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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
iPod Smart Playlist
I also have the 160gb iPod that would be overfilled with all my Dead, Dead-related, and other music uploaded to it. To deal with that, I created a Smart Playlist in iTunes that I set to pull 10,000 random songs from my 35,000 song iTunes library. You then set your iPod to synch to the Smart Playlist. 10,000 songs synch and I'm ready to go. Every week or so, I go back into iTunes, highlight and delete all songs in that Smart Playlist and it automatically re-fills another 10,000 songs. I then synch my iPod again and the new 10,000 are added.
Of course, this only works if you are comfortable with the random nature of shows being pulled. I can listen to the Dead on random, but I know that some people want to listen to whole shows from start to finish. This can be done with this method. But, for me, it beats having to keep track of mulitple iPods.
You people...
... really are a collective wealth of information. Thanks.
Embarrassment of riches..
So I just finished 1976, going in order through 30 Trips. So just about two decades left and the new Dylan set got here today. 18 discs, everything he recorded in the studio from the period of Bringing It All Back Home to Blonde on Blonde.
The packaging is fantastic, several hard bound books, prints, 7" singles from that period and a small snippet of the actual film of Don't Look Back's theatrical release.
Oh yeah, and the music. Listening to Disc 1 now..Bringing It All Back Home has the shortest air time of the three, and I've heard several of these, but already several highlights. The foot-stomping piano On The Road Again was great.
Dylan vs. The Dead: http://s13.postimg.org/53a5yvhs7/IMG_5430.jpg
Muleskinner...
You got that thing??!!!?? Wow... good for you! I won't say that I'm not jealous. I too am an enormous Dylan fan, but the price scared me off a bit, considering, unlike 30 Trips, it was only 18 discs. I'm opting for the more reasonable, 6 disc version of that release. The price was a lot more palatable, especially to my wife! Enjoy! It really is a great time to be a fan of certain artists.
Music players
Sony has a hi-def Walkman ($299) with 64 GB internal storage and an SD card slot. It plays FLAC files too.
Thinking of getting one since Apple has failed miserably!
Why would I want a music player that looks like my phone?
Why would I want to store my music on my phone and have to buy a new music player every 2 years?
Re: Muleskinner
Pretty cool pic, Muleskinner. That table must be stronger than it looks.
re: Dylan
haha ya I couldn't help myself...Dylan was more prescient than he knew when he named 'I'll Keep It With Mine' as 'Bank Account Blues' for Tom Wilson's cue, haha.
I really do believe in getting something and letting it sink in, but there's been so many releases lately, as well as nabbing up some (what I think were) good deals, I've bitten off more than I can chew...
I'm through BIABH to the Like A Rolling Stone sessions, there's quite a bit from this period that has been released or bootlegged. I rank Blonde on Blonde as the third of the 'Electric Trilogy' to me (not a slight by any mean, just not as close to me as the first two..), but I think those sessions will be the most revelatory in this set.
Did I mention he recorded and released those three albums within a <18 month span? And also, did I mention he recorded and released those three albums within a <18 month span?
More Music Players....
I found an interesting review between the FiiO X1 and Sony High Def players. It jives with my experience with FiiO. Great player but the interface is a bit limited. I mostly play whole shows anyway, so you just select the folder w/ the show you want and hit play. I ended up going with FiiO because it was $100 vs. $300 and up for others; I can spend the savings on more music and bribing crooked politicians.
_________________________
the X1 is overall better as far as sound fidelity and driving power go. it's one of the best sound/$ you can hope for.
now the battery is just usual, around 10hours, the UI is very very limited and frustrating at times, the wheel isn't precise and it takes some getting used to it. and you do need to have your music tagged properly. you will pretty much browse only by folder because the rest sux and you need to scroll for too long for it to be nice.
the sony is pretty much a box made from ease of use. the UI works fine, all the browsing methods are good, it boots fast, it's clearly smaller.
but the output is weak. the impedance is 4ohm (2ohm for the X1).
so if you want to pay for sound and are ready to work a little on organizing your folders and tags, the X1 is really a great DAP.
if you want to pay for something practical before any other factor, then the A15 is like the son of a cowon J3 and you'll love using it.
