Jump to content

New Soundboard - March 3, 1975 Fort Worth


apantherfrommd

Recommended Posts

@Pluribus

The shows that have been released, allowing for certain juicy ones saved for last, suggest randomness from a particular subset.  There's been truly outstanding shows (NY run, both Vancouver), novelties of mixed quality (SD/StL), unnecessary releases (Long Beach and Baton Rouge), and real mediocrities (both Dallas shows).  There seems no reason that, say Detroit or Montreal is being held back, and therefore more likely that the source of this batch only has a particular segment of dates.  True that Page wouldn't want, say Indianapolis or Greensboro to see the light of day, but why not Pittsburgh?  Again, I think the overall evidence points against anyone who has the complete supply.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Count me in as interested.  After listening to all the shows I have a million times a new performance is highly welcome. All I need for this to be a success is for No Quarter and Dazed to great and I will be as happy as a pig in shit.!!

 

Thank you for offering!

Also interested!  Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry, but I just don't buy the theory that these releases are coming from Jimmy Page. For tax reasons alone (thanks Rover). ;)

I know many people are down on the 1975 U.S. tour for the stagnant setlist, Plant's rough voice, or the back to back Moby Dick/Dazed and Confused part which takes up an hour plus of the show and tends to stall momentum.

But here are my 10 reasons why I look forward to any new 1975 release.

1. Over the Hills and Far Away: Yes, the vocals could be a little rough with Plant singing in the lower key and neglecting the opening verse BUT the band was usually spot on. Also, by 1975 Page had finally figured out the shape and scope of what he wanted to do in the guitar solo. The start of the 1975 shows could be leaden with the slowed-down "Rock and Roll" and unfamiliar (at that time) "Sick Again". I like "Sick Again" but it lags contrasted with earlier second song ravers like "Celebration Day" or "Heartbreaker". To me, OTHAFA is when the 1975 concerts lifted off.

2. In My Time of Dying: 11 minutes of Page on Danelectro slide and Jones on the fretless and Bonzo going nuts. Are you kidding me? What's not to love? This song in concert hit you like a hurricane.

3. The Song Remains the Same/Rain Song: Call me a traditionalist...call me a romantic...but I always believe these two songs belong together. Sure, there are some great 1977 TSRTSs and even 1979 Rain Songs, but there is something missing when they aren't performed back to back as they were in 1973-75. 1975 is also the last time Jimmy's 12-string had that lovely clear, ringing bell-tone on TSRTS. The 1977 ones sounded much muddier and metallic...and sloppy. In 1975 the galloping TSRTS and the emotional Rain Song made for an intensely satisfying one-two punch.

4. Kashmir: I have stated this so many times that everyone is probably sick of hearing it...but too bad, for I am saying it again: Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, could prepare you for hearing "Kashmir" in concert for the first time! If IMTOD was a hurricane, "Kashmir" was like an intergalactic interplanetary storm. It left you standing there with your jaw on the floor and a hole in your chest put there by Bonham's kick drum. Unlike the later tours when you knew "Kashmir" was coming when Jimmy picked up his Danelectro, in 1975 it came with Jimmy playing his Les Paul and Bonham simply counting the song in. With first IMTOD and then Kashmir, this is when most concert-goers first had the inkling that "Physical Graffiti" was going to be an epic album.

5. No Quarter: A concert highlight from its very first appearance in 1973, by 1975 the band had developed a very cool piano and drum improv segment leading into the guitar solo. Funky, jazzy, whatever you want to call it, it was fun to see Jones and Bonham work out a groove. Also, unlike the schizophrenic nature of the 1977 NQs, the 1975 NQs maintained a dark, moody tone suitable to the song.

6. Trampled Under Foot: Another great track from "Physical Graffiti". The solo spot was another chance to watch the interplay between Jimmy, Jonesy, and Bonham.

7. The "Woodstock"/bowing segment of "Dazed and Confused": By 1975 large chunks of "Dazed and Confused" had become ponderous, silly, redundant. There were stretches that had you wishing they were playing another song from "Physical Graffiti" or "When the Levee Breaks" or "The Ocean" or "Celebration Day". But within that 30-40 minute slab of self-indulgence there were moments of awesomeness. The "Woodstock" and Jimmy's bow interlude was one of them. I always thought the "Woodstock" lyrics suited the darker tone of the piece better than "San Francisco". And Plant's echoplexed moans and groans were genuinely spooky and led perfectly into Jimmy's bow screeching. Of course you can't see it listening to the bootleg, but the visuals of the smoke and light show were awesome, too!

