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    "When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux

    We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.

    The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

    The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.

    The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.

    Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.

    (Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)

    ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
    Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.

    *Helpful hints for using your USB:

    Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
    On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
    On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.

    Viewing the digital book:
    You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.

    To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.

    Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
    When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
    PDF
    Text

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  • JimInMD
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    Holy S&}T Batman
    In Pigs honor, I will only drink ripple and thunderbird wine (because its suddenly all I can afford). Some decent shows in here. Wow. I'm tongue tied over this one.
  • wadeocu
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    Nice
    And away we go!!!
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"When we began discussing audio projects to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Grateful Dead back in 2012, we knew we wanted to do something completely unprecedented. We could think of nothing more exciting or ambitious than a career-spanning overview of the band's live legacy focused on what best tells the story: complete concerts. Our first criterion was the very best live music to represent any given year in the band’s history. We wanted to make sure that there were not only the tent-pole shows that fans have been demanding for decades but also ones that are slightly more under the radar, but equally excellent. For those who listen to the entire box straight through, chronologically, the narrative of the Grateful Dead's live legacy will be seen as second to none in the pantheon of music history." - David Lemieux

We are more than pleased to announce the Grateful Dead's most ambitious release ever: 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN. Available as both an 80-disc boxed set and a custom lightning-bolt USB drive, the collection includes 30 unreleased live shows, one for each year the band was together from 1966 to 1995, along with one track from their earliest recording sessions in 1965. Packed with over 73 hours of music, both the boxed set and the USB drive will be individually numbered limited editions.

The 80-disc boxed set is individually numbered and limited to 6,500 copies, a nod to the band’s formation in 1965. Along with the CDs, it also includes a gold-colored 7-inch vinyl single which bookends the band’s career. The A-side is “Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)” from the band’s earliest recording session in 1965 with the B-side of the last song the band ever performed together live, “Box Of Rain” recorded during their final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995.

The box also comes with a 288-page book that features an extensive, career-spanning essay written by Nick Meriwether, who oversees the Dead archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz, along with special remembrances of the band submitted by fans. Also included is a scroll that offers a visual representation of how the band’s live repertoire has evolved through the years.

The USB drive version* will be shaped like a gold lightning bolt with the Grateful Dead 50th anniversary logo engraved on the side. The drive includes all of the music from the collection in both FLAC (96/24) and MP3 formats and is an individually numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies. Digital version of the book also included on USB.

Shows will NOT be sold individually on CD. This release is sure to sell out quickly so pre-order your copy today and stick around as we will be revealing a mighty fine selection of music, art, and much, much more right here.

(Looking for a smaller 50th Anniversary commemorative keepsake? September 18th will see the release of a four-CD version of the collection titled 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN: THE DEFINITIVE LIVE STORY 1965-1995. More on that here.)

ROLLINGSTONE.COM SONG PREMIERE AND EXCLUSIVE DAVID LEMIEUX INTERVIEW
Head on over to Rollingstone.com for the very first listen of "Morning Dew" 9/18/87 Madison Square Garden, David Fricke's exclusive interview with archivist David Lemieux, and the reveal of 30 TRIPS AROUND THE SUN's '69 and '84 shows.

*Helpful hints for using your USB:

Running the 30 Trips Player / Reader program:
On Windows – Navigate to the USB drive and double click the PCStart.exe file to run.
On MacOS – Open the GD 30 Trips drive, and double click the MacStart to run.

Viewing the digital book:
You can either view it within the program that comes on the drive, or by opening the PDF directly.

To view the PDF, open the PDF folder on the drive and the USB_bk_spreads_08-31 file within. Selecting the option within your PDF reading application to view as a “single page” might be preferable to viewing as a continuous document.

