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Led Zeppelin's best live performance


Armani

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I was just watching clips from Chicago January 21st 1975. Man the band was on fire, they looked like they were having such a blast too. The people who saw that concert got such a treat. In my humble opinion anyway. :)

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Seattle '77 doesn't need to be mentioned in this thread! :D

I agree. I was there and it was terrible. The most disappointing concert I have ever been to and I go to many. A 3 year wait to see them again and I was their early and was located right up next to the stage and it was just terrible. Completely lacked the chemistry and power of the 2 times I seen them before. It was so bad, I gave up my place and went and sat behind the stage until it was over. However, after saying that, the show in Seattle just a week before the "How the West was Won" shows, was the best concert by far that I have ever seen or heard. I love How the West was Won and it reminds me of the show the week before but it also reminds me of how much greater it was than the shows the following week. Absolutely phenomenal. It's just too bad the sound quality of the boots are so bad. When the band kicked in on the first tune, Immigrant Song, the air in the coliseum immediately became thicker and the sound was powerful and magical. I was blown away in the first few seconds literally and that has never happened again since then. I seen them again the next year in what has been called one of their better performances but I thought they began to slick up their sound a bit and they lost that huge bottom end power that you can hear beginning in 1969, as some have said. And like another poster mentioned earlier that seen them the same year in Tampa, the movie soundtrack, The Song Remains the Same was really disappointing after seeing them live that year. Watching it today is fun but I can still remember the difference in the performances in how it felt to me then. I don't think I finished watching the film when it first came out. Still, that 73 concert is better than most concerts I have seen of other bands since then and that should tell you how great they were in Seattle in 1972. I read someone say awhile back that they compared the Boston Tea Party show and the Seattle 72 show in a similar way as far as how great they were. Listening and watching the 2007 performance and hearing people say how great that was, not on this thread but elsewhere, they have no idea who Led Zeppelin was and how great they were and what youth and chemistry and power can do to sound and music. They will never know. Great to read the posts on here.

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I too am surprised by the number of mentions Seattle '77 is getting. I could certainly see 3/21/75 Seattle being viewed as a latter days peak, but I'm not so sure about 7/17/77...

That being said, like others have mentioned, this is a fairly subjective topic, so if Seattle '77 is what does it for you then enjoy it, and don't let our criticisms of it ruin the experience for you!

I agree and was at the Seattle show in 1977. After seeing them a couple of times before, I thought 77 sucked, at the time I was there but that was based on their concerts prior to that. When I look at the film now, I can watch it where when I was there, I left my position in front of the stage and went and sat in back of the stage. Front up close, I still remember Page looking pale and sick. If you had seem them live around that time or before, trust me, it wasn't very good. This is one case where the film is better than being there and that is a first for me.

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I mus say I prefer "Funeral For a Friend" myself, a personal remaster from someone quite nice

Been looking for this version, haven't found it yet. :(

one_more_f.jpg

I do love this gig - This is the evening show right? The one where Plant comments on Hendrix's passing before That's The Way I think.

Correct, although I believe he also mentioned it in the afternoon show before What is and what should never be.

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09/19/70 is a great gig, but I can't count a performance that doesn't have Kashmir, Achilles Last Stand, Nobody's Fault But Mine, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, and Stairway to Heaven as their greatest live performance.

Booo!!! HISS!!! :thumbdown: JK, looking at your username and your list of songs here I'm assuming your favorite is 6/21/1977? Obviously great too and my favorite post 72 show.

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Hmm, this is very hard, but I think that my favourite performances have to be:

Early days: 29-9-1971

Latter days: 21-6-1977

Agreed. Especially to introduce new listeners to the Led Zeppelin live. One caveat - 9/29/71 is great start to finish. 6/21/77 is a supreme listen without the drum and guitar solos - a huge chunk of the show. For the "middle" period I'd take Offenburg 73. If I had only 3 shows, if all the others were somehow wiped clean, I'd pick those to keep. Of course, should the soundboard for Mobile's 1973 encores become available. ......

