LED ZEPPELIN - FOR YOUR LIFE

 'Hear her cry for mercy, in the City of the Damned  - 
uh oh baby, Damned'

November 20th 1975 was the date, and Led Zeppelin were drawing their time working on the new LP to a close. After the initial burst of tour rehearsal energy in Musicland Studios brought forth Achilles Last Stand, Royal Orleans and Hots On For Nowhere, the second week saw Led Zeppelin drawing deeper into half finished riffs and ideas. 

For Your Life is taken at a deliberately slow, solid sleaze bump and grind pace, interwoven with some lovely and intricate rhythm section cross patterns and time shifts. 

Now the screaming and fist banging has subsided, Led Zeppelin explore the underbelly of not only their musical creativity but (lyrically and figuratively at least) their collective experiences. If Sick Again took a peek behind the dressing room and Riot House doors, it did so in a wagging finger but tongue in cheek way - 'said you done since you were thirteen then you giggle as you heave and sigh' for example. 

It's the Circus camping on the village green, the bright lights attracting innocent moths to the flame of excitement. Here today, another town tomorrow so let loose and then back to reality. 

For Your Life is delving much deeper and much darker, Robert is understandably through with not the circus but the longer term hangers on and the problems and addictions they leave in their wake. Suitably, Jimmy drags a growling sludge-groove out of his rarely recorded lake placid blue Fender Stratocaster, swooping and clawing at the figures over a restrained but always ready to explode rhythm section.

I've always loved his tremelo work, the dissonance and tempo defying blats of sound. Cadillac by The Firm has always stood out, in alive setting in particular, and of course the strident descending riff and call and response vibrancy on In The Evening. 

In turn all knowing and cynical, it for me is genius. The outtake dated November 20th on the companion disc has an even more desperate, wrung out guitar solo and different and more obscured lyrics from Robert as the tale unfolds. 

Coming after the exuberance of Achilles Last Stand it brings us back to Earth but is strident enough to keep the energy levels high. Referring in part to For Your Life, Robert commented the elpee has 'some of Led Zeppelin's hottest moments - agitated, uncomfortable, druggy, pained'. He's not far wrong.

It never made it to the live Zeppelin stage. Sick Again was preferred as a vehicle of tour carnage tales in 1977 and 1979. Who knows if it would have been given the nod for the 80/81 proposed shows...

Post Zeppelin Jimmy toyed with it during soundchecks in Japan with David Coverdale (instrumentally of course), but undoubtedly it was a surprise and triumph at the O2 Tribute gig. Detuning gave it even more grunge, but Jason gets it spot on and the spirit of Led Zeppelin really does fly high here. It fits right in, at a great place in the set too. Inspired stuff.

LED ZEPPELIN - JULY 24TH. PITTSBURGH 73, USA FAREWELL AND DANISH WARM UP PART TWO

JULY 24TH 1973

THREE RIVERS STADIUM, PITTSBURGH, PA

The final tour date before the New York residency and finale. Movie crew in tow and in high spirits, Led Zeppelin loosen up and make 40,000 boogie and shake. Fantastic performance, flowing and full of confidence. 

Before boarding the Starship earlier that day renowned photographer Bob Gruen took up Robert's suggestion to take some pictures of Led Zeppelin standing in front of their jet. The resulting shoot has become iconic and printed and reprinted around the World. Looking tired yet supremely confident and self assured, the images show in an instant just how far they'd come in four short years. 

The show itself was an open air event, at the stadium used by both the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers. Despite some reports of minor incidents among the crowd, they various tapes attest to the positive reception and great audience interraction throughout the show. And Led Zeppelin took no prisoners, powerfully and succinctly playing their music.

Once again, the show really heats up with Misty Mountain Hop, the stomping boogie getting everyone really moving. The juxtaposed contrast with a dramatic almost a show in itself Since I've Been Loving You is prefect, Robert ad libbing and changing the lyrics to include a winsome 'please don't sent me to the Heartbreak Hotel...' as Jimmy winds it down. 

