 selection for 30 trips I was stoked this was getting official release treatment because I was aware of the heat of the jam.I'm looking forward to set II of the '78 trip today. I don't know where I am going to hit next (maybe '80's?)...

Family and the Power of Lindley Meadows

So - Though I'm going in order with the Box (up to '72 now), Lindley Meadows is an exception. I've heard that show so many times it doesn't matter if I listen to it out of order. Anyway, I'm CRANKING that the other night while my wife and 6 year old were taking a shower. They come in to the room, PJ's on, and The Music Never Stopped has just started. Next thing I know, the three of us are dancing like we're at a show, laughing our asses off. My wife hates the Dead, basically. But no one can resist the power of Lindley Meadows. NWScarletFireGuy - thanks for posting that story about your 11-year old - great story! Made me think of posting this. I love the Grateful Goddamn Dead. EDIT: This box set is the greatest thing in the history of recorded music.

Claney, About that Family Dance-a-thon...

good story about the family getting involved in your little obsession. Mine is the same way it seems; wifey = not a big fan, but I am slowly wearing her down...she now recognizes Shakedown Street, Eyes of the World, Estimated Prophet, and actually has verbally stated she enjoys Scarlet Begonias (see, it's working). But the best part is my 15-month old son LOVES to groove to the Dead. It is always on in the car to/from daycare, and then I am usually home first so I almost always put on a show and crank it up, and he comes into the room bopping his head up and down and doing little knee bends, clearly trying to be in-time with the music, huge grin on his face. And he only started walking about 6 weeks ago so his balance is still a little iffy but man is it great fun to see him engaged. Then the icing on the cake is when the wifey comes home and finds us bopping and grooving to the music, she almost always joins in. As I said - she's comin' around...slowly but surely, I am determined....

Great box set for sure...but...

This is a great box set and I'm very happy I bought it, but there is one depressing thing: it really highlights how they peaked early and went down hill steadily as time went by. Listening to the shows in order: 67-70 are just astonishingly amazing.Their improvisation is just fantastic. 71-74 are great but a bit more tame. 76-77 have some great stuff but can't be compared to earlier jams.The improv isn't anywhere near 67-70. 78 onward - meh. Not much at all to get excited about. From here on out they just went down toward a slow death. I know many will disagree. I figure there are just different kinds of Dead Heads who like different types of music. Those that dig the roots of the Dead - the wild, improvisational long jams. Early stuff. Those that like the utter raw stuff. Those that like more song oriented stuff. Then there are those that are mostly attracted to the "scene". The "tribal" tent scene, where the focus is less on the actual musical talent. They like just hanging out, taking drugs, selling stuff in the parking lot, being part of a "hip scene". They might like the Dead from the 80's for that reason. Music-wise the 80's just plain sucked. Note:I'm talking in very general overall, birds eye view terms. An occasional one song or jam jem in later years doesn't change my opinion. There just aren't any full shows in later years that are even in the same ballpark as earlier shows. My opinion.

@ rbmunkin...

I think you got it just about right.

Further

Yes, clearly 80's Dead sucks, and people who enjoy it must be on drugs or were there for the scene. Nothing insulting about that post. Bravo guys, your condemnation is much appreciated.

Contrary opinions not acceptable

@ZuckfunSorry my opinion doesn't line up with yours. Maybe that's against the law where you live. It's not in California so I assumed I had a right to an opinion that wasn't identical to yours.

It's all crap.

That's my opinion.

Opinions

Opinions yes, insults not so much. Perhaps it's a lack of a talent the inability to share an opinion without insulting people.

Yes there are ways to make a point

without insulting a whole generation of Heads. Your subjective opinion is just that. But relatively speaking the Dead in the 80's was a welcome contrast to the likes of synth driven crap like Kajagoogoo & Starship's we built this city. Homer Simpson said that it's a known fact that rock and roll peaked in 1974. That may be true but the show must go on & it did for the Dead in a still meaningful way. Sure I prefer Houses of the Holy Zeppelin to what came out of Jimmy Page & Plant in the 1980's, but time moves on. Very few artists continue to peak 20 plus years into a career.

bootleg story

Random digression from the topics on this board but I had to share it. Heard a story from a guy who is usually into good music but for some reason can't handle the Dead. The guy grew up in Alaska working at the fisheries in the summer and as a teenager he had to watch over all of the guys gutting and packing up the fish in a warehouse. He was also in charge of the music. He said they were all deadheads working summer in Alaska. The music selection was hundreds of dead tapes with no name, just a date and location. Some guy named psycho Bob would take a sledge hammer to the top of the corrogated roof yelling to throw on Hollywood 72, no Cornell 77, and wouldn't stop hitting the roof until he had the right show going. The guy has flashbacks to sorting through hundreds of tapes, just dates and locations, with psycho bob and the other fishermen yelling to keep the music going. This went on for several summers and he seemed really traumatized from the constant demand to keep the live dead going.

