Grateful Dead

17 complete shows.

FW69
FE71
Boston Music Hall 72

All three not complete shows.

Danehead - Cap '82 seems to be missing end of Set II as SBD and Cap '93 should be complete SBD.

I'm guessing "all" of Alpine '80 will be a SBD, its just that the SBD has never circulated. I hope still room for decent filler from Alpine 81 (haven't done the math).

That's my best guess as of now on those bits of minutiae.

As to Cumberlands? Not looking that good. 1 maybe 2 (??) based on a quick run through of set lists.

Like others have said, the set lists and an unboxing have to be shown. If I'm going to pull the trigger, I need to see if it's worth that mass amount of mula.

Gotta be UPS or Fed-ex as it is too big and heavy for the Mail Innovations crap.
Just a guess but it makes sense.
Cheers

If it is too big and heavy to ship to Europe in an airplane then I guess it'll have to cross the pond by boat. That'll take forever.

Workingman's Dead. Europe 72 - the original album. Job done.

Love the fact that the archives are still being mined but the Avalon show on a cassette? Must be some marketing ploy by a numpty, anyway it was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Besides which money gets tighter and as we get older and I don’t want yet another box under my stairs for my kids to have to throw out when I pop it.

Would be interested for downloads if the shows were available separately.

I interpreted that cassette thing as meaning the original recording was on a cassette, NOT that anybody who bought the box would get it on cassette. Maybe I'm wrong............

Doc
just out of the morgue

Dave explains in the office chat that to get a 21st venue in a 20 venue box Yvette suggested this way out. Some have called it a swag trinket but hopefully it will be of high quality.
Cheers

Pride of Cucomonga, Box of Rain, The Eleven, Passenger

Because space is an issue for me (in more ways than one) I have sometimes considered buying the FLAC version of some of these big boxes. But I've yet to actually do so, mainly because there always seems to be technical problems: the set won't download, it downloaded but some of the files are corrupt, etc.

Also, it's not easy for me to play FLACs on my main system. You have plug a thumb drive into the CD player, which only seems to recognize the files about half the time, and then it's difficult to navigate to the tracks you want.

Still, I'd consider the FLAC version. Depending on how BIG this thing actually is (in terms of physical dimensions) and what the actual track list turns out to be.

So, c'mon, Dave. The wives are waiting! it can't be that hard to post this info. Can it?

...........Yvette needs to have her head examined. Bogus worthless trinket.............

Just one man's opinion,

Doc
Listening to Duke Ellington 2-12-63

ALAC files (16/44.1) are also available for less $ than FLAC (supposedly higher resolution).
Apparently it’s the higher resolution FLAC files that consistently have issues. But I’m not sure, which is why I buy the physical product (that can have its own issues like glue and defective discs).

The easiest way to play files through your stereo is with a portable music player with a slot for a micro SDXC card.

A good player for an affordable price is Hidizs AP80.
It will take up to a 1 TB card. Samsung and SanDisk make good micro SDXC cards.
Connect the player to your stereo with a 3.5 mm headphone jack to stereo RCA cable.

iBasso makes good players too, but they cost more than Hidizs.

The easiest way is more likely just get a decent USB DAC, which you insert between your laptop/PC and your stereo. USB>>DAC>>RCA to stereo etc
You can get them from 50$ up to hundred K…
Edit: many new AVR/Receiver/Pre amp have DAC with inputs built in: USB, AES, Coax, optical etc

ISTSHOW: thanks,

An Astell & Kern SR25 Mk 2 digital audio player will solve your problems and is hifi in your pocket!
Not only is this portable but has both 3.5mm audio output and 4.4mm balanced both of which you can buy cables for to go into a stereo pre-amp
These things are truly astonishing

Proper!
Good sheet Mon!

....and a short time, to be there.
We should all be grateful we were present in the space of time where the best band to ever take the stage was taking the stage. I know I am. 🍻
Changed my life. Seeing so many happy people in my formative years. Oh. LSD may have played a part, but I digress.

