Monday, January 24, 2011

DEAD ANNOUNCE: EUROPE '72 - THE COMPLETE BOX SET

Now this my friends is a BOXED SET! 60 F*CKING CDS!





Last year the folks at Columbia put out a Miles Davis boxed set which included every Miles album they ever released plus a disc with his isle of wight performance. It weighed in at something like 43 cds...

Now the Grateful Dead have weighed in with a LIMITED EDITION box set (limited to 7,200 copies) with 60 cds !?!?!? $450 for the whole shebang.

...and did I mention that the thing SOLD OUT IN 4 DAYS

For those of you who are not deadheads, Europe '72 was (at the time) a massive unprecedented TRIPLE ALBUM of live recordings including mostly new songs or never before released cover songs performed live and recorded to multi-track on the dead's first ever massive tour across Europe. Some real gems were released on this album and the sound is a perfect example of the country western meets psychedelia space trippin sound of the Dead during their brief 2nd period as a 1 drummer outfit (71-74).
This album featured the debut of such dead classics as "Jack Straw", "He's Gone","Ramble on Rose", "Brown-Eyed Women" and "Tennessee Jed" ... songs which would be heavily played in Dead shows for the next 23 years. It also features one of the definitive versions of "China Cat -> I know you rider" and a smoking electro-grass revelation of a "Cumberland Blues". A fantastic album in any form.


The boxed set is now completely sold out. But I strongly urge you to go listen to Europe '72. And then ...

here's a small list of other official live albums which are really really amazing...

1) one from the vault (especially eyes of the world and help->slip->frank (first 3 songs)

2) reckoning --- acoustic dead. fairly country and hokey but worth listening if you like country / blue grass /
folk

3) dicks picks 1. wonderfully awesome show from 1973 on a night when Donna was giving birth according to the liner notes. classic playin'.

4) hundred year hall --- especially "playing in the band" and the whole "the other one" trippyness... from the europe 72 tour

5) live/dead --- best dead album ever in my opinion. especially the first 3 songs.

6) dicks picks 5. I'm a big Keith fan over the Brent eras but this is a smokin show nonetheless. The Brent Era had its moments

7) Bear's Choice vol 1. Yes its a pigpen tribute vehicle but everybody else shines here as well especially Weir on "Dark Hollow" and Garcia on "All around this world" and "Smokestack Lightning". Black Crowes fans will appreciate the "Hard to Handle"

8) dicks picks 3 - 1977 was a fantastic year, up there with 72 and 74 for sure. This one has one of the first ever terrapins

9) dicks picks 17 - A wonderfully sounding show from 1991(!) with Bruce Hornsby. Yes, the dead still had their moments in the 90s.

10) two from the vault - this is what the dead sounded like in 1968. A greasy, rude, snarling, blues band taking off on some LSD fueled head trips. History in the making...

1 comment:

  1. wow!
    that's massive!
    and don't forget that vinyls box-set:
    http://store.dead.net/music/warner-bros-studio-albums-vinyl-box-exclusive-edition

    totally agree with you - the Europe '72's one of the best live rock albums ever released (along with Thw Who Live At Leeds, The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East and Band of Gypsys - to name a few)
    I'm taking your recommendation and listening to Live/Dead. great one too, w/o a doubt
    thanks

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