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July 1978: The Complete Recordings
What's Inside:
• Five Complete Shows on 12 discs
• 7/1/78 Arrowhead Stadium: Kansas City, MO
• 7/3/78 St. Paul Civic Center Arena: St. Paul, MN
• 7/5/78 Omaha Civic Auditorium: Omaha, NE
• 7/7/78 Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Morrison, CO
• 7/8/78 Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Morrison, CO
Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman
Artwork by esteemed cartoonist Paul Pope
Intro and show-by-show liner notes by Nicholas Meriwether
Producer's Note by David Lemieux
Individually Numbered, Limited Edition of 15,000
Release Date: May 13, 2016
Announcing July 1978: The Complete Recordings
We’re pleased to announce JULY 1978: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, five incredible unreleased shows and the first official release from the long-lost tapes, recently returned to the Grateful Dead’s vault. Follow the Dead on a sonic journey through a superb selection of settings, an often epic adventure that finds them winning over Willie and Waylon fans in Kansas City, conjuring charisma in Omaha, and elevating the Red Rocks beyond their already spiritual planes. With five distinct performances painting the masterpiece of 1978, Betty Cantor-Jackson's always-pristine soundboard recordings, and the "hall-of-fame pedigree" of the Dead's first-ever shows at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre, this is one release that far exceeds excellence in music, sound quality, and rarity.
Limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies, JULY 1978: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS includes Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO (7/1/78), St. Paul Civic Center, St. Paul, MN (7/3/78), Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, NE (7/5/78), and Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison CO (7/7/78 and 7/8/78) - all of the performances in this collection are drawn from the band’s master soundboard recordings, each newly mastered by Jeffrey Norman. The set also features original artwork by esteemed cartoonist Paul Pope (D.C. and Marvel comics) and in-depth liner notes written by Nick Meriwether (Grateful Dead Archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz), as well as a producer’s note from producer David Lemieux.
Due May 13th, we anticipate that this extraordinary box will sell out. Your best bet is to pre-order it now, then sit back, relax, and enjoy all the exclusive content we'll be rolling out over the next few weeks right here.
Looking for something a little more byte-sized? The collection will also be available for HD digital download in FLAC and ALAC, exclusively at dead.net, on release day.
I Know You Rider
Love that tune! Wish they had played it more. Guess it plays better as an acoustic stand alone and they figured the electric version needed China Cat to get things rolling. Kinda like Peanut Butter needs jelly. Sometimes I just like peanut butter though. (with a touch of sourwood honey) The Harpur College version gets me every time. Just got my new stereo system and broke it in with a 2 show farewell (5/25/5/26 72) to the baddest dude this side of Josey Wales; that be Pigpen, of course. Oh its soooo sweet!
Bought the Dylan mono recordings last week. Heard great things!
After my spending splurge, settled on the Red Rocks stand alone. Dave 15 made me a 78 believer. Bobby sang a respectable Good Lovin for the last 15 to 20 years; however, it's just not the same without Pig. Wish they would have put that baby to bed after Pig. Man, you got to work hard to find reason to complain about music when u be a DeadHead.
Have a wonderful weekend cats.
And if the mood and opportunity strikes ya; getcha some good lov'in, for Pig's sake!!!!!!!!
Sammy T
I Know You Muleskinner
1971
Ladies & Gentlemen
1972
Europe '72: 4/16/72, 4/26/72 & 5/24/72; Dick's Picks 23, 30, 36
1973
Winterland Complete - 11/9/73 or 11/11/73, whichever one doesn't have the low Jerry vocals on China Cat, I forget which.
1974:
Dick's Picks 12; Road Trips '74; Dave's Picks 13
1977
Dick's Picks 10
Sam, glad to hear you giving 5/25/72 some exercise. Love the Brokedown Palace, Ramble On Rose and Disc 3 Uncle John's Band => Wharf Rat => Dark Star => Sugar Magnolia.
Racking my brain to remember....
....the IKYR that had Jerry singing the "wish I was a headlight..." verse twice. Can't recall it right now, but I know it's out there. That's a neat version....
The Doors
I like them. The 1990's resurgence in popularity hit while I was in college, so I heard a lot of great bands cover the doors. Nothing like bong hits and ephedrine and going to the bar with buds and enjoying The End.
