price.pittsburgh Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I'm well aware that Zeppelin like to act as if this never happened but it did. I was 15 and in all honesty, I don't remember anyone at the time talking bad a bout it. Sure, now we can see it on YouTube and realize how poor it was, but in it's proper contexts it's not nearly as bad. This is one of those performances that you would never show a new Zeppelin fan or hope they wouldn't see early in their journey. It's the Zeppelin moment that fans always need to try and defend. That being said, I personally have come to appreciate it for what it was. A reunion for a good cause that wasn't handled nearly as seriously as it needed to be. I won't even comment on the Phil Collins debacle. Let's just be glad Tony Thompson was there. I also won't go into why the cameramen acted as if JPJ didn't exist. Still, as far as Page and Plant go, I can't help as a fan, to find Jimmy being that wasted on stage, somewhat amusing. I know I shouldn't. But It just strikes me as funny every time I see him with that stupid look on his face (that never seems to change for three songs) and the cigarette in his mouth. Even Plant seems to make some faces of humor knowing how messed up Jimmy was. Plant's voice needed to be warmed up for Rock and Roll and Whole Lotta Love and it obviously wasn't. I'm sure he felt since he had been active during this period that he was okay. But the sound on the stage really was poor in their defense. As for Plant's obvious 80s shirt and hair, it represents a time in a place in pop culture history, just like his hair and dress of the late 60s and then his style of the 70s did. Regardless, I wish Jimmy, or whoever has the power, would release a touched up version of it. If for no other reason, because it's so heavily viewed in VHS transferred copies on YouTube anyway. It's not like all the Zep fans haven't re watched it many times, as well as the haters. They could have placed it on the 2003 DVD with an explanation intro. I understand them not wanting it on a non Zep DVD, like the official Live Aid release, but It wouldn't have decreased the value of the 2003 release for the fans, IMHO. Like I said, the talk in 85 wasn't about how bad they sucked, it was about how cool it was to see the remaining members on stage together again. Remember, in those days, without Zep being together, and not having old videos to rotate on Mtv, and no YouTube, 6 years since ITTOD album and almost a decade since TSRTS film, is a lot longer time back then, then it is today. Nowadays, a decade or 5 years seems much more recent. But in 85, with all the new music being pushed out on Mtv and the limited Zeppelin footage, Zeppelin seemed like forever ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 A bad memory that the 2007 O2 gig finally put to right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgeholder Still Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 O2 makes Live Aid look like 1975. Jimmy Page-wise. I don't believe any knowledgable, objective Zep fan can watch the O2 "Stairway" solo and consider that a fair representation of Jimmy Page and his abilities or a definitive moment in his career. The truth is it's disheartening. Page played "Stairway" solos less stunning than Live Aid in '77/'80, but not worse than O2. I don't know if fans really don't hear it or that it's just supposed to go unspoken. Had he another alternate night's performance to edit in to O2, i'm sure he would have. And for many of the songs. It's easier to forgive Live Aid. It wasn't their gig. They were subject to a time slot and being a part of a roster of more relevant artists. They weren't the only reunion (CSNY, Black Sabbath) or surprise (Dylan/Richard/Wood, Bowie/Jagger). They didn't have experience playing Zep material with those drummers like they would with Jason. This was when Plant was least friendly to Zep material. It was the only time he performed Zep between '80 and '88, the longest anti-Zep stretch of his career. And Page most definitely sunk to lower depths of intoxication during Zep's heyday. There's audio of it, just not video. Not video broadcast live around the world. Not a stellar moment, but not all that bad, considering it's their first time back after Bonzo's passing. Certainly more excusable and understandable than '88 or O2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Dounim Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 O2 makes Live Aid look like 1975. Jimmy Page-wise. NOT THE SORT OF THING I LIKE TO READ AT 4:43AM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juxtiphi Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Calm down Chi Chi!, 1975 Jimmy is pretty spectacular in my book but the 02 performance wasn't all that great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpete Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I was just so happy seeing Led Zeppelin for the first time ever I just cried tears of joy. I can't be that critical of that performance for the emotions it brought out in me at the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juxtiphi Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I was just so happy seeing Led Zeppelin for the first time ever I just cried tears of joy. I can't be that critical of that performance for the emotions it brought out in me at the time It was very cool to see them together again and I certainly forgave the performance too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirchzep27 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 To me the issues with live aid and atlantic 40th was, stairway.....i mean cmon, the rock hall 95 set was good fun and plant and page songs at knebworth in 90 were good too. If they dropped