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Underappreciated shows


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Houston 21/5/77. Awesome show, absolutely love the versions of NQ and TYG from this show. Achilles also kicks some serious arse.

And I think Seattle 17/7/77 has it's moments, granted it's a pretty bad show. But I think NQ is great at this show, as well as the Stairway solo, best Stairway solo I've heard almost. Not as clean as the '73 or even '75 versions but the feel in it is amazing.

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  • 1 month later...

'MadScreamingGallery' date='30 June 2008 - 09:52 PM' timestamp='1214880765' post='210172'

30 June 2008 - 09:52 PM' timestamp=1214880765' post='210172]

I loved the two nights that LZ played at Nassau Coliseum in '72 but I've read little about them. I've been asked several times to reconstruct my memories of those nights and I've jotted things down. What stands out immediately was hearing Tangerine played live and that school was still in session, the concerts were in the middle of the school week, and my friends and I missed several days of school.

Well, a year later and, although I've been asked to, I still haven't gotten around to writing about those two nights. I have thought about them, though, I've remembered more details, and I still love those shows, those nights.

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  • 7 years later...

4/17/70 - Despite the so-so sound quality, this is an incredible show from start to finish. How Many More Times is epic. I believe the longest version ever.

8/21/71 - Never hear this one get mentioned as much as Going to California or Orlando. This is easily up there with both of those shows, and may even surpass them in terms of performance. Robert's voice is utterly insane at this show. It's no wonder his voice began to decline after this gig. Still, he delivers here. Best version of Rock and Roll ever, IMO. Robert goes apeshit there!

6/15/72 - Despite the annoying tapers, the sound here is great, and the performance, as usual for this year, is outstanding. Dazed is unreal here!

3/27/75 - It's funny. I've never cared that much for 75 (found it too stale, Robert's voice, etc.)...yet I love this show. It's got a more laid back, relaxed vibe than the marathon performances in Vancouver and Seattle. The band just seems to really be enjoying themselves, and Jimmy in particular is having a great night (at least for the most part). Trampled Under Foot is fantastic. OTHAFA is very unique and (IIRC) the longest ever version. Dazed is pretty spooky here too. It's not as intense as it had been before, but in a way, the slow, ominous feel actually makes it darker (which is weird because I normally dislike 75 Dazeds). The Old Man/Loving You interlude is fantastic. Yeah, it runs too long, but it's still interesting.

5/18/75 - The best Earls Court show, IMO. Tight and consistent with no big flaws. Hopefully a soundboard and/or video will surface of it one day.

5/18/77 - A very solid performance that never gets talked about much. Apart from a couple of flubs in No Quarter and Ten Years Gone, the whole band is great, and the sound, while not perfect, is still listenable.

And, while I'm not sure if this would qualify as underappreciated...

9/23/71 - When it comes to the Japan tour, the Osaka shows (especially the last one) seem to get more attention. But the unbalanced sound of 9/29 always bothered me. Not only does 9/23 have better sound (or at least more balanced sound), but it also features Robert in better voice. Yes, the setlist is more standard, but they really give it their all for each and every song, so it works out in the end. 

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I also forgot to mention Baltimore 7/23/73. Despite the poor sound quality, the band is really ON here. Robert's voice is in great shape, the best he's sounded in almost a year. And Jimmy is outstanding here! Not only is Dazed and Confused fantastic, but the band plays it out of order! If we had a better quality recording, I think this would easily be mentioned in the same breath as 6/3/73 and 7/17/73 as the best show of the whole tour. Incredible!

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On ‎6‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 10:23 PM, ZepHead315 said:

I also forgot to mention Baltimore 7/23/73. Despite the poor sound quality, the band is really ON here. Robert's voice is in great shape, the best he's sounded in almost a year. And Jimmy is outstanding here! Not only is Dazed and Confused fantastic, but the band plays it out of order! If we had a better quality recording, I think this would easily be mentioned in the same breath as 6/3/73 and 7/17/73 as the best show of the whole tour. Incredible!

Completely agree.  I really need to have my "bootleg ears" on to listen to this show (even then it's a challenge), but it's clearly excellent (superb NQ in particular), would love to have a soundboard of this one.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Not heard as many Zep shows as others here but I will say that the 1980 tour is underrated in general. With the 1977 tour there was a feeling that the 70s had been pushed as far as possible, and the 80 shows were of a completely different vibe - much more stripped down, but still powerful and epic. Leaner and more agile, maybe? Of course there are some flaws, but in general I really like the direction the band was pushing in on this tour and it was very much the start of a new page in the band that was sadly cut short. Someone here pointed out that the 80 tour has a sense of reaching into the past and the future at the same time and I'd have to agree [shorter sets and Train Kept A'Rollin' for the opener, but newer synths and ITTOD material and fresh ways of approaching the songs to offset this].

I also really like what they did with WLL at Knebworth - I personally enjoy the riff jam mid-section much more than the theremin freakout of the original, and a lot more than the 50s rock n roll medleys [just not that bothered about extending WLL like that in general really].

I will also say that the live standard of the band in 1971 was so high that a lot of shows from more out of the way places like Newcastle etc. come across really well, at least according to what I've heard on Youtube. Special mention to Tokyo 23/09/71 as well.

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