Importing music into iTunes and other library programs:
When you import the songs from the USB into your library, the information used to identify the track will likely leave them sorted incorrectly. Please use the song list found here to re-number the songs for each show so that they playback in the correct order.
PDF
Text

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I'll admit I don't think I've ever met a Viola Lee I didn't like, but this show has always been a favorite. The box version is as good as I have ever heard it, even though it has circulated for years as "the Amazing Electric Wonders" shows. Here's the show from the next night, which is still in the Vault. https://archive.org/details/gd1967-11-11.116369.sbd.motb-0173.flac24 Don't let the quality spoil you though, you won't get another mutlitrack until the 1989 Trip. This is a great set, but the 1981 choice still puzzles me with that 30 minute AUD patch to finish the show. This, to me, was the first filler show for the box and they must be saving the complete 1981 stuff for another release.
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I need to get some replacement discs for my 30 Trips Box. I have already tried emailing Dr. Rhino and have yet to receive a reply after one week. I also tried calling into dead.net customer service and the line has been busy for over 1 hour now. Is there anyone else that I can contact? Thanks in advance for any help. UPDATE: Finally got through to customer service and they have placed the request for my replacement discs.
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Hi KY, glad you finally got the box set going. You are a patient man. I almost agree with your assessment of Cardboard Cowboy, but I think there's one they're affiliated with that is a little bit more tedious - an old ditty called Yellow Dog Story!
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9 years 5 months
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x.
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8 years 9 months
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I listened to the 1982 show the other day and thought it sounded great. This is a show that blooms on a system with speakers that has a subwoofer, as Phil eats up a lot of the mix. I always felt outdoor shows need speakers to sound their best and this is a prime example. There's a great tale about the show here by gleng1 about some guy named Lenny and what it was like being on tour in 1982 for some of us.. http://www.dead.net/show/july-31-1982
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Editing out the fitriulina phishing attempt reply.. cant these spammers leave us yesteryear societal dropouts alone? Just finished '83. I had a hard time getting it to sound exactly perfect. Decent show. I did enjoy the meat of the second set, especially the UJB through Wharf Rat. It seemed that the sound had settled at some point too.. Well, on to one of the box's more anticipated offerings, '84 Augusta. I never thought this one would get the Full Norman. Whoo Hoo.
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This is a tough show to review, mostly because it's so short. The Dead were playing with a few other bands on this bill (one of which was Canned Heat) and so while the show is here in its entirety, it's only about 1 hour, 5-10 minutes in length. Starting off, the sound quality is pretty good, though the vocals (at least for the first part of the show) seem to be low in the mix, particularly Pigpen's vocals, which is a bit of a problem, since he sings the first 2 songs in the show. Both "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" and Lovelight are good versions, though not particularly remarkable. The rest of the show, which is made up of "Dark Star", "St. Stephen", "The Eleven", "Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks" and "Feedback" is very solid, but strange. Strange in the sense that all of these songs are abbreviated versions of themselves. There's still plenty of jamming, mind you, but when you're used to a 20+ minute version of "Dark Star", the 10+ minute version just isn't the same. "St. Stephen" is really strong here, but again, shortened a bit. I also thought that "Caution", while shortened, was also particularly strong. I thought the between-songs banter was sort of entertaining, particularly when Jerry says something about their trip getting there and mentions that "it's nice to be in Fresno" (even though the show is at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, which is NOWHERE near Fresno). Overall... it's a good show, just short. I give it a "B".
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I FINALLY received my gold record for having a winning scroll in the boxed set.Well worth the wait. Personally engraved and wood framed, measuring approx. 13" x 17". Wondering how many of these were awarded?