Just a Box of Rain,....

Oh yeah,... About that cassette.....
We still got an old jam box around here, a decent brand and model from the 1990s. My old '80s ones are long gone now. My only worry is how well it works still or if at all!?
Will it eat the tape? We used to have briefcases of tapes, and a bunch of the head cleaner kits to boot!
This lil doodad seems designed for those folks with old school style, multi component home stereo systems that have all the bells and whistles and a tape deck that still works. Also I would imagine it would be appealing to old Dead show tapers.

Believe it if you need it...........

I’m sorry, but I’m 66. I had a quad bypass, “I Did Survive”, but I have nearly EVERYTHING released from the Dead. But, I’m not seeing my kids or wife for that matter enjoying the music after I go to Jerry! So I’m still on the fence. Would love to buy someone a couple of high GB thumbs, one for me, and one for them to do me the favor!

After giving it more thought, I’m genuinely excited about this box set. It feels like an invitation to ‘get on the bus’ and take a road trip with the Grateful Dead—not just through multi-date stops in various cities, but also across time. It’s a brilliant concept, and I have no doubt that it’ll be beautifully executed.

....they are under the bed.

The jar is under the bed

I don’t agree. Your suggestion is not easier because it requires that a computer be by the stereo, as well as a DAC.

The portable music player is the DAC, and it holds the music files too. And you can take it with you and use headphones.

I have a DAC Magic 200 and just use my iBasso’s as file readers connected to the DAC by an SPDIF co-ax cable.

What show(s) from this Box will be a RSD release at some point?

I suspect/hope that 7-13-84 will be the first, maybe even Black Friday this year.

A random thought- it’s nice when the box sets are packaged like Dave’s Picks…a la the Spring 1990 sets, often referred to as digipaks. Anyways…Someone once taught me, it might have been Larone Cantiscious from St. Belvedere. And he just finished off a huge chili cheese dog. The faster we go, the rounder we get, he said. At the time I thought he made that up. Not really sure how that story fits in here, but whatever.

Well, most of it, as I dozed off a few times (a deserved siesta)

Hot stuff

.....don't need it trickling down here.
Give us the setlists!
I don't know about you, but I'm really tired of guessing games to be honest.
On all fronts.

“Or, Sabres beat Knights”

(said in the announcer’s voice from Rocky and Bullwinkle)

....Hurtl had an empty netter. Then screwed it up by trying to be fancy.

Excited for this box.

Will most likely be delivered close to my daughter's 16th.

I think this box also shows the reality of the Vault. First complete shows are from 71 and then 73. Somewhat shocked they couldn't give us a complete show from 72, however we have had a lot, so, yes I feel a little creedy.
The three 72 shows from LTTR are some of my favorite from that year, but it is such a hard year to pick favorites.
Nothing from 1970? Okay, interesting. Just makes you wonder what they have left from that year? Who won that tour of the vault?

Enjoyin the ride! Absolutely!

Ah Phil we miss ye

Yes, I would think 7/13/84 is strong contender for the first vinyl release from the box. All I know about jt is the Dark Star encore. That alone would make it hard to ignore

No 1970? Must make it a contender for the next Daves Picks. That or the similarly ignored 1968. Either one would make me a happy chappy.

Maybe Boston IS a full show.. (the 15.) and the next night is just "The Star"..

On second thoughts, lets make that the vinyl release from the Box. Doesn't matter if it's only one album.

Stated above:
“ The remaining three — Fillmore West, Fillmore East, and Boston Music Hall — are curated from multiple performances at each venue, capturing key moments on those legendary stages.”

Looking at the setlists for each night there are many duplicate songs - Jack, Playing, OMSN, Mexicali, Bird Song, Greatest, B. T. Wind, Promised.
So, condensing those two nights down to 3-4 CD’s should enable the “key moments” to be released.

The “key moments” from the ‘72 shows could make a nice vinyl release.
Similar to the 2-LP ‘72 release from the LTTR Box or the 45-minute Playing from the PNW Box.

