Grateful Dead

Howdy everyone, I'm putting it out there that I would buy and love to own a boxset of all the covers. I heard someone say "the Grateful Dead are a cover band". I don't know about that, but I know I love listening them play covers such as Baba O'Reily, The Last Time (it's on now), It's All Over Now, the Dylan songs, etc. Peace and love,

Howdy, I just created a thread same thing. I would buy and love to own "Dead Covers".

Fox Theater St Louis 10-17-72 through 10-19-72Berkeley Theatre 8-21,22,23,24-1972 Both of these runs most definitely deserve consideration for future box sets.

this is an appeal to the powers that be for a new subscription series of 3 times a year of Plangent processed returned "Betty Boards" available in limited edition CDs and digital download forever. the series can start with 2/26/77 Winterland, which would be a sin not to have Plangent processed and instead used for a Dave's Pick release. as shown with previous releases from the "Bettys" the Plangent process significantly improves the sound from the tapes. by offering limited CD and unlimited digital versions it allows for maximum return of investment for the additional processing costs. why do the returned tapes deserve their own series? a tale of the tapes. according to Deadbase, there are 2314 shows, of those there are 450+ Pigpen shows, 403 Keith shows, 810 Brent shows and 378 Vince shows. of the Brent shows almost 700 are cassettes/PCMs recorded by Dan Healy from the PA SBD to check out how Dan's mix sounded, not ever considered for release. The Keith shows were recorded reel to reel from a separate mixing console from the PA and the Betty Boards were mixed on headphones and in no way match what was heard in the hall. don't believe me try an AUD tape for the same show, try a different AUD tape if there is one. these 70s Reel to Reels were also never considered for release. they were for band reference and they had enough of a budget they didn't have to reuse them, like some of the Radio City multi track show tapes that got recycled by Arista after Dead Set & Reckoning came out. aside from 100 or so special events that were recorded on multi track for eventual release that made it into the Vault, everything else is 2 tracks mixed for reference listening, Betty's, FM broadcasts or to hear how the live mix sounded compared to the sound in the hall. the cost of the Plangent process, (analog to digital transfer), precludes them using it on most Dave's Picks because it is cost prohibitive and will probably only be used in box sets from now on. Dave's Picks are not worth the expense or time to Plangent, so instead we get Jeffery Norman magic to try and make it sound as good as possible from the in house master tape digitization. which means releasing the returned Betty's as Dave's picks is denying the chance for future Plangent processing, the good Betty's will be held for the annual box sets as the multi tracks have been already milked for most of what's available. more fall 89 multi tracks anyone? then there's the Bear audio journals, which are basically 2 track mono recordings with the amplified instruments in one channel and the PA (drums, vocals and keyboard) in the other. if you want to make the pre 1969 stuff sound really good, listen to it in mono with the vocals centered and the instruments on top of each other and not next to each other. you are not losing anything as the Bear tapes have no real stereo separation, he was hearing impaired in one ear and couldn't hear stereo. this leaves about 1600 possible shows on stereo tapes of which less than 500 are Reel to Reel and the rest cassette and digital tapes. this means whats left for Dave's choices are mostly cassette SBDs from the PA or he's eating into the potential for future box sets. maybe this means less people will subscribe in the future and there will be more of a chance for the average fan to get a copy of a show he wants ala carte, is that a bad thing? maybe Rhino plans to start allowing digital downloads, but without the budget for Normanization or packaging at $20 a show to start making some profit on the rest of the vault? difficult to believe, as since the bankruptcy of Music Today all previous digital downloads are still unavailable and Warner Music, the new distribution for Dead.net, only has digital downloads for the new releases. from the Spring 90 TOO page Digital Download Digital downloads have been temporarily disabled while we work on resolving the technical issues. Previous purchasers will be notified when the problem is resolved. the first 15 years of the GD the band played mostly small halls to limited audiences, with the large festival exceptions. the 2nd 15 years the band became one of the top selling live acts, for most of the last 10 years they were in football stadiums and huge arenas, so the potential of "i was there" buyers is far greater than the early years. it is very likely more people saw the band with Brent or Vince than the combined years for Pigpen and Keith. it is inevitable that Dave's Picks start mining the last 15 years and now seems as good a time as any. the new licensing deal with Rhino still has 8 years left to prepare releases from whats in the vault. a tale of the times. if