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    clayv
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    A stirring conclusion to the Grateful Dead's three-decade career, music filled with adventure and possibility, big questions, big punchlines, and cosmic wisdom...

    Maybe you were lucky enough and caught a glimpse of what might have been. You swayed to the unfamiliar, floating along with an unknown melody, joining in for a chorus when you felt confident you had it down. Maybe you jotted a fat question mark in your meticulous setlist, certain you'd figure it out before the next show, anticipating a formal introduction in due time.

    As if their repertoire wasn't tall enough to reach the endless sky, the band began adding new tunes to their sets in 1992, working them into "quintessential Grateful Dead romps," with the intention of a new studio album. By the mid-90s, they set out recording with the wisdom of Willie Dixon's blues, Neil Young's fuzzed-out guitar, newcomer Vince Welnick's tried-and-true sketches, and Bobby reunited with Robert Hunter on a duo that had quickly become fan-favorites. Alas, it was not meant to be. Until now.

    We proudly present READY OR NOT, nine unreleased live versions of late-period Grateful Dead songs that debuted in 1992 and 1993, a reflection of what could have been the band's next official studio album.

    Due November 22nd, READY OR NOT will be available on CD, as a 180-gram 2-LP set, limited to 10,000 copies, and of course, digitally as a download and for streaming.

    Looking for that Dead.net exclusive? We've got you covered with an exclusive colored vinyl version of the -2LP set with one red LP and one blue LP, limited to just 2,000 copies. And we'll hit you with that hi-res digital audio too.

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  • smorris101
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    Weak Effort

    Pretty disappointed in this release as a fan of 1990s dead. Who is on the team of monkeys that selected the versions of these songs? Lyrical flubs everywhere, mistakes, lackluster performances and just overall mediocre. While there were always lyrical mistakes, especially in later years, anyone could easily find better versions of every one of these songs in minutes. It almost seems like the folks at dead.net these days really hate the 1990s and just pick out crappy material to justify never releasing music from the later era.

  • quod libet
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    I got this the day it was…

    I got this the day it was released and listened to it a lot right away, went away from it for a while and put it on again recently and I've got to say I'm glad I bought it. No it's not as good as most of what they did, but it's new to me. It reminds me of John Lennon's posthumous album Milk and Honey which I got right when it came out. A little more of a good thing. No regrets - it will be in the regular rotation.

  • L. Mo.
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    Does anyone know why there…

    Does anyone know why there are no Phil songs on Ready Or Not? No Wave To The Wind, Childhood's End or If The Shoe Fits. Not that they're essential, just wondering.

  • Roguedeadguy
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    John64

    You're my hero dude. Thanks for chasing that down. The ad very clearly stated that we were supposed to get the digital download with the red & blue vinyl. " . . . hi res DIGITAL audio TOO". I knew I wasn't the only one who thought that. Maybe that's not what they meant but its clearly what they said.

    I got the email, and got my downloads.

  • John64
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    Good News - Final Result on Hi-Res Download

    Gotta stick up for the folks at dead.net. After speaking with Nelson he must have raised the issue because I received the following note and download code the next morning. Believe that WMG did the right thing and also my dealings with dead.net people were very pleasant. I am reading some of the negative stuff - but have to say that they did right by me and were good to deal with. Thanks

    Hello,
    Thank you for purchasing the Ready Or Not 2LP through dead.net. Although we did not originally intend to include the digital download with this 2LP, we understand that the description on the product detail page may have been misleading, so we are going to make good on that and provide you with that hi-res digital audio. We apologize for the misunderstanding and hope you enjoy this album as much as we do!
    Please follow these instructions to redeem the hi-res 96/24 version of Ready Or Not.

  • unkle sam
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    give them the download codes

    just give them the codes and let them download the songs, do the right thing for once. Hit them up like you said you would.

