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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
Happy New Year All
Did a little road trip to Philly to see a little GD related live music. Ended up blowing the speakers on my car getting the most out of the '67 trip.
Ooops.. Add another couple hundred bucks to the cost of Boxzilla.
May everyone eek a little extra out of 2016 then they thought they would...
Happy new Year.
@Dave - Strummer Picture
I'm also pretty sure it's Joe Strummer with Bob, but I think it's from 1979 when the Clash played the 2nd Tribal Stomp in Monterey.
Strummer Photo
That sounds about right since I don't recall The Clash being on the US Festival bill…but then again it's 35 years ago…as Sandy Denny said "Who knows where the time goes?"
Strummer Pic
It is probably 11/26/82 in Jamaica when the Clash and GD shared the bill.
Joe allegedly was giving Deadheads Mohawks back stage.
https://archive.org/details/gd1982-11-26.sbd.fried-lai.1419.sbefail.shnf
Dylan Masters
I've been playing the 18 CDs as I haven't downloaded the main content yet (only the live/extras). So I don't know about the metadata. However, you can see where each released version first appeared if you dig down to that last book (under the CD book and above the 7-inch singles). There you will find which ones are the album versions, and which appeared on previous Bootleg Series releases. And it says in that book that everything in this box set is newly mixed, so that it sounds like you are reviewing takes in the control room. In other words, they are rough mixes compared to any that have been released before. I like that. You really get the fly-on-the wall experience that way.
I finally got my answer to whether Dylan was reading the lyrics as he sang them. At one point Bob Johnston asks him if it would help if he had the lyrics on the music stand and Dylan says, "No, that wouldn't help at all, man."
One Man Thanks
I didn't realize there was another book with the box. Once I looked at it, it was exactly what i was looking for. Thanks again.
One Man / Dave
Oh nice, thanks, I hadn't looked through all of that yet. I love those details and statistics, etc.
Along those lines, here is a good site for his recording session and tour setlists, if you haven't been: http://www.bjorner.com/still.htm
I need to get back to that box, I haven't listened for a week or two. Made it into the Blonde on Blonde sessions, which I think will be the most interesting in the set. Looking forward to some of those that no alternates have circulated to date...I Want You, etc.
On topic
And on topic for once...I know people talked up the 1987 Trip selection even before it was picked, but finished that one and I think it may be one of my favorites so far in the box.
More than anything, just great presence on the audio quality, alot of crowd noise but not inappropriate or distracting. Really adds to it, in my opinion. Was that a matrix or something?
And meant to respond to Wilfred earlier - Agree on 2/26/77, that's one of the few I've picked up as a bootleg and tough to believe it hasn't been released...first of a heralded year, Terrapin debut and opener, plus the rest of the show is great too. As you said, must not be in the vault?
'87 Trip
ahhh, Muleskinner, the '87 trip..
I did ask David about this one several years ago. He said it is a Matrix, but the crowd noise isn't all that distracting.
Plus.. its Madison Square Garden and the crowd sometimes went nuts at the Garden. The floor is suspended on top of Penn Station by steel cables, so it floats and when it gets really crazy they say you can feel it sway a bit with crowd. If the crowd noise wasn't there, it would just be wrong.
Good to see you back man.. your enthusiasm and fresh ears carries this place sometimes.
I dig the second set post space on that one. It was the third La Bamba over 9 days, and pre-internet.. so its likely a lot of the kind folks in attendance were caught off guard by that one. I think the movie La Bamba had just hit the big screen and Jerry was in the process of palling around with Hidalgo and friends just about this time. I recall hearing an interview from '87 or '88 and someone asked Jerry what he likes, what he was listening to these days, his response, "I really like Los Lobos" ..who as we all know can shred that song.
Oh.. I have one more story about this show. I was talking to somebody that was there and backstage a few years ago. She said Garcia's response after he walked off stage was, "Hey.. we didn't suck tonight."
Anyway.. lots of energy on this one, if you are hearing it for the first time, that energy is infectious.
September 1987 peak month for that year
And JGB would light up October 1987
Bring on more shows from 1980's Ahahah,, more September 1987 and Dylan and the Dead performances.
