http://www.dead.net/features/release-info/come-join-us-road-trips
It’s time to put a little gas-gas-gas back into the ol’ Tour Bus and give it another spin, because Grateful Dead is very pleased to announce the debut of a new series of archival releases called Road Trips!
Here’s the deal: We all loved the Dicks Picks series. Over the course of 36 amazing releases between 1993 and 2005, GD archivists Dick Latvala (R.I.P.) and David Lemieux continually blew our little minds plucking one righteous show after another from the vaults, from classics like the February ’70 Fillmore East run (DP4) and Englishtown ’77 (DP 15), to overlooked masterpieces like 9/28/76 (DP 20) and 9/21/72 (DP 36), and shows not in general circulation among traders at the time, such as the February ’68 shows of DP 22 and the superb “Houseboat Tapes” from August 1971 that made up DP 35. Coupled with the many exceptional releases culled from multitrack tapes (the Fillmore West box, Steppin’ Out, The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack, Nightfall of Diamonds, et al) and the popular Download Series, there’s been a lot of musical territory covered over the years… but not all of it, of course—not even close!
With Road Trips we’re going to try something a little different. We want to plug in a few more pieces of the Grateful Dead puzzle by putting the spotlight on different tours and series of shows that have been neglected through the years. Take Road Trips Volume 1, Number 1, for instance. This two-disc set (plus a special Bonus Disc for a limited time only) was culled from the Dead’s blazing fall 1979 East Coast swing, when the band was just hitting its stride with new keyboardist Brent Mydland. You’ll find killer versions of “Dancing in the Street” > “Franklin’s Tower,” long exploratory jams on “Playing in the Band” and “Terrapin,” a rattle-your-brain “Shakedown,” and lots more, all pulled from the master tapes in the vault and expertly mastered in HDCD for maximum power and clarity by Jeffrey Norman. The Bonus Disc offers another hour-and-a-quarter of highlights from the tour. (You can find the complete track listings for all three discs here.)
Every Road Trips release will come with a beautifully designed booklet containing an essay about how the music on the discs fits into the Dead’s long history, plus many rare and never-before-seen photographs. We think you’ll agree it’s a pretty cool package. But wait, there’s more (as they say)! When each “edition” of Road Trips is announced on this site, we will also give you a link to an affiliated site devoted to the series which will include such goodies as articles and reviews from the tour (See one reviewer after another mess up Grateful Dead song titles! See the band savaged by cretinous critics!); additional photos; and any other weird/cool stuff we come across. Together we can paint a really rich and vibrant audio-visual picture of different stops along the Grateful Dead highway!
And this is just the BEGINNING of what we promise will be a tidal wave of releases, which will include more rarities from the deepest corners of the vault, multitrack releases, box sets (the patient will be rewarded; nudge-nudge, wink-wink, say no more), DVDs, downloads and who-knows-what-else. So keep your Third Eye tuned into this space for more in the coming weeks and months!
In the meantime, you can order Road Trips Vol. 1 No. 1 right here. But act now if you want to get the Bonus Disc!
–Blair Jackson
A Few AFAQ’s (Anticipated Frequently Asked Questions) About Road Trips
Sounds pretty interesting, but what took you guys so frickin’ long? We thought you’d forgotten us.
Naw, we never forgot you. It’s just taken a little longer than expected to get the ball rolling again and to figure out how to move forward in a way that will satisfy and hopefully also expand the fan base. As a certain sage known to all of us once wrote: “It takes time to pick a place to go…”
Is Dicks Picks over, done, kaput?
Yes, that series of releases ended with Volume 36. It will continue to be available, however. Road Trips will have a little more flexibility than Dicks Picks, in that we are not limited to full-show releases, or even 2-track tapes…or anything for that matter—we haven’t made any rules about what IT is. I guarantee we’ll surprise you from time to time.
But we want to hear full shows, too!
Don’t worry, there will definitely still be full-show releases. We’ll have more on that soon.
OK, I guess it might be pretty cool. I’ll check it out. In fact I’ve got a ton of ideas of shows and tours you guys should be releasing…
Well, let’s hear it. Of course we want your well-reasoned insights and input! The Dead have always looked to Dead Heads for inspiration and ideas, and you’re needed now more than ever!
There has been plenty of other news around the Dead world these days. Check out these links to read more:
- Read the beautiful story of a father who finds the healing power of the Dead’s music after his deadhead son dies in a car accident
- Crawdaddy examines the fateful question: the Grateful Dead do I…or don’t I?
- Bob Weir can’t wait to get Mark Karan back on the road with RatDog
- Dan Healy looks back fondly on his days running sound for the Dead
- Nazz Nomad compares and contrasts Phil Lesh and Friends and RatDog after seeing both bands
12 Responses
Speaking of the Dead last night’s Phil & Friends show was an absolute monster – fiery first set and 2 plus hour raging second set with Ryan Adams sitting in.
This news is so great it makes me want to inhale some Jenkem!
Last night some wook was selling bunk Jenkem. I got in his dirt crusted face and demanded to know how long he allowed his fecal matter to ferment.
Are you f’ing kidding me?? How do our kids keep getting stupider and stupider??? Ar ethey so retarded that they have resorted to poop-gas???? Are parents just so retarded these days that they can’t teach their kids better than this??
Please tell me this isn’t true.
this got to be a joke. even trustafarians can’t be this stupid.
that being said, at last week’s Ratdog show on Long Island, there must have been 20 people with nitrous tanks. there was so much gas going around that their was a surplus and the assholes selling the stuff couldn’t even get rid of their stock.
Rico, that’s not Long Island, that’s a place called “Heaven.”
Phil was spectacular again last night. No guests, just straight up rockin with Jackie Greene out in front. Highlights included Bertha opener into Deal > Big River.
Second set Brown Sugar and a whallop of a Shakedown. Cryptical>Other One then Brokedown Palace… again, WOW. Phil is going all out on this run. 4 nights left and me with no more tickets – what to do?!!?
Just heard about this release today. A little late but no less DISAPPOINTED that Rhino is pissing on us. We don’t goddamn compilations. FULL SHOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m not a fan of the new Road Trip format. But, quit the whining. There are full shows all over the Internet. If you want a full show (sbd quality) download it. Some of these folks act like the Dead owes them something. It’s ridiculous. If you don’t want it, don’t buy it then.
I would gladly pay for a full show that is not widely in circulation.