8. The spiraling wah-wah jam at the very end of "Dazed and Confused": After the bow segment, it was the obligatory guitar solo for another 15-20 minutes or so, with Jimmy going thru all the usual paces that we'd heard before from 1972-73. But then, a miracle...just when you thought the song had reached the end, with Robert singing the last verse, the band somehow reached back and found a kernel of inspiration and spontaneity and launch into a truly trippy jam that was worth waiting for and truly left you dazed...especially when Jimmy would really hit those high piercing notes on the wah-wah pedal.

9. Stairway to Heaven: No matter what your feelings for the song, no Led Zeppelin fan doesn't want to hear Jimmy's guitar solo. Since no two "Stairway" solos were the same, the chance to hear another one from a concert that's never been released before is reason enough to get this show.

10. The Crunge-funky interlude-theremin jam between "Whole Lotta Love" and "Black Dog": Simply mindblowing! A real highlight of the shows for me...the band was clearly having fun in this part and the sight of Jimmy and Robert duelling during the theremin jam were out-of-this-world! I feel bad for those who saw the concerts before February 13, for they did not get this part of the show. 

So there you have it...my 10 reasons for anticipating the 1975 Ft. Worth release...or any 1975 US tour release.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree, especially with Dazed and Confused.  This is last year it's been played and fully matured and evolved over the years.  I'd have to compare '73 again but thought '73 Whole Lotta Love was more loose and Crunge-funky but Earl's version is pretty funky.   1980 shows seemed very odd and off just playing The Rain Song alone.  It always seemed like it belonged with TSRTS.

Anyone ever notice Radio stations would always play Living Loving Maid right after Heartbreaker ? Maybe it's certain markets, but where I grew up, they were always played back to back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know many people are down on the 1975 U.S. tour for the stagnant setlist, Plant's rough voice, or the back to back Moby Dick/Dazed and Confused part which takes up an hour plus of the show and tends to stall momentum.

But here are my 10 reasons why I look forward to any new 1975 release.

 

If I could only have recordings from one Zeppelin tour, it would easily be 1975. It doesn't hurt that the soundboards from this tour are of the best sonic quality, as far as my ears are concerned. My thoughts on your 10 reasons. 

1. Over the Hills and Far Away: Yes, the vocals could be a little rough with Plant singing in the lower key and neglecting the opening verse BUT the band was usually spot on. Also, by 1975 Page had finally figured out the shape and scope of what he wanted to do in the guitar solo. The start of the 1975 shows could be leaden with the slowed-down "Rock and Roll" and unfamiliar (at that time) "Sick Again". I like "Sick Again" but it lags contrasted with earlier second song ravers like "Celebration Day" or "Heartbreaker". To me, OTHAFA is when the 1975 concerts lifted off.

Absolutely. To my ears, Jimmy stretched the solo almost to the point of overindulgence without quite crossing the line. And I love the last L.A. show where, coming out of the solo, he omitted a few bars (not sure if that's the right terminology :), just letting JPJ and Bonzo carry on.  "Rock and Roll" is not very high on my list of favorite Zepp songs. I much prefer live "Sick Again" to the studio version, and especially on the '77 tour, but it has its moments in '75. 

2. In My Time of Dying: 11 minutes of Page on Danelectro slide and Jones on the fretless and Bonzo going nuts. Are you kidding me? What's not to love? This song in concert hit you like a hurricane.

Yep. It's fearsome blues at its best. 

3. The Song Remains the Same/Rain Song: Call me a traditionalist...call me a romantic...but I always believe these two songs belong together. Sure, there are some great 1977 TSRTSs and even 1979 Rain Songs, but there is something missing when they aren't performed back to back as they were in 1973-75. 1975 is also the last time Jimmy's 12-string had that lovely clear, ringing bell-tone on TSRTS. The 1977 ones sounded much muddier and metallic...and sloppy. In 1975 the galloping TSRTS and the emotional Rain Song made for an intensely satisfying one-two punch.

Right again! The pace and drama of TSRTS juxtaposed with the gentle tranquility of Rain Song is something I always look forward to with '75 shows. 

4. Kashmir: I have stated this so many times that everyone is probably sick of hearing it...but too bad, for I am saying it again: Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, could prepare you for hearing "Kashmir" in concert for the first time! If IMTOD was a hurricane, "Kashmir" was like an intergalactic interplanetary storm. It left you standing there with your jaw on the floor and a hole in your chest put there by Bonham's kick drum. With first IMTOD and then Kashmir, this is when most concert-goers first had the inkling that "Physical Graffiti" was going to be an epic album.

