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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.
Whoops I Did It Again!
In an earlier post I criticized the quality of this release. Once again my initial impressions were premature and should never been aired publicly. I had just listened to St. Paul and felt they basically fell apart about half way through Dancin and the Werewolves encore was as unlistenable as the Dead ever got. I still feel that way but upon repeated listening to the entire box it's a hoot. Arrowhead is worth the price of admission alone. Once again...Loving it. When will I learn to keep my mouth shut?
transitions/DaveS
Dave Strang, thanks for mentioning the Playin'>Supplication>Playin' from Dap4; it's the first thing that popped into my mind when this topic was raised last week.
As for an unusual transition, 4-15-70 Cryptical>Drums>Soul Sacrifice>The Other One>Cryptical>Dire Wolf! After the fierceness and energy of the big Cryptical jam they segue seamlessly into Dire Wolf as if they'd done it a thousand times. The term "jaw-dropping" is sometimes overused but I think it applies here.
It's impossible to name a favorite transition but 6-26-74 Jam>China>Rider has to be near the top for me. And there are plenty of great transitions from 6-28-74 as well, as most of you know. WRS>Jam--all kinds of goodies in there.
Price of admission....
....Arrowhead and the 1st night at Red Rocks gets my vote. No offense to Minnesota, Nebraska and 7.8, but I've been stuck on those two shows since I've been blessed. I'm sure you all will come around, but 'till then, crank it up!! And to Mr. Lopes, I'm sure catching a personalized plate, or a sweet sticker raised and eyebrow (or two). I know it does in my case. I've pulled up on a vehicle or two in my day, rolled down the window, and chatted quickly until the light changed....
House On Fire
I'd grab...in order...My cat.
Europe 72 Steamer Trunk.
Fillmore West 1969.
May 77.
All my Dick's Picks.
Winterland 73.
Winterland 77.
All my Dave's Picks.
July 78.
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Sunshine Daydream.
The Movie Soundtrack.
The Closing Of Winterland.
My wife.
For you punk affectionados out there....
I give you SQUIRREL BAIT.For '85 & '87 they were waaaay ahead of they're time.
Get some...
Start with Skag Heaven
thoughts
DaveStrang - Surprised to see 6/24/85 on your transitions list. I don't disagree - This one really surprised me when I heard the TTATS box. Great show with some great moments besides the obvious 1985 creakiness. I was at Saratoga 3 days later and it was clearly an inspired tour.
mytime - I do like May '77 more than June '77 Winterland box. Both great, but May is much more consistent. I like the '78 Rocks Box better than Winterland '77 as well... but they're all great.
My fav transition jam (today): 11/14/73
Truckin >
THE OTHER ONE >
Big River >
THE OTHER ONE >
Eyes Of The World >
THE OTHER ONE >
Wharf Rat >
Me And My Uncle >
Goin' Down The Road Feeling Bad
mhammond12 - House on fire
I glad to see "the wife" made the list. I know she'd be higher on the list, but the wheelchair takes so much time to move :-)
Thoughts - Summer '85
That tour had its moments.. In addition to seeing a few, I remember when the tapes started to trickle in, I though both Riverbend and Saratoga were hot and well recorded.
"Stop hanging on the balcony!"
For some reason I put '83 and '85 in the same league but give the nod to '85. I was surprised to see 11/1/85 rise so high in the tape collectors lists.. I guess they made an effort for the 20th anniversary and practiced when they rolled out the new songs that year. I wish I was around seeing shows in the early 70's.. but for my generation there were periods of surge and moments of clarity in the later years. I bet some out there can relate to that. We bagged a few good shows..
...and mhammond, I howled when I read that - of course the wife made the list. Made mine also, right after the cat.
I'm surprised some of the older years weren't higher on some lists.. Dicks 16 and Winterland '73 are high on my lists... but all this is a good reminder to teach the kid not to play with matches and the gf to not to pull disappearing acts when she fry's stuff.
Summer of 85
I wasn't into the Dead then. I lived in a cool Apartment complex and that was the summer of Epic Pool Parties. In May or so I noticed there were too many radios playing different stations. It was chaos, so I decided to take my somewhat huge band PA out to the veranda overlooking the pool, patch my home stereo into the system and create one big ass stereo for music by the pool. It was a huge hit. So big in fact I turned it into a business and later created the first Video Disk Jockey company in Florida!But we had such great times. Kegs of brew, chicken on the grill, sun tanned 20 somethings by the pool. Then we'd pack the party to some bodies place to carry on til we all crashed. Get up in the morning and do it all again. Lots of great people having the summer, well their Golden Summer!
I cherish those times and still have friends from those days.
It would have been better with the Dead, but I just wasn't ready yet.
