7-6 has some really good playing from Page and Bonham, however. 7-6 is interesting because it seems clear from the sound that there are two different sources: the first half is kind of flat-sounding, almost like NO or Dallas, while the second half is very clear and sharp-sounding.

I stand corrected: MD is on the soundboard.

7/29 only has part (10 min or so) of Dazed, no? Isn't Moby Dick also missing?

Sure, np. Almost all of the '73 boards are fragments (either first 2/3 or last 1/3), and the complete ones (2nd NY, 1st Chi, NO) predate the "revolution". Not sure if they're from a single source or not, but pretty sure they're not from the '75 and '77 source.

All of the "soundboard revolution" releases so far have been from a specific window of shows from '75 and '77 (and nothing from '73). Obviously whoever is releasing the shows chooses at will when and which ones to release, but so far the releases have been a good mix of classics, rarities, and duds (conforming with general assessment of the shows, subjectivity doesn't play a big role in that claim). It seems reasonable, then, to view the particular choices as essentially a random draw. The probability that this many shows from '75 (almost half), say, would have been released without ANY January shows is statistically tiny. (Again, there is no reason to think that the source is just waiting for the right moment to release Bloomington, say, and assuming he's like most fans it's doubtful he thinks the January shows are the best.) Same for '77, although maybe you could argue that the '77 sample is still too small to make a strong conclusion, fair enough. The observed pattern of releases is most consistent with the claim that whoever is behind the "revolution" only has a specific subset of shows, and not the entire batch. (It's a falsifiable claim, as well, I revised my skepticism about the LA '75 shows when 3-21 was announced.) This does not mean of course that soundboards of other shows might not exist from a different, non-Page source. But so far (based on available evidence), I have no reason to think that such a source either exists or is forthcoming with releases.

Not sure what their motivation is, but by releasing 3-21 now (when it's almost certain they still have 2-27 [unreleased], 3-10, and 3-12 [another all-time great]), they seem to be signaling that they have the LA '75 shows as well, which will obviously be a big event (even though none of those shows count among the best of the tour, at least overall). They most likely have the Greensboro '77 show, which is unreleased in any form (possibly Birmingham and Baton Rouge as well), so whatever show gets released after Seattle '75 will probably be exciting. (I seriously doubt they have any LA '77 shows, however.)

Boards of those three shows (1st SD, 2nd LB, Hou) will eventually be released, and I suspect the Forum shows will be as well. I agree with you about the 1st SD show, it definitely gets overlooked. I've always enjoyed this show, the playing is much better than the preceding Dallas shows, and I love the doomy, gloomy feel of the audience tape. I'm concerned this vibe will be lost on the soundboard, however, I have mixed feelings about the board for this one.

Despite the crowd problems and rather mediocre recording, the playing at this show really is excellent, not unlike Seattle three nights earlier.

In addition to Providence and Baltimore from '73, I'd add Pittsburgh and the first night in NY. And complete versions of both Detroit shows. Actually, come to think of it, just the 2nd half of the '73 NA tour, just like we very likely have the 2nd half of '75.

Is it just me, or does this letter from Weiss (a high-priced lawyer) sound rather amateurish, along with grammatical quirks (does he have an aversion to the word "the")? Assuming the press release reprinted it verbatim, I guess.

Probably logistics, south Florida is a bit off the beaten track, still a pretty sleepy area despite its population, and I'm guessing Miami in the '70's was not quite the bustling metropolis it is today.

Does Benton Harbor, TN even exist?

Where's the very last one from? NY '75?

Looks a lot like Europe '73.

If it was truly complete (e.g. with the missing encores) they would have announced this with great fanfare. So, I share the above skepticism, this is likely a non-event, sadly.

It is truly a pity they couldn't have all patched things up for the final run, although admittedly Ward's health issues probably played