Re: jeffmil

Please stop calling me psycho bob. It was a long time ago, its not a nice nickname and I am trying very hard to move on. Edit: Bang Bang Bang. 6/18/74, Louisville. BANG, BANG BANG.

rbumpkin

lol, well, I don't believe the scene changed all that much, and I think all eras enjoyed it. You have to be more considerate on here and not lump everyone into one basket. I agree that the music took a downward trajectory, and personally, I don't listen to much after '78. Nassau and Dead Set are enjoyable. The reason is that Brent's voice instantly makes my bunghole pucker (I know, not ladylike), and that tinky-tonk fisher price toy keyboard sound (lol, someone else once used that term, funny) he employed in the mid to late 80s simply does not mix in well with the other instruments - it's a tonal thing, it just sounds like it's on top of the rest of the music not in harmony with it. I think "tone deaf" is the word you were looking for....all of those 80s fans are not drugged out, they're tone deaf....

Tone deaf

@LoveJerrySo do I. In fact, I'm a Jerry Head, not a Dead Head. Without Jerry, OMG they are so boring! Sorry guys who can't take other opinions, but for me everything that came after Jerry bores me to tears. Tone deaf - yeah, I can go with that. Scene - sure, it changed a great deal. HUGELY. Interviews with Jerry and others will attest to it. Music was the focus early on. Later it was the scene. This isn't idle subjective speculation on my part. It's clear and the Dead are the ones who described the change. It culminated in the last years with gate crashes, injuries, and general craziness, as if it were a Led Zeppelin concert.

Insulting fellow heads

Tone deaf, really? This is the wrong forum for that. Take the negativity, insults and closed-mindedness to the proper forum on that FB page where they still openly condone/encourage stealing officially released music. The shows from the box I haven't heard yet are '73, '78, '81, '91, the second set of '94 and '95. My current favorite is the '88 show. Possibly the most flawlessly executed performance next to the '67 show, another favorite. So far, the only show that I've listened to twice is '82, which I liked more the second time. I haven't heard a show from this box I disliked. If the rumored pick to kickoff the 2016 subscription is indeed 7/13/84, this will be my favorite subscription year since 2011 Road Trips. Excellent choice and essential. Now Weir talking!

Comparisons

Ok. So let's say you prefer pre '80 Dead to post '80 Dead. But what about post '80 Dead compared to the rest of what was out there in the rest of the music world in the '80's. Hair bands? The end of disco? I think when you look at it that way the post '80 Dead measures up just fine! I am one who likes all Dead. Sure, there are differences in the stages of the band but I love them all. That is why I think this box is just about the be-all and end-all. I am amazed at how good the '90's shows here sound. Awesome to these old ears. And after '81 I only saw the band one more time live, in '87. I am thrilled that this box gives everyone a chance to get out of their comfort zone and I think most of us will find happiness there. Rock on

Taper's Section question

I'm trying to stream one of the older taper's section entries. On the newer ones, it works fine, but on older ones, like say the "Run Run Rudolph" from the December 4-December 10, 2006 Taper's Section, what I get is it tries to go to this url: http://mfile.akamai.com/72222/mov/sos2208-1.streamos.download.akamai.co… and then a Authentication Window comes up asking for a Userid and Password with the following text: "Enter username for Streaming Server at a117.v722228.c72222g.vq.akamaistream.net: I have no idea what to put there, and if I don't put anything I get a "401 Unauthorized" message. Does anyone know how to stream these older entries?

wj

this is a known bug that the tech folks are aware of. Sorry for the trouble. It's definitely not you.

Jim (Psycho Bob)

Too funny, man. Jeffmil, great fkin story, I can picture the poor guy rifling through those tapes searching for the right one...hahaha.

Taper's Section issue

Thank you very much Mary!! I won't keep trying for now, then :)

Tone Deaf

Well something has to account for it, the boy can't sing! It was a tongue in cheek remark.

Why do I feel like

Why do I feel like this line of argument is going to lead to a cheap shot at my girl....

Why do I feel like

Well you asked for it. She's horrible! I wish she was on a separate track so I could get a mixer and mix her out of the '70's. LOL!

Comparisons

hbob1995, you are probably right about comparing the Dead to other '80's bands. Fine. But the point of my original post was that the one downside to this box set is that it makes it quite natural to compare the Dead as the "progressed" (although I would call it "devolved"). For instance, listening to 1976 is so boring compared to '69-70! They are tired, the transitions between songs are lame, and there is no improvisation the way there used to be. And I want to LOVE 1976 because that's the year I started going to a lot of shows! I loved them, but I'd pay anything to be able to go to a 1970 show. Mind blowing in comparison. I stopped going in 1980 when I saw them and couldn't believe how far they had sunk. Yeah, better than the "big hair" bands, but after seeing greater shows it was hard to sit there and listen to them phone it in.