Terrapin Station - 2.26.77 - I have bootleg also "The Grateful Dead in Death Valley" with only 1st set portion of show and two filler tracks from Philly Spectrum - 9.12.88 - "Box of Rain -> Cold Rain and Snow" Definetely worth the $5
I would guess there are better quality performances of Terrapin Station they want to get out to the masses before that one. Similar to Dark Star, has so many, put out the ones that will/should impress the most and then go down the list. Seems like they are doing this with the Dark Stars from Brent era
Nightfall of Diamonds
Warlocks set
Spring 90 with Branford - next up should be the 1984 Dark Star :)
Jerry and Los Lobos
Yeah Jerry was a huge Los Lobos fan. I think and don't quote me on this but Jer's first gig post coma was a sit in with them somewhere in Cali. I think the story goes he went to see them play and just happened to get up onstage and start jammin. I know they talk about it in the book Dark Star.
No Sell Out
I see that despite the initial teething problems now having been solved, the USB version of 30 Trips has still not sold out.
Interestingly too, the 18CD Deluxe version of Bob Dylan's The Cutting Edge too seems to still be in plentiful supply. Now I was so sure that that limited 5,000 copies only world wide edition would sell out in nano-seconds that I placed my order the instant I read about it on my iPhone while taking a dump on the Kaiser just minutes before racing out the door to pick my 14 year old son up at the airport from a school trip to China. My bank immediately flagged the >$1,000 AUD transaction as potentially fraudulent and put a stop on my credit card so that next thing I find myself stuck at the airport carpark with no cash on me and "credit declined" on the Visa card that I'm sticking into the parking meter. I'm glad that they are zealously protective but coincidentally, my Visa card also went into lockdown the very day that the Europe'72 Box set was announced.
Like many others there is (presumably) a limit on how many multi-hundred dollar box sets I can justify purchasing (to myself let alone my wife!!) so please keep those releases coming but maybe go a little easier on our wallets this year.
re: Ironman/wallet lightening
I concur with your comments regarding the price of a ticket to ride the Dead carousel.While Boxzilla and Europe '72 are impressive, for me, the simplicity of the Fillmore 1969 Box is ideal. We get the music we pay for, without taking up swaths of household real estate with various sized Boxes, Steamer Trunks & oversized CD cases (May 77) that we pay extra for. I just crave the tuneage and to hell with the ephemera clutter.
Except for May 77, at least they had the good sense to create normal CD sized cases.
to brianhahne - whaddya think about the 95 show when you hear it? I was quite surprised, it's quite good. I prefer the 67-77 period in my Live Dead shows, but Boxzilla has been great at connecting me to all the Live Dead Era's. The only show I haven't liked is the '89 Trip, as Brent's keyboard sound grates on my ears.
Here's looking forward to what Dave's Picks has in store for us
30 TATS
The entry for 1980 is from The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Ga. 11/30/80. Please do yourself a favor and listen to the night before 11/29/80 in Gainesville, Fl. I guess they didn't have the tapes etc. but this show should have been included as the 1980 entry in the 30 TATs box, it's that good. i downloaded it from Archive and listen regularly.
re: prafter, dstrang
prafter.. I think the FW box set was priced at or around $100 ($109 comes to mind). I agree, that could be the very best box set that made its way to me..
I think a tour such as E72 deserves a steamer trunk. Not to caviar for me. If you price it out by CD.. it was basically free anyway (less than $7 per CD, I think).
DStrang, I think Da 8 is a sleeper. Cool beyond its recognition. Under-rated in my opinion. I'd be fine to see the night before be given the royal treatment. What could possible go wrong.
__________
One small edit: The 30 trips '80 show was 11/28/80. What a great sequence. They should all be released one day.
Dr Rhino / replacements
Has anyone received their replacement discs/cases from Dr Rhino yet?
Replacements arrived!
Yes, I received my replacement discs from Dr. Rhino. Anxious to play them and test them out but so much new music these days! That's one of those good problems.
Weir/Strummer photo
While I have no idea if that pic was taken in Jamaica or at the US Festival, I just wanted to clarify an earlier issue... that being that The Clash DID play the US Festival. In fact, it was the very last gig they did with the 3 original members, as shortly thereafter, Mick Jones decided to head for greener (???) pastures, i.e. Big Audio Dynamite. Thanks for posting the pic Kate_C. Regardless of it's origin, I'd never seen it before, and it's nice to know that one side of my musical lineage rubbed shoulders at some point with another side of the family tree!
prafter...
