Europe 72 [Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Grateful Dead | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 25, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 1972
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Rhino
• ASIN: B00007LTIN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,659 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #50 in Music > Rock > Jam Bands > Rock Jam Bands

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Cumberland Blues

2. He's Gone

3. One More Saturday Night

4. Jack Straw

5. You Win Again

6. China Cat Sunflower

7. I Know You Rider

8. Brown-Eyed Woman

9. Hurts Me Too

10. Ramble On Rose

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Truckin'

2. Epilogue

3. Prelude

4. Morning Dew

5. Looks Like Rain

6. Good Lovin'

7. Caution (Do Not Stop On Tracks)

8. Who Do You Love?

9. Caution (Do Not Stop On The Tracks)

10. Good Lovin'

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This sprawling three-records-on-two-CDs set offers a healthy cross-section of material and finds the band honing even further its blend of musical languages. There are country-inflected boogies, blues rave-ups, passionate ballads, and, of course, the extended, adventurous jams that made them famous. Many of the Dead's best-loved tunes made their initial vinyl appearances here, including "He's Gone," "Jack Straw," "Brown-Eyed Women," "Ramble on Rose," and "Tennessee Jed"--most of which reveal a heavy country influence, especially in Robert Hunter's lyrics. In addition to introducing these new songs, Europe '72 also showcases brilliantly fine-tuned versions of "Truckin'" (complete with a lengthy "Epilogue") and "China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider," which became the first of the band's many magical song combinations. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

Bonus tracks: The Stranger (Two Souls in Communion); Looks Like Rain ; two versions of Good Lovin' ; two versions of Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks) , and Who Do You Love .

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 66 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still in the top 3 July 29, 2004

By James Tepper TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

There are three seminal, essential live Grateful Dead albums, each a bit different, but each containing all the elements orf improvisation, multiple musical styles, and ensemble tightness that made the Dead so unique. These are Live Dead, Grateful Dead (Skull and Roses) and Europe 72. It is impossible to pick one over the other as *the best* of the officially released live Dead albums, and if I had to, I could live with no Dead albums other than these three, but I could not give up any one of them.

Europe 72 contains both some of the tightest compact versions of several Dead tunes, as well as some of the most ethereal extended jams. For those interested in the magic of what used to happen when everything just jelled exactly right, listen to Weir's unique idiosyncratic rhythm-lead solo between China Cat and I know you rider (yup - That's Bobby playing the lead). There are lots of examples of this jam on other live Dead recordings, but nowhere does the playing of all band members synergize in the segue as well as on this cut. Trucking-Prologue-Epilogue Morning Dew is basically one long piece of music. Epilogue gets really nice and jazzy and stretches things out like only the Dead could. Prologue merges into a Morning Dew that has a Bobby-Keith rhythm guitar/piano section that is so tight that even after listening to it for more than 30 years there are still parts where I can't tell if I am hearing Bobby or Keith. Jerry's vocals and lead are are stronger and more emotional on this than on any other Morning Dew available anywere. Europe 72 also features a wider range of styles from Jerry and the boys than either Live Dead or Skull and Roses, ranging from very countrified on Cumberland Blues to rock on One More Saturday Night to good old trademark Greatful Dead style everything but the kitchen sink on the long jams.

This is a great album. The new tracks are a nice feature, but not one of them is as strong as any of the originals (But Jerry's pedal steel on Looks' Like Rain is a nice touch). Still, this is one (of 3) Dead albums that is an absolute must for DeadHeads of all ages.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mighty Good Year. December 3, 2002