I ended up keeping both ^_^.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/754386/sony-nwz-a15-vs-fiio-x1
Music players
"Sony has a hi-def Walkman ($299) with 64 GB internal storage and an SD card slot. It plays FLAC files too."
I did very little research and ended up buying the Sony player about 5 months ago. I was actually thinking of having a 128g card in my carry along with the 30 days USB set on it.... dare to dream if that even really exists... but as far as players go, I'm very satisfied with the Sony. It's tiny, light, easy to use, and files drop to it from cpu very easily. I have the software but don't use it much. Just copy from my cpu hard drive to the storage. My wife takes it outside on weekends to garden and pairs it by bluetooth with a Bose Soundlink III. She loves the thing. I also used it via bluetooth and aux cable in a Dodge Ram driving 15 hours to a Montana vacation this summer. Both ways worked pretty good. Didn't like that it doesn't automatically re-connect when you go back to it via bluetooth in the truck. Otherwise the sound is excellent and it plays everything I have. I would buy it again.
Now I'll go back to waiting for the USB to get here.
Warning - Off Topic - Dylan at My Door Too
I kinda forgot when the big Dylan set was supposed to arrive, and here it is today. Gotta say, the packaging and product (including high quality hardbound books and other deep ephemera) are off-the-charts great, and although I am only about to start disc 3 of 18, I am already really glad I'm hearing every shred of tape rolled during these sessions. It's amazing how the grooves of the songs were varied in search of the "right" one. They're all over the place. This will not stand up to the whole-disc/show repeated listenings of, say, 30 Trips, but I will have a lot of fun listening through it all and creating playlists of my faves. Being a studio sort of person, this is what I live for (sometimes).
Dylan Box
I would love to have this.. to bad I didn't see it coming and budget for it.
ok.. karma and scratch off lottery is my only chance. I hate lottery as its a regressive tax.. but I will give this one try. If I lose, I will listen vicariously through the musing of Muleskinner and One Man.
but.. another cool box.
'87 Box Trip
is fantastic.It's super fun to hear the crowd in this one.
:)
Copps 1992
I thought the 1986 show was going to be the sleeper from this set, but I was wrong.
Been just skipping through the box at random -- well, not exactly at random: I've been kind of avoiding the shows I think I'll love the best. I guess I've listened to about 16 shows so far and yesterday hit the 3/20/1992 in Ontario. I found it!! This is a show I was not really expecting much from (TBH the only time I listen to 1992 is the rare occasion when I put on Dicks 27, which is maybe once a year, probably less often than that).
From song to song, opening to encore, this is a gem all around. Such amazing energy and engagement on every single tune that picking highlights is a mug's game. But. Here we have one of the (admittedly many) very great Bird Songs, with a segment beginning around 7:30 min in that just takes the top of your head off, in the best possible way. Not merely a great post-hiatus version, or a great version "for the 90s," but truly one of the best of all eras. And that level of playing recurs throughout this just shockingly good show.
C'mon, prafter...
...whaddya mean, no Eight-Tracks???
Impressive collection fo sho
Happy Friday in Deadland, All!
Sixtus
Ship Date on USB : Updated to Coming Soon
Very Excited for this...PONO is ready for the loading to begin!
160 gB
All this talk about storage space reminded me of a New Yorker cartoon from years ago.
Guy comes out of his room carrying two huge suitcases.
His wife says "That's a lot of clothes for a weekend in the mountains."
He says "Clothes? These are my Grateful Dead concert tapes!"
So Sorry
Well I am slowly grinding my way through the box and a ton of other new to me releases. Received Dave's 16 yesterday, not sure when I will listen to it. Tonight I start box73. I have made it through 2 listens from shows 66-72. As McDonald's would say, I am loving it.
