Grateful Dead

Europe ‘72: The Netherlands supplementary notes

by Jesse Jarnow

In Amsterdam, the Grateful Dead recorded the tracks for the Europe ‘72 version of “He’s Gone,” though would overdub vocals and other parts later in the summer. Labeled as “He’s Long Gone” on the tour’s tape boxes, it was written as an anti-tribute to the band’s ex-manager Lenny Hart. Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter wrote the song in the spring of 1972, just before departing for the tour, and just after Hart was sentenced to six months in prison for absconding with the Dead’s money. Robert Hunter posted an early draft of the lyrics, and Alex Allan has tracked some of the variations. The song would take on new meanings and new jams as it evolved in the Dead’s repertoire through 1995.

To discuss Bill Kreutzmann’s drumming on this episode, we welcome the great drummer (and drum teacher) John Colpitts, aka Kid Millions, aka Man Forever, of far-out bands like the long-running Oneida and the more recently established Kheth Astron. He orchestrated the “Drums/Space” segment of the Day of the Dead tribute. Keith Carne wrote a detailed article on Kreutzmann’s Europe ‘72 drumming for the April 2018 edition of Modern Drummer (see page 83).

To discuss the Woodstock Transnational, the implications of the Hippie Trail, and other topics, we welcome the historian Michael J. Kramer, author of the fantastic book, The Republic of Rock: Music and Citizenship in the Sixties Counterculture.

Dead Sources has located and translated some reviews of the Dead in the Netherlands.

And, as always, we are extraordinarily thankful to David Gans and Blair Jackson for allowing us to use various bits of audio recorded while writing Conversations With the Dead and This Is All A Dream We Dreamed, both available via perfectible.net.