All in good time my pretty, all in good time!
Finally...
the July 78 box arrived in germany, bavaria...it's gonna be a good weekend :)
ahhh maggus
Great news.
Starting with Arrowhead Stadium, this box is the gift that keeps on giving. Hope you enjoy it as much as I am..
Happy days...
Skull F'd
Just wondering...where is it written that every single GD release should have a skull motif on the cover? Hey, I like skulls as much as any other skull, in fact by mind IS enskulled, but wouldn't it be nice [Brian Wilson] if, just once, a GD release came out without skull artwork? Surely something else could be just as traditional & alluring; perhaps a dark star? (for instance). Upon reflection, I do (suddenly) realize that several Dick's Picks don't have skull artwork...like that wonderful 1973 Oklahoma...but in terms of Dave's picks...I think my point, for the most part, applies.
Most Dick's Picks do not
Hey Ken,
I think they only did the skeleton motif six times (vols 6-13) on the Dick's Picks series I liked the ampeg tape case that started the series and always liked the fractals.
But given the connection with SYF, Bertha and the early artwork the skeleton is part of their history.
They've done the turtles a couple of times - Terrapin LTD and To Terrapin.
Some tie dye imagery would be cool, but I've enjoyed the artwork for the Dave series and yes the skeleton has been part of that series...
LOM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jdfx6tCrQNA
I Feel like Dynamite is a most impressive track. This whole show just grooves out. I love that it was on 4-20 as well. Nooch!
mb- Doofus Duck to be exact. Launchpad's buddy haha. I only received the print so far for the Garcia Live 6. It looks like the cd's arrive next week. I am betting this show is hot like fire.
Skulls
For my money, skulls & roses are THE Grateful Dead logo. The Steal Your Face is also right up there. Bears & turtles are fine, but when I think GD, I think skulls & roses.
I think the July'78 box may very well be my favorite of all of the box sets as far as artwork goes.
I just took a look at all of the DaP series. Excluding the skull in the logo, 6 of these have no skull, so that is 1/3 of the output so far.
Rock on
no more skulls
I agree too much skullery. My favorite Dead images are the back of Live Dead, SYF, S&R, covers of American Beauty and Workingmans, Bear's Choice, Mars Hotel, and the crow from Wake of the Flood. I disliked the Terrapin cyclops and all skulls/skeletons since, except one.... there was a cool t-shirt a friend of ours had in '83.... who remembers Grapefruit Head !! ??
Grapefruit Head
Yes, I remember that. I still use the term sometimes. Those damned grapefruit heads.
As far as Skulls/Skeletons, etc., I mind that about as much as I mind their name, The Grateful Dead. Its part of the iconography and the skull (skull and roses) is part of the Dave's Picks logo.., part of the brand. I think we are stuck with it, but honestly, I do find it redundant and it sometimes get in the way of the art behind it.
If there's something that bothers me its the term deadhead. Our heads are far from dead.. and compared to the moron majority, I find a lot of you folks to be a breath of intellectual fresh air. People capable of free thought and opinions all their own that they gladly and laboriously back up with action. Dead? Our grey matter is collectively quite alive and well.
Freak freely my friends.
This house is on fire....
Family, dog, music, comic books and my Las Vegas NHL season tickets. Oh yeah. The NHL announced that Vegas will be awarded the 31st franchise. Pinch me, I'm dreaming.....my wife is getting tired of the skulls and skeletons too. If you count any sort of bone material, I think only DaP 2 is sans it....and Springfield
Vegas and Hockey
....that's soooo wrong :D. Hey.. to my local hockey team, way to go Penguins!
Thanks everyone
Hey all - I've been MIA here lately, wife still struggling a bit, new gig at work coming up, etc. But - I just read (very late as usual) a bunch of incredibly kind private messages from a month or so ago, with best wishes about my wife's car crash. So, I should mention that she is doing better, head injuries are fickle bitches, but in a few months, all should be back to normal, so the docs say. Thanks again for the kindness.
Hey now, on another note, the version of Till the Morning Comes on "Day of the Dead" by Luluc and Xylouris White is a real treat, if you are looking for a short and lovely diversion.
Re: David Duryea
Mine is carefully concealed in my 30 trips secret compartment, which came before the cat.
I can only assume that for a sad few percentage of our fallen brothers and sisters.. that stash misusage might have caused the fire in the first place. But I like the way you think.
..and claney, looks like she Rolled Away The Bruise afterall, good deal and great to hear from you.
jrf68@hotmail.com
Squirrel Bait; I thought I was the only one who heard of this band. I never saw any subsequent releases and figured they finished college and went on to their respective careers. I had the s/t EP with the kid playing the harmonica(?) on the cover. I actually found a used copy at my local record store and it holds up pretty well. But you're right great old school thrash punk.