No Quarter is short and to the point but still dynamic and menacing, but the weight of improvisation and drama still falls on the shoulders of Dazed And Confused where the seamlessly oiled Led Zeppelin machine is tested, twisted and turned by a mischevious and brilliant Jimmy Page.

Shame that all 3 (so far) tapes miss parts of the coda, guess they all used C90's! A fantastic climax builds moment by moment as Heartbreaker turns and teases and Robert and Jimmy extend the boogie until they're satiated. 

The Ocean rounds off a superb night, much more than a dress rehearsal for the Madison Square Garden finale. No soundboard has yet appeared, but the 3 source tapes have been knitted together for the various CD's of the show. 

There are some 8mm clips from here, as seen on the official ledzeppelin.com website. The 4 1/2 minute colour clip includes 2 minutes or so on the runway (including part of the Bob Gruen shoot) and part of the escorted cavalcade before stage left clear close footage with sound of part of Rock And Roll and Jimmy's solo in Black Dog.

JULY 24TH 1977

DAY ON THE GREEN, OAKLAND-ALAMEDA COUNTY COLISEUM, CALIFORNIA

The last brawl. A sadly premature farewell the the USA. Compared to the previous afternoon, let alone the rest of the tour, this is a disappointing performance. The tape doesn't help, a clear enough but flat recording lacking any cohesive power, no doubt not helped by being a large open air stadium. 

Feelings are running high after the incident backstage after yesterday's show, and although Robert makes no direct mention he does thank Bill Graham for the shows. Rumours have abounded over the years over documents being signed to absolve responsibility before Led Zeppelin took the stage. Whatever the truth is, they were running late and the show was not only subdued but shorter and more hurried than the day before. 

Having said that the middle section of the show is the best part, relaxed and almost intimate. The acoustic tracks suit the mood, and the band are enjoying themselves enough to throw in the second Mystery Train of the tour before Black Country Woman. Trampled Underfoot has been thrown in to replace Bonzo's showcase and to get the crowd moving, and has some nice call and response moments, but by the end Stairway To Heaven and the band sound tired, almost worn out. 

A crunching Rock And Roll is the last live Led Zeppelin heard in the United States.
The last 7 shows of what was a record breaking tour are cancelled immediately after Robert's loss, and we're left with this as a final unconvincing and fragmented document of Led Zeppelin in the USA.

Chunks of the performance were bootlegged as The Last Brawl 2 elpee set and 3/4 of the deluxe gatefold sleeve 4 elpee Alpha & Omega that pretended to include the US debut in Denver on disc 1 but instead lied and shamelessly pressed up a running slow edited version of the Spokane December 30th 1968 tape. The various CD's at least preserve the complete tape even if sound wise they're not much better. Historical for what it is, not for the performance.

JULY 24TH 1979

FALKONER THEATER, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

A second night and a second try. Knebworth is looming over the horizon and Led Zeppelin need to get it right. Robert pronounced the first night as 'ok', but a hammering from the Danish press and the £10 ticket price (Knebworth was £7.50) has left some unsold tickets and a less expectant and demanding crowd. 

Under pressure, Led Zeppelin deliver. There is some hesitation and nervousness but the power is palpable. The fantastic clear recording, compression free and almost widescreen, makes the harder numbers all the more impressive. Once again No Quarter is both a high point and turning point of the show. Short and muscular, it may not have the relaxed improvisation of some of the best 1977 versions but it also lacks the indulgence and is better for it. 

Ten Years Gone has been added to the set, after a pause to set up Jonesy's triple neck and bass pedals which results in a quipped apology from Robert and the time honoured Danish clapping and chanting urging the band on. 

After a delicate Rain Song things are in danger of losing momentum as Jimmy's Danelectro showcase is bitty and uninspired. 

