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    Pacific Northwest ’73-’74: The Complete Recordings Boxed Set

    WHAT'S INSIDE:
    6 Complete Shows On 19 Discs
    • 6/22/73 P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C.
    • 6/24/73 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
    • 6/26/73 Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, WA
    • 5/17/74 P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C.
    • 5/19/74 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
    • 5/21/74 Hec Edmundson Pavilion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
    Mastered in HDCD from the original master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering
    Masters transferred and restored by Plangent Processes
    Original Art by First Nations Artist Roy Henry Vickers
    Photos by Richie Pechner
    Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 15,000

    Includes an immediate digital download of "Eyes Of The World (P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada 5/17/74)"

    "We were in the Pacific Northwest...between somewhere in Washington and some other where in Oregon. The road took us to the lip on a ridge, from where we could see around us for many miles in all directions … It was breathtaking to behold, but as we watched, we had a firm realization that we were witnessing something even more beautiful than our eyes could ever take in … Life causes life. Heaven and Earth dance in this way endlessly, and their child is the forest. And so there we were, epiphanously watching that grandest and most glorious dance of life—of which we are just a tiny part—awed by a magnificence without beginning, without end..."

    Bob Weir, “Sell Headwaters—Everyone Wins,” San Francisco Chronicle

    The Pacific Northwest offers up a rich feast of land, sky, and water. It is ripe with influences, abundant with symbols, deep and spirited. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the Grateful Dead played some of their most inspired shows on these fertile grounds. It does, however, sometimes take a breath for the elements to re-align years later. It seems for us, they finally have and we are able to present not just a glimpse of the band's extraordinary exploratory tour through the region, but a two-tour bounty as the PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS.

    For PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, we've paired two short runs made up of six previously unreleased shows - P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C. (6/22/73); Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (6/24/73); Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, WA (6/26/73); P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada (5/17/74); Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (5/19/74); and Hec Edmundson Pavilion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (5/21/74). Each show has been mastered in HDCD from the original master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. The transfers from the masters were transferred and restored by Plangent Processes, further ensuring that this is the best, most authentic that these shows have ever sounded.

    PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS comes in an ornate box created by Canada’s preeminent First Nations artist Roy Henry Vickers (more on this tremendous artist soon). To complement the music, the set also includes a 64-page book with an in-depth essay by Grateful Dead scholar Nicholas G. Meriwether and photos by Richie Pechner.

    Due September 7th, this release is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies and available exclusively from dead.net. You'll want to grab a copy while you can and sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks.

    Looking for something a little more byte-sized? The collection will also be available for HD digital download in FLAC and ALAC, exclusively at dead.net, on release day. You can pre-order it now too.

    Get it while you can.

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  • Khronikos
    Joined:
    Is this box now sold out?…

    Is this box now sold out? They list it, but it seems like that is just some old data. Great set. I love it, but I don't have it physically. Not a huge deal, but it is very lovely.

  • oceansaroundus
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    I just received my edition…

    I just received my edition of the Northwest Complete Recordings 73 74. Showed up without tracking or any email confirmations . So Glad You Made It. Can't Wait.

  • icecrmcnkd
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    Daverock

    I have the vinyl too. Grate companions to the CD Box.

  • daverock
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    Crow told me-spot on

    I keep going back to this box - superb. Especially the 1974 shows. I went so far as to get 5/19/74 and the Playing in the Band from 5/21/74 on vinyl. There are a few problems with vocals on both, but this matters not a jot. The playing, as you say, from all band members, is absorbing. After 1970 they only needed Bill on drums.

    I also agree with icecrmcnkd - a box of October 1974 with bells and whistles would make a great release.

  • icecrmcnkd
    Joined:
    Yes, this Box rocks

    But it’s now time, Dave, for the Complete Winterland October 74 Box - audio, video, and bonus material.
    Bring it on.

  • Crow Told Me
    Joined:
    Late to the party, but ...

    ... just wanted to share how delighted I am with the music in this set, and encourage anyone who’s not taken the plunge to just go ahead and get it already.

