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'77 Guitar solo


JesseNoah

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I like how this thread went from being an innocent question to the umpteenth "Let's Bash the '77 Noise Solo" tangent. :slapface:

For the record, IMHO, it's a little late to be wishing that Led Zeppelin had done anything different. Maybe it's because 1977/06/21 was my first experience of listening to unofficial Zep, but I love the 3 hour marathons. I admit I don't always stick around for Moby Dick or Over the Top, but I just take it all for what it is, and love it anyway. Like you do in any good relationship.

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Sounds plausible on the surface, but if it were true don't you think one of the band members would have substantiated it by now? Aside from that, we must remember it was an era of excess and self-indulgence; the scaled-down approach of 1980 was long overdue. I've said it before, within every bloated '77 show is a killer 90 minute concert just dying to be heard. Given the choice between a three hour noise fest or a tight 90 minute showcase I would have suggested the showcase format. However, as we know now, that would have been like suggesting the skinny ties of 1980 in 1977.

I'm pretty sure Steve that Robert himself said so. Either in that LA Times interview following the Dallas opening show, or possibly referencing the first couple shows on the tour, where his foot was in pain having to stand as long as he did during the show (I can't remember where I read it, but the pain occurred early in the tour and was referencing either the Dallas, OKC, or the first Chicago dates).

Allegedly his foot was not completely healed at the start of the '77 tour, and commentary was written supporting this (again, can't remember where I read this). I'll tell you who could verify this, and from the posts I've read, you've been in touch with him: Richard Cole.

That said, maybe the 1977 set list somewhat accommodated his recovery, and yes, at this point, numbers like No Quarter were not going to be reduced in minutes after it's gradual length increase from 1973 to 1975. So, I'd meet in the middle and suggest it was a combination of both.

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I'm pretty sure Steve that Robert himself said so. Either in that LA Times interview following the Dallas opening show, or possibly referencing the first couple shows on the tour, where his foot was in pain having to stand as long as he did during the show (I can't remember where I read it, but the pain occurred early in the tour and was referencing either the Dallas, OKC, or the first Chicago dates).

Allegedly his foot was not completely healed at the start of the '77 tour, and commentary was written supporting this (again, can't remember where I read this). I'll tell you who could verify this, and from the posts I've read, you've been in touch with him: Richard Cole.

That said, maybe the 1977 set list somewhat accommodated his recovery, and yes, at this point, numbers like No Quarter were not going to be reduced in minutes after it's gradual length increase from 1973 to 1975. So, I'd meet in the middle and suggest it was a combination of both.

I'll see what I can find in those interviews. I'm skeptical in part because there are photos of him playing soccer outdoors in what is thought to be June 1977.

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^^^

I've seen those photos of Robert playing soccer at Balboa Park in Encino dated 1976, 1977, and 1978, depending on the publication, so who knows exactly when they were taken.

I'm pretty sure Steve that Robert himself said so. Either in that LA Times interview following the Dallas opening show, or possibly referencing the first couple shows on the tour, where his foot was in pain having to stand as long as he did during the show (I can't remember where I read it, but the pain occurred early in the tour and was referencing either the Dallas, OKC, or the first Chicago dates).

Allegedly his foot was not completely healed at the start of the '77 tour, and commentary was written supporting this (again, can't remember where I read this). I'll tell you who could verify this, and from the posts I've read, you've been in touch with him: Richard Cole.

That said, maybe the 1977 set list somewhat accommodated his recovery, and yes, at this point, numbers like No Quarter were not going to be reduced in minutes after it's gradual length increase from 1973 to 1975. So, I'd meet in the middle and suggest it was a combination of both.

I posted that LA Times article about the Dallas tour opener a couple years ago...maybe that's where you read it? Plant definitely makes mention of how he's still struggling with his injury and worried about putting too much stress on it. So it's not inconceivable to me that the band tailored the set to accommodate Plant.

Here's the original 77 LA Times article below:

Post #12: Happy Easter! Led Zeppelin Resurrected

My computer is dead and my phone stolen, so I've been distracted a tad...and then, there was Easter last weekend, so I've missed a couple dates in my timeline. Until I am able to retrieve some of my lost materials, I won't be able to attach any images for the time being, as I don't have time to go back digging through my storage to find everything again...it's all buried.

Anyway, carrying on...