  • unkle sam
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    Here's an interesting sidenote

    ordered this from amazon, cheaper than deadnet, all ok, then had to cancel one day before shipping, got the confirmation and was credited the amount to cc that same day, not whenever, or never. The disc did not ship, I did not have to send it back or argue with customer service about the transaction, now that's how rhino/warner/deadnet should run things. If amazon can do it, why can't these guys?

  • homey
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    HI-Rez Download with album

    I also Bought the Red and White Album with the condition the a Hi_rez download was part of the package. Yesterday I saw my e-mail for the download from Warner but when I came home from work It was gone. No One delated it, it was like they took it back from my in box.
    Never will I trust Warner Music and buy things, there the worst

  • 97bluestrat
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    BUYER BEWARE - THEY ARE STILL NOT SHIPPING THE CORRECT ORDERS

    Regarding 30T Music Only boxsets: You're lucky they didn't take your money. They took orders for months but did not ship a single one. I ordered a few back in July and August, and on FIVE SEPARATE OCCASSIONS they sent me the wrong orders. Each time, I eight got a single show, or Lights 6 sweatshirts each time.. where one sweatshirt or one show was supposed to be a $750 boxset. They won't talk to the warehouse people to straighten this out, give regular updates to buyers, or do anything. We just sit around waiting for boxsets that will probably never arrive. Don't ever buy from deadnet again. They are just awful!!! It's happening to everyone too and they don't seem to care enough to fix anything month after month..

  • OKCDeadHead
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    JOHN64

    Check your PM

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A stirring conclusion to the Grateful Dead's three-decade career, music filled with adventure and possibility, big questions, big punchlines, and cosmic wisdom...

Maybe you were lucky enough and caught a glimpse of what might have been. You swayed to the unfamiliar, floating along with an unknown melody, joining in for a chorus when you felt confident you had it down. Maybe you jotted a fat question mark in your meticulous setlist, certain you'd figure it out before the next show, anticipating a formal introduction in due time.

As if their repertoire wasn't tall enough to reach the endless sky, the band began adding new tunes to their sets in 1992, working them into "quintessential Grateful Dead romps," with the intention of a new studio album. By the mid-90s, they set out recording with the wisdom of Willie Dixon's blues, Neil Young's fuzzed-out guitar, newcomer Vince Welnick's tried-and-true sketches, and Bobby reunited with Robert Hunter on a duo that had quickly become fan-favorites. Alas, it was not meant to be. Until now.

We proudly present READY OR NOT, nine unreleased live versions of late-period Grateful Dead songs that debuted in 1992 and 1993, a reflection of what could have been the band's next official studio album.

Due November 22nd, READY OR NOT will be available on CD, as a 180-gram 2-LP set, limited to 10,000 copies, and of course, digitally as a download and for streaming.

Looking for that Dead.net exclusive? We've got you covered with an exclusive colored vinyl version of the -2LP set with one red LP and one blue LP, limited to just 2,000 copies. And we'll hit you with that hi-res digital audio too.

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Just ordered that limited vinyl! Can't wait.

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16 years 8 months
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Pass.

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Phil had 3 new songs too during this period, performed dozens of times each, where are they?

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If I recall Phil had three late era original songs - "Childhood's End", "If the Shoe Fits", and "Wave to the Wind". I may have missed Dave address these. Wonder if Phil nixed his songs or they simply didn't make the cut?

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Surely this is a joke, Team Dead.net!? You guys have done nothing but absolutely bungle the ongoing debacle with the Giant Stadium box set, among others, with THE worst “Customer Service” Department imaginable, and you want the good fans that loyally support the band and their music, to shell out again? And you got Dave shilling for this on the beach at Strait of Juan de Fuca totally oblivious to this?

Sorry, but that is Corporate Arrogance, writ large, and until your Overlords at Rhino get this matter resolved, with apologies all round, I too, have to pass. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it’s not the problems with the “change in warehouse” locations - logistical errors happen, that is understandable, but what is grinding is to not acknowledge repeated requests for information (or refund requests) from a pretty loyal customer base, and that is where it hits the fans. I worked with enough shiny MBAs that had an almost cult-like obsession to efficiency and keeping the customer happy. Did Rhino/Dead.net not load up on these types when casting for players?

