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    clayv
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    Due July 10th, WORKINGMAN’S DEAD: 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION will be available as a three-CD set and digital equivalents featuring the original album with newly remastered sound, plus an unreleased complete concert recorded on February 21, 1971 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. The show was mixed from the 16-track analog master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir’s Marin County TRI Studios and mastered by Grammy® Award-winning engineer, David Glasser, along with restoration and speed correction by Plangent Processes. 2/21/71 delivers a plethora of songs from both Workingman’s Dead and the band’s follow-up album, American Beauty. Some highlights include Weir’s moving vocal take on “Me and Bobby McGee,” Pigpen’s whiskey-seasoned growl on “Easy Wind” and a stellar run through “Uncle John’s Band” to close out the show.

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  • Strider 808808
    Joined:
    Change is constant

    One of the few consistent laws of the Universe. I was the second wave of long hairs following in my brothers footsteps who was an almost original. Dennis Hopper was an amazing photographer who was given a camera in the early 60s from his actress girlfriend Brooke Hayward. Brooke is quoted as saying that Dennis was inseparable from that camera. Quite a few of Dennis’ photographs from the early 60s were of bikers in Southern California. It’s amazing to see men with long hair in 1962, not to mention how outlandish their clothes were. The Beatles started growing long hair in 63. I distinctly remember the local NYC TV news reports in February 1964. A young man who was part of the crowd in front of the Plaza Hotel when the Beatles arrived and was being interviewed. He was ecstatic about the arrival of the Beatles and had longish hair, told the newsman “I’m growing my hair long , this is my Beatles hair”cut”!” This was a wild cultural shift that was way beyond some fashion statement. When I first saw The Rolling Stones on the NYC tv show “The Steve Paul Scene” all the Stones had on Mod suits except for Mick who wore a plain gray sweatshirt. Fucking rebel. Big Daddy Roth who Stanley Miller (Mouse) was cut from the same cloth were the original T-shirt artists. They created t-shirts with images of hot rods with crazed looking drivers , human and otherwise. Soon after Rick Griffin started making surfing T-shirt’s with Murphy that also was the cover of the first issue of Surfer Magazine.
    Combine post World War 2 restlessness of veterans (B-17 bomber crews) who formed some of the original biker clubs , abstract expressionism in painting, the evolution of be-bop into free jazz, the rise of Chicago Blues (electrified) the late 50s early 60s folk revival, Rock and Roll, Beat literature , the use of psychedelics (Aldous Huxley, Gordon Wasson or mescaline and mushrooms respectively) brought into to the awareness of those who read Life Magazine and contemporary literature. Bring in Ken Kesey and Robert Hunter participating with the early 60s Menlo Park Veterans Hospital experiments with psychedelics. And five young Bay Area lads who lived, breathed, ate, drank from the deep well of music , with passion, nobody should be shocked or surprised that both here in the U.S. and England , that the two most materialistic nations in the world would become the birthplace of a “cultural revolution” that would rock so much of the world.
    That Workingmans Dead would make the music of the Grateful Dead ring true to a much larger audience from a far wider base than just the East Village, Sunset Strip, leave the Haight Ashbury , London (with roots in blue collar Liverpool) and gather momentum akin to a snowball rolling from the top of a mountain into a faster and larger freight train size avalanche , inevitable. Add in the Berkeley free speech movement, the civil rights movement that was in so many ways far greater than the hippie movement , might as well try and stop a freight train with a few branches across the tracks, (Caution, Do Not Stop On Tracks)
    So when something really good takes place in the hearts and minds of people , pay attention. If it moves you , do it. One could easily say Workingmans Dead was the first indication of just how popular the Grateful Dead would become. That the Grateful Dead would always be a hardly known band as it was right up to May/ June of 1970. Was not going to happen. Like trying to stop a flash flood with sand bags in the Gila River during a 3-4 day summer monsoon heavy rain. Ain’t a gonna happen. The audience didn’t completely change 50 years ago, it just got bigger .

