The Grateful Dead To Release Follow-Up To Classic ‘Europe ’72’ Live Set

The Grateful Dead will revisit their classic ‘Europe ’72’ live compilation on September 20, with the release of a new companion volume, ‘Europe ’72: Vol. 2.’

The new release joins the previously announced 73 CD box set release of the complete ‘Europe ‘72’ recordings, which will finally land in stores in September. If that’s a little bit too much ‘Europe ‘72’ for your own personal needs, perhaps ‘Vol. 2’ will suit your listening fancy better.

Weighing in at a mere two CDs, ‘Vol. 2’ adds 20 tracks and more than two hours of music.

Compilation producer and longtime Dead archivist David Lemieux (who we spoke with recently about the ‘Europe ‘72’ box set) says that he specifically chose songs that weren’t on the original set to compliment the original release.

“I think this album, coupled with ‘Europe ’72,’ represents a complete overview of the tour in every way. In fact, songs like ‘Beat It On Down The Line,’ ‘Next Time You See Me’ and ‘Sing Me Back Home’ were selected by the Grateful Dead for the first set, but were left off because there wasn’t enough room.”

In a nod to the original, ‘Vol. 2’ sports new cover art by Stanley Mouse, the artist who helped create the iconic artwork from ‘Europe ’72,’ featuring the return of the legendary ‘Ice Cream Kid.’ “Trouble comes in many flavors. Ice Cream Kid is in hot water. The jury is out. His only defense is love,” says Mouse of the Kid’s return.

A highlight of the set includes an epic hour-plus jam that combines ‘Dark Star’ and ‘The Other One.’ Recorded at the Bickershaw Festival, it was the only show on this tour where the band broke out both of these beloved improvisational showpieces.

‘Europe ’72: Vol. 2’ will be available as a physical CD or digital download and will also be sold digitally via Dead.net.