The Dead Rock the Cradle of Civilization
2-CD/1-DVD Collection Rocking The Cradle: Egypt 1978 Celebrates The 30th Anniversary of the Band’s Historic Concerts at Giza With Previously Unreleased Audio and Video
Fans Who Pre-Order on Dead.net Will Receive an Exclusive Bonus Disc Containing Additional Egypt Performances.
Available September 30 from Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino
In the fall of 1978, author and counterculture icon Ken Kesey reported to a close friend that he had recently witnessed “the latest Rocking of the Cradle of Civilization.” The course of events that he went on to recall was the Grateful Dead’s assorted family, friends and fellow Pranksters—“Pyramidiots” of various origins—descent upon Egypt’s Nile Valley that culminated in three legendary concerts performed at the foot of the Great Pyramid in Giza. Although perhaps unintentionally, the entire adventure might have been easily seen, as Kesey did, as one very special contribution to the then-critical Middle Eastern peace effort. To commemorate the 30-year anniversary of this cosmic convergence of sound and sphinx, Grateful Dead Productions and Rhino will release ROCKING THE CRADLE: EGYPT 1978, a collection of highlights from this historic three-night stand. The 2-CD/1-DVD set will be available September 30 at regular retail outlets and www.dead.net for a suggested list price of $34.98. Fans who pre-order the set from Dead.net will receive an exclusive eight-song bonus disc that includes additional unreleased performances from the Egypt run. A digital version that includes all the CD content will also be also available.
Recorded September 15-16, 1978 at the Gizah Sound and Light Theater, the original 24-track recordings have been mixed and mastered for this set in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman for optimal sound quality. The two CDs contain 18 tracks featuring more than two and a half hours of music. Except for three performances that appeared on 2004’s Beyond Description boxed set, the tracks on ROCKING THE CRADLE have never been released. The accompanying DVD features more than 100 minutes of footage, including 13 songs from the third and final Egypt show, which took place during a rare lunar eclipse.It is misxed in 5.1 surround sound and presented in DTS surround and PCM stereo sound. Legendary promoter Bill Graham called this show “one of the great experiences of my life.” The DVD also includes a featurette titled “The Vacation Tapes” which catches never-before-seen candid band footage from the trip. The set comes in pyramid-inspired packaging and features rare photos from the trip and liner notes by longtime Dead associate Alan Trist, who was pivotal in making the trek to Egypt happen.
Trist recalls that “the Dead long dreamed of playing at the foot of the Great Pyramid.” However, pulling off this dream proved to be a monumental task as no other American band had ever performed there. The band spent months planning and making arrangements with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture. The band agreed to pay all of its own expenses for the trip and donated all of the proceeds from ticket sales to several Egyptian charities, as well as the Department of Antiquities, which preserves the country’s ancient treasures. Another major challenge was the minimal amount of power available at Gizah, which required the band to bring in an enormous generator to power its state-of-the-art sound and recording equipment. In the end, the massive effort paid off. The shows were spectacular successes, attracting a mix of world cultures including American Dead Heads and European fans as well as curious Egyptians and Bedouins on camels drawn by the unusual spectacle.
Unbeknownst to the band at the time, these shows would soon have a remarkable historical context. On September 17, the day after the last show, the Camp David Peace Accords were signed after nearly two weeks of secret negotiations. The Accords lead to the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty, which made Egypt the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel and ended a near 30-year state of war between the two countries. One has to wonder if the Dead’s message of peace and love might have had some sort of impact on the negotiations.
ROCKING THE CRADLE features Jerry Garcia (guitar, vocals), Donna Jean Godchaux (vocals), Keith Godchaux (keyboards), Mickey Hart (drums), Bill Kreutzmann (drums), Phil Lesh (electric bass, vocals), and Bob Weir (rhythm guitar, vocals). These performances took place just a few months before the band released Shakedown Street, its tenth studio album. The shows featured performances of several songs from the upcoming album, including the title track, “I Need A Miracle,” “Fire On The Mountain,” and an updated take on the blues standard, “Stagger Lee.” The band also peppered its Egyptian setlists with classics like “Deal,” “Truckin’” and “Stella Blue.”
ROCKING THE CRADLE: EGYPT 1978
Track Listing
Disc 1
1. “Jack Straw”
2. “Row Jimmy”
3. “New, New Minglewood Blues”
4. “Candyman”
5. “Looks Like Rain”
6. “Stagger Lee”
7. “I Need A Miracle”
8. “It’s All Over Now”
9. “Deal”
Disc 2
1. “Ollin Arageed”
2. “Fire On The Mountain”
3. “Iko Iko”
4. “Shakedown Street”
5. “Drums”
6. “Space”
7. “Truckin’”
8. “Stella Blue”
9. “Around And Around”
DVD
Track Listing
1.“Bertha”
2. “Good Lovin’”
3. “Row Jimmy”
4. “New, Minglewood Blues”
5. “Candyman”
6. “Looks Like Rain”
7. “Deal”
8. “Ollin Arageed”
9. “Fire On The Mountain”
10. “Iko Iko”
11. “I Need A Miracle”
12. “It’s All Over Now”
13. “Truckin’”
Featurette: “The Vacation Tapes”
Dead.net Exclusive Bonus CD
1. “Bertha”
2. “Good Lovin’”
3. “El Paso”
4. “Ramble On Rose”
5. “Estimated Prophet”
6. “Eyes Of The World”
7. “Terrapin Station”
8. “Sugar Magnolia”
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Comments
The Cradle of Civilization
Ok. I want one or two right now. Please get the link into this fine site so somebody can "pre-order" this new offering - like the promotion suggests. Damitol. The suffering we must endure.
