Richard Cole:"The second US Tour, that was the one. They were on the way up, and no one was looking too closely.
ANYTHING was possible"
Richard may have been referring to offstage life and antics, but Led Zeppelin's return to the US was certainly a massive turning point. And the opening shows of the tour certainly did prove that anything WAS indeed possible.
After a frantic 6 weeks across the UK, Scandinavia and various media commitments they returned to their adopted home - California. Although the prestigious Carnegie Hall shows mooted for April 18th didn't happen until two tours and 6 months later, the second North American dates kicked off in style with 4 nights in San Francisco.
Work had begun on 'II' when Led Zeppelin touched down in California, and the upcoming shows would begin to show glimmers and tasters of new material. Jimmy was using a mixture of guitars, and his Les Paul would take over a major part of his onstage set up and sound, adding more thickness and body as Zeppelin went for the kill wit the already appreciative American audiences. 4 nights were set in collaboration with Bill Graham, two nights at the Fillmore West sitting either side of brace of nights at the Winterland Ballroom. Brian Auger and the Trinity with Julie Driscoll would open along with the Coldwell-Winfred Blues Band. The stage was set for double sets of Zeppelin, eager to prove themselves and take their fans and music to the next level.
Thursday April 24th - Fillmore West
Sadly, we only have 59 or so minutes of this set, and it's the last of the four nights to appear. Scorpio's 'Fillmore West 69' dated this as January 9th but no matter, the content is all important. From the 2nd set, the opening half is simply stunning. A great recording too, very close to the stage but not a mixing desk ('soundboard') recording by any means. The balance has Robert slightly in the background and Jimmy to the fore and a great sound for the rhythm section, at least until overload blow Jonesy's amps a few minutes in!
The set runs - 
As Long As I Have You
(Medley inc - Fresh Garbage/Shake/Mockingbird/Bags' Groove/Cat's Squirrel/You Can't Judge A Book/Suzie Q etc)
Killing Floor
(Medley inc - That's Evil/The Lemon Song/Smokestack Lightning)
White Summer/Black Mountainside
Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You
Pat's Delight
An extended and powerful As Long As I Have You kicked things off - this is more likely the second set judging by the tracks we have here. It's difficult to pick the 'star' tonight, all four of them are not only at the top of their game but in complete harmony - the definitive early 'tight but loose'. Jimmy conducts the Led Zeppelin orchestra with that light stun riff intro, punctuated with wah wah figures and dense almost flamenco like dense, dissonant clouds clouds of sound while Robert ad libs and bonzo drops powerful bombs in punctuation. Magnificent!
Jonesy is forceful too, the recording really lets you get 'inside' the rhythm section! Not even half way through you can hear those familiar (those players amongst you!) squeaks, buzzes and surges before his bass sound overloads and the amp gives up. But this only distracts not destroys the piece. After the usual suspects Fresh Garbage and in particular Mockingbird push Led Zeppelin into the stratosphere the unique ad lib sees Bo Diddley joining Garnet Mimms, Spirit, Sam Cooke and a pinch of Dr Ross when then run through a spirited You Can't Judge A Book and blues standard Suzie Q while they forge on through the equipment problems.
Once Jonesy gets some kind of sound back - a bit shakey at first! - Jimmy challenges his mates to some scintillating call and response, one at a time no less as the 20 minute opus reaches a fantastic climax. Killing Floor has that snaking unison Page/Jones/Plant scat introduction unique to this residency of 'Frisco shows. Again a great bit of detective work by Luis Rey to spot the origin as Willie Dixon's (That's) Evil sung by Howlin' Wolf, played obsessively with a key change too before Jimmy powers in the usual Killing Floor riff. The riffs flow, including a nod to the original Lemon Song and even the sliding snaking riff of Smokestack Lightning, another Chester Burnett (Wolf) song that the Yardbirds used to get all blueswailing over. It's in truth a way of bringing the set down in pace and intensity, but is a wonderful blues dirge all the same. Jonesy and Bonzo shine with their near telepathic syncopation as the frontmen bring the volume down.
