Zep in 77

[NickZepp]

Destroyer is the most overrated Zeppelin show ever. It may be the worst show of the 77 tour. Honestly the Cleveland show from the next night(4/28) is a lot better. And it's still a subpar Zeppelin performance.

[Nathan]

Destroyer is the most overrated Zeppelin show ever. It may be the worst show of the 77 tour. Honestly the Cleveland show from the next night(4/28) is a lot better. And it's still a subpar Zeppelin performance.

bold mine

You've obviously never heard Tempe, Arizona. I guarantee you when you hear that show from the '77 tour, you'll LOVE Destroyer. Trust me... Destroyer (as well as Seattle) is much easier to listen to, and I'm not talking about sound quality.

[eternal light]

Because Plant is a prick to Jones?

The "parking the car" comment, leacing him out of Page and Plant and basically wisecracking about him at every interview would piss me off if I were JPJ.

When John Bonham was here to ease the tensions, no one worried about the silly, light-hearted comments that Robert Plant routinely made in fun; one more reason to miss him.

[Nathan]

When John Bonham was here to ease the tensions, no one worried about the silly, light-hearted comments that Robert Plant routinely made in fun; one more reason to miss him.

I do not and never will undertsnad this at all. WTF is it with you Plant-lovers and your "it's just his wildly misunderstood sense of humor?"

Do you know who gets his sense of humor? Plant-lovers. That's it. Nobody else. Why? One of two things:

1. It's some secret sense of humor that only those in the closest circle of Plant-love would ever understand

or (and this is what I'm more inclined to believe)

2. There is no "sense of humor." Plant himself is dead serious, and Plant-lovers call it his "sense of humor" just to defend him because... you know... God forbid anyone RIGHTLY jump on his sometimes derogatory remarks when it comes to Zeppelin or Jones.

I'm getting sick of hearing about this secret sense of humor. Only Plant-lovers get it. Everyone else is just... what... out of the loop? Is it some BS secret language or something?

Until Plant comes out and says "oh I'm just joking, I don't really mean any of it," I'm more inclined to believe he means all of it, mainly because he never takes any time to say "I was just kidding" and he usually makes his remarks rather straight-faced and with an almost bitter edge to his voice.

Have you seen their R&R Hall of Fame induction? When he was talking about Jones his face was quite serious and his tone of voice was just a bit vitriolic... now, if he had been joking, he might have had a slight smile, and he would've followed all he said up with something like "I'm just joking. Jones is a great guy. I didn't keep him out of Page/Plant to spite him. It's just, Page/Plant wasn't suppoed to be another Zeppelin reunion. I wanted to keep that aspect out of it. But I respect Jones and his work and I'd never say or do anything to make anyone think otherwise." Instead, he kept it short, sweet, and insulting. He definitely was NOT joking.

He also would have downplayed calling Led Zeppelin a "boy band" if that had been a joke, and so on and so forth. There is no joking here. Plant has always been quite serious. Trust me. I live with an actor. I am also an actor (amateur, but there you go). It's quite easy to tell when someone's kidding and when they aren't. And if you know how to read words and how to read between the lines, you don't need to see the the person's face... you just need to read what they say.

I'm sick and tired of this "Plant's sense of humor that only us true Plant fans would understand." Because the fact is, that is, without a doubt, the dumbest defense of someone that anyone can come up with. So quit it.

[Styrbjorn]

bold mine

You've obviously never heard Tempe, Arizona. I guarantee you when you hear that show from the '77 tour, you'll LOVE Destroyer. Trust me... Destroyer (as well as Seattle) is much easier to listen to, and I'm not talking about sound quality.

Nathan, let's not piss around. Cleveland (Destroyer), Seattle, Oklahoma and Tempe alone are a piece of shit. You'd have to have shares in the Led Zeppelin Corporation or a tin ear to think that anything perpetrated on those shows was worth listening to. The Chicago and New York shows are unlistenable due to bad recordings, Landover, Houston and Louiseville are crap as well which just leaves the LA shows.

