Across the decades-long history of the Grateful Dead, there are few periods that inspire as much reverence and myth-making as the band's European tour in 1972.

Consisting of 21 proper concerts and a television taping throughout Western Europe in April and May of that year, Europe '72 is the stuff of legend, captured on a three-LP live record released that fall and eventually documented on a 73-CD box set spanning more than 70 hours.

This spring, area Grateful Dead tribute band Rainbow Full of Sound is bringing the Europe '72 experience back to the live stage with a run of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland club dates designed to re-trace the Dead's original tour.

"We're trying to pay tribute to the tour as much as we can, and at the same time try to remain unique and true to who we are," said Rainbow Full of Sound keyboard player and singer Waynard Scheller, a Neptune native who lives in Highlands

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Scheller — who's performed with the Dead's Bob Weir, Donna Jean Godchaux and Tom Constanten and toured with John Kadlecik of Furthur — said his ensemble is working to set itself apart from other accomplished tribute acts like Dark Star Orchestra, which re-creates specific shows, or Dead On Live, which presents note-perfect renditions of Dead material.

"There's all these great groups that have had great success and each one has their own identity as we do, and we're trying to stay true to that," said Scheller, who previously paid tribute to the Grateful Dead's landmark eight-show run at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan with an eight-week residency at Asbury Park's Wonder Bar in 2012.

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Rainbow Full of Sound kicks off the Europe '72 tribute tour on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 118 North in Wayne, Pennsylvania, with the tour running through Saturday, May 30, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.

Check out the full list of tour dates at the bottom of this story.

While every Deadhead has their favorite era for the band — some prefer the the wild, early years of the late-'60s, the rock solid road warrior sound of 1977 or the stadium-packing commercial peak years of the late-'80s and early-'90s — the spring of 1972 was a singular time for the band.

Unlike the bulk of their career, they had just one drummer at the time, Bill Kreutzmann, but two keyboard players: founding blues-rock force Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and new enlistee Keith Godchaux, who brought in elements of classical, jazz and ragtime.

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All this fresh sound was in turn backing up the five-person vocal attack of guitarists Jerry Garcia and Bob Weir, bassist Phil Lesh, McKernan and Donna Jean Godchaux.

"They were still doing the psychedelic blues with Pigpen, but bringing Keith in and then entering this whole new era with all of Keith's influences, which I believe actually influenced Jerry's development from that point on, I think that was a really unique time period for them, having both of them in the group," said Scheller.

For the tour, sponsored by charitable partners WhyHunger, The Hansen Foundation – Enlightened Solutions and Stage Trip Industries, Rainbow Full of Sound will enlist a rotating cast of 17 players to honor the tour and accompanying live album's original, beloved sound.

"We're not trying to re-create it exactly ... but at the same time we're trying to pay tribute to the album and we're looking for all the hidden gems, the great things that they did throughout the tour, because it was an amazing tour," said Scheller.

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Waynard Scheller and Rainbow Full of Sound will retrace the Grateful Dead's 1972 European tour this spring at the following shows:

"April 7, 1972, Wembley Empire Pool, London, England," Feb. 6 at 118 North, Wayne, Pennsylvania

"April 8, 1972, Wembley Empire Pool, London, England," Feb. 13, 8X10, Baltimore

"April 11, 1972, Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle, England," Feb. 19, Garcia’s at the Capitol Theater, Port Chester, New York

"April 14, 1972, Tivolis Koncertsal, Copenhagen, Denmark," Feb. 20, Putnam Place, Saratoga Springs, New York

"April 16, 1972, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark," Feb. 21, The Colony Theater, Woodstock, New York

"April 17, 1972, Tivolis Koncertsal, Copenhagen, Denmark," Feb. 27, Hill Country, New York

"April 24, 1972, Rheinhalle, Dusseldorf, West Germany," Feb. 28, Wonder Bar, Asbury Park

"April 26, 1972, Jahrhundert Halle, Frankfurt, West Germany," March 5, 118 North, Wayne, Pennsylvania

"April 29, 1972, Musikhalle, Hamburg, West Germany," March 12, 8X10, Baltimore

"May 3, 1972, Olympia Theatre, Paris, France," March 13, Funk and Waffles, Syracuse, New York

"May 4, 1972, Olympia Theatre, Paris, France," March 26, Putnam Place, Saratoga Springs, New York

"May 7, 1972, Bickershaw Festival, Wigan, England," April 2,118 North, Wayne, Pennsylvania

"May 10, 1972, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Holland," April 9, 8X10, Baltimore

"May 11, 1972, Rotterdam Civic Hall, Rotterdam, Holland," April 23, Hill Country, New York

"May 13, 1972, Lille Fairgrounds, Lille, France," April 24, Stanhope House, Stanhope

"May 16, 1972, Theatre Hall, Luxembourg," April 30, Putnam Place, Saratoga Springs, New York

"May 18, 1972, Kongressaal - Deutsches Museum, Munich, West Germany," May 7, 118 North, Wayne, Pennsylvania

"May 23, 1972, Strand Lyceum, London, England," May 14, 8X10, Baltimore

"May 24, 1972, Strand Lyceum, London, England," May 15, Donovan’s Reef beachfront, Sea Bright

"May 25, 1972, Strand Lyceum, London, England," May 21, Putnam Place, Saratoga Springs, New York

"May 26, 1972, Strand Lyceum, London, England," May 30, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City

For more information, visit www.waynardmusic.com.