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First of all... let me start of by saying that DL's liner notes on the inside of the packaging for this show got me VERY worked-up. So much so that I think my first listen to this show shouldn't have counted. He compares it to the FW shows from a few days later that have grown to be legendary in status, especially after the release of the Fillmore West '69 box a few years back (btw... if anyone reading this has one of those to spare for a REASONABLE sum of $$$, I'm in the market). While this show is really, really good, I don't think it's in the same league as those Fillmore West shows. What I really like about this show is the dichotomy. First of all, you've got three very nice renditions of great songs that were not played all that much live by the Dead.... Duprees Diamond Blues and Mountains of the Moon to kick off the show, and then Doin' That Rag as the first song on the 2nd CD. All three are done really well here. Then, you balance those with some really good jams later in the show. Overall, the sound quality of this show is a bit up and down in my opinion. Some songs sound much better than others from a sound quality standpoint. After the DDB and Mountains of the Moon openers, things get serious. A really interesting performance of Dark Star. I found the percussion on this one to be really strong and curious. And Jerry's vocals were spot-on until he flubbed some lyrics late in the song. Cryptical Envelopment > The Other One > Cryptical Envelopment is the highlight of the first disc for me. I always enjoyed Jerry's sweet singing and the beautiful tune of Cryptical, juxtaposed with the power and fury of The Other One, and this one is really, really solid. First disc ends with a run-of-the-mill Death Don't Have No Mercy. I really like the song, but this version of it is unremarkable to me in any way. Not bad, mind you, but not anything special. As stated previously, the 2nd disc kicks off with Doin' That Rag. This version is a good one. It's followed by a great St. Stephen (though not as good as the FW version from Live/Dead), and the show winds up with 38 minutes of the Dead blowing the roof off the dump with a kick-ass version of The Eleven (my personal favorite from this show) followed by a stellar Lovelight. This Lovelight is strong (wasn't it always though, when Pig was breaking bad?), but not the best I've ever heard. Overall, a mighty fine sample of 1969 Grateful Dead. Show rating... overall... B+.
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So, a comment I've been wanting to share for several weeks but only getting around to it now... On the '75 show, that second disc starts with Truckin' and then goes into what is dubbed 'The Eleven Jam'. Now, is it just me, or does anyone else just not hear 'The Eleven' in there? It's definitely not the same key or melody as The Eleven, and the structure doesn't appear to be The Eleven. The only thing I could think of is maybe the drummers are playing the '11' beat, and everyone else is just playing something else. It has bugged me since my first listen. I was psyched to actually get a mid-70's 'Eleven jam', but it just never really seemed to morph to the destination. Curious to hear others' thoughts if you have any. Sixtus
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1. Man, is the '87 choice great, especially the second half.2. I have listened two times through---one of the main things it taught me was that post-81 still had a lot of interesting music, right up to the end. But also, that music changed. Garcia cannot go as fast or more importantly as varied/searching as in the 'old' days. And so, Bobby and Lesh (as opposed to his early '80s 'sleeping' shall we say) really pick it up. Listen to Bobby's stunning work on the '87 encore, where at the end they drop to the acapella chorus on Knockin', and then bring it right back up--Weir's strums in between the two first lines of the 'bring it back up' are just world-class perfect--no need for Garcia to do anything but sing. 3. My new perspective has me appreciating Road Trips 4.2 right now, because I am listening for Weir and just letting Garcia dance over that. Anyway, thanks to all involved in getting 30 Trips out--an immense pleasure in itself, and a teaching lesson(s), too.
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First brown of the year today in tha John D. Rockefeller,Jr. Memorial Parkway.(A little slice-o-heaven in between GT & Jellystone) ;0)
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Sixtus, I was disapointed as well. The 30 Trips 1975 Eleven Jam is not the actual melody that underlies the vocal portion of the The Eleven, it's the bass line that they all jam to during the second part of the Eleven (so for example if you tune into the 10 minute mark of the Two From the Vault version, that's what they're playing on the 30 Trips 1975 Eleven Jam).
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Thanks LoveJerry, glad I'm not the only one this has bothered and that others have noticed. It could have been a fun romp through the melody especially after the absence. We still have our beloved '68's and 69's when there's a hankerin'.... Sixtus
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Moving into a new decade, the Dead don't miss a beat. The first time I listened to this show I was driving my car to work early in the morning. I thought... "Wow... this is a nice "Cold Rain & Snow" opener as it came to a delicious conclusion. Little did I know I was about to be ripped from my peaceful, easy, early-morning bliss by a sound which can only be described as the shriek of a banshee following the opening number. Woooooooo!!!! Ahh... Bobby Weir welcomes us all to Winterland. Let me just say... this show is a GEM. It's got everything I want in a GD show... energy, an interesting setlist, and some top-notch performances. CR&S opener, as mentioned, is a very nice version. It's followed by a great China Cat > Rider, which would only be better if Jerry hadn't screwed up the lyrics at what I believe to be the most critical point of this pairing. "Technical Difficulties" then ensue, which provide for some entertaining on-stage