Happy Anniversary, Cornell 5/8/77

Article Contributed by dead.net | Published on Tuesday, May 8, 2018

All hail the "holy grail" of Grateful Dead shows! In honor of the anniversary of CORNELL 5/8/77 and due to popular demand, we're issuing a 2nd pressing of the complete show on 5LP.

The Grateful Dead played more than 2,000 concerts, but none continues to spark interest and provoke discussion quite like the band’s performance at Cornell University’s Barton Hall on May 8, 1977. It is one of the most collected, traded, and debated concerts by any band ever, has topped numerous fan polls through the years, and was a favorite of the group’s longtime archivist Dick Latvala, who stated: “Enough can’t be said about this superb show.” Even Uncle Sam got into the act in 2011 when the recording was “deemed so important to the history and culture of the United States” that a copy was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.

CORNELL 5/8/77 was recorded by Betty Cantor-Jackson. After several years the master tapes were seemingly lost for good, but that all changed at the end of 2016. The lost tapes finally made their way back home to the Grateful Dead vault, making it possible to officially bring the world this legendary show. The complete live show has been transferred and restored by Plangent Processes and remastered by long-time Grateful Dead engineer, Jeffrey Norman.

The 2nd pressing of the 5-LP CORNELL 5/8/77 set is on 140-gram vinyl and the packaging features an alternative color-way.