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If they are disavowing the original Phi Songs, at least give us Broken Arrow.

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$28.59 (including s/h + tax) for a single CD???? I'll have to think about this one.

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I’d order the red/blue vinyl but dead.net can’t be trusted to get anything right.

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No Broken Arrow because that is a cover and this is all originals as perhaps the studio album may have been.

Phil's 3 that shall remain nameless - in this post anyway - haven't even appeared in his post Garcia lineups over the last two plus decades so I am not surprised that they didn't make the cut here. I think Phil would prefer to leave those songs in the past.

I am reminded of Ginger Baker's take on Heavy Metal: "I’ve seen where Cream is sort of held responsible for the birth of heavy metal. Well, I would definitely go for aborting."

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5 of the 9 tracks are #1 on headyversion. Dave's knows whats up

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Dave does indeed seem to know what is up, but I wouldn't be surprised if he stopped by there for inspiration in making his selections. That's what I would have done - "survey says"!

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I wonder which warehouse the records are going to ship from? The old one that they moved out of a couple months ago? The new one that they seem to have started moving into, yet they can't ship anything out of it? Or is there a third warehouse in the works that will cause even greater delays? Seems incredible that dead.net announces a new record when they haven't even shipped the one that was "released" two weeks ago. But not that incredible.

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Even with all the issues we’ve had to deal with over the last two or three months, Dave and the rest of the team deserve serious congratulation on the amount and breadth of music they’ve bought us this year. 7 new releases, plus Aoxomoxoa, covering almost every Dead permutation. Ok, for me it’s not up with 2017 from a quality perspective, but I’ve never known such wide variety in a single calendar year before and hopefully everyone has got at least something they can really enjoy this year.

Once again, this particular release isn’t one I can get enthusiastic about, but that’s fine, DP 32 sounds promising enough and 29 and 30 are great, so happy with that. It’s the title get’s me though, Ready Or Not or maybe Ready Or Not? I’m wondering if it could be a subliminal question for Rhino/GDM. Can they turn the emphatic “No” of the last few months into a “Yes” as the year draws towards it’s conclusion? 😎

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There's good songs in the late era. I always loved "Lazy River Road."

I'm glad they're putting this out. The jam out of "Corinna" was killer on 10/14/94-- I hope they included that full excursion. (Not sure why they picked a "Lazy River" from '93. That song got better in '94 (like 3/30, for example).

PS: "So Many Roads"-- I love that song.

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In reply to by OKCDeadHead

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hey okcdeadhead - if you are being serious when you say you can't wait, please be sure to order from Amazon. If you do order from dead.net, practice waiting. Be sure to put your head in "wait" mode...

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Should be cool. A couple of Phil omissions.

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...since I started collecting everything in sight. I very may well pull the trigger, as I bet these sound really good, but I'm really a fan of only two of these songs (Lazy River and So Many Roads)... Days Between has grown on me post-Jerry, especially hearing Bobby sing it a the Dear Jerry celebration back in 2015, but I find that it kind of drags more often than not.

That being said, the remastering very well make me find new things to appreciate about these otherwise ho-hum (IMO) tunes, and I for one am thankful that the Phil tunes were left off. Wave to the Wind may be the most cringe-worthy song in the entire catalog.... (sorry to any WttW mega-fans.)

BTW, the CD is $19.98, not $29.98 as someone wrote on here a bit earlier.

Ack... the completionist in me is on one shoulder (C'mon, you know you've got to get it...), the rational one on the other, (C'mon, you know you'll only listen to it once....)

Artwork is kinda corny too.

I hope this one tickles a lot of fans' fancy. I'm decidedly on the fence.

Peace

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... that I have purchased every live release since One From The Vault. I have pre-ordered all of the Rhino releases. I have never had a single problem with fulfillment and the odd issue I did have (happened twice with a manufacturing issue [bad disc]) all it took was one email and a replacement was sent right away with no questions asked.