I'm on 1994 right now (Promised Land.. last track.. disc 1).Honestly, so far, I'm impressed.
1992 didn't disappoint, and I enjoyed 1993.
This one also, you can't tell Jerry was a zombie nor do I have to listen to Vince much singing. The lack of Baba O-Reilly in the set lists has been pleasant. :-)
I do see Samba in the Rain is waiting for me on disc 2 of 1995. I'll have to load up on Maalox that day.
But in all honesty, everything up to right now, has been a joy!
I still have so much I have to back and catch up on once I get through this box, I'm actually racing through these last few.
What I have to catch up on:
Old / In the Way - Live @ The Boarding House
JGB - On Broadway - Act One
Dave's Picks 16
J. Garcia - Collected Artworks (2 CD's)
and a few more. But those are the main 4 I need to get through...
I have to listen to everything I own at least once, and those are my latest 4.... Then I'm just about done and have all the stuff listened to.
Clash - US Festival
On the Van Halen recording from the US Festival (YouTube), David Lee Roth stops between songs to drink Jack Daniels from the bottle and says "The only people who put iced tea in whiskey bottles is The Clash, baby!"
11/29/80, 10/1/94, 3/27/93
11/29/80 - I believe they kept 11/29/80 in the vault because 1) 11/28, which they DID release, is a very good show as well despite the average setlist, 2) lots of people have the amazingly well-recorded 11/29/80 AUD already, and 3) it gives them a 3rd show to release eventually that will complete the trio of 11/28-30/80. I think this is one of a few pairings where they released the less obvious show in order to pave the way for future releases.
Another example: They released 7/3/88 while most were expecting 7/2/88. Why?
My theory: So they still have dry powder - they don't want people to think the BEST shows have been released already. When 11/29/80 and 7/2/88 are released, people will snap them up to close the loop on the clusters. Though honestly the 11/29/80 AUD is so good I might prefer that to the soundboard (like 8/6/71, where the AUD is a better listening experience than the SBD to my ears)
10/1/94 - YES! Great show. I have in my head a sense for how '94 "sounds" (due the Highgate VT '94 show I attended which really, truly sucked - embarrassingly horrible for them and the attendees) and this killed that prejudice. This is a great release - killer setlist, killer execution. Jerry seems very present and engaged - unlike Highgate where there were songs where actually seems to not be playing at all. An "off night" in the 70's was still an OK show, by the 80's it meant a kinda sloppy show, and by 93-95 it meant disaster. 10/1/94 is a wonderful non-disaster - possibly the last "great" show (though 10/14/94 might deserve this title
3/27/93 - I have mentioned on another board that this show, which I attended WAS a great one. I used to listen to the 3/24/93 a lot as well - a great late era Here Comes Sunshine.
Highgate 94
The Boston run in 1994 was nice, this is a good example of the run.1991 was much better and deserves box set treatment, it blows away the NYC run that year.
I enjoyed Vermont 1994 and thought the band played well enough to make the trek again in 1995 when Dylan opened and blew the GD off the stage and i'm not a big live Dylan fan. You can decide for yourself which was the better of the 2.
https://archive.org/details/gd94-07-13.sbd.georges.17029.sbeok.shnf
WARNING this is one of the worst Jerry shows I saw.
https://archive.org/details/gd95-06-15.schoeps.7745.sbeok.shnf
Thin - release of 7.3.88
6 songs before drums and the night before includes Blow Away. If you take into account the selection for 30 Trips 1989 pick it has what is regarded as one of "Blow Away" best performances. Also,1987 selection includes Morning Dew. I would guess they didn't want to take away anything from those 2 songs Morning Dew from 87 and Blow Away from 89 by selecting a show in 1988 that has both, which in my opinion would water it down. It would have been hard to follow up the spectacular Morning Dew with another version and I'm sure they wanted the first "Blow Away" to be one of the better ones. With all that being said I hope 7.2.88 gets released,, not a dud from July 88 shows.
