Vinyl Me Please Anthology

MattS said:
Storf and Ameliah are doing the first podcast to talk about how they struggled to get into the Dead. I can’t think of a worse listen than that
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I’ll relate.

TheThinWhiteDuke said:
Just to put this in perspective: this costs more than The Beatles in Mono box retailed for now compare those two
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Another box I hesitated on for too long due to price and I regret. One of the reasons Im just biting on this regardless of being a bit overpriced
 
MattS said:
Storf and Ameliah are doing the first podcast to talk about how they struggled to get into the Dead. I can’t think of a worse listen than that
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Storf personifies VMP- in the vibe that it's a bunch of Spotify surfers stumbling upon bands for the first time, wiki cramming as much as they can in half an hour then acting like they know what the fuck the are talking about. It bleeds through in everything he writes and says. And reading through Reddit it's not hard to see that this is reflective in the younger culture of music listeners that never had to organically grow their musical knowledge.
 
wynn72 said:
I’ll relate.



Another box I hesitated on for too long due to price and I regret. One of the reasons Im just biting on this regardless of being a bit overpriced
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You missed my point. The Beatles Mono box is 14 albums redone to perfection with a beautiful hardbound book and is the current crown Jewel of classic rock.

This is an 8 album cash grab of nothing new or anything we won't see again.

I wasn't giving a warning not to miss out
 
TheThinWhiteDuke said:
You missed my point. The Beatles Mono box is 14 albums redone to perfection with a beautiful hardbound book and is the current crown Jewel of classic rock.

This is an 8 album cash grab of nothing new or anything we won't see again.

I wasn't giving a warning not to miss out
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Don't miss out. Check. HUGE resale on this. GOT IT.

Thanks.

Will make payments
 
Out on this box. Gonna buy a few that interest me now then get the rest on black when they inevitably reissue it down the road if I still want them.

Which Live album would y'all say is essential? Live Dead?
 
botherly said:
Out on this box. Gonna buy a few that interest me now then get the rest on black when they inevitably reissue it down the road if I still want them.

Which Live album would y'all say is essential? Live Dead?
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Live Dead is a great place to start. Most people assume the Dead all sounds the same, but they have very distinct eras. Live Dead is their real heavy and hard hitting psych stage. Europe 72 is more about the songs and the band shows a real growth and patience in their approach to the “jam section.” Both are probably the place to start if you don’t want to buy full sets. Both are amazing. One is a wild animal/runaway train, the other is more graceful and nuanced, but not lacking in power either.
I think everyone here who is shit talking this box agrees that the idea of getting into the Grateful Dead is a good one. It’s just impossible to justify this being the entry point when with very little effort—hell we’d all be willing to post links—you can get the best of this box and other goodies to fill in the collection for less. I get being a completist—I’m a Dead fan afterall—but I think VMP is banking on that and figures people will buy because it’s easier than figuring it out on their own. I get that the reason behind this is to get people into the Dead, and Storf and Ameliah are people who are trying to do just that. But why would I want something that’s new to me be curated by someone in my position? Anyways, I’m happy to recommend any album or show, and there are people on this forum even more knowledgeable than me.
for my money I would listen to these albums on Spotify, buy the ones you like and make note of when they were released. Google best shows of that year, or come here and ask in the Grateful Dead forum page, and people will recommend those live shows or albums, many of which are on Spotify and almost all are on relisten.com (which is free)
 
botherly said:
Out on this box. Gonna buy a few that interest me now then get the rest on black when they inevitably reissue it down the road if I still want them.

Which Live album would y'all say is essential? Live Dead?
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Live/Dead is good if you want a sense of their early development & are cool with starting off with a 23-min Dark Star (definitely not knocking it but could throw some people just getting into the band). The 4xLP 1969 Fillmore box is better overall.

Europe 72 is a compilation but a comprehensive setlist of where they were as a band at the time

The 5x LP Cornell 5/8/77 box set is fantastic

Oh, and if you don't want to buy vinyl of any just yet, get a few date recommendations and just go to the Live Archive and explore
 
Dead C said:
Yeah, it's a little sloppy and I think it misses the mark, but here's kind of how I'm seeing it.

It's for people with money that want VMP to curate their record collection for them. They listen to indie bands and have "eclectic" tastes, but really just hover within the same parameters of what is played on non-commercial radio stations like KEXP. It's kind of like how SUB POP is considered a indie label, but Warner Bros owns 49% of the company. They only go so far off the grid and are still fairly tethered.

Even by looking over that Day Of The Dead box, I could pick more names of artists whose takes I'd be interested in hearing about regarding the Dead. Having some dude from Dirty Projectors or someone from the Decemberists talk about them is not a selling point.

I remember 15 years ago, when the psych rock revival was really starting to gain some traction and talking about how ridiculous it was to me that there was still so much aversion to the Grateful Dead. People were starting to embrace this throwback sound, but continuing to completely dismiss some of the primary architects. It seems like a lot of people can't remember that the Dead were still considered "uncool" and something to run from. But, shortly after, their legacy started to infiltrate that scene and then, almost overnight, they were given props. Even if you didn't listen to them, it was a good idea to wear a shirt. I saw images of some high fashion runway show recently where they all had on tour Tees.

