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Pick em . . Japan 1971 or 1972?


Bozoso73

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With all this talk of 9/29 I got to thinking. . What's my favorite? I might be in the minority but I like 72 by a nose even though the band seemed tighter in 71, I like the new material of HOTH being inroduced to an audience when they were still 6 months from getting released.  "The Campaign" gets me everytime:) 

So what do you think?  

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Japan '71 by a mile for me. The band is looser, more confident, trying out new material left and right, and the whole shows have this feeling of unpredictability to them. There's a mindset that anything could happen. Plant could get the band into a Beatles mini-medley, Bonham could just walk offstage during the acoustic set, and the boys could bust out something like Friends or Down By the Riverside at any given time. The Whole Lotta Love medleys in particular are just insane, wild, and out of control in the best way.

Ironically enough, Japan 1971 is my favorite tour they ever did, while Japan 1972 is probably my least favorite tour of their early period (68-73). To me, it just sounds like they're going through the motions. I don't hear that fire or passion that characterized most of their shows of that era. I don't know, maybe it's just me. If I want to hear HOTH being introduced to a new audience, I'll listen to something like Seattle or "Burn Like a Candle" long before I bother with Japan 72.

Just my two cents.

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In truth, I prefer the North American shows earlier in September '71 to the Japanese shows later that month.  But apart from that, yeah, this is a no-brainer:  '71 Japan over '72.  '72 was interesting because of their experimental nature, changing the setlist, etc.  But as far as that development goes, compare the British shows in December to the Japanese shows in October.  Another easy choice.  Japan '72 was a necessary stepping stone, but ultimately nothing more.

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Good question. I thought we were running out on this site. I would take 1971. I just hate the Dancing Days versions of 1972. Jimmy is out of tune and band seems sloppy. Pieces are played a tad slower and hinting toward the lumbering American live approach ( ala Celebration Day ) in the 1973 tour.  To be quite honest and of course the subsequent years speak for themselves , the band was probably tired. 

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1971, no doubt among the very best performances of their entire career.

The 1972 concerts are a kind of try-out for the new setlist, sometimes the band sounds tired & under-rehearsed. Still, there are some great moments.

Luis Rey stigmatised the whole 72 tour as a  "great disappointment", which is neither true nor fair, as he simply compared it to the 71 tour, comparing apples & oranges.......

 

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6 hours ago, Bonzo_fan said:

To be fair, I've never listened to much from Japan '72--I've been meaning to for awhile now--but I suspect I will prefer '71 as the rest of you do.

Last time I listened to a Japan 72 show was early summer last year. I put on a Budokan show while mowing the yard and just got extremely disappointed in Page's playing. Like you, maybe I just need to sit down and give them all a good listen.

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  • 1 month later...
On 9/27/2018 at 8:39 PM, ZepHead315 said:

Japan '71 by a mile for me. The band is looser, more confident, trying out new material left and right, and the whole shows have this feeling of unpredictability to them. There's a mindset that anything could happen. Plant could get the band into a Beatles mini-medley, Bonham could just walk offstage during the acoustic set, and the boys could bust out something like Friends or Down By the Riverside at any given time. The Whole Lotta Love medleys in particular are just insane, wild, and out of control in the best way.

Ironically enough, Japan 1971 is my favorite tour they ever did, while Japan 1972 is probably my least favorite tour of their early period (68-73). To me, it just sounds like they're going through the motions. I don't hear that fire or passion that characterized most of their shows of that era. I don't know, maybe it's just me. If I want to hear HOTH being introduced to a new audience, I'll listen to something like Seattle or "Burn Like a Candle" long before I bother with Japan 72.

Just my two cents.

I can see that. One of the problems with the Japan 72 tour is that Plant's voice was really starting to crack. In the Japan 71 tour his voice was much more powerful, able to access the high range and more reliable. When it comes to 72 tours, I happen to like the Australian dates.

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