I think their sound and style is truly original and unique. Man, if Morrison had sobered up, I think they would developed even more. Morrison himself was burned out by L.A. Woman, but as a unit The Doors were just hitting their stride. Their best was yet to come.
There were 3 CDs that everyone had in college: Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits, AC/DC Back In Black, and Michael Jackson Thril...no just kidding, The Doors Greatest Hits double CD (I know, I know, where was Peace Frog on that one? We all had one guy in the house go out and buy Morrison Hotel).
hello I love you rider
Muleskinner,
If you wanted a headlight of the 80's variety, here's a fair belter....
https://archive.org/details/gd88-03-26.sbd.braverman.7164.sbefail.shnf
ChinaCat->Rider's actually on the same track.
keithfan,
Yeah, the Doors would certainly have claim to the ballot for best American band. My affair with them was 8th/9th grade, and I didn't really rediscover them till about five years ago (coincidentally, when a bunch of vault releases were happening). I really love them again these days.
(I'm now wondering if my 8th/9th grade years might've been your college ones.)
Of course, there's no question it still has to be the Dead. So many levels of singular artistry, and homegrown iconography: the personalities in/of the band themselves, the songs, their lyrics, the live music they composed so beautifully in real time, the consciousness boost from that music, the versatility of styles their songs canvas, and reflect.....
And, of course, the wandering country they founded. (With its revolving capital city.)
muleskinner: 5/10/80
one of the best versions ever of C>R
There is no bad version of C>R
The Doors/Rainier/Picking a Show
I don't know why the Doors didn't even come to mind when thinking of a candidate for best American band. I was absolutely obsessed with The Doors and Jim Morrison my senior year of high school('93-'94). I think there was a lot of talent in that band. But they only have maybe 2 albums that I would consider good all the way through. Morrison Hotel and L.A. Woman are very good albums, in my opinion. I still wouldn't choose them over the Dead though. Besides group talent and number of hits, I have to consider things like longevity of career and range of styles used successfully.
All of that Mt. Rainier talk.. I've been working on Mt. Hood(Wyeast, for those of you who like the alternate names) the last two winters. There's not a lot of talk about Hood blowing anytime soon, but it still could. Interesting to know that one of you is visiting Hood River soon. I lived there last winter season while working on the mtn. It's a neat, albeit kind of weird in a way you can't put your finger on, town. Pretty close to Portland.
That anecdote about trouble picking a show is pretty hilarious. The struggle is real!!! Luckily for me, being a younger head, there are still a lot of shows I've never heard, so I can usually pick one I've yet to listen to or one that I've only played once. For example, I am playing DaP 2: 7-31-74 for the very first time right as I'm typing this.
MinusMorgul Paralyzed By Choice
This is one of the most realistic and simultaneously comical posts that I've ever seen on this site. The sheer effort to write is proof enough. If I was a little closer to the edge, I'd check each of the shows referenced.
Jellystone....
Living about an hour & a half from the Yellowstone caldera....we've done the math.If it blows we have just enough time to pour the required shots for those on hand,get up on the roof and light the emergency joints.....and POOF!!
The rest will be a slowly dying.....well,you get the picture.
Happy Friday!
;)
Oh Yeah...
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats free on the town square tonight.:)
Chris Robinson Brotherhood & Zac Brown Band free at JHMR tomorrow.
Good stuff.
:)
lowspark, Wharf Rat
Stale winds have indeed found you, lad. Trivia fact: I've never managed to finish a Ranier. This is a distinction unique to that beer.
But really cool that you work on Mt. Hood. Now that it's light out later, Hood presided over the second half of my drive home from work today.... The Ross Island Bridge runs right into its gaze.
(What's the snowboard-able factor up there right now? Is Meadows viable?)
Whoever's visiting Hood River ~ that'll be a treat. You'll love it.
Morgul,
Go with Rockin the Rhein. Go ahead and take it off the shelf. A perfect Wharf Rat. If you can manage to pull out disc 3 ~ and you can; one of the all-time great Dark Stars is there, too~ and just hit play quickly, all your troubles with be over.....
The Doors
I liked the Doors so much I saw them twice *after* Jim died. Saw them four times with him. After Almost Live was released I wrote to Elektra inquiring about unreleased recordings (I saw them at Cobo Arena in 1970 and they said they were recording the show). Elektra actually wrote back with a kind brush-off. But my patience was rewarded after many of those shows were released by Bright Midnight Records in the 2000's.
