Europe '72: Wembley Empire Pool, London, England (4/7/1972)

And away we go...

The first show of the Europe '72 tour (and interestingly the pre-anniversary of my first Dead show 4/7/87) opens with The Greatest Story Ever Told...for the greatest tour ever played. Like many other songs in the spring 1972 repertoire, The Greatest Story Ever Told is new - still forming and evolving - from a band at the height of its powers.

It's fascinating to consider that the Grateful Dead in April of 1972 was introducing so many new songs into the mix as they rapidly approached the end of an era - with Pigpen literally dying right in front of them. April 7th was no exception. The third song in the first set is Chinatown Shuffle - a brand new tune from Pigpen, a man with less than 30 shows left with his band mates. Listening to the energy and ferocity with which Pigpen attacks this offering, you'd never know he was in such bad health. Simply put - Pigpen rocks each show on the Europe '72 like it was going to be his last. (I know it sounds cliché but we should all be so inspired to face each day with the same stance).

The other aspect of this recording that strikes you from the word "Go!" is the acoustic characteristics of the venue. The Dead are playing in what amounts to a giant swimming pool. The energy (and the sound) has the feel of a bullet shot inside a cement fish tank - live and bouncing. It's raw, ripping and unsophisticated. And yet, at the end of Me & My Uncle Phil asks the monitor engineer (Sparky) to take some 500Hz out of his mix. Classic! Even in this unruly acoustical environment, we have Phil trying to fine-tune the sound; to tame the beast as it were. This offers a small snapshot into the Grateful Dead's contribution to the rock world - namely, the perfection of live sound reinforcement.

Pardon me...I misspoke before - it's not a gun that's being shot in the fish tank - it's a CANNON!

The band is leaning forward in tempo, pace and energy - adjusting to the acoustics of the room. Speaking from experience, the only way to fight the second, third (and sometimes fourth) points of reflection is to make sure that the primary sound waves from the stage and PA outweigh the other noises bouncing around the room...

In this way, we experience the Grateful Dead as a chameleon - adapting to their environment, allowing it to somewhat dictate who and what they became on stage. They are feeding off not only the energy from the audience but the room and "the moment" as well. The Grateful Dead was a band of consequence and circumstance. Harkening back to their days as the house band for the Merry Pranksters - living in the moment - being part of the scene - while simultaneously creating the scene. The Möbius strip that is the Grateful Dead's legacy, as the unwitting, unknowing, resistive pied pipers of and for the San Francisco counter-culture.

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The first China-Rider of the tour speaks to Jerry's deep banjo roots. Check out the open, finger-picking styling at the 4:56 mark (pardon me...my timings won't always be exact - I'm taking notes in my car) of the China Cat jam. Jerry reprises the idea just before the start of Rider and again at the 1:50 mark of Rider. Also, take note of Jerry's staccato arpeggios during the "Sun will Shine" verse. Tasty!

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The Black Throated Wind / Loser / Mr. Charlie sequence of songs is a testament to the tone of the Nash Strat and what the instrument brings to Jerry's arsenal. The weeping, lilting, sorrowful pedal steel moans of the country ballads - and the beautiful, bright, bell-like twangy tone cutting through Pigpen's seminal groove.

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Before the Beat It On Down The Line they ask the people in the back of the venue if they can here - again referencing that the band actually cares what they sound like. After the audience says "No!" Phil responds accordingly "Turn it up man!"

The BIODTL itself is absolutely ridiculous - the best of the tour - and arguably the best ever played in any era. Check out Jerry's lead into the third time around during the jam. It's reminiscent of his pedal steel solo on Hello Mary Lou featured on the album The Best of New Riders of the Purple Sage.

In his introduction of BIODTL Bobby explains how it was written by Jesse Fuller, a one-man-band folk musician from Oakland, who didn't get his start until he came to the UK. So, here we have an example of the transatlantic trade of music, writ large. American folk music influenced a generation of European musicians, who in turn brought their bluesy-rock back to the U.S. during the 'British Invasion.' Here, the Grateful Dead return the favor by importing their uniquely transmogrified, psychedelic blues/folk/rock amalgam.

