The Grateful Dead has always been famous for stretching out its songs—and others’—into extended jams. Now, as the band’s surviving members prepare to play a series of farewell shows, it’s taking the extended jam to its logical end point by releasing a 80-disc (or one “custom lightning-bolt USB drive”) boxed set. Called 30 Trips Around The Sun, the set comprises 30 unreleased live shows—one for each year from 1966 to 1995—as well as a 288-page booklet with photos and an essay by the band’s official archivist, plus a gold vinyl single containing a song from one of the band’s earliest recording sessions in 1965, and the last song the band ever played with frontman Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995.
While in the past it only seemed like your college roommate played the Dead for 73 hours straight, now fans will be able to do just that, experiencing a very thorough overview of the band’s long career and providing anti-marijuana advocates with their strongest argument yet. For those fans who balk at the $699.98 price tag for the full boxed set, there will also be a 4-disc version available for just $44.98 containing one song per year over the same 30-year span.
The full list of concerts included in the set has not been announced, but the band is gradually revealing them on its web site. It’s are also taking preorders for the set, which will be released September 18.