    There’s been some chatter in another thread about how long it’s taking to sell out this box, and all I can say is that, as much as I love ’73 and ’74, I didn’t order mine till Rhino put it on sale. Maybe some people are settling for the 3-disc version, which is understandable, given the difference in price and given that they did manage to include some very high highlights (including the 45 minute PITB!) in that set.

    Also causing some hesitation for me was the packaging. Don’t get me wrong: it’s beautiful! The art work is amazing. But speaking as someone who already has problems finding shelf space for my CDs, I wasn’t sure where I’d put this giant box. (In case anybody upstairs is listening: I thought the June 1976 box really hit the sweet spot between packaging that was elaborate enough to make the box feel special but also small enough to not cause problems.)

    Anyway, the music. The MUSIC. For me, this era was flat out the best the band ever sounded, and it’s an incredible joy to hear them in such fine audio. There are a few “surprises,” the kind of vocal drop outs and oddities in the mix that would’ve rated a “caveat” back in the Dick’s days. Mostly, these are very temporary, and in all cases the sound is really really good once everybody settles in. As usual, Jerry’s louder than Bob, but you can hear them both very distinctly, and they constantly (constantly!) are playing their asses off. Phil’s on fire throughout. And BK? He makes a solid case here that the Dead never needed another drummer. Keith comes through nicely, and plays well. I suppose we could say that the vocals were erratic during this period, and I would admit that’s true here. But the singing is mostly good to great, and man oh man, the band sounds fantastic!

    I’ve only listened to each show once so far—given the complaints about missing discs and whatnot, I felt like I should make a point of listening all the way through to make sure nothing was amiss—so I’m not really ready to call out a favorite show, or even favorite tunes. But I will say that the PITBs, the Bird Songs, the Eyes, the China-Riders are all, for me, as good as they get. Their playing was so spontaneous, so open, so powerful, so much soul, so imperfectly perfect.

    Yes, I suppose there are other, equally worthy eras. But man, ’73 and ’74 were beautiful.

  • Slow Dog Noodle
    Joined:
    6-22-73

    The hour or so of music from He's Gone through the end of Wharf Rat is one of the top 5 hours of music the dead ever played.

    There, I said it. This box is worth every penny for that hour of music alone.

  • gd1294
    Joined:
    Pacific Northwest show disc one song 11 jack straw

    Pacific northwest show disc 1 song 11 Jack straw four minutes and 35 seconds there is a skip defect in the disc. Is there any way getting a replacement cd for the box set I bought.

  • deadacated
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    Joined:
    Testing with Lossless Audio…

    Testing with Lossless Audio Checker shows the June 1976 FLAC download in 24/192 format ( https://store.dead.net/music/digital/june-1976-flac-192-24-1.html ) and the Pacific Northwest '73-'74- The Complete Recordings FLAC download in 24/192 ( https://store.dead.net/music/boxed-sets/pacific-northwest-73-74-the-com… ) to be "Upsampled." I have notified Jeffrey Norman and Rhino. I sent Jeffrey the logs of the LAC test results showing 80% of the June 76 files being upsampled. While he was very nice in his response, he had no explanation for the finding. Rhino has not responded to any e-mails. It is important to note that the files on both test “Clean” after downsampling to 24/96, which, likely, means the files, were originally digitized at 24/96 or digitized at 24/192 and downsampled to 24/96 for mastering. Whatever the case Rhino needs to disclose this fact on their web site or change the files for sale to 24/96.

  • Morning Sun
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    Joined:
    Sale

    Check out Rhino for sale through this weekend

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Pacific Northwest ’73-’74: The Complete Recordings Boxed Set

WHAT'S INSIDE:
6 Complete Shows On 19 Discs
• 6/22/73 P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C.
• 6/24/73 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
• 6/26/73 Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, WA
• 5/17/74 P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C.
• 5/19/74 Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR
• 5/21/74 Hec Edmundson Pavilion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Mastered in HDCD from the original master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering
Masters transferred and restored by Plangent Processes
Original Art by First Nations Artist Roy Henry Vickers
Photos by Richie Pechner
Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 15,000

Includes an immediate digital download of "Eyes Of The World (P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada 5/17/74)"

"We were in the Pacific Northwest...between somewhere in Washington and some other where in Oregon. The road took us to the lip on a ridge, from where we could see around us for many miles in all directions … It was breathtaking to behold, but as we watched, we had a firm realization that we were witnessing something even more beautiful than our eyes could ever take in … Life causes life. Heaven and Earth dance in this way endlessly, and their child is the forest. And so there we were, epiphanously watching that grandest and most glorious dance of life—of which we are just a tiny part—awed by a magnificence without beginning, without end..."

