[Best Stairway]

i prefer any verion up to 73 really and a few from 75 (EC being the obvious) i find that after that planty loses interest in it even if some of the solos got better albeit longer and longer, and the song becomes more lumpen

to proffer a negative reply instead of the requested positive. i heard the berlin 80 version of stairway not too long ago for the first time and found it to be unbearable. i heard it all the way through but really didnt want to as i found page's solo to be seriouslly lacking and i thought to my self that were i to watch a trubute band playing that same solo id laugh them out the place

the longest version of the solo turns out to be (in my opinion) the worst. had he have played the solo at that length up to 73 when he was arguably at his most fluid, then i'd still think it was far too long but more acceptable. i know dave lewis and many others like the subjective idea of the final version of stairway being emotional and page maybe knew somehow it might be his last go at it, but for me its just indulgent nonsense

my wife came through the room when i was playing this version,. now she puts up with a lot of zeppelin from me and is used to page noodling away, and she rarely swears but she said "what the f*ck is that?" and told me to put it on headphones or turn it off. i had to agree, i shalln't be returning to it in a hurry

Indeed.

[Best Stairway]

I'd have to agree and disagree with Strider. For me the Berkeley 1971 version is as good as it gets, and the organ worked better than the mellotron (same with ''Thank You'')

While there are some 1971 solos that are hardly inspiring and some of them are of the ''who bets 3 Euros that Jimmy's gonna finish on the next F major chord'' sort, in 1971 and early 1972 every solo was quite unique. In 1972 Jimmy started using his ''templates'', including the riff that wraps up the solo (which I am not a big fan of). 1973 saw further development of templates. In 1975 he used the same standard riffs from 1973, the solos got too long for my taste (frequently Jimmy seemed to kill the time before returning to another stock riff of his). Of course one must take Jimmy's technical decline in consideration. I don't think there are more than 10 solos from 1975 that I really like.

Naturally, I agree with everybody that Plant's singing and attitude got worse every year.

Studio version is indeed superb, but the coda could have been more powerful (I don't know how).

So, my favourites are:

Berkeley 1971

Toronto 1971

Tokyo 1971 (23.09)

Osaka 1971 (both shows)

London 1971 (BBC and Empire Pool)

Manchester 1971

LA Forum 1973 (2nd show)

Providence 1973

TSRTS

Good solos:

Seattle 1975 (2nd show)

Final night of Earls Court

For Badgeholders only

And if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the battlefield.

[What show or live song are you listening to now?]

July 17, 1973 Seattle. 40 years ago. One of the best shows from the 1973 tour. I prefer the audience to the soundboard...it is one of the few really essential boots from 1973.

Ditto. I would never recommend the SBD version of this show to someone who hasn't yet listened to it. Same with Bonzo's Birthday Party.

[Best Kashmir live version]

Seattle 21-03-1975 and LTTE.

The version from MSG 1975-02-12 (''That's Alright New York'' boot) has weak vocals but the sound is HUGE.