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Pacific Northwest ’73-’74: The Complete Recordings Boxed Set
WHAT'S INSIDE:
6 Complete Shows On 19 Discs
• 6/22/73 P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C.
• 6/24/73 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
• 6/26/73 Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, WA
• 5/17/74 P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C.
• 5/19/74 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
• 5/21/74 Hec Edmundson Pavilion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Mastered in HDCD from the original master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering
Masters transferred and restored by Plangent Processes
Original Art by First Nations Artist Roy Henry Vickers
Photos by Richie Pechner
Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 15,000
Includes an immediate digital download of "Eyes Of The World (P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada 5/17/74)"
"We were in the Pacific Northwest...between somewhere in Washington and some other where in Oregon. The road took us to the lip on a ridge, from where we could see around us for many miles in all directions … It was breathtaking to behold, but as we watched, we had a firm realization that we were witnessing something even more beautiful than our eyes could ever take in … Life causes life. Heaven and Earth dance in this way endlessly, and their child is the forest. And so there we were, epiphanously watching that grandest and most glorious dance of life—of which we are just a tiny part—awed by a magnificence without beginning, without end..."
Bob Weir, “Sell Headwaters—Everyone Wins,” San Francisco Chronicle
The Pacific Northwest offers up a rich feast of land, sky, and water. It is ripe with influences, abundant with symbols, deep and spirited. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the Grateful Dead played some of their most inspired shows on these fertile grounds. It does, however, sometimes take a breath for the elements to re-align years later. It seems for us, they finally have and we are able to present not just a glimpse of the band's extraordinary exploratory tour through the region, but a two-tour bounty as the PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS.
For PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, we've paired two short runs made up of six previously unreleased shows - P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C. (6/22/73); Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (6/24/73); Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, WA (6/26/73); P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada (5/17/74); Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (5/19/74); and Hec Edmundson Pavilion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (5/21/74). Each show has been mastered in HDCD from the original master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. The transfers from the masters were transferred and restored by Plangent Processes, further ensuring that this is the best, most authentic that these shows have ever sounded.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS comes in an ornate box created by Canada’s preeminent First Nations artist Roy Henry Vickers (more on this tremendous artist soon). To complement the music, the set also includes a 64-page book with an in-depth essay by Grateful Dead scholar Nicholas G. Meriwether and photos by Richie Pechner.
Due September 7th, this release is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies and available exclusively from dead.net. You'll want to grab a copy while you can and sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks.
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. You can pre-order it now too.
Get it while you can.
GSTL box
my GSTL boxset is not the one shown in the video. Maybe they made a special packaging for Europe to avoid tax Duties? I must mention I never had any problem with Dr Rhino, but I give my compassion to the people that are now awaiting for replacement, and hope everything will be completed soon.
If you are interested in Pacific NorthWest you may have a look at this page:
http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_nwc5.html
Dear Dr. Rhino.
Last night while I was taking a shower I was listening to 6/26/73 and the song "You Ain't Woman Enough" came on. I pretended I was Donna and sang along word for word. Then I realized I had done the exact same thing the night before listening to 6/24/73. Now I am worried I may have gender confusion issues. Should I seek therapy? Thanks Doctor.
Sincerely,
OK With It I Guess In San Diego.
re: mhammond
...and so ends your promising run for Senate.
Too bad, I thought you had this one in the bag. On the bright side, at least it wasn't Money Money.
You don't get to sing with
You don't get to sing with Elvis or at Muscle Shoals if you "can't sing." It's well known that Donna was often plagued with monitor issues, and a lot of the backlash against her is, in my opinion, rooted in the same kind of sexism that Beatles fans lob at Yoko.
I don't always love Donna's screeching on PitB, but I've gotten used to it over the years and now when I play a post-79 show and the band plays PitB, I *kinda* miss her.
Lastly: on her worst day, Donna's a better singer than Phil.
Signed,
A Donna apologist and Godchaux fanboy 4 life
Re: Donna
I agree with JimmyJack as well. There is some detail on her work with Muscle Shoals on Wikipedia.
