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    July 1978: The Complete Recordings

    What's Inside:

    • Five Complete Shows on 12 discs
    • 7/1/78 Arrowhead Stadium: Kansas City, MO
    • 7/3/78 St. Paul Civic Center Arena: St. Paul, MN
    • 7/5/78 Omaha Civic Auditorium: Omaha, NE
    • 7/7/78 Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Morrison, CO
    • 7/8/78 Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Morrison, CO
    Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman
    Artwork by esteemed cartoonist Paul Pope
    Intro and show-by-show liner notes by Nicholas Meriwether
    Producer's Note by David Lemieux
    Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 15,000
    Release Date: May 13, 2016

    Announcing July 1978: The Complete Recordings

    We’re pleased to announce JULY 1978: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, five incredible unreleased shows and the first official release from the long-lost tapes, recently returned to the Grateful Dead’s vault. Follow the Dead on a sonic journey through a superb selection of settings, an often epic adventure that finds them winning over Willie and Waylon fans in Kansas City, conjuring charisma in Omaha, and elevating the Red Rocks beyond their already spiritual planes. With five distinct performances painting the masterpiece of 1978, Betty Cantor-Jackson's always-pristine soundboard recordings, and the "hall-of-fame pedigree" of the Dead's first-ever shows at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre, this is one release that far exceeds excellence in music, sound quality, and rarity.

    Limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies, JULY 1978: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS includes Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO (7/1/78), St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MN (7/3/78), Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, NE (7/5/78), and Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison CO (7/7/78 and 7/8/78) - all of the performances in this collection are drawn from the band’s master soundboard recordings, each newly mastered by Jeffrey Norman. The set also features original artwork by esteemed cartoonist Paul Pope (D.C. and Marvel comics) and in-depth liner notes written by Nick Meriwether (Grateful Dead Archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz), as well as a producer’s note from producer David Lemieux.

    Due May 13th, we anticipate that this extraordinary box will sell out. Your best bet is to pre-order it now, then sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks right here.

    Looking for something a little more byte-sized? The collection will also be available for HD digital download in FLAC and ALAC, exclusively at dead.net, on release day.