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Sounds good, but would appreciate some energy also going into getting some of us our Dave's Picks Vol 30 with Bonus Disc.

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Well, it sounds good to me. Great recording of the Lazy River Road sample track. It's the closest we're going to get to what could have been the next studio album. So, GD ordering sets out early but it takes its time . . . This should have been released twenty years ago - an extra week or two is nothing. :-)

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What can I say? This release is sort of an enigma. I’m not really sure who would find it appealing. This release features a bunch of the Grateful Dead’s worst songs recorded at the end of the band”s tenure. I’m not against 90’s releases. This just isn’t it.

———

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Major pass.

And that cover art is single-handedly thee worst in all the years of Dead releases.

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No no no................. Not even a consideration.... Didn't even look into it, is this a Rhino release or outside their realm and is a Dead release. Please enjoy if you are into it...

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Bought most everything offered but gonna pass on this one, not a big fan of most of those songs. Holding out for the super deluxe, full concert re-issue, anniversary in honor of Dick's passing, re-release of Dick's Picks #1. Either that or a concert-a-month-from-the-vault monthly subscription.

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Good for them. Cool idea. Wish they would have found some unfinished studio versions and finished them up if possible. Neat to document with some definitive versions. Not easy to go find clean verisons with complete lyrics and without big mistakes. Always loved the big ending on the Pittsburgh 1992 "So Many Roads" but weren't all the verses more or less butchered? Will have to revisit that one.

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Uh...I hope the other cuts are little livelier than Lazy River Road. Aside from that- as nice as it is to hear Jerry's voice- it just don' sound so good.

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So what if the cartoon cover art is pure cheese and evokes Evel Knievel?

I'm going against what's trending and upon arrival I'll pop it in
the car Kenwood and rock out.

Admitted fan of Samba In The Rain.

Hunter wrote the words to that one... if nothing else, it was a fresh
take, some kind of demented path forward to new Dead at the time.

It's not like it's a piece of shit, like Looks Like Rain or some Phil
abomination. Donna Jean's atonal shrieking... don't get me
started.

Days Between and Corrina I also dig... Bobby sang a beautiful
Days Between in Boulder this past summer.

I know I'm a man alone on an island, but I rarely listen to Dead
shows in continuity... I have the solo Garcia albums, actual
Grateful Dead, Bob solo, Billy and Mickey's shit, Dead & Co.,
Grayfolded, tribute albums, bootlegs etc. all in one giant
iTunes folder and I play that on 'shuffle' endlessly.

I also burn cd's like that and play them in the car. It could one
day be a 1966 Viola Lee Blues followed by John Mayer running
into Bickershaw leading into a nice segue of the Brown Eyed
Women off Get Shown The Light... personally, that is the
penultimate Jerry Garcia solo right there. He nails both runs
on the dime. Garcia doesn't get his due as a guitar hero,
probably because he was off so much.

But when he was on, well...

So, I figure I'll drop this little nugget into the mix and the
right song will come up at the right time.

Peace, all.

\m/

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Will we get the answer to why no Phil songs?. As for the oh no we can't do this it's not real, it's a money grab etc. Don't cut off your nose to spite your face on some moral jihad. Take it for what it is, the very last Greatful Dead Album. And a bonus I too am not a big fan of many of these songd. Having them all in 1 place may just change that

Maybe maybe not. Back in the day I took my 14 yearold godsonto shows. His mother was cool about it and definitely not t dead head. She drew the line at wearing the skeleton shirt I bought him. No problem at least he got to see the shows. He freaked when he saw Bill Walton backstage
He even let us on the bus....Wooster

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I'm looking forward to this but wish it had the Phil songs. What are they again?- Childhood's End, If the Shoe Fits, Wave to the Wind? I've barely heard them but they never sounded awful to me, just weak. None are embarrassingly awful, we're not talking Bobby's "I Want to Live in America" or McCartney's "Temporary Secretary". I thought they just seemed a bit weak. I think it's kind of fascinating to hear the Dead struggle with weak material, especially on a good night.
But the artwork- whew! that's a doozy. What's the deal there? Is there an artist credited? (eh, maybe better not)

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All this talk about Childhoods End made me think of an old import cd I had in the 90s. Just looked it up on archives. 9/9/94. Pretty sure it's the whole band but internet archives has it listed as Phil and Friends. It has a great acoustic version of it.