Made me curious, had to go check.

I have a full audience recording of show, BUT, I have a partial soundboard.

Not sure of origins, but GREAT recording. Sound stage usage is incredible,,,, at points the drums roll from right to left channel, then middle. Keys in and out of middle and distance back.

IF the factory release is this level,,,, OH YEAH. 30 minute cut, will fit on a LP.

Get Shown The Light: The Grateful Dead's Lighting Director Candace Brightman - Part 1 of 2
youtu.be slash aIapH6G-mmU
Or you can find part one by googleing her name.
World Premier of this Deadhead TV video. More Dead-related videos stream free at dreamswedreamed dot com!

... there will a consideration to release either/both the Boston 9.16.72 Dark Star segment or/and the one from Nassau the following year (3.16.73, returned Betty board).

I would gladly pay for an X - # of discs set that encompasses the best of those two shows.

That would help us DS heads 'fill out' the MNS sampler offering - which is likely how I, among others, am going to end up experiencing this huge box ...

Magic Molten Goodness for All!

Peace & Thanks

Thanks, Kid - I had overlooked "the small print".. BUT we are still "in the dark" about; one show (one of the 17 full) missing last 20-30 minutes..

HDTracks has a digital 'album' of Scarlet>Touch>Fire from 7-13-84. It shows as a Rhino release from 3/12/25. $5 for the 44-16 version. Not bad for 31 mins.

From a Rolling Stone article:

"Lemieux encountered a few challenges as he worked on the project over the last few years. Of the 20 shows, 17 are heard in full. But when it came to a set at the Boston Garden in 1972, he discovered that the last reel - about 25 minutes - was missing from the Dead's vault. To compensate, Lemieux included a version of "Dark Star" from the same venue the following night. A four-night stand at the Fillmore West in 1969 also had to be carefully culled due to problematic tapes."

I am in, was hoping my birthday code would've worked but it didn't. Long time no talk - occassionally lurked, hope everyone is well!

6 8 69

I sincerely hope it includes the first GD portion

And the Cryptical Charlie

Really hot 🔥 stuff

Thank you archive

Cnkd - yes, both those examples you gave of vinyl releases from 1972 and 1974 respectively are great records.

So, I’ve been on the fence about this box. There’s a lot in it that I don’t know, in terms of shows… Which might be good. Might not. No track listing doesn’t help me make a decision.
It’s a lot of money.

So I decided to raid the Archive and listen a bit. I thought it might help me decide. It… sort of did? But not quite. Anyway, I thought I would share my thoughts. WARNING: My thoughts go on for a while. This post might be too long for the site, or indeed for anyone to read. If so, my apologies. I’m just trying to help clarify my thoughts, and maybe it will help some other lost sailor as well.

Your mileage, or course, will vary. My tastes are idiosyncratic of course, as is everyone’s, and no doubt I am betraying my biases here without even meaning too. That said, here are the impressions of the full shows listed as being in the box (I can’t comment on the filler or the compilation shows for obvious reasons):

10/3/94 – Good energy overall. Funky wah-wah on Little Red Rooster. GDTRFB and All Along the Watchtower are energetic and tight. Jerry in good voice, eg. on Bird Song and Touch opener. Nice fat Shakedown (16+ min) feels like the highlight of the set. The band’s last show in Boston; Brokedown feels very emotional. Worth having imo. 4 out of 5 stars.

