The Grateful Dead keeps on truckin’ this month. After 39 years, the Dead’s seminal live album “Europe ’72” has a proper follow up culled from that same tour.
Simply dubbed “Europe ’72 Vol. 2” and due out September 20th, the collection highlights more material from the band’s historic run in April and May of 1972. Guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir told Reuters that the band’s fruitful live performances during that time stemmed from their dedication to practicing as a group and the lack of jet lag.
“The first couple of times we went over there, we felt kind of like a novelty act,” Weir said of shows prior to the 1972 European tour. “We went over there and did one-offs, and we were thoroughly jet lagged; we never really had a chance to settle in and pound it out, like we were used to doing.”
At the time, the Dead were one of the only bands that played different sets with a sizable repertoire, of which their label, Warner Bros, was well aware. As a result, they had them record every show.
Three songs on “Vol. 2” were selected for possible inclusion on the original set, but didn’t make the cut: “Next Time You See Me,” “Sing Me Back Home,” and “Beat It On Down the Line.” The rest were handpicked by producer David Lemieux after listening to the original tour masters.