  • daverock
    Joined:
    Workingmans-Touch

    Maybe Working Mans was the Touch if Grey of its day ! It used to make me wonder, when I first started buying albums by them, if the people who followed the Dead changed completely after that album, so different was it from its predecessors. It didn't seem so.

  • Strider 808808
    Joined:
    50 years ago

    Heard at the Fillmore East the night of September 17, 1970. “A whole lot of assholes have been showing up since the Dead released Workingmans Dead”.
    I’ll bet that individual didn’t stop attending Grateful Dead concerts.
    “It’s all relative.”

  • Strider 808808
    Joined:
    Contrabandista

    I need to wear about 15 brand new Dead T-shirts all at the same time while wearing five fake rolexes on each arm and fly to merry olde England. Set up a table in front of the Chelsea Drugstore and pay for my trip. Just kidding.

  • Happy Will
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    Beware of inflated value on customs declarations on WD 50th Merc

    I am in the UK and decided to order the 50th Ed Colour Vinyl and added a T-Shirt to the order. My bad fo thinking they would be sent together. So the T-shirt got sent first ( so a double whiny with Customs Charges of £8 ($10) per parcel) but with a quoted value is $50 which is double the cost, and hence a whopping £8.64VAT (bill plus customs) when it should have been about £4. Nice T shirt but pissed off.

  • dissident1980
    Joined:
    Early 1970 and 2nd Box

    1 2 70 Dark Star is so so good ... Dave's 30 and bonus is greatness ... I thought Dave said they did "the box" early this year due to other things happening (like WD and AB 50th's) implying no second box, but I could be totally wrong.

  • DeadVikes
    Joined:
    Box Set #2

    Fall 2020, I believe is what Dave said. I would expect an announcement around the first of August.

  • stillwaters
    Joined:
    Summer Box Set

    Pretty sure Dave said the reason the 1976 box set came out when it did was because there was a summer box coming.

  • simonrob
    Joined:
    More Inside Information...

    Always just a tease, never any real information.

  • dissident1980
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    More inside information

    A second box set? Great can't wait. 🙏❤💀🌹

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Due July 10th, WORKINGMAN’S DEAD: 50th ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION will be available as a three-CD set and digital equivalents featuring the original album with newly remastered sound, plus an unreleased complete concert recorded on February 21, 1971 at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY. The show was mixed from the 16-track analog master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Bob Weir’s Marin County TRI Studios and mastered by Grammy® Award-winning engineer, David Glasser, along with restoration and speed correction by Plangent Processes. 2/21/71 delivers a plethora of songs from both Workingman’s Dead and the band’s follow-up album, American Beauty. Some highlights include Weir’s moving vocal take on “Me and Bobby McGee,” Pigpen’s whiskey-seasoned growl on “Easy Wind” and a stellar run through “Uncle John’s Band” to close out the show.

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Happy belated Birthday Keith. Sorry man, I was dealing with a broken washing machine all day. You sure played a mean Pinball. People are still enjoying your gift. R.I.P.

Simonrob...I have just had a look, and my copy was made in the E.U.
I bought it off a seller on ebay, and I have just had a look to remind me of the details. I bought it on 13th June last year-only about a week after it had been released, I think. It cost £12.45, with £1.00 post and packing, and I bought it off a seller calling themselves "mm3478". It looks as though he is an individual rather than a shop or business. Maybe he did keep the lenticulor cover for himself for some reason. I felt a bit cheated at the time, but I didn't contact the seller to ask the whys and wherefores. Of all covers that would have benefitted from the enhanced packaging-this is one.
Bit beside the point....but I used to have an enormous poster of it on my flat wall back in the 1980s.

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In reply to by daverock

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I ordered the first album 50th anniversary discs from dead.net soon after it was advertised. At that time I didn’t realise the discs would be available elsewhere so I paid more than double the necessary price and waited some weeks after it was released for it to arrive. My copy has a slip case but it is not lenticular. As it came directly from dead.net I assume no lenticular version was produced.
EDIT: I ordered anthem and aoxo from amazon and they both arrived on their release dates with the lenticular covers. I don't remember there being two versions of these albums offered for sale when they were first available

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Anyone else bite on this?