Even now, when some people are explaining that they dismissed the Dead it was because they knew people that also liked Phish. The Dead's stigma was the same as the one with Phish, if not worse Phish actually took on some of it that they still retain, after the Dead has shaken it. That's because, prior to recently, people who listened to the Dead were considered a certain type of person. Once you start to see that the music reaches beyond that small stereotype, it's harder to argue that case.

So, now there is an acknowledgement that they overlooked the Dead for whatever reason, but for a lot of us, that still feels relatively new. That same blank dismissal that Phish gets was applied to the Grateful Dead FOREVER. They represented some hippie bullshit that nobody wanted to be associated with. All of that "When the drugs run out, people realize they are listening to a shitty band" rhetoric was standard. So, now all the same demographic of kids who 15-20 years ago wouldn't be caught "dead" even admitting that they liked a GD song are existing in a time period where the world has embraced them, and I'm sure some of that comes over time with their own heroes signaling to them that it's okay now.

For that reason, the Day Of The Dead box was probably a better introduction to the group than this thing, because it broke down those barriers in a way that showed a lot more reverence and care than I may have otherwise expected from it. You could tell that the people behind it really cared. The VMP release seems like it's targeting the same crowd, but with a less effective delivery. The price is obviously a huge difference and the Day Of The Dead box actually delivered something new. This is old stuff and most of it fairly easy to acquire. Then, you just have Jim James showing up to tell you why it's cool. Oh, and Hunter from Soundtribe, who most people won't even know who the fuck he is.
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Yeah take someone like Beringer and The National that loved the Dead so much and wanted younger listeners to be exposed to them that they rounded up all those artists for the massive tribute album

They would have been great to write the liner notes for this.

I'm actually surprised Storf didn't volunteer to stumble through the whole thing or have a VMP Rising artist transcribe each album's wiki page
 
I'm trying to figure out how this makes sense for VMP. No way they cut a deal for 7500 of these, right?

Something is up and we will find out soon enough.

I'm thinking the Box is VMP and they are basically taking preorders for the whole bundle.

I think these are getting released later individually by someone and the total of each is 7500.
 
TheThinWhiteDuke said:
Storf personifies VMP- in the vibe that it's a bunch of Spotify surfers stumbling upon bands for the first time, wiki cramming as much as they can in half an hour then acting like they know what the fuck the are talking about. It bleeds through in everything he writes and says. And reading through Reddit it's not hard to see that this is reflective in the younger culture of music listeners that never had to organically grow their musical knowledge.
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Merits of the box aside, this seems like a totally reasonable way of exploring new music to me. If anything, I’d be more concerned with Spotify pigeonholing music tastes and reinforcing established preferences — the whole “You listened to Radiohead? Here are 12 more artists that sound almost exactly like them” kinda thing. If someone wants to explore different styles of music, that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned, regardless of how they go about it.
 
botherly said:
Out on this box. Gonna buy a few that interest me now then get the rest on black when they inevitably reissue it down the road if I still want them.

Which Live album would y'all say is essential? Live Dead?
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If you're getting into the Dead for the first time, and are doing it on vinyl, I'd recommend getting Workingman's Dead and American Beauty first. I'd follow with the three live albums: Live/Dead, Skull & Roses, and Europe '72. Depends on your musical tastes as to which one I would recommend.

Mind though, that vinyl isn't the best way to get into them. If you listen digitally or on CD, I'd skip the live step above and go directly to Dick's Picks Volume 4 and 8, Sunshine Daydream (Veneta '72), Cornell 77, and Wake Up To Find Out (3/29/90). Wouldn't recommend full live shows on vinyl to start due to format.
 
wmeugene said:
If you're getting into the Dead for the first time, and are doing it on vinyl, I'd recommend getting Workingman's Dead and American Beauty first. I'd follow with the three live albums: Live/Dead, Skull & Roses, and Europe '72. Depends on your musical tastes as to which one I would recommend.

Mind though, that vinyl isn't the best way to get into them. If you listen digitally or on CD, I'd skip the live step above and skip directly to Dick's Picks Volume 4 and 8, Sunshine Daydream (Veneta '72), Cornell 77, and Wake Up To Find Out (3/29/90). Wouldn't recommend full live shows on vinyl to start due to format.
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I think this is my plan. I’m finally happy with my digital setup at home so will get an album or two on vinyl (rhino release or maybe a MoFi if I can get a good deal) and listen to any live digitally. Thanks to all for the suggestions. Maybe it’s time for a N&G vinyl box set to go live...
 
MikeH said:
I think this is my plan. I’m finally happy with my digital setup at home so will get an album or two on vinyl (rhino release or maybe a MoFi if I can get a good deal) and listen to any live digitally. Thanks to all for the suggestions. Maybe it’s time for a N&G vinyl box set to go live...
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The WD and AB Mofis are 2lp, 45 rpm and sound amazing. I would recommend both, even at 50 a pop.
 
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