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  • rajha2
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    Why is this still on sale?
    I can only answer for myself, and it's very simple; DiP 18 and, if i felt I needed any more than that, Red Rocks is available separately. on a separate note; does anyone know, is Betty getting her dues; I and several others have asked, and I haven't seen any kind of response at all. If not, surely a Pledge page would be good; or is there already one up? Anyone know?
  • wadeocu
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    Kayak Guy hit the nail on the head
    "This should make Rhino happy, the release of widely circulated Betty shows does better than the Betty's that never circulated.Maybe all those years of circulation gave people a taste of what they are willing to pay for now and the stuff that stayed hidden is too unknown to buy?" This is very insightful indeed. I can see no other explanation for the disparity.
  • Kayak Guy
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    Taking the threads back from the hackers
    This page for a while was filled with hackers posting away. when i translated some of it through google before it was cleaned up, it was polish slang for "i like this place" and "these people are funny". This set rocks BIGLY, you should consider yourselves lucky its still available for cost and still numbered editions. If you don't have it yet, it's worth the money and the artwork is fantastic, in the style of a graphic novel. Compared to other recent boxes that feature Normanized versions of Betty's that have been in circulation for 30 years, This July 78 box has 4 unreleased Betty's, well 3 and a Stereo upgrade from the mono that circulated. This should make Rhino happy, the release of widely circulated Betty shows does better than the Betty's that never circulated. Maybe all those years of circulation gave people a taste of what they are willing to pay for now and the stuff that stayed hidden is too unknown to buy? In any event if you haven't got it yet, you really should grab this box before it sells out and it becomes speculative on ebay, if just for the box and artwork.
  • JimInMD
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    The Bigger Question is....
    Why has this not sold out, its fantastic. Yes.. music today and the constant Russian Hackers is a big part of the reason, the other part is beyond an initial rollout strategy, they have no involvement. For the longest time this thread faded was not even prevalent from the home page of dead.net. I'm not complaining, I have mine and love it.. I just come to this thread from time to time and think wtf?
  • Kayak Guy
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    Why is this still on sale?
    You all have good guesses, as good as mine, which is. The real reason this is still available is the meltdown of Music Today shortly after the release, the website going to comments only mode for months until the Dave's subscription was announced, when NOTHING was available for purchase, and the still cryptic hint above that at some point it will be available digitally "on release day". Its very likely there are 2000 people that would have bought the box if it was the only option, but waited for the digital version instead. Add to that some short term memory loss and short attention spans and you have over 2000 copies left of this box set which I like much better than the Spring 77 box. I love this artwork and would have spent lots of dead presidents on T shirts, posters, and other schwag if offered. I also feel many people pay attention to their browsers and for months this site has been unsafe and I have to click through 2 browser warnings just to log in that say the site is bad for my internet security. NO where else on the internet do i have to click the 2nd "Are you Sure?" dialog box. What's up with that, someone saving IT money by waiting for a new interface, maybe ROAR as the core in the fall? Meanwhile the site limps along on, unsecured until the next explosion when Dave's 22 goes on sale shortly before May 77 part 1 ships and people find out if they got a limited edition or music only version. I bet that will be fun times on the board ;)
  • wadeocu
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    I agree Dschian on each of your points. I think it is noteworthy, however that this one is dragging on with 17% of the inventory still left after a year. I think they planned on this one moving faster and I don't blame them. I would have thought that 3 totally uncirculated betty boards and two classics with one only circulating in mono would have generated more buzz. I suspect Rhino and Co. thought the same and thus the 15k. It seems like each release gets core customer sales in the 10k range. That number represents those of us who are so pathetically obsessed that we buy everything no matter what. Then the remaining 5k in sales are the "investors" and occasional buyers. I think that dependable 10k in sales per release is pretty clearly indicated by the numbers set for the FW69 box, early DaPs etc. I think the DaP numbers have gone up only because of the demand created by the second hand market. I do find the hue and cry over limited editions a bit exasperating as I think I understand the considerations being made here and the need to limit stock on hand and warehousing. Really, if we would dependably buy 100k per release they would gladly print it; I'm sure of it. We cant blame the manufacturer for trying to avoid inventory warehousing expenses. This release is a clear indication to me that they have the number set just about right to accomplish their goal of printing and moving releases on a continual release schedule.
  • Dschian
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    Yup, 80% of the run sold in one year- Rhino knows its base well
    Yup, 0ver 80% of the run sold in about a year; at this rate, the rest will probably sell in the next two to three years. Based upon what I've seen buying modern cd and lp releases, it's not unusual for a run to take a few years (and sometimes up to twice that time) to sell out, even for many popular releases. In that respect, wadeocu, yes, Rhino knows its customer base quite well. Nearly every other Dead limited edition/limited release has sold out relatively quickly (from a few days to several months), and even the slower ones, like the second Spring '90 box and the May '77 one, sold out within a few years or less. Believe it or not, Rhino's goal is probably not to make sure that these sell out in a heartbeat, but to sell the greatest number without multiple production runs or endless inventory. I for one am glad that people don't always have to rush to immediately buy one or have to otherwise search for it on ebay at inflated prices. Recently Rhino sold over $2 million dollars worth of the new box set (before the all-music release that followed) within three days, even with the first marked by technical difficulties- by any standard, that's pretty impressive nowadays for physical media.As a follow-up to my recent post below, finally got a chance to hear my Winterland 1977 box again (I have a huge listening backlog) and came away much more impressed by it than by the first May 1977 box, with the exception of the latter's 5/13 show, which is excellent and the best of them. I still do think, though, that overall the Summer 1978 box outranks the May '77 box in quality of shows.
  • Dschian
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    1977 the last great year for the Dead?
    Rbmunkin, while in some respects 1977 WAS the last great year for the Dead- chiefly in the reliability of their musicianship, according to what I've heard from later years- it certainly wasn't their last great year for many listeners in terms of many, many great later performances. To put my bias in context, my favorite Dead years are 1969 and 1972-'74, so I'm not an '80's deadhead, though I attended the bulk of my shows during the earlier part of that decade and love many of the shows from its first half.I have both the May 1977 box set and the July '78 one, and to my ears the 1978 one is substantially better. I say that because while the 1977 performances in that box are all reasonably strong, they're not always particularly exciting to me. The band, and Jerry in particular, strike me as being in a more predictable, professional mode at the shows in this earlier '77 box release (though I expect the new '77 box to be substantially better performances, based upon the bits I've heard). I find the improvisation more raw, energetic, and dynamic in the 1978 box, and to me that's what makes shows stand out. Also, the song selection is a bit more varied, which I appreciate. While 1978 may be weaker overall as a year (and I haven't heard most of either year), I find these performances to be better than much of what I've heard from '77. Similarly, according to what a listener likes, great boxes (if not great recordings) could be put together of performances from the early 80's or even the Spring/Summer 1985 tour, I believe. One slight drawback of the 1978 box is that the recordings have a bit less depth to the sound, but that goes with the territory of later 2-track soundboards. If you like the '78 sound, definitely get this box while it's still around! I think that they're all (and not just the Red Rocks shows) excellent performances and better ones than the Dave's Picks releases from '78 so far.
  • wadeocu
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July 1978: The Complete Recordings