banter, followed by some more blood-curdling screams from Mr. Weir. "Mama Tried" is straight-forward as always, and done well here. Then, the show REALLY starts for me when they break out "It's A Man's World", with Pig laying down the vocals. A song I wish they'd played more often. A very early "Candyman" follows, and you can tell that the boys are still working this one out a bit. A great "Hard to Handle" and an unremarkable "Cumberland Blues" close out the first disc. The second disc starts with a big, fat, tasty "Cryptical Envelopment" sandwich, with "Drums" and some jamming leading into an awesome "The Other One" as the filler in that sandwich. Nicely done, boys! A great version of "Dire Wolf" follows and then the boys stretch their legs and get into "jam mode" and kick into a high-energy "Dancing in the Street". The show closes with an absolutely high-energy, delightful Lovelight > NFA > Lovelight which goes on for about 20 minutes! Overall, a fantastic show with very few "boring" moments for me. High point for me is definitely the first half of the second disc, but it's followed closely by the final 20 minutes of the show. Show grade: A-
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This is just a REALLY solid show, from beginning to end. There aren't a lot of super highlights, nor are there any clunkers, in my opinion. The Casey Jones opener is really strong, and the rest of the first set just continues in it's footsteps. Again, nothing stand-out, but everything is just really, really good. I particularly enjoyed "Me and Bobby McGee" (which I'm not normally big on) and "Ain't It Crazy (The Rub)". The shortened PITB near the end of the first set is also a nice change from the longer, jammy PITBs that would become the band's norm. The second set also is a good one, with my personal highlights being Truckin', The Other One and NFA. I hate to sound so repetitive, but really, there's nothing bad to say about this show and there are really no stand-out, blow your mind moments. It's just a really good show. Show rating: B+
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good thing you dont have to pay to watch your seaside chats,, the audio is awful, a little thing called wind makes it worse than listening to an awful audience tape. For somebody who is always picky about sound quality, ya might want to get those things fixed, so its not painful to watch. http://www.worldworx.tv
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I have enjoyed your 30trips show write ups, thanks for posting.
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Who scared away Kate? Stop doing that. I really miss her posts. Did she erase one below? Here are some thoughts thus far. I also have song-by-song notes, too long for here: 1966 – As you would expect, this show features embryonic versions of many songs that grew to much greater proportions in later years. It also contains a bunch of relative rarities, and it all sounds pretty good. I think this is a great choice to open the box, even if a couple of songs are incomplete. The vibe is very pizza parlor. 1967 – As expected again, our heroes have audibly expanded their musical talents by this time and have incorporated more original tunes into their act. The sound quality here is as good as possible, since it was mixed from an archived 8-track source tape, only one of two multi-tracks in the whole box. Pig is big on this show. I like his songs best, plus “New Potato Caboose”. “Viola Lee Blues” also got a lot of love from listeners, and while I think it’s grand, you could probably find a hotter one or two. 1968 – This is a short show, and it really takes off about halfway through, with the early rendition of “Dark Star”. The sound is a little rough, and probably would have prevented release in a stand-alone context. So we are lucky to have this little unpolished gem, and I for one will certainly give it an occasional spin. The jams are big, big, big. 1969 – There was some chatter about this show being in the same league as the famous Fillmore West run of just a few days hence. But it is not of that caliber, and because it shares so many songs with that more snazzy series of shows, I probably won’t be listening much to this one. I do particularly like the take on “Death Don’t Have No Mercy”. 1970 – This is the clear winner thus far. The sound is fuzzy at times, and the organ is but a shadow, but the playing makes up for any audio slights. Do not miss the jam out of “Drums”, nor the jam in “Dancing in the Street”. In fact, do not miss any of this show. 1971 – As much as I love the 1970 show, I find this one somewhat spotty, mainly due to under-rehearsed new songs and one inexcusable cut in “Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad”. The good stuff is good, however. Again, there is little chance this show would ever have seen the light of day if not for this giant thematic collection of goodies. 1972 – Are there any truly bad shows from this year? I think not. This one is marvelous, with only a couple of rough spots and two big jam vehicles to make up for any transgressions. I could see this as a Dave’s Pick, or whatever series you name. It will take its rightful place alongside all other official releases from 1972. You know what to expect here, and you get it.
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Listened to the first 4-5 shows last year and think I went in to much. Just listened to '68 and found it amazing! Jerry's guitar sounds so happy and bouncy. Rough sound at first and Phil is to high in the mix and Bobby to far back, but it gets better. 1967 is crazy good. No doubt primal Dead. The sound is very fresh. Has there ever been music like that since? No band could match these guys live.