American Band sleeper
I had to throw in a vote for Little Feat (with Lowell George of course). Back in the day, before all the official live releases by the GOGD, Little Feat ran neck and neck for listening time. Great band, always get my feat movin'.
antonjo
I took you up on your suggestion. Wow, it didn't take long for that to become my favorite disc in the box set. They go into this melody in Dark Start pt 2 that I've never heard before, and the Me and My Uncle in between is just sinister. Keithfan, you're right, this is the best Sugar Magnolia EVER. And the Wharf Rat is top 5, maybe top 3. I love Keith's piano at the very beginning, hitting the pinkie key.
I have a dream. . ..
Steve Parish pulled up on his Harley personally and delivered #1 Box Set Of MSG NYC September 1979!
Then I got on my BMW and we cruised for awhile.
@Spam
Hey Spam. How were The Doors with Jimbo when you saw them? Good? Great? Drunk & Awful?
We have read stories about Jim getting too juiced to do the show so I wondered what your actual experiences were like. With that in mind, did you notice if they sounded a little "thin" as Jerry said. I can understand what Jerry meant by that.
"China Cat Sunflower -> I Know You Rider"
7.1.80 - San Diego Sports Arena - firing on all cylinders
3.3.81 - Cleveland Music Hall - Captain Trips AKA Jerry Garcia brought his A game. Two smoking hot samples near the start of an era
Near the end of an era
4.1.88 - Brendan Byrne Arena (AKA Road Trips 4.2)
4.29.89 - Irvine Meadows :)
https://archive.org/details/gd1989-04-29.sbd.miller.88124.sbeok.flac16
Bettys tapes for this release...
"5 complete shows, 3 mastered from the never-before-circulated Betty Boards"
Does this mean that only 3 of these shows were from Bettys' board tapes? Or that 3 have them haven't circulated but are all from Bettys' tapes?
Rockin' the Rhein
Is there any difference, content wise, between Rockin' The Rhein/Hundred Year Hall and their official Europe '72 release counterparts???
one more saturday morning
RtR DS is awesomestill totally happy over the new box release
The Yes Album: an album for the ages
I do not at all advocate killing any person, but can we kill the CONCEPT of the Kardashians? Please? I give not one fnk about them, yet I know about them, and they keep popping up in my world: internet, grocery store check out, cnn.com, time.com, etc. They do nothing to better the world. Yet they are everywhere.
luckily i can click them away, or turn the page, or focus on putting groceries on the conveyor belt.
Hmmph.
anyway,
have a beautiful weekend, fellow Deadheads.
Kardashians - just for a laugh
Was at a neighborhood bunko party last night, yes a deadhead who goes to couples bunko parties, but I did eat a bunch of eatables before going! Oh, sometimes a half hit! Need something to get thru parties with conservative Christian republicans! (was that redundant?) Anyway the K-Girls came up, mostly negative comments with racial undertones. All I could think about was what my old man would say, not politically correct at all with his barely 6th grade education.
"I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers" or another of this choice comments, "...a ass only a black man could love".
Me, I got nothing against the K-girls because they don't affect my life at all. Now Ted Cruz,,, he scares me!
stoltzfus
Do I need to point out that you brought the Kardashians here... a place which has nothing to do with them... thereby perpetuating what you wish to see stifled? Was thinking about what Dead show to play this morning, now all I can think about is dat a$#. (~);}
American Bands...NRBQ
If you haven't listened to or discovered NRBQ, you have a big wild world of awesome awaiting you....
morgul
That melody in Part 2 is exactly the moment that might make it my favorite Dark Star (top three for sure). You just made me pop it in.Sinister is a perfect description of that Me and My Uncle, menaced by the dark galaxy wherein it resides. Love that final chord, all hands unleashing and Pigpen's organ shimmering on top of it all and disappearing into Phil's punctuation and Keith's swirling notes as the ship launches back into space.
One of the rare Wharf Rats with vocals as sweet as Skull & Roses, and Jerry may go one better with that last, heartfelt "true to me"....
Can't advise if Rockin the Rhein is much different-sounding then the steamer, I haven't done a side by side. But it always seems especially rich in the context of that chocolate-wood packaging.
spam,
How lucky to have seen that Cobo Doors show. I've only heard bits, but I think it's one of the better-regarded of those Bright Midnight releases.
lowspark,
thanks for the Meadows tip, this weekend is out, but maybe, just maybe, next Sunday.... Snowboard has been under my bed for about four years. Shameful.