sth and added 2 other songs at live aid/atlantic 40....it would have been better, imo. I know there are a certain amount of folks who want to hear sth, but i am surprised they would cater to that commercial aspect, bein the band they were and albums they made. I would much rather hear a not so good version of anything else. Actually back in the day, i watched live aid, atlantic 40th, knebworth 90 and rock hall 95 on vcr and got a kick out of all of them, yet strained over the way they used to be. I think after the movie, the song remains the same being so great, the fans in general were not ready, or understanding...of live aid and atlantic 40th. Yet the show in 07 was the last one...so naturally the one that stands to date, of what we all can talk about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMV Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I think Live Aid has an innaccurate reputation. Plant may struggle at times, but he has his great voice he had from ITTOD to the mid 80s there. Page is visually great, loose and punkish in his movements. He has great guitar tone, as he did in the 80s until Outrider came along with its calcified sound. I think his playing is colourful enough to be engaging here. They came on and gave a crazy, gut level performance, as opposed to a careful, self important, legacy-oriented performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Only Way To Fly Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I remember watching it live on MTV - I'll never forget Mark Goodman doing the intro & saying... "And their gonna do Stairway"! What douchbag. It should have been JJ Jackson as he was a good friend and huge champion of theirs for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMV Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 The solo in Stairway, Page nailed it. Tone, note choice. He told a real story there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walter Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zooma Posted April 5, 2015 Share Posted April 5, 2015 Say what you will about the performance, but the appearance at live aid made Zeppelin relevant again for a new generation. In the late 80's Led Zeppelin were arguably the biggest baddest band in the world for a teenage rock fan of the time. Irrelevant was the fact that they were not an active touring and recording group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IpMan Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 The fact that the set was unrehearsed and they had not performed these tunes in five years, I would say they did a pretty fine job at Live Aid. Jimmy's Stairway solo is solid and pretty fluid overall. His brief, bonus solo in WLL (while Jimmy was obscured from view) was sweet and sounded more like what he was doing with The Firm and rather unique. For me there was only one turd in that punchbowl and that was Phil Collins. You can see in the video he is completely lost in several parts and the rest he figures if he bashes away in time, meh, it's all good right. I would give Jimmy's performance a strong 6 or weak 7 out of 10. Robert, once he warmed up after R&R also was pretty good, a solid 7-8. JPJ, well, he is JPJ so 10 out of 10 as always. Thompson did a passible job, a 5. Phil Collins...WTF??? TBH, they should be damn proud of this performance since the driving force (drummers) was screwed up, and the gig unrehearsed. You can even tell where Jimmy is getting ready to improvise jam, realize the drummers will be more lost than they already are, and pulls back without flubbing a note. Though nowhere near as good as the O2 show, it was indeed better than some 77' & 80' performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlyZeppelinaren Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Live Aid gets undeserved shit, I mean yeah they shouldn't have played in the state they were in, needed way more rehearsing but what we got isn't that bad, Jimmy's gear is horribly tuned and the audio levels are all over the place but if you actually listen to what he's playing he's doing a pretty good job! Better than some 77 shows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMV Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 His brief, bonus solo in WLL (while Jimmy was obscured from view) was sweet and sounded more like what he was doing with The Firm and rather unique. You can even tell where Jimmy is getting ready to improvise jam, realize the drummers will be more lost than they already are, and pulls back without flubbing a note. Though nowhere near as good as the O2 show, it was indeed better than some 77' & 80' performances. Yes! I typically don't like Page's live WLL solos. This one, its good. Thanks for pointing out the fast improv at the end. Page introducing the cool, then stepping back like a pro. The more I've looked at this, the more I think we've been fed a narrative on this show. I don't follow it. I actually quite like it, and not just to be contrary. - Thanks Walter for putting it up for reference. I will step away from the above quote on only one point, the O2 show. I much prefer Plant's voice in Live Aid. Page is looser in Live Aid, and seems to be in legacy protection mode in the O2 show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIN Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Yes! I typically don't like Page's live WLL solos. This one, its good. Thanks for pointing out the fast improv at the end. Page introducing the cool, then stepping back like a pro. The more I've looked at this, the more I think we've been fed a narrative on this show. I don't follow it. I actually quite like it, and not just to be contrary. - Thanks Walter for putting it up for reference. I will step away from the above quote on only one point, the O2 show. I much prefer Plant's voice in Live Aid. Page is looser in Live Aid, and seems to be in legacy protection mode in the O2 show. But it is Page himself who has been part of the narrative. He thought the overall performance was sub par. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mithril46 Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I don't know how many people are aware but the 07' gig cannot really be judged to the other reunions for various important reasons. Many don't know that Robert was basically the final authority on song choices. Also almost half the songs(maybe more) had to be played tuned down ( sounding bassier and deeper than the originals). That made IMO quite a few songs sound odd, including STH, TSRTS, etc.. Admittedly Page's solo for 07' Stairway was weak. But Page's overall playing was IMO more consistent than any 77'/80' gig, if not matching some 77' heights. Live Aid was very energetic and showed how much fans missed Zep. But despite the 3 song set, later on the remaining band decided to scrap their performance from the Live Aid release. For a moment frozen in time I thought it was great, but even Plant later said that it reminded him too much of the last days of Zep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTM Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I don't know how many people are aware but the 07' gig cannot really be judged to the other reunions for various important reasons. Many don't know that Robert was basically the final authority on song choices. Also almost half the songs(maybe more) had to be played tuned down ( sounding bassier and deeper than the originals). That made IMO quite a few songs sound odd, including STH, TSRTS, etc.. Admittedly Page's solo for 07' Stairway was weak. But Page's overall playing was IMO more consistent than any 77'/80' gig, if not matching some 77' heights. Live Aid was very energetic and showed how much fans missed Zep. But despite the 3 song set, later on the remaining band decided to scrap their performance from the Live Aid release. For a moment frozen in time I thought it was great, but even Plant later said that it reminded him too much of the last days of Zep. Blimey, what would be do without the experts around here....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksgemini Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 I just watched this on You tube and it actually was pretty decent Main problem: drummers who could not follow the band I like some of the work Collins did with robert-Principle of moments i think...butHad jason been of age this would have come off better- not perfect- but I actually wish this was available legally as it is not as bad as the band seems to remember and Plant sounded good up there and i do agree Page is holding back not only due to alleged chemicals but due to the drumming.....JPJ rock solid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboy Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 "It was horrendous," Robert Plant told Rolling Stone in 1988. " "My main memories, really, were of total panic," Jimmy Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVIN Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Blimey, what would be do without the experts around here....... We wouldn't have much to talk about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMV Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Looking at their reunions (I count 3, Live Aid, Atlantic, and the 95 thing with Neil Young, Aerosmith), I conclude that Live Aid was the star, reasons mentioned above. I would like to hear Atlantic with keyboards mind you. I will say this about Atlantic (I have to look at the minutiae to find compliments for that one). At the end of the Heartbreaker solo, correctly regarded as not that good, Page does a little 3 second ditty right before that gritty sounding pick slide. That ditty was really cool. The '95 reunion seemed to take care of the problem of Atlantic, as Page was technically fine. But, I found that show really boring, meh songs,and Aerosmith just annoys me, so that was a barrier. Of course the O2, but I can't watch it for long as the camera cuts away every 2 seconds and it makes me feel like I'm crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jabe Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I have no problema with the performance of Page, Plant and Jones at Live Aid. Bottom line to me, it was above great to see them sharing the same stage together again. I hung out with my buds all day watching the London and the Philly performances. But, (yes there is a but) after Page, Plant, ,and Jones performed, I believe Lionel Ritchie came to the mic and said, "We have a suprise for you!" I was thinking, "Fuck! the band is going to do an encore!" ...Folks gathered to sing, "We Are the World." I will concede that it was, whatever it was.I don't remember. I was searching for a pungi stick pit or a dirty bomb suitcase I could bury my face in... If a bulldozer was handy, I'd have thrown it through that fuckin' tv, well into the next apartment. Sad epilogue to the day, ...that is, if you dig Led Zeppelin music, and can accept what it was that day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboy Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 According to Phil Collins: "It was a disaster, really. Robert wasn't match-fit with his voice and Jimmy was out of it, dribbling. It wasn't my fault it was crap. If I could have walked off, I would have. But then we'd all be talking about why Phil Collins walked off Live Aid — so I just stuck it out." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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