Still haven't seen a price!

A chance to win an invitation to buy?!?!

I don't even wear sneakers!!!

I don't have a turntable or feet!

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I don't come here for the fashion opportunities.

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16 years 2 months
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Ok I take it all back; I see now that these were designed with a zippered stash pocket in the tongue. Ingenious - that would have come in handy in the frisk line back in the daze.

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I’m sure I’m right about this( awww, who the hell am I kidding, I’m NEVER right), I did get a first day issue. The First album 50th anniversary edition had a special slipcase, but it was not lenticular. It was super metallic shiny, slick, without the lettering obfuscating the artwork. That’s why I was surprised/pleased with this new release. I love the fact that lenticular art clearly has improved over time. There seem to be at least 5 different levels of depth to it. Keep ‘em coming!! Still loving 2/21/91.

Yeah, shoes. I’m always wary when you don’t see the price upfront.

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For the first album, I also got that very nice metallic foil O-card. Yep, they are O-cards. A slipcase has one end closed, like on Dick's Picks 29 or the Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack. O-cards have both ends open. In the great scheme of things this is trivial of course, but what isn't?

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13 years 7 months

In reply to by simonrob

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Anyone have a link to artwork (iTunes style) for
this release, especially the live stuff? Thanks.

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14 years 5 months

In reply to by cmd

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A load of bollocks.

I feel like Sam Hughes in the GD Movie.

I thought the WMD hatchet was the height of lameness. I was wrong.

GD Nike shoes?

RELEASE MUSIC, NOT THIS NIKE SHOE BULLSHIT.

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17 years
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Reiterating, but haven't you seen the STASH TONGUE? :-P

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4 years 6 months
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Alright, my copy has arrived, it looks cool.. Now, to take it for a test drive.

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6 years 11 months
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Thanks for setting me straight on slipcases/O cards. I could have sworn that since the O card “slips right over” the cd, it was a slipcase. But I am never too old to learn. I want to know who’s job it is to name these products.
I do have a rebellious streak, so I think I will refuse to call them O cards.
I remember J cards being a thing also, but I can’t remember what they were(maybe the cards inside the cassette cases??). If anyone knows, I would love to get a reminder.
I am not being sarcastic when I say I do appreciate being informed of these tidbits, but I always feel a need to “Buck the trend” as it were. You, Colin Gould, & DAVEROCK are my 3 favorite UK posters here. I love getting the perspective from across the pond. And it sucks that your wait time for merchandise is so long.
Not quite sure why I am rambling here, but it’s way past my bedtime.
Dave’s 35 should be here in less than 2 weeks. What a great year for us Dead fans!!

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Indeed, J cards are the cards that go inside cassette cases. J because they are (allegedly) in the shape of a J, albeit a square J rather than the round J of most text fonts.

O cards, J cards, slipcases - you can Google all these terms for clarification, even illustrations.

This is one of the consequences of lockdowns. One has the time to seek out all sorts of minutiae like this.

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I was fortunate to have observed one earlier in the Spring. As I understand, it's a fairly rare occurrence to have seen one. I am glad 1. that I was able to take a short video of it and 2. that it didn't get squished by oncoming traffic, because it was strutting right across the roadway. Funny Woodcock. :-)

Have a Grateful Day everyone and good luck on the shooz! :-) :-) :-)

P.S. Do the shoes have a bell of any sort?

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16 years 11 months
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Has anyone actually received their copy of Workingman’s Dead? Mine still shows as USPS awaiting info from shipper for the past two weeks...

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6 years 11 months
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Received mine today in South Jersey. It took 2 weeks to get here. Playing the concert right now and it sounds great. Hope everyone gets their's soon.

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There is little that I can say about the remastered studio album. My favourite studio album, this version sounds great. Whether or not it is a sonic improvement over (recent) previous versions I cannot say as I haven't made the comparison, but I cannot fault this version.