you were lucky enough to see the Grateful Dead and didn't have a bad trip while there, chances are you had an entertaining to life changing event. this became formulaic in the late 70s when Drum>Space got locked into a feature of the 2nd set. as tours went on songs became 1st or 2nd set tunes and eventually became limited to slots within their respective sets, with very little deviance until the end. to see the song you wanted meant going to many shows in a row to get it, Morning Dew had a 10 show rotation, Way to Go Home had a 2 show rotation, Bobby tunes had a 4 to 5 day rotation. this made the shows almost ritualistic for those that got it and to some people dancing at a Dead show was the ultimate experience in life. the shows became events and the best party in town where ever they were and worth traveling for. it might take over a thousand miles of touring to get that Dew you wanted. by the time Keith was all used up, Bobby had a keyboardist from his solo band he thought might be a good fit, Jerry saw some Bobby shows, Keith & Donna retired and the rehearsals with Brent started in spring 1979. the fact that Clive Davis the head of Arista records also was lobbying for Brent as a good fit might have helped also. by summer 1979 they were locked into the format, had new tunes, and a keyboard/vocalist that wasn't just part of the rhythm section, but an organist that had an electronic keyboard sound that was going to be big in the 1980s. the band had reinvented itself and was ready to get that hit album that Clive knew was in them. Go To Heaven was not that album, yet Clive Davis was a deadhead before he was their boss and gave them the room they needed. Betty and Brent became involved together and when that went south around the time of Brent's failed solo album, Betty became an Ex and the era of Betty boards was over. from here on it was Healy's PA SBDs that became the reference copies and had the PA mix with Drums, Keyboards and Vocals out front, not to mention Healy's additional effects, and the amplified instruments lower in the mix so they wouldn't feed back. after the return of the acoustic sets and the Dead Set & Reckoning came out they started the 5 years it took to get the material for a new album and the new tunes came at a slower rate. instead the band kept up the tour schedule, the bad habits and added cover tunes to keep the new fans they were getting coming back for more. there was nothing like a Grateful Dead concert and word got out. by this time some amazing AUD tapes were being recorded on customized tape decks with shot gun mics on poles to get them above the crowd. these capture how it sounded in the hall and were more realistic than the SBDs from the PA. as the tours went on it was obvious Jerry wasn't doing well, but he was trying, and the tours continued until he physically couldn't anymore. the worse Jerry's voice got, the louder the crowd singing along got, so gaffs and croaks were less noticed as everyone else was singing the right lyrics. his guitar playing though developed a shreddy quality and the Tiger years have such a sweet sound. what it did lead to was the entire hall getting into the same breathing pattern singing along with Jerry, while doing the happy acid dance and knowing at that moment they were in the best place on earth at that time. this experience worked pretty consistently right up to the end, even though we knew by then it was more about the formulaic ritual experience than it was about the quality of the music being played. to say this music is unworthy of release is wrong. the whole idea of Dave's Picks is to take whats left from the vault and put out the whole shows in the best quality possible and people that subscribe should understand this. it's not about having to own every release just so you don't have a gap in your display because you only like a certain period of the bands 30 year history. if you don't like it give it away to someone that wants it that got shut out. sell it for a profit on ebay, burn it like the devil music you think it is, banish it from your life. this is what the future box sets will most likely be filled with, the returned Betty's using the Plangent process, because the only box from the returned tapes not Plangent processed is the July 78 box that still sits in limbo as the last of the Music Today boxes and failed digital rollout. at this point the July 78 box looks like it was rushed and victim to being a test if they had to Plangent the tapes or in house digitization would do, clearly it is required and worth the added expense and time. july 78 is a great box and concept that should have sold out by now. [It has since been brought to my attention by David Duryea that in fact July 78 was Plangent processed and mentioned in the booklet, just not advertised on the July 78 page. someone at Rhino should fix that and remove the link for the digital download that never happened, it might finally sell out.] if this new box sounds as good as Dave says, "like a whole new tape" because of the Plangent processing, Dave's future picks will have to start on the Brent years to ensure box set potential into the 3rd 10 year licensing deal.

Plangentize the Bettys. If you have the gems, polish them up.