Thanks for the post.

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After thinking about this for wayyyy too long, my vote is 9-14-1971 in Berkeley, CA. Unfortunately, big chunks of the show are missing, but what we have is incredible.

The only show that I think is on the same level is 7-21-1973 in Providence, RI. Pieces are missing again, and the sound quality isn't as good as Berkeley, but there is just so much emotion in the music for both of these shows. I would gladly pay thousands of dollars for a multi-track of either.

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Opinions on the best full video show on youtube?

I have the official dvds and what not, but I wondered what everyone thinks the best unreleased full video concert performance is that I can watch on there. I've watched a good chunk of a few of them, but was wanting to sit down one night soon and watch a full gig. 

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On 7/9/2014 at 9:25 PM, Lloydneal said:

I agree. I was there and it was terrible. The most disappointing concert I have ever been to and I go to many. A 3 year wait to see them again and I was their early and was located right up next to the stage and it was just terrible. Completely lacked the chemistry and power of the 2 times I seen them before. It was so bad, I gave up my place and went and sat behind the stage until it was over. However, after saying that, the show in Seattle just a week before the "How the West was Won" shows, was the best concert by far that I have ever seen or heard. I love How the West was Won and it reminds me of the show the week before but it also reminds me of how much greater it was than the shows the following week. Absolutely phenomenal. It's just too bad the sound quality of the boots are so bad. When the band kicked in on the first tune, Immigrant Song, the air in the coliseum immediately became thicker and the sound was powerful and magical. I was blown away in the first few seconds literally and that has never happened again since then. I seen them again the next year in what has been called one of their better performances but I thought they began to slick up their sound a bit and they lost that huge bottom end power that you can hear beginning in 1969, as some have said. And like another poster mentioned earlier that seen them the same year in Tampa, the movie soundtrack, The Song Remains the Same was really disappointing after seeing them live that year. Watching it today is fun but I can still remember the difference in the performances in how it felt to me then. I don't think I finished watching the film when it first came out. Still, that 73 concert is better than most concerts I have seen of other bands since then and that should tell you how great they were in Seattle in 1972. I read someone say awhile back that they compared the Boston Tea Party show and the Seattle 72 show in a similar way as far as how great they were. Listening and watching the 2007 performance and hearing people say how great that was, not on this thread but elsewhere, they have no idea who Led Zeppelin was and how great they were and what youth and chemistry and power can do to sound and music. They will never know. Great to read the posts on here.

I wasn't there but I can relate to this post. This is very well put. 77 may have had the benefit of the tunes from Graffiti and Presence in their repertoire but if I could go back to one show it'd be pre 75. If you saw them in Seattle in 72 then you saw the greatest rock band at the apex of their career. One of the all time greatest rock concerts . 

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1 hour ago, porgie66 said:

I wasn't there but I can relate to this post. This is very well put. 77 may have had the benefit of the tunes from Graffiti and Presence in their repertoire but if I could go back to one show it'd be pre 75. If you saw them in Seattle in 72 then you saw the greatest rock band at the apex of their career. One of the all time greatest rock concerts . 

True, but for the lucky ones who saw them at NY or LA or several other gigs in 77', that was the apex of Zep's career. As much crap as 77' gets, Strider put it best. The majority of that tour was pretty good, however the bad shows were really bad, and that brought down the rest.

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On 2/5/2017 at 2:00 AM, porgie66 said:

If you saw them in Seattle in 72 then you saw the greatest rock band at the apex of their career. One of the all time greatest rock concerts . 

I wholeheartedly agree with you there Porgie! I'd vote for that Seattle concert as Zeppelin's greatest concert ever.

First ever live performances of The Ocean (I believe the only time it wasn't performed as an encore), Black Country Woman (which wouldn't be performed again for another five years and wouldn't be released for another three), Dancing Days (performed TWICE no less!), Over the Hills and Far Away (only time it was performed as an encore).