________________________________________________________
Donna Jean Thatcher was born in Florence, Alabama. Prior to 1970, she had worked as a session singer[1] in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, eventually singing with a group called Southern Comfort and appearing as a backup singer on at least two #1 hit songs: "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge in 1966 and "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley in 1969. Her vocals were featured on other classic recordings by Boz Scaggs and Duane Allman, Cher, Joe Tex, Neil Diamond and many others.[2][3] She then moved to California and met future fellow Grateful Dead member Keith Godchaux, whom she married in 1970.[4]
________________________________________________________
She is a known entity.. Vocals and harmonies were always a moving target with the GD, it's often not the compelling trait that draws me into their music.
I guess I am gestaltist when it comes all things GD. The greatness of the whole outweighs the imperfections of any of the individuals. She has grown on me, I guess I have a section of my cerebrum that reprocesses and corrects any wails and off-tune harmonies and lets me focus on the gooey magic holding it all together (note, there are a few exceptions where only skip and fast forward seem to correct.. but who's counting).
Edit: I didn't notice the sexism part, I don't agree with that. Many say the same about Phil, Brent, Vince and Bobby to a lesser extent. She is off key at times, but so are the rest. Anyway.. after ripping and repacking my portable devices with the new box I am off for what will surely be a joyous bike ride.
Donna
jimmyjack, you had to "get used to it". That says a lot.
She was okay in the studio as a session singer and should have stayed there.
I stick to my guns - she sucked. I hate her vocals. Ugh. If I could, I'd mix her out of all the Dead concerts.
I agree - PHil's voice sucks also. And thus he doesn't sing hardly ever.
And it has nothing to do with sexism. That's ridiculous. Many women vocalists FAR surpass Donna and I think they are great.
Donna
I love Donna, though I understand people not liking her Playing in the Band yells, here's just one example of her vocals really adding that family vibe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rckLzlgUtIE
Just to be clear: I wasn't
Just to be clear: I wasn't accusing you of sexism! I was merely pointing out that women in bands--especially back then--were up against a lot and had to work twice as hard to prove themselves to dudes for whom a woman in the music business was more often than not viewed only as a "groupie."
And I agree that talent transcends even these biases, and that's why Joni, Janis, etc take their rightful places in the hall of fame.
As for Donna, I totally get that she isn't everyone's cup of tea, and tbh, in my personal rankings of Dead members she ranks pretty low. I merely wanted to mention that I don't think she's a bad singer (at all) and think she generally gets a bum rap.
Donna's and Bob's voices...
...go together like peanut butter and jam. When they're in the pocket on Looks Like Rain (say, 5/5/77), all is well.
Donna
i used to have a setting on my audio workstation called "Donna Reduction" that was a Pop filter but manually applied to certain portions of Playing and Scarlet Begonias that was an 8 db volume cut to make her vocal more of an off mic exclamation than a cattle prod induced yelp into the microphone.i think Money Money was one of her better tunes, she really seems to be getting into it, without going into yelp mode.
[from somewhere else on dead.net.]
Money Money
My baby gives me the finance blues
Tax me to the limit of my revenues
Here she come finger popping clickety click
She says "furs or diamonds, you can take your pick"
She wants money
(what she wants)
She wants money
(what she wants)
She wants money
(what she wants)
She wants money
(what she wants)
Money, money, money, money, money
Money, money, money, money, money
She says "Money, honey", I'd rob a bank
I just load my gun and mosey down to the bank
Knocking off my neighbourhood savings and loan
To keep my sweet chiquita in eau de Cologne
Mama, don't send me down to rob that bank again
I got a notion you're leading me to sin
Won't you relax, won't you lay way back
Don't you bug your honey about no Cadillac
It's only bucks, you don't need no jack
So won't you please relax and lay way back
My baby's loving gives me such a thrill
It gives me inspiration making counterfeit bills
Now some folks say the best things in life are free
I sure don't get no loving living honestly
Lord made a lady out of Adam's rib
Next thing you know you got women's lib
Lovely to look upon, heaven to touch
It's a real shame they got to cost so much
Recorded for "Mars Hotel" but only ever played live a few times before it was dropped. It was originally called "Finance Blues" - and that remains the title in Barlow's lyric collection. But it was retitled "Money Money" on the album.
rbmunkin
I agree with you on Donna to some extent. I think a lot of the older songs that they involve her in later in her tenure sounded better without her. Like St Stephen and Wharf Rat and Sunshine Daydream for example.