Bob Weir, “Sell Headwaters—Everyone Wins,” San Francisco Chronicle

The Pacific Northwest offers up a rich feast of land, sky, and water. It is ripe with influences, abundant with symbols, deep and spirited. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that the Grateful Dead played some of their most inspired shows on these fertile grounds. It does, however, sometimes take a breath for the elements to re-align years later. It seems for us, they finally have and we are able to present not just a glimpse of the band's extraordinary exploratory tour through the region, but a two-tour bounty as the PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS.

For PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, we've paired two short runs made up of six previously unreleased shows - P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, B.C. (6/22/73); Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (6/24/73); Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, WA (6/26/73); P.N.E. Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada (5/17/74); Portland Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR (5/19/74); and Hec Edmundson Pavilion, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (5/21/74). Each show has been mastered in HDCD from the original master tapes by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering. The transfers from the masters were transferred and restored by Plangent Processes, further ensuring that this is the best, most authentic that these shows have ever sounded.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST ’73-’74: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS comes in an ornate box created by Canada’s preeminent First Nations artist Roy Henry Vickers (more on this tremendous artist soon). To complement the music, the set also includes a 64-page book with an in-depth essay by Grateful Dead scholar Nicholas G. Meriwether and photos by Richie Pechner.

Due September 7th, this release is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies and available exclusively from dead.net. You'll want to grab a copy while you can and sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks.

Looking for something a little more byte-sized? The collection will also be available for HD digital download in FLAC and ALAC, exclusively at dead.net, on release day. You can pre-order it now too.

Get it while you can.

