Now the 50th is upon us, celebrations for fans old and new are now reaching a fair pace. Already I've added two exceptional publications to an increasingly creaking book shelves, and this mighty tome completes something of a holy trinity. I have known Dave Lewis for 30 years now, from when I collaborated on his 'A Celebration' book. Fast forward to today and the amazing growth of knowledge, memorabilia, recordings and film - and the volume of official releases - is astounding.
First impressions are simply this - stunning. Weighing in at a hefty 576 pages, it really is special. From the incisive foreword by Zeppelin tour manager Richard Cole, it immediately becomes compelling. Two prologues follow, the first covering the years 1958 to 1967 and focusing on the individual members activities. The second is a fascinating and excellently detailed history of 1968, with tour dates from The Yardbirds, Band Of Joy, Obs-Tweedle and best of all more than 20 shows Bonzo played with Tim Rose during the spring and summer of 1968.
The detail and the passion is what sets this book apart. There are 516 confirmed shows, 6 unconfirmed, 11 sessions and TV appearances and 86 cancelled shows all given a microscopic analysis, to the point where almost 400 - including 19 cancelled shows - have ticket stubs illustrated here. Just confirming the detail and unending search we've all been on for (much of) the last half century.
Photo's of venues, both outside and inside, flyers and programmes illuminate the evocative text for every entry. Some wonderful pictures - the four pictures from the Kinetic Playground, Chicago on May 23/24 from the late, great Howard Mylett collection on page 103 spring to mind - help to bring the story, the journey to life.
Cross referencing the audience, radio and soundboard recordings brings a direct link for those that focus their collecting on the audio side of Zeppelin, aided by reference to the various 8mm cine film and broadcast visual clips that have surfaced in the last half century.
Alongside Luis Rey's recent 5th addition 'Evenings With...' makes you want to reach for that LP, that CD, that tape and delve and relive the power, mystery and the hammer of the gods. And one of the biggest compliments I can make is inside all of this the text is not dry and unerring. Dave and Mike have made it interesting, alive and beguiling. Unlike so many reference books that leave me cold and read like a phone book, this is bright and sparkles.
Drawing from so many sources of inspiration over this long and never ending Led Zeppelin journey, they've strived to and achieved a fantastic database (for want of a better word) of those wonderful Evenings with Led Zeppelin. Taking a step back you can only marvel at their inexorable rise from unbilled opening act to stadium headliners, from hungry young men knocking at the door of the late 60's headliners to the biggest band in the World.
There are some contentious dates and venues, which some of us will debate long into many a long night with a beer and a quizzical look, but Dave and Mike know more than enough to explain and elucidate their reasons for placing of shows such as Boston 25/1/69 from 28/5/69 and their argument is both understandable and compelling.
Evenings with Led Zeppelin works on so many levels. In 2018 we've heard, seen and learnt so much since those halcyon days of Howard's first book, the at the time ground breaking A Celebration and the next level compendium The Concert File. As with every Zeppelin publication it's almost immediately outdated the moment it goes to print, as it is with Luis' Tape Documentary, as just one newly surfaced recording or ticket stub gives us new information or questions old truths.
This book is an utter triumph, a vast pool of knowledge and amongst the finest publications on ANY band, let alone those myriad of tomes about Led Zeppelin. Very few books are completely essential. This is...
