The Grateful Dead Dark Star

[WD45]

My desperate letter to the GDstore:

Hello,

I am more than sad about hearing the news that this set has sold out.

I tried placing a pre-Order last Friday, but I was unable to get through on the telephone, for some unknown reason.

Is there any chance of getting in on a after-the-fact order? Given the speed at which this sold out, will this be issued again in a non-limited edition? It seems that enough people were clammoring for the release that it would have sold well on the market.

I think that issuing this set on a non-limited basis would be more consistent with the spirit of sharing the music that the Grateful Dead so long championed. I know tapes of this music are around, but only issuing it to a select 10,000 people in superior HDCD fidelity breaks my heart. I am not involved in the trader / taper community; I have been relying on Dick's Picks and related legit releases for all of my live Dead releases. Please don't disappoint by capping this set at 10,000!

In closing, I must say that the first Dead I ever heard was Live/Dead. It changed my life. Really. I was looking forward to the opportunity to hear the whole shows behind what was a seminal point in my music listening life. Please help!

Desperate Deadhead,

wd45

[jazzbo]

Nice letter.

Just the right amount of desperation!

There probably have been others.

Here's hoping. . . .

Edited September 8, 2005 by jazzbo

[WD45]

I called and tried to order it over the phone. No luck.

I did order Dick's Picks 26, however, as a consolation prize to myself.

Dude on the phone said that he hadn't heard if it was going to be issued on a wider scale.

Double damn.

[jazzbo]

Well, keep the faith. There will be opportunities to purchase. There are probably those who bought this as a speculative venture. And a few will probably be offered for sale for the original price or not much more.

[Tony Pusey]

Try Spin records out of Newcastle England , maybe you can preorder there? I know they have solicited advance orders for the Fillmore set.....

[jazzbo]

Hmmm. . . they may be accepting preorders for the three cd standard retail version that Rhino is offering late next month . . . .

[Dave James]

I'm massively bummed out. Not only at not getting this essential set, but also by my own procrastination. I was going to wait until October to pull the trigger on this, but it looks like I waited too long. Who'd have figured 10,000 copies would go this fast. Oh well, I guess the upside is I save $80. I'll just look at that as a down payment on the Ray Charles Atlantic box.

Up over and out.

[Tony Pusey]

Jazzbo, yes they solicit preorders for the 3 cd set, but also the Real Thing! Tho last time I spoke to them they had not received confirmation of how many sets they would be allocated,

Spin is not your run of the mill retailer, they also sell all the Live tour cds which various bands Phish, String Cheese, Allmans et al release as well as all the Rhino handmades Dicks picks etc, really they are worth a mail..What have you got to loose?

[jazzbo]

Well, in that case, yes WD, explore that possibility.

[WD45]

I'm massively bummed out.  Not only at not getting this essential set, but also by my own procrastination.  I was going to wait until October to pull the trigger on this, but it looks like I waited too long.  Who'd have figured 10,000 copies would go this fast.  Oh well, I guess the upside is I save $80.  I'll just look at that as a down payment on the Ray Charles Atlantic box. 

Up over and out.

←

I know. I am used to Mosaics in limited editions of 5000 timing out or selling out in YEARS, not in PRE-ORDER! Or Conns or the Verve Elite Editions. Or hatARTs. I had no idea it would blow out that fast.

[Dave James]

I tried to find a Spin Records website, but had no luck. Can anyone provide a link?

Up over and out.

[Sundog]

Being fiscally responsible really sucks. F*&#!

[WD45]

Being fiscally responsible really sucks.  F*&#!

←

Write em a letter! customerservice@gdstore.com

[Tony Pusey]

Spin:

http://www.spincds.com/

Good luck!

[Tony Pusey]

by the by Spin also offer the remastered Blows against the Empire by Jefferson Zimmerframe including some demos and a live Starship from the Fillmore.

[Dave James]

Thanks, Tony. I know it's a long shot, but still worth the effort.

Up over and out.

[Dave James]

I guess it seems crazy to me that when there's this much interest in the Complete Fillmore Recordings, that the Dead folks wouldn't just make more available. It's not like Mosaic where the music is licensed and they can legally only release so many copies. Wishful thinking from a foot dragger, but what's the point of limiting yourself when the market for this is clearly very hot?

Up over and out.

[jazzbo]

Well, I think they are testing the waters. They may even be surprised at how quickly the 10,000 sold. They probably felt that there was a bigger market for the 3 cd version that would supplement but not duplicate the cd of the original lps. . . . I would imagine they didn't feel that a ten cd set would be such a popular item. And this made it safe for them: over time they figured they could easily sell 10,000 and they could make them, distribute them, not have to store them long, etc. Fiscally this was probably a comfortable venture.

My guess is they will rethink their strategy before the next release; it may not be limited edition, or be a time frame or a larger number of limited items.

Edited September 9, 2005 by jazzbo

[Quincy]

For those of you hoping for more complete Fillmores to be stamped there is precedent for Grateful Dead "limited" releases to become unlimited. The Terrapin Station live release from years ago was supposed to be limited but it's still for sale today.

I'm curious as to how may eBay sellers bought this up with dreams of making a fortune. I mean I doubt GD told anyone "No, you can't buy 10 copies." Not that I don't believe there are enough fans who would want the music with fancy packaging, just wondering that's all.

Finally, if it really is OOP and a hard to find or expensive eBay purchase, the circulating soundboards really do sound fabulous. You'll still have the "Cryptical/Alligator" cut on either March 1 or 2, but other than that it already sounds pretty terrific.

[WD45]

For those of you hoping for more complete Fillmores to be stamped there is precedent for Grateful Dead "limited" releases to become unlimited. The Terrapin Station live release from years ago was supposed to be limited but it's still for sale today.

I'm curious as to how may eBay sellers bought this up with dreams of making a fortune. I mean I doubt GD told anyone "No, you can't buy 10 copies." Not that I don't believe there are enough fans who would want the music with fancy packaging, just wondering that's all.

Finally, if it really is OOP and a hard to find or expensive eBay purchase, the circulating soundboards really do sound fabulous. You'll still have the "Cryptical/Alligator" cut on either March 1 or 2, but other than that it already sounds pretty terrific.

←

I did think a bit about that -- the hardcore folks already have the soundboard copies of the material.

I will probably get that three-disc set until I can land a 10 disc set around the original price.

[Quincy]

I did think a bit about that -- the hardcore folks already have the soundboard copies of the material.

←

Yes they do...

[vajerzy]

I'd like to get a copy- I went to order it on Sep 7 and sold out.

If someone bought extras and wants to sell one- I'll buy it.

[WD45]

Me first!

[gdogus]

I was going to wait another week or so, then order.

Shit.

Oh well...if it's meant to be, it will be. Or not.

[WD45]

They respond:

Dear Deadhead,

I am very sorry that you have missed out on the opportunity to

preorder

the Fillmore West box set. As this is a limited edition box set we have

exhausted our supply; and we will not be receiving anymore. I apologize

for the disappointment on this matter and I wish we could fulfill all

request. We thank you for continuing support of GDstore.com and look

forward to hearing from you in the future.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact me.

Nathan

Grateful Dead Customer Service

1-800-CAL-DEAD

www.GDstore.com