Europe 72 Revisited Part Three

As the Grateful Dead rolled across Continental Europe, they played in a series of historic and exquisite venues. The first three gigs, two in Empire Pool, and one in Newcastle City Hall, were bland venues with unfavorable acoustic environments. None of that mattered because in 1972, the Dead were creating groundbreaking music that transcended time, space, and place. The 4-11-72 Newcastle show was another distinctive Europe 72 classic with an eighteen-song first set. There were sweet renditions of Comes a Time and Brokedown Palace in set two. Masterpiece musical theatre on this night was an astounding performance of Truckin’ > The Other One. Here’s an excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited.

Newcastle City Hall

Truckin > Other One is the dominant presentation of this set, and the structure varies greatly from the one played on opening night in Empire Pool. “Truckin’” is a rip-roaring affair. The arrangement can barely contain Garcia’s guitar outbursts as they head to the chorus reprise. Afterwards, an amazing jam emerges. I wouldn’t classify it as “Truckin’” or “The Other One.” It’s more of a jazzy bridge of freewheeling improv. At one point, Phil pumps out a beat that sounds like “Footprints,” a Wayne Shorter composition from Miles Smiles. These guys were creating music unlike any rock band of their day, and sometimes, the only comparison that comes to mind are the great bands that recorded with Miles Davis in the late ’60s and early ’70s.

Billy takes over with a badass drum solo that leads to Phil’s “Other One” blastoff. There’s extra pizzazz and creativity in the music as the band savors moving towards the “Spanish Lady” verse. Bobby and Keith mix in stunning aural waves. Underneath and above them, Jerry and Phil unload, and their high-speed playing clings together like positive and negative charges.

There’s no easing of tension as the band jams out of the first verse. A few minutes in, Phil’s the first to suggest the “Feelin’ Groovy” jam. The rest of the band picks up on it and jumps in. The timing isn’t perfect, but raw energy and joy rolls out of this thematic jam. And then the LSD kicks in. Garcia’s shrieking guitar notes test eardrum strength as Lesh blasts rattle the vertebrae. The Earth spins off its axis as Garcia speed/shreds—minds leaves galaxy—mad Prankster fun. Out of the cosmos, space improbably transitions back to hard-charging psychedelic rock and the bus to never ever land. The Newcastle Truckin’ > The Other One is forty-eight more minutes of insanely compelling music.

 

                                                 Europe 72 Revisited