This is a bit lackluster for the 50th anniversary of their debut. Still, I will gladly order this and hope the coming year sees the release of more pre-1968 live material.

They could have easily fit the Mono mix on this release. My Mono vinyl copy sounds much better than the Stereo CD version. I'm hoping they release Aoxomoxoa in the original nitrous oxide mix as well as Anthem Of The Sun's original mix in the near future.

The opening track from the live disc:

I've already bought 1 DE of this (in the WEA box). I'm 50/50; I am not a Pig Pen fan.

What I want to see are the official original WEA & Arista live albums that were issued during Garcia's lifetime (with the exception of the (IMO) mediocre Live Without a Net in hi-res

Yeah, I am not sure how I plan on making this play. The only plus (for me) is that the bonus material is on a second disc. While I thought the box sets where excellent representations of giving folks their money's worth, I like to keep the integrity of the album proper, particularly as I play complete CDs, and when I have guests over, sometimes 80ish minute discs can get a bit tiring for some.

I did see they are also doing picture disc vinyl of the releases: that may get me on a few.

I just don't like being selective vs completest when it comes to items like this.

Not so sure I am going to jump on the 'single' subscriptions - $45ish/year for four 7-inchs (plus download).

I'd love to see them do both the mono and stereo mixes along with the live archive material. I actually love the Pigpen era, so I'm excited to see what other live material from this era they are going to add on to future editions.

Here's a note from Radio.com that the whole catalogue (live and studio albums) will be remastered...

(Radio.com) The Grateful Dead will be celebrating their 50th anniversary with the launch a reissue series in January that will include two-disc deluxe editions and limited edition vinyl of all the group's studio and live albums.

The rollout begins on January 20th with the reissue of the Dead's self titled debut, which will features a remastered version of the album together with a complete, and previously unreleased, concert from July 29th, 1966 and select cuts from July 30th, 1966 at the P.N.E. Garden Auditorium in British Columbia.

Subsequent reissues will be released on their respective anniversary dates.

Sort of pisses me off that I bought the Warner box. They're doing a second roll out of the straight studio albums in hi-res also. Don't know if it's new masters or not.

The only question is how much better will the new remasters sound than the old ones?

Another question, is it worth buying just for the bonus disc? For me, yes

I've got the Warner cd box & the complete studio hi-res; I'm only buying if there is new material (& lots of it)

Why can't they make the bonus discs studio material?

Is there nothing in the archives?

I mean, if there's any one band that does not need a live bonus disc, it's certainly the Dead.

My guess is that both the band & most fans feel they were much better live & rarely caught the magic in the studio.

I agree that studio outtakes would be better for most Dead anniversary sets, but I'm happy they included a live disc with this one. Official pre-'68 live material is only available on a few releases, the last of which forced fans to purchase 28 additional shows just to get two from 1966 and 1967. At least I only have to buy one disc I don't want this time.

That's a given, but there are hundreds of official live releases, so why not do something special for these albums?

They still might, but I doubt it.

Hopefully they will offer some outtakes with the rest of the catalogue.

A live disc 2 for the debut album is sensible though.

This has been pushed back a week to January 20th. But the pre-order price has dropped by $4, and is now $15.99:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXLPL9R/?tag=imwan-20

I expect mostly live. They did some studio related items on the previous go around - the boxes. Blues For Allah period was extensive with studio. There was a nice acoustic demo of Weather Report Suite on Wake of the Flood. I will be interested in how this roles out. I am on the fence re the picture discs - I may be selective on those. My fiancé cringes whenever I wear my shirt with the cover artwork from the debut.

As I mentioned before, My #1 want is a box of the original Warner & Arista live albums released during Garcia's lifetime (hopefully in hi-res)

I'll be disappointed if they don't include the original mix of Aoxomoxoa when it's time for its 50th anniversary release. It re-appeared on vinyl a few years ago, but not yet on CD.

It's mostly better that the current (1971 remix) version.

I agree. I have the Vinyl. It's the Nitrous Oxide Mix. Warners requested that they remix it. Any reissue should include some wild outtakes that have been floating around for years like the "Barbed Wire Whipping Party". Though Hunter will probably kill that idea again.