The live show also sounds excellent, largely due to the fact that it was mixed from the original 16 track tapes. The performance is also pretty damn fine with many of my favourite songs. Pigpen's organ playing immediately stands out as it is high enough in the mix, something that is not always the case. This is one of the advantages of multi-track recordings. Everyone is in fine voice as well. This is going to get a lot of listening.

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14 years 8 months
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Great comment there on hovering but ultimately not buying ... I'm in the exact same spot ... and for the same reasons ... yet somehow think resisting forever will be ... difficult. ✌

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16 years 2 months

In reply to by stoltzfus

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Don't like or care about shoes don't bother with them. Pretty simple

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16 years 2 months

In reply to by Dennis

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Guess everyone complaining about nike either doesn't know youngsters or like a lot of old people are practicing willfull ignorance. Collecting shoes is common among the sub 40 group. And to he who scoffed at the chance to buy them. That's the chance to buy them and immediately see them go up 1500 %. Now who's laughing

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14 years 5 months

In reply to by snafu

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I scoff and say, drown the GD Nikes in the pond.

I hold a lot of GD merch in contempt. SYF golfballs? Hippie, please.

Steal your mask...

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In reply to by stoltzfus

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I guess you don't give a hoot if the next generation gets on the bus. I do. The nature of my job is I work with ( or soon worked with) about 7-800 20 or 30 something's. I'm glad they picked up on John Mayer and did a deal with nike. Grow or Die

It doesn't help coming on here everyday ! Nobody has a bad word to say about it-WMDs 50th, that is. Still...

I'm less tempted to buy a pair of shoes, I must say. Showing my age-I didn't even know there was a shoe culture. Outside of fetish's, of course-high heels and all that.
But I have always hated buying shoes-my feet are different sizes and they also seem to change in size from one year to the next. So I am never sure which size to get. Its a right palaver, getting my feet measured, then taking said shoes back after I have bought them because one of them doesn't fit. As rule of thumb, I get a pair of Clarks, and they last me a year or two. Then when they have fallen apart I go and get another pair. Why I am telling you this, I know not!

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I do not understand youngsters. I am obviously a victim of the generation gap. I just cannot understand why anyone would want to collect shoes, particularly limited edition items at grossly inflated prices. Am I missing something?

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In reply to by simonrob

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I love the music but never much cared for the clothing especially tye-dye items. Although tye-dye looks good on other people, it's not a good look for me -- no offense. Having said that, I did think the sneakers/trainers could be fun, nevertheless, I hesitated and now. . .. Who knew that people had sneaker collections? Like baseball cards or comic books? Another thing that gave me pause was wondering exactly where they were manufactured? Maybe I should not care but the more I learn; the more I care about issues like that. Oh well.

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It is more than just where Nike get their shoes made, it is also about who makes them and under what circumstances.

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8 years 9 months
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Had a chance to give a somewhat distracted listen to 2/21/71 over the last couple of days and that is some good stuff. The sound is excellent and the show has some great stuff - I always dig a Cold Rain and Snow to start things off, and that Wharf Rat caught my ear, but there is a lot to like and I'm looking forward to a chance to get in a less distracted listen. And just 'cause Daverock said he's wavering, let me add that the cost is really not much different than a single Dave's Pick, and the show is well worth having in all its multi-track sonic glory. As I was listening, one of the things that I kept thinking was, damn, let's get the rest of the multi-track recordings released.

As far as the issue of sneakers, modern supply chains and forced labor issues, yeah, there are some things to think about. Run a search or two on this issue and on the treatment of the Uighur population in China, but be prepared to be disturbed.

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In reply to by Charlie3

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Charlie...hell, yes ( or no), just cause I am wavering doesn't mean I would want to put anyone else off !

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8 years 9 months
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I was just jokingly encouraging you to pick it up;) I didn't at all interpret your earlier post as pushing people one way or the other. I haven't listened to the WMD remaster, but the 2/21/71 show (and the lenticular cover) alone make the purchase worthwhile for me, if the rest of that run sounds this good I can only hope the rest of those shows get the box set treatment. As with the other dead releases sourced from multi-track recordings, the sound is fantastic.