Date: Easter Sunday April 10, 1977

It was Easter 35 years ago today and I didn't do much that entire weekend...saving my money and my energies for the week to come. Led Zeppelin, on the other hand, was just over a week into their tour, and was on this very night playing the last of their 4 shows at Chicago Stadium...the "Stormtrooper" show.

Led Zeppelin had definitely resurrected, and earlier in the week...on Tuesday April 5, 1977, to be exact...there was a Los Angeles Times article about the opening show of the tour in Dallas, written by the Chief Pop Music critic for the Times, Robert Hilburn. This was kind of a big deal, as usually Hilburn only reviewed out-of-town shows for acts that he considered legendary: the Stones, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley.

For Led Zeppelin, he would typically review the LA gig and that was it...and usually he would harp on what he felt was the band's lack of imagination and excess. For him to go out to Dallas for the opening of the 1977 tour was a big surprise to me and other long-time readers of Hilburn's work with the L.A. Times. The Concert Timeline section of this site only has part of the article in its Memorabilia archives, so I am reproducing it in full now...EXACTLY how it was written, not a word or letter changed.

Los Angeles Times Tuesday April 5, 1977 View Section IV Page 1

Led Zeppelin Lands Safely in Dallas

By Robert Hilburn

Times Pop Music Critic

DALLAS - Led Zeppelin, generally conceded to be the world's most popular rock 'n' roll band, has fond memories of this Texas city.

It was here at the Dallas Pop Festival in 1969 that the then-recently formed English band climaxed a triumphant U.S. tour that established it as a major new force in rock. It was also in Dallas four years ago that a local oil man's daughter hired a private jet to follow Zeppelin's plane out of town.

But neither those or other Dallas memories begin to match the importance-or emotionalism-of Zeppelin's appearance last weekend at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium.

The band, whose future has been in doubt since lead singer Robert Plant severely injured his right foot in a near-fatal 1975 auto crash, returned to live shows Friday night with a stirring performance that reassured both the group and its fans about Zeppelin's ability to continue.

There were lots of rough spots in the band's first appearance in nearly two years, but there was only jubilation on the faces of Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham after the three-hour show as they raced to limousines for the ride to the airport.

Later, inside the luxury Boeing 707 that the band has chartered for its U.S. tour, the group embraced with the emotionalism of a high school team that just won the state championship.

"Sure, it was emotional," Plant said, relaxing in a New Orleans hotel room the next afternoon. "We had just cleared the biggest hurdle of our career. It was a chapter in my life that I never really knew if I'd be able to see.

"I tried to keep a positive attitude in the months after the accident, but even after I was able to walk again I didn't know how the foot would holdup on stage. Even the rehearsals didn't prove it to me. I was so nervous before we went on stage last night that I almost threw up. I could feel the tenseness in my throat for the first couple of songs. I kept telling myself to loosen up.

"The whole show possessed an element of emotionalism that I've never known before. I could just as easily have knelt on the stage and cried. I was so happy. I don't think I've ever sung better in America. I mean I'd have liked for everybody who ever wanted to see us to have been there..."

Plant, 28, was vacationing with his wife and their two children when the auto accident occurred on a small Greek island. Doctors said he wouldn't be able to walk for at least six months. There was even a chance he would be crippled.

Though touring was still out of the question, Plant had recovered well enough by late 1975 to record the "Presence" album with the band. But he had to sit on a stool during the 18 days of recording.

With doctors warning another serious blow to the foot could leave him crippled, he went through a terrifying moment during the session. Caught up in the excitement of one of the tracks, he slipped and put his full weight on the foot for the first time since the accident.

"Jimmy (Page) flew through the air and tried to hold me up, but I just sank. They took me to the hospital to make sure I hadn't reopened the fracture." In light of the incident, the band titled the track "Achilles Last Stand".

With doctors' assurances that Plant's foot could stand up to the strain of his flashy, stallion-like prancing on stage, Zeppelin finally scheduled a U.S. tour for this spring. It was to have begun Feb. 27 in Ft. Worth. But it had to be canceled. Ironically, Plant was again the reason. He came down with tonsilitis just before the band, which had been rehearsing for weeks in England, was ready to come to the United States. The illness added to his frustration.

"We had rehearsed right up until the week before we were due to come over here, which, I can see now, was probably pusghing things a bit too much," Plant said.

"After the rehearsals, I went to Wales. I was in the hills when I woke up one morning with a soreness in my throat. I thought, 'Oh, good Lord, isn't there any end to this?' I had a fever that went clear off the thermometer.

"I felt even worse because it was me again causing the problems. I haven't been away from performing this long since I was 14."

