LED ZEPPELIN - WHATS YOUR FAVOURITE FESTIVAL APPEARANCE?

'I told Pagey one or two people would be here, but he said he doubted that very much' Robert Plant, Knebworth August 4th 1979 ...

Wednesday 2 May 2018

LED ZEPPELIN - SICK AGAIN



"Clutching pages from your teenage dreams, in the lobby of the hotel paradise"




Conquering America was a consequence of Led Zeppelin's inexorable rise from their inception in 1968 as unnamed bottom of the bill opening act to record breaking stadium headliners just four and a half years and nine Tours later. With such a rise they became unknown superstars. Throughout this rollercoaster journey and breathtaking ascent Robert narrated life on the road, inside the bubble of fame and madness that fed the myth, the legend.





Just 6 months after those first wide-eyed, tentative steps in the US tales of their touring experiences were creeping into songs, from 'fella's laying their money down' to a past her best groupie cruising in her 'aged cadillac'. They juxtaposed perfectly with the warmth and innocence of Thank You and the travelling fantasy of Ramble On. Whole Lotta Love is the perfect summit of those days. 

'III' opined that Zeppelin were 'in the promised land', could party and have fun Out On The Tiles and still breathe and sit under the oak tree with Stryder and The Boy Next Door. As 1970 drew to a close Big Legged Women with No Soul and Policemen shaking you down for dope vied with the beauty of both a long lost English past and a Californian idyll. 




Their Worldwide forays brought us a multi layered guitar fanfare, Acapulco Gold and a crunching ode to that ever growing Ocean of believers. It was to be the 9th North American Tour where the peak was well and truly reached. After such a trek, such a high a proper break was very much overdue. 3 months later Headley Grange was once again the preferred location for Led Zeppelin to get back to work.

Of the 8 new compositions that provided both the backbone and widescreen inspiration on Physical Graffiti, Sick Again is certainly the most strident and roadworthy. We are lucky to have two completely different early versions to chart the growth and composition of the song. The companion disc glimpse from October 25th '73 is short, powerful and a brief but compelling snapshot of Jimmy's groinal riff, with just a small hint at the unique and insistent cross rhythm syncopation John was to bring to the between verse strut.



A much fuller version appears on the 63 minute rehearsal tapes, most likely from November, and much more of the structure - alternative intro aside - is in place. Once hammered into place Robert found a metre and a theme. Becoming disillusioned with some of the groupie scene and situations, Sick Again is a tale of an era falling away, of lost souls searching for that teenage dream, built and embellished over the years and tours through high schools and elder siblings. Robert was once quoted as saying " Such a shame, they haven't got the style they had in the old days - way back in '68". The era of the GTO's, the Plastercasters and the rest was fading away, and the '73 Tour provided the last vestiges of the era with after show parties on the Starship and onstage namechecks for the Butterqueen.



The gist and flavour of that '73 trek is captured well in Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe's own memoir of his first great Rock 'n' Roll adventure.




Away from the tale itself, Sick Again is an out and out Rocker that struts along with consummate ease. The Rhythm section is superb, Jonesy precise and understated while John lays down some outstanding precision depth charges and outrageous rolls around the skins while never overpowering the song. Jimmy splits the riff across different guitar dubs, keeping it subtle and interesting without losing the punch of the riff and solo's with a lovely sense of melody and urgency. Robert, in the middle of throat problems and an imminent operation, is hoarse but clear, adding to the feeling of road tiredness in the lyrics.






It closes the LP, and as such is sometimes forgotten amid so much greatness that came before on the set. Essentially a live number, it was to be the first new music fans heard on the '75 Tour, being placed second in the set, powering in after Rock And Roll. As a short, sharp punch it didn't vary much length wise onstage, and much of the variation was down to Jimmy as he toyed with phased effects and long bent low notes to create a mesmeric drone over Bonzo's powerful rhythms. 




The coda also gave Robert and Jimmy some vocal/guitar scat workouts, more disciplined than Dazed And Confused and a nod towards Nobody's Fault But Mine and the live madness of Achilles. 


As second song it was played at all 42 '75 shows, and is a good indication of the health of the band and acoustics of the increasingly large and unforgiving venues. For the '77 shows it retained second slot, now following after The Song Remains The Same and a short The Rover interlude and if anything is even more muscular and insistent than in '75. Robert's vocal harmonizer gives it a different, more hysterical feel, and is perfect as a prelude to his customary 'Good Evening!' greeting. Although we are to yet have all of the tour on tape, it's a pretty safe bet it was played on all 44 shows.








The last times Led Zeppelin performed Sick Again was in 1979. Missing from the first Copenhagen warm up, it appeared at the other 3 shows, but later on in the set between Trampled and Achilles. Good, powerful versions but with the subject matter and all Zeppelin had been through it seems slighty out of time, a postcard from the past. 




There are no singles or EP's, and I've yet to see a Polish or Russian flexi disc. On film, we have 5 Pro-shot versions from the two Earls' Court films, Seattle and the two Knebworth shows. Cine film from '75 has clips from New York Feb 7th (very close 8mm time coded from the pit), Philadelphia Feb 8th, Dallas March 4th and the first two LA Forum shows. 



In '77 we have the 3rd Chicago show on April 9th (the night Jimmy collapsed and the bootleg LP was titled 'Sick Again'),

the final Maryland show on May 30th, Madison Square June 11th, two of the LA Forum shows - June 22nd and 27th - and finally the  first Day On The Green show at Oakland on July 23rd.




Post Zeppelin, Jimmy resurrected it with the Black Crowes and brought the various guitar dubs and harmonies to life for the first time.