3/17/93 – Wow! A big surprise. Great show, tremendous energy, strong setlist. Starts with a slinky Shakedown, then to Wang Dang, Lazy River Road, Desolation Row, Eternity, Liberty. Vocals on Shakedown are on point. Second set: Picasso Moon > Crazy Fingers > Playing > Dark Star > Dums/Space > Handsome Cabin Boy Jam > Other One > Days Between > Good Lovin’… Rreally good stuff here, well played and bouncing. I guess this is a Vince show? There is plenty of that Midi/synth sound that I don’t love, but there is enough other goodness going on that I can deal with it. The handsome Cabin Boy Jam is familiar to me from a band called The Pentangle – Brit folk from the 70s, are you familiar Daverock or Simonrob? The song “The Trees They Do Grow High” had the same tune, and this rendition is absolutely lovely, an instrumental with delicate guitar/bass interplay. It’s nothing like I ever heard from the band before. BUT the big bonus, for me, is the encore, which is a genuinely well played Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Yowza! A beautiful song, beautifully rendered. The fact that’s it’s the encore of an already-outstanding show is a just icing on the cake. This show is a standout. (It’s also pretty short, so I guess there will be filler from 9/15/82? Which is odd, but no arguments here…) 5/5.

5/12/91 – Another better than expected show. Some serious jamming on Picasso opener, then a substantial Althea, and first set overall seems well played. (A reminder, I didn’t listen to ever note, just dipped in and out.) Second set is strong: Help/Slip/Frank > LLR > an epic Terrapin. The Terrapin then has a roughly 10-minute outro/coda/jam that floats along, folding back upon itself rather than leading into another song before finally eliding into Drums. 4/5.

12/29/89 – Another solid show if not quite as surprising as some of the others. Cold Rain opener is nice, Althea in first set has some engagingly weird wah-wah going on in the background. Iko in the 2nd set apparently has Clarence Clemons surprise-guesting on the sax, which is fun although his contributions seems minimal from what I can hear. Playin’ > Crazy Fingers > UJB seems the meat of the second set. Epic Morning Dew as well, some nice interplay between Jerry and Bob in the opening. Seems solid and well played… but not especially surprising or unexpected. I would have loved to be there though… 3/5 but maybe that’s too harsh?

7/15/89 – This one doesn’t make much impression on Archive. 2nd set includes a nice Crazy Fingers > Truckin’ > Smokestack Lightning, but much of the first set is pretty generic and the rest seems just OK. I didn’t listen to the 11-minute Sugar Mag so maybe it’s a standout lol. This seems like kind of a forgettable show? 2/5.

9/16/87 – Can’t quite get a handle on this one. Starts energetically, with Touch and Scarlet Begonias (no FOM). I’m not a fan of High Time, and it kind of sucks the energy out of the first set. 2nd set tried to have fun with Greatest Story > Devil with the Blue Dress On > Good Golly Miss Molly > Blue Dress > He’s Gone, but it’s more engaging on paper than on record. Probably great if you were there, which I was not. So I don’t know… kind of a head-scratcher for me. 2/5

11/21/85 – Kids, this is a great show! Opener is Big Boy Pete – what? Encore is Walking the Dog – huh? I don’t know these songs but they sound like blues relics from the ‘20s, possibly the 1820s. They are both great, not just novelty songs but actually well performed, and they bookend a nice show with lots of highlights and crisp, attentive playing. Another nice Shakedown in the 2nd set, into Crazy Fingers > Playing and some other nuggets. In general, this feels like a show transcends its playlist. I gather there will be filler from the next night? Don’t know what that will be, but that show has a nice Hell in a Bucket > Sugaree and Minglewood > Althea quartet to open. Here’s hoping! 5/5 for 11/21.

7/13/84 – This is the show with the Scarlet > Touch > Fire sequence that Dave mentions in his chat; it also goes on to Man Smart and a few other things. The encore is a Dark Star (!) that runs for 16 minutes. There is a tight Loser in the first set and Jerry sounds in pretty good voice, appropriately world-weary. Seems like a good show, possibly a box highlight. Maybe 5/5?