The screams in Playing in the Band sound much better at a normal volume such as Europe 72, where she was mixed appropriately. Just wondering if that bothers you as well?
And finally, I love her in certain songs like the Music Never Stopped, The Wheel, and Cassidy. When she belts out that line about greeting the morning air with song, I think she's just absolutely on fire and in the Dead zone. But if it's just her voice in general you don't like (when you say you wish she could be mixed out of all the shows), then I have some compassion for you, because I feel the same way about Brent. I hate to think a fellow Deadhead is not getting the full satisfaction of a great era because of a singer. FYI, she is not in the second set of Dave's Picks 18 from 1976, she is not on the Europe 72 show from April 16th, and she is not on most of the December 1973 shows. Also I would say her involvement in the Europe 72 shows is minimal, so those might be some good shows for you to pick up if you don't have them all.
Donna
Pretty well documented that she often had trouble hearing herself sing in the earlier days, particularly during loud songs. And if you can't hear yourself, well, we all heard the results.
The situation seemed to improve toward the end of her tenure. I'd wager she would have sounded consistently better if she'd had the benefit of the in-ear monitors of the 90s.
packaging
very good simonrob I thought the same thing after discovering 5 pnw cds with scratches , I had two cds sratched from the get shown the light box, I will always be back for more , but the packing of these cds has got to be questioned? after all these years you would think ? I don't know,the dead an rhino seem to always handle these issues very timely ,so we will see , and I just want to say thank you to all who put this raging box out, thanks dave , p.s a GREEK BOX would be Valhalla
Donna was in the GoGD.....You weren't!
Any/all Donna Jean hate cannot stand. I can count on one hand where maybe subjectively she went a bit too far. My favorite version of "L.L. Rain" is a just exactly perfect Bobby/Donna '78 duet. She does a brilliant job with "Money, Money" all 3 times played on display here. In fact, the studio version pales. Donna brings a firey energy and feminine mystique. The Godchaux's brought unmistakable depth and magic to the GoGD experience. The loss of both in '79 was massive. The band had highs and had lows in the 80's, but was never quite the same as before. End of.
My Donna experiences
I only saw the GD with the Godchauxs a hand-full of times. I thought she was very good at shows I saw. I grew to love Donna's voice, but yet later on and influenced by other people's mostly negative opinions, I became a "Donna-hater." But I was always "on-the-fence" with Donna - that is sometimes great, sometimes she's a screaming banshee. In this freshly released 6/22/73 rendition of Playing In The Band, I think her vocal contributions are different but great.
I find it much easier NOT to bash Donna.
I deeply appreciate her contributions to the music of the Grateful Dead.
Good call on the Brent thing.
Good call on the Brent thing. I'm a big fan of Brent, actually--I think he lit a necessary fire under Jerry, and I like what he brought to the Dead instrumentally and texturally--but I have never liked his vocals and *definitely* have never enjoyed his songs. So I get it. But I'd never want to "erase" him from any Dead show. Now, do I skip the occasional Brent song when the button is in reach? Yes, I do. But I've also been known to skip a "Little Red Rooster" or two...
About Donna....
....pre hiatus. Tough. Post hiatus, golden roads.
after the box
7/3/66 , jiggle the handle, kingfish , nite cap pink Floyd ,peace and love
Arrived this AM!
Happy Monday morning to me! #12213 just showed up down under. Currently looking for issues and ripping. So far so good. As everyone has already stated looks amazing and looking forward to my first listen!!
And for cringe worthy vocal flubs/miscues/screams, etc....
There are much much much worse offenders in the GoGD camp of that era than Donna Jean, but only if one bothers to look at the numbers objectively.
Donna
I am a fan of Donna. I agree she missed the notes sometimes, we know about the difficulty hearing yourself on stage with those loud speakers. She was also very expressive, free and experimental (like the band) and it didn't always work (like the band).
I'm listening to Seattle 73 as I write, and remembering plenty of shows where they could not harmonize well at all, and none of these guys had a good voice. They were at their worst trying to sing harmonies. Come on, Bobby has been a longtime notorious shrieker.