The good news is the 1977 tour is cheap to collect.

[Nathan]

Nathan, let's not piss around. Cleveland (Destroyer), Seattle, Oklahoma and Tempe alone are a piece of shit. You'd have to have shares in the Led Zeppelin Corporation or a tin ear think that anything perpetrated on those shows were worth listening to. The Chicago and New York shows are unlistenable due to bad recordings, Landover, Houston and Louiseville are crap as well which just leaves the LA shows.

The good news is the 1977 tour is cheap to collect.

I never said they weren't. All of those shows sucked.

I agree the sound quality of the Chicago shows isn't all that great. But the shows themselves were quite good. And Jimmy's palying on the last night puts that show up there with LA and New York, IMO. Not the best of '77, but very, very close.

But Tempe, Arizona is bad enough to make anyone prefer Destroyer and Seattle first. I know I'd rather listen to Destroyer and Seattle 100 times over, each (that's 200 times total), then listen to Tempe once. It's definitely the worst of the '77 shows. And if Destroyer or Seattle are after it, there's a huge, and I mean huge, gap in between. Tempe is just... heart-wrenching.

It actually made me cry listening to it the first (and only) time. And I don't cry easy. It was just that bad.

[Styrbjorn]

I never said they weren't. All of those shows sucked.

I agree the sound quality of the Chicago shows isn't all that great. But the shows themselves were quite good. And Jimmy's palying on the last night puts that show up there with LA and New York, IMO. Not the best of '77, but very, very close.

But Tempe, Arizona is bad enough to make anyone prefer Destroyer and Seattle first. I know I'd rather listen to Destroyer and Seattle 100 times over, each (that's 200 times total), then listen to Tempe once. It's definitely the worst of the '77 shows. And if Destroyer or Seattle are after it, there's a huge, and I mean huge, gap in between. Tempe is just... heart-wrenching.

It actually made me cry listening to it the first (and only) time. And I don't cry easy. It was just that bad.

You know the last person I saw knock the 1977 tour this bad was....

So what price my original Empress Valley silver of Destroyer?

[3hrsoflunacy]

The 1977.06.13 show sounded good to my ears.

Tempe is a trainwreck, but even if that was the only show I could have seen, I would jump at it in a heartbeat.

[stonefreelee]

The scary thing (to me anyway) is this: I have one boot from the '77 tour. It is from the 23rd of June (Badgeholders, of course) and I only have one out of the three discs that make up the show. It contains "Battle..." thru "Kasmir" I believe.

The scary part: Not impressed. Before I joined the board and became a little more educated about this particular tour, I always wondered, I always thought, "Boy, I hope they played better elsewhere than they did at this show..."

So in the last six months or so I find out that this was one of the uh, better shows of that tour...sad...

[Fresh Garbage]

The scary thing (to me anyway) is this: I have one boot from the '77 tour. It is from the 23rd of June (Badgeholders, of course) and I only have one out of the three discs that make up the show. It contains "Battle..." thru "Kasmir" I believe.

The scary part: Not impressed. Before I joined the board and became a little more educated about this particular tour, I always wondered, I always thought, "Boy, I hope they played better elsewhere than they did at this show..."

So in the last six months or so I find out that this was one of the uh, better shows of that tour...sad...

Great show wrong disc if you would of had disc 1 or 3 you would have been pretty happy...I think personal preference is a big factor when it comes to 77. the latter IMO is the most overated show from all the LA gig's (the best NQ though)....but I have deaf ears I guess. acording to one poster atleast .

most every show from 77 had some great moments, but are unballanced performances. while only a few (if that) are great all the way through...

If Jimmy were to make a 77 live album he would probably use a dozen shows at the least.

[NickZepp]

Best of 77

The New York gigs are good but the recordings are bad. for the most part. Houston is probably the best overall sounding show. It's a good show also. Not as good as the LA shows though. It's a soundboard so the music is a little better. I like the feel of the LA shows more. The best of LA is probably 6-21. Although they are all good Cleveland 4-28 is good. That's really about it for 77.

