STRIDER'S 1977 TOUR THREAD

[Strider]

On 9/5/2022 at 12:28 PM, HollywoodBowl1998 said:

What an account Strider. So amazed at all of the detail you could recall!  Given it took you 5 years to write it (life got in the way), I don't feel so bad taking nearly all summer to read it, haha! Life (vacations, yard projects, etc) also got in the way for me. Plus I'm a slow reader who wants to absorb every detail of this seeing as I never got to see Zep in concert; I was born this very year. With probable bias, I think '77  was a fantastic Zep Tour year. Haters can hate and get bent.

I gotta say if you consider the '77 LA Concerts as one entity, this goes down in some serious Zep history, imo. My 'best of' live versions compilation of their concert material has 9 songs from these LA nights. Considering the hundreds of concerts to draw material from, I'd say that in itself is telling of just how cool this leg of the '77 concerts were. So awesome and crazy that you got to witness pretty much all of it.

Questions. Where about in SIBLY are there notes of Tea For One? I've heard this before, but somehow never seem to locate...then I doubt it's the version I'm hearing...then I get side tracked by how cool SIBLY is and forget to listen for TFO. Also, in Show 5 after That's Alright Mama, the bootlegs capture Plant teasing the crowd with a few verses of D'yer Mak'er. Did you recall hearing it live that night?  Did you think they were going to play it? Any concert accounts/recollections on this? One last thing, after the final night, did you sleep for a week? how long did it take to recoup from that epic battle?  Thanks again for this thread!

Cheers,

Brad

 

Thanks Brad. Your live compilation project is amazing. I did not mean to ignore your questions. This thread has been out of mind for so long that I neglect to check it. 

Taking notes and having 1977 tapes to listen help flesh out the memory. I did not take notes in 1975 so those shows are more of a blur than the other tours.

The "D'yer Mak'er" tease did not strike me as much as the "Dancing Days" we got on the final night. I think it is because by then I had already sussed that the band did not like "D'yer Mak'er". It is the only song on "Houses of the Holy" that the band did not play in concert. I did not really care for the song, either, so I don't remember thinking "Wow, they are gonna play it!" Also, Robert was famous for tossing out bits of lyrics in between songs that the band would refuse to join in on. The exceptions being "Rip It Up" at the end of "In My Time of Dying" on June 25, 1977 and a few other times.

No, the tease that fooled me and kind of pissed me off was the little bit of "The Rover" intro we got after "The Song Remains the Same". I really thought they were going to play "The Rover" and then of course they go into "Sick Again" instead. "Sick Again" was okay but for six nights I kept wishing they would just play entire "The Rover" song.

It took me a few days to recover. The last Forum show was on a Monday night. I was refreshed and recovered (and the ringing in my ears gone) by Friday.

[Plant77]

8 hours ago, Strider said:

Thanks Brad. Your live compilation project is amazing. I did not mean to ignore your questions. This thread has been out of mind for so long that I neglect to check it. 

Taking notes and having 1977 tapes to listen help flesh out the memory. I did not take notes in 1975 so those shows are more of a blur than the other tours.

The "D'yer Mak'er" tease did not strike me as much as the "Dancing Days" we got on the final night. I think it is because by then I had already sussed that the band did not like "D'yer Mak'er". It is the only song on "Houses of the Holy" that the band did not play in concert. I did not really care for the song, either, so I don't remember thinking "Wow, they are gonna play it!" Also, Robert was famous for tossing out bits of lyrics in between songs that the band would refuse to join in on. The exceptions being "Rip It Up" at the end of "In My Time of Dying" on June 25, 1977 and a few other times.

No, the tease that fooled me and kind of pissed me off was the little bit of "The Rover" intro we got after "The Song Remains the Same". I really thought they were going to play "The Rover" and then of course they go into "Sick Again" instead. "Sick Again" was okay but for six nights I kept wishing they would just play entire "The Rover" song.

It took me a few days to recover. The last Forum show was on a Monday night. I was refreshed and recovered (and the ringing in my ears gone) by Friday.

Hello Mr. Strider. I’ve been trying to find the other tour threads. Perhaps my search skills are not what they should be. I would like to again just let you know how incredible the description of these shows are. Not blowing smoke 💨 up your A$$, you honestly might want to think about putting these recollections/memories/journaled thoughts into a book. I’ve read as many books as I could about Led Zeppelin, solo efforts etc. To be very honest your writing skills, the nuances, the details are just absolutely amazing.