They could play up a storm and captivate my attention musically with its beauty at a show, then stun me with their poor harmonies, You gotta admire their spirit, singing as best they could with such great songs. That was the GOGD, and I bought the whole enchilada.
She is integrated into a lot of their songs. If you listen to all her contributions to all their songs, she is right there with them, trying to harmonize with their weak voices. And I don't have to mention songs she really shined, others have made good suggestions.
I will also share that she added a wonderful yin yang balance when she was on stage with the boys. There was a positive balance and she added a great feminine energy to many songs.
I am a fan of Donna. I love her energy. What a trip.
Finally Purchased!
Just ordered the Pacific Northwest Box set. I've always loved the Native American Art from PNW, and glad I'm now able to click the button. Looking forward to it from all the reviews.
Yipee!
Thoughts on the release
I like the CD cases ... they look great on a shelf amid other Grateful Dead releases ... nice colors, etc ... CD's pop in and out, no worries about sliding discs over cardboard ... I didn't take a magnifying glass to the discs, just played them and had no issues. [I did have to return/replace a disc recently due to a scratch, Anthem of the Sun 10 22 67.]
The music and sound are superb to my ears ... 6 22 73 really is a transcendent show, great to have it in such good quality. I would rank 6 26 73, 5 19 74, and 5 21 74 just below or right alongside 6 22 in terms of overall performance/greatness/enjoyability ... and 6 24 73 / 5 17 74 just slightly lower but still excellent, with superb moments.
Overall spectacular release IMO ... and there's still a need for more 1973 especially ... 72 shows played in 1973, still just 20 or so releases give or take ... 1974, which I'd take more of as well, has about 20 releases out of only 40 shows played.
Maybe I shoulda
I had good rational reasons for buying the 3CD set instead of this box.I have almost every 73 and 74 release ever from GDM. That is A LOT of 73/74.
I do not need to give any more hours of my life to listening to 73/74 First Sets!
I feel like the 73/74 Second Sets are stuffed with "First Set" songs, limiting the length of the big jam segments that I crave.
I don't have interest in, or space for, big containers and books.
It helps my family when I choose to spend $19 (Amazon) on myself instead of $190.
So I got the 3CD. And it is FAAAAAAAANNNNNNTASTIC! This is a bunch of golden moments without the other moments that filled out the whole shows. And, against all logic, that makes me hungry for the rest!
I just saw 6/22/73 and 5/19/74 from this box sold seperately on Ebay. I lingered over them, I drooled, I trembled. I got away... this time.
I spent $600 so far on 30T shows. Of the 16 I "really want", I now have 14. The 75 and 79 shows will never be sold on Ebay at the prices I will happily pay. Sooner or later, I think I will pay prices for them that will make me unhappy!
Having seen the advent of a "Music-Only" 30T box on sale, I will try hard to wait for this box to go "music-only". I will have to try VERY hard...
Broken disc tray
Do you think dr.rhino will replace a digipack case for one the shows because the plastic teeth one one of the disc holders is broken. And I have some scuffed discs with skips. I’ll be emailing dr.rhino tomorrow.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS
HelloI ve received the box but THE DISC 3 FROM Show #1
P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C. (6/22/73) .........IS MISSING!!!!!!
I can t imagine that I m going to stay without it.
I ve made a request and I just hope this problem will be resolved .
JEAN PIERRE
More Donna
It seems a given that Donna was very good singer-never mind Elvis Presley, you didn't get to be a session singer at Muscle Shoals if you were tone deaf. Also that she didn't sing so well with the Dead on stage. Especially during the golden years of 1972-1974. The reason given for her often off key singing is usually that she couldn't hear herself on stage. I wonder why this problem wasn't addressed at the time? For a band that recorded all its shows, and amended the sound constantly in search of aural nirvana-I wonder why no one thought to help Donna out -as well as listeners - and enable her to reach her full potential? Seems a bit of an oversight now. But one that is constantly brought to our attention.