Especially for the shows before the album was released, what could the audience have thought after that? I love how after '75 Bonzo added the "double shot" to his breaks after verses (again...I'm probably using bad terminology) and there's something to be said for the "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" lead-in after '75, but to have Kashmir stand on it's own with only Bonzo's growling "one, two, three, FAR!" (yes, it's a four, but you know how it sounds) count-in setting the stage, it is always a show stopper. And, there are more than a few '77 performances that feel sluggish and uninspired. 

5. No Quarter: A concert highlight from its very first appearance in 1973, by 1975 the band had developed a very cool piano and drum improv segment leading into the guitar solo. Funky, jazzy, whatever you want to call it, it was fun to see Jones and Bonham work out a groove. Also, unlike the schizophrenic nature of the 1977 NQs, the 1975 NQs maintained a dark, moody tone suitable to the song.

For me, NQ was never better than '75 (single greatest: 5-24-75). Almost as good in '73, a little bloated in '77, and yes, they sometimes lost the dark, moody tone. I love Robert's comment before the 7-28-73 performance that it's a "sinister journey". The up-tempo, jazzy elements employed in '77 made it less sinister. 

6. Trampled Under Foot: Another great track from "Physical Graffiti". The solo spot was another chance to watch the interplay between Jimmy, Jonesy, and Bonham.

I don't listen to Trampled...sorry. 

7. The "Woodstock"/bowing segment of "Dazed and Confused": By 1975 large chunks of "Dazed and Confused" had become ponderous, silly, redundant. There were stretches that had you wishing they were playing another song from "Physical Graffiti" or "When the Levee Breaks" or "The Ocean" or "Celebration Day". But within that 30-40 minute slab of self-indulgence there were moments of awesomeness. The "Woodstock" and Jimmy's bow interlude was one of them. I always thought the "Woodstock" lyrics suited the darker tone of the piece better than "San Francisco". And Plant's echoplexed moans and groans were genuinely spooky and led perfectly into Jimmy's bow screeching. Of course you can't see it listening to the bootleg, but the visuals of the smoke and light show were awesome, too!

Some '75 performances of Dazed are better than others of course, but what I love about most of them is the solitary noodling Jimmy would do before the Woodstock or San Francisco section. Almost sounds like Claire de Lune on the harp or something. I can't say what it is, but just feels like the right thing at that exact moment. 

8. The spiraling wah-wah jam at the very end of "Dazed and Confused": After the bow segment, it was the obligatory guitar solo for another 15-20 minutes or so, with Jimmy going thru all the usual paces that we'd heard before from 1972-73. But then, a miracle...just when you thought the song had reached the end, with Robert singing the last verse, the band somehow reached back and found a kernel of inspiration and spontaneity and launch into a truly trippy jam that was worth waiting for and truly left you dazed...especially when Jimmy would really hit those high piercing notes on the wah-wah pedal.

Yes! 

9. Stairway to Heaven: No matter what your feelings for the song, no Led Zeppelin fan doesn't want to hear Jimmy's guitar solo. Since no two "Stairway" solos were the same, the chance to hear another one from a concert that's never been released before is reason enough to get this show.

By '75, the song had matured to the right place without being pretentious. 

10. The Crunge-funky interlude-theremin jam between "Whole Lotta Love" and "Black Dog": Simply mindblowing! A real highlight of the shows for me...the band was clearly having fun in this part and the sight of Jimmy and Robert duelling during the theremin jam were out-of-this-world! I feel bad for those who saw the concerts before February 13, for they did not get this part of the show. 

The vibe is there in spades. And with the last Earls Court show, the final shots of WLL, Black Dog, Heartbreaker, and Communications Breakdown could just be the ultimate epitome of tight but loose. "Charles Shaar Murrary, wherever you are, keep taking the pills" 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep in mind too that the cost of producing these titles, and the risks involved mean that nobody is really getting rich here. The packaging on some of these titles is way over the top. 

And if EV really are having to pay for each soundboard, that cuts into profit even more. Add in that packaging, the pressing, the shipping, the retailers, and the manpower/oversight required to keep it all running. Somebody has to be paying rent somewhere for this.

Page's public stance on bootlegs  simply doesn't match with the photos of him in Japan, and the shots of him in It Might Get Loud, where you can see all of the bootlegs he owns sitting on the shelves behind him.