But from that point on Kashmir lifts everything. Sick Again and Achilles Last Stand are very powerful and strident and Jimmy's bow extravaganza and the new epic In The Evening show Led Zeppelin growing in confidence and stature.

Even a downbeat Stairway To Heaven is a celebration like an old friend and everyone leaves the stage happy. 

Encore time is the debut of the new revamed Whole Lotta Love, no funk or theremin, just a succession of heavy riffs underpinned by Bonzo's on the button syncopation. At a little over 2 and 1/2 hours, Led Zeppelin can consider it job done. Not quite ready in many ways, but much rust and fear removed and a quiet if nervous confidence instilled.

The wonderful 'Copenhagen Warm Ups' 3 elpee set has the whole show in great quality in a slick black sleeve with changed song titles, White Cat, No Dimes, Ulysses First Fall etc. Various CD's use the same sterling quality tape, some grouping together both nights and even putting all the 1979 shows into one set. 

Two years after the last brawl Led Zeppelin return, and although it was ultimately not to be in the long run, in July 1979 it was a good time to be a Led Zeppelin fan, Knebworth tickets in hand.

LED ZEPPELIN - JULY 23RD. BALTIMORE, THE OAKLAND BRAWL AND NEW HOPE IN COPENHAGEN

JULY 23RD 1973

CIVIC CENTER, BALTIMORE, MD

And the show rolls on. This may be a 'standard' set, but there's nothing standard about the playing. With Robert in fine voice and the band impressively tight but loose, confidence pours from every moment. With 4 more shows to go, including the 3 night stand at Madison Square Garden, the end is obviously in sight and the band play with a new freedom and abandon.

Sadly we've yet to hear a soundboard from this show and we've just the one ok audience recording as reference. Even so, the quality and power shines through. The set list, which raised a few eyebrows among fans with it's lack of acoustic set and long improvisations, now seems more than perfect. 

All the boxes are ticked. The 3 song lift off to get the sound right, the band tight and the hysteria stoked. Over The Hills And Far Away may seem like a restbite at first glance, but it's main objective is to cement the groove and give Jimmy a chance to grease his fingers duelling with the muscular depth charges and fills from Bonzo. After that the medley of Misty Mountain Hop and Since I've Been Loving You is scary and delightful here. After the boogie of the Hop, Robert really excels in his blues motifs and figures, jousting not only with Jimmy's spitfire licks but the rhythm sections ebb and flow. Magical.

No Quarter is now a show stopper. More and more extended, the band follow Jonesy's lead and threaten to overpower him before he steers them back to shore before a spooky and assured coda. The ovation and near hysteria here shows Baltimore KNOWS. 

After that, we get the most unhinged and bizarre Dazed And Confused I've ever heard. Pagey either gets lost or is too spaced out to notice he leads the band into the call and response/fast chase post-bow jam before the San Francisco section. The band follow right up the point where they power through the Holst Mars riff leading into the final verses, and they stop and go back to Frisco and the bow sketch. Improvisation? Lost? Narcotics? Take your pick, but fun and no harm done. 

The finale is wonderful, a band in the groove with an uplifting Stairway To Heaven and almost out of control Heartbreaker. Before the encore Robert leads everyone into a few lines from I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside and then a crunching The Ocean. Great fun and a brilliant 3 hour maelstrom of Led Zeppelin crunch. 

This is the show where the legendary Peter Grant The Song Remains The Same backstage stand off with the promoter took place. Captured brilliantly in the film, looking at it now it's such a timepiece to the time and the might and power of Led Zeppelin.  So horrified by the awful portrayal in Vinyl a while back..... With that footage it would have been a perfect counter balance to have some footage of Peter at home with his cats and relaxing away from the mania and stress of managing the Greatest Rock n Roll Band in the World.

We do have a couple of CD's of this show, all from the same audience recording. Sadly not better, but importantly it exists and we can enjoy it. Greatly.