The rest is fine but not up to the drama of that first 30 minutes. White Summer is as virtuoso as ever, and Bonzo really shines in his solo spot too. It would (will!?) be fantastic to hear the encores and indeed first set....
Friday April 25th - Winterland Ballroom
Well, how do you follow that. No first night of tour nerves at the Fillmore, just some equipment issues. Sadly, what we have - and it was the first recording from this group of shows to circulate - is a far too brief 25 minutes. Sprinkled around the edges of the 'rubber dubber' source tape of the 'Blueberry Hill' show on Wizardo's 2LP bootleg 'Caution;Explosive!' (also called '329D' after the catalogue number on reissues....) it's another truly amazing performance. We get - 
Train Kept A-Rollin'
You Shook Me
As Long As I Have You (cut)
(medley inc. Fresh Garbage/Shake/Bag's Groove)
Communication Breakdown
A mixture from the performance which would lead to confident speculation much more was recorded. A source tape with slightly more audience noise turned up in the late 70's but thus far no more music. Even the emphatic edit in As Long As I Have You remains. It may well be out there, but like the Going To California masters could have been thrown into the ocean.......allegedly.
There has also always been much speculation on the date of this recording. I've seen it traded and indeed been sent it as Seattle, Chicago, New York and the 24th April too! Robert doesn't help, he says 'the last time we played here it was the first err the second thing we ever did in America'. We know the legendary 'plantations' aren't always 100%...!! Anyway, I'm with Luis on this, the sound is so similar to the next night it's probably this show. Big shame we (as yet) have very little from this tour on tape to compare or confirm.
As for the performance, You Shook Me is the outstanding performance. Slow, heavy and erotic in the extreme, Jimmy is almost certainly using his newly acquired Les Paul (from Joe Walsh) with some brilliant slide figures and Robert soars higher than any guitar can with some incredible, lustful howls and moans. 10 minutes of Led Zeppelin like this can be too much! Communication Breakdown is a delight too, the hysterical crowd adding to the frenzy as Jonesy accompanies Jimmy's stun gun attack with some high flying bass figures before Led Zeppelin drop the bomb!
Saturday April 26th - Winterland Ballroom
At last, a complete recording! And what a show. 2 great sets -
Bill Graham Introduction
Communication Breakdown/I Can't Quit You Baby
Dazed And Confused
You Shook Me
How Many More Times
(medley inc. Smokestack Lightning/Roll Over Beethoven/The Hunter/Girl Of The North Country etc)
White Summer/Black Mountain Side
Killing Floor
(inc. Evil/Lemon Song/That's Alright Mama etc)
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
As Long As I Have You
(medley inc. Fresh Garbage/Shake/Bag's Groove/Mockingbird /Cat's Squirrel etc
Whole Lotta Love
Both sets, and an almost complete recording. Again, it's been around a long long time. It pre dates the circulation of the soundboard recordings of the 27th and was used for a variety of compilation and erroneously dated bootleg elpees. And the original tapes and therefore bootlegs run slow. Thankfully that's been arrested over the decades and we now have a fantastic audience recording to enjoy. And what a show. Nothing is even average, and it's clear how much they're all enjoying being back in California, feeding off the receptive and familiar crowd.
Dazed and Confused is already becoming experimental, Jimmy extending passages and riffs as Led Zeppelin take their time and cast their spell. There's a hush of expectancy and awe as he weaves those now familiar bow figures and drones, and as the song reaches its climax we get the debut recorded outing of the Theremin, for the only time in Dazed! With the huge echoing sound tonight it adds an amazing dramatic coda, an other worldly atmosphere. You Shook Me once again stomps over everything, gyrating blues as nasty and dirty as can be, wonderful all the same. The first set climaxes with a driving How Many More Times that mutates through various blues and folk Plant ad libs and Howlin' Wolf licks and references.