If the Ross Halfin story is true, then it really isn't a stretch to imagine a similar arrangement with EV.  Considering the work that EV has to put into these releases, I could even imagine them not having to pay for these boards at all. 

The benefit for Page is that he gets to have these boards out there, preserved for posterity via these releases, doesn't have to get involved himself, and gets to keep Zeppelin front and center in the underground market.  

By this logic The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and other Western artists relentlessly being bootlegged are in on the game. EV reaps triple it's investment with every release, often times more.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have it too, as expected a typical dry sounding narrow stereo sbd, but a really great performance.

By "typical dry sounding" do you mean typical for the 1975 soundboards or typical for the 1977s? Because there is a world of difference between the two.

By this logic The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and other Western artists relentlessly being bootlegged are in on the game. EV reaps triple it's investment with every release, often times more.

 

Speaking of The Rolling Stones, I don't know if anyone has noticed (especially Jimmy Page), but the Stones just released another show from the vault! In short order, the Stones have released Hampton '81, LA Forum '75, Marquee Club '71, Hyde Park 2013, and now Tokyo Dome 1990. There is also the 1971 Leeds show on the deluxe version of "Sticky Fingers" and Brussels '73 is also available thru the band officially. These are shows that have long been bootlegged and they are not perfect, yet the Stones have put them out as official releases with great sound, UNEDITED!, and to much acclaim from fans and critics alike.

Jimmy Page, are you paying attention? A Led Zeppelin Live from the Vault series would go over like gangbusters!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So there you have it...my 10 reasons for anticipating the 1975 Ft. Worth release...or any 1975 US tour release.

GREAT post Strider......

I really hope Houston 1975 is next....  It sure got a good review in the Davis 1975 Tour book....

It's such a drag to have to only LZ show I personally ever saw - not released in any format (audience or soundboard) after 40 years.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GREAT post Strider......

I really hope Houston 1975 is next....  It sure got a good review in the Davis 1975 Tour book....

It's such a drag to have to only LZ show I personally ever saw - not released in any format (audience or soundboard) after 40 years.....

Thank you kindly, sir. But nothing I write is as great as your photographs, Mark! A picture is indeed worth a thousand words....or in my case, a million.

So you were at Houston in 1975...what happened in 1977 to prevent you from going?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you kindly, sir. But nothing I write is as great as your photographs, Mark! A picture is indeed worth a thousand words....or in my case, a million.

So you were at Houston in 1975...what happened in 1977 to prevent you from going?

Listen to you!  :-D    Thanks for the kind words, "S"...

Was living in Colorado Springs in 1977.....  Somehow Barry Fey failed to snag them on their way to the Seattle show in July 1977 and we know now that the following weeks' two Oakland shows were the final US shows ever....  While on vacation in Houston in early '77, my sister very cruelly showed me HER ticket to the "Dragon Snake" Houston Summit 77 show, and my wife attended as well.....

At least my Houston '75 experience was front row center and the very first live Zeppelin show after the actual release of Physical Graffiti - so I got one chance to hear Kashmir on the album before JP blew me away with that hypnotic riff live on his Les Paul as you mention, not the Danelectro....  Those '75 versions of Kashmir were powerful indeed and it was brand new music to us!

Here's a few of my cheesy little Kodak instamatic 110 photos of the "undocumented" Houston gig in February 1975:

 

Led Zep Houston Watermark 1975.jpg

JPJ James Patrick Page and Bonzo Houston 1975.jpg

housotn75-c.jpg

Jimmy Page Houston 1975 WM.jpg

JPJ and JP Houston 1975.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By this logic The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and other Western artists relentlessly being bootlegged are in on the game. EV reaps triple it's investment with every release, often times more.

 

I don't think those bands have any kind of history with this like Page does.  Besides, there are very few "new" sources from any of those groups. The vast majority of Beatles, Stones, Clapton are the same rehashes of existing recordings. Apart from Stones one-offs, Zeppelin is the only one getting truly new sources released at this kind of rate. And Page is the only one who keeps appearing in Japan at bootleg shops and at the London record fair.  Again, the claimed Halfin association with Watchtower. There's no equivalent for any of the other bands out there like this. 

Maybe EV do triple their investment on some of these releases, but charging $130 for a 3CD set, and $250 for a 9CD box is not millionaire money. The artwork and packaging on those sets is not cheap. Shipping is not cheap, and whatever they get back from distributing to the handful of retailers cannot be that much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...