Boston '91 baby
Kayak Guy:
I am very much a complacent backer of the Boston Garden '91 shows as well - the playing was awesome, and of course Brucy sitting in is always a good thing. I was at the first show on Friday night and I steadfastly recall the moment when they went Help > Slip! >.....Fire on the Mountain??? I was *out of it* and looked at my buddy next to me and recall saying "I know this song, but I just can't place it at the moment!" Just to frame my mind at that point. All in all a fantastic run.
I was also at the Highgate '95 show, and again was a bit out of my mind but this time *a little further (nay, A LOT) furthur* so I don't in fact recall it being absolutely terrible but in retrospect learning of the gate crashing etc. it was a disappointment especially for my final show. I also recall the parking lot was so damn crammed that we gave up trying to leave and our 6-car caravan was like totally full of peeps, so my brother and I had to sleep on the ground, in the parking lot, with only a bedsheet. it is the only time in my adult life when I have snuggled with another dude for warmth. My brother's cool so it's all good.
Highgate '95
I started the show about 50 feet from the stage. Towards the end of the first set I turned and began making my way to the back, and remember thinking- "Holy crap- where did all these people come from?" Probably the most I have ever seen in one place at one time.
Our bus driver had pulled into the parking area and just shut it down without turning it around for an easy escape afterward... big mistake- we must've sat there a good 2 or 3 hours before we finally got out of the lot and onto the road.
By the end of the day the shitter was full, Clark- the ride home was quite smelly and waste was sloshing into the aisle. Plus somewhere near the NYS border we got pulled over for speeding- but the driver managed to talk his way out of it.
Bach 2 Bach , if only Clark Griswald would have been there
"Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse"
For Bay Area folks
I have a 30 Trips box for sale, at cost. Not dealing with shipping, so pick up only.PM me if interested. Thanks
And it ends..
On 1995... Again, DL2 did a good job picking this, exceeding my expectations of 95.
Granted as I type this, Samba in the Rain is playing and Vince is singing, and I'm trying not to throw myself out the window...
but overall, very enjoyable. Jerry is present.
Good stuff... ah, truckin.
..it will never end...
Its growing on me.
I'm slow to get through these shows and am not great at show reviews.
My single observation so far is Phil. Considering he did not know how to play the Bass when he joined the band in Oct. '65. Its amazing to me the influence he had on their sound by '67 and '68. Its also amazing how many times I let that guy f* up my car speakers. You would think I would have learned my lesson by now.
Yeah it is really cool how
Yeah it is really cool how Phil developed his own sense of an instrument, though its not really a surprise that he was so good at the instrument being a trained musician prior to him picking up the bass. I have friends who are professional musicians and some of them can play any instrument you put in their hands once they figure out the mechanics of the thing. The instrument may change but the foundation of music theory never does so the notes are all the same. It would be more impressive if he had no formal music training and then became the bass player he did. Being a very capable musician prior to the bass and not knowing how to play the bass isn't really the impressive part to as much as the approach he took to the instrument when making the music that is really top notch.
Alternate cover art for 30 trips - Anyone have the link?
I remember seeing some great cover art on this tread about a month ago. It had the standard 30 Trips cover art with a photo of the band superimposed on it. Anyone remember this and have the link that you can re-post?
Thanks folks ! Keep on keeping on.
Alternate cover art for 30 trips - Anyone have the link?
I remember seeing some great cover art on this tread about a month ago. It had the standard 30 Trips cover art with a photo of the band superimposed on it. Anyone remember this and have the link that you can re-post?
Thanks folks ! Keep on keeping on.
Alternate 30 Trips Cover Art
Courtesy of our old (lost) friend wjonjd. I should add - the "his location, not mine" comment was wjonjd's original comment, as this originated from somebody other than him.
Original PNG files in a zip (his location, not mine):
http://www.wmwv.com/ALTART.zip
One Man - just read your comments on 1970 China / Rider. Very interesting, I love this kind of low level analysis, keep it coming bro.
Made it to the end!!
1995 was good as well! Jerry was playing "ok", a few weird notes here and there but all good... and I even survived Samba in the Rain.
Now it's onto a quick one...
"A Voyage Through the Story & Music of The Grateful Dead"
http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=233636
Then JGB On Broadway, Dave's 16, and Old/In The Way - Boarding House..
whew!!!
Re: Alternate 30 Trips Cover Art
I think its safe to assume wjonjd is doing some under cover reconnaissance work of a very sensitive nature. I doubt if he is even in the country, or if he is.. he might be in a tunnel five floors below the vault. Its impossible to be certain.
