We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
They were always a touring band. And in the spring of 1972 the Grateful Dead headed to Europe for a series of concerts in a number of different countries. To offset some of the cost the band’s label sent along a 16 track machine to catch the band in it’s natural environment.
It worked. The three-record set went gold and later double-platinum. It’s easy to hear why.
Even Deadheads have to agree that many of the bands shows could be loose and sloppy depending on how many substances the members had indulged in that day. These tunes are clean and mostly tight and recorded nicely.
Highlights for me include “He’s Gone”, “Sugar Magnolia” , Mr. Charlie” and “China Cat Sunflower”. They also do a nice version of “One More Saturday Night” that had appeared on Bob Weir’s solo Lp “Ace” earlier in the year.
A couple of covers stand out too. A straight blues interpretation of Elmore James’ “Hurts Me Too” and a long ramble on the apocalyptic folk tune “Morning Dew”.
Jerry’s picking and singing are top notch on this. It’s also the first record to feature piano player Keith Godchaux and the last to feature founding member Ron “Pig Pen” McKernan. He would die shortly after this record came out.McKernan stands out with the vocal and harmonica on the Elmore James cover.
Even if you aren’t a Deadhead, you might like some of this. It’s a pretty good snapshot of the band near their height.
