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

 

 

Europe 72 Revisited Part Two

A flawless second set containing one of the greatest segments of music in Grateful Dead history fifty years ago today.4/8/72 Empire Pool

Excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited

If I could go back in time and hang with the band during a set break, I’d pick this evening in London. I want to know what they were smoking, drinking, ingesting, or snorting. I’d love to hear their conversations. What music was playing in the background? Did they sense they were on the verge of creating transcendent music, or was it just another Merry Prankster set break, no different than the scenes in Amsterdam or Paris? They were obviously as in-the-moment as any artists could be when set two takes flight. But even in the most optimistic state of drug-induced euphoria, no one backstage could have imagined that the Grateful Dead would produce a set of music that would be revered and analyzed fifty years later, well into the next century.

The band delivered gold with the first three standalone performances of set two. “Truckin’,” “Big Railroad Blues,” and “It Hurts Me Too.” Manic energy rips through “Truckin’.” The harp and guitar give and take during the “It Hurts Me Too” jam is sacred. When Jerry passes the baton to Pigpen, he’s bending blues-busting notes beneath his harp blasts, and Pigpen returns the favor as his harp bleeds into Jerry’s solo. These precision performances could have been selected for the album. There’s a treasure trove of special music from Europe ’72, and at the top of that mountain is what’s to follow in Empire Pool.

            The boys pounce on the opening of the first European “Dark Star.” The music’s obscene, and it emerges like a heavenly rhapsody—possessed jamming with a séance-like vibe envelops Empire Pool. It sounds as if they’re channeling the ancient footsteps and spirits of Europe. Sometimes it’s what you don’t play that helps a jam take off, and Garcia and mates steer this through a cosmic black hole and turn through the pages of European history: Machiavelli, Shakespeare, and Tennyson; Beethoven, Bach, and Chopin; Nero, Napoleon, and Hitler; it’s all there. The mood is mysterious and dark, and the music’s packed with wisdom. The music throttles mind and body—scary and beautiful.

            After the jam radiates for eleven minutes, Garcia sings, “Dark star crashes, pouring its light into ashes.” London’s casually ripped out of their comfort zone, or to quote Dylan, “This sky, too, is folding under you.” The band continues their individual forays into the unknown, yet there’s an invisible force pulling everything together. There’s a knowing flow to this unconducted symphony. Maybe the band needed to leave America to get out of their comfort zone and step their artistry to its highest possible ground.

Jerry’s a beast towards the end of this “Dark Star.” As the band suggests “Sugar Magnolia,” they slip into segue paradise—the borders between “Dark Star” and “Sugar Magnolia” are erased. The negotiation between the two Dead anthems is enthralling. All the uplifting powers of spontaneous improvisation shine brightly. This transition between songs is orgasmic—four riveting minutes of indigenous Grateful Dead jamming.

“Sugar Magnolia” is an ideal landing tune for a deep “Dark Star” voyage—Southern love and sunshine daydream—a blissful rocker. Mind leaves body, and now body defies gravity as the audience bounces and shakes to the groove. The Dead rock this hard, yet it seems like child’s play after the radiant sophistication of “Dark Star.” “Sugar Mag” dazzles with a more than adequate jam, and the Sunshine Daydream coda rams into “Caution (Do Not Stop on the Tracks).”

“Caution” was only played once in 1971. It’s one of the early Dead classics that had been bumped from the rotation due to the influx of originals. Thankfully, it was revived for what would be Pigpen’s final tour. The 4-8-72 performance is a seventeen-minute blitzkrieg, yet it’s a smoother ride than the rambunctious “Cautions” of days past.

After the opening stampede, Pigpen’s voice howls through Empire Pool, “All you need, all you need!” Smooth organ playing mingles with Jerry’s noodling to the next segment. After a brief stop, Ron’s at the mic again and he’s firing up England: “Do you feel all right? I can’t hear you. Do you feel all right? Just a little bit louder. LOUUUDERRRR!” Phil blasts the rhythmic pattern again and Jerry’s on the move. Pig grabs a harmonica and blows as Jerry pokes and pecks with him. Phil revs up the theme again and the band moves to what appears to be Feedback, but persistent Phil hits the signature “Caution” line again and Jerry goes berserk. The band unloads as they ride this monster down the homestretch. After the final blow, Sam Cutler grabs a mic and hollers, “Grateful Dead!”

“One More Saturday Night” is the encore. On the surface this may not seem like a thrilling development, but on this evening, it’s insanely satisfying. Feeling triumphant after an outrageous set of music, Weir and the band rock this little ditty as if their legacy depends upon this one performance. Bobby’s howling and saliva’s flying. Leading to the final singalong, he advises the band: “Easy now,” and then, “Wail away!” Keith and Billy heed his advice and hammer the groove. “One More Saturday Night” can’t rage any harder. The fact that it actually was Saturday night aided the urgency of this rendition. There are few four-song conclusions that dare to compare to what the Dead pulled off in London on 4-8-72.

                                              PREVIEW EUROPE 72 

 

 

 

Europe 72 Revisited Part One

 

 

Europe ’72, the Grateful Dead’s legendary tour began fifty years ago today in Wembley Empire Pool on April 7, 1972. The following night in Empire Pool is a beloved show, one of the best of the tour. But every night during this run, the Grateful Dead delivered transcendent music. Here’s the second set masterpiece from 4-7-72.

Excerpt from Europe 72 Revisited:

A lively “Truckin’” greets the attendees in Empire Pool to start set two. After the chorus reprise, the band pivots towards “The Other One,” and this evening’s episode of masterpiece theatre begins. For most of the tour, the Dead would feature Truckin’ > Other one night, and “Dark Star” would take its place the following night. This ensured that Europeans catching the Grateful Dead would experience some of the most creative, diverse, and strangest improvisation they’d ever heard before during any given show. And future audiences of Deadheads would have epic versions of iconic jam anthems to savor for eternity.

After Billy’s brief drum solo, “The Other One” funnel cloud forms quickly. Garcia and Lesh go on the offense, bombarding London with bold, stinging runs. The intensity diffuses and the jam changes shape. The storm is now a drizzling rain. After stripping the audience of their whereabouts, the band picks up the initiative and surges towards the first verse. “Spanish Lady come to me and she lays on me this rose,” sings Weir as Garcia’s shrill leads respond in between lines.

Out of the verse, “The Other One” tornado rages. The playing is unmerciful, and then it dissipates. The music softens and floats through cosmic debris. Once Empire Pool is lost in time and space, a high-speed train comes roaring down the tracks. Billy and Phil lead this “Caution” like charge, but the destination is unclear. The train stops and the passengers are dropped off in space. They float through the earth’s atmosphere and land near the Mexican border, in the West Texas town of El Paso.

The transition from epic exploration to a Marty Robbins cowboy song works against all odds. As Weir sings the final word of “El Paso,” the band aggressively whirls back into “The Other One.” The jamming is once again furious, funky, and then jazzy—streaming in and out of consciousness. Cowboy Neal is at the wheel. The final verse segues into “Wharf Rat.”

A perfectly paced, emotionally sung “Rat” with two superb Garcia solos concludes this awesome segment of music. An announcement follows asking the fans to clear out the aisles and return to their seats because of fire safety regulations. And then Sam Cutler jokes, “You see the thing is, the cops haven’t got enough room to dance.” A spirited “Ramble on Rose” with vocal fubs follows. If that didn’t get the crowd out of their seats dancing again, the ensuing “Sugar Magnolia” did. 

 

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