In a related topic, has anyone heard of or listened to a band called Hugo Largo? They were a band recommended by Michael Stipe of REM (back when I lived and breathed everything REM). Their instrument configuration was most unusual: 2 4-string bass guitars, violin, and female vocals. I still consider them in the top 25 unique bands America has put forth. They put out 2 albums and indeed did graduate from college and went on into their chosen fields. If you can find their albums I highly recommend them for those of you who enjoy something very different.
And yet another REM recommendation: Fetchin' Bones; a friend asked me to describe them and I said if Patsy Cline and the B-52's were trapped in a burning barn during an acid hoe-down that would be Fetchin' Bones.
Sorry for the rant, I couldn't help myself!
Saving the stash....
....seeing as how I never have more than $50 in stash at any given time, I never thought twice about it. Now if my friend was in the house, I would put him before my season tix....welcome back claney, good to hear the Mrs. is on the mend brother....
Random American bands....
....I'm sure I've brought them up before, but Over The Rhine from Ohio is definitely worth some of your time. They have a double live disc available on their website. Called Live From Nowhere Else - The Barn Raising Concerts. All proceeds go to the band refurbishing an old barn into a legit recording studio. Karin has the voice of an angel. Check them out fellas. Soothing, wine tasting music....I will refund your time if you don't like them....
Here's a taste....
https://youtu.be/3-MgpQTvo8Q
I prefer a merlot with this song, thank you very much....
July '78 - 10/29/77
I decided to take a break from the July '78 Box and went looking around on Archive. I found a show from 10/29/77 at Evans Field House @ Northern Ill. Univ. in DeKalb, Il. Maybe some or many of you are familiar with it but if not this show is on FIRE from the opening salvo of 'Might As Well', 'Jack Straw', and 'Dire Wolf'.
2nd set starts with a scorching 'Bertha >Good Lovin' followed by FOTD with some tasty lead from JG (keep in mind I'm not a big fan of the slower FOTD but this one kicks). FOTD is followed by an above average 'Estimated > Eyes'. 'St. Stephen comes out of 'Space' and goes into 'Drums' followed by a hard-hiting 'Not Fade Away' > 'Black Peter' (again with some tasty JG leads) > a high energy 'Sugar Magnolia'. Even the 'OMSN' encore sounds like it's new to all concerned.
I believe this is a show I'll be going to regularly. Any other converts to this one? Since I count 11/2, 11/4 &5 among some favorites, when is the Fall '77 Box Set due?
JIMIinMD
DEADHEAD..... Yeah Jimi I know I will offend some here but always never liked that myself...I will never forget my future sister in law finding out that I like the Grateful Dead and here comment was "So are you like a DEADHEAD...then" I felt my skin crawl and I was like what does one have to do to be consider a DEADHEAD???? To your point Jim there ae a lot of intellectual people with great minds and incredible lives. I feel like the term just really puts this weird stigma in NON-DEADHEADS minds. I will get off my soapbox sorry if I offended anyone...my apologies. I really do love this band and the wonderful insightful opionins of you all here.
Now for other American Bands...Check out The Samples been around since 1987 a lot of member changes over the years but great music.
The Deadhead stigma....
....I get jokes from co-workers about my favorite band Kevin. Things like, "they died twenty years ago" and crap like that. Then I brought a good work friend of mine to Dead & Company last year. He said it was the best concert he ever saw. They ain't dead, they just morphed into different animals. Him & I would love to catch another one this summer, but all the shows are mid-week, and it's tough for both of us to take same days off during the busy season. Maybe the avian flu will solve our issues....then again, Phil loves Vegas, so who knows?
Hey Dave S
Good call on Fetchin' Bones.Saw 'em more than a few times in NC in bars and backyard parties around Raleigh & Chapel Hill before I was actually of legal age to be at said places.Weirdo rockabilly B-52's type stuff maybe? Saw REM a few times also,all before '88.
Thanks for shaking my memory tree.
:)
"deadhead"
I've never really minded the term "deadhead" but generally prefer the term, "Deadfreak," which I think I first saw on the Skull and Roses album. Deadfreak seems to convey a bit of the obsessive nature of those of us concerned with dates, performances and favorite renditions of the Mind Left Body Jam. "Deadhead" seems (to me at least) to refer more to the general audience who enjoy the music and the good times and the scene. I'm more of a deadfreak while my wife is more of a deadhead. At the same time, she is more of a "hippie" than I am if that makes any sense.
sorry folks...
I'm following some non-dead trails at the moment and got turned on to this. Don't know much about Mr. Adams but this is good.:)
P.S.-Another NC kid if I'm not mistaken.