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The brand new tune, Tennessee Jed is ripping throughout the entire tour - and the 4/7 version is no exception. I have to admit that prior to the release of this box set I never liked it much. Now it's easily one of my favorite songs from this era.

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The tour's first Playin' In The Band matches the show; high energy, clean and all business - get in...get out! The band explores some of the realms that will open further as 1972 progresses but this incarnation of the song is far less adventurous than its subsequent counterparts.

Playin' embodies the Grateful Dead vis-à-vis the concepts of transformation and transition. Much like many of the other new songs on the tour, Playin' is evolving right before our eyes (ears). It's in its musical infancy at this point, coming to us at the tail end of the Pigpen era and the introduction of Keith. As the band morphs, Playin' is the vehicle through which it transforms. The Grateful Dead are leaving their "American Jam Band" phase and moving headlong into their jazzy, improvisational '73-'74 phase. Playin' is a major cornerstone of this era.

It is interesting to witness the transformation of the song during the tour as the band transforms. Further more, consider how after Pigpen's departure the song itself transforms from a stand alone composition to a transitional song that sustains throughout the band's remaining years. Playin' is used to take us from Truckin' into Morning Dew, from China-Rider into Crazy Fingers...in and out of various song combinations or even split up with a Playin' Reprise thrown in at the end of a set or during the following night's performance.

(This clearly has the makings for a thesis paper - grad school, here I come!)

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The Other One > el Paso > The Other One sequence is one for the ages and worthy of an entire blog post (much like the Playin') unto itself. For the sake of brevity (I know, I know...this initial post has gone on far too long) I have decided to condense my study into a short collection of highlights:

* My guitar teacher Ron Parmentier (may he rest in peace) would always yell at me "There are no triplets in Jazz!" - clearly it's Jerry's fault that my playing is riddled with them.

* During minutes 3:00 and 4:00 Jerry and Billy are engaging in a 3 vs. 4 battle - turning over the time signatures - over and back and around again.

* The song starts out gang-busters but by the end of the fourth minute, they've slipped into a full-on meltdown.

* There are hints of Weather Report Prelude at 6:00 minutes and change - Bobby started working out these ideas in '71 and they carry on through this performance

* Check out the diminished call and response between Jerry's guitar and Pigpens organ (a la '69) during the verses

* Minutes 14:00-16:00 of The Other One represents the Grateful Dead in a nutshell. It starts out in total chaos...nightmarish. During the 15th minute, Billy suggests an up-tempo cowboy rhythm, which Bobby grabs and offers a Me & My Uncle tease...the whole band saddles up and flies into a soaring, country, psychedelic jam with Phil laying down a Caution bass line...all of which melts down by minute 17:00...and then a nice, melodic rebranding and we're slid right into a tasty el Paso.

* Take note that you can hear The Other One during most of the el Paso - with Billy, Keith and Jerry continuing the 3 vs. 4 battle from earlier in the sequence.

* Listen for Bobby's sneeze at 4:21 :)

* The Other One comes back hard and aggressive. Interesting - Phil is playing the intro bass line, Jerry's riding lead, Keith is playing from the refrain and Bobby is playing his part from the main verse...all at the same time.

* Right at the 3:00 minute mark, Jerry changes the time figure, Billy grabs hold of the idea and turns over the entire jam - accenting a 5/4 time signature (count it for yourself).

* The time signature battles resolve at 6:15 when Jerry reintroduces the primary theme. Talk about ebbs and flow of time, meter and tempo. Yikes!

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There is great banter at the end of Disc 2, with the audience being asked to return to their seats: "The thing is, the cops don't have enough room to dance!"

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The Sugar Magnolia is super hot and full of energy - especially the Sunshine Daydream section. Focus on the tone of the Nash Strat - pure electricity.

The super-high energy carries through into the NFA > GDTRFB > NFA. This performance harkens back to '71, the heyday of this legendary sequence.

They encore with a rough, workman-like One More Saturday Night and send the audience home with a smile.

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I know this was a massive post and I thank you for making it to the end. This box set has moved me in ways that I didn't expect and I have a lot to share. I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my love of this music, this band and this tour in particular.

Hopefully, I will see you soon with my thoughts on Europe '72: Wembley Empire Pool, London, England (4/8/1972).


© Aaron Miller – 2011