Simple extortion thats all.

I have that vinyl

If I were Jimmy i would have my lawyer put a research team together to find as many songs as they could that sound similar to other songs and show the court a presentation that documents how many bands have done the same thing throughout time. I still say 4 notes does not a theft make. Seems like someone has done some research already. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWMdiRq0XKE

I am 48 years old and I have been defending Zeppelin since 1985. Its funny how a thousand bands have done the same thing (been inspired by a few notes and then wrote something completely different) but its only Zeppelin you hear about. People are just so damn stupid and have to have something to bash or they aren't happy. Its really like they have never heard another song that sounded similar to another one in their entire lives and in this case its like 4 notes for about 3 seconds. Plus!, the notes in question aren't even the crux of the song and Taurus sucks wind compared to Stairway which is why Stairway is so beloved by millions around the world and Taurus is an obscure song that no one outside of Spirit fans even know about. This guy is a just a jealous idiot who wants to try and cash in on something ha had no part in ever!!

yup, The best performance of this song hands down. June 23rd 1977

There's also the statute of limitations to contend with. Theft isn't like murder, Its possible that it may no longer be a crime you could be prosecuted for.

Yep, the critics were far to tough on Zeppelin back then. When they could have canceled a shit load of shows for Plants bad voice or Jimmy's bad finger they instead played on and that's why the critics were mad. They couldn't understand what it took to get up there and play under those conditions and they whined about it. Most bands wouldn't have the fortitude to do that. Also the critics didn't have an attention span long enough to enjoy No Quarter so they poo pooed it all as noodling around but we know better.

I really like that bootleg despite the tapers. It was among the second stack of Zeppelin vinyl I purchased at a record show back in 1987. Still have it today and I just listened to this show a few weeks ago. If you own a pair of bootleg ears like mine then its a very worthy listen.

Really, C'mon man! I know who Roy Harper is!! but apparently the guy who wrote the article doesnt! he lists Ray Harper and Jimmy Page. My post was just pointing out the typo with a chuckle.

^^^ Who the heck is Ray Harper!

Nothing wrong with the The Firm.

He and I hung around a lot, he lived down the street from me. We pretty much grew up together. We were partying one night and we had taken some mescaline and I knew that the Song Remains The Same was on TV that night. I made him watch and during the bow solo I tore my skin off right in front of him and made him freak out. I didn't really tear any skin off but it was at that part where Jimmy is scraping the bow along the strings and I sort of acted it out you know what I mean. I laughed my ass of. Later we were outside and had lit a fire. I was playing a live No Quarter from 75 Earls Court and if you've ever tripped you know how sometimes it looks like there are shadows moving all over the place. Well the coals were doing that and on a whim I said "you wanna see something cool" and I waved my hand over the coals they flared up into a small flame. He looked at me with scared eyes and I said "I have more power than you think and it all comes from studying Jimmy". He said "do it again" and I got lucky that the breeze had picked up just enough and another flare up occurred. Well, he almost fell over! he thought it was real for a just second and it make him shake. Took me twenty minutes to calm him down . Thats a true story.

Well they did have The Chase which was a way to carry something over from the Zep days, But I think they wanted to make a statement on their own without leaning too heavily on their older work. I agree they should have toured in Japan and Australia, they would have been huge there. As far as the singles go Radio Active was like a joke to the younger people I new. Paul just wasnt flashy enough and he was too mature of an image for the younger crowds. When I took my younger friend to see Jimmy he was heavily into Dokken and Motley crew but his eyes popped out of his head during Jimmy's Solo in the chase. He admitted that he was wrong about Jimmy not being a great guitarist. Too bad more of the young people of the day didnt get this.

The reason The Firm wasnt that successful is because the youth of that day were into a completely different thing, Rat, Poison, Skid row Guns and roses, even though those guys may have once been inspired by Zeppelin their fans were younger and didnt grow up on Zep the way I did anyway. To me the Firm is too cerebral for those people. Not the at lyrics were particularly deep or anything but all they had by way off hair was Tony Franklin and it wasnt enough of a draw for young kids who wanted fast music that didnt require any thinking on their part to enjoy it. plus all the younger people I knew thought Jimmy page was old and he was only in his forties.

I have an older version that came in a regular black box with no artwork and test pressings in the label. quality is atrocious. In order to make the box pretty i drew the Necronomicon symbol on the back cover in Midnight blue prisma pencil and put a pic of Jimmy from 77 on the front. Still have it but its worthless now.

Pete Townsend doesnt like their music either. Seems he is just envious though. As a fan of The Who which I haven't bothered to listen to for years and years just because they no longer really show up in my mind when I want music. I do still listen to Jeff Beck, Hendrix and a lot of others but The Who has just faded out of my tastes. Maybe Pete understands that while the The Who is a great and some would say ground breaking band they just dont have the same influence or the same longevity as in the minds of people Zeppelin seems to have.

I was at this show. It was the second time I saw The Firm, the first time was the year before in Worcester. I was blown away when I saw Jimmy's laser Pyramid for the first time.. Don't know why so many like to bash Jimmy during this time. He was playing great and I have plenty of shows to confirm it. The Outrider tour was really good too. Brought a younger friend who liked hair metal to see Jimmy and he admitted that Jimmy was far better than he gave credit for.

Darn! I guess I just got an regular old III, Thanks for the info

How many pressings were there before they stopped the etchings?

Not sure what mine is. Bought it at a record show as a first pressing but what did I know 25 years ago. My copy has the green and red label with a white line across the center number is SD 19128. The complete etching on side one says, ST. A . 702005 - A (1) one Mastercraft PR - So Mote Be It - Side two says, ST . A . 702006 - A (2) two Mastercraft PR - Do What Thou Wilt -

June 23rd 1977 For badge Holders Only. One of the best performances of all time.

you have a point. The "Had To be There" angle really has a lot of merit. I wasnt old enough to have attended a 77 show but If I had you can bet I wouldnt have wanted it to end. As boring as some of the parts of the solos were during this time I could still listen to the sound of John's drums for ever. The sound of Jimmy's Guitar and John's drums give me goose flesh so bad its like drugs. In fact I consider Zeppelin's music to be a highly potent drug.

Its being shared on line right now.

I attended 2 shows from the Outrider Tour and have many many boots. How anyone could have said Jimmy couldn't play any more is beyond me. The songs are good and he was in top notch form. I also love the Firm, saw a few shows and was blown away each time. also have many boots from this period too. Jimmy was still playing very well. I guess for some if it isnt zeppelin all the way then its nothing. I wasnt a big fan of Jimmy with TBC because I really dont like them very much but I'm sure Jimmy was up to snuff. The stuff he plays on the Coverdale page album is just incredible, Jammin riffs, great solos even the lyrics were pretty good. The one thing I dont like about it is Coverdale. Never was a fan of his voice or his persona. Jimmy was one of the most imaginative guitarists ever and I dare say that it will be a long time before there's another one who can come close to his genius for writing and producing.