They had been developing it from it's silly pop roots from the beginning of the Europe tour.

'Playin' is the first version that really gets wayyy out there. The rare (for the time) 'Dire Wolf' is a treat to listen back to. Weir's 'El Paso' has fiery piano and rhythm guitar battles. 'Two Souls in Communion' is stronger than ever. I bought the discs for this show because it's an all time favorite, perhaps the greatest night of music they performed with Keith Godchaux.Īll of the Pigpen tunes are highlights, for this would be his last show as a participating member (I don't count that other show where he fell asleep at the organ a month later). Yes its sad they pulled all the Europe 72' shows after the full release. Like it so far! Scratch that: love it! (Love IA too!) I shall be investigating the sets, and tuning in here to 'listen as I work'. I was also wrong in respect of their ability both to keep going and to keep doing good work (as the London show(s) in the late 1980s showed, though I didn't dare go, fearing disappointment - the BBC live TV/radio broadcast had me in tears, of joy rather than regret (by then EVERYONE of a certain age claimed to love the Dead, though only a tiny number had ever been Heads earlier). They certainly met my expectations, aside from some fairly obvious sadness over the jettisoning of some of the Live Dead dark, mysterious feel and numbers as a player, I also sulked briefly over Mr G's Fenderization). Guessed I'd never have another chance to hear my then favourite music-makers again - anyway, guessed they'd never be the same again, assuming they even carried on (having built my expectations on 'Live Dead' and 1971's live 'Grateful Dead' double). Can't even recall the damage to my tiny wallet being that severe - there just wasn't a stampede, though the gigs were full (but there didn't seem to be ticket stampedes in those days). I was 19 in 1972, living in London, earning peanuts, and I really did go to both of the Wembley shows, and all four shows at the Lyceum. Never thought I'd ever be able to go back to then. Sing Me Back Home - perhaps the best one used on Europe '72 v. Truckin' - the version on Europe '72, undoctored The rest is tight but One More Saturday is a particularly wild, full version (well-known from the original album). Bobby strangely claims Billy had been using veto against playing it in fact they played it the last nine nights! Jer and Billy had both commented about 'Bob's cowboy shit' but Jer always had something to say on Uncle, here playing right behind the beat and slurring the notes to perfect effect, sticking fills throughout. The whole tour has great versions of Me & My Uncle but this one still stands out. Though Sing Me Back Home is always the opposite of exciting, this is the best version. The latter sounds really different in original form. The Other One & Morning Dew were also used for the 3xLP, even though, while above average, they're not the best from the tour. Truckin is actually better than the doctored version on the original Europe '72 album. There were 18 China Cats on the tour and this sparkly/shiny version is in the top half (though not the Rider).

Jack Straw doesn't have the energy of others in '72 but has great fills. Playin isn't the best of the tour either, but it's still a solid 18min-version with great Jer-tone. This the very last Stranger/Two Souls and not the best of the 13 that were played (all in Spring 72). Every player then digs in to Dire Wolf where the beat is swung with swagger. You can hear the band picking up momentum (as was so often the case). The band took some warming up and the start is kind of flat with a rough Promised Land and average songs up until El Paso where Keith shines. Garcia wasn't as animated on this night but Bobby and Keith were.įirst Set. But, as with all E72, it's still very good and has big highlights, several of which were used for the original Europe '72 album. Length doesn't infer quality and of the six London shows it's not actually the best (check out 4/7), nor the best of the 4-day run. It's like two back-to-back shows and the First Set alone could be a show. The Lyceum has been used for theater production since then and The Lion King musical has played since 1999!Ī monster-length show at nearly 4 hours, the only longer show of the tour was Wigan (5/7). London shows bookended the tour and this is the final show of a set of four at The Lyceum in the West End, London's theater district (called the Strand Lyceum so as not to confuse it for The Lyceum in Sheffield - but why not just call it the London Lyceum?). And, you can tell they consciously played different, by listening to the American shows before and after the E72 tour. You can hear it in the music throughout the shows. You can tell the Dead were playing hard on this tour, trying to build a market.

Morning dew lyceum