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1973 - This one is simply monstrous. It sputters a bit getting started, but by the time of China/Rider, there is no turning back. Yes, that TOO jam segment looks great on paper and it lives up to your wishes. There are a couple of aud patches and neither one is pitch corrected. These are minor blemishes, and this show will enjoy much play around here.
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I'm usually partial to the 60's and 70s, however this show is tremendous! short but impeccable first set, from beginning to end; second set is quite adventurous, with a long UJB, a standalone Playin' reprise and a killer Morning Dew. My favorite 80's Trip so far. Revising my rankings... 1970 1967 1973 1975 1974 1972 1976 1968 1984 1969 1977 1983 1991 1979 1980 1981 1982 1978 1990 1993 1992 1966 1985 1986 1994 1985 1995 1987 1989 1988
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I don't see 1971 on your list. And is something listed twice?
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I have not gone through the 2nd set of 1971...and yes, I listed 1985 twice, my mistake.
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If ever there was a more stellar year in GD history, I'm not sure what it would be (okay, okay... I realize this topic is up for debate, but I cast my lot with 1972). That being said, I had really high expectations for this show, as I do almost all '72 shows. This one didn't disappoint. However, I do think that this show will suffer a fate of being underplayed by many Heads, as it's so close in proximity to the DP 11 show from the Stanley Theater in Jersey City that took place 3 nights after this gem. I do think the Stanley Theater show is better, but this one is pretty great too. My only knock on this show... I think the sound is a bit spotty. There's one period in the show where the tape hiss is very audible and a bit distracting until you realize you're just gonna have to deal with it. The show opens with one of my personal faves... "Big Railroad Blues". You know a show is gonna be good when they open with this one. Everything in this show is filled with energy. Hell... I even liked "Mexicali Blues" which to me is usually a snoozer. "Loser" and "Black-Throated Wind" both deliver, while the band takes a bit of a breather in a subpar "Cumberland Blues" in my opinion. "Sugaree" is great (as per usual), and is followed by a consistent run of "El Paso", "Tennesse Jed" and BIODTL. In my opinion, this show REALLY gets rolling when they break into "Bird Song" later in the 1st Set. I've heard much better versions of "Big River", but the first set closes with an awesome "Brown-Eyed Women" and a MONSTER "Playing In the Band." Not bad... and that was just the 1st Set!!!The 2nd Set kills! The boys keep raising the pot (no pun intended) with each subsequent song, starting with "Greatest Story Ever Told" and continuing through "Bertha", "Promised Land", a beautiful "Fried of the Devil" and "Jack Straw". Things fall off a bit when they play "Tomorrow is Forever", a short-lived song in the Dead repertoire for good reason in my opinion. Then they ease back into things with MAMU before they head into "Dark Star" which is sandwiched around a nice little drum solo by Billy. Out of "Dark Star"?... Why yes, I do believe I will take a China Cat>Rider. And it's a good one. The show closes with the Bobby one-two.... "Sugar Magnolia" and "One More Saturday Night". All in all, a great show. Grade: A-
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It took me a little while longer to get to this review than I would have liked... Life's been busy with vacation and then I was in trial for a week (I'm an attorney... don't throw rocks), so my listening has been sporadic for the past few weeks. At any rate, let me start off by saying that this show is a total GEM!! Although I don't think it's the best of the box, so far, I do think it might be my favorite so far. It starts off again with a "Big Railroad Blues" which to me is a sign of good things to come (see my review from 1972). The next few songs (Jack Straw, Sugaree, Mexicali Blues) are all good, but nothing special. After all, it's just the first set. But then, this show morphs into a classic. "Here Comes Sunshine" is one of those songs that I absolutely love, and that I feel the band didn't play often enough. Accordingly, it was, in my opinion, a treat when it did show up in a setlist. Well... this one may be the best HCS EVER! It's so melodic and the playing so smooth, with a killer jam in the middle of it. It ebbs and flows nicely and you know from this point going forward that "tonight" is going to be "one of those nights." The other part about this show that is a bit different is that the first set is EPIC in length. It's actually longer than the second set, and the goodies start showing up much earlier than in a typical Dead show. I'm not going to go song-by-song, but the remaining highlights of the first set for me are: an appearance of "The Race Is On"; a very nice "Brown-Eyed Women"; "Tennessee Jed" and a late-first set China>Rider. The first set closes out (more than mid-way through Disc 2) with a hot "Around and Around."As good as the first set is, the second set is even better (although I still think the overall highlight of the show is still