Hundred Year Hall by Grateful Dead (CD, Sep-1995, 2 Discs, Grateful Dead/Arista)

One of my favorite vault style releases, not sure if it's still in print. Though have to say I still see it around quite a bit. Good for the big time Dead Head or casual fan, this CD caputures the short lived era of the Garcia, Lesh, Weir, Pig Pen, Bill, Keith and Donna lineup. Captured on a stellar night on the famous Europe 72 tour, it displays the band more as they would sound if you were at the show yourself. Even if you have the old Europe 72 record, I'd recomend picking this up, the versions are more raw and played with alot of intensity. Europe 72 has always been one of my favorite records, but it's definitely doctored up a bit. This show is raw and wild, no overdubs or trickery here. It got the short and snappy numbers and the big jams as well, I really recommend this one.

The magic and the majesty of The Grateful Dead is beautifully represented on this 2-disc set. Culled from the performance on 4/26/72 at Jahrhundert Hall in Frankfurt, West Germany from the original multi-track masters, Hundred Year Hall takes you on a journey through the dark alleys and wide-open spaces that marked the Dead at their finest. It's all represented here, including some fine vocal work from Pigpen on his final tour with the band. A must-have for any serious Deadhead and an excellent introduction for the newbie, 100 Year Hall will delight and thrill the listener time and time again.

These cds are from the legendary 1972 trip to Europe. Recorded on 4-26-72, The Band is Tight in this recording. CD1 Starts out solid if unspectacular, but Pigpen changes that on "Next Time You See Me". There is a Nice and concise China->Rider before they really Jam to finish Disc 1. Cd2 is remeniscent of the jams of the late 60's without going too far out there. I probably should give it a 4 1/2. Well Worth the price of admission!