Its $32 per LP, for AAA mastering, heavy vinyl, exclusive packaging and listening notes, and tip-on jackets. And if you get the $50 coupon it’s $28.50 per LP. Seems about right to me.
For someone like me who has yet to purchase an anthology set, I was mildly interested until I saw the price tag to go along with this. I'm sure they'll have no problem moving 7500 copies with GD's fan base, but at $56 an album this isn't for me.
I understand that they’re really high quality reissues. However $56 is still high for these albums which can be had as really nice originals for half that price or less.
I'd love to get the GD set but damn, I just acquired originals of the live stuff in the past 6 months (and have had the studio stuff for ages).
Good luck finding a NM original of Without a Net for 56$! I’d guess you could easily pay 50% of the price of this box for one.
Has this been explicitly confirmed? I just ask because they've used the phrase AAA before on other titles, and for them to now use "direct to analog from original tapes" seems a tad open to interpretation.
From VMP: All titles were cut 'AAA' from the original analog tapes, with the exception of Without a Net coming from the original master digital audio. Pressed at QRP on high quality 180g colored vinyl.
Some quick math and visits to Discogs reveals the following: Without a Net: $100 gets you a NM original on vinyl. American Beauty: $70 for the Mofi (it was 50, but just went out of print) Workingman's Dead: Same - Mofi ($70) Live/Dead MoFi: $70 (I've heard bad things about this pressing, but whatevs) Europe '72: $60 for the Rhino reissue (Bernie Grundman, AAA(?)) Wake of the Flood: Monarch (first) pressing from '73 in NM/NM: $35 Terrapin: First press in NM/NM: $30 Reckoning: First Press in NM/NM: $55 So you're at $490 there. Would probably be able to knock that price down some by getting pressings from the mid-70s rather than the first pressings and the Mofi remasters. But on the other hand, Chris Bellman's work would probably knock the pants off a number of those mid-70s pressings, plus you get the really very nice looking box. I'm thinking it's not a screaming deal but if you didn't have these albums is probably quite a reasonable value.
It does makes sense in the Grateful Dead's case that a long OOP live album on vinyl included in the anthology would be a good selling point for those who really want it and also newcomers alike. But the other albums from a price point, even with the $50 isn't really a deal.
Seems strange to overlap the Warners, GD and Arista years and skipping the first few Warners albums which (IMHO) best all the GD & Arista LPs
I may be projecting a little, but I think those early 1960’s albums were never really loved by the band themselves, where as “Live/Dead” packages their early sound nice and neat.
Rather disappointing, I had such high hopes it would be something new. IMHO this not targeted to long time fans , much like their BN offering. Any Deadhead worth their tie dye has this music already in some form. Looking at price makes me think buying the 73 cd Europe 72 was a bargain. Besides I already bought the new Working Mans Dead vinyl and 3 cd set. Looking forward now to the RSD stuff particularly the 5/9/77 Buffalo vinyl set and of course the New Dylan. Keep trucking and be safe
(Though I too would love to hear a review of the MoFi,) My thoughts are it's really expensive. I want to pay $40 for an AAA remaster. This one is going to set you back a C-note. The Rhino reissue can be had for $17, and states "Newly-remastered from the Original Analog Master tapes by Grammy-Winning Engineer David Glasser" - I'm not going to try to interpret that but would love to hear someone's thoughts about how the MoFi & the Rhino stack up against each other.
So I’m guess American Beauty, Workingman’s, Europe ‘72, and Wake of the Flood will use the Rhino stampers. I wonder if they will use the Analogue Productions stampers for Terrapin and Reckoning? Those were Kevin Gray cuts, though. I hope the ones that Rhino doesn’t already have in print get a stand alone release.
I have not heard the MoFi of Wake, but the Rhino sounds really good. I was actually unaware the Bellman didn’t cut that one. It sounds on par with the other Rhinos which are all AAA Bellman cuts.
