Shall we go, you and I, while we can to Record Store Day on April 21st? Our very special "Dark Star" 5/4/72, Olympia Theatre, Paris, France 180-gram 12" vinyl release features one of the longest versions of the song in Dead history, clocking in at over 40 minutes! Mixed by Jeffrey Norman and mastered by David Glasser, the vinyl features nearly 20 minutes of the song on the first side followed by a mid-song drum solo and the song’s epic finale on the second side. Released in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Dead’s legendary Europe ’72 tour, DARK STAR is limited to 4,200 copies worldwide.
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Am I the only one who is
Am I the only one who is getting soured on this whole record store day thing? Either you camp out at a record store (not really a viable option at this stage of my life) or you head to eBay to pay exorbitant prices to the kid who did and grabbed three copies of everything he could get his hands on.
red devil records in your backyard needs some love!
I live in san rafael, and barry at red devil records says he had slim pickins on this one. I wanna buy local! isnt that the deal these days?? someone should walk a dozen over to him.
How about
The Hollywood Bowl 71 limited to ten copies, signed by everybody left in the band, one shipped to ten different record stores who enter a special lottery. Maybe 2000 stores will participate and we all wait out in line for 72 hours only to find our store never was one of the lucky ten. Then some 25 year old ice cream cone kid goes down the line dosing everybody with Owsley gels he got from a friend who got them from a friend whose father just croaked and had them stored in a freezer for forty years in Redwood City and we all get to smile one last time on a cloudy day?
No?
Well then you think of something equally absurd...
Nobody expects the Inquisition, so don't say I didn't warn you..
I get slammed mercilessly whenever I complain about Corporate Dead's endless fascination with exclusivity, so good luck on that account. Guess they expect me to continually blow sunshine up their corporate butts even when the Vault's current caretakers consistently outdo themselves in acting like complete boneheads.
Not all of the stuff sells
My local record store still has a couple of copies of the Doors "LA Woman" singles box from last fall's Record Store Day...at $49.95 for four 7" vinyl records, what do you expect?
On the other hand, I've yet to walk into the place and been able to find the advertised items that grabbed my attention prior to the promotion...and I've yet to walk out empty-handed. As bait-and-switch strategies go, this one doesn't seem to bother me in the least.
support your local record store
Last year's record store day promo was cool mono 1st GD LP), but languished at J&R here in NYC for at least a month. And I saw copies online at list price or less for weeks. Great cause. I don't know what I would do without good record stores.
love me some record store days!
and as for the limited copies, my guess is they don't want their product collecting dust on the shelves, that's how you lose money. i think it was rhino who put out a 3000 addition big star vinyl record a year ago. it was gone all over the country immediately and was on ebay by the afternoon. should they have made more, or was it done perfectly? there is a lot to be said about supply and demand...
Exclusivity Resolved
Okay, guys. Since I've been a long and vocal critic of exclusivity, here's my resolution to this most bothersome issue that should make everyone happy:
Grateful Dead needs to adopt the same copyright system used to track editions in books. In this way, just like a Steinbeck novel, some lucky few would get first editions and, depending upon demand, the Grateful Dead are free to make second and further editions as required, while also preserving (ending?) their mindbogglingly Quixotic windmill quest to first achieve, and then curiously lock down, that most perfect yet elusive balance of exclusivity. My solution also serves to permanently take all the locks off the Vault and offers the beginnings for establishing a functioning catalog system - remember all of those album versions and mixes of Anthem of the Sun? -, thereby both preserving and keeping, at least as well as any old treasured record collection ever was, the Grateful Dead's musical legacy for the years and generations to come.
Now that wasn't so hard, was it? No longer need we fear those most dreaded and totally unnecessary words: "...Never to be released again.."
"Jack Straw from Wichita cut his buddy down
And dug for him a shallow grave, laid his body down..."
Peace,
Byrd
Is this record a straight analog remaster?