I must repent, a couple of weeks ago I ran across Zappa's DVD "The Torture Never Stops" from the Palladium (Academy of Music) which I have not seen in 30 plus years. It was recorded 1981-10-31. I had to watch it on Halloween night. I repent and will now get back to my homework. As i was.
160 gB
my adult son saw the box last weekend when he visited us at home, his eyes starin like he did as a little boy than he said " Man, i wish i was your age " First time he ever said this to me.#Yep , one day he`ll get it all - to this day my collection consists of 2000 CDs , 400 vinyl-lp and tons od tapes , growing every week
1st Playthrough Complete
I have now listened to this entire box from start to finish, chronological order cause I'm a little OCD, and I feel like I have just scratched the surface. Now I will probably skip around and listen in a more random fashion. So far I have revisited '71 and at the moment I'm just watching the snow melt and listening to some of the '66 show.
USB high res and iPods
Howdy again!
If anybody is getting the USB version of Thirty Trips it is pretty easy to convert the files to play on iPod. I use a program called dbPoweramp to dither 96/24 files down to ALAC (Apple Lossless at 44/16) so they will play on my iPod Touch. They will also play fine on the Sony NWZ Walkman player as well as the Pono player. Do the older iPods support ALAC? I think the iPod sounds fine with ALAC quality. As far as I see it
iTunes is way easier to work with than the other programs for music storage. If anybody has any questions or comments give me a holler :)
Palate cleanser
Son Volt-TraceGet some
:)
P.S.-One of the best road trip soundtracks ever,if what & where yer travelin' is new.
:)
Tear Stained Eye-Try it,you'll like it.
Runner up-Ten Second News
Really...get some
Non Sequitur
http://www.marinij.com/article/20151105/FEATURES/151109886
Bear's Choice Vol.II is running a little over 4 decades behind schedule, but perhaps his surviving oeuvre will prove a wellspring for future releases off the GD grid (I do so love that Janis/BBHC Carousel recording!)./peace, K
P.S.: It would seem that Bear's ear for recording and his potentially traumatizing skill for naming children are inversely proportionate on a cosmic scale...
Up to 1973
Im currently listening to the 1973 show. That certainly was a very nice Here Comes Sunshine. uh-oh...Bobby hiccup on Black-Throated Wind. I thought he was only allowed to do that on Truckin?
I've seen where several people have already listened to the entire box. I think that's great, but it's going to take this guy a while....I have to listen to each show in full with no distractions, which is tough when I have a full time job, a kid, and a girlfriend. Its hard to find a 3 hour break...its usually just like right now, very early in the morning with the headphones on while everyone is sleeping in. Ill continue to take my time, listening to them in order, but I gotta say, Im pretty anxious to get to the 80's and 90's stuff. I don't really have a favorite era per say but I think it'll be a nice refresher to what I usually listen to and I haven't heard very many shows from 84, 85, 86, 93, 94, 95.
Bear Link
Thanks for the link. I've been wondering how the fundraising has been going. I definitely am rooting for preservation of those tapes, although I am apparently one of the few who doesn't really appreciate Bear's approach to recording in his "sonic journals". In fact, upon hearing that BBHC release, I immediately took it down to my studio and collapsed it to mono (and added light compression and a smidge of hall reverb). It sounds SO much better now! But that's just me. Others will push their speakers closer together, crank it up and search for the 3-dimensional, true stereo sound that Bear heard.
Just gotta poke around....
....today, I'm poking into Worcester '83. A Music opener bodes well for things to come imo....
Last night, I listened to the
Last night, I listened to the concert from 1973. Terrible evening! gigantic music!
I continue chronological listening, and so far I have heard only good, very good or exceptional shows.
Will The Wolf Survive....
....first set of Worcester down the hatch. Moving on to a Los Lobos afternoon. They are playing here tonight. Taking Mrs. Vguy and son along. If you get a chance, check them out....you will not be disappointed. Trust me....