 

Im going to try and search for your other concert threads again, I believe you may have said you were going to expand on another run of concerts. If that has happened already I will certainly want to find that, if it has not, myself and a host of other people are really looking forward to it. 
 

Thanks again for the brilliant thread. It’s undoubtedly a highlight of this forum. A must read for all the new Zeppelin fans, as well as the old heads who have been entrenched in Zeppelin and all that goes with it. Have a great night. 

[HollywoodBowl1998]

On 9/15/2022 at 1:47 PM, Strider said:

Thanks Brad. Your live compilation project is amazing. I did not mean to ignore your questions. This thread has been out of mind for so long that I neglect to check it. 

Taking notes and having 1977 tapes to listen help flesh out the memory. I did not take notes in 1975 so those shows are more of a blur than the other tours.

The "D'yer Mak'er" tease did not strike me as much as the "Dancing Days" we got on the final night. I think it is because by then I had already sussed that the band did not like "D'yer Mak'er". It is the only song on "Houses of the Holy" that the band did not play in concert. I did not really care for the song, either, so I don't remember thinking "Wow, they are gonna play it!" Also, Robert was famous for tossing out bits of lyrics in between songs that the band would refuse to join in on. The exceptions being "Rip It Up" at the end of "In My Time of Dying" on June 25, 1977 and a few other times.

No, the tease that fooled me and kind of pissed me off was the little bit of "The Rover" intro we got after "The Song Remains the Same". I really thought they were going to play "The Rover" and then of course they go into "Sick Again" instead. "Sick Again" was okay but for six nights I kept wishing they would just play entire "The Rover" song.

It took me a few days to recover. The last Forum show was on a Monday night. I was refreshed and recovered (and the ringing in my ears gone) by Friday.

Agreed, this version of In My Time of Dying rocks. Would he have not done it if it wasn't actually Saturday night? Glad it was. I know, I'm not sure why they never played The Rover either. It's a concert worthy song for sure.  When I saw Page/Plant in 1998 they teased Stairway right after BIGLY. I was nearly beside myself as I knew at that time they'd never play it.  I was bummed but in some ways also floored that I got to hear even that much with my own ears. I do think if the '75, '77 and '80 tours had not each been cut short, we would have gotten more of the un-played songs.

Thanks for the aftermath accounts. I bet you slept until 3pm the Tuesday after, haha. You saw my final take of my compilation project, cool. PM me if you want it. No doubt you have the songs already, but for someone like yourself you might appreciate the in between editing of it. Anytime, lemme know.

Cheers,

Brad

 

[jeffmo]

On 12/17/2016 at 2:11 PM, Strider said:

I'm embarrassed to say I never finished and let the thread die on the vine, so-to-speak. 

But as 2017 will be the 40th anniversary of the 1977 tour...and the 45th anniversary of 1972...I will post about both next year and complete the thread.

Strider, I’ve been on a ‘77 tour kick this past week and I’ve revisited your great posts with memories and eye witness accounts.

Did you ever post a thread on your ‘72 shows? Did I miss that?

On a basketball note I was hoping for another Celtics vs Lakers final but both our teams in a big hole.

Jeffmo

[JMH]

I seem to share similar thoughts, as probably many others, that Zeppelin were the masters of dynamics and that in 77 those senses were very sharp when they set up the setlist. The transitions to Kashmir and Achilles are somewhat epic.

 

Additionally, their start of the show with bashing TSRTS & Sick Again is in my opinion the best.

Also, Strider’s note about the 73  transition to Celebration Day is my thought practically one to one. The live versions of CD really stand out. (Pointed out in another thread)

The best of 77, as LA shows are, is really on par with anything they did before even enjoyed through the bootleg filter missing the sense of the event. After all it is not only about Page’s dexterity or Plant’s register but the sum of the parts that weirdly added way more up together than they should have.

 

Posts well worth the effort.

[Spitfire]

On 9/5/2022 at 10:28 PM, HollywoodBowl1998 said:

Questions. Where about in SIBLY are there notes of Tea For One? I've heard this before, but somehow never seem to locate...then I doubt it's the version I'm hearing...then I get side tracked by how cool SIBLY is and forget to listen for TFO.

 

It's a descending octaves lick. If you listen TFO studio version, starting at 5:37 mark, you should be able to recognise it. Variation of that was sometimes played in the intro and solo sections of SIBLY.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Spitfire