JULY 23RD 1977

DAY ON THE GREEN, OAKLAND-ALEMEDA COUNTY COLISEUM, CALIFORNIA

The 11th US 'Magick' Tour is getting going again now, after a stodgy start to the 3rd leg in Seattle and a spaced out adventure in Tempe. Two shows back home in California before the final run through a handful of enormodomes and a stop off in Chicago to apologize for the truncated 'food poisoning' show in April. That was the plan. Tragically, everything stopped and things would never be the same again. 

So, California sunshine. With Derringer and Judas Priest opening, Led Zeppelin play to 55,000 and in the glaring light of day show the best and worst of the 1977 model. At times inspired, and others complacent and weary. The only near complete recording we have is distant and without much fidelity, but is good enough to enjoy. 

As usual the extended songs are the most interesting. The openers are strong and muscular, but it takes until No Quarter for things to really open up. Here's where the band seem to lift and get interested, the possibility of something different musically, the edge of the unknown. The acoustic set is relaxed and joyous, Robert talking endlessly and basking in the sun. He's getting back to top form, with his (now legendary) Nurses Do It Better blue t-shirt and self defacing humour proudly on show.

There's no Bonzo showcase, with a huge stadia in the middle of the day and no screens it would have been risky. Jimmy, however, tests everyone's patience with his aural sorcery, killing the momentum a powerful Kashmir stirred up. the finale is as usual, a reverential Stairway To Heaven and a shock second encore of Black Dog as Led Zeppelin start to really enjoy themselves and let loose. even without Moby Dick there's almost 3 hours of power, mystery and the Hammer of the Gods. 

Of course, this is the show where the backstage incident took all the headlines. Suffice to say, what's been reported and revealed over the years is awful and regrettable, but it goes to show what happens at the heart of a military operation when power, paranoia and drugs take hold and accountability is dismissed. The bootlegs from the second show 'The Last Brawl' leave a bitter taste in what was to be Led Zeppelin's Californian and American farewell. 

There are a few CD's of the OK tape, and some footage as well. There's about 8 or 9 minutes of clear but shaky colour cine  film with sound of assorted clips, and recently a 17 minute pro shot distant documentary style clip with ok but distorted sound. Both show the immense crowd, the wonderful weather and the soon to be lampooned Stonehenge stage set up. 

JULY 23RD 1979

FALKONER THEATER, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

One day short of two years after they last picked up their instruments with intent, Led Zeppelin return to the stage. For a long time many of us thought it wouldn't, even shouldn't, happen. \the awful tragedy that struck Robert made the band's future not only uncertain but ultimately completely unimportant. After a long time of grieving and reflection, Bonzo finally persuaded his buddy to pick up the microphone again and revive Led Zeppelin.

As it was in 1968, the faithful hound that is Copenhagen was taken out for a walk and a play in the park. With two mammoth Knebworth shows around the corner, the behemoth that is Led Zeppelin needs to limber up and show their worth to an adoring and startled audience. The set has changed again. Celebration day replaces Sick Again and Black Dog is drafted in to add some bludgeon to the initial assault. The acoustic set is dropped, replaced by The Rain Song and Trampled Underfoot underlines the latter set power and boogie. 

Two and a half hours on paper, it's a much better show than the press suggest. The fantastically clear bootleg tapes highlight a band ready and pushing forward. Sometimes mechanical, there is sloppiness as Misty Mountain Hop almost falls apart and in Since I've Been Loving You the old intensity is gone replaced by a more reflective but no less dramatic instrumental landscape. 

No Quarter is shorter than 1977 but therefore much more dynamic and impressive, and by Kashmir Led Zeppelin are hitting some home runs. Despite Robert's constant hesitant apologies it's a much better night than reported or expected. The comeback is on.

Not long after the shows the great 3LP 'Melacholy Danish Pageboys Get It On' bootleg appeared, copied from vinyl for the first CD's and then taken from the excellent circulating tapes. 