the "Here Comes Sunshine" in the first set). Due to timing issues, the second set actually starts on Disc 3, with the final three (3) songs on the set appearing at the end of Disc 2. I definitely recommend listening in the order in which the show was played. And let me tell you, Disc 3 is awesome!!! It is basically a non-stop, continuous 70+ minute jam which begins with an excellent "Truckin'" which then morphs into an unbelievable, three-part "The Other One" sandwich, which has "Big River" and "Eyes of the World" for the filling. It is hypnotic the way the boys weave in and out of "The Other One" throughout this portion of the show, never losing stride and hitting on all cylinders. Finally... the last portion of "The Other One" leads into a great "Wharf Rat", and they finally silence their instruments for a few fleeting moments. The show closes with three (3) stand-alones... "Me and My Uncle" (which seems strange to hear this late in a show), "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad" and "One More Saturday Night". They're all good, but it's almost impossible to top that which just went down in the first 70+ minutes of this set. I definitely see myself coming back to this show over and over in the future. Show grade: "A- to A", depending upon my mood. Again... I don't think it's the best show, so far, but I do think it's my favorite!
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I will go out on a limb here and officially declare the 1974 show as the first "miss" of this embarrassment of riches known as 30 Trips Around the Sun. First of all, there are a few sound-related issues that I had to overcome. The overall sound "quality" is very good, but I definitely thought that Jerry's guitar was too low in the mix (who does that... puts Jerry's guitar low in the mix?!!!?) and then there is the issue with the vocals for the first 2 songs of the second set ("Loose Lucy" and "Big River") which are missing. I mean... they're there, but they're apparently not being picked up by the mic intended to pick them up or they didn't make it to the recorder... Whatever's going on, they're not to be heard in these recordings, unless you lean into the speaker and hear them buried somewhere off in the distance. In any event, it annoys me, and I think it spoils what would have otherwise been a pretty decent "Loose Lucy" (one of my faves). In addition, this show contains a between sets "Seastones." Not my favorite in any case. So... this show was fighting an uphill battle for me. The show kinda begins with the boys being a bit sloppy. The "Uncle John's Band" opener is nice, but uneven. "Jack Straw", "Friend of the Devil" and "Black-Throated Wind" are all unremarkable. The standalone "Scarlet Begonias" is a notch up from the previous songs, but that tune was still really finding its legs in the Dead's repertoire in '74. The next 5 tunes are again, unremarkable. The first CD ends with a nice "To Lay Me Down." I have to admit, I'm partial to this song. I've always loved it and thought it was underrated as a Dead song. The first set ends with a 23+ minute Playing In the Band which is good, but again, nothing special for this era. Then we are faced with "Seastones" and the aural problems mentioned previously to start the second set. A good "Peggy O" and an unremarkable "Me and My Uncle" round out Disc 2. The meat of this show (and presumably, the reason it was included in 30 TATS) is in Disc 3. Things finally take off with a wonderful "Eyes of the World" and the rest of the show is pretty darn good. Highlights for me included the Truckin' > Drums > Caution Jam sequence, which is pretty hot. The "Drums" is particularly interesting in that in addition to Billy on drums, Phil is also participatory in the part of the show. "Ship of Fools" is really nice and smooth and the "Johnny B. Goode" to close the set is also pretty smokin'. "U.S. Blues" is a good encore and a nice way to round out the evening. I'll be brutally honest... I don't think this show would have ever merited release on it's own, so it was, in my opinion, thrown into this box set. I certainly hope it's not the best there is remaining in the vault from 1974. However, I'd be less than honest if I didn't acknowledge that the third disc of the show is pretty darn good. But it certainly was my least favorite show thus far in the box. Grade: C+
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15 years 5 months
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Just returned from a long road trip and listened to these two shows in their entirety during this trip. 1994 was the first listen. Show starts off with a nice Help>Slip>Franklins that is nice, Jerry in good form and everyone contributing their parts, not the best, but not bad. Then Walkin blues, not my favorite and Bobby's slide work is ok at best, then Atlhea, a good tune done well by Jer. Me and My Uncle, Big River and Just like Tom Thumb's Blues, no real Jerry in MAMU, BR just ok and JLTTB's has Phil taking lead vocals, enough said. An ok So Many Roads and Jerry sounds tired, voice a bit shaky and "old Jerry" sounding. Promised Land is good, with Bobby in fine voice, which ends the first set. Second set starts off with Scarlet>Fire, scarlet is ok but the Fire is grate, with Jerry getting his voice to perform about as good as it can get for these days. Way to go Home is next and I always liked this song, Vince in fine form throughout with Jerry adding some fine lead lines. Then into Saint of Circumstances, no Lost Sailor which I miss and wish they would not have dropped from the list, it's the better of the two tunes. A nice Terrapin with Jerry hitting all the notes and lyrics into a short but very trippy drums into an excellent space with Jerry showing us all that he can still blow heads away. Everytime there is "The last time" after a drums>space you know it was a great drums>space, like you know this could be the last time you ever hear that wonderful sound again. A good but short Stella with Jerry sounding tired in both voice and playing into a good OMSN. The encore is Liberty, a great tune that Jerry flubs the lyric on, but comes back and repeats it right. Thought the sound was ok, but a little boomy All in all a good show but....C+. 