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Led Zeppelin's best live performance


Armani

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Of the shows Armani mentioned, I'd say Royal Albert Hall 1970 (they played there in '69 but there are no known tapes), Earls Court 1975, and L.A. June 1977 are the most highly regarded. Seattle '77 is very long and interesting in some respects, but far from one of their best shows. Parts of it are a train wreck.

I also really like the July '73 NYC "The Song Remains the Same" shows - but again, not their best.

In addition to these, I agree with the previous commenters that the Europe '73 tour was among their strongest. Southampton sounds great but Plant's voice is a mess, and the performance is a little uneven (although the HMMT-Communication Breakdown encore - oh my!). The UK and continental shows in March, however, are probably the strongest. Offenburg (as Wolfman says) is considered the best, but I think Essen and Vienna are pretty terrific too.

And then there's Japan 1971 - legendary, and deservedly so.

As for the single best performance, that's nearly impossible to answer, because the band sounded so different, and played such different sets, in different eras.

It's somewhat arbitrary, but I would probably rule out shows that didn't feature a full, long set (so that rules out almost everything before 1970), and that didn't include any acoustic numbers (which rules out the 1975 U.S. tour). I'd also rule out anything in '79 or '80 because I can think of only one performance (07 24 79 Copenhagen) that, as a whole, could rival their best performances in any other era.

So for a Top Five performances, I'd say you could start narrowing things down as follows:

(1) The 09-04-1970 LA "Blueberry Hill" show

(2) The 06 25 or 27 LA/Long Beach "How the West Was Won" shows

(3) Your favorite European date from March '73

(4) Your favorite Earls Court show (IMHO either May 24 or 25)

(5) Your favorite June '77 L.A. Show (Most folks seem to think 06 21, 22 or 23 is the best)

Edited by tmtomh
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Hamburg, Germany 3/21/73

Agreed.

Hamburg is pretty terrific ! This is the best of all the German Spring dates for me.

If only we'd have the whole soundboard instead of this very partial recording ....and still it shines brightly as one of the BEST LZ shows ever.

Come on, cruel and inhuman hoarders ! Liberate this beauty, after all these years ....

Edited by seaweed gate
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4-27-69 is pretty strong. NY '70 is epic. 1971 is an awesome year for the boys, those Japanese shows are raging and the Berkeley show (Sept. 14th) is HOT! The spring '73 shows feature the Page/Bonham machine at its finest. March of '75 had some monster shows too! Of course the LA '77 dates are legendary. I play 8/4/79, and Frankfurt '80 very often. Ther are a bunch of really great shows, too many to choose just one. What a band!!!!!

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  • 1 month later...

^^ Hi Reggie!!

New Orleans 73 and Baton Rouge 75...because I was at those :toast:

Armani, I have many bootlegs (CD's and some DVD's) that great friends have sent me, and anything that's official I own....and there are so many amazing shows. :peace:

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I agree with Deborah J, if you were there you experienced the whole thing, but the bootlegs come a close second to those of us who couldn't travel the world to see the various concerts. That is why this web site is so good as people from all over the world can share their experiences of Led Zeppelin live.

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I agree with Deborah J, if you were there you experienced the whole thing, but the bootlegs come a close second to those of us who couldn't travel the world to see the various concerts. That is why this web site is so good as people from all over the world can share their experiences of Led Zeppelin live.

Hi Joe!

You said it perfectly..it was an experience to see those magnificent creatures live. I so enjoy the concerts I have and every time I listen to them I hear something new. I can't say how important it is to listen to them on a really great sound system.

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the first one until 1973 were the best technically ... the boys were fresh and young and in a very good shape ... but all the wonderful stuff from LZ4 and Physical graffiti weren't there ... so i'll go for knebworth 79' :) specially In The Evening

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I dont think there is any question as to when Zeppelin were at their peak, as far as a live performance.

That would be just about any performance in 1969. The boston tea party comes to mind but there are many.

It is probably the 1 year where Robert's voice along with Jimmy's playing are both at their peak.

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What Led Zeppelin Live Performance is the best.

Examples

Royal Albert Hall-1969

The Song Remians the Same concert-1973

Earls Court-1975

Seattle/Los Angeles-1977

Knebworth-1979

EC_Page-Plant-02.jpg

ledzeppelin003.jpg

250px-Jimmy_Page_with_Robert_Plant_2_-_Led_Zeppelin_-_1977.jpg

Royal Albert Hall-1969

The early years was better

Roger Berlin wave.gif

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  • 4 months later...

I haven't seen or heard every show.. but from all that I have heard, nothing matches the power and near-perfection of Royal Albert Hall, 1970. Robert's voice was at its peak, before he started taking some shortcuts with key changes.. and Jimmy, JPJ and Bonzo are just so raw and fierce and energetic. If I had to show a new fan one show that demonstrated their greatness, this would be it.

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Knebworth & No quarter from 1994,but then JPJ & JB weren't part of it.

Wow, really? I loved the creativity of the reunion... and the alternate arrangements, but Robert's voice was not in good shape whatsoever for that 1994 No Quarter album. When I saw them in on tour, it was much stronger, but when I listen to No Quarter, I found Robert's voice (or lack thereof) to be a really distraction.

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