Europe 72

50 years ago, Grateful Dead took the stage at London's Wembley Empire Pool, today known as the OVO Arena Wembley. The concert inaugurated the Dead's thrilling run of European shows which were immortalized on the triple album release "Europe 72" and then in 2011 on the expansive 73 CD box set "Europe 72 : The Complete Recordings". Now, Rhino has announced a host of releases from the final stand of the European tour.

"Lyceum 1972 : The Complete Recordings", due on July 29th, 2022, will be the Dead's largest vinyl box to date. The 24 LP set contains the last 4 shows of the tour from London's Lyceum Theatre, since 1999, the home of the West End production of 'The Lion King'. The box boasts new artwork from Brian Blomerth and liner notes by Dead historian Nicholas Meriwether. Each of the 4 shows is presented in its own clamshell box adorned with the Scott McDougal cover art created for each concert in the 2011 complete box set. It's all pressed on 180 gram vinyl and available exclusively from Dead Net.

For fans looking for a more compact option, the Dead's ongoing 50th anniversary reissue series continues with a newly remastered version of "Europe 72", also due on July 29th, 2022, in 2 CD, 3 LP, streaming and digital download versions. The CD, vinyl, and digital iterations have all been remastered by David Glasser with audio restored using Plangent Processes.

Lastly, the 4 CD set "Lyceum Theatre : May 26, 1972" breaks out the final Lyceum show from the complete box set. This landmark show was notably the second to last performance to feature founding member Ron Pigpen McKernan who passed away on March 8th, 1973. Pigpen highlights of the concert include the Dead's cover of The Rascals' "Good Lovin'", "Chinatown Shuffle", and his own "The Stranger (Two Souls In Communion)".

Grateful Dead legacy manager and archivist David Lemieux comments in the press release, "throughout Grateful Dead's 30 years of touring, every year, and every tour, had exceptional moments and monumental shows. Only a few tours, though, can be said to have an exceptional night of music at every single show. 'Europe 72' is one of the tours that can objectively and definitively said to include A+ performances on every stop. The Dead's momentum had been gaining steam during the past couple of years of non stop touring, leading up to a peak in the Dead's performing career, the 'Europe 72' tour. From opening night on April 7th, to the final show on May 26th, Grateful Dead made sure they were making fans for life, and the recordings don't lie. Every show was truly an event, and we're all so fortunate to be able to hear the tour's music 50 years later, sounding better than ever".

Look for this array of Dead releases, most of which hit stores on July 29th, 2022.