Detroit Rock City.

Spot on about the MMH solos in UK/Europe vs US. The 2nd night in Chicago is really the only night of the NA tour where he ad-libs anything (not in the solo, near the end of the song itself).

Very interesting, thanks.

I recall a Stones vs. Zep discussion on royal-orleans a few years back, where it was claimed that Zeppelin's album sales outpaced the Stones' only relatively recently. Zeppelin albums have continued to sell robustly (esp. in the digital age), while the Stones have not. In the 70's, however, it was claimed that the Stones in fact had larger sales. I can't seem to find any hard data on this, does anyone know?

Nice list. Generally in agreement w/the individual songs you mention, but I'd change the overall order of shows. The second leg is my favorite tour ever, so I'm going to cheat and only go into detail for July: 1. 7-12 Detroit. All-time great show, with an especially strong finish. 2. 7-17 Seattle. Just a shade behind Detroit. 3. 7-21 Providence. Superb show after a few nights of hiccups. 4. 7-24 Pittsburg. Top-notch, definite preview of the MSG shows. 5. 7-10 Milwaukee. Very over-looked show. 6. 7-23 Baltimore. This tops most lists of shows desperately in need of an upgrade. Even with the awful source, it's clear it's a special night. 7. 7-7 Chicago. After the problems of the previous night, the band really brings the A-game. 8. 7-27, 28, 29. I group the NY shows together, because even though no single night is the best of the tour, collectively they contain some of the year's best playing, if not the band's career. Probably the 29th is the best overall. A complete tape of the 27th is my personal holy grail. 9. 7-18, 20, 15 Vancouver/Boston/Buffalo. All of these nights have an unfair reputation. They all have problems of course, but overall there is some really great playing, esp. from Page. 10. 7-6 Chicago. This is a much-maligned show, but I'll always have a soft spot for it because it was probably the show that turned me into a bootleg fanatic. If nothing else, it illustrates just how important the chemistry w/Bonham was to Page. 11. 7-9 St Paul. Another overlooked night. Not the greatest by any means, but it's got some very nice, loose playing. 12. 7-13 Detroit. This one's intriguing because of the only known '73 American performance of Dancing Days, but the fragment we have doesn't suggest the show is anywhere on par with the first night. Re. May, I love those shows of course, but they just don't capture my imagination like July. I'm probably in the minority here, but I think the LA-SF shows are a bit overrated. Personally I like San Diego the best of the California shows. I think the Texas shows are better than the West Coast shows. The first night in Dallas is another one of my soft spots, but Ft Worth has some really good playing, and it'd be interesting to hear a complete soundboard of Houston. Also a minority opinion, but I love the Salt Lake City show. It's sloppy, to be sure, but to me it has a certain spark. A complete Denver tape is another holy grail of mine, the fragment we have is sizzling. I do believe Mobile lives up to its reputation, it's an excellent show. New Orleans is another somewhat overrated show, but it does have some classic moments (one of the best-ever Communication Breakdowns). Tampa is a bit of a warm-up show, frankly.

I used to go see this all the time at the midnight movies they showed at the local theater back then, in the early 80's. Definitely started my love of Zeppelin. I was already a fan before I saw it, but the visual impact turned me into a fanatic. A memory that stands out is, one night I saw it, I had a cold. My friend and I were the only clean-cut kids in a sea of bikers and hippies. I was sniffling during STH and I was worried the long-hairs were going to think I was a wimp for crying during the song, my buddy thought they were going to think I was snorting something and ask for some!

Outstanding, like Steve says, these are professional quality. Thanks!

These are killer, thanks for sharing!

Physical Graffiti. (III would probably be 2nd.)

Great band in the Dio era with some all-time great musicians. Still not as good as Deep Purple, however. Blackmore is like a brilliant writer who needs a good editor, and apart from Dio early on he really didn't have that in Rainbow.

I like them, good band, definitely. I can't say I'm hard-core, however. I have all of their albums through 10,000 Days, but I just can't commit myself to checking out Fear Inoculum.

Really? The guitar solos sound right out of PG.

I'm not a Stones fan, but this is a cool release. Page's PG-era playing is quite distinct on the song, very nice.

Fair point. I do like the idea of a Zeppelin channel, it's just the particular concentration of songs has been underwhelming. (I have been reminded how good the studio versions of D&C, STH, and NQ are, I usually neglect those in favor of live versions.)

Exactly, this is the part I'm not getting. What real risk could P&P have faced if the case went to court? I can't see what leverage Dixon would have had over them. Definitely he deserved partial credit, but certainly not sole credit. There has to be something else going on behind the scenes here. Unless it's something mundane like the royalties for the song not being worth fighting over (unlike, say STH), but even then, Page (especially) and (to some degree) Plant have been very jealous about guarding Zep's legacy, it's very curious they would have relented here.

How did Willie Dixon get sole writing credit for this song (as per, e.g. the wiki site for LZII)? My understanding is that the opening and ending are tributes/covers, but the middle section is entirely a Page and Plant composition. So I can see (as with WLL) a shared credit, but how did P&P lose all credit for BIOH?

Yes, all Zep, and of course only official releases. They play WAY too many repeats (e.g. I'd lost track of how many times they played D'yer Maker before the first week was even over), there's not a lot of variety. Even the occasional commentary by P&P and Jones is repetitive, they could've at least gotten some well-known contemporaries to comment on the band's influence. Sirius could've done a lot more with this than they have.

No issues with Elvis, but if the MD drum solo didn't get you motivated for that party, it probably wasn't worth going to in the first place.

The same. I keep hoping to hear the live version of NQ, but I only get D'yer Maker, In the Evening, etc. for the 20th time so far. At least they've played D&C from TSRTS.

Used to live in Atlanta, love it. Welcome!

They are playing stuff off the DVD, I've caught the tail end of HMMT twice, but haven't heard any Earl's Court yet.

Nice! They're playing D&C from TSRTS! (They played STH a few hours ago.)

So Page came up with the guitar riff, Plant the lyrics, and Jones the keyboard intro/structure? Makes sense. And yeah, I agree: P&P have been dicks to Jones in the post-Zep era. No idea why, but it's pretty unfair.

Interesting; I knew NQ had it's origins in the IV sessions, but didn't know Jones' contribution was so large. Wiki states he wrote the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houses_of_the_Holy I assume Plant received writing credits for the lyrics, how did Page get credit? Surely for more than just the solo?

Great job, thanks for putting this together! Please send me a download link, thanks in advance!