Album of the Day

Grateful Dead cut their fair share of great studio albums, but it was always said they did their finest work live, and the wealth of stellar concert sets the band produced over the years makes that hard to dispute. EUROPE '72 is a triple-disc snapshot of the group's first tour of the continent; it would be the last release with founding keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan – whose final Dead show was on this day in 1972 - and the first with Keith and Donna Godchaux on piano and vocals, respectively. Virtually all of the 22 dates on this Western European trek were recorded, so there were many outstanding performances from which to choose of both old (“Truckin',” “Sugar Magnolia”) and new (“Jack Straw,” “Brown-Eyed Women”) songs. The double-Platinum EUROPE '72 captures the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers at their very best.