Rockin' the Rhein With the Grateful Dead [Live] [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Always revered for marathon concerts, The Dead's famed 1972 tour of Europe is roundly hailed as one of their finest live jaunts ever. And this inspired (and rare) 3-CD recording presents one of the most stellar shows from that now-fabled sweep of the continent. The first complete show release from that tour, Rockin' The Rhein - never before heard on pro audio - captures the Dead at their legendary best.

Tracks:

Truckin
Tennessee Jed
Chinatown Shuffle
Black-Throated Wind
China Cat Sunflower
I Know You Rider
Mr. Charlie
Beat It On Down The Line
Loser
Playing In The Band
Next Time You See Me
Me And Bobby Mcgee

Tracks:

Good Lovin
Casey Jones
Hes Gone
Hurts Me Too
El Paso
Turn On Your Lovelight
The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion)

Tracks:

Dark Star
Me And My Uncle
Dark Star
Wharf Rat
Sugar Magnolia
Not Fade Away
Goin Down The Road Feeling Bad
Not Fade Away
One More Saturday Night

Album Description

Always revered for marathon concerts, The Dead's famed 1972 tour of Europe is roundly hailed as one of their finest live jaunts ever. And this inspired (and rare) 3-CD recording presents one of the most stellar shows from that now-fabled sweep of the continent. The first complete show release from that tour, Rockin' The Rhein - never before heard on pro audio - captures the Dead at their legendary best.

Customer Reviews:

Great, but i little inconvenient.......2007-02-19

this cd is great, but it has three cds in it and all the best songs r spread out between them (or at least my favs), but if i want to listen to all of my favorites, i've gotta cart around all 3 of the cds...:( i don't have a ipod. Other wise, it's great, but i just wish Truckin and Casey Jones were all on the same cd. but this is great if u do have an ipod or other mp3 device

One of the Strangest but Best Sets in the History of the Dead.......2007-02-19

3 CD set of the well-documented Europe '72 tour- April 24, 1972 complete. Disc Three (Set Three) starts out with a 26 minute Dark Star for the ages, but then suddenly out of nowhere "Me And My Uncle" phones in for three minutes --then we are transported back to the center of the Universe for another 15 minute Dark Star coda. Almost 45 minutes of dark star then one of the best Wharf Rat renderings and the jam still isn't over...we end up at Sugar Magnolia.

And you still have disc one and two!

German-English Genuine Cognates.......2006-12-28

The Europe '72 tour was a fertile one for the Grateful Dead. It lead to the Europe '72 live double album, probably one of their most flattering official live releases (a personal favorite of Tipper Gore's, believe it or not), as well as One Hundred Year Hall and Steppin' Out. And now Rocking the Rhein, which is billed as the first-ever official complete show release from the tour. They were energized and playing well back then. It was probably hard to limit the original Europe '72 album to a single version of each song when they were playing so well all around.

The Dead were uncharacteristically chatty on that night, April 24th, 1972, under German skies (meanwhile, back in Skokie, Illinois, I was cruising along the edges of furniture, contemplating taking my first steps.) Lots of on stage banter between songs, from cornball goofiness ("I say, my dog has no nose," "then how does he smell?"...), to charitable edification (after playing "El Paso," Bobby steps up to the mike to explain: "The hero dies.") I presume they were freed up by the assumption that their audience was primarily non-English speaking.

And, we have the moment when Bobby introduces newcomer Donna Jean Godchaux. Imagine the anticipation of the crowd. Of course, she is awful. Right out of the gate, she launches into a soulful wail that is nothing but sour notes. I feel bad saying it, I'm sure she's a nice person, and I'm no accomplished vocalist myself. But I didn't stand up there night after night and ruin nearly a decade's worth of bootlegs. Still, the German hosts are generous (or intoxicated?) and they give Donna a warm welcome.

Beyond the history of the gig, the music was great. Disc three has a "Dark Star" into "Me and My Uncle" back into "Dark Star," that is nearly forty-five minutes long altogether. Over ten minutes pass before the first words of the first verse, which is generally a good sign. It is a dense and rigorous Dark Star, with Jerry reaching in all directions up high battling Phil's Teutonic-tinged bass grumbles that lurk and menace throughout, anchoring the music down yet threatening to erupt at any moment. When the "Me and My Uncle" broke through, I burst into laughter. Standing shoulder to shoulder to armpit on the train in the rush commute, iPod buds in place, I burst into laughter and people turned. I had become one of those guys on the train, and I didn't care.

Also great: The ChinaCat/Rider is great, Truckin', Tennessee Jed, a great Mr. Charlie, always nice to hear Casey Jones, and Pigpen's vocals and organ soloing on "Hurts Me Too" are classic.

Whew!!!.......2006-10-13

This is a mindblower. I like this one better than Steppin' Out and it has a better mix too. Just get it with Hundred Year Hall. The Dark Star jam is one for the ages.

Pigpen's night.......2006-03-09

I'm just starting to become a true fan of Pigpen. Earlier, I just didn't get him and I would constantly skip forward to more of the GD extended jams. Lately, I've started to get what he was all about and what made him such an important part of the early dead shows. I'm glad I picked up this set.
It's Pigpen's night and we should all be happy for this nice memory. Pick it up.

Note: the rest of the band has some fine moments too!!

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