1990, good first set with a great Jack-a roe black throated wind ramble on rose and bird song, Jerry in fine voice and playing with bruce on the piano making it all sound nice. The second set here is very good, Chinacat, rider and saint all done well, very deliberate and a bit on the slower side, which is nice. At Crazy fingers and this is where it starts to get real good, the ending jam in Crazy Fingers has a bit of the x factor and was very nice then into Playing>drums>space>playing reprise, just awesome all of it, I highly recommend it. The stella is very nice into throwing stones into a great NFA with crowd chant into a fine one more Saturday nite. All in all a good show from France. The sound was ok, but had a bit of an echo in spots, not sure if it was the audience singing along or an echo, but was a bit distracting in places, a bit boomy in parts also, but all in all, not bad....a solid B. I haven't had time to get to all of them, but these two I took along just to give them a good listen, was not disappointed. For the 90's, both shows were ok, but not the same band we all fell in love with in the 60's and 70's.
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11 years 7 months
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So... this is another show that's a bit tough to grade. It's relatively short for a Dead show (I think it was just one long set), and I'm guessing that they were part of a bill that included other bands at this free show in Golden Gate Park. Also, it's one of only 4 shows that they played in 1975, so I'm guess they were a bit rusty, though you wouldn't think so from the performance itself. It starts off with a really sold Help > Slipknot that sounds a bit strange without the third jewel of Franklin's Tower, but that comes later in the show. Then there's a long break as the band attempt to summons a doctor from the crowd because a woman is apparently having a baby somewhere near/behind the stage. This alone makes the show memorable. They then move into a really, really good Music Never Stopped, followed by They Love Each Other. Beat It On Down the Line is above-average, in my opinion and it's followed by a good Franklin's Tower. Big River is straightforward, and the first disc ends with a routine It Must Have Been the Roses. The second disc starts off with an above-average Truckin' followed by a good jam and Drums. That heads into an excellent Stronger Than Dirt/Milkin' the Turkey which eventually leads into 10+ minute Not Fade Away which is light on lyrics and strong on jamming. The show ends with Going Down the Road Feeling Bad and a very energetic One More Saturday Night. The highlight of this show for me is the Music Never Stopped, but there really are no off numbers in the entire show. It's a consistently good show from start to finish. Overall Grade: B
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11 years 4 months
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I spent the day with Cobo 1976. I really like these fall 76 shows with Dicks #20 being a personal favorite since it's release many years ago. This Cobo show is really growing on me with each listen. 30 Trips has been a monster to get through but I love the task! There are still shows I haven't spent time with.. but I will!
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11 years 7 months
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I hope someone hasn't asked this already. Does anyone know who did the artwork for the outside of the box?
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15 years 7 months
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Steve Vance, an art director at Rhino. He has been involved with the Grateful Dead releases for several years. I like his work on this one, I sort of guess you do too.
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16 years 9 months
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Where the heck did that come from?? Most times in '71 and '72 they did that trick with El Paso, but wow here it is really effective...gotta pull out my old DeadBase and check it out...I got a huge generous helping of 30 Trips today, and gotta say that jump from the '80's to '73 San Diego was a rather stark change. I could recognize bobby's voice, but Jerry's chops really were a step up compared to '87 (despite the amazing energy of this show), '86 and '83.
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10 years
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forget Mollom...kinda dig the original one...definitely missing Jerry...and anybody that doesn't get what thick air sounds like sure as fuck doesnt get to have their name after the Grateful Dead
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9 years 5 months