LED ZEPPELIN - GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES

'When my woman left home with a brown eyed man and I still don't seem to care'

So, think of one of your favourite bands. You want to play something to a friend who doesn't know their music, so it has to be to the point and highlight what you like about that band. And how many bands or artists can you think of that have the opening track on the opening LP that does just that? And more...

Beginning with a double punch blast, Good Times, Bad Times does that extraordinary thing of not only introducing this new, vibrant and exciting band and their music but sounding the death knell for the band from whose ashes they rose. Although the gate and pop sensibility of  The Yardbirds is clearly an influence, the muscular dexterity and unnerving power and confidence is, with all due respect, way beyond anything The Yardbirds could achieve. And this is just a taster, a sample of what was to come.

Each and every member plays their part - Jonesy plays the greatest fills, percussive and rhythmic and at the same time deftly melodic. Robert's voice and lyrics are frightening. How could this voice come from a floppy haired teenager? Surely it's the bastard offspring of Howling Wolf, Janis Joplin, Robert Johnson and Steve Marriott mixed together in a lab by some mad Rock scientist. 

Jimmy was the conductor, the mentor. His economic guitar slashes and fills hold everything together and back, creating an increasingly unstable tension that gives way after the sudden stop before his first Led Zeppelin solo, a thousand notes a second flurry swirling out of the speakers from his Telecaster via that Supro amp and those revolving Leslie speakers.

But, above and beyond all of the above, was Bonzo. His immediate arrival, with that astonishingly syncopated and strident bass drum flurry is an instant head turner. What? How? Eh? Try and remember back when you first heard it. Astonishing doesn't even come close. 

So there you have it, the coming together of four extraordinary talents and the whole is even greater than the sum of their considerable parts. Rehearsed in Pangbourne and recorded at Olympic, it was chosen as a single alongside Communication Breakdown. Some of the rarest ever Led Zeppelin singles come from this, the UK Promo 7" (Atlantic 584 269) and the much rarer 1-sided EMIdisc acetate 584 268. 48 years on, even stock US copies are getting harder to find.

Live, we have no complete performances from Led Zeppelin. During the European shows in October 1969 and the subsequent US Tour the opening bars and riff start the show before the band hurtle into Communication Breakdown. On the 6th US Tour it returned the favour, morphing out of the opening encore of Communication until guitar solo time when it kinda falls away into a jam instigated by a John Paul Jones bass solo. 

So far, only shows at New Haven 15/8, Hampton 17/8, Tulsa 21/8, Oakland 2/9 and the fabled 'Blueberry Hill'  show from the LA Forum 4/9 have this medley. The later gigs of the tour morphed into American Woman, high in the charts from the Guess Who at the time.

The last we heard of it was the most complete, during the mad Japanese debut shows in 1971 it's played on the first night in Tokyo on September 23rd and in a long, breathtaking version at the final show in Osaka on September 29th, both inside long exhausting Whole Lotta Love medleys. 

We now have an amazing 30 minutes of that first Tokyo show on cine film with very good sound excellently dubbed on and it includes a few brief seconds...

Post Zeppelin, it was famously performed as the opening track at the O2 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute show, detuned yet still powerful and full of swagger and intent. 

LED ZEPPELIN - GOING TO CALIFORNIA

'Seems that the wrath of the Gods got a punch on the nose'

After the summer of love and the legends of San Francisco and Los Angeles grew, a trail of troubadours made their way to the Californian sunshine with heads full of an idyllic life and pleasure, a simple life of ideals, love and peace.  Joining the likes of David Crosby and Graham Nash, Canadian born songstress Joni Mitchell hooked up with the crowd and began a solo career that lifts and excites to this day.

