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Information About

Europe '72




  Type Live Album
  Artist The Grateful Dead
  Cover europe '72jpg
  Background Darkturquoise
  Released November 5 , 1972
  Recorded April-May 1972
  Genre Rock , Country , Folk
  Length 109:25
  Label Warner Bros
  Producer no credit given
  Reviews <nowiki></nowiki>
  Last Album '' Grateful Dead '' aka ''Skull & Roses''<br />(1971)
  This Album ''Europe '72''<br />(1972)
  Next Album '' Wake Of The Flood ''<br />(1973)


''Europe '72'' is a 1972 Live Triple Album by The Grateful Dead , from performances on their Spring 1972 tour of Western Europe.

This was the third live double or triple album in the Dead's past five releases, revealing how the group's reputation rested on their live performances. Indeed, the liner notes simply stated "THERE IS NOTHING LIKE A GRATEFUL DEAD CONCERT." The album contained considerable new material in addition to versions of tracks found on previous studio albums.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the band being out of the country, ''Europe '72'' showcased the Dead's mixture of American Bluegrass , Folk , and Country influences, and provided the culmination to the band's early 1970s sound. Archetypal American images abounded on "Jack Straw" (which also featured some of the group's best singing), while "Cumberland Blues" and "Tennessee Jed" were firmly rooted in their regional feeling. "Truckin'", which had recently become the band's first hit song, catalogued its own troubled-but-resilient pathway through American life. The Dead's yes-no-yes segue of "China Cat Sunflower" into "I Know You Rider" also linked their Psychedelic past into a more traditional context. After two Jams , the album closes with its most critically praised track, a ten-minute rendition of " (Walk Me Out In The) Morning Dew " that slowly builds into guitar crescendoes all the while maintaining the song's melancholy feel.

''Europe '72'''s packaging captures its time. Designed by Alton Kelly and Stanley Mouse under their Kelly/Mouse Studios name (they also did other Dead albums) and set against mostly white, empty foldouts, the front cover shows a large Truckin' Boot crossing the Atlantic, while the back cover depicts the corresponding Truckin' Fool smashing an Ice Cream Cone against his forehead. The inside cover credits are in a reserved typefont, but do not forget to list "Family", including Mountain Girl . The included color booklet contains photos of European sites and the concerts, a quote from Revelation , and a long account of how the tour split into two factions, the Bozo s and the Bolos , with references to St. Dilbert and the Feast Of Fools . Presumably, one had to be there.

This was one of Ron "Pigpen" McKernan 's last tours before he died in 1973 , and the last album he would be on. It was the first album to feature Keith Godchaux and his wife Donna Jean Godchaux .

Originally a triple album on Vinyl , ''Europe '72'' was later reissued as a 2-disc CD .


TRACK LISTING

#"Cumberland Blues" (Garcia, Lesh, Hunter)
#"He's Gone" (Garcia, Hunter)
#"One More Saturday Night" (Weir)
#"Jack Straw" (Weir, Hunter)
#"You Win Again" ( Hank Williams )
#"China Cat Sunflower" (Garcia, Hunter) →
#"I Know You Rider" (trad., arr. The Grateful Dead)
#"Brown-Eyed Woman" (Garcia, Hunter)
#"Hurts Me Too" ( Elmore James )
#"Ramblin' Rose" (Garcia, Hunter)
#"Sugar Magnolia" (Weir, Hunter)
#"Mr. Charlie" (McKernan, Hunter)
#"Tennessee Jed" (Garcia, Hunter)
#"Truckin'" (Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Hunter) →
#"Epilogue" (The Grateful Dead)
#"Prelude" (The Grateful Dead) →
#"Morning Dew" ( Bonnie Dobson , Tim Rose )


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Album - Billboard

Singles - Billboard