Their longest acoustic set ever, an amazing 30 minute Dazed, an epic organ solo (their longest ever) with Amazing Grace, Everyday People, Louie Louie, Let's Dance included as a medley, rare encores like Money, and a fantastic Whole Lotta Love medley.

My holy grail, which I hope exists, is a soundboard of this amazing show.

On 2/3/2017 at 1:15 AM, duojet said:

Opinions on the best full video show on youtube?

I have the official dvds and what not, but I wondered what everyone thinks the best unreleased full video concert performance is that I can watch on there. I've watched a good chunk of a few of them, but was wanting to sit down one night soon and watch a full gig. 

I'd say of the videos which haven't been released, the May 25th Earl's Court show is the best one. I've always found these shows a little overrated, but this show is pretty smoking (especially during the first half). Some will say the 24th is better, but I find that show rather sluggish until the last third or so. Go for the 25th. I also believe that that is Zeppelin's longest ever show (apart from maybe the last LA 77 show).

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I really don’t like anything after early 1972, because Plant’s voice was getting progressively worse to the point where he had to increasingly substitute low notes for the high ones he was struggling more and more to hit.  By the time of the Song Remains the Same, his voice was toast IMO—permanently damaged beyond a doubt (with the nail in the coffin singing with a flu in Sheffield in January ‘73), he had permanently lost the top part of his range and would never again hit any of the really high notes because he was no longer physically capable of doing so.  By the ‘79 tour, even the low part of his range sounded kind of shot to me.  That sort of ruined all of the shows after ‘72 for me—the vocals were lacking and sometimes painful compared to the earlier shows.

I really do love that Royal Albert Hall ‘70 show.  Another one which I really like (although the sound quality wasn’t wonderful) was Copenhagen 1971–Plant was really hitting all of the high notes there too and the whole band sounded awesome.  It also has the only lived version of Four Sticks I’ve ever heard them play—with Plant actually sounding better than on the album version IMO.  Considering that they’d never played it live before, they pulled off a very clean version of it.

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Osaka Osaka Osaka 1971 - The intro - Jimmys outro solo on IS is serious shit..the acoustics ..Tangerine - the Percy banter - the group infighting  w a drunk Bonzo- Moby Dick marching snare patterns -Pennies from heaven in middle of DAC- all systems full throttle- no drugs !!!

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On 5/29/2012 at 7:00 PM, Deborah J said:

^^ 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:

I live in new Orleans right around Patricia Ecker Page

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On 11/21/2017 at 2:15 AM, CliffIO said:

I really don’t like anything after early 1972, because Plant’s voice was getting progressively worse to the point where he had to increasingly substitute low notes for the high ones he was struggling more and more to hit.  By the time of the Song Remains the Same, his voice was toast IMO—permanently damaged beyond a doubt (with the nail in the coffin singing with a flu in Sheffield in January ‘73), he had permanently lost the top part of his range and would never again hit any of the really high notes because he was no longer physically capable of doing so.  By the ‘79 tour, even the low part of his range sounded kind of shot to me.  That sort of ruined all of the shows after ‘72 for me—the vocals were lacking and sometimes painful compared to the earlier shows.

I really do love that Royal Albert Hall ‘70 show.  Another one which I really like (although the sound quality wasn’t wonderful) was Copenhagen 1971–Plant was really hitting all of the high notes there too and the whole band sounded awesome.  It also has the only lived version of Four Sticks I’ve ever heard them play—with Plant actually sounding better than on the album version IMO.  Considering that they’d never played it live before, they pulled off a very clean version of it.

CliffIO,

Yes- 5/3/71 in Copenhagen.

I'm new to the forum but fairly well-versed in live Zep, official and bootleg. I just discovered this show today, and I've never heard Plant sing this well!! Not only does he tear up the "IV" material (and all the older material), hitting all the album high notes, he actually sings HIGHER vocal lines in parts of some songs (e.g., "Rock And Roll" ). 

Are there any other recordings of shows including "IV" material where he sings so well?

ALB

 

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