The song Night Birds is kinda cool too.
Non-dead trails.
Funny thing is Ryan and Phil have played together. A few years ago phil was all over Ryan and promoted him as such, though Ryan definitely had his own career going prior.
deadhead
Its not a term I like, myself. It is way overused and seems to be a symbol of the commercialization of the band. It goes hand in hand with marketing devices like the tee shirts and various items with bears and skull and roses etc on them that you can buy. The term seems totally divorced from its original context, as used on The Grateful Dead album-which was merely a way of getting people to interact with each other. It was surely never meant as a way of getting people to join some club with matching uniforms.
Re: Kevin / Deadhead
No offense taken.. I got used to the term decades ago.. its also used in the airline industry for pilots and crew that fly for free to either get home or somewhere when they are off duty..
I'm not offended at all, I just never liked the term. Perhaps I chose the wrong words.. I'm ok with it now, just don't agree with some of the meanings.
I think some of the band felt that way about the band name including Hunter.. but like a moth drawn to a flame once it was picked they could not escape it.
freakin' deadheads
I like rdevil's comparison of heads and freaks, I consider myself to fall squarely in the dead freak category. And I'm proud of that fact. I don't always advertise it, and it might not be obvious when you first meet me, but it's always percolating beneath the surface, moving and inspiring me, helping me make sound decisions, this Grateful Dead band and its music. It's in some way a philosophical way of looking at and dealing with life. What Would Jerry Do. (Forgive me if that sounds corny.)
And I concur with the distinguished gentleman from Maryland- most of the kindest, coolest, and intelligently open-minded individuals I have ever met are dead folk- many of them regulars here on these threads. Thank you to all for providing an island of sanity in a sea of chaos.
I was thinking the other day that one of the Silver Stadium shows from Roch-cha-cha would make a nice Dave's Pick... Green onions, anyone?
American Bands, Ryan Adams
REM was my first music obsession, when Murmur came out. Still on my top ten all-time list of albums. Hey jrf - you have a world of great listening ahead of you if you are new to Ryan Adams. I deep and diverse catalog:
Country-ish:
-- Anything by his first band, Whiskeytown (maybe start with "Stranger's Almanac")
-- "Cold Roses" is a good sample of his music with The Cardinals
-- "Easy Tiger" gets a lot of repeat listenings from me - underrated
Rock-ish:
-- "Rock and Roll" (a kind of tribute to 80s bands like the Smiths, incredibly fun album)
-- "Gold" (awesome and timeless rock classic)
Lo-fi:
"Heartbreaker"
You can even find footage of him on Youtube, jamming with various reggae musicians in Jamaica.
Well, my little girl is begging me to come out and play in the morning sunshine, who am I to say no?
DaveStrang: 10-29-77
I listened to that in full yesterday. Only time Jerry plays slide in Black Peter? Probably the best version ever. This show is high on my short list for release, as I am sure it is for others. There are plenty of strong Oct. '77 shows, but DeKalb has the magic. Donna, Jerry and Phil carry this show. Hopefully they can get the master tapes for this show soon.
re: 10/29/77
This is agreeably a great show. I found this one at a pirate CD store in New Hope PA many years ago (since gone out of business) and this was before any shows were being released formally and I recall being thrilled that it seemed to be a very good soundboard recording. I think this is also one of the missing Betty's? I could be mistaken.
I especially enjoy the Eyes of the World on this show - it is uncharacteristically slowed down for the period, sort of reminiscent of the versions starting from The Knick and onward during spring tour '90. The rest of the show is no slouch either.
Enjoy the day and be well, All.
Sixtus
Sixtus - New Hope
Would that be the "Now and Then" store? It's not in business anymore? :-( I bought a live bootleg cd there also, has to be over 20 years ago!
JRF68...
Notice that the Ryan Adams guitarist and vocalist extraordinaire... (sans beard in this clip) is Neal Casal... he of Chris Robinson Brotherhood.... Terrapin Crossroads regular.... and the co-author (with Adam MacDougall) of the Fare thee Well intermission music.
DaP 19 Announcement
My guess is two to three weeks away.
10/12/68 + some killer filler? There are some returned reels - contents unknown, too. These need to be let go of so they can make room for more returned reels.
I am beginning to hear the drum beat of what's to become...
1968
I like the idea of 10/12/68 being the next release. I am not immediately familiar with that particular show, but I listened to 3/16/68 yesterday, and its amazing-it was DSOM 110. There may have been better years-where they played with more care and subtlety, with more of a sense of how to utilize dynamics effectively-but they never sounded as dangerous to me as they did from 11/67 through 1968.
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