Grateful Dead - Wembley Empire Pool London England 4/7/1972 Live (RSD Black Friday 2022 5-LP)

Released for Record Store Day Black Friday 2022, this 5-LP box set preserves the Grateful Dead's complete April 7, 1972 show at Wembley Empire Pool in London during their legendary spring tour of Europe—the same tour that produced the Europe '72 triple album. With the expanded lineup including Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux alongside the core six members (including Pigpen in what would be his final tour), the Dead were playing at a creative peak that matched their best American performances. European audiences brought out something special in the band, pushing them to perform in ways that felt fresh and exploratory.

The Wembley show features the Dead debuting songs that would become standards: "Jack Straw," "Tennessee Jed," "Ramble On Rose," and "Brown-Eyed Women" all receive performances that would help define their live arrangements for decades. The European audiences—less familiar with the Dead's catalog and more focused on the musical journey—pushed the band into extended improvisations that feel urgent and alive. Garcia's guitar work throughout is crystalline and singing, Weir's rhythm guitar provides a perfect foundation, and the expanded vocal arrangements with Donna Jean add new dimensions to the harmonies.

What makes the Wembley show special is how it captures the Dead playing for audiences who'd never seen them before, forcing them to prove themselves anew every night. The energy throughout reflects that challenge—these aren't complacent performances for home crowds who already love the band, but rather the Dead working to win over skeptical Europeans with nothing but their music. This RSD Black Friday pressing preserves that urgency across ten sides of vinyl.

5-LP box set. Record Store Day Black Friday 2022 exclusive. Complete show from Wembley Empire Pool, London, April 7, 1972. Europe '72 tour.