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You are looking at baseball entirely the wrong way. It is far more boring than soccer. The only point in going is to drink beer with your friends and betting on how many innings it will take before the right fielder actually touches the ball for the first time. Other than that, it is a fairly pointless sport. Right up there with NASCAR. We had the pleasure of hanging out last year with a bunch of Hooligans from Leicester when they played Sevilla in the champions league. Came across them totally by accident. They overtook an entire section of the city. About 5,000 of them made the trip. The nicest, most passionate sports fans I have ever met. Your first instinct is to stay away, but we decided to go have a beer with them. Wound up spending the entire afternoon drinking, singing songs and learning about the league. It was actually very cool. Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate the talent of the players. But as a sport, soccer itself is boring as all hell. Sorry, but it is. There is more action in one period of a Stanley Cup game than there will be in the entire World Cup tournament. http://projects.cornellsun.com/projects/pumpkin-feature/
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You're looking at sport entirely the wrong way. If you want a sport which is boring and allows one to drink beer with one's friends, then you should appreciate cricket. Some games last three days, some last five days. If you are unable to consume sufficient beer in five days, then there is obviously no sport that is suitable for you.
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....even more boring than soccer. Got free box seats at a race here in Vegas a few months ago. Decided to go with my son. I would have left after an hour if it wasn't for the free beer and food. One racer led the whole time. Found out the next day he cheated. I then felt even more cheated for the three hours of my life that I'll never get back....
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Those thinking they've got lots of stock - it appears they've sold out of several sizes. Not sure if there's any restock - so if you think you want one, grab one! I got my shipping notice yesterday too. We can be twins next year VGuy ;) when I come out to Vegas and meet up again...
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....one thing is for sure. Deadheads love their tee shirts. It's like our version of Roman armor.
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Nascar was fun in the 1920's and 1930's when the sport was invented out of necessity. The necessity part was bootleggers delivering their product without getting caught by the cops.. so they modified their cars for speed. The race started when the cops began chase and ended when they delivered their hooch to the market or got shot and killed trying, whichever came first. So the history is interesting and meaningful. Like most things in life.. it became a whole lot less interesting when they removed the illegality and repealed prohibition in 1933. They should spice it up a bit.. replace the pace car with a couple cop cars complete with pissed off police shooting at the cars giving chase. Then I might go. To me, it's just a silly waste of gas. No offense meant to any fans or racers including Bob Weir's sister in law, Leilani Münter biology graduate turned race car driver and environmental activist. There.. I managed to make this GD related. :D
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Malarkey~I've got a great picture of us in the lot. The whole gang & the freaks parked next to us.:o)
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One of my favorite debates is with a friend over which sport is more grueling.Soccer or Hockey I say Soccer. This set looks to be fun for the era fans. 73 was Golden no doubt. Considering buying the 3 CD comp. version.
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Is it October yet....?
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I just plug in a quantity (at the shopping cart) and see how many units it takes before it won't allow me to add any more. This box set only allows 10,000 units at a time...and it took 10,000. I keep checking the summer 78 box (Red Rocks) because I still haven't pulled the trigger on that one yet. Still a few left ;)
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Great quality and just an amazing show if you are looking for something to listen to... bob t
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12 years 5 months
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Approx. 1430 units left. Been staring at it for a year...somebody please convince me to buy this thing already!!!!
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Robbz here goes. Don't focus on the two Red Rock shows. Kansas City, Omaha, and St. Paul were never available except audience tapes. 3 new boards makes it worth it.... Oh well i tried... bob t
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You picked the wrong one. Those guys spend most of their energy on diving and faking injuries. Don't get me started on the "magic soccer water" which somehow has the ability to immediately heal players from a debilitating injury with a few squirts. I'd love to know where I can get some of that stuff.