On the first two legs of the rescheduled tour, Led Zeppelin will be seen by more than 700,000 persons in 40 shows. More than 108,000 will see the group in its six sold-out shows starting June 21 at the Inglewood Forum. It's the first time a rock group has ever played six nights at the 18,700-seat facility.

Because of the delays, Plant, understandably, was the first member of the band to come to the hotel lobby Friday night for the ride to the auditorium. He chatted good-naturedly with a few fans and posed for pictures for amateur photographers.

When the band stepped on stage just after 8, the audience roared its appreciation. Though much has been written about the aggressive nature of Zeppelin's audience in responding to the band's high-energy musical assault, the tone Friday was one of warmth. The audience, one sensed, was simply glad to see its band.

"I was afraid we'd never be able to see them again," said Carol Morett, a 17-year-old from neighboring Ft. Worth. "When the tour was canceled the first time, I was afraid it was something wrong with Robert's leg. I thought the thing about tonsilitis was just an excuse. I'm so glad to see he's OK. He's the greatest. This whole band is the greatest."

Never a critic's favorite, Zeppelin, too, played with an eagerness and joy that was contagious. I still think they'd be more effective-considering the limitation of much of their material-to cut an hour out of their set, thus shedding some of the excess.

But the audience-even after two encores-seemed ready for more. The applause could still be heard from the hall as the limousines pulled onto the street after the show.

"You can't pretend last night's concert was the greatest we've ever done, but there was something between us after that long gap that enabled us-in certain songs, where we really got hold of it-to go far beyond where we had been before," Plant said Saturday in New Orleans.

Yes, he said, he had thought about not being able to return to the band. "I wouldn't have compromised. I couldn't have gone on a stage and sat on a stool all night. I've got to be able to move around.

"As much as you can develop a wonderfully warm rapport with people, the natural thing is to watch someone's weak point, particularly when so much has been written about my foot. It would be just, 'Aw, look, he ain't doin' it right; he's slowed down.' And I just wouldn't have been able to take that.

"I just kept kicking the foot down on the stage real hard last night to show myself I could do it. In fact, I paid the price. It got a little sore. But it'll come around. I'm just out of condition.

"There are a few things I won't be able to do because of the foot. I can't play soccer because the contact could reinjure it. But it's not something to brood about.

"After two more years off, there's nothing in the world I want to do more than get on that stage. If every night could be like last night, then I'll be overjoyed. I just can't wait."

Zeppelin Song Book

Led Zeppelin's opening-night song selection (subject to change on future dates): "The Song Remains the Same", "Sick Again", "Nobody's Fault but Mine", "In My Time of Dying", "Since I've Been Loving You", "No Quarter", "Ten Years Gone", "Battle of Evermore", "Going to California", "Black Country Woman", "Bron-y-ar", "Kashmir", "Moby Dick", "Dazed and Confused"(instrumental only), "Achilles Last Stand", "Stairway to Heaven". Encores: "Black Dog" and "Rock and Roll".

Copyright Los Angeles Times.

There was a photo of Robert Plant from the Dallas show, taken by Neal Preston, accompanying the article...the caption said "ROBERT PLANT...a joyous return to concerts."

Now, the most important thing I took from this article was for the first time since I started going to see Led Zeppelin in concert, I had advance notice of what the setlist would most likely be. Previously, I could only guess...sure concert warhorses like Stairway, Rock and Roll, and Dazed and Confused were a given, and I had a few bootlegs of older tours. But the 1977 tour was the first time I knew going in what was going to be played, and in what order...I knew the opening would be TSRTS and what the acoustic set would entail. I was ecstatic that "Achilles" and "Ten Years Gone" were in...but somewhat bummed that yet again, no "The Rover" or "When the Levee Breaks" or "Immigrant Song".

I was intrigued by what was meant by "Dazed and Confused"(instrumental only)...would they only play the fast solo part? The whole song but with no lyrics? What the hell did that mean?

I have a feeling Mike Millard also read this article, and that it helped him plan on when to make his tape swaps...if you listen to "Listen to This, Eddie", it is remarkable how perfect he timed his flips and didn't miss much music, considering it was the first night.

Oh, and this wasn't the only Led Zeppelin item in the Los Angeles Times that day...in that day's Sports Section, in the Morning Briefing on Page 2, was this little curio:

Los Angeles Times Tuesday April 5, 1977 Sports Section III Page 2:

Morning Briefing

This week's Stanley Cup first-round playoffs between

the New York Islanders and the Chicago Black Hawks have

sent none other than Bugs Bunny hippety-hopping out of the

Islanders' home rink.