8/20/83 – Solid show, maybe not quite great. Alabama Getaway opener (I like), highlights mainly in the 2nd set: Shakedown, Estimated > Eyes, Other One > Black Peter > Good Lovin’. Again, not sure it will expand anybody’s understanding of what this band can do, but it’s a good show, well played. 3/5

5/1/81 – Lots of good stuff here, Alabama opener and Althea > LR Rooster and Jed > Let It Grow > Deal later on to close the first set. Althea is laid back, segues nicely into LRR, which is hefty and I like Bobby’s slide fwiw. There seems more of a touch on it than in many other versions. Keyboards are sweet on that song too. Let It Grow builds up some steam into Deal to close the 1st set. 2nd set opens with Feel Like a Stranger > Franklin’s Tower, which is something new to me. It’s a great Franklin’s, with Jerry all over the frets and Brent very active. Sailor-Saint is OK, never my fave but it’s fine. A nice long He’s Gone into a shortish Other One; a substantial Wharf Rat among other things. Not a flashy show, but solid and enjoyable. 4/5, with the Franklin’s alone contributing +1 to the overall score…

3/14/81 – This was my senior year in high school and I lived a half hour away, but oh well. I was busy listening to The Clash and the Ramones. Tremendous Sugaree, tasty CC Rider with Brent working the organ to good effect on both. Althea also stellar. China-Rider to close 1st set. 2nd set actually a bit tame, though the Ship of Fools and Stella Blue are both epic. Kind of a sedate 2nd set with the 2 ballads, plus Sailor-Saint but that’s okay. They add a little juice with I Need a Miracle > Bertha > Good Lovin plus a OMSN encore to send the crowd home happy. A good-to-great show, 4/5. Stealth MVP is Brent.

8/23/80 – The first things that jumps out is the He’s Gone, which clocks in at 21 minutes! Okay I’ll bite. And it’s… pretty awesome actually. Not particularly downtempo, and the solos don’t seem overly long. The outro goes on and on, it’s more than half the song, and that’s just fine, Brent and Jerry trading licks. There was a similar version somewhere in Boxzilla, but this is even more so IIRC. The vocals are tight, with Brent contributing but not overcontributing if you know what I mean, Jer’s voice tentative in just the right way, and I’m pretty sure that’s Bobby doing a falsetto. Around 13 minutes in, the rhythm changes a bit, morphing into something else, but keeping that loping undercurrent in the mix. It’s brilliant. Then another minute or so and the tempo picks up, the band makes a sharp left turn and we’re going someplace else entirely. By the end it dissolves into a discordant meltdown, I’ve never heard anything like it, and doubt I will again. Full disclosure: the older I get, the more this song means to me. Let’s leave it at that… I’m sure there are other songs in this show lol but beats me what they are. He’s Gone is 5/5, that is all.

(Okay, okay, other highlights: Big River, Tennessee Jed, Althea, TMNS from set 1, all played with verve and intensity; and Wharf Rat from set 2, not quite as intense as He’s Gone, but strong nevertheless. Beautiful solos from Jerry. I am willing to call this a great show, 5/5.)

8/12/79 –Bobby starts things with a peppy Promised Land and things go predictably from there. No surprises in the setlist, though Jerry fumbles the lyrics to Althea pretty comprehensively. A lot of Bobby songs I don’t care for in this one – Mexicali, Lazy Light-Supplication, LLR, Lost Sailor… Bobby in full warbling mode is not my jam, so to speak. China-Rider helps to right things at the end of the set, but for me it’s too little too late. Set 2 much better, with Estimated-Eyes ripping things up nicely in unexpected ways, and an echoey Space leading into an atmospheric NFA clocking in over 13 minutes, long enough to get lost in. Lots of great interplay between Jer, Bobby, Phil + Brent. 5 minutes before the first verse kicks in, love it. Overall the 2nd set is probably a 4+/5, but the lackluster 1st is only a 2 at best. Average them out and the show is a 3/5 for me.