Sheila Stanley
Kate, thanks for that link!
Nearly got to meet his previous wife, Rhoney Gissen Stanley, at Santa Clara. She was personally selling her book Owsley And Me in the parking lot (which was actually a grass field, much cozier than a parking lot), but every time I walked up she'd "just stepped away for five minutes." In two days, I never did catch her there....
(and you're just jealous that YOU didn't get named Redbird)
They played Kiko....
....and that could be all I could ask for. Great, albeit short show. 1:40 hrs by my clock. It was a bit chilly, what with it being outdoors and all. Still...Lobos pulled out some 50's swing music. That was a nice surprise....
....onto Worcester. The psychedelic ping pong balls between Playin and Drumz are worth noting. As is the Scarlet Fire. Sound is a little thin, but I'm not complaining....fun show. But, as I recall, weren't most of them? Yeah, yeah they were....
Fantastic Alternate 30 Trips Cover Art
I ran across a set of alternate cover art for the 30 Trips shows. They are really well done. I'm going to link to the original location, but those are in PNG format (in a zip file), which not everyone will like. I convert them all to JPG and put them up in a dropbox location (in a zip file). I will link to that too, but I can only keep them up there for a limited time (about a week) so if anyone knows of somewhere else to post the zip file please do so and post a link, or send me info on where to put it.
To give credit to the person who did these, he is a poster on the Philzone website, with "username" Quineskimo, "full name" quinfolk, and a first name apparently of Dennis. Thanks Dennis!
What he did was load each cover into photoshop, and then placed a photograph behind it corresponding to the time frame (or maybe even the show), and then reduced the opacity of the cover until you could see the photo as well as the original cover art. They real look very cool.
Here they are:
Original PNG files in a zip (his location, not mine):
http://www.wmwv.com/ALTART.zip
As JPG files in a zip file (my location):
https://www.dropbox.com/l/sh/vaamWxc3umGPubWsIlCqOp
Thank you for The Box
I needed to make sure I said thanks to Dave and the folks who put the box together. It is truly amazing in many many ways, and I am truly grateful.
@ wjonjd: alternative album art
Thanks for posting the link to these show covers. It's not too far off from my own ideas of photos of the exteriors of these venues. Of these, only the Manor Downs 7/31/82 cover is somewhat of a letdown for me - no photo of the band, but promotional artwork for the Terrapin Station release of five ears earlier.
82 cover art
Yea, i wondered why he didnt use a photo for that one. It looks like that poster is for the Manor Downs show on 10/12/77 - as you said, 5 years earlier :)
30 Trips Replacement Box....
Received today. Thank you MaryE and Dr. Rhino. Looks awesome in it's complete form. Blue felt in this one and red in the broken box.
AUD patches??
Does anyone have a comprehensive list of the audience patches for the 30 trips box? I've stumbled across a few and forgot to note where. Any help would be appreciated!
Re: AUD Patches?
10/27/79: Minglewood @ 3:30 to 4:0010/21/84: Morning Dew @ 10:00 to Good Lovin'
Just to name two audience recording patches that immediately come to mind.
Hope this helps.
I think there could be more ...
Re: AUD Patches?
Found one on the 1973 show, disc 3 track 2 The Other One..roughly from 3:18 to 4:20
Onwards & Upwards...
1977 was great, of course... 78 was smokin'.
79 was ok. 80 was better.
on disc #2 of 81. Love the first disc... REALLY strong. That's a keeper.
Disc #2 (shakedown playing as I type)
RE; AUD Patches??
Here's what I've heard myself:
'73 - 50 seconds into Me & My Uncle and at 3:19-4:28 of The Other One
'81 - somewhere, but I forgot to note where...
'84 - end of Cumberland and at end of Morning Dew
I'm sure there are others...as Born Cross-Eyed wrote...and I'm kinda curious to see where else.
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