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The endless river of shows has - like most releases, be they single, box sets, or these 30 annual iterations - reduced commentary to a brief interlude between happy arrival and frenzied anticipation of the next selection. It's been a year. And for anyone on the outside, I suspect detailed analysis would be an unhelpful data dump at this point. If you wanted, but didn't get, then you've likely poured over the shows in Deadbase or the Compendiums and listened to them on the Ark. Let me say, as I puzzle over the substantive merits of Colgate, Nashville, Selland and ColoradoU as DaP selections, my esteem for the 30T shows grows considerably with each listen. Though my personal preference runs 68-74 & 77, it is the 91-95 shows that've received my greatest return attention; in fact, I was moved to post today because I just completed my 3rd full pass at that run, w/ a couple additional listens to 94 & 95. Seriously. And it's been time well invested. Due to their relative paucity, these great 90s' (and 80s') shows (excluding 1990, which had a surfeit) characterize a selection effort that prioritizes artistic integrity over sound source - a balance that should've been more heavily weighted when selecting #20. The targeting of strong - if not great - shows regardless of source integrity is most evident throughout the 80s' selections (I detect no great problems with the 90s). To underscore this assertion, I confess that I ordered the box immediately after taking note of the 74&78 shows, which immediately jumped out because they are 2 of my all time favourites, but commonly run under conventional radar (I recall the discussions we had regarding these performances on The Eleven after I brought them up - having in turn been introduced by a veteran on the Ark). They indicated to me that Dave had done his due diligence with regard to comparative listening of shows. Add to that classics like The Shrine, Greek 68, Waterbury, Lindley, Cape Cod, Manor Downs, and Oxford Plains, as well as strong shows from renowned years like 69-71, 77, 89 & 90 and you have a masterpiece. In sum, for me, this release has precipitated a paradigm shift in my listening horizon, and, along with the Winterland 73/77 and E72 sets, will draw an inordinate amount of return traffic over the years. You know your budget best, but if you have the interest, and you prefer physical media (including the USB stick, as I think everything will stream someday), then I'd suggest considering the expenditure if you can purchase from a reputable seller in the neighbourhood of $1K. They hit the mark here and but for a continual release cycle, we'd all still being having brisk discussion about it./peace, K
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14 years 3 months
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IS AMAZING! FELT/HEARD IT, RIGHT QUICK! Gimme some '76!
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8 years 6 months
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I hadn't revisited '92 - '95 since my first listen, so took your advice. Thank you for reminding me that the boys had some good magic those final years. 1994, in particular, is a show I would have been overjoyed to hear as a Dave's pick, the Fire is one of the best I have heard. Okay, 1995 is one I'll probably just ff through some songs, Music Never Stopped is one of those Jerry's guitar disappears we became familiar with but at least no audio patches that are becoming more familiar in the latest picks releases.
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7 years 9 months
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anybody know where i can find the individual cover art for the CDs.......
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16 years 9 months
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The musical interplay between Branford and Bruce makes this High Time really special. Check out Bruce and Branford at the verse 'The Wheel's are Muddy...' and then 'Nothing's for Certain..." makes Jerry smile you can hear it. Bruce's playing is especially strong on this one. All contribute to some real tasteful harmonies, too...Discoveries on this box will continue to accrue I'm sure for a long time to come.
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7 years 1 month
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1973 - This one is basically colossal. It sputters a bit beginning, yet when of China/Rider, there is no turning back. Yes, that TOO stick portion looks awesome on paper and it satisfies your desires. There are a few aud patches and neither one of the ones is pitch remedied. These are minor flaws, and this show will appreciate much play around here. http://worldfestive.com http://happyholipictures.in/
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7 years 11 months
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USB #288/1000 just landed. Haven't even listened yet and I'm blown away already. Thank you Dead, Betty, Dave L and entire crew who worked on this!! Can't wait to dive in.
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16 years 1 month
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especially about the final years, wich is for me best argument to get one of this "used" boxset sooner or later. 90 & 91 are great shows in the mood of the msg shows one month earlier for the previous, and more delicate & colorful for the next than the nassau's with Brandford.(due to Bruce?)thank you for the post for the boxset on Ebay, yes the price was reasonable.
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