If you've noticed in the past few years, he has sometimes disappeared for months at a time.. then magically, he's back, and responds with clarity to any post that occurred during his absence.
Side effects of his pay grade and security clearance, we can just be thankful he is on our side.
Dr. Rhino?
Hi All,
I've been going through the set slowly and just popped in disc 1 of the '91 show to discover the disc start skipping 1:15 into Shakedown. Argh!
Disc has never been played before (other than ripping it) and I don't see any scratches. Fortunately the ripped track plays just fine but I'd like to replace the disc if possible.
Can someone point me in the right direction?
Jam on,
isgrb
isgrb
PM MaryE and / or send an email to Dr.Rhino@rhino.com.
If you email Dr. Rhino, it typically takes him a few days (sometimes longer) to get back so expect to be patient. ...but he typically does respond and makes good on what ales you. Eventually.
Out of curiosity.. could you tell what caused it to not play? Scratch, glue dot or weirdness in the foil backing of the CD?
They seem to be the culprits w/ this box. No wonder China's in recession.
Thanks Jim!
I have no idea what's causing it not to play as it looks absolutely pristine to the naked eye. I've only removed it from the case twice, once to rip it and today when I tried to play it.
Fortunately the file I ripped doesn't have any issues (which is also curious) but I still like to play CDs when I'm at home.
isgrb
Play the CD in a different player to confirm that the CD is defective. Since the one you ripped is good, that would suggest that the problem is with the player.I have an old player that randomly has clicks and pops but the same CD works fine in my newer player. Both are Onkyo.
Re: isgrb
I had a bad disc too.. the good Doctor got back to me just last night.. quicker than I anticipated.
I have to admit.. understanding all the issues in quality, communication and delays.. 2015 was a pretty good year.
It is a pretty cool box set. Its even got a place to hide what needs to be hidden (wink). Its a beautiful box set, I can't believe they went so big and I cant believe they pulled it off.
Three Weeks, still no word
Three weeks (almost) in after returning Boxzilla, still no updates past the fact that they received it. Will wait until the 1 month mark, than going to start pestering MaryE and Dr. Rhino.
In the interim, got this interesting email from SpinCDs where they are releasing (not in the US or Japan) of Keith's first show in ' 71. Said going to be released in February, anyone know if GD is going to officially release this as well? Or should eager shoppers jump over to Spin? They also have a nice Cambodian benefit CD (from 1980, I think), though it is short, the Sugar Mag with Santana looks inviting.
Dodgy discs
Oh dear. If there's the odd bum cd in my big box I probably won't even discover it for months (or even years if it's a nineties show)...I'm taking this big baby sloowly...
re:icecrmcnkd
You hit the nail on the head, just tried it on my iMac and blu-ray and it played flawlessly. The CD player in my office is about 10 years old so that must be the culprit.
Good news in the end, it was puzzling since the disc looked pristine. Good excuse for a new player!
11/10/67 vinyl
http://www.rhino.com/syeor
http://themusicuniverse.com/rhino-records-kicks-off-start-ear-off-right…
[On January 19th] the first breakout single show from the Grateful Dead's sold-out 30 Trips Around The Sun boxed set will also be available with the release of the 3-LP set Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA 11/10/67, which will be a limited edition of 6,700 copies.
isgrb
Glad it's solved.Were the problems always at the same place on the CD or random?
Same place would indicate a disc defect.
Buy a carousel CD player, just plop in a whole show and press play. I've had good luck with Onkyo going back to tape decks. The old CD player is from 1997 (6 disc changer) and I use it in my office. Only within the last year has started having more pops and clicks. I didn't think to clean the laser, thanks Wilfred. But I wouldn't be surprised if it is finally wearing out. It has served me well! My newer one is a 6-disc changer and sounds great (with Onkyo receiver and Bose speakers).
ice
it hangs up in the same place actually, at 1:14 of shakedown. I listened to the rest of the show on that same player without a hitch and only have 5 or 6 more shows to go before I've spun the whole set.
Since the place it gets hung up is consistent there is something happening there, perhaps the encoded data at that mark just can't be read by my old player? I would think if it's a disc defect it would happen in most players. I'll try it in my car later today.
product sku
081227955892