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I'm looking forward to this, as I like all of these songs. I saw the debut of most of them, at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, and Cal Expo (Samba). I loved that they were adding new songs to their repertoire, and that many of them had all four vocalists doing harmonies. I consider "Days Between" one of the classic Garcia/Hunter compositions. Written by two men who had lived full lives by that point. I saw a few stunning versions of this brooding epic, including the one included on this collection. I have faith that the tracks selected are of excellent quality.

Like others who have posted here, I question both the cover art and the title of this album. "Ready or Not" seems so pedestrian. You stopped just short by leaving off the question mark. And the illustration would probably not have gotten an unanimous "thumbs up" from all the band members if they'd released this in the fall of 1995. Enough with the excessive use of skeletons, cartoonish or otherwise. I'd love to see you step it up a notch with regards to the art on some of these projects (not including any of the box sets). Loved the covers of several of the 45 reissue releases!

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p.s. I'm one of those strange people who actually liked this tune. The original version, not so much when they reworked it. I think it could've been a great live number, had Jerry been instrumentally nimble, and they'd played it more often.

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.... was that really what the record was supposed to be called back in the day? I can see it. Built To Last followed up by Ready Or Not? Yes. I was so Ready that I had finally mail ordered for my first East Coast shows in July '95. However....
I will purchase this.

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Between "Earthquake Country," So Many Roads Disc 5, a number of head mixes, this comes now at no surprise. "According to Welnick, the album was set to include such tour-tested songs as "Liberty," "So Many Roads," "Days Between," "Samba in the Rain," "Way To Go," "Corrina," and "Easy Answers," but Garcia passed away before the tracks could be completed. "We had just about finished the basics when Jerry checked out," Welnick said. "It's a shame, because we spent a lot of time in there." (Rolling Stone '98, Isaac Josephson)

Definitely looking forward to this. Just seemed necessary. Oh, and 3/24/73!

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Ah, yes, I see.

Also, yes, I agree - too much for a single disc. I recently picked up Fiona Apple's entire catalog (4 albums) brand new for less than $18.00. I know those albums are old, but $20.00 for a CD is ridiculous. Didn't even think about the shipping costs, etc.

Betchya it will be much cheaper from other retailers.

Peace

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In reply to by Thats_Otis

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The artwork is terrible. Wow it's bad.

I've got this, kinda. Mine doesn't have the Chapel Hill but does have a Wave To The Wind.
I'll eventually grab it, but am in no hurry. Might be cheaper somewhere else and have a better chance of no delivery screw-ups with someone else. We'll see...
Overall, very glad to see this released.

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how many release covers have _you_ had published?

it's about the music, not the cover art.

hey, at least there's no beards. that should make people happy.

but anyway...back to 5/9/79

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Since this is a retail release, GDP/Rhino were probably gunning for a cover that would really catch the eye of the non-initiated. Doesn't matter to me, I'm looking forward to the music on the disc. As others have mentioned, we have been spoiled by variety the past few years, especially with 2019 giving us some 1969, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1987, 1989, 1991, and now a great sampling of the last four years. There is something for every Head, and for me, there's nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile . . .

Be kind, rewind . . .

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Illustrator for Mac was great in the ‘90’s...but let’s import this cover into even Procreate on the iPad and see what we can make. ;-)

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I would have been more enthusiastic about this release if it had come out in the 1990s, when it was more contemporary. In fact, I did buy a bootleg cd, about 1997, which followed a similar pattern, but which included the Phil songs and, I think, cover versions from the last few years. It must be about 20 years since I have played it, though...in fact when I went to get it out this morning to have a look, it was no longer there.

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