I'm not a fan of the Chicago shows. Page's best performance of those shows may honestly be the one he took a fall in. The others are mediocre for Page's abilities IMO.

Most of the other shows from 77 mentioned here are bad. Seattle and Cleveland are Soundboards but Page is at his worst these shows. OKC, Tempe, Detroit, and Fort Worth are all pretty bad. San Diego which was just about 2 days before the LA gigs is awful also.

77 was the worst tour Zeppelin had.

[Fresh Garbage]

Best of 77

The New York gigs are good but the recordings are bad. for the most part. Houston is probably the best overall sounding show. It's a good show also. Not as good as the LA shows though. It's a soundboard so the music is a little better. I like the feel of the LA shows more. The best of LA is probably 6-21. Although they are all good Cleveland 4-28 is good. That's really about it for 77.

I'm not a fan of the Chicago shows. Page's best performance of those shows may honestly be the one he took a fall in. The others are mediocre for Page's abilities IMO.

Most of the other shows from 77 mentioned here are bad. Seattle and Cleveland are Soundboards but Page is at his worst these shows. OKC, Tempe, Detroit, and Fort Worth are all pretty bad. San Diego which was just about 2 days before the LA gigs is awful also.

77 was the worst tour Zeppelin had.

When I really look at 77. it's Page that was lackluster .Plant, Bonzo, and Jones did thier part. and Page was off and on. but never excellent

I guess that's why I like Destroyer alott. Plant sounds great in that show....and I really like the recording.

Is the Houston show on the Dragon Snake CD set?....if so, I have heard the first disc. and I thought it rocked pretty nice.

I'll have to download that one and give it a look.

[NickZepp]

When I really look at 77. it's Page that was lackluster .Plant, Bonzo, and Jones did thier part. and Page was off and on. but never excellent

I guess that's why I like Destroyer alott. Plant sounds great in that show....and I really like the recording.

Is the Houston show on the Dragon Snake CD set?....if so, I have heard the first disc. and I thought it rocked pretty nice.

I'll have to download that one and give it a look.

Yes it is. Houston is a really good show.

A couple other decent ones from 77 are the Maryland shows. I think there were 3 of them

[Fresh Garbage]

Yes it is. Houston is a really good show.

A couple other decent ones from 77 are the Maryland shows. I think there were 3 of them

there were four. I used to read on them is Louis Reys book daily. I have the last two shows.

I'm gona get the Houston show A.S.A.P

thanks for you info

[NickZepp]

I've got May 26th, 28th and I think 30th from Maryland. Those are good. But I also haven't given them all a thorough listen to in a while.

You'll love Houston. Achilles is kind of rough, but the rest of that show is really solid.

[Arcadium]

Get the Beelzebub version of the HOU show. Best version of this SBD-far better than the Empress

Valley issue and cheaper

[Fresh Garbage]

Get the Beelzebub version of the HOU show. Best version of this SBD-far better than the Empress

Valley issue and cheaper

Thanks

I was on UU. and Beelzebub not to be confused with (Bumbblebee) are really putting out some jems.

[WindhamHill]

Get the Beelzebub version of the HOU show. Best version of this SBD-far better than the Empress

Valley issue and cheaper

Beezlebub version's are all cdr's. You shouldn't pay for those at all.

[Arcadium]

Beezlebub version's are all cdr's. You shouldn't pay for those at all.

In fact they are CDR's but especially in this case the sound is definately better than the EV vesion also they added a rare interview with Plant/Bonham at the end of Disc 3.

[Styrbjorn]

Beezlebub version's are all cdr's. You shouldn't pay for those at all.

Damn right. A complete rip off.

All he does is download shows, tweak the EQ and sell them on to the unenlightened.

[scottlyle]

Hey there Nick C if your first boot wasn't to your taste or up to your expectations worry not,there's loads of shows available which will blow you away and more than make up for any disappointment.