Looking for a copy of a Dead Ahead Bonus Disc

If anyone has a copy of the Dead Ahead Bonus Disc and is willing to trade for some other hard to find Bonus Disc, please let me know. Still living the 30 Trips around the Sun collection. Find myself still coming back to the Golden Gate Park 1975 concert. Simply beautiful. Peace

*80s comparisons

The 80s chart music sucked of course. But we're talking about the love of good music here, so comparing 80s Dead to the mainstream is somewhat off-beam. The 80s had Husker Du, Meat Puppets, Mission of Burma, Bad Brains, Smiths, The Fall, PiL ... and that's just the stuff I liked; there's other stuff like Joy Division, The Cure, REM, Green On Red, Pixies, Throwing Muses, Minutemen, Crass, Jesus & Mary Chain; I could go on all night, but you get the point. Even so, 'Loser' from July 22nd 1984, for one, can easily hold it's own with any of this company. Obviously Smack & Coke will compromise art, but the Dead had a very long way to fall before bands in the common run could even begin to stand comparison. YMMV of course :-)

The 80's

Yeah Brent sucked I don't care I love it and always will.

'80's

First off, WOW! That Hell In A Bucket opener from 7/3/88 may be the most explosive and powerful opener of any show in the box. They're playing at a full-on grand finale level right out of the gate with Jerry just viciously attacking his guitar. The gig just picks up steam from there and gets downright nasty throughout in a Grateful Dead rocking it out kind of way. Even the second set Touch of Grey opener is full of explosive energy. I'm officially jealous of everyone who attended this "Masterpiece" of a show (both shows actually) and ranks up there with 8/27/72 as a one I most "wish I'd been there" moment. The other night of this run, which hasn't been released yet is even better. I haven't heard everything from the box yet, but this is the top contender as my box favorite which I will revisit very often. This is the show to bust out at parties and for newbies. Every note, beat and word executed with absolute perfection and the audio quality is PHAT! @Keithfan2112 - for an '80s mix tape, there are a lot of great performances I think you would like. I'll put something together for you to check out. 7/3/88 is a great starting point.

i like the 80s Dead

I don't like Brent. I don't think the two have anything to do with each other. Jerry was in the band either way. Was the playing a little more predictable? Sure. Was Jerry's voice a little more ragged? Absolutely. But anyone who doesn't enjoy Jerry and the boys during that decade (especially post-coma) is missing out.

Eras

The Dead is the only band that I love everything they did, in all the different sounds and lineups. Love being able to throw on a Viola, Clementine, Potato, Alligator, Mountains, Ripple, Half Step, Here Comes Sunshine, Eyes, Scarlet, Terrapin, Shakedown, West La, Alabama, Black Muddy River, Standing on the Moon, Touch, Lazy River, Days Between and So many Roads. And that's a VERY short list of extremely great songs from the band's various eras. There's so much to love about each era, comparing them is sort of a blazed reason to dislike anything. This doesn't sound like this!!! Well yeah that's because they aren't doing that...they are doing something else though that is beautiful. I prefer 68-69 but when listening to other years I'm not thinking about how they don't sound like they did in 68-69... that's out of gourd.

80's Dead

I too liked the 80's dead, saw about 125 80's shows. I always loved brent and thought he was a good addition. As my old man used to say "Opinions are like assholes, everybody's got one and they all stink". And my old man was a classy guy.

re: Dennis' Dad

Dennis, If your old man's still around, I want to party with him. That's classic.. I will be sure to use that phrase a lot myself.

80's

Funny. I am working my way through the box sequentially and this afternoon I got up to 1987, the one show from the box that I attended. As I was listening and feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up, I checked out this thread and saw all the shade thrown on 80's dead. Whatever, to each his own, but to me part of the appeal is the changes that they went through. I mean its a period of 30 years, how could they not wander off in some different directions from time to time? Listening to the Dead sets my mind free whatever era.

gate crashing

It was going on well before the 80-90 era of Dead.

Touch Heads

I went to shows 90-95, and it just wasn't young folks acting like drunkin asses...plenty of blame to go around

Scroll #0054 , Trick or Treat, and BCT84

Trick or Treat is here tonight in my neighborhood. A perfect night to que up some 80's Drums > Space jams And a perfect night for the probably the entire neighborhood and me to get its first listen of this massive box set. *Ticket = 10.27.91 *Backstage Pass = 6.11.93 - Buckeye Lake - awesome 1st set, one of my favorites from Vince era. And the pass is awesome. Astronaut with a skeleton face AHAHAH !! 10.28.84 - BCT - 2nd set - very nice and the Drums is awesome !!!!! Terrapin Station > Playing In The Band > China Doll > Drums > Space > The Wheel > Throwing Stones > Not Fade Away

Halloween Box Treat

Dr Rhino says I get a replacement Box.That's much better than a Halloween trick of no Box. With all these 'replacement' Boxes going out you would think that the production count would be >20,000.

D & C

Dead and Co stream Ustream @ tapperrob

@ icecrmenkd

I glad to hear that you're finally getting your 30 Trips box.

Silly, really...

...all this 80s bashing. I started listening to the box set in reverse order. 95 on down. Currently on disc 3 of 1983. I absolutely LOVE the 80s stuff...AND the 90s stuff. So far, 93 is the only show of the box, IN MY OPINION, that lacks a bit of energy. Yet I still enjoyed it. And really, that's all it's about. Me (and whomever) enjoying! Loving this trip!!!!

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