5/13/78 – Maybe being too harsh, but this concert feels absolutely average. Familiar setlist, familiar playing if that makes sense. Nothing wrong per se, but nothing really achieves liftoff. Donna sounds nice in Row Jimmy, which is the most substantial 1st set song. TMNS cooks nicely as well, with Jerry’s final jam ratcheting up the frenzy (albeit in a familiar-sounding way). Terrapin and Playing in the 2nd set add some heft, with Phill dropping bombs through the end of Terrapin. A pleasant show, certainly not essential to my ears. And hasn’t there been an awful lot of April & May 78 released? Like 3 boxes already? A thin 3/5

3/20/77 – I can’t say how this compares to other 77 shows, my ear isn’t that attuned. To me, it sounds typically clean, tight, precise. Minglewood opener gets things started on a solid footing. 1st setlist typical until Estimated followed by Scarlet to close. Nice. 2nd set breaks out a languid St Stephen > Other One, the last few minutes of which is a downtempo, minimalist jam, and then into a long Stella Blue, meandering, with evocative vocals from Jerry. Overall a very nice 2nd set that compensates for the (to me) pretty standard 1st. Then the encore is Terrapin! Well okay then. 4/5

3/16/73 – China-Rider opener includes the Feelin Groovy jam, lots of hot playing in set 1, 20 min Playing to close it out, nice atmospheric Loser and crackling Big River (fun Keith contributions) in set 2. DS > Truckin’ > Morning Dew = 50+ min sequence. This is clearly a box standout, at least to me (depending on what is done with the compilation shows). Even Bobby’s dumb cowboy songs don’t bother me lol. 5/5 obviously.

TOTAL: 16 shows (not counting the comps or the one on cassette, which is stupid and I won’t be able to hear unless it’s available as a download. Seriously Dave, wtf?)
5/5: 5 shows
4/5: 5 shows
3/5: 4 shows
2/5: 2 shows

Overall that isn’t a bad hit rate, though I’m not sure it’s worth $600+ tax etc. I wish the cassette show was on CD; I wish the dull 87 and 89 shows were replaced with better ones; and most of all I wish we knew the track listings of the 69, 71 and 72 comps (and the filler for the other shows). If that were good enough, it would likely put me over the edge. (Discount code would be nice too.) I am unlikely to order without that info, even though my research has moved the needle from “I don’t want this and I can’t afford it” closer to “I think I do want this, can’t really afford it, maybe I should sign up for a couple new credit cards in order to get the cashback bonus and apply it…?” There are a few solid shows here I’d love to have but I’m still not sure.

Biggest positive: lots of little surprise moments in the later shows.

Biggest negative: Very little primal, which is my favorite era. Seems a huge oversight. Unless there’s a primal box on the way (which we’ve been hoping for years…) I’ll believe it when I see it.

If there was an All-Music edition without the packaging for a couple hundred less, I would order it tomorrow. They did that with Europe 72 and with GSTL, right? Here’s hoping...

Apologies for all my rambling. Hopefully someone got something useful out of it??? Thanks all, and have a grate weekend.

WOW! Amazing show-by-show impressions in such a short time. A huge help, although I haven't hit "purchase" yet either. You summed me up just exactly perfect: "Moved the needle from “I don’t want this and I can’t afford it” closer to “I think I do want this, but can’t really afford it."

(And they still haven't arranged for PayPal to provide payment options at Check Out.)

Sounds like it's the Althea Box, which is not a bad thing...

Unfortunately, I think both the Europe '72 and May '77 GSTL AMEs were the same price as the full release from what I recall. I was able to use a coupon and somehow got the $450 E '72 AME for $405 pre-tax with Free Shipping, but that was maybe a month or so before Boxzilla - so expensive year that year...

Jeff Smith -- glad you found my ramblings useful!

Boblopes - That's a bummer to hear about the AME pricing, I didn't know that... But yes, this is pretty much the Althea box, and to a lesser extent the Shakedown box, and both these things are fine with me!

I hit Order Now shortly after getting the text from my nephew. Fortunately, I had some scratch laying around doing nothing, so I jumped. But thanks for the reviews, as I’m unfamiliar with a bunch of these shows.

In a side note, I have a friend named Dave that heads up to Maine 4-5 times a year. Brings me back a case of MBC Dinner, which we don’t get here, plus some other good beers.