RTR Vs. E72 Steamer
Pretty much the same, except there are 2 bonus tracks from 5/24 on RTR (Lovelight & Stranger). And yet the steamer is stretched out to 4 discs. Some of the tracks start and end in different spots - Wharf Rat for example. One Man pointed out that discs 3 & 4 of the steamer are identical mixes, while discs 1 & 2 are slightly different. I can confirm that Sugar Magnolia is an identical mix, having compared the two on headphones (afterall, it's THE version of THE song that got me on the bus).
Agree with Wharf Rat evaluation on RTR. This was my first ever Grateful Dead CD. It's no accident this show was chosen above the rest for commercial release.
The Lovelight from 5/24 is Pigpen's last, and in my opinion best, as far as the non-jam arrangements in the song. They jammed so much and so differently on it over the years, you can't really compare them. It's also the only of the 3 E72 versions to include the doot-doot-doo section, which is the best part of the song (not sure how that gets left out). The jam is great here, they sound like the Allman Brothers - very Jessica-like.
Hundred Year Hall is missing a ton of good tracks. I would advise picking up the Steamer version, which also features a better mix to my ears, at least when I put Bertha side by side on headphones. Bobby and Keith sounded louder, but not at anyone else's expense. Overall 4/24 & 4/26 are two of the best sounding shows in the box, probably as One Man confirmed with JN, they were not as rushed as the rest of the set, having already undergone a lengthy mastering process for their previous commercial release.
RtR/HYH vs. E72 Content
Rockin the Rheine has bonus content from the 5/24/72 Lyceum show, while Hundred Year Hall is missing several songs and the order is rearranged. Can't speak to any difference in sound as I don't have those shows from E72. Been picking up a couple shows at a time from E72, but since I already have Rockin the Rheine and Hundred Year Hall, the E72 versions of those shows are at the bottom of the list for future acquisition.
RtR v. E72
After reading Keithfan's comment that E72 was stretched out to 4 discs while Rockin the Rheine was only 3 discs my OCD kicked into overdrive and I compared the track order on them. As it turns out the song order is different starting after Casey Jones. And here I thought I might not have to get the E72 version. I don't need to get all of the official releases, just the ones I don't have yet.
just pointing out
ubiquity of certain things in our age of connectedness.
they find a way to you. publicity machines.
also, i was popping my stress zit here. I do that from time to time on this site.
it's good therapy.
anyway, i have something else to say
found a gem on youtube today
Dead Set is not one of my favorites. too edited. but i somehow found Dead Set disc 2 on youtube. The Shakedown Street is worth listening to. Warfield/RCMH run.
diamonds still being found
re: Dead Set Disc 2
The whole second disc smokes - in particular the Sugaree, Row Jimmy and Jack Straw IMO
Little Feat
Over the Doors all day long. The Doors were one of those bands you liked in 8th or 9th grade, but were never really sure why. Everyone else liked them, so they must be good. Waiting for Columbus put an end to the Doors. Feat had soul and substance.
But then again, all of the bands mentioned were precursors to the Dead and the epiphany that occurred upon getting a copy of my first bootleg.
Also, Jefferson Airplane needs to be on the list, don't they?
Packaging?
Anybody know whether this boxed set will packaged like the Winterland '73 & '77 boxed sets (i.e., only slightly bigger box than a jewel case), or like the oversized May '77 box, or something different entirely?
best american bands
Parliment funkadelic cmon people nobody has mentioned them?
August - I don't think Dave
August - I don't think Dave hit on packaging in the video, other than to praise the production team. I didn't read the Rolling Stone or any other articles, but I'm guessing there's no info there yet.
On the Doors - Not a group I've played much to date, but neither are Little Feat, the Airplane, Steely Dan, etc, so I'm pretty unqualified in that discussion. I like what I've heard from LA Woman.
Actually some Steely Dan just came on random..Rose Darling?
I got side tracked from my I Know You Riders after the 4/24/72 discussion. Listened from Dark Star through the end again.....I've had DaP14 in the car lately too, I love the segues from Dark Star and TOO, respectively, into Me & My Uncle and back. I think in that respect, the Other One wins..coming out of the end of Me and My Uncle right back into the Other One riff is insane. But this Dark Star was wild too...dark and spacey. (That's certainly not very descriptive, especially for Dark Star..duh. How do ya'll write so evocatively?)