3 cd v the Box-Seth
I bought the box, but I just thought I would say that the reasons you give for buying the 3 cd set make perfect sense to me. The biggest weakness in the 3 cd set has to be the omission of Dark Star-far and away the highlight of the 1973 shows. I am half way through the first 1974 show, and, as someone said on here yesterday, this already seems a far stronger show than the three 73 shows preceding it.
@ Jean-Pierre
Salut, Jean-Pierre !
I'm sure dead.net or Rhino will send you the missing disc if you signal them.
I come for my part to pay 58 € of taxes, and yet I am not sure to receive my package as I will not be back from vacation before two weeks.
I wonder if UPS can return a package to the shipper while import taxes have been paid?
returns for discs
who do you have to notify about scratched/skipping discs? Do you have to return the faulty disc? the drama continues
Portland '74 vocal dropout?
Was there nothing to be done about a near-complete vocal dropout from Sugaree through El Paso? That's four full songs in which to solve the problem, it seems something could have been done.. Or is this a defect issue and I should consult customer service? Also one of my discs arrived irreparably scuffed..
Otherwise loving the box!
Returns
Either PM MaryE or try emailing Dr. Rhino. I have seen two emails used over the years..
Dr.Rhino@Rhino.com
DrRhino@Rhino.com
Re: Portland 74 Vocal Dropout?
This is a problem baked into the source master tapes, something remastering from the source two tracks simply cannot completely address. They are not a defect in the discs and any replacements provided will have the same issue.
I find these comments from Archive.Org relevant:
__________________________________________
Reviewer: c-freedom ***** - May 20, 2017
Subject: Mama told me,, Papa told me
yeah, this is the good stuff..
Vocal drop-outs late 1st set- just listen to the jam.
https://archive.org/details/gd1974-05-19.sbd.fix.miller.107165.flac16/g…
Charlie Miller had the following comments about pitch issues in the source tapes as well, something both he and Jeffrey Norman (+ the plangent process folks) did a good job of addressing.
"-- The pitch was a mess, it's not exactly perfect but is a lot better"
The original Dicks Picks were printed with a Caveat Emptor, usually on the back cover of the CD. I pulled this from Wikipedia:
Caveat emptor
Each volume of Dick's Picks has its own "caveat emptor" label, advising the listener of the sound quality of the recording. The one for Volume 22 reads:
"Warning: This is not an audiophile recording! Many of you may have read the numerous Dick's Picks Caveat Emptors over the years and thought "Oh yeah... sure... whatever." Well, this old analog recording source exhibits many audio flaws including high distortion, low vocals, tape hiss, and missing pieces. No fair calling Customer Support and complaining! However, let it be known that this CD also includes some pretty damn exciting and historical music, and for that reason is brought to you with pride."
__________________________________________
Hats off to the care that went into making these imperfect 45 year old masters sound as good as they possibly can. These shows, this release and the care that went into it speak to history.
Re: Portland '74 vocal dropout
Yeah, I dig - just in the past, they've patched in audience sources or some such to fill in those kinds of gaps - and especially as it's something that lasts over 4 songs, just kind of surprising that they didn't work some of their usually impressive wizardry.
last time I listened to 5/17/74 on my unofficial copy,
it was like, "meh. it's OK."
now with the polishing, I can hear the dynamics, and the energy of the show.
on to Portland
Box of Music
The box itself is cool although I would have been happy with something less extravagant and therefor less expensive and easier to store/display. I'm fortunate that I have furniture that can accommodate it's size (likewise the Europe 72 trunk) but I'm sure that's not the case for many. Hopefully the next large offering will take this issue into account. Enjoying the accompanying book and kudos to Nicholas G. Meriwether for using "champing at the bit" instead of chomping. Just a personal gripe of mine but appreciate that somebody finally got it right.For the music itself, the Vancouver '73 was always a favorite audience tape and this recording is a real treasure. It has a certain gentle aspect to it that envelopes you like a cozy blanket. Sounds a little silly but...what can I say? I'm lagging a bit on listening but I've checked out most of the Portland '73 show. To my ears the sound quality and performance is not as good as the Vancouver show and I'm a little surprised they chose this one for a vinyl pressing. In any case I'm real happy to have this collection and looking forward to the next big drop. Thanks for all the hard work.
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