Live triple album is essential listening for both fans, new acolytes
Writer’s note: Rock lost a legendary artist and performer on Jan. 10 when Bob Weir, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the Grateful Dead, died at 78 years old from underlying lung complications after recently surviving a bout with cancer. In tribute, Lost Classic reviews “Europe ’72,” a live album recorded throughout Western Europe during the group’s first trip across the Atlantic.
The Grateful Dead is and will always be one of the best bands in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Although they never made as large of commercial breakthrough as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, the Dead consistently churned out classic material and performed magnificent live shows for hoards of fans in some incarnation or another for more than five decades.
The group developed a cult following at the height of the 1960s countercultural revolution centered in San Francisco. Like with many artists of the time, it was the Dead’s live performances that defined the group’s legacy, as its members could be considered the godfathers of the modern Americana movement.
The Grateful Dead was a jam band that was at its best when it engineered impromptu improvisations during its concerts. In November 1972, the Dead released “Europe ’72,” a triple album that captured live performances from its first tour of Western Europe earlier in the year, and it doesn’t take much of a listen to see (or hear) why the group is considered one of the best live bands in history.
The collection captured excellent renditions of “Truckin’,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Tennessee Jed” and “One More Saturday Night,” as well as a version of Hank Williams’ “You Win Again.”
The classic songs here are not just rehash of what appears on the group’s studio albums. The tunes are recognizable, but they are chock full of free-form jamming. And that’s what makes this collection, which has been reissued several times with bonus tracks, a must-have for any fan of the Grateful Dead or anyone just looking for an early document of rock greatness.
From the outset, the work here confirms that Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (who died shortly after the album was originally released after having a limited role on the tour due to his declining health) and Bill Kreutzmann are superior musicians individually. Moreover, the album helps to cement the group’s legacy as one of rock’s best live bands ever.