By George H. Soule

Format:Audio CD

Apparently '72 was a mighty good year for the Dead. Not only did they follow the success of 1971's excellent Live album with this compilation of their European tour but they also produced the recent English tour collection. Although there have been accusations of too much cleaning up and editing, these are live recordings and personally I'm not sure what value there is in feedback and misdirection. These musicians usually planned such experiments. Be that as it may, this is among the best of the early Dead. Garcia and company are at the top of their game--a spectacular game it is. There's a lot of music here--blues, breakdowns, ballads. The disc begins with a fabulous rendition of "Cumberland Blues"--a real mountain breakdown with tight interplay between Garcia, Weir, and Lesh. Garcia's solo work is concise and accurate and it shows what he could do when he was focused and functional. "He's Gone" is a stately elegy, with good lyrics and a nice Garcia solo. "One More Saturday Night" the band recalls apprentice gigs at places like the National Guard Armory in Redwood City, California, where they played when they weren't supporting Kesey's Acid Tests. (With cardboard tombstones hand-painted with powdered tempura paints attached to their amplifiers, they played for folks to dance.) Listen to Hunter's lyrics on this song. He learned the narrative lyrical compression from Chuck Berry, and Jerry learned the chording and rock licks from the same place. This is a great song. "Jack Straw," a rambling, gambling, railroad traveling song could be the band's anthem: "We used to play for silver/Now we play for life." Nice Garcia leads driven by Kreutzmann's drums. Hank William's "You Win Again" showcases essential country roots, where Garcia exhibits his mastery of native guitar forms. The "China Cat Sunflower" on this album is among my favorites with fluid improvisational lines and coherent solos that showcase Garcia at his most articulate. "China Cat" segues into "I Know You Rider," a take on "Easy Rider" that extends Garcia's solo into a virtuoso performance of improvisational counterpoint. "Brown Eyed Women" continues Hunter's to the tradition of unfortunate rake songs--"Brown-eyed women and red grenadine/The bottle was dusty, but the liquor was clean." Again, the lead guitar provides lyrical interludes for the narrative of personal and social deterioration. "Hurts Me Too" shows that the Dead could play a real blues. "Ramble on Rose" is a slow shuffle with nice picking and enigmatic lyrics in which Hunter offers infinite possibilities for defining Rose. "Sugar Magnolia/Sunshine Daydream" is more descriptive of a relationship between musician and muse--a Southern belle incarnating southern music. Again Garcia's solos are logical and coherent and the band weaves its magic web of counterpoint. Pigpen follows with his "Mr. Charlie," based on Chicago blues. The theme for the balance of the album is rambling. The disc follows a great version of "Tennessee Jed" with an extended "Truckin'" (the real band anthem). In "Tennessee Jed" Keith Godchaux' piano and Lesh's bass underpin Garcia's lengthy solo to good effect. And this may be the definitive "Truckin'." At thirteen minutes, there's ample time to explore the possibilities of the song. Everything's playing as the long ensemble riffs evolve into a Dead improvisational jam. I suggest that this may be the definitive "Truckin'" because it is coherent, lucid, and harmonically inventive--the Garcia, Lesh, Godchaux, Kreutzmann quartet in particular. There are musical epiphanies here that extend into the track called "Epilogue." The "Prelude" experiments with sonic textures, harmonies, and intervals. The program concludes with a gentle "Morning Dew" a soulful vocal performance incorporating sensitive guitar and bass lines. Garcia's final solo is a fitting conclusion to an outstanding collection of music.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding! September 17, 2003

By Richard D. Hodgson

Format:Audio CD

I've been faithful fan of the Dead for over 30 years, since high school. "Europe '72", "American Beauty" and "Skull & Roses" (not its real title, but that's what most people call it) were the first GD albums that I bought, and they remain my three favorites to this day. Europe '72 is one of my "desert-island discs"-- one of those albums I never want to be without a copy of. It not only contains several of my favorite Dead songs, but also my favorite versions of those songs. "He's Gone", "Jack Straw", "Brown-Eyed Women", "China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider"... all are outstanding, and even though other excellent performances of these songs have been recorded over the years, to me these are the essential versions. "Truckin'/Epilogue" is one of the best long jams ever set to vinyl (or tape, or CD, or whathaveyou) and absolutely essential for those long drives up the coast. For me, only The Allmans' "Mountain Jam" comes close. The sound quality isn't great by today's standards, but it never was, and the new remaster is the best yet available. But even if it is a little muddy at times, the quality of the music transcends. If you're a dead freak, this album is simply a necessity.