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The inclusion of the full 2/21/71 show with the WMD 50th Anniversary set really has me curious as to whether we'll get another full show along with the American Beauty 50th Anniversary release. Sure would be cool if we did.

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Heck yeah. I wouldn't mind another Port Port Chester show: Feb 18 or Feb 23 would be great. 4/26/71, if they can find a way pay for Duane to appear. I guess they could just compile the leftovers from the Fillmore dates (other than the 26th) on 2 discs, since they squeezed a lot of that run on to the 4 discs for Ladies & Gentlemen. Then release 4/26 at a later time.

And then box us up the rest of the Port Chester run as a 4 show collection. I'll take the repeat songs, no questions asked. We'd still be getting a lot of kick-ass unreleased songs from that run (inventory time):

Mama Tried
Hard to Handle
Dark Star Special Edition
Candyman
Big Boss Man
St. Stephen
NFA > GDTRFB > NFA
Lovelight
Morning Dew
New Minglewood Blues

Ned guests on the 2/18, but they don't seem to have an issue releasing material with him.

The Lovelight on 2/20 runs a little long, but the last 6 or 7 minutes is fantastic (and Pigpen tells a similar story to the Refrigerator Repairman gag from Ladies & Gentlemen, so it moves along nicely).

The New Minglewood Blues is fantastic. I've always felt the two '71 versions were the best. There are only two live pre-hiatus versions officially released at the moment (both from the Fillmore East): 5/15/70 on Road Trips 3.3 and 4/29/71 on Ladies & Gentlemen. Bobby really shreds his voice on the Road Trips version, but Ladies & Gentlemen is perfect, as is the other lone '71 version from Port Chester.

Yeah, I'm okay with repeats of Ripple, Bird Song, Sugar Magnolia, Uncle John's Band, China Rider, Loser, The Othe One, etc. Their sound was distinctly different from Europe 72 barely a year later, and the audience in the mix elevates the energy. I'll take it all.

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In reply to by KeithFan2112

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If they follow the same reasoning they appeared to in selecting a show to accompany WMD, I would think they would pick a show that has a smattering of songs from American Beauty on, from any year 1970-1973. In which case, Fall 1972 might be favoured. I have just had a look at 11/17/72-one of the Dave's Picks, and that features 4 from the album-including Box of Rain. So my money would be on a show from a similar timespan featuring those songs.

Another possibility could be a show form 1970 that features both Attics and When the Morning Comes, if such a show exists. Actually, that would be a more exciting option for me, as I see things this morning.

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I'd like to get the rest of the '71 multi-track content. Daverock, I'd be totally okay with a Fall '72 show, as you suggested. There's a touch of grey area (no pun intended) as to how many years into the future is "acceptable" to represent the live companion to a 1970 studio LP (okay pun WAS intended). Any way you slice it, if we're going Fall '72, may as well make it one with Bird Song and Dark Star :D. And Box Of Rain and Brokedown Palace are a must. Will see if I can hunt down the perfect show. Sshhhhhh. I'm huntin' wabbits. Does that one translate overseas?

Uncle Gary once compiled a "live" version of American Beauty for me from different AUD and SB sources (I'm talking all of it - even Operator and Till The Morning Comes). Thanks man, I never forget!

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9/20/70, 12 songs from AB & WMD.

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A Classic in Cleveland 10/28/72. It boasts 5 American Beauty tracks, including Attics:

Box of Rain
Friend of the Devil
Sugar Magnolia
Candyman
Attics of My Life

Not too bad. And the best that can be done and still include Attics, as it was only played 2x in 1972. There IS a Dark Star, but no Bird Song to fulfill my personal agenda.

Some of the missing AB tracks are commoners like Truckin' and to some extent Brokedown Palace (you could just snarf those off of DP 11 at the Stanley (and grab Bird Song!)

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In reply to by billy the kid

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I listened to that the past few days. A perfect companion show.

With 9 19 70 as filler :)))

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