Grateful Dead May 1977 Box (Digital)

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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.

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May 7, 2013 - 7:57pm

#841

wilfredtjones

Joined:
June 4, 2007

nat'l register of historic recordings

I believe a dub was submitted in place of the MIA master, but not 100% on that. I suppose it would have had to have been.
May 7, 2013 - 7:47pm

#842

tree1270

Joined:
June 13, 2007

Check em out in 2011 :) :)

Check em out in 2011 :) :) :) Right on! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Recording_Registry
May 7, 2013 - 7:40pm

#843

wilfredtjones

Joined:
June 4, 2007

that's a good ?

that's a good ?
May 7, 2013 - 7:27pm

#844

tree1270

Joined:
June 13, 2007

? ? ?

Do we know who has the Barton Hall masters? Curious.
May 7, 2013 - 6:42pm

#845

wilfredtjones

Joined:
June 4, 2007

claney, evgraham re: items not in the vault

My information is that the tapes for DP 30 Academy of Music release are not in the vault. It was produced from a Rob Eaton remaster of the master reels. We have hope.P.S. Not to mention the reminder by mustin321 that a tune from 5/8/77 has been officially released. Check out the New Yorker article, that's my source.
May 7, 2013 - 5:36pm

#846

Kubrick27

Joined:
October 14, 2012

Pre-Order w/Debit Card

The money in your account will have a hold on it for 3-5 days. After that, it will be released and you'll be charged when it ships.
May 7, 2013 - 5:19pm

#847

mustin321

Joined:
August 12, 2011

One man gathers what GD spills

@Deadegad – The transaction is already showing up on my account, so it looks like you will be charged right away…it seems that in the past, you weren’t charged until it ships… @PatagonianFox- There are a lot of repeats, say compared to Spring of 90 (which I still think is one of the best releases that has ever been put out…ever) but think of how many repeats were in the Europe 72 box. Now, think about how many gems are in there and how many great jams are in there and…well, just enjoy, you know you love it already. @claney – thanks for the stats…However, Im not sure why you are sad that Me and My Uncle only shows up once out of the 5…it is the GD’s most played song and there are plenty of other versions out there. Speaking of which, I really like the one from DaP 6, Jerry is attacking the song right from the getgo. Also, what evgraham said. Without Bear starting all of this with his “sonic journals” we would not be blessed with such great music in amazing quality. They played a lot a great shows but DL is the one picking, be glad there are plenty to choose from. P.S. 5/8/77 is not in the vault (but for some reason, Dancing in the Streets from 5/8/77 is on the bonus tracks from Terrapin Station)
May 7, 2013 - 4:52pm

#848

iNoURdr

Joined:
February 10, 2011

Box Set

This box is worth it just for St Louis alone. Dancin' is incredible and the whole second set is off the charts. St Stephen > Iko > NFA > Sugar Mag > Sunshine Daydream and UJB encore is some of the best music from this tour including 5/8... I had an audience tape of this that I just wore out. Great to have this show emerge from the vault.
May 7, 2013 - 4:50pm

#849

Gwydion6

Joined:
April 9, 2013

DITS ..

Oh, I think I might be the only one here to dislike this arrangement of Dancing in the Street but I just couldn't help bringing it up...Other than that, I think I'll love each and every song here :)
May 7, 2013 - 4:25pm

#850

stoltzfus

Joined:
January 13, 2010

DITS

has me movin' around my classroom with a smile. Best. Band. Ever.

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.

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