Led Zeppelin conquered and fell in love with California, the lifestyle and the aura. As they began writing material for the Untitled 4th elpee, this simple and evocative acoustic number came into being. Built around a simple picking Page guitar motif, John Paul Jones adds beautiful mandolin before Robert weaves his tale of a wonderful, simple life smoking his stuff and drinking his wine.

There's even a mention of the frequent tremors and earthquakes they experienced out there, about the wrath of God and those mountains of dreams. And how it's not so hard...

Rehearsed and recorded at Headley Grange, it was recorded on January 29th - the same day as The Battle Of Evermore and Misty Mountain Hop. Certainly a productive day, there's a feelgood factor running through as well as much creativity too.

It was performed from the off at Belfast Ulster Hall on March 5th 1971 where it was the sole acoustic number but was to be joined by That's The Way by the time they reached the BBC Paris Studios(the first song Zeppelin performed acoustically live the previous summer) and added a perfect change of pace and mood to the set. Sometimes hampered by PA problems and boisterous crowds, GTC sounds personal and beguiling from day one. A love song for a generation and a dream.

I've always loved the BBC Paris Studios version, gentle and fragile right down to the lone tambourine coda, previewed on the air some 7 months and 7 days before the official release of the 4th album. There are only 5 (so far) recorded live versions from Europe in the spring and summer of 1971, but the 7th North American Tour is better documented and we have 8 versions from the 21 date trek. The LA Forum show on August 21st - It's debut IN California - is suitably light and winsome, but my favourite is the performance at Berkeley on September 14th, made famous by the legendary vinyl bootleg aptly named Going To California.

It starred again in Japan where Tangerine was added to the lengthening acoustic interlude, and would remain right through to the finale of the 8th North American Tour in Tuscon on June 28th 1972, although it's missing from that bootleg making the Long Beach show the previous night the last recorded '72 performance. Throughout this period it was played deftly and faithfully, Robert's vocal ad libs and Jonesy's wonderful Mandolin figures transforming it into a set highlight on many occasions. 

The decision to cut back on the acoustic set after that tour meant it was almost 35 months before it was played onstage again, at the Earls' Court 'summer season' shows. By then it was a celebration of itself, a retrospective look at a lost time, and Robert's introductions alone showed how much affection he had for the song and what it represents.

Following the success of the acoustic interlude at Earls' Court and the usual metamorphosis of the live set, GTC was revived for the 1977 shows where it once again shone despite some nights fighting against the combined disturbances of huge, usually restless crowds and bursts of firecrackers. 

After that it was gone. Sadly, no acoustic set at Knebworth with ten Years Gone and The Rain Song chosen as the mood lightening numbers. 

A lovely, simple tune, it highlights both Robert's confident and heartfelt vocal style and Jonesy's underrated mandolin figures. Always a crowd pleaser, always a pleasure.

It's certainly a 'Robert' song, and one he always loved singing. His vocal style and range changed over the years, and by 1977 his inflections and nuances gave a simple 'around the oak tree' ballad even more poignancy. 

Apart from the myriad of official audio releases - IV, the alternate companion disc mix, HTWWW, BBC Sessions - there are 82 bootleg versions out there. We're also lucky to have some footage too. there's the wonderful cine clip from Chicago 5-9-71 plus the final 2 Earls' Court nights and of course Seattle 17-7-77, all 3 of them pro-shot.

Not a single, it appears on the rare Acoustically Australian 7" EP and on the flip of a rare South African 7" of Rock And Roll.

Post Zeppelin both John Paul and Robert, the two real stars of the song, have played it. I love the above clip from the Mike bullard Show in 2000 filmed in Toronto in the same building that was previously the Rockpile!

Robert has played it, like Jonesy with a myriad of line ups, including Pearl Jam at the Hurricane Katrina benefit show. It was also played on the Unledded 1996 shows and the 1998 Clarkesdale Tour.

