gibsonfan159 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 What are some songs they played live that just make you cringe? Is there a bad version of The Rain Song? They played it so well consistently that I don't know if I've heard a bad version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZepHead315 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 The go-to example for most people is Achilles Last Stand at Tempe. Not only does the recording suck (it's distant and muffled, and you can even hear "All Right Now" bleed through the tape towards the end), but the performance is horrendous. The intro is actually pretty cool and unique, but then a flashpot blew up in Jimmy's face, and he spends the rest of the song struggling (and failing) to catch up with the others. Plant's voice is shot and he seems confused about whether to follow Jimmy or Jones and Bonham, creating a cacophony of noise. This, imo, is the single worst performance of any song they ever did: As for The Rain Song, I don't think they ever played it horribly, but there are some versions out there where Robert's voice was pretty rough, or the mellotron got out of tune. Check out Sheffield 73 or Greensboro 75 for examples of Robert's voice at its weakest. Other than that, quite a few version of Rock and Roll were rather lackluster, due again to Robert's weak voice. There's also Kashmir from Zurich 1980. What a trainwreck. Check out 2:25 for when it really goes awry: Just a couple of examples. I'm sure others will provide plenty more, mostly from 77 onwards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonfan159 Posted September 22, 2017 Author Share Posted September 22, 2017 Here's one where Jimmy fudges What Is And What Should Never Be, though he gets back on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlennon696 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 15 minutes ago, ZepHead315 said: The go-to example for most people is Achilles Last Stand at Tempe. Not only does the recording suck (it's distant and muffled, and you can even hear "All Right Now" bleed through the tape towards the end), but the performance is horrendous. The intro is actually pretty cool and unique, but then a flashpot blew up in Jimmy's face, and he spends the rest of the song struggling (and failing) to catch up with the others. Plant's voice is shot and he seems confused about whether to follow Jimmy or Jones and Bonham, creating a cacophony of noise. This, imo, is the single worst performance of any song they ever did: As for The Rain Song, I don't think they ever played it horribly, but there are some versions out there where Robert's voice was pretty rough, or the mellotron got out of tune. Check out Sheffield 73 or Greensboro 75 for examples of Robert's voice at its weakest. Other than that, quite a few version of Rock and Roll were rather lackluster, due again to Robert's weak voice. There's also Kashmir from Zurich 1980. What a trainwreck. Check out 2:25 for when it really goes awry: Just a couple of examples. I'm sure others will provide plenty more, mostly from 77 onwards! It's funny, two of their best shows; Zurich and Badgeholders are both plagued by Kashmir botches. Although I don't mind the LA one too much tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
And You Know How It Is? Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 3 hours ago, gibsonfan159 said: What are some songs they played live that just make you cringe? Is there a bad version of The Rain Song? They played it so well consistently that I don't know if I've heard a bad version. Exactly two years apart and exactly the same result: Jimmy botches the solo badly in both songs: Oakland July 23, 1977 - Ten Years Gone Copenhagen July 23, 1979 - Misty Mountain Hop And, he makes amends on both songs, the next day at both shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rm2551 Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 Captain obvious here, hi. WSBMS, any show (or any I have heard, surprised if it is not all) from 1980. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porgie66 Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 (edited) 8 hours ago, johnlennon696 said: It's funny, two of their best shows; Zurich and Badgeholders are both plagued by Kashmir botches. Although I don't mind the LA one too much tbh. Wow!! That's brutal. Oops, Page and Bonzo fucked that one up, then Plant skips right to the ending verses which really screws things....as opposed to Badegholders , which Jones gaffs in the same spot. Edited September 23, 2017 by porgie66 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 7 hours ago, And You Know How It Is? said: Exactly two years apart and exactly the same result: Jimmy botches the solo badly in both songs: Oakland July 23, 1977 - Ten Years Gone Copenhagen July 23, 1979 - Misty Mountain Hop And, he makes amends on both songs, the next day at both shows. Exactly the first two songs that came to my mind. Other trainwrecks... Over the Hills and Far Away 8.11.79 Knebworth In My Time of Dying 5.26.77 Landover Moby Dick 5.26.77 Landover Song Remains the Same 4.27.77 Cleveland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Avenger Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 Heartbreaker from 1975.03.20. Seems like Jimmy started playing it by mistake. The first couple of minutes are really badly played. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IpMan Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 11 hours ago, rm2551 said: Captain obvious here, hi. WSBMS, any show (or any I have heard, surprised if it is not all) from 1980. The Vienna version is excellent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozoso73 Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 (edited) Achilles Last Stand 7/20/77. . This is the mother of all disasters. . Im perplexed by this recording and always have been. . For one it's in my backyard at ASU (which coincidently I saw Percy 11 years later Now And Zen tour). . Two, imagining being on stage when the BAND explodes. . looking at each other in that "what the fuck is going on up here"!. . This song is a technical bitch and with how fragile they could be on any given night in '77 Im surprised this didnt happen more often. .Third, Jimmy almost getting killed during all of this. . The crazy way , of all times and recordings, to have some ghost recording of All Right Now come in and THAT be the only recording of what could be considered the worst live moment in the history of the greatest band ever. . the moment it comes in always gets me. . The ending, the beginning, the middle. .When Percy says. . "That was ALS". . uhh no it wasn't. . PS When did the pyro go off and almost get Jimmy?? PPS THX Zephead315 for posting it. .I had to listen to it 3 times. . Edited September 23, 2017 by Bozoso73 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 1 hour ago, Bozoso73 said: PS When did the pyro go off and almost get Jimmy?? The pyro always went off after Jimmy's arpeggio intro and Bonzo and Jones crashed in as Jimmy hit the wah wah chords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozoso73 Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 1 hour ago, Strider said: The pyro always went off after Jimmy's arpeggio intro and Bonzo and Jones crashed in as Jimmy hit the wah wah chords. Ahh yes but in this instance, the one that Robert is talking castration, the flash pots. . do they go off early? When and where. . cant make out anything like that happening in the audio. .When I think of flash pots, I think of James Hetfield and wonder if that kind of thing almost happened in Tempe. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul carruthers Posted September 23, 2017 Share Posted September 23, 2017 I'm not sure if "trainwreck" is spot on, but when people say Zep never did a bad TUF, this usually leaps to mind. And yet, I still find it kind of groovy, in spite of Jimmy's struggles during the jam portion of the song... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonfan159 Posted September 23, 2017 Author Share Posted September 23, 2017 I did a quick remaster on the Tempe Achilles and brightened it up. If you don't listen closely it doesn't seem different, but if you do pay attention, holy crap. They're all playing/singing different parts of the song out of sync. It's almost comical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutrocker Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 11 hours ago, gibsonfan159 said: I did a quick remaster on the Tempe Achilles and brightened it up. If you don't listen closely it doesn't seem different, but if you do pay attention, holy crap. They're all playing/singing different parts of the song out of sync. It's almost comical. Yeah, I think it's pretty safe to say that the Tempe "Achilles" is the blue ribbon winner for Zeppelin's single worst live performance (the rest of the gig- at least based on the incomplete audience tape we have- isn't that bad) That flash pot going off near Jimmy must have been one helluva bang. It sounds like the entire band was thrown off kilter by it, not just Page. They do bounce back nicely for a good long version of "Stairway" right after though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindwillie127 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I think they may have blown their wad during the stellar 6 night run at the L.A. Forum. After that, they took 3 weeks off and when they resumed the 3rd leg of the tour they played at Seattle n Arizona, possibly their two worst back to back shows ever. Oakland was better, but definitely lacked the fire and momentum the band had built up and prominently displayed 6 nights in a row at The Forum. Then, off for another extended break before the planned final leg of tour, which of course never happened. I think the mayhem and indulgence of Zep in '77 caught up to them and basically, they ran out of gas. They were not the same band after the L.A. run....ever again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedElvis75 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 On 9/23/2017 at 4:40 AM, Strider said: Exactly the first two songs that came to my mind. Other trainwrecks... Over the Hills and Far Away 8.11.79 Knebworth In My Time of Dying 5.26.77 Landover Moby Dick 5.26.77 Landover Song Remains the Same 4.27.77 Cleveland huh??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedElvis75 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 On 9/24/2017 at 6:44 AM, Nutrocker said: Yeah, I think it's pretty safe to say that the Tempe "Achilles" is the blue ribbon winner for Zeppelin's single worst live performance (the rest of the gig- at least based on the incomplete audience tape we have- isn't that bad) That flash pot going off near Jimmy must have been one helluva bang. It sounds like the entire band was thrown off kilter by it, not just Page. They do bounce back nicely for a good long version of "Stairway" right after though. I've always stayed away from this one. This and Greensboro 75. Too much of a diehard fanboy to listen to arguably their two worst shows. Will. Not. Do. It!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strider Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 2 hours ago, LedElvis75 said: huh??? Maybe I'm mistaken on the date, but I always thought Jimmy scrapes up the solos on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LedElvis75 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 3 hours ago, Strider said: Maybe I'm mistaken on the date, but I always thought Jimmy scrapes up the solos on this one. Yeah-a little bit. Went and listened to it again and Jimmy is a little weak. Bonzo is magnificent (as usual in 77) which hides a lot of Jimmy's sloppiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonfan159 Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Something Page always struggled with on the 75 tour- the Black Dog solo. This one is from Baton Rouge. How this show started off so great and turned a bit so bad near the end baffles me. I think Page may have indulged backstage during Moby Dick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonfan159 Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 4 hours ago, LedElvis75 said: Yeah-a little bit. Went and listened to it again and Jimmy is a little weak. Bonzo is magnificent (as usual in 77) which hides a lot of Jimmy's sloppiness. It's certainly a matter of opinion, but I've always thought Page was below average on Destroyer. That TSRTS sounds like his fingers are taped together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutrocker Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 16 hours ago, LedElvis75 said: I've always stayed away from this one. This and Greensboro 75. Too much of a diehard fanboy to listen to arguably their two worst shows. Will. Not. Do. It!!!! Give 'em a listen. Like i said, other than "Achilles" Tempe isn't that bad of a performance (Plant's voice is the real wink link on the night), Greensboro is half decent as well. Let's put it this way: there are worse performances on the 1980 tour IMO than Tempe or Greensboro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boogie Chillen 82 Posted March 1, 2018 Share Posted March 1, 2018 (edited) I don't get the Greensboro '75 mentions on this thread. There is nothing there like the flubbed BD solo on 2-28-75 (later during the same tour, when Jimmy was in peak shape), or the disaster of Tempe ALS. It's actually pretty good, given that one of the guys plays with a hurt finger and another is still getting over a massive flu. Edit: played some of it on the way to work this morning, and found two minor mistakes - in IMTOD and Kashmir. The songs don't go off the rails completely but somebody briefly messes up, I think JPJ and Bonzo miss the start of Jimmy's second solo in IMTOD and I'm not sure what happens in Kashmir but it doesn't sound right at about 4.30 or so. So in addition to Jimmy's finger and Robert's flu they're having some trouble with the new songs. NQ smokes though. Edited March 1, 2018 by Boogie Chillen 82 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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