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41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still in the top 3, July 29, 2004
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.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding!, September 17, 2003
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.
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14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Pivotal Moment, November 27, 2003
I have to say that I agree with absolutely EVERY word in EVERY other review, bad and good. Europe 72 was the end of the beginning. Arguably, it was produced to fulfill the Dead's contract with Warner Bros. Records at a time when the band was launching its own record label. Its proponent revere it for capturing the band at a zenith of its middle "Americana" period. And they're right. To hear it in context, don't compare E72 to Dick's Picks (some of which *do* indeed offer better performances of the same material). Rather listen to it with the two releases that preceded it and the two that followed it. Although most discographies show "Skull & Roses" and "American Beauty" coming before, there were two studio LPs released earlier in 1972; they were Bob Weir's "Ace" and Jerry Garcia's "Garcia" (released in Feb). Some of the songs heard here on "Europe 72" (released in Nov) appear on those two LPs. "Wake of the Flood" and "Mars Hotel" came after. The two earlier albums updated the Dead's exploration of American Roots music with a then-contemporary treatment with what was to that point the band's most successful studio recordings. The next two albums reveal a startlingly new direction for the band. Perhaps by releasing Europe 72 as a three-LP set, the band bought the time they needed to move beyond country-rock formulas into new directions with more musical discipline including extended suites (on Wake) and songwriting structure (on Mars). It all came to a head on 1975's Blues for Allah. And then it came to an end. The late 70s transition from Keith and Donna to Brent marked the next era in the Dead's long strange trip. So, Europe 72 can be seen as a fulfilling end to one Dead era, or as the transitional beginning of another.
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