What's Inside:

• Five Complete Shows on 12 discs
• 7/1/78 Arrowhead Stadium: Kansas City, MO
• 7/3/78 St. Paul Civic Center Arena: St. Paul, MN
• 7/5/78 Omaha Civic Auditorium: Omaha, NE
• 7/7/78 Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Morrison, CO
• 7/8/78 Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Morrison, CO
Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman
Artwork by esteemed cartoonist Paul Pope
Intro and show-by-show liner notes by Nicholas Meriwether
Producer's Note by David Lemieux
Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 15,000
Release Date: May 13, 2016

Announcing July 1978: The Complete Recordings

We’re pleased to announce JULY 1978: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, five incredible unreleased shows and the first official release from the long-lost tapes, recently returned to the Grateful Dead’s vault. Follow the Dead on a sonic journey through a superb selection of settings, an often epic adventure that finds them winning over Willie and Waylon fans in Kansas City, conjuring charisma in Omaha, and elevating the Red Rocks beyond their already spiritual planes. With five distinct performances painting the masterpiece of 1978, Betty Cantor-Jackson's always-pristine soundboard recordings, and the "hall-of-fame pedigree" of the Dead's first-ever shows at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre, this is one release that far exceeds excellence in music, sound quality, and rarity.

Limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies, JULY 1978: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS includes Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO (7/1/78), St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MN (7/3/78), Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, NE (7/5/78), and Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison CO (7/7/78 and 7/8/78) - all of the performances in this collection are drawn from the band’s master soundboard recordings, each newly mastered by Jeffrey Norman. The set also features original artwork by esteemed cartoonist Paul Pope (D.C. and Marvel comics) and in-depth liner notes written by Nick Meriwether (Grateful Dead Archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz), as well as a producer’s note from producer David Lemieux.

Due May 13th, we anticipate that this extraordinary box will sell out. Your best bet is to pre-order it now, then sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks right here.

Looking for something a little more byte-sized? The collection will also be available for HD digital download in FLAC and ALAC, exclusively at dead.net, on release day.