You need a break after that! The return for the second set starts slowly and deliberately. Jimmy's showcase is perfect and certainly placed to draw the audience into yet another side of the band both on record and onstage. Killing Floor is once again groinal and powerful with Robert shrieking some Arthur Crudup in the calm mid section. Babe is dynamic, and although I've never been really convinced by the 1969 live versions this one is as tough and dramatic as could be, while letting the subtle moments shine too.
But, the finale is the best. As Long As I Have You is even better than the previous 2 nights, and the arrangement is now seemingly perfected. Jimmy duels with each member in turn and the roar ebbs and flows as the tension remains high and finally bursts through. a really progressive and daring arrangement, and only Led Zeppelin could even attempt this, let alone pull it off with such astonishing results! And after that the audience has been wrung dry, two ours of one of THE great shows for me. And almost as a treat, we get the encore of Whole Lotta Love. Almost certainly the first performance, just a week after recording it in Barnes. And you can tell it's not finished yet, not 'there' so to speak, but does show their confidence and ability. Great guitar white noise and they hit that groove for the climax that leaves everyone exhausted and satisfied as it should.
Sunday April 27th - Fillmore West
The last night, and the most 'familiar' atmosphere between the band (mainly Robert of course) and a happy, excited crowd. Two sets again and two recordings. A soundboard, unbalanced and at times unnerving with a few edits and a more 'normal' audience recording that is more complete and adds a few in between moments and details too.
Train Kept A-Rollin'/I Can't Quit You Baby
As Long As I Have You
(medley inc. Fresh Garbage/Shake/Bag's Groove/Cat's Squirrel/Cadillac/No Money Down/I'm A Man etc)
You Shook Me
How Many More Times
(medley inc. Feel So Bad/The Hunter/Mulberry Bush etc)
Communication Breakdown
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
White Summer/Black Mountain Side
Sitting And Thinking
Pat's Delight
Dazed And Confused
Killing Floor
(inc. Evil/Lemon Song/Sweet Jelly Roll etc)
The weight of the performance falls on the first set, doubtless the crowd were buzzing with the previous performances, and the two big medley's are the highlights here. In fact, these are undoubtedly the best 4 As Long As I Have You improvisations I've ever heard. Tonight is the loosest for sure, but every time they seem to almost run into a cul de sac a new riff, nuance or lick powers through while Robert adds Chuck Berry to his list of San Francisco ad libs. How Many More times is even looser, and Jimmy experiments with slow heavy echoed riffs as Bonzo hammers his newly acquired Paiste Gong and Robert runs around the Mulberry Bush!
The encore is a bit out of tune but a fine way to round off an amazing set. the second set, not complete here, is too much of a come down. Still, there are moments to savour including the unique version of Sitting And Thinking, a Buddy Guy blues played as a stand alone track and not as part of a medley. Consequently it has been plucked out of the show to be included on many a bootleg compilation. Again, the running order is varied so Bonzo's solo comes before Dazed And Confused and both recordings end with the heavy sludge of Killing Floor.
It sounds odd to say and think it, but there's nothing over inspiring about some of the second set but that's a relative thing. April 1969 vintage Led Zeppelin is hardly 'average' in terms of anyone else or indeed much of their own career!
Four days, 8 sets and some of the most inspired playing of the Rock era and genre. Massively important and potent shows. And at the start of a tour we only have 2 other shows and an encore from another on tape out of 22 nights. In fact there are nearly as many tapes of studio work on 'II' - 3 and counting.... - from this tour as there are live shows. I'm always hopeful, however feint that hope can be at times, of more discoveries, more tapes, even cine film, and more memorabilia from these shows. As I quoted Richard Cole at the start of this piece, no one was watching too closely. I just hope someone was courageous enough to record something from this era and we'll get to enjoy it one day.
No comments:
Post a Comment