Yes, I was a Deadhead. Summer of 1989 I tripped with the band to 10 venues during the Trunkin’ Up To Buffalo Tour. Now, what many believe to be the ultimate concert has at last been released in a Rhino box set: Sunshine Daydream. Complete!
Just received delivery Tuesday from Amazon.com. The SQ is first rate - direct from 16 track analogue tape.
Come on you crusty Deadheads - this is the concert to own + DVD (haven’t played that yet)
@elk OMG - there were so many awful bootlegs of this concert floating around. This taping is off the soundboard direct to 16 track tape and is truly magnificent.
The Dead played crisp and “hot” renditions of their music. No four hour tuning-up sessions. Yes, the Dead rocked for Ken Kesey & the Merry Pranksters.
birddogthecat said: This taping is off the soundboard direct to 16 track tape and is truly magnificent.
Neat.
But would the band object to P2P sharing of this new version, given their tolerance of tapers? I am curious if anyone knows the degree to which the band accepted file sharing, or if they ever even commented on the topic. File sharing is different from a bootleg. Perhaps they drew the line at commercially released recordings.
@wingsounds13 You got that right, J.P. I am sure the Dead don’t give a damn but I assure you that Rhino et al do. On the other hand, perhaps the Grateful Dead would care. They are the young hippies they once were…neither am I…or you?
One hint may be that several years ago they (being, I believe, the Grateful Dead organization) required that archive.org generally limit downloads to audience tapes while allowing board tapes to be streamed (so even if you were to capture the stream it would lossy-compressed). I believe Furthur shows still have a tapers section. Phil Lesh has posted some Phil & Friends board “tapes” in FLAC on archive.org so he obviously does not object to those shows being shared. These days I’m pretty sure the band members would object to “sharing” of anything that is commercially available. Despite being one of the top-grossing touring acts in the second half of the band’s career, these guys are not rich.
@stevem2 No doubt about that! But, what the hell. This is definitely one of them.
I'm looking forward to hearing it, and watching the video. Somebody gave me a VHS of the show 20 years ago but the quality was so bad I don't think I ever made it all the way through.
I went to UC Berkeley from 1974-1981 and caught a lot of great Dead shows. And some not so great. My most memorable show was the Closing of Winterland, New Year's Eve '78, which is out on CD, DVD and Blu-ray. New Riders of the Purple Sage (or some facsimile thereof) followed by the Blues Brothers. The Dead came out at midnight and played until 6 a.m. (with some rather long breaks). Broadcast on the radio and the local PBS station (with Kesey doing commentary--a friend who worked in a high-fi shop taped the show for us). A good time was had by all. I don't claim it is the best Dead show ever. Just my personal favorite, in no small part because I was there and remember what a great vibe there was.
I am curious as their marketing scheme, long before the Internet equivalent, was to become known and appreciated through legally shared bootlegs (now it is YouTube) and then making money from the shows and merchandising. They were one of the first to use this model.
I think in the very beginning they tried to fight the tapers but then realized they were better off encouraging it instead, for the reasons you mentioned. Few bands had a more dedicated (no pun intended) following.
The Winterland Concert is most definitely among their best. You were fortunate to have been there. I have only seen bootleg video & heard awful SQ vinyl of pieces that legendary concert. I have not thought of New Riders in decades. Time to get the bong out - LOL.
Good Morning Deadheads - I watched the DVD that came with Sunshine Daydream. Although it was nice to see the nude & semi-nude hippie chicks dancing it was rather…well, terrible. Great to see the Dead as young and Jerry sober (I think). None of the big hits were on the video.
What you read below notwithstanding, the DVD is typical of '60-70’s Dead video. Let us know what you think after viewing.
@nsirkin@socal.rr.com Ordered the Vinyl version yesterday evening. 2-Day free ship from Amazon should be here Friday. How did they get 3 CD’s worth of music on 4 LP sides?
Do you know if the Vinyl is mastered direct from the analogue tapes or from the digital production used to make the CD’s? I wrote Fremer asking him to do a review of the LP Box including production notes.
The CD SQ is very, very high. Sounds really good streaming through the Bridge.
UPDATE: Found out the following re: vinyl production:
• Limited Edition of Only 5,000 Copies
• 180g Vinyl
• 4LP Set
• Mixed & Mastered by Jeffrey Norman from the Original 16-Track Tapes
• Mastered at Mockingbird Mastering
• Audio tapes transferred and restored by Plangent Processes
• Lacquers cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grudnman Mastering
• Housed in lavish 4-panel “M-pack” double gatefold jacket featuring original artwork by Steve Vance and tie-dye by Courtenay Pollock
Just finished listening to the first 2 records (discs, LPs, what are they?) and it’s mesmerizing. I just got a fancy new cartridge/preamp and WOW. What a great hobby where such different sources can both provide such enjoyment. I am also listening to DSD rips, etc. but since last week, I have listened to (and purchased) lots of vinyl.
Haven’t got the CDs yet so don’t know about track differences. Also clueless about mastering, would like to know.