All of 1971 please, esp. Spring 71

I requested below that they release the multitracks of the Skull & Roses shows as a "complete recordings" box set a la Fillmore West 1969/Live Dead and Complete/E72. So that's one. The Portchester shows in February were all (I believe) recorded on multitrack, and we've only seen one show come out on Three from the Vault, so a box set of those would be two. And that incredible ten-show summer tour, from Yale Bowl 7/31 to Gaelic Park 8/26 -- the last run with an all-in Pig, the last run before Keith, the last run with Jerry and Phil playing Gibsons -- would make for a terrific box set, even if some of the shows have already been released. Hollywood Palladium 8/6 has never been released in its entirety, which is an absolute crime. So that's three.

"Jake: Greetings! A message to David Lemieux ...How about a boxed set from the many great shows at the Capitol Theatre in Portchester NY including but not limited to the week of The Grateful Dead at Midnight!! It would be nice to have this while those who were at the shows are still alive !! and to Turn On all who would enjoy those fantastic shows in a great venue. And How about some New Riders with Jerry on pedal steel too!! Acoustic Dead, New Riders, Electric Grateful Dead....Sounds like a really good show !!"

I've never seen the Dead at the venue, but that box set sounds delightful!

How about a Deer Creek (Noblesville IN) boxset? No Deer Creeks shows have ever been released.

Anyone else enjoy spending time trying to find all 100 songs embedded in the classic black and white poster? I'm normally a complete show listener, but had a change of heart when I heard some of the gems on the Road Trips series and began listening to random selections on the Sirius Channel on my daily commute. Perhaps a box set that features quality versions of the 100 songs from shows that are not slated for full release would be interesting.

Not sure if anybody else has suggested it yet, but I'd love to see a box set (or 2, or 3, or . . .) from a run of shows at the Greek Theater. There are so many great runs to choose from! '83, '84, '85 and '89, just off the top of my head, all featured some seriously great shows. It's kind of bizarre that *none* of these have ever been released.

The Capital Theatre in Passaic NJ was home to some truly incredible shows over the years, from '76-1980. Almost all of these shows were filmed with three camera set ups in their entirety. This Complete Box set would not only represent the stages the Dead went through musically and otherwise over those years, but it would allow millions to SEE and hear the band perform from an era many Dead Heads were simply not around to see themselves; an era many consider the Dead's peak. It's an amazing thing to hear the music, it's another thing to see Jerry break into a large grin and slam on his guitar with a passion that is felt not just in the music, but in the movement and expressions of the performers.

While some of these videos are available online, most are in need of restoration and suffer greatly in the audio department. To finally salvage these videos and add a Norman sound mix to these images would bring the Dead - and this era - alive in a way that we have never seen before.

Comment #28 asked about Alaska 1980. I second that One. Also How about a set from other shows around the release of Althea 1979, 1980 and 1981. Also the Dead covers from Beatles , Dylan , The Who and everyone else in between.

How about everything that can be put together from the Jan/Feb northwest tour. Ya I know, more NW shows right. But these shows smoke! Throw in Betty Nelson's organic raspberry farm show (9-2-68) as well. If possible - add the old bootleg LP "Mountains Of The Moon", a trippy LP of mostly Aoxomoxoa outtakes.

Thank You B.

Radio City Music Hall run in 1980 - acoustic & electric sets.

This may be the dumbest request for a box set since so many SB's are out there. How about the 1985 Summer tour? My tapes are dying and this stuff turned me on to the modern Dead!

How about a mini box set of the 3 shows in Ventura, California in 1987. People are always complaining that you don't do enough of the 80's shows. It would make them happy. They were 3 great shows! Jerry was recovering from almost dying, and he was hot! The 3 Ventura shows from 1987 would make a great mini box set!

Grateful Dead and (guest’s name) Box.

Bundle together all the shows where a particular person/band joined in.

This is mainly an attempt to get the GD/ABB stuff released, which would probably need to span a couple of Box Sets.

But, a GD/Dylan Box would be cool too, as well as all the Santana appearances together.

I've seen several comments with regard to releasing the April 21,22,23 dates from the ARK as a box set. But I'd be equally happy if the Avalon Ballroom dates were released as a box. It looks like the tapes of some of the Avalon dates are incomplete but the Dead were there for 3 days each in January & April and the quality of those shows was such that The Eleven & Lovelight were part of the Live/Dead release, so combining the January/April dates would be an idea.

