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European Tour 1973


tictac

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Hi there.

Searching through wikipedia and reading about this tour appears this: "Some critics consider Led Zeppelin to have been at their technical peak during this tour".

Any opinion on this? Somebody with whole lotta bootlegs can confirm it?

Thanks.

TT.

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Hi there.

Searching through wikipedia and reading about this tour appears this: "Some critics consider Led Zeppelin to have been at their technical peak during this tour".

Any opinion on this? Somebody with whole lotta bootlegs can confirm it?

Thanks.

TT.

Absolutely! The following is from their Hamburg show 3/21/73

LED ZEPPELIN at their best!

Listen to the last 8 minutes of Dazed And Confused...

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Yup. The German/Vienna shows show Page at his most exciting and the band really did peak, even if Plant's voice was no longer capable of reaching the upper registers like he did back in '71.

If Page would ever consider cleaning up one of those soundboards from Germany or Vienna and making it available it would be snapped up by Zep fans in a heartbeat.

Hi there.

Searching through wikipedia and reading about this tour appears this: "Some critics consider Led Zeppelin to have been at their technical peak during this tour".

Any opinion on this? Somebody with whole lotta bootlegs can confirm it?

Thanks.

TT.

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Tic Tac is saying that, in his opinion, the "technical peak" of the band doesn't correspond to their "composing peak." So you don't get to hear them play some mid and late era classics with the flawless fluency of the earlier days.

That's a common view, although I actually think that they played with a maturity and confidence and generally a much broader artistic vision in the later years that totally made up for the lack of technical perfection. In fact, I think in some cases, the supposed lack of perfection was actually a deliberate change of style...for the better in my opinion. That's not an effort to make excuses for the occasional disasters. Anyway...if I did you a disservice in my translation, Tic Toc, I'm sorry.

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I agree with ClusterPye and miel.

When it comes to 1973...I wouldn't put any of the January British shows as exemplifying their "technical peak." Listening to the SBD fragment from Hamburg the other day, though...that blew me away. If you can get by the low fidelity of the audience recordings from France or Germany (they often hinder my enjoyment) then you'll certainly get to experience some of the best performances by the band, no doubt.

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I agree with ClusterPye and miel.

When it comes to 1973...I wouldn't put any of the January British shows as exemplifying their "technical peak." Listening to the SBD fragment from Hamburg the other day, though...that blew me away. If you can get by the low fidelity of the audience recordings from France or Germany (they often hinder my enjoyment) then you'll certainly get to experience some of the best performances by the band, no doubt.

I don't know about that...1/22/73 was an outstanding show - musicianship, presentation of the songs, and technically.

A good pair of headphones can come in handy on many of those audience "boots"

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Yes, March '73 definitely finds the band at their hottest ever instrumentally. Bonham especially did things that month that he never did before or after. Just listen to Dazed & Confused from each of the German shows and see Page vs Bonham at its peak. The starts and stops, call and response games, and general jamming were something to behold. They were on fire.

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I don't know about that...1/22/73 was an outstanding show - musicianship, presentation of the songs, and technically.

A good pair of headphones can come in handy on many of those audience "boots"

Plant's voice is a bit too raw/flu-ey for me in January; the other members appear to have been a bit under the weather, as well, at least based on what I've heard. I suppose it is time I revisit those concerts, though...

My headphones won't get rid of the echo and cacophony of the audience boots - gimme a SBD any day, especially one as awesome sounding as Hamburg.

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Cluesterpye and mielazul understood me.

To clarify more, is not my opinion that Led Zeppelin were at their peak (globally) in 72 & 73. It is what I read and summarizing all the data I have from this forum, articles and wikipedia.

I had the Earl's Court concerts as their peak, from what I read, before the 2003 DVD appeared. When appeared I think it was they were in the best form I watched/heard them. Then we had How The West Was Won and I had access to more bootlegs, more information (The Concert Files by David Lewis and Simon Pallett is a Quran, in this aspect) and my foundations are beginning to shake.

That's why I asked in this forum.

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  • 6 months later...

Amstel pretty much nailed it...that 1973 Hamburg show is Hotter than a Hindenburg! The '73 Offenburg show is another scorcher...the best audience tape of the tour.

To put it another way, imagine the Led Zeppelin of Germany 1973...or 1971...playing a 1975 or 1977 setlist?

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To put it another way, imagine the Led Zeppelin of Germany 1973...or 1971...playing a 1975 or 1977 setlist?

I think that's a slippery slope, or a pipe-dreamy-type line of thought -- different people, different times, different inspirations. It took the band's collective turmoil c.1973/1974-1976(ish) to produce the material from Physical Graffiti and Presence, which (at least IMO) greatly and positively impacted their development as musicians and a live act.

The rest of the band might have been up to the task in 1977 -- or at least able to put in a good try -- but Jimmy was a bit too entrenched in...whatever it was he was dealing with at the time, whether it be alcohol or heroin (or both).

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