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LoveJerry. The more you post, the more I like you. Call it Plinko or whatever you want. The keyboard sound circa late 70s renders the band virtually unlistenable. Shakedowns and Dancin in the Streets are total abominations to my ears. Yes, I understand the recent posts about their merits, but I just don't get it. If nothing else, you need to applaud the band for continually striving for a new sound. I personally can't handle the later stuff, most of which I saw live. As for under the radar bands. Freddy Jones and From Good Homes (the prior incarnation of Railroad Earth)
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Off the top of my head, I'd say my three favorite post Keith shows are 10-27-79, 9-18-87 and 7-17-89. I'm in the minority in that I struggle with some of Brent's playing on DaP8, especially during Stranger and Around. I love Brent but prefer his later work both vocally and on keys. But I enjoyed the '80 and '81 shows from Boxzilla so I should give DaP8 another listen soon--it's been awhile. Not tonight, though. I try to listen to JGB Warner Theater show every year on Palm Sunday.
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My Spinal Tap joke fell flat. It was a good attempt you made, as always, to smooth out the bumpy vibes, and it worked (as always). Cheers to JimInMD for never having a bad thing to say about anyone or anything. THAT's the Dead vibe. Packaging for July 1978, hmmm. I like the Winterland packages, and would pleased with an exact replica (tri-fold digipak style covers, booklet, etc), but somehow I don't think that's what it's going to be. I wasn't too jazzed with the May 1977 artwork and packaging. The box was cool, the way it snaps shut, but the covers fell apart on me, and the pages of the book came unglued and separated from the spine. Rdevil, funny you mention not liking Brent on Stranger from DaP 8 - it's my favorite version! I like the minimoog he uses for the main Stranger melody. He got away from that in later versions... Edit - LOL rdevil, that was awesome (i.e what the duck are we listening to?)
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Hadn't heard the one about the flies, not bad.I'm always interested to hear more Dead jokes. I've mentioned a couple old ones in the past and will repeat them here after Jim's plea for levity. What did one deadhead say to the other when they ran out of drugs? A: What the fuck are we listening to? Why do the Grateful Dead have two drummers? A: In case one of them falls asleep. Anyone else?
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How many Deadheads does it take to screw in a light bulb?A: 501.One to screw in the light bulb,one to tape it and 499 to follow 'em around. What did the militant horses demand? A: HEY NOW! ;)
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Betty boards and werewolves of London was all you needed to say for me to add this bad boy to my cart. I do agree that Keith was in a rythumick stranglehold in the late 70's but I don't agree that he was in any kind of decline before he left the band. Favorite Keith year is 74 and he absolutely smokes on Daves 17. On a side note I love the way Keith would look when he played. Was he pissed off or was he in deep concentration. Occasionally a smirk but never a smile and always a cheap domestic beer on top of that piano. A very mysterious and quite man indeed but what he could do on those keys. He was a true artist and definitely not a rock star.
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Fantastic show. Bid You Goodnight makes a comeback with Johnny B. Goode as the encores. The last GDTRFB>NFA. Channeling 1971. Summer '88 to Spring '90 was smokin'. Best of Brent, though '87 adn '85 were also strong, ditto '79/'80. For an excellent Brent show, check out 4-8-89 Riverfront Coliseum (I think I have the date right). Best Blow Away ever. LTGTR. Fantasy>Jude. Great Brent night. Cold rainy night, also a nasty Looks Like Rain from Bob. Jerry contributes a nice West LA, China>Rider, Eyes. And a nice Box of Rain encore. Everyone involved. Plus, I believe there was stage jumper.
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I can't wait to get my hands on this box set. It wasn't that long ago that DP 18 & 25 were the only two Estimated Prophets I had with that kick-ass Jerry solo that goes on for a minute and a half to 2 minutes, and the DP 25 version isn't that good. I didnt realize this was a 78 thing until after I bought May 1977, which to my dismay, had 5 EPs with no 2 minute solo. I picked up copies of the Egypt and From Egypt with Love bonus CDs and doubled my EP 78 collection, but neither of those blew my mind quite like DP 18. Two more versions came along with DaP 15 and 30 Trips, and now there are three more coming in this July box set. Can't wait to get my filthy Deadhead hands on it. Also looking forward to two more 78 Music Never Stopped. This one developed a bit in late 77 / early 78 as well, with a 2 minute mind bending jam around the 3:45 mark. I also never grow tired of new Scarlet / Fires, you just always get something nice there (DaP 7 let it