Enjoy the years ahead gathering a collection together.

There's a few sites out there with free downloading.You've only got to do a little searching.

[jesusmurphy]

77 was the worst tour Zeppelin had.

Have you heard much from 1980 tour of Europe? '80 makes '77 seem like Zep's Golden Era. Maybe four of the 1980 shows -I'm being generous- are up to Zeppelin's standards (Zurich, Frankfurt, and arguably Vienna and Cologne). The rest they sound like a bad tribute band. Page is fucking smacked out of his mind, Plant didn't want to be there and is barely going through the motions, the booze was getting the better of Bonzo and Jonesy's synth sounds sucked! Plus the mid set repertoire of "The Rain Song", "Hot Dog" and "All My Love" killed any momentum the shows might have had. Bottom line, if '77 was bad (I wholeheartedly disagree, with all 36 available shows at home to back up my claim) than 1980 was a disaster. At that point something simply had to give, and unfortunately it was John Bonham.

[3hrsoflunacy]

Have you heard much from 1980 tour of Europe? '80 makes '77 seem like Zep's Golden Era. Maybe four of the 1980 shows -I'm being generous- are up to Zeppelin's standards (Zurich, Frankfurt, and arguably Vienna and Cologne). The rest they sound like a bad tribute band. Page is fucking smacked out of his mind, Plant didn't want to be there and is barely going through the motions, the booze was getting the better of Bonzo and Jonesy's synth sounds sucked! Plus the mid set repertoire of "The Rain Song", "Hot Dog" and "All My Love" killed any momentum the shows might have had. Bottom line, if '77 was bad (I wholeheartedly disagree, with all 36 available shows at home to back up my claim) than 1980 was a disaster. At that point something simply had to give, and unfortunately it was John Bonham.

Ditto. For me, part of the pain in listening to some of the 1980 shows is not just Page's playing, but the tone of his guitar. To me, it's awful.

P.S. Wendy, Beezlebub, and TDOLZ are labels I don't particularly care for.

[NickZepp]

Have you heard much from 1980 tour of Europe? '80 makes '77 seem like Zep's Golden Era. Maybe four of the 1980 shows -I'm being generous- are up to Zeppelin's standards (Zurich, Frankfurt, and arguably Vienna and Cologne). The rest they sound like a bad tribute band. Page is fucking smacked out of his mind, Plant didn't want to be there and is barely going through the motions, the booze was getting the better of Bonzo and Jonesy's synth sounds sucked! Plus the mid set repertoire of "The Rain Song", "Hot Dog" and "All My Love" killed any momentum the shows might have had. Bottom line, if '77 was bad (I wholeheartedly disagree, with all 36 available shows at home to back up my claim) than 1980 was a disaster. At that point something simply had to give, and unfortunately it was John Bonham.

I have the entire 80 tour. It's not as bad as most think. But it's not as good as they were in 69-75(I would throw in 68 too but we only have one show from that year, not enough to judge) but it's better than 77 IMO. I actually like Plant's voice a little better in 79 and 80. Although it was pretty obvious by 1977 that the band needed to clean up. Especially Page and Bonham. Saying 77 was the worst isn't really complimenting 80. It wasn't Zepp's standards either. But I just don't like 77 that much. There's about 1 or 2 shows I can stand outside of the LA Shows and some of the New York shows.

[snapper]

Here is a quote from a guy who was Zeppelin's laser operator from 1977 thru 1980.

He was asked if he felt that when TSRTS was played in theaters did it sound like it did when actually at a live Zeppelin show? Remember now, this guy knew nothing about Zeppelin or their music before he started working with them on the 77 tour.

Here is his reply:

"Soundwise, there was no comparison. Live - they were awesome and so loud it was frightening.

I can understand why Grant didn't want any live bootleg recordings in circulation. There is an energy in a live Led Zeppelin concert that doesn't come across in any recordings and more than makes up for any performance imperfections."

Maybe this will help put things into perspective, it does for me.