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    lilgoldie
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    What's Inside:
    • Five Complete Shows
    • 5/11/77 St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
    • 5/12/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
    • 5/13/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
    • 5/15/77 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO
    • 5/17/77 University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
    •14 Discs, 111 tracks
    •Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman, Plangent Processes playback system for maximum sonic accuracy
    •Artwork by Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike
    •Period Photos by James R Anderson
    •Historical Essay by Steve Silberman
    •Individual show liner notes

    MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

    If you're a Dead Head, chances are you've spent many an hour expounding upon the distinction of May 8, 1977, Cornell University, Barton Hall. Well, at the risk of preaching to the choir, we'd like to reintroduce you to a series of shows that matches said greatness from that same gloriously fertile season. While Barton Hall is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has occasionally flown under the radar due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. May 1977 is set to change all of that with a boxed set that zeroes in on this high-water mark in the Grateful Dead's long strange trip.

    For a band resurrecting itself after a 20-month hiatus, there was a great frenzy of expectancy that surrounded the Spring of 1977. We anticipate a grand reoccurrence of this fervor with the release of May 1977, a 14-disc boxed set featuring five complete shows from consecutive stops on that magical tour. Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, the "psychoacoustic phenomena" as Jerry once put it, of St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (5/11) Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL (5/12, 5/13), St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO (5/15) and Coliseum at the University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (5/17) can now finally be appreciated. Each of these shows finds the Dead delivering punchier, more focused sets, tightening up the framework; each night turning out first-ever renditions ("Passenger,""Iko Iko,""Jack-A-Roe"), unloading potent new pairings ("Scarlet Begonias">"Fire On The Mountain", "Estimated Prophet">"Eyes Of The World"), classic covers ("Dancing In The Street") and soon-to-be staples ("Estimated Prophet," "Samson and Delilah"), and ultimately rising up to paradise.

    And now for the nitty-gritty...

    Due June 11, May 1977 is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies. Presented in a psychedelic box that boasts an intricate die-cut design created by Grammy®-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike, the set also includes a book filled with stories about each show, as well as an in-depth essay by Dead historian Steve Silberman, who delves deep into the history behind the tour and the band’s return from its extended hiatus.

    Once these 15,000 boxes are gone, May 1977 and its shows will never be available again on CD. However, the 111 tracks will be made available on release date as FLAC and Apple lossless full-set-only downloads for $99.98.

    Like its predecessors Europe '72: The Complete Recordings and Spring 1990, we expect May 1977 to 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 and on Facebook.com/GratefulDead and Youtube.com/gratefuldead.

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  • #291
    Star Dark
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    Joined:
    NFA
    Wow - The audience chanting "Know my love..." as the band exited always gave (and still gives) me goosebumps. My favorite: Alpine '89. Absolutely transcendental.
  • #292
    allman
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    Joined:
    audience participation
    My skip song is always Not Fade Away with the audience participation mostly from the 80’s. Audience participation is one those “had to be there” situations. Never translates very well to recorded music.
  • #293
    Andrew Right
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    Joined:
    Mutron, MIDI, and Synths
    I know a lot of people don't like the Mutron III or the MIDI rack, but I have grown to love it. The synth keys (played by Ozzie Ahlers) from GarciaLive Vol. 1 sound great to me, but then, I love early synth music. The synth on "Feel Like a Stranger" is probably my favorite, and Keith does some cool work on "Lazy
  • #294
    Andrew Right
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    Mutron, MIDI, and Synths
    I know a lot of people don't like the Mutron III or the MIDI rack, but I have grown to love it. The synth from GarciaLive Vol. 1 sounds great to me, but then, I love early synth music. It all comes back to taste, I suppose. I will say that nothing ruined a good Ramble on Rose like Jerry switching off the Mutron (which I like quite a lot for that tune) and turning on the MIDI trumpet. Godawful.
  • #295
    claney
    Joined:
    MIDI, Skips, Boxxx
    Simonrob wrote: "It always surprised me that Jerry, who loved traditional and acoustic music, felt the need to embrace MIDI and the like. What do others feel about this?" I see what you mean, but to me this was totally consistent with his need to experiment - the same impulse that was behind his switch from acoustic jugband music to electric rock music. It's easy to forget what a radical step that was in 1965 ("JUDAS!!!"). I don't like the MIDI sounds myself (too bad because I recognize the greatness of their 1989-90 stuff, and often enjoy it, but the MIDI wears on me... but then I think they were playing so well in part because it made it feel fresh to *them*). As for skip songs - Clarification: I always listen to the complete show the first time, the skipping comes on subsequent listens. And this is not just to get the context of the show - sometimes a "skip" song has some unique quality that brings me back, hence I would never skip a song without at least one listen through. This might get put to the test when I get to my fifth consecutive Estimated, ha ha.... Working my way through 5/13 now, which I already had. The sonic upgrade is astonishing, natch. Still, and to my surprise, loving 5/11 the best so far...underrated indeed. But I've never heard 5/17 at all (except the Jackaroe), so I'm anticipating a real good time with that one.
  • #296
    Star Dark
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    bolo24 - DP7 Tease
    OK, Bolo... Bozo here... yer drivin me nuts. Another DP7 hint please... and are you on da inside? :o)
  • #297
    Underthevolcano
    Joined:
    simonrob...
    no argument from me on the Brit. proggers although I liked a lot of King Crimson, whether over the top or not. With Jerry and MIDI, I always thought part of his interest was new palette of sounds available to him to keep it fresh for him but part of it was different physical skills avail. to him after the coma. If the MIDI wasn't abused it could lead to some pretty classy music which was spacey, elegant and jazzy as well.
  • #298
    simonrob
    Joined:
    You're right, Reijo
    There is a world of difference between British prog rock bands and American rock bands. To me the difference is that American bands such as the Dead, ABB and many others have a natural sound whereas British prog rock bands have a more contrived sound to my ears. As such, synthesizers do fit well in '70's prog rock, but by the '80's their music had become so self-indulgent, overblown and pompous as to be unlistenable (for me). Synthesizers and the like which (rather obviously) produce synthetic sounds have no place in the more natural sound of American rock bands. Of course, in the '70's there were some British bands that had a more American sound - Man, Help Yourself and Brinsley Schwarz to name but three - and there were undoubtedly American bands that sounded somewhat like British prog rock bands (though I cannot think of any offhand). I guess it has more to do with whether the sounds fit the music than the music itself. If it sounds good, why change it just because new devices are available. It always surprised me that Jerry, who loved traditional and acoustic music, felt the need to embrace MIDI and the like. What do others feel about this?
  • #299
    smix
    Default Avatar
    Joined:
    8408 lands...at a cost...
    Same thing here... the box (looking fantastic by the way) got as far as my local post office but stuck there until I coughed up £26.60... I know that this isn't the fault of the Dead... but I do feel kinda stung by someone...
  • #300
    bolo24
    Joined:
    Star Dark
    You can rest easy - no Sugaree on DP7
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Member for