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I don't know if this will help you decide whether or not to purchase it RobbZ, but I can tell you why I like the July '78 box. (I see bob t beat me to the punch here but I'll tell you anyway). First, all of the shows sound great, Betty did a great job on the recordings. The shows all seem great to my easy to please ears, and the Estimated Prophets all seem particularly fine to me. There are a couple of nice two disc shows, including the Arrowhead Stadium show which was part of Willie Nelson's Picnic. If having a dead show from Willie Nelson's Picnic doesn't sell it then consider that the artwork on the July '78 is really cool as well. Really, I return to that box quite a bit and am never disappointed.
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check yer PM
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Red Rocks 7/8/787/7/78 the other three...lots to enjoy. get it.
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"grab 'em by the cash" this release is not a cash grab. it is a release which I will happily pay money for. it is a labor of love, imho. and the GD organization deserves to make some $$$ off it. but this is not a cash grab.
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I'll never understand why that set hasn't sold out. The sound is fantastic, the shows are great fun, and for those who like physical boxes, it looks great. You won't regret picking this one up. Pick it up while you still can. Life is short, play Dead!
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Good to hear July 78 get some love. It exceeded my expectations on every level. It won me over the first listen to the first show, Arrowhead. Great sound, a lot of previously unreleased material and high quality, high energy shows. Under-rated.. Hey.. just six weeks until Dave's Picks 27 gets delivered. Wonder what it's gonna be?
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My opinion:The first show at Arrowhead Stadium smokes from beginning to end. 7/8 is also a great show. On the other hand, I think the other three shows are uneven; some great stuff in there, and a few songs that suffer from Bobby practicing slide guitar on stage. However, Jerry is on through all five shows, and it's a really nice package too, probably the best artwork/design up to now. So, yes buy it!
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this is an amazing box set. I can't believe it's still available - DEFINITELY pick it up if you can. 7/7 and 7/8 are of course legendary, but as someone else mentioned, the first 3 shows of the box did not circulate except as audience tapes (I think). Those three shows will fill you with complete happiness. The 7/1 show is a bit odd because it's basically two sets smashed into one long set, but the Estimated is probably my favorite version of all time. To be fair I generally prefer 1978 over 1977 (I just love how wild they sound), but all bias aside I think it ranks right up there with any of the 77 box sets they put out...
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According to both Deadlists & Deadbase 50, the 6/22/73 2nd set jam runs as follows: He's Gone > Truckin' > The Other One > Wharf Rat > Sugar Magnolia If song listings and disc #s are correct, the box splits the jam between 'Wharf Rat' and 'Sugar Magnolia', while the compilation has it running complete. The arrow/indicator is missing from both lists for 'The Other One', but I think that was assumed anyway. Regardless, these releases look great.
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Thanks for the tip on figuring remaining units. I was wavering on buying either the box set or compilation, as the number of repeats in tunes in the full box set gave me a pause, a good number of them not my topmost favorites either. So I went to youtube and listened to most of what I could find for the shows, since I don't have them on tape or otherwise. Early on, I stumbled onto one of the Scarletts that I liked pretty well, then Donna came screeching in. Yikes, I almost went compilation at that point, and similar things happened where I liked the first 3/4 or so of both the Dark Star and Other, but then the doodling meanderings at the end of each are not what I enjoy as much. Then I came to my senses and realized I can always fast forward through those. I'm not averse to that. So I listened to more of the shows, and came away pretty impressed. Always liked 73-74, though they don't generally top my lists. I pre-ordered the box. Anyway, having all these beautiful box sets now and listening to them over the years will only age like fine wine, I think. In 20-25 years, looking at them on the shelf will be like leafing through my favorite LPs from 40 years ago. Lots of memories of good times and good music in unique and ultimately rare packages that will be well treated and cared for. Moral of the story: Get yourself the '78 box. Like others are saying, you won't regret it down the line. Plus, I was at the '78 St. Paul show, so I have a soft spot for it. Bobby in the Weirwolf of London mask, heh.
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I now recall why I’ve been avoiding these boards...because most people posting on here are experts in absolutely everything, and these experts certainly make it a point to demonstrate or show-off their “expertise.” I just read on this board that baseball is the most boring sport ever, and the reason for this is simply “because it is.” Huh? What is boring to one may be fun/exciting to another. Gee...let’s respect and appreciate diversity among us, which of course includes sports and any other interests. I’m definitely over-reacting a bit to this issue, but I guess I’m annoyed with the many close-minded opinions that are presented as facts from the “experts in everything.” I’ve discovered that people not liking baseball simply don’t understand it. The game (baseball) has withstood the test of time, which is not the case for many other sports. It has evolved with the times as well. Regarding time, baseball is the only true sport that doesn’t depend on a clock (or time), which is truly a fascinating and cool thing. I don’t love soccer, but I respect the heck out of it, and I do enjoy the World Cup. I don’t understand a few things about hockey, but what is the point of bashing the sport? An analogy can be made between our close-mindedness in sports and our close-mindedness in more important topics/issues. Maybe we could respect things that other people enjoy, and maybe even attempt to learn more about the things that we don’t fully understand. Open-mindedness towards things helps create the genuine “experts.” Okay, adios for the next few months.
