It's 1971 and led Zeppelin are on a high. Despite the fact that the new elpee is still a way from release, their confidence in the new material and breadth of material presented and performed over these 2 hour plus shows is growing and showing more and more. I love the '71 gigs. The new songs add so much to the set, and it finally feels like the best band in the World presenting the best music. After the initial tours their growth and expansion didn't take long, but in comparison the previous year was to me a transition period. Now they'e top of the mountain and perform like never before.
The Civic Auditorium/Sports Stadium Arena sees Led Zeppelin reaching gig number 9 of 21 and their control over the material and audience is startling. My favourite ever bootleg, 'Going To California' is from this tour, and the better of the two mixed recordings is very similar sound wise. Their PA system is improving along with everything else, more fidelity, depth and power. Originally we only got the first part of this show, then a bit more, then a bit more.... Usual hoarding tactics before the two recordings were brought together to give us over 130 minutes of Led Zeppelin at their best. Almost acting like a record company, the hoarded tape was fanfared and lauded because it included a 'rare version of You Really Got Me'. Call it 'enthusiastic advertising', it lasts 7 seconds! There's a lesson in there methinks....
Anyway, on to the music. Once again Led Zeppelin hit the ground running, and once the sound and audience settle Heartbreaker is near perfection. Bonzo is the star here, wielding that latent power of his with incredible depth charge floor tom drops and lightning quick rolls and never missing the beat, never losing it. Staggering and syncopated, it makes Jimmy and John Paul's riffing easier as they glide over the top, perfectly clamped to that monsterous bass drum. Since I've Been Loving You is maturing as fast as the band onstage now, the fluency and drama heightened more and more as Robert soulfully pleads his tale of woe.
Dazed And Confused follows, becoming almost a complete show in itself. Jimmy revisits Bouree on the bow and gets into extended dissonant growls and scrapes of noise, like an alternative 2001 A Space Oddity soundtrack. The following chase and jam are a delight, and the final coda is dramatic and extended as Jimmy holds back and listens to the superlative counter rhythms before topping the maelstrom with a slow and eerie White Summer. Black Dog is by contrast a bit of a muddle. God only knows what Robert's singing, and the guys manage to fall over each other and stutter over the riffs, like a scratched record!
Stairway To Heaven is masterful and becoming almost regal even at this early stage of its' life. Robert's vocals are intact and wonderful over the blast for home at the end. Celebration Day, while Jimmy keeps the double neck strapped on, is muscular and with a slightly different guitar introduction. It always sounded better coming out of another number rather than just starting by itself. The acoustic set is now more of a feature than an interlude, showing off Robert's wonderful vocals.
The You Really Got Me tune up signals a relaxed What Is And What Should Never Be before Bonzo defies the stifling heat inside the arena to deliver a powerful Moby Dick. The closing medley is a joy. Jonesy plays keyboards amid the Theremin frenzy that whips the crowd up into near madness before one of the first instrumental jams of Everybody Needs Somebody To Love that finally has Robert squawking Gambler's Blues before briefly calming the atmosphere with an extended introduction to Boogie Chillun'. A powerful My Baby Left Me also hints at Ray Charles' Mess Around before a sturdy Mess O' Blues. Frustratingly the rest was missed by both recorders just as the final blow out was in sight.
A great Organ Solo and Thank You close the show for a completely bananas audience. The more shows that appear from this tour, the better Led Zeppelin seem to play. We've now got 11 and cine clips of 2 more, so there's a way to go yet! Various CD sets are out there of this show, Florida Sunshine and Magic Kingdom seem to be as good as they get.
No comments:
Post a Comment