I second that. And the Cleveland, Pontiac, Birmingham & New York shows...

Because Tempe "Achilles" is such a turd, you can't help but laugh...

This is always the right choice!

I can review Tempe for you: 💩

June 7, 1977 - New York -- Probably the weakest of the New York & Los Angeles shows, but Bonham is "on," as usual for '77...

Ok, will do. Thanks! I've never actually listened to a full show from 1980. Listened to bits of Rotterdam, Zurich & Frankfurt, and have always loved TUF & WLL from Berlin.

Really?! Which shows, specifically?

June 2, 1973 - San Francisco -- Fantastic, energetic show from start to finish!

May 31, 1973 - Los Angeles -- Bonzo "banging his balls out" on his 25th birthday; would've been 70 today 😪❤️ Perhaps Strider would care to share his recollections of the show? 🤞 Makes me wish we had a recording for 5/31/77 Greensboro -- Bonzo's Birthday Party, Vol. II

I usually assume a level-playing field, sound quality-wise, when I'm making my "best of"'s (i.e. assume we had them all on soundboard), but it's a pretty solid list.

Now that you mention it, this is quite true. The Dead had a decent amount of it, but they were pretty efficient at it. The Doors had an almost unbearable amount of it--many of their live albums have several tracks entitled "Tuning/Breather #1, 2, 3, etc."

I, too, am surprised at his take on Dazed, as it's always been one of my favourite versions. But, like you, it was my first exposure to live Dazed (and live Zepp, for that matter!), via that four-part YouTube video...God bless the guy who uploaded that--started me down the ol' rabbit's hole! To me, Bonham certainly sounds half-asleep during the first half of the show, but I never would've said that about Dazed.

May 25, 1975 - London -- Decided this year that I would listen to it first, so that I could compare it to the other '75 shows "apples to apples," and then watch the DVD a few days from now. I think it's certainly a Top-10 '75 show, especially when you factor in the setlist. If only it had the "Dazed And Confused" from the previous night... I'm on "The Song Remains The Same" right now; it's gotta be the most coked-up version of TSRTS ever--its running time is about 5:03, which has to be the shortest version ever without a cut in the tape...

Sort of goes hand-in-hand with not sound-checking, although I understand the logistics of that decision, given that they were often flying in from a different city just in time for the gig. But you'd think good ol' Raymond Thomas with the broken leg would've had them tuned up.

I always thought this was strange as well...

May 22, 1977 - Ft. Worth -- One of the better '77 shows, and one of the best recordings from the tour sound quality-wise. Sounds better than most, if not all, of the other '77 soundboards, and I find too many of the '77 audience tapes have a very harsh, metallic sound to them--maybe Jones' Alembic + Bonham's stainless steel kit + something else I haven't considered?

Yeah, I feel like it was in '73 too, but I wasn't going to guess one of the MSG shows. Was it one of the European shows? EDIT: Just flipped through every '73 show on TYOLZ, and he doesn't make any mention of either thing happening in any of the posts, which doesn't mean they didn't happen in '73...

I feel like I've heard it once before, but I forget where. Same for Plant skipping "does anybody remember laughter?"

The 23rd & 25th do indeed have great Stairway's, but I've gotta go with the 22nd for Stairway for two reasons: 1. Plant doesn't sing "does anybody remember laughter/forests?", and; 2. Jimmy jumps straight into the solo, rather than staying on the 12-string neck for an extra bar compared to the studio version.

May 18, 1975 - London -- I don't think I've listened to it since May 18 last year, which has been a huge mistake! Easily a top-five '75 show, probably top-three! Jimmy is on fire--can't wait for gibsonfan159's nitpicks of the Earls Court shows...

I think so 🤔

Nevermind, just checked and Thirty Years Gone does have the proper TYG. I'd share Second Night At The Forum with you, but I don't know how! I got it from Black Beauty and put it straight in my iTunes. Every song on it is available on Black Beauty, except BB is still not fully up-and-running 😕

Too bad you didn't have Scorpio's Second Night At The Forum to work with, as I believe it is the best sounding release of this show. In fact, I'm pretty sure Thirty Years Gone actually has "Ten Years Gone" from 6/25... With respect to Achilles (my all-time favourite version), that "Tempe" moment before Page's solo is actually Page breaking a string. They get back on track quickly because he grabbed his Deluxe Les Paul and finished the song with it. You can see this in the fan footage of it--he has the red LP later in the song.

Same here!

Agreed.