Considering how legendary the Europe ’72 tour and live album are, I wondered why Europe ’81 was a relative unknown. After listening to the poorly recorded tapes, now I know. The playing is fine, but Bobby and Phil are buried in most soundboard mixes. I created new matrix mixes for each recording here, with the desperate hope that room tone on the audience tapes had imprinted some semblance of bass - long story short: it didn’t help.
The second set is almost identical in format to the 10/19 show, with the addition of a set-opening “Man Smart, Woman Smarter”. The 10/19 show features the last Spanish Jam for 6 months, and only the 8th since 1976. It had been revived in spring ’81, but this one is extra special due to the show taking place in Barcelona.
“Alabama Getaway” was a common show opener in this era, and it usually segued into a Bobby song. In this case, it’s “Promised Land”. “Jack-A-Roe” is very fast, and it is still enjoying time in the sun after heavy rotation in late 1980. The “Minglewood” mix leans heavily on the audience tape, but Phil is at his most audible thus far.
“Brown-Eyed Woman > Looks Like Rain” is the first of 3 segues in the first set. This combo is followed by “Candyman > Little Red Rooster”. Brent plays electric piano exclusively through the first three numbers, and then takes a solo on the B3 for “Little Red Rooster”. The third segue of the set is a comparatively well-mixed “Althea > Let It Grow”. I tacked on a “Might as Well”.
“Man Smart, Woman Smarter” was a frequent second set opener, and this version is great. Brent’s control of the wah and Bob’s vocal improvisations bring humor to the performance. I included two classic segues before drums: “Scarlet > Fire” and “Sailor > Saint”. The “Scarlet Begonias” recording sounds great as a matrix, especially the organ and cowbell moments. “Saint of Circumstance” is played at breakneck speed, and the jam cooks. Brent plays way outside, and the drummers and Jerry feed off it. Creating a long sequence of music, “Sailor > Saint > Scarlet > Fire” were aligned in such a way 6 times in ’81.
A “Drums > Space” passes the torch from 10/13 to 10/19, all the way to the encore, which is back to 10/13. Both shows have a Spanish Jam, and the performance here morphs into “The Other One”. Brent delivers a great B3 performance, and Jerry sings well on “Stella Blue”.
“Sugar Magnolia” finishes the set, and “Satisfaction” is the encore. This version comes early in its life in the encore slot, and it would later be brought back a few more times in the ‘90s. Check out Bobby’s showman rap toward the end.
If you can find the gems buried in the mix, check out shows from the tour like 10/15 and 10/16. Both were played on rented gear in Amsterdam following rained out shows in France. There are photos, and the second night was Bob’s birthday. The second set is very fun, including the first “Lovelight” since Europe ’72.
Set One
Alabama Getaway > (10.3.81)
Promised Land (10.3.81)
Jack-A-Roe (10.4.81)
Minglewood Blues (10.13.81)
Brown Eyed Women > (10.17.81)
Looks Like Rain
Candyman > (10.12.81)
Little Red Rooster (10.12.81)
Althea > (10.19.81)
Let It Grow (10.19.81)
Might As Well (10.6.81)
Running time: 77min
Set Two
Man Smart, Woman Smarter (10.6.81)
Scarlet Begonias > (10.4.81)
Fire On The Mountain (10.4.81)
Lost Sailor > (10.13.81)
Saint Of Circumstance > (10.13.81)
Drums > (10.13.81)
Space > (10.19.81)
Spanish Jam > (10.19.81)
The Other One > (10.19.81)
Stella Blue > (10.19.81)
Sugar Magnolia (10.19.81)
E: Satisfaction (10.13.81)