The Nassau Coliseum had been leased to a Bugs Bunny

Easter extravaganza Thursday night, when the second game

of the best-of-three series is scheduled. The Islanders bought

out the show.

Thursday's game was supposed to have been played in Chicago,

but the Black Hawks had a scheduling problem too: a Led Zeppelin

rock concert. Apparently, that show must go on.

Copyright Los Angeles Times.

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  • 5 years later...

To answer your question of which '77 Noise Solos stick out to me:

June 13 - New York -- All-time best theremin section on this one, and not particularly close IMO

June 22 - Los Angeles -- Bonus points for flowing into the best Achilles Last Stand of all time

June 26 - Los Angeles -- Very long and very good, unlike the next night (very long and OK)

All three of those always feel cohesive and focused to me.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/21/2019 at 6:03 PM, Bonzo_fan said:

To answer your question of which '77 Noise Solos stick out to me:

June 13 - New York -- All-time best theremin section on this one, and not particularly close IMO

June 22 - Los Angeles -- Bonus points for flowing into the best Achilles Last Stand of all time

June 26 - Los Angeles -- Very long and very good, unlike the next night (very long and OK)

All three of those always feel cohesive and focused to me.

Can you tell if he plays "Dixie" during the harmonizer section on the 22nd? I know he plays "Feelin' Groovy" before the theremin section. He plays something patriotic sounding before that though, I can't tell what it is. Sounds like "Dixie" to me. 

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14 hours ago, Daeron said:

Can you tell if he plays "Dixie" during the harmonizer section on the 22nd? I know he plays "Feelin' Groovy" before the theremin section. He plays something patriotic sounding before that though, I can't tell what it is. Sounds like "Dixie" to me. 

I've never noticed, but I'll listen again.

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16 hours ago, Daeron said:

Can you tell if he plays "Dixie" during the harmonizer section on the 22nd? I know he plays "Feelin' Groovy" before the theremin section. He plays something patriotic sounding before that though, I can't tell what it is. Sounds like "Dixie" to me. 

Jimmy Page would often play "Star-Spangled Banner" and/or "Dixie"/"God Save the Queen". But the June 22 show is the rare time Jimmy didn't play any of those songs. "Feeling Groovy" is the only recognizable song during the harmonizer scribble section.

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6 hours ago, Strider said:

Jimmy Page would often play "Star-Spangled Banner" and/or "Dixie"/"God Save the Queen". But the June 22 show is the rare time Jimmy didn't play any of those songs. "Feeling Groovy" is the only recognizable song during the harmonizer scribble section.

He plays something around the 0:57-1:12 mark that sounded vaguely familiar to me.. but you're probably right. Maybe it's just me being OCD 🤔🤣

Edited by Daeron
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On 1/23/2014 at 8:24 PM, Sue Dounim said:

it's weird, I love listening to the noise solos

I do too. I have a decent version of the Destroyer on CD, maybe cdr who knows. When I sat down and played it I was like “wow that must’ve been loud as hell in a stadium?” Then reading in this form that a lot of people trash Zeppelin 77’ tour, it made me wonder why? Zeppelin wasn’t touring for a cash grab, their was such a HUGE demand for the band to play live. It was understood that a Zeppelin concert was like going to a religious experience with 60, thousand other followers. Yeah maybe drugs were part of it but that was just for enhancing the experience of the show, (moderation) I could careless what those guys did backstage, from what I’ve read, researched, those lucky enough to attend a Zeppelin concert back in 1977 had a damn good time. As for the noises from Jimmy guitar, that would be fun to do in my garage..lol

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On ‎1‎/‎23‎/‎2014 at 8:24 PM, Sue Dounim said:

it's weird, I love listening to the noise solos

Me too!!  It's sort of a true live experience and if the '77 version of No Quarter lacked something that the '73 and '75 versions had then Jimmy's solo gives some of the gloom and doom back.  In a way it has kind of a horror effect that I like. 

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How many guitar solos did heroin laced Jimmy have in each show ...

No Quarter

Acoustic Interlude 

Pre Kashmir White Summer

electric bow solo

Heartbreaker ..if played 

Talk about overindulgence and you can add a 30 minute drum solo. 

All guitar solos played as if Jimmy just got his fingers in the mail that day. 

 

 

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