burn, let it burn, let it burn), and the Egypt stand-alone Fire on the Mountain is one of my favs. Two more of these coming,look out! With any luck, something will click on the Eyes of the World fast version...I can't say it's the best new direction I've heard them take a song, but I understand! Cocaine is a powerful motivator.... DL's comments about the Werewolves at Red Rocks is encouraging; feels like they didn't quite get it right on DaP 7 or DP 25. Peggy-O on the Wolf - yes please. Cassidy - got a little better every year between 76 and 78, culminating in my favorite on DaP 7. The Wheel too, but alas, I'll need to throw DP 18 in there. Bertha / Good Lovin' also consistently better in 78, and I attribute this mostly to the Wolf. The 77 versions are a little too "sterile" if that's the right word, and Bertha always seemed to have an audio drop in the one slot, so hopefully the new one will rock ass like DP 18 and DaP 15. And also looking forward to two new Terrapins and Samsons, which will hopefully contain something remarkable, although with Samson, it might be tough to beat 77 (5/28/77 is a face melt with all the fixins - great God almighty talk Wooo). A couple new Wharf Rats too, and the Wolf was good for this song too.
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I heard it as:Q: How many dead heads does it take to screw in a lightbulb? A: None. They let it burn out, then follow it around the country for 30 years.
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Not much can kill my buzz on this wonderful deadhead Sunday, especially after reading the write up on the Arrowhead stadium show that Claney posted the link to. It's got me more stoked than ever for this box.About the worst thing to happen to me today was the cork breaking in the wine bottle; I HATE when that happens. But it's all okay now. And is there anything that goes better with a nice Syrah than Warner Theater '78? Sounds so good...and every note is familiar. Truly an old friend from the cassette days. I know Jerry thought having two "old ladies" in the group was at least one too many, but man, I love Maria and Donna together.
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....Worcester '83 30 Trip. Laser beams!! Don't miss it!....
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We have this... LoveJerry says: "It's a spiteful argument from ignorant parties..." ...and... "So shut the fuck up about a "decline" in his ability until you can provide some kind of evidence other than heresay. Closing of Winterland has as good a playing from Keith as anything since Mickey's return. Ignorant mule. You have made your case that you don't have a clue about 70s Dead. Stick to what you know asshole." ...then... Angry Jack Straw encourages such behavior and says: "LoveJerry. The more you post, the more I like you." Then we have that... claney says: "LoveJerry - I'm all for debates over things like whether Keith's playing declined. But I don't understand why you want to tell someone to "shut the f--k up" or to call someone an asshole. I just don't get it." ...and... muleskinner_blues says: "That aside, I welcome any posts from the 80s / 90s diehards, wish it didn't have to get down to personal insults, I love all the input besides that garbage. Please keep posting and hope everyone can stay respectful along the way." "Also, there are no ignorant mules, only ignorant questions. Wait.. My take: I like all era's, mainly the '80's. I'm truly sorry if others find it impossible to accept that and sorry for those who disrespectfully become hostile towards any criticism regarding the merits and amount of evidence suggested in the quality of Keith's post-retirement playing and Donna's pre-retirement singing, or the level of intellect for pointing that out.
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They all rock and held their own one thing is for sure, they are way cooling than me and I won't be critical of any of these guys anytime soon, not sure how these guys rubbed people the wrong way ? Someone get some bad acid from one of these guys lately? mentions of a Pigpen box ? Is that a box centered around Pigpen heavy shows or suggesting a stash of solo material ? Song I would like to see in a Pigpen box - "Smokestack Lightning"
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Keithfan - I found myself eye-guzzling the setlist myself, anticipating the Betty-bomb to come. The setlists could be from any '77 show, but you know the execution is a little heavier and fuzzier - a little more dangerous. I too hope the Eyes isn't too fast - that is my biggest hang-up with the '78 - fast Eyes - Ugh. But every year has different strengths - ya gotta know what to listen for - listening to '78 this weekend, I found the Estimated Prophets and Other One's from '78 are monsters. And Wharf Rat also in '78 seemed to hit its full potential. What do you feel are the songs that really peaked in '78? I think the addition of the Wolf guitar contributed a lot in the difference between 77/78 sound. Jerry couldn't find a off-the-rack guitar he liked, so you know he was digging the new custom-made "Wolf" axe in '78 with fat humbuckers - really contributed to that '78 sound. I love '77, but when the band is "ON" in '78 (which is truly sporadic) they really freakin' deliver. I'm glad to hear they had a good run of 5 solid shows (though even Dave seems to hint that set 1 from show 2 or 3 is kinda iffy...). Bring the Betty-box!