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What are you talking about?Everything sucks except the stuff I like. How many people here like watching fishing? Or golf? I’ll tell you what I do like. The 78 Box. Still flabbergasted that it hasn’t sold out. RobbZ, pick one up. You’ll have a new Box to get you through the summer, and then your PNW Box will show up, just in time for some good Fall GD listening time.
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Watch golf Love baseball PLAY DEAD not necessarily in that order.
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Watch golf Love baseball PLAY DEAD not necessarily in that order.
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I cannot sing the praises of this box enough! The first show, 7/1 @ Arrowhead, sinks the hook deep. The boys must have blown some minds that day for the folks who came for Willy and got dosed for the first time. Just an awesome rocking show. The rest of the box carries on at a high level from there. The artwork and the box itself is my favorite of all the boxes. This one just screams Grateful Dead to me. I am sure that the reason it has not sold out is due to the fact that downloads are available. Whenever that happens, the sale of the physical cds slows down. I am a cd old fart but I realize some of us don't want any more physical product around the house. And anyone who has a problem with their significant other, can buy downloads to their hearts content without tipping their hand! This is a MUST have offering Rock on
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I cannot sing the praises of this box enough! The first show, 7/1 @ Arrowhead, sinks the hook deep. The boys must have blown some minds that day for the folks who came for Willy and got dosed for the first time. Just an awesome rocking show. The rest of the box carries on at a high level from there. The artwork and the box itself is my favorite of all the boxes. This one just screams Grateful Dead to me. I am sure that the reason it has not sold out is due to the fact that downloads are available. Whenever that happens, the sale of the physical cds slows down. I am a cd old fart but I realize some of us don't want any more physical product around the house. And anyone who has a problem with their significant other, can buy downloads to their hearts content without tipping their hand! This is a MUST have offering Rock on
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July 78 box is one of my favorite Dead releases. Need any more reasons? Phil sounds like a metal god on the Arrowhead show. Packaging is also perfect. Nice size, fits on the shelf. I can't find any footage of the Dead on that day, but here is some footage of the band Missouri on July 1 - skip ahead to 1:16 for some prettty incredible shots of the crowd at Arrowhead to get a feel. Not a Dead crowd but must have had some minds blown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3uHya-Mc8U&sns=em
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Not only does baseball not have a clock it is the only sport I know of where the defense controls the ball and the offense scores only when they put the ball out of control of the defense. Very unusual. Baseball's cool.
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of the remaining box sets of the Dead's 1978 summer excursion, I will offer my Red Rocks tale to convince you with eye/ear witness account, with apologies to those who have heard this twice told tale (maybe more like the sixth time on this forum) AND since I didn't get to write the liner notes, here is a repeat account for Robbz and those few that haven't heard it. That summer of 1978, we caught them in Minneapolis but missed Willie's picnic (we were already vacationing in Minnesota and the Dead did actually did circle back to Nebraska (that relates to a back story from a trip to Winterland NYE show 1977, but back to this run). They played the Omaha Civic Auditorium, where the Dead played once before in 1973.. We got there and the venue was half full (about 4,000) but everyone was chomping at the bit in anticipation to hear them live. I took my Nak 550 into the venue and there was no hassle getting the deck in this time, but remember these were the days before ‘tapers sections’. And each venue or even staff may present a different challenge. But not here, thank goodness. Out in the hallway, the Hell’s Angels wandered about sporting full colors and big grins. They may have been transporting ‘party favors’ and decided to take in a show. Or maybe the Angels were just road tripping with the band (although I didn't see them at the next few shows). My buddy even brought his 68 year old mother to the show. She sat up in the stands “It is just too loud down there!” Anyway, I headed down to the floor with my Nak 550 to set up in front of the soundboard. When I started to get my gear set up and saw this guy beside me with a great rig. Luckily this kind stranger (I have since