The Grateful Dead - Aoxomoxoa 50th Anniversary Details

I have random drug-testing at work, so I'm operating at a serious deficit here.

(Maybe it's me...)

 

Keep your Day Job, 'til your night job pays!

 

Given that the multitracks were used for "China Cat Sunflower" and "Doin' That Rag" for the Rock Band video game, I'd assume the entire album's multitracks are still around. Why wouldn't they be?

Here is the isolated drums from "China Cat Sunflower"

 

With no mixing credits and the "erasure" back-story I assumed the same thing. However, the liners credit the recording of the Avalon source for CD2 to Bob and Betty, not Bear. So, were Bob and Betty running a 2-track backup at the same time, or did someone do a mixdown of those 16-track tapes before they were erased?

 

You left out X-M, where Jer is credited with "sound effects and vocals":

 

I was keeping it strictly in the Jerry/GD lineage, yet X-M is another example of the experimental vein that runs through the music.

 

Just so you know in Scotland, in the US there have been cooperative agreements between the US Postal Service and other shippers like UPS, Fedex etc. So when something is shipped via these other non government shippers they may hand off to the US postal service at some point along the way . In other words the US Postal Service only makes the final delivery. However the handoff procedures are glitchy to say the least so it is not uncommon for a parcel to sit at a location for a week waiting for Godot to arrive. Sometimes they actually retrace their path and then circle around. So yes it is far safer to choose a vendor that ensures single carrier at least to Customs.

 

It is an excellent question. I am guessing that Bob and Betty ran their own 2-track live mix during the show, probably more so they could do a quick check right after the show to see how things went, but I guess as backup for reel flips (although I doubt a song would make the live album with a patch I suppose). I seem to remember they were running multiple machines when they were doing the 8-track recordings in '67-68, so it wouldn't be that odd to me; plus my one time through leads me to believe it was a live mix where they had other things to juggle on the night. Of course as always somebody here might know more.

 

That's why I only accept jobs that give take home essay question drug tests.

 

Right, and Garcia gets composing credits for X-M and it has distinct echoes of "Baby" at times. Add in that it was recorded at the same studio not too long after Aoxomoxoa and you can't help wondering if Jerry was the instigator for the track. "Hey, there's this cool trippy thing we did while recording our last album....."

 

YEah, so if the credits are correct in the 50th the source would not be a Bear tape. Seems most plausible that Bob and Betty were running a separate 2-track with the multis even though that would give them even more to juggle, as you'd think that any mixdown would have been a bit more consistent. Things do improve throughout the live tracks, as per usual.

And man, I can never get enough "Death Don't Have No Mercy".

 

Amen, brother.

 

I wouldn't rule out that whoever did the liner notes just assumed that Bob and Betty (rather than Bear) recorded the Avalon 69 tapes used for the second CD since they recorded the Live/Dead multis.

 

Nice surprise this morning, the T shirt I ordered only a few days ago arrived - looks great! Fast shipping to the UK

But...along with it, the deluxe CD set with lenticular sleeve. Totally forgotten I'd ever ordered that.....nice.

I'll have to have an Aoxomoxoa day - play the original vinyl releases and this set...

 

Jeff Norman said when he was mixing the Fillmore West 1969 box that he used Bear's 2-track cassettes to patch the portions missing on the multitracks, so I think it was assumed that Bear had recorded the Avalon 2-tracks as well. They may well be Bob & Betty tapes, though -- not only is the mixing different each night, but the stereo spread is wider than Bear was usually doing at the time. Bear's mixes in '69 tend to bunch everything in the center except for drums on right & left; but these Avalon tapes have more of a sense of space in them. So these might be the first Betty Boards!

 

Cheers for the reply Mr Bass, much appreciated. I had a reply from UPS to my query, and they tell me all is well because they turned my parcel over to my local postal service - one problem with that tho, my local postal service is Royal Mail whereas UPS have given my parcel to United States Postal Service...

 

For that reason, you should really at least stream the '69 mix, if you've never heard it.

 

So...

UPS have acknowledged that the United States Postal Service isn't my local post office and have forwarded my query to their international department while Dead.net say I need to get back to them on the 17th July if it still hasn't been delivered!

And in the meantime I've ordered the double cd from Amazon and it'll arrive tomorrow

 

Ridiculous!

 

Sorry you are having so much trouble with this.

Rhino should turn over their order fulfillment to Amazon for all GD related stuff- it would save them money and hassles. Never mind how it would benefit us!

 

Send them all by drone...

 

With Dead & Bro you get the drone for no extra charge.

 

Folks, anyone know if they did an in-store promo poster like they did for Cornell or Believe It...?

 

I don’t know, but if you lick the holographic cover image before you listen to the 1969 mix...

 

I did - Wash U, Apr ‘69!