Was this album digitally mastered before it was put onto vinyl? If so, I'm sorry to say, but it has defeated the whole point of making a record. I'd love to have a copy of an analog remaster, but a digitally remastered record is no better than a cd.
analog or digital? Airshow would know
if anyone has a contact at Airshow, can you ask about the mastering for the Dark Star vinyl?
Cool but curious...
I agree with the comments about the remastering/source for this vinyl. First of all, I don't know anyone who doesn't have stellar copies of the France shows, even before they were remastered and released recently. Even if I didn't, I could buy the whole show for the same price as this one song, although I agree that everything sounds better on heavy vinyl with a diamond stylus on the high fi. I'm no tech wizard but if there is some difference with going back to analog and going straight to vinyl then THAT would be a very special addition to my collection.
Also, I saw this advertised as a "previously unreleased" version, and in the store I chuckled while pointing out that all of the Europe '72 shows had been released. The response: Well, it hasn't been released on vinyl before. Um, ok....
Next year, if it was a collection of soundchecks from the tour on limited release vinyl, then I would be camping out weeks in advance.
No problem. . .
Went to my local shop, walked in, picked it up, payed for it, and left. . . No big deal. Hope everyone else has the same luck. . . Peace!
I missed the boat...
...by about 45 minutes. Two copies came to our one and only local vinyl store and were snatched up very quickly. Bummer for me. Apparently they knew about this weeks before Dead.net announced this release. I could have ordered a copy. Oh well. I'll know for next year. Twenty-two dollars was the price. Thanks to Rhino for putting this out there.
One More Time- read slowly
...so you get it. Most though I'm sure not all people collect something, stamps coins beanie babies etc. Rhino is smart enough to realize that and in this case it's about helping out independants (you know the people we should patronize). Yes I'm a music collector and I love limited editions. I still have my 1st press Anthem and 1st press remix in ex shape thank you. Nothing quixotic about it I bought I got 'em. By the way there were only 2 mixes released. This time due to work I couldn't be at the store, no problem that's what ebay is for. Yes I paid a premium that's life. Ask a stamp collector what a used $5 1893 Columbian issue costs. Thank you Rhino for keeping your word to us.
The pleasure of discovery
I think that National Record Store Day is a way for people who enjoy music to support their local, independent record stores, the number of which has dwindled considerably over the years, while experiencing the pleasure of discovery that a record store provides far more than an online search for records. The limited, previously unreleased, special edition items are intended to serve as an incentive to go to a record store, as are the live band performances and DJ record spins, but they are not the only benefits. I had a lot of fun looking at the posters and box sets displayed on the walls and flipping through albums that I didn't know existed. It was something that I hadn't done in awhile
I was able to buy a copy of the Dark Star release, but only because I inquired about it. The manager ordered it from another store in another town. I will probably give it to a friend, who only wants it because it is a limited, previously unreleased, special edition item. I wouldn't have felt badly if I hadn't gotten the record. There are far more significant things that one can miss out on in life.
Victory!
I walked into Newbury Comics in Manchester, NH today and paid $18 for their last copy! Having just listened to my CD version while debating the purchase let me say, oh yea the sound is well worth it. SUPER thick vinyl, and Jerry's guitar sounds like three guitars compared to the CD. As for this version, it's my second favorite next to 2-13-70, which has too many separate and unique jams to even fathom, like steps up a staircase! But here it's Jerry's noodling which does not stop for 38 minutes, giving Billy 2 minutes to let Jerry take a smoke break. Having it on LP makes me one of the 4,200 happiest people in the world!
This is beyond fucking ridiculous. How about some QC!
Got mine.
Side two has an extra label loosely attached to the regular label, but it wont come off the vinyl!
How the fuck are they supposed to fix this when it's a limited release!? They got some extras, just in case?
If I knew how to post a picture I'd show you what I was talking about.
40 minute dark star...
"Uh, a fourty-minute dark star??" "Well, there was a language barrier, so what the heck."
"Whadda bummer"
"Bum-mar? "Parly Vuu Francais?" "Huh?"
Lights!"