Rhino Opens Its Vaults And Revives Live Dead

Rare 3-Cd Set Rockin' The Rhein With The Grateful Dead Is The First-Ever Complete Show Release From The Band's Legendary European Tour Of '72

Triple-Disc Package In Stores May 25

In 1972, the Grateful Dead barnstormed Europe for a series of shows widely regarded as their best ever. The highlight of the tour took place on April 24 at Rheinhalle, Düesseldorf, West Germany, where the legendary blues-jam band took the crowd on a wonderfully long, strange trip filled with hits and fan favorites. Three decades later, Rhino Records is celebrating that monumental road jaunt with the release of Rockin' The Rhein With The Grateful Dead, the first-ever complete show release from that critically acclaimed tour.

This triple-CD set is freshly mixed and remastered in HDCD from the original 16-track analog tapes. Deadheads have long awaited a high-quality version of these recordings, which were previously only available as fan-circulated, low-fi tapes. Highlights from the three discs include an outstanding 44-minute "split" "Dark Star" (with a short "Me And My Uncle" in the middle), the second-ever live performance of "He's Gone," and a prime rendition of "Good Lovin'," one of Pigpen's masterful raps. Also featured are two bonus tracks from a London show on May 24, 1972, including the final version of "Turn On Your Lovelight," sung by Pigpen shortly before his death.

Rockin' The Rhein With The Grateful Dead will be available May 25th at all retail outlets and at www.rhino.com [ http://www.rhino.com/ ] for a suggested retail price of $31.98.

The Grateful Dead rose out of their mid-'60s San Francisco roots to become one of the most wildly successful rock bands on the planet. Their free-form music, free-spirited psychedelic vision, and marathon concerts are now legend, as are their ever-faithful worldwide legion of followers.

Rockin' The Rhein With The Grateful Dead presents one of the most stellar shows from their now-fabled '72 sweep of Europe. Simply put, the three-disc set captures the Dead at their biggest and best. The band will support the release with a tour this summer.

Source: Rhino