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I'd love to see an April 71 box set...not the well documented Fillmore stuff, but maybe something like 4/5,4/6, 4/7, 4/8...and 4/17 just so we can really capture Pigpen at his best!!
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I'd love to see an April 71 box set...not the well documented Fillmore stuff, but maybe something like 4/5,4/6, 4/7, 4/8...and 4/17 just so we can really capture Pigpen at his best!!
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I'd love to see an April 71 box set...not the well documented Fillmore stuff, but maybe something like 4/5,4/6, 4/7, 4/8...and 4/17 just so we can really capture Pigpen at his best!!
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not sure why my last post appears 3 times (must be the ghost of pigpen).... in addition to April 71, i'd also love to see: Ark 1969 Fox Theater (72) Fall 73 (10/21-10/30) the full 74 retirement run (just take my money already) Stanley Theater/Uptown Theater (11/30-12/5 1979) 3/9-3/10 81 Full Alpine run in 89 I doubt we'd ever see a full warfield/Radio city release, but would love to see maybe 1-2 of each in a box set (maybe 10/4, 10/14, 10/31, etc) And as many have mentioned, best of frost and/or greek would be killer A man can dream (clearly i am this morning)
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If you are pining for a '69 show, a '72 show, and two runs from the '70s along with a few '80s shows, maybe you should change your name to "fan." :-)
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....I have a parrot who is pining for the fjords. What else can you think when you hear pining.
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Did everyone get charged at time of order on this box? I did, but I spoke to someone else who did not. I called customer service and was told I would be charged when it shipped. I told her it was on my statement (not an authorization, an actual charge) and she said that should not happen. Just pokin' around to see who else got charged up front.
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Lots of great bands, we should just be mindful when we say "great" bands, we mostly mean favorite to me. I saw some said "old guard" and Allman in same breath. Old is in the eye (ear?) of the beholder. Lets not forget real "old", like Louis Armstrong's Hot 5 & 7's. Or, Red Nichols and his 5 pennies. I think Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman should be there also. For real old, how about some Sousa Band music (still with us today). More recent, Bob Willis and his Texas Playboys. In the same vein Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks. The great bands Sinatra stood in front of (nelson riddle). We are living in a time when there is so much great music available to us, maybe more than any other. Stuff that in large part has just been gone and now is back. Ever search the archive for old "78" stuff and the orchestra/bands you will find. But still, the dead were the greatest! :-)
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In between the release of more Betty boards and the MG missing tape stash, let's indeed have a few lovingly curated April '71 shows! (Then fall '72 and summer '73.) I kinda suspect that Dave's pick for the 30 Trips 1971 show (March 18) was made with this thought in mind. Keeping his options open. Anyone hear even a whisper about progress on the GD documentary that's in the works? We knew they were going to blow through 2015, but I always hoped it'd be ready for July 2016 MUATM.
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On the topic of Keith: I'm a big fan of the era spanning Keith joining and Mickey returning. These are the golden years as far as I'm concerned. The Dead didn't need two trap drummers. Maybe, just maybe, if Mickey had focused more on ancillary percussion for more texture (hey Dark Star from Live Dead, I'm looking at you), that would have been made a difference, but two drummers on straightahead rock or cowboy songs? No thanks. Two drummers in the wonderful improvisatory, exploratory ensemble that the Dead became in '71 with the addition of Keith? Not necessary. That band was a delicious balance of 5 strong players who also listened to each other: Jerry, Bobby, Phil, Billy and Keith. I think of those moments where they're wailing away out there somewhere, balanced on a thread, waiting for a push or pull to take them in another direction, and Keith was as capable of doing that as anyone else in the band. He could hang, musically, in a way that TC couldn't, and that Brent probably never really had the chance to demonstrate, because (as noted astutely earlier), the Dead just stopped playing that way. It's interesting that Billy notes how good he thought that Keith was, as there are a number of very fine Billy / Keith duets in the jams (before Drums/Space became cemented, or maybe calcified into the Dead's routine). Billy got it (yah, I'm a big fan of Billy, too). Obligatory disclaimer: I'm not dissing the band post-retirement (my first show was in '77) or Mickey or Brent or TC or anything else. I saw a bunch of shows with those folks, and enjoyed them all. It's just that the era when Keith was in the band and Mickey wasn't hits a sweet spot with me, just as Coltrane's bands with McCoy Tyner is the sweet spot for his music as far as I'm concerned.