15 years 7 months
Submitted by lilgoldie on
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Dead Store Products

What's Inside:
• Five Complete Shows
• 5/11/77 St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
• 5/12/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/13/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/15/77 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO
• 5/17/77 University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
•14 Discs, 111 tracks
•Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman, Plangent Processes playback system for maximum sonic accuracy
•Artwork by Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike
•Period Photos by James R Anderson
•Historical Essay by Steve Silberman
•Individual show liner notes

MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

If you're a Dead Head, chances are you've spent many an hour expounding upon the distinction of May 8, 1977, Cornell University, Barton Hall. Well, at the risk of preaching to the choir, we'd like to reintroduce you to a series of shows that matches said greatness from that same gloriously fertile season. While Barton Hall is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has occasionally flown under the radar due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. May 1977 is set to change all of that with a boxed set that zeroes in on this high-water mark in the Grateful Dead's long strange trip.

For a band resurrecting itself after a 20-month hiatus, there was a great frenzy of expectancy that surrounded the Spring of 1977. We anticipate a grand reoccurrence of this fervor with the release of May 1977, a 14-disc boxed set featuring five complete shows from consecutive stops on that magical tour. Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, the "psychoacoustic phenomena" as Jerry once put it, of St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (5/11) Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL (5/12, 5/13), St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO (5/15) and Coliseum at the University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (5/17) can now finally be appreciated. Each of these shows finds the Dead delivering punchier, more focused sets, tightening up the framework; each night turning out first-ever renditions ("Passenger,""Iko Iko,""Jack-A-Roe"), unloading potent new pairings ("Scarlet Begonias">"Fire On The Mountain", "Estimated Prophet">"Eyes Of The World"), classic covers ("Dancing In The Street") and soon-to-be staples ("Estimated Prophet," "Samson and Delilah"), and ultimately rising up to paradise.

And now for the nitty-gritty...

Due June 11, May 1977 is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies. Presented in a psychedelic box that boasts an intricate die-cut design created by Grammy®-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike, the set also includes a book filled with stories about each show, as well as an in-depth essay by Dead historian Steve Silberman, who delves deep into the history behind the tour and the band’s return from its extended hiatus.

Once these 15,000 boxes are gone, May 1977 and its shows will never be available again on CD. However, the 111 tracks will be made available on release date as FLAC and Apple lossless full-set-only downloads for $99.98.

Like its predecessors Europe '72: The Complete Recordings and Spring 1990, we expect May 1977 to 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 and on Facebook.com/GratefulDead and Youtube.com/gratefuldead.

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7 years 4 months

Submitted by icenine2 on Wed, 01/31/2018 - 14:07

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When will this be available as downloads again? I own the high-res digital download of Get Shown the Light and it is spectacular.
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7 years 9 months

Submitted by Sawwwn on Thu, 07/12/2018 - 07:03

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Oh man! Still waiting for these (May 77 and July 78) to be available for download! Please open this up or at least stop listing them as available. Killing me.
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Submitted by Sawwwn on Thu, 07/12/2018 - 07:04

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Oh man! Still waiting for these (May 77 and July 78) to be available for download! Please open this up or at least stop listing them as available. Killing me.
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6 years 3 months

Submitted by DanielSpace on Mon, 08/13/2018 - 13:02

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I think a fundraiser for the tapes is the dumbest idea Ive ever heard.
product sku
081227965365