LED ZEPPELIN - JULY 21ST FIRST KISS AND PROVIDENCE CRUMBLES

JULY 21ST 1969

SCHAEFER MUSIC FESTIVAL, WOLLMAN RINK THEATER, CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK

Back to the Big Apple, Led Zeppelin play 2 sets sharing the bill with blues legend BB King, It's a 'standard' set list, pushing You Shook Me ahead of Jimmy's showcase before the ever extending How Many More Times. 

They're having a whale of a time, Robert sounding happy and confident inbetween fantastic vocals in his call and response games with Jimmy in I Can't Quit You Baby and particularly an extended You Shook Me that includes a hint of Rock Me Baby, tipping their hats to BB no doubt. 

The set finale is the highlight, with a joking Woody Woodpecker Theme before they get into a groove that includes (probably) the first time they get into For What It's Worth.

As it climaxes, Robert croons You Make Me Feel So Young after an x-rated Lemon Song interlude that has everyone laughing and smiling. The final blowout is chaos. Communication Breakdown is fast, punk and breathless.

This must be the first set, for a start it's very relaxed and you would expect that by the second set it would be more edgy. Also, one review mentioned a 'four encore colossus'. Doubtful the taper would have stopped recording after the first encore, and the main tape edit is around the 42/43 minute suggesting it was a C90 tape so there was plenty of room for the rest....

This was also the first time Stanley Elsen (Paul Stanley) and Chaim Witz (Gene Simmons) of Kiss saw Led Zeppelin, an event they remember with enthusiasm and wonder, one of the pivotal moments in their determination to be Rawk Stars! 

Originally the circulating tape was very poor, phasing mono and some distortion too. Over the years we've had upgrades making it a better more pleasurable listen. The first vinyl bootleg I saw was the 2 picture disc set that included the Milan 71 snippet on side 4. 

There was also a terrible quality Japanese Acetate The Dirty Dozens on the appropriately titled Ass record label. On CD there are a few, with Live At Central Park on Empress Valley probably the clearest. Great, great show.

Incidentally, overnight on July 20/21st a much more historical event took place - the Apollo 11 moon landing. One Zeppelin related thing I remember is being given a copy of the complete Alexis Korner BBC session on tape before the Page & Plant Poole show on July 16th 1995 and the story goes the taper left a reel to reel running to record the BBC World Service transmission of the landing and after that broadcast finished the session was among other stuff on air that night. 

JULY 21st 1973

CIVIC CENTRE, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Fantastic show, a fave of mine from this tour. Robert's voice is getting stronger and he's going for it,cracking at first but getting back to his best of the tour. The crowd is rowdy, a noticeable problem on this tour, and he has to lecture them after the 'silliness' as he puts it in Boston the night before, giving a big clue as to why that show was truncated without the encore bacchanalia.

The section of Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You and No Quarter is amazing, the 4 instruments (to me Robert's voice IS that 4th instrument) dovetail,duck and weave and create some truly magical moments of musicality and drama. Jonesy pushes them in No Quarter and the response is unique and makes you smile. 

Although slightly cut, Dazed And Confused is a downright brutal aural assault, Jimmy flying out of this world and matched by his co conspirators beat for beat. Performances like this stand up the theory of a form of ESP, double guessing or anticipation of each other's next move, lick or riff. NO ONE else has ever sounded like Led Zeppelin in heat. 

Sadly, after a five string bass led Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love misses much of the wonderfully lunatic Theremin sketch, but the final climax with The Ocean rounds off an outstanding show. With 5 shows to go and the 'sharks' in place to capture some of the magic on celluloid, Led Zeppelin are reaching new heights both commercially and (onstage at least) musically. 

We have almost 2 1/2 hours of this show on a very clear, close audience recording. Post vinyl, there are few CD sets, the LZ Rider on Tarantura and There's So Much More Sound To Hear on Empress Valley do the job, occasional inappropriate noise reduction not withstanding. And there's still more of the Eastern Seaboard to lay waste too as New York holds its' breath....