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Oh, on the topic of great bands -- yes, I'll echo Talking Heads and REM, both of whom I saw in the Cumberland County Civic center in the 80's (twice for REM - great shows). The Doors -- kinda meh. I had the LA Woman LP in high school (won it at a school dance, yay me!) and liked Light My Fire, but once I hit on the Allmans, and then the Dead, I never really looked back. I also had Iron Butterfly and Grand Funk Railroad LPs, ditto. If you want to go in the direction of jazz, you'd better look at Miles Davis' electric ensembles of the 60's -- think Bitches Brew. For the folks hung up on the 'America' thing: if you wanna go there, remember that the US and Canada are in North America, but there's also Central and South America to add in as part of the Americas. But colloquially, we Americans use 'America' as shorthand for "The United States of America", and nobody's really confused about that usage.
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We are thinking the same in terms of Box thoughts. I was kind of thinking of a different base reason for it, however. I'd like for them to think about completing shows/runs that have been released partially. 1) The Alpine '89 run (Downhill, GD Meetup at movies) 2) The '74 Retirement Run (Steal Face, GD Movie + Soundtrack) 3) April '71 (Ladies & Gentlemen, the Grateful Dead) 4) February '70 (Bear's Choice, DP 4). (2/13-14 and 2/11). 5) At least 1 full show from the acoustic NYC/Winterland run (Dead Ahead). I know there is sometimes good reason the whole show wasn't released, but let's go back and fix that. If there isn't enough for a whole release for one show(s), then throw several songs on as filler on some of the releases. It always bugged me that 12/29/77 (DP10) and 5/22/77 (DP3) weren't full shows. The missing songs could fill one disc at least (PeggyO, Minglewood, FOTD, B.E. Women, Good Lovin, Sugar Mag. IMHBTR, Sunrise, Johnny B. Goode).
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9 years 8 months
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This may not be the best place to ask this question, but does anyone out there know anything about the original Rhino version of Dick's Picks vol. 29 containing "hidden tracks". This assumes that the Real Gone edition does not have these bonus tracks. I would appreciate any information on this rumor.
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12 years 11 months
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Lots of great bands mentioned. I would have to go with the Band and Dylan. Its American enough for me, remember.. they morphed from the Hawks.. Ronnie Hawkings and Levon Helm are both from Arkansas and the songwriting rings true from deep Americana. Also.. they got their name from being Dylan's band (which they were). Lots of love for Los Lobos too. A different twist on the melting pot that is Americana. You cant ignore the delta region too. I highly recommend Dennis McNally's book On Highway 61: Music, Race and the Evolution of Cultural Freedom. If that doesn't get at the core of what is American Music.. I don't know what does, and it ends with Dylan and by extension the Band.
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16 years 9 months
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I heard the latest Dave's for the first time this past weekend. Really do love it, despite my shock (and no awe) at the big fluffs/miscues here and there, e.g. climax of He's Gone... garage band stuff! How fabulous to NAIL U.S. Blues in the middle of the second set, in the middle of the Summer of '74, as the essay notes. Them old U.S. Blues -- Trump won't win in a landslide per Nixon's second victory, however the U.S. is staying very '72 it seems, or perhaps worse. IT CAN HAPPEN HERE.
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@ Raindead: See my post about 130 posts prior to yours. I got charged already and took up the matter with customer service. Their reply is in my earlier post. @droidmec: The original Dick's Picks 29 had 5 hidden tr. all from Lloyd Noble Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK - 10/11/77. Whether they are also on the Real Gone reissue I know not.
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10 years 10 months
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that the Real Gone reissue does indeed include the hidden tracks.
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17 years
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I heard once that Italians refer to Canada as "Upp-a U.S."
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12 years 7 months
