Europe '72
Artist: Grateful Dead
Community Score: 9.33

The Grateful Dead commemorated their first extended European tour with an extravagant triple-LP set appropriately enough titled Europe '72. This collection is fashioned in much the same way as their previous release -- which had also been a live multi-disc affair. The band mixes a bevy of new material -- such as "Ramble on Rose," "Jack Straw,"... Read More

The Grateful Dead Movie
Artist: Grateful Dead

This feature-length film was shot during the Grateful Dead's so-called "retirement run" of shows at Winterland Arena in San Francisco during mid-October 1974 -- after which the band was to take an extended sabbatical from touring North America. Under the direction of the band's lead guitarist, Jerry Garcia, and cinematographer, Leon Gast, The... Read More

Billy Swan - MONUMENT
Artist: Billy Swan

At a little under 26 minutes in length, Billy Swan's self-titled album (on CD combined with the LP Four) is nonetheless a testament to the fact that he was more than just a one-hit wonder. The band of musicians gathered is impressive, including Bobby Wood on piano, the Jordanaires on backup vocals, and Carl Perkins on two numbers written by the... Read More

The Very Best of Poco - 1975
Artist: Poco

Originally a two-LP set, The Very Best of Poco was a decent compilation in its time, assembling the group's best-known songs from singles and album cuts in a straightforward order with no particular surprises. It was reissued with upgraded sound in 1999, and for the very casual fan with a budget to consider the latter is adequate, showing their... Read More

Rick Danko
Artist: Rick Danko
Community Score: 8.00

Recorded after the breakup of the Band in 1977, Danko's debut featured guest shots from Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, Doug Sahm, Tim Drummond, and Gerry Beckley. Even with all the extra firepower, it's an uneven effort at best with "Java Blues," "Shake It," and "Brainwash" being particular standouts. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide Read More

The Best of the Band
Artist: The Band

With The Best of the Band, Capitol Records began the inevitable process of repackaging the music of the Band, which the company would do at increasing length without solving the fundamental problem that the Band, despite the quality of their individual songs, was not a singles act and was hard to summarize in a compilation. That said, for the... Read More

Northern Lights-Southern Cross
Artist: The Band
Community Score: 10.00

The first studio album of Band originals in four years, in many respects Northern Lights-Southern Cross was viewed as a comeback. It also can be seen as a swan song. The album was the Band's finest since their self-titled sophomore effort. Totaling eight songs in all, on this album the Band explores new timbres, utilizing for the first time 24... Read More

Head over Heels
Artist: Poco
Community Score: 7.00

Keeping the songs short and to the point, Poco lets loose with a fine batch of material. This time out, they even cover the Becker-Fagen song "Dallas" with great verve. There's less country, but a lot more pop. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide Read More

Cardiff Rose
Artist: Roger McGuinn

On the surface, Roger McGuinn, the former leader and 12-string jangle-meister of the Byrds, and Mick Ronson, who contributed the wicked guitar crunch to David Bowie's Spiders from Mars period, might seem like a wildly unlikely musical combination, but the two became friendly when they both toured as part of Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, and... Read More

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been
Artist: Grateful Dead

What a Long Strange Trip It's Been is a two-disc compilation of the Grateful Dead's tenure at Warner Bros., 1967-1972. Well-chosen, it contains many of their best songs from the period and is notable for giving album release to the studio-recorded single version of "Dark Star," the Dead's most requested song. Relative newcomers to the band... Read More

Blues for Allah
Artist: Grateful Dead
Community Score: 8.00

The Grateful Dead went into a state of latent activity in the fall of 1974 that lasted until the spring of the following year when the band reconvened at guitarist/vocalist Bob Weir's Ace Studios to record Blues for Allah. The disc was likewise the third to be issued on their own Grateful Dead Records label. When the LP hit shelves in September... Read More

It Happened One Bite
Artist: Dan Hicks

A cherished rarity among even his most die-hard fans, It Happened One Bite finds Dan Hicks and company -- not exactly his Hot Licks, but close enough for hipster folk swing -- providing the soundtrack for a 1978 animated film set during the gangster '50s. Unfortunately, the cartoon in question, at least with Hicks' exceptional soundtrack for it,... Read More