It's think it's time (especially 50 years later) to put out another primal Dead box set as a companion piece to the Fillmore West shows. And since I think it'd sell out quickly it would also be a candidate for an AllMusic issue in addition to the limited versions.

This would be a great release which could even be joined with other Fall 79 shows. It was a 3 night run at M.S.G.. Brent was still relatively new and these would be his N.Y.C. debut shows. Brent hits the Big Time!! . . . and almost on Broadway!!! While they are not 1980s shows, they are close enough. Brent & The 80s are a period and keyboardist the fans are clamouring for -- this N.Y.C. MSG run fits the bill. They are historic shows. The energy was high on both sides of the stage. The crowd supplied loud over the top New York City energy which the band fed on and returned tenfold. There was that motorcycle belonging to Steve Parish parked on stage one night and you can hear some merry pranksters revving the engine during drums>space. This one would sell out quickly. Think about it . . ..

Likewise Alaska 1980 would be great too. Perhaps the Go to Nassau shows as a mini box? Or alternatively, a Spring 1980? Melk Weg? Europe 1990?

Autumn 77 Box to complement the Spring 77 box.

28/9 and 29/9 need an upgrade and the latter is a favourite. 1/10 is Ok and 2/10 is seriously great, we already have good sounding boards but that doesn't seem to stand in the way of official releases selling out.

2/10 could be my favourite show, not so much for any individual song (except for the Truckin jam which is one of my favourite few minutes of GD of all time) but just a complete package of smooth but powerful 77.

I agree 100%. I am among the many who became a Deadhead in '85. I have heard various arguments why there are only 2 shows officially released from that year, most often citing Garcia's lack of vocal strength, But there were so many great shows that year and tremendous playing from Garcia. Summer '85 certainly deserves a box drawn from maybe 6-8 select shows. Individually, I would like to see the Nassau 3/28/85 show released, because it was nuts. If Scarlet-Fire is your jam, 1985 had some epic versions. 1989-90 had a lot of great shows, but we have 2 big box sets and numerous CD and DVD releases. 1980-1985 is woefully under-represented. It's getting personal!

Let's do it. Let's outdo both the Europe '72 and 30 Trips box sets in one fell swoop. I'm calling for a 35 shows. Are there 35 left?

Alpine ‘89 audio and video.

Completed Fillmore East ‘70, including previously released material from Bear’s Choice, Dick’s Picks 4, and Road Trips Vol 3 No 3. Throw is some NRPS from these shows.

Okay, I admit bias but how about a venue-specific OKC Zoo Amphitheater box.

#1 7/5/81
#2 8/1/82
#3 9/2/85

#1 is a solid show top to bottom. Fantastic Shakedown opener, solid first set all around and a smoking second set that culminates with a very sweetly played Stella.

#2 is played nicely, somewhat low on the jamming BUT, it's Jerry's 40th birthday!

#3 is a very nicely played show and would finally get a much needed summer '85 show out there!

Early 80's, mid 80's...what's not to love?

Had the Zoo 82 on cassette. Been many years since I have listened to that show.
Sorry OKCDH, but I’m not feeling a Zoo Box.
Individual releases maybe, Box no.

I would like a venue based collection like the 80's Greek shows in Berkeley or the 80's Ventura shows...I love listening to a good Ventura Aud recording on my headphones ...I can practically smell the Ocean on the breeze there....

No hard feelings. Honestly, if I got that 7/5/81 as an official release, I’d be thrilled. It’s the best of the bunch. Some complain of botched lyrics but the jams are there.

ALL COMPLETE SHOWS
Fillmore East Box Set
June 10, 1973 RFK Washington DC _ complete show
NYS pavilion july 11,12 1969

The Ark - Boston, MA April 21-23, 1969
Berkeley Community Theater - Berkeley, CA August 14-15, 1971
Palace Theater - Waterbury, CT September 23-24, 1972
Thank you for asking.

I agree with the Skull & Roses box, but I would make it the entire month of April 1971. That way you could include the sweet 4/18 Cortland (leave in the tuning banter!), and 4/24, and the full Fill East run.

Also a vote for something that includes 3/9/81 :)

For an LP edition of Dave's picks, releases/subscription, moving forward. I would max out my credit cards. I would pretend to be a Nigerian prince. I would roll a few banks. I'd go down to the jewelry store packing a gun.I would knock off a liquor store. You get the point more full shows on vinyl please.