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5/19 - NOT FADE AWAY WHARF RAT AROUND AND AROUND 5/21 - DANCIN' IN THE STREETS DIRE WOLF Estimated > Eyes and the hidden tracks make up the 2nd set if anyone cares.
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13 years 11 months
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10/11/77 (Sorry, took too long to post)
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13 years 4 months
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I am intrigued by 71 w/Keith vs Mickey's return. I never really noticed any marginalization of Keith with the return to two drummers but I will now compare and contrast Keith 71 vs 76-78 and The Two Drummers. I had always loved the two drum.space extravaganza. Yet I am very, very keen to pay more attention to the 'lost improvisation' of one drum and Keith. Of course I have heard shows from then but just did not pick on what was lost. The 'polish' so often mentioned of 77 still had me thinking 'wow what improvisation!' And maybe they were just phoning it in, or beginning to( calcify). To the more educated ears here, to the more tuned into this dynamic, could you recommend some 71 song sequences which demonstrate Keith's improvisatory element to compare to similar song-sequences where it is lost? Thanks. I learn a lot here. Conspicuous in its absence?!
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Stan Kenton was a band leader from the 1940s up to his passing in 1979. Famous musicians came up through his band (Maynard Ferguson, Peter Erskine, Dick Shearer). Kenton and his band had a rabid following like the Dead in the 1950's. Devoted fans were referred to Kentonites, according to my father-in-law, who was a huge Kentonite. After my father-in-law passed, I borrowed his 80 cd binder of kenton material. Pretty progressive stuff - lot of latin beats with horns. Good stuff.
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I really like all the music being mentioned. As Jim said Americana is the perfect description for The Band. I got to see Levon up at his barn in Woodstock awhile back and I'll never forget it. For anyone who's curious about Little Feat here's a link one of my favorites of theirs. It's tasty. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Qnn_B0xILU&list=RD1Qnn_B0xILU
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I've also been charged the full amount, appearing on my statement two days after ordering. (I've always been charged up front on past orders so thought nothing of it).
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12 years 10 months
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Had to second the emotion about the Estimated Prophets coming in this new collection as I am definitely an EP junkie. I concur with the sentiment Keithfan expressed (he and I seem to always be on the same page), that the 78 Estimated outro jams were where Jerry really took off. If memory serves (I don't have the tape anymore) a fine specimen to be had is the 4-8-78 show from Jacksonville. It gets downright SPOOKY! But don't minimize the 77 Estimateds either. Just spun DP3 from 5/22 and it's a doozy as well as DP 34, 11/2 & 11/5. Both of those have Jerry tripping the light fantastic, especially 11/2, coming out of a smokin' Might As Well going into a groovy St. Stephen. And I'd be remiss not to mention the filler on DP10 from 12-30. We all know how the badassidity from that one just drips as Jerry relentlessly burns! As for the 1-2 drummer discussion, I can dig the two drummer attack, which is all I ever saw, but I have to admit, as someone else pointed out, two drummers for the cowboy tunes often ended up sounding like a pair of sneakers tumbling in the dryer. I definately prefer the 5 piece 71-74 jazz extravaganzas. Only one drummer could successfully pull that shit off properly. Kreutzmann was a beast back in the day! BOBALOOOOOOOO where are ya Brother! Peace to all.
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I would have to assume it is the same as the physical CDs. That is why there are no bonus offers anymore, the CDs are the bonus because once they sell out it's digital only.the first 15,000 get CDs, the rest get files only. I don't remember what the 1977 box cost, but are the HD flac download copies any cheaper than the CDs were? We'll find out in May when they go onsale.
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13 years 1 month
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Speaking of the missing, where the H is wjond?? He promised a hi-res digital listening test.
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10 years 2 months
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Keithfan hit a chord (so to speak) with me. I began keying in on those extended "Estimated" jams late last year and made notes when I came across one. I don't think anyone's mentioned DP5, and Download Series 5, 7, and 9. There also are the 1989, 1991, and 1993 shows from "30 Trips", although my impression when I listened was that Bob finally cut Jerry off during the '93 show.
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