Jarel
Egypt '78
Can't wait to hear these shows remastered in HDCD. I recently received all three nights (9/14 - 9/16) on a vine and have been listening to them for a while now. I read somewhere that Jerry didn't want to release these after the show because he thought they didn't play too well but i disagree. The Shakedown from the third night is mind blowing and to be able to watch some of the performance on DVD should be a treat.
One question - How do I pre-order?
actually, Candyman..
I think it has more to do with the fact that individual experiences and opinions are like said donkey-holes. As for me, I'll scoop this up even though in my donkey-hole opinion there are certainly better shows - but because like so many bumper stickers have said in praise of the ol' hook-line-and-sinker, a bad day with the Good Ol' Grateful Dead is better than a good day anywhere else (I'm paraphrasing here) and because I think I heard somebody say once that .............. nothing lasts.
and, that DVD oughta be pretty sweet!
rereading that..........
well, not like any day with the Dead would be considered a 'bad' one per se........... but I think y'all get my drift ................ anyway
Bottom Line
OK, so we know the boys were not at their butt-kickin' best in Egypt and that some of us (including me) had to endure that stinkfest at the Meadowlands to pay for the trip, but I will still buy the package because of the history and the DVD. Also, even mediocre Grateful Dead beats the heck out of a lot of other garbage I can waste my money on.
Dvd's!!!!
The more on dvd the marrier!!!! I'll take what I can get.
My take on the release and some of the neg. comments......
Coming from a Deadhead who came of age in the 70's; I do remember hearing ,back in the day, that the boys didn't like these shows musically. They would say that they always blew the big ones (Woodstock and such). Remember the Tom Schnieder interview.
I want to look at this from GDP's shoes:
If they don't make money they can't continue, for years to come, to remaster and put this great music out to us and more importantly to the new generations. If they release the entire run, all three nights, they would have to pay more for the remastering process and studio time (engineers and such). They would have to print more cd's and larger packaging which costs more and they would have to charge lots more money. They would maybe have to charge $74 or more for the package as opposed to $34. I am sure that they know from experiance that many less people will be willing to buy the package at these higher price ranges. This would make the whole thing a losing proposition. Plus. You "donkey-holes" would be crying foul and "monkey mongers".
If they were to release the shows one full show at a time you would cry foul because ,"why aren't you guys releasing all the shows at once, your just trying to make more money off of this run." Obviously GDP can't win with some of you "D-holes" no matter what direction they go. I am choosing not to second guess the choices GDP makes. Instead I am going to enjoy the releases that I choose to purchase.
Now my hippy take:
Right on kind rainbow brothers and sisters. These shows ARE monumental. Kick down the goods bra. Can't wait to have one of my DVD viewing parties. ( ...our Winterland viewing party went until the sun came up and was just real.....).
The release is not till September....I am sure they will have the link up in plenty of time.
*disclaimer: I am not affiliated with anybody of importance in the org. (though I wish I were.) I am just a good ole NC boy who was fortunate enough to be born when I was, was introduced to the bus in the mid seventies and was able to see what I saw. I have found that a positive approach to life is so much more fullfilling. However, there are those that are just going to see the cup half empty and we are going to have to learn to love them as well and (like the old tapes hiss) tune it out. ; )
Duggles
Cradle
When can we buy it??????????????
interesting release (DVD)
OK, like many others, I am also one who likes and knows that complete shows are the best, right, and only way to have releases of the Grateful Dead. I have posted a tirade on the comment sections about this subject, and I have been openly critical of the Road Trips releases as they have all been multiple shows that were chopped up into compilations. However, I am also willing to believe in exceptions. Obviously, if the complete show does not exist in the vault, but only part of it is there or usable that is one legitimate reason for a highlights and/or compilations. For this release, I also believe it qualifies as an exception but for different reasons. Here are my thoughts on this:
These shows were substandard as many have pointed out. I have streamed them in the past of off archive.org, but never got real into them. Actually, I am streaming one right now (9/16) just for the hell of it. Since the shows were substandard, I don't mind a release of highlights instead of a complete show. All though, I must say that I thought that complete runs, like the Winterland 1973 box set, where to be the norm now, but I digress. A big sticking point for me is the DVD that is part of this release. Any chance to get video from older shows is good if you ask me. So, I think that I will be pre-ordering this one.
I still want to request that more complete shows be released, but with caveat that they be good to exceptional performances. I know that the vault does not contain every show, but there are plenty of complete shows in there that are worthy of release. I have said this before, but I must say it again, just give us the best shows you have. I see no need to spend time working on weak shows and releasing them whether they be complete or not. It is no secret what the fans regard as the better shows from any particular year or era, so please give us those.
Continuing with this, I have also requested in the past that "the powers that be" give us a formal chance to voice our requests for upcoming release. Restating it again, I think there should be a voting system in which two lists should be made: One with all of the complete and unreleased shows in the vault, and a second with all of non-complete unreleased shows in the vault. Each list should be arranged by year and then votes can vote for there top three shows from each list for each year. Or each person can just cast 5 total votes for shows from each list. Then all that has to be done is a tally and that will give you a huge list of releases for next few decades. It will also give options for complete shows and compilations so that everyone can get what they desire.
In the end, I still prefer the "finest band in the land" to all others so it is nice see more releases, but there is nothing wrong with improving on them.
Do or do not; there is no try.
Nothing for the completists?
I just don't understand. If they're going to go to all the work of re-mastering these shows, you'd think that they'd offer both of the shows in their entirety. I mean if these shows are so "historic" why would you want to abbreviate them?
And correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't these shows supposed to be released back then, but were passed up because the shows were extremely sub-par?
I don't want to sound ungrateful (no pun intended), the frequency in which shows are being released is pretty good, but I'm tired of getting excited over things like this, only to find out that it's NOT the complete package.