Now some Dylan up on random.. License to Kill live in Offenbach, *West* Germany, 11 June 1984. An interesting year, not the best but Mick Taylor on guitar and some good rocking. Toured with Santana, I think? And the Tangled Up In Blue off Real Live (Wembley, 7/7) is one of the best things he did in the '80s, and up there on the overall list too.
On '78 Dead...I have been listening to the Closing of Winterland as well. I love the video, as part of the DVD box set, but I can't get into the CD..I feel it's very thin. Is this just me??
July '78 packaging....
....I prefer the May '77 style. Other than slight flocking on the spine, it's perfect. I, however see a curveball version. The price tag does not lead me to believe it will be like it. I have been wrong before though, from time to time....
American Bands
I like most of the nominees listed, but I am surprised nobody listed The Band. Their self titled album has to be a contender for one the best albums ever, from start to finish.
And Pet Sounds alone has to make the Beach Boys a contender.
re: the Band
American origin aside - The Band is neck and neck with the Dead for #1 in my book. Then the usual CSNY (especially Stephen Stills), Allman, Dylan, Clapton. I love to listen to so much more but I always come to the goods. Recent? TTB all day and all night.
Stay Truckin' my friends.
Done
I too saw the banner ad for this before the dead.net email. Pre-ordered first day. Yay! I was not a big fan of 78, but I can tell this will be a grate box. The Red Rocks 78 boots made me travel from home state California to Red Rocks in '79, only to get rained out after the first night. I returned several years. Had big fun with 7 friends doing RR 87 and Teluride.
Loved the story about getting gear in giving up batteries, etc. I did the battery trick too, and even give up a small walkman at the Warfield 80 shows. They had a big box they stored all the decks they found at the door, and gave each owner a numbered tag to reclaim their deck at the end of the night. One night at the Warfield run I was busted by Dan Healy, but that's another story...
Thanks Dave for more great music...
Made in the USA....
How about REM, X or Ramones? A few bands that are from the more recent past, but still oldies. Two punk bands (west coast & east coast) and one post-punk band.
Clovett
Well said, Clovett, and true in my book too.
They would have been my vote by a country mile, being disqualified by the four strong winds aside.
I suppose it's just like the Dead or any band (or group) you fall in with, but I feel a kinship and respect those guys on an individual basis in addition to as a band.
Richard is a hidden / unmentioned talent in the mainstream prism on the '60s' or 'classic rock' generation. Tragic ultimately, but I would consider him a white Ray Charles from Stratford, Ontario.
Garth is a mad scientist, probably the least there to connect with personally, but his coloring has changed popular music, period.
Robbie gets a bad rap from sour vibes, which there may be something to but it doesn't matter as far as I'm concerned. His songcraft and his Tele playing both stand on their own accord.
Levon is now folk-Americana royalty, it seems, but he deserves it. I could write a lot about Levon but no one cares and Clovett summed it perfectly anyways. All I'll say is he kind of looks like Ron Howard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xD3uBGzjpw
Danko has always been my favorite..he was hilarious and a ridiculously talented musician, though that was true for all of these guys. I thought I read somewhere they played 26 instruments between the 5 of them, and don't overlook their producer John Simon..as much the 6th Band*er (sure..) as George Martin was the 5th Beatle, in my opinion.
Anyways, Danko was just..funky..in the best way imaginable. A line from Dylan's obituary to Jerry also sums up Rick to me, "the very spirit personified of whatever is muddy river country." And can you imagine hangin out with that dude??* Haha
Did anyone ever see Danko, Butterfield and Gary Busey doing Bob Will's Stay All Night on SNL, I think it was? That is the greatest video ever, haha. I can't find a link but have it saved, maybe can upload it if it doesn't get flagged for copyright.
The other great thing is that forgetting all that innovation and their own albums, if they never left Ronnie Hawkins, they would be bonefied just from being a shit kicking rock and roll band.
I'm kind of pissed now because I'd like to augment that with some of my favorite videos and they're all gone now. There's a fantastic When You Awake from the 1990s, Danko in a studio or something on an acoustic guitar.
Folks here probably know the Festival Express stuff, but this is always my go to just for straight rock and roll: http://rutube.ru/video/fa68a85a62cc9158f5e02ea71e122047/
*Related, hangin out with that dude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVDDD9bScPk
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