A box of all the Greensboro Coliseum shows from 1980-1991. Alpine 1989 DVD/BluRay/CD.

Fall '72. Capitol '71 without Three From the Vault.

I want to endorse the Ark April 21-23 Box Set. I would add that it could be supplemented with material from the December 29-31 run. For example, the second set from 12/30/69 would make an amazing bonus disc.

Also Judysparty suggested a 73-74 Box. I agree that would be wonderful and I think there is enough essential material unreleased to justify probably two boxes. From 73, I see 10/23 Minnesota, 10/29-30 Kiel, 11/1 Evanston, 11/23 El Paso, and 12/8 Duke as great candidates. From 74, 5/12 Reno, 6/8 Oakland, 6/30 Springfield, 6/23 Miami, 9/14 Munich all deserve their day in the sun. If the soundboard of 7/21 Hollywood ever appears, it should get its own release.

One last request - 74 releases should include Seastones sections whenever possible.

I agree this is a must have box.

The April '71 Complete recording's Box 20 Shows on 45 Disc's.

I'll second or third motion for an April 1971 box set for the entire month. Please Dave, I' m not getting any younger. That box will sell out in a flash.

I'm not sure if this is the correct posting page so I'll just say I'm still waiting for the 50th Anniversary release of LIVEDEAD hologram ...

I would Love to see and hear a Radio City 1980 Box Set. Acoustic and Electric Shows …………...anyone else like this idea ?

Complete run of shows and remastered 16 track box set of the "Ladies and Gentlemen '71 Box set." It would be AMAZING!

Please and many thank yous!

Greek Theatre, UC Berkeley
5/21,22,23/1982

Some more of the fall 79 tour when Brent new ish but locked in. The stuff between the 30 trips release and dicks picks 5.

I would love to see the release of all the Hartbeats shows from 1968 at the Matrix. Great music and very unique -- wholly unlike other GD music.

How about Merriweather Post get's a look at:

6/20, 21/83
6/26, 27/84
6/30, 7/1/85

These are classic shows at a folklore venue.

83' gettin' rough. 84' rough has started looking like an understatement. 85' Jerry's back together a lot, but voice is shot compared to pre-83. There are great shows, 85' the most.

How about 1982 for the last year for s bit of great Jerry vocals and a lot of great shows to make a great touring year. Maybe I'm bad ears, but this is peak Dead year as a culmination of Brent into his 4 yr. and Jerry is way heathy and on his game

7/17, 18 Ventura
7/25 Tempe
7/27, 28, 29 Red Rocks
7/31 Manor Downs
8/1 OKC
8/3 Starlight
8/4 St. Louis
8/6 St. Paul
8/7, 8 Alpine
8/10 Iowa City

This is a great tour. Need be split it into 2 sets.

I would like to see a 'Dark Star'-Boxed Set: starting with the earliest DS and then all the best ones, in chrono order. Let's be generous, a 12-disc set will do. As the title, maybe 'The Darkest Stars Vol. 1'. Then, a year later we get Volume 2, another 12-disc set. A year later, we go to 'The Other One'-Boxed Set, with Volume 2 following. Then we go to the 'Playing In The Band'-Boxed Set. We round it off, 6 years on, with the 'Long Jams'-boxed set, only the best this time. 7 years for 84 discs of peerless rock improvisation and telepathic interplay. Heaven !!

The Ark - Boston, MA April 21-23, 1969

I am totally with you, SIMONROB, was crossing my fingers waiting for this to be announced as the boxed set in 2019 but was terribly disappointed. I would love to see these shows in a boxed set, and I would go one better and make these along with all the 1969 Boston Tea Party Shows a boxed set. Especially unique is the only East Coast New Years Show that year. I can't help but feel that they totally dropped the ball by not celebrating these shows on the 50th anniversary in 2019. Instead, we got Giants Stadium, because there was video coverage? Shrug, not impressed in the least. Missed a great opportunity IMHO.

The person who suggested The Arks and Boston Tea Parties has a great idea. Dave needs to get out of his box release slump, my opinion, nothing humble about it.

Wall of Sound 74' Box.

Fall 83' Box.

One can wish...