discovered he was famous taper Bob Wagner) then let me patch out of the back of his deck, which was wonderful as he had a great 8 ft. tall mike stand set-up. He had a Sony deck and mics, but with that high stand his mic’s were well above the crowd noise. We were about 15 to 20 feet in FOB. So Garcia treated us to a blistering Sugaree opener, the kind that drove the crowd wild. His leads mounted into a wave that crests, recedes, regroups, and comes back rolling in with such power and delight that adds a synergistic effect to our frenzied response as his rolling/soaring guitar work lift and subside with the band. Then Beat In on Down the Line, TLEO and now it was Bob’s turn in the spotlight with a Look’s like Rain. About halfway through the song, I suddenly noticed something shimmering in the air between the band and me. I thought “what a fantastic light show! Or have I have shifted into fifth gear just a little early that I scheduled?” I staggered towards that disturbance in front of me to investigate. People were dancing wildly in the middle of the floor as a waterfall played over them. It was about 25 feet in circumference. I put my hand in, water…hand out, no rain..I am standing in front of an indoor waterfall. what to do? I jumped into pouring rain that was INSIDE the middle of the auditorium! Then I stepped back and was out of it. I shook my head and then lunged back into the deluge and danced through Looks Like Rain & then during Direwolf as well and a delightful All Over now. (Complete with Donna in perfect pitch!) Then Candyman and Lazy>Supplication before Bobby informed us “We’re going to take a short break”. I staggered back to reload a new tape and then I did look for some validation of my experience. And I asked my friends if I was not in fact ‘soaking wet’ as I patted my soaked shirt. They grinned knowingly and affirmed that, yes, in fact I was “all wet”. And then this unique show continued, (nice indoor water-feature, boys !) with a killer second set complete with a transportive Estimated> Eyes> drums> Wharf Rat> Truckin> Iko Iko> Around. And then after a lengthy absence from the stage the boys returned to play us ‘Promised Land” as an encore. As I left the auditorium I noticed the water standing on the ground outside, a summer storm? Was this a case of a leaky roof or didn't the Dead just conjure up the forces of nature as they were so prone to do? But back to the important stuff, what were the Dead going to do next? Would Phil rev up his reverse gravity machine and pummel us with Phil-bombs at the next show? Would they levitate the crowd, and have us all dance while floating in the 'cool Colorado range'? I HAD to follow them to those Red Rocks shows in 1978. So a road-trip to Colorado it was. This was the Dead’s first Red Rocks jaunt (and my first as well, although my girlfriend (now wife) had seen Joni Mitchell there previously and raved about the venue) so my anticipation was so ‘high’. (In many ways.) So I packed my taping and camping gear and off we went. When we walked up to the Rocks entrance, the Feyline security crew (or were they the John Scher guys?) were stopping people and inspecting any 'carry in' bags. A security behemoth that I will call “BigBoy’ stopped me at the entrance to look through my Boy Scout backpack. He hefted my NAK 550 out of the pack and held it aloft with one beefy paw, exclaiming “Hey, you can’t take this in!” I gave him my best perplexed look and said “What? It’s just a tape player.” (first lie) Then the giant BigBoy instructs me to “take that back to your car”. I retorted “I can’t, I hitchhiked to the show” (second lie). Beefy Bruiser BigBoy points to my ticket and says “the ticket says no recorders on it, you can't take it in” and I tell him “look, I don’t have any microphones” (third lie) and hold up my arms to be searched (of course my comrades had the mics with them). Then I sighed loudly and popped open the back of the Nak deck and let eight D cell batteries drop onto the ground. “Look, I dumped out the batteries, it can't record”. (lie number four) BigBoy stood there with his arms crossed in front of me, but I could see a small crack in his resolve. So I pulled that thread “Look, I hitchhiked all the way here from Nebraska to see this show, would you hold onto this deck for me? It cost me $600 (which in ’78 was a lot of dough) but if you just hold it for me, and then I will find you after the show. You look like an honest guy.” (fifth lie, this guy didn't look trustworthy). I push the Nak towards him, and this deck is huge and weighs a ton, (a goddamn boat anchor). I really played my trump card here and was trying to hold my ‘gameface’, Suddenly all the heads waiting in line behind (and all my friends) erupt with yells at the BigBoy to 'hurry up' and started chanting “let us in”. BigBoy gives his mullet a shake and then he points into the venue and looks at me and exclaims “Go on, get out of here” and I dive headlong into my first Red Rocks show with a grin a mile wide(high)! Followed by Mary with my mics and my buddies with my fresh batteries (re: lie number four) and my blank tapes. The batteries that I dumped out for BigBoy were already ‘dead’ (pun intended). I again ran into that ‘kind stranger’ (Dr. Bob Wagner, FOB right side)) to plug out of his Sony again. Those two shows were stupefying, and the band obviously enjoyed playing there. Bobby's deer joke, and I remember Phil leading the boys through “Cold Rain & Snow” with his bass punching that tune into a triumphant ‘strut’ that evening.I recall Jerry broke a string during the Scarlet>Fire, which really didn't slow the pace of that perfect evening. On into Dancin' >NFA > Black Peter > Around & Around and then a dual encore of US Blues & Johnny B Goode. The next night was much the same. Each night we would watch the clouds chase each other in the sky as the band serenaded us. Until it became dark and then we looked out ‘over’ the Dead to see the distant lights of Denver sparking in the background. Second night second half, we were treated to a tremendous Estimated > Other One> Eyes of the World > drums> Wharf Rat > Franklin's Tower > Sugar Mag. The crowd was especially raucous as Wharf Rat wound to that tender quiet point and my memory is that Phil leaned in to admonish us with a "shhhhh" to quiet us in preparation for the wonderful 'launching' platform/crescendo prior to "I'll get up and fly away". One of my buddies swears it was Bobby that shushed us, but given the volume of chemicals aboard us that magical evening, I will leave accuracy of the tale to the story teller, yours truly. Those evenings the Dead's aural wonders were matched with the Red Rocks astounding visuals as we were perched in between those massive stony slabs of stone jutting into the sky. And the Dead had an astounding view as well looking back at this dancing wild throng from the stage, with the sky and stone cliffs framing us. As the Dead those two evenings took us all on an astounding journey of Americana, myth, rock and roll, country, space, jam, fable, fun, roller coaster, and turn on a dime delights, it all 'rolled into one'. And then as the Dead finished us all off with “Werewolves of London” we were all crooning back to the dead with our own howl of “Aoooooo”. And Garcia was grinning ear to ear as he bid us all a “good night”. I do agree with the accolades of these shows and the complaints (mainly Bobby subjecting us to his practicing slide guitar interrupting other wise exquisite Garcia led excursions into the stratosphere. But here you have it, those shows from 1978, the Dead at full throttle for your edification. Purchase it Robbz. You can thank me later. Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.
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....Good Lovin' just ended. Thanks for the reminder guys!!....and to robbz. If these accolades aren't enough, buy the damn thing anyway. If you don't like it, the rest of us will pool our $$ together and reimburse you. Right?
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Sorry no, RobbZ, but the CFL football season opened tonight, with Edmonton @ Winnipeg to get the season under way. And Johnny Football has come north of the border to bring more excitement to a league that already has enough excitement. Can't wait! GO RIDERS GO! PS - the NHL draft is only 1 week away!!!!
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I will settle for the next Dave's Picks reveal. I got a hilarious email from a buddy today. Something along the lines, best part of my day, picking out the music for drive home from work.. that he sometimes sits in the parking lot for periods of time struggling to get the exact show that matches his mojo for the day. I had to laugh.. happens to the best of us. I was somehow inspired to pick 07/05/78 Omaha Auditorium - Omaha, NE for my bike ride at dusk.. specifically the Ship of Fools through Eyes of the World. It was magnificent, sliding down the mountain just as the sun set and music was settling into a forceful, jazzy groove. A wonderful sequence and one of my favorite eyes from that period. It was a mood changer and now all is good with the world. So what are you all listening to?
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8 years 5 months
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In the car this week11-17-71, then on to 12-14-71, should wrap that up tomorrow.
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12 years 9 months
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Everybody has a malevolent twin. ..and even if you don't you should make one up so if you really screw something up you have someone to blame the mess you made on. Yes.. welcome back Ouroboros. I have heard that take before, but it never gets old. Very envious. Edit: Not that Oroborous has any mal intent.. well, we're all pranksters at heart - birds of a feather. No ill will intended.
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13 years 4 months
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Just cued up Arrowhead 7/1/78 after all the talk. Sounding sweet. Earlier today listened to some early Randy Newman albums for the first time. Dang, Randy was gooood. Who knew? Another case of a great artist who most people know only by his most annoying song? ("Short People").
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....I was listening to Arrowhead, however, I brought two of my granddaughters here from Elko for a couple of weeks. They wanted to watch The Incredibles. I thought they meant watching a Grateful Dead live concert, but I digress. We're going to The Incredibles 2 this weekend. Needed a refresher course. A grandpa's work is never done. I quote Buddy. "But, after all, I'm your biggest fan!"
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8 years 6 months
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May 11, 1977 from the first May 1977 box and Green River by Credence Clearwater Revival. Both hit the spot on a sunny spring day.
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11 years 7 months
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This is so weird. I just put the “78” box on my phone today without reading these boards. Then I opened up dead.net and everyone is rehashing this box. There’s something weird in this neighborhood.
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