Grateful Dead May 1977 Box (Digital)

Post reply Log in to post comments

May 6, 2013 - 10:22am

955 replies

lilgoldie

Joined:
April 3, 2009

What's Inside:
• Five Complete Shows
• 5/11/77 St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
• 5/12/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/13/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/15/77 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO
• 5/17/77 University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
•14 Discs, 111 tracks
•Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman, Plangent Processes playback system for maximum sonic accuracy
•Artwork by Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike
•Period Photos by James R Anderson
•Historical Essay by Steve Silberman
•Individual show liner notes

MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

If you're a Dead Head, chances are you've spent many an hour expounding upon the distinction of May 8, 1977, Cornell University, Barton Hall. Well, at the risk of preaching to the choir, we'd like to reintroduce you to a series of shows that matches said greatness from that same gloriously fertile season. While Barton Hall is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has occasionally flown under the radar due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. May 1977 is set to change all of that with a boxed set that zeroes in on this high-water mark in the Grateful Dead's long strange trip.

For a band resurrecting itself after a 20-month hiatus, there was a great frenzy of expectancy that surrounded the Spring of 1977. We anticipate a grand reoccurrence of this fervor with the release of May 1977, a 14-disc boxed set featuring five complete shows from consecutive stops on that magical tour. Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, the "psychoacoustic phenomena" as Jerry once put it, of St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (5/11) Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL (5/12, 5/13), St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO (5/15) and Coliseum at the University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (5/17) can now finally be appreciated. Each of these shows finds the Dead delivering punchier, more focused sets, tightening up the framework; each night turning out first-ever renditions ("Passenger,""Iko Iko,""Jack-A-Roe"), unloading potent new pairings ("Scarlet Begonias">"Fire On The Mountain", "Estimated Prophet">"Eyes Of The World"), classic covers ("Dancing In The Street") and soon-to-be staples ("Estimated Prophet," "Samson and Delilah"), and ultimately rising up to paradise.

And now for the nitty-gritty...

Due June 11, May 1977 is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies. Presented in a psychedelic box that boasts an intricate die-cut design created by Grammy®-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike, the set also includes a book filled with stories about each show, as well as an in-depth essay by Dead historian Steve Silberman, who delves deep into the history behind the tour and the band’s return from its extended hiatus.

Once these 15,000 boxes are gone, May 1977 and its shows will never be available again on CD. However, the 111 tracks will be made available on release date as FLAC and Apple lossless full-set-only downloads for $99.98.

Like its predecessors Europe '72: The Complete Recordings and Spring 1990, we expect May 1977 to 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 and on Facebook.com/GratefulDead and Youtube.com/gratefuldead.

Comments

sort by

Recent

Recent Oldest A to Z Z to A

Reset

July 8, 2013 - 6:14am

#151

danc

Joined:
September 11, 2007

'74 - need more

I listened to this again over the weekend, and I am convinced that Dave's #2 and the of course the Europe '72 set are the best choices by Dave thus far. Really nothing close in my opinion (<< flammable...). I find the UCLA release and the recording flaccid overall, and '77 is great but I have strong satisfied preferences from '77 (released and otherwise, Cobo Nov 1st, anybody?) and I don't get nearly the same satisfaction from '77 as I do from '74, although I think the Fall has comparable gusto. '74 is a special place on the continuum (i.e. the sound system, great new material, long sets, freaky jams and Seastones) and regular releases from that year should be part of the plan I think. If that means every 2-3 years, uh OK, but my vote is every year, because we have a lot more GREAT MUSIC to hear and enjoy. If you listen to the movie set, Dick's #12, #31, Road Trips #2.3, and Dave's #2 back-to-back, I think we hear the best combination of ensemble playing, gonzo moments, sweet first sets, and excellent singing. And most of the '74 tapes have unbelievable tuneful bottom and presence. So please, more Winter, Spring and Summer '74, 10-16-74 or complete retirement sets, so many GREAT shows yet to enjoy in fine sound.
July 8, 2013 - 1:50am

#152

Roland Bruynesteyn

Joined:
August 7, 2008

12.6.73

@DonahueNot released as such, but Greatest story, China cat/IKYR, DS(!) & Eyes were released as Bonus disc 2011.
July 7, 2013 - 11:57pm

#153

donahue.luke

Joined:
November 1, 2010

12.6.73

12.6.73 was released? where?
July 7, 2013 - 11:55pm

#154

donahue.luke

Joined:
November 1, 2010

12.6.73

12.6.73 was released? where?
July 7, 2013 - 11:29pm

#155

darkstartheoth…

Joined:
November 3, 2007

Thoughts about Box Sets

First, I kind of hope that there isn't another box this year because, quite frankly, I'm running out of money. I spend hundreds a year on cds, t shirts and so on that are GD related. I can maybe afford a couple of more individual releases aside from the Dave's Picks (I have a subscription) but that's about it. Second, 1973 is one of my favorite years period but so much has been released from that era. It might be a better idea to release from a year that doesn't already have so many releases right now. If it's going to be another 1970's set (HOPEFULLY NEXT YEAR), make it something like from Brent's first few months May through September in 1979.
July 7, 2013 - 9:50pm

#156

Zuckfun

Joined:
March 18, 2010

Through the looking glass

For those keeping score at home, from the Fall of 73:10/19 11/9 11/10 11/11 11/17 11/20 11/21 11/30 12/2 12/4 12/6 12/10 and 12/19 are released. Not exactly sure what a Box Set from the Fall of 73 would look like, but there's an amazing amount released already. The seven shows in between 10/19 and the Winterland Box (Dane County, your assistance on the stage, Please) would make a great Box. But alas, not sure how much is in the Vault. September of 73, with the horns, maybe we'll get a show or two from there. All that said, how about 11/14, 11/23, 11/25, 12/1, 12/8, 12/12 and 12/18- there's 7 that are screaming for release. And while we're here, how about February 74 at Winterland? Dave's Picks 7...We're ready...
July 7, 2013 - 2:22pm

#157

katky111

Joined:
October 23, 2011

No apparent faults in the consumer base here...

Moreover, Dr. L, in addition to being produced in greater numbers and costing more as a box, it addresses a period for which most heads already have great coverage both commercially (DP3&29, DaP1, Hartford, Winterland box)and through decent circulating AUDs and SBDs... P.S.: Dear Dave - I well remember your June 2011 interview with Ultimate Classic Rock* and, by my count, only 1 of the 3 tours to which you specifically referred remains to be released in a box set: Fall '73. Please stay the course! WOO HOO! *http://ultimateclassicrock.com/grateful-dead-archivist-david-lemieux-ta…
July 7, 2013 - 8:41am

#158

Jack_Straw

Joined:
June 5, 2007

Customer Service

Agreed. Customer service is truly the weak link..... It costs Rhino a fair amount of money to deliver bad customer service.
July 6, 2013 - 9:34pm

#159

Dr. Lunchbox

Joined:
March 8, 2009

A grain of salt

Not trying to start a flame war here but I find it comical how many folks think that the fact that this set has not sold out yet is a "take that Rhino" moment. At this point we know there are fewer than 2500 remaining which means of a limited edition run of 15,000 about 85% have been sold. Perhaps if those numbers were inverted, but they're not. This is by no means a "wake up call" as some might paint it. The DaP series are 13k and they sell out. This is 2k more units at 5x the price of a single DaP and its less than 500 units away from the 13k threshold that Rhino likely knows they can sell easily. As I said in a previous post (and as Dave has suggested) this will sell out, especially if there are still any available at the holidays, and whether it sells out in July or in December Rhino still makes their money. The fact that its been available for 2 months or so and has sold 85% of available units is likely a good sign to the folks at Rhino. I love the set and look forward to more in the future. Thanks Dave, Jeffery, Mark Pinkus, and everyone else involved with these. (It seems that the major complaint that needs to be addressed is customer service! But that's a different can of worms. I haven't had any trouble in the 6-7 years I've been ordering stuff here [knock on wood] so I leave that to others who have.)
July 6, 2013 - 2:06pm

#160

Zuckfun

Joined:
March 18, 2010

Sorry...

Double post

John Perry Barlow

John Perry Barlow

Forums

Dead Store Products

What's Inside:
• Five Complete Shows
• 5/11/77 St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN
• 5/12/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/13/77 Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL
• 5/15/77 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO
• 5/17/77 University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
•14 Discs, 111 tracks
•Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman, Plangent Processes playback system for maximum sonic accuracy
•Artwork by Grammy Award-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike
•Period Photos by James R Anderson
•Historical Essay by Steve Silberman
•Individual show liner notes

MAGICAL, MYTHICAL MAY 1977!

If you're a Dead Head, chances are you've spent many an hour expounding upon the distinction of May 8, 1977, Cornell University, Barton Hall. Well, at the risk of preaching to the choir, we'd like to reintroduce you to a series of shows that matches said greatness from that same gloriously fertile season. While Barton Hall is well known, the astounding tour that surrounded it has occasionally flown under the radar due to the uneven quality of tapes in circulation. May 1977 is set to change all of that with a boxed set that zeroes in on this high-water mark in the Grateful Dead's long strange trip.

For a band resurrecting itself after a 20-month hiatus, there was a great frenzy of expectancy that surrounded the Spring of 1977. We anticipate a grand reoccurrence of this fervor with the release of May 1977, a 14-disc boxed set featuring five complete shows from consecutive stops on that magical tour. Mastered in HDCD by Jeffrey Norman at Mockingbird Mastering, the "psychoacoustic phenomena" as Jerry once put it, of St. Paul Civic Center Arena, St. Paul, MN (5/11) Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL (5/12, 5/13), St. Louis Arena, St. Louis MO (5/15) and Coliseum at the University Of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL (5/17) can now finally be appreciated. Each of these shows finds the Dead delivering punchier, more focused sets, tightening up the framework; each night turning out first-ever renditions ("Passenger,""Iko Iko,""Jack-A-Roe"), unloading potent new pairings ("Scarlet Begonias">"Fire On The Mountain", "Estimated Prophet">"Eyes Of The World"), classic covers ("Dancing In The Street") and soon-to-be staples ("Estimated Prophet," "Samson and Delilah"), and ultimately rising up to paradise.

And now for the nitty-gritty...

Due June 11, May 1977 is limited to 15,000 individually numbered copies. Presented in a psychedelic box that boasts an intricate die-cut design created by Grammy®-winning graphic artist Masaki Koike, the set also includes a book filled with stories about each show, as well as an in-depth essay by Dead historian Steve Silberman, who delves deep into the history behind the tour and the band’s return from its extended hiatus.

Once these 15,000 boxes are gone, May 1977 and its shows will never be available again on CD. However, the 111 tracks will be made available on release date as FLAC and Apple lossless full-set-only downloads for $99.98.

Like its predecessors Europe '72: The Complete Recordings and Spring 1990, we expect May 1977 to 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 and on Facebook.com/GratefulDead and Youtube.com/gratefuldead.

081227965365