Grateful Dead

I am going to have to not read this topic in the morning anymore. It just pisses me off. I get yelled at often enough at my dayjob for things that are beyond my control.... Look, we're frustrated too, okay? But there is nothing we can do for you, with regard to the store, that really, you can't do for yourselves. Here is the email address, yet again, for the store people. customerservice@deadnetstore.com I know that's not as fun as letting off steam here, but if you want to blast the people in charge, there's your sign. They may not provide you the immediate gratification that MaryE and I seem to provide in this outlet, but at least you'll be heard. And creating a record of discontent where it matters makes more sense to me than just venting over here. Thanks for listening. izzie

by withdrawling the vault downloads series in lossless format you have assured that these recordings will be traded illegaly - most hardcore GD fans i know who collect thousands of hours of recordings aren't going to download any significant quantity of lossy crap from itunes and they aren't going to let the fact that they are no longer available for purchase to stop them from acquiring them. . ITUNES can't even get the name of "MARS HOTEL" right. Most deadheads I know will pay a few cents more for the lossless CD with a case, a cover, and can be converted to a WAV, an MP3 or a FLAC. the itunes track comes in 1 crappy lossy format. dumb move - really really stupid.

thanks to you too Marye....hey I just realised you got that lot for breakfast..sorry..it was lunchtime for me when I lost my cool! I'll get back in my box now!

we are passing this on. Thank you.

so there I was happily buying and downloading DPs and Download Series thru Dead.net when I had some spare cash.....then the whole lot stops. Now all I can do is buy Downloads (and only some DPs) thru iTunes you folks in the US may not be aware that iTunes will only sell you items thru the site in the country where your credit card is registered..so I cannot buy from iTunes US. And guess what. iTunes France (where I live) does not sell DP or the Download Series. So I am shut out completely. Folks in Europe only had sporadic chances to see the Dead and now we are not even allowed to hear them! Perhaps this is for the same reasons that French Fries became Freedom Fries!! Who's in charge here? They shut down SBDs on archive.org presumably to make some money, but don't seem to want my hard earned cash. Make your minds up please! Either give it away or let us buy it!!! Look, I know you nice folks who moderate this wonderful site are not personally responsible for this mess, but the fact remains that all the music that was available as downloads thru the old site no longer is on the new one. Can you PLEASE use whatever contacts you have to express just how infuriating this is. Oh and please also say a big big thanks to David L for maintaining the lifeline that is 'Tapers' Section'...............at least someone is thinking of us!! 'Big Boss Man...can't you hear my call??????????

I checked out the Download Series on iTunes, and I gotta say, I'm pretty disapointed. They are now only available as 128k sound files in Apple's audio format, what a bummer. When these were for sale on dead.net they were available in multiple file formats, and with no DRM. I really appreciated having these shows available in FLAC format for the great sound quality. I always opted for the FLAC files. And it was nice to have the jewel case inserts to download also. I'm sure the Dead organization have their reasons for doing what they do, but come on, these shows deserve much better treatment then being turned into another overpriced, crappy sounding iTunes product. I don't have the entire Download Series, and I would like to buy the ones that i don't have, but I refuse to buy them from iTunes. These are great shows, please bring them back to dead.net where they belong! And on a much happier note, I love the 3FTV release. Great sound quality, and a great show! My thanks to everyone involved for puting out that fine show. Keep 'em comin' Rhino!

Well, I finally received my copy of Three from the Vault today (hooray!). First off, the re-mastering is awesome! Really sounds great.This was an interesting show on many levels (Micky's last show the day before, a slew of new songs). Total rocked out Dead. Lean and mean. No time for subtlety, just hard assed rock and roll here. A prelude to Skull and Roses. Billy really played his heart out on this show! Wow! There were times I think he overplayed a bit, but I think I can empathize (his bother had left and who knew when he would return?) He seemed to be trying to fill in all the space left by Micky. The MVP's of this show were (IMHO) Pigpen and Phil. Pig is in total command during his numbers. Phil is just sick throughout. First set: It's hard to really say much about Loser, Bertha, and Playin'. They sound much like they did the night before. It's unfair to criticize the performances as the band is still feeling their way around the songs. Okay, so Truckin' takes a little bit to get truckin' but eventually they manage to get something going. Cumberland is tight and fun, despite the lyrical flubs (who cares about missed lyrics at this point anyway? I just fill it in myself). Dark Hollow is a nice little nugget. I don't think I've ever heard an electric version before. The band throws out a stunted and perfunctory China, but they really get running during a spirited Rider. The MVP of the first set is Pigpen. Man he is in great voice throughout, really pushing the band. It Hurts me Too and Smokestack are incredible. I've always thought the Dead's blues playing was as if really advanced and hip aliens from Alpha Centauri had learned to play the blues and genetically engineered Pigpen from the DNA of Lightnin' Hopkins and Odetta. Interstellar blues! I love Jerry's eerie hoots and whistles during Pigs rap in Smokestack. Set Two: Greatest Story and Deal are to new to really comment on. But Bird Song is a nice debut. Raw, but well performed. Wharf Rat, on the other hand, seems as if it had been sprung Athena-like from the ether as a fully formed song. Sure it would become a bit more dynamic, but this performance, as well as the debut performance the night before, are brilliant. (The Wharf Rat on 2/18 comes out of Dark Star and goes into Beautiful Jam>Dark Star. Yeah.) So, to continue, I actually like the JBG here. I've never really thought the boys ever did JBG justice, but this one is alright. Easy wind is some more psychedelic-swamp blues. Very tasty grooves. Pig is in full command. That's it For The Other One gets tasty during the Other One section. Phil is really on fire. This would be a good version to play for someone you want to turn on to the Dead. Good Lovin' is fun. Pig's rap is funny, although he seems to run out of steam toward the end. Maybe a few minutes too long. All in all, a decent release. Sound is stellar; can't ask for much better than this. A lot of green curios I probably won't listen to much, but a few kick ass bluesy performances I'll definitely return to! Yo Soy Boricua!

After reading all the comments and replys. It seems you guys have really sold out. It's a real shame, and I'm sorry to say, that Jerry isn't stearing this ship anymore. I can imagine he's spinning like a top where ever he is. iTunes only. Apple is the Beatles. They, that were left, should have done all they could to have Jobs and co. change the name in the very beginning. While I don't particully like Bill G. and his hold on OSs etc. I won't buy into i.... anything. Everything I've learned is from The Grateful Dead and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

It's all good Izzie. No problems getting the first release (1-1-77!). **it happens. I will survive.

Jeeze, REK. I'm sorry you've had to deal with this. I'll get this to the attention of the store folks, but that's all we can do here. Customer Service is supposed to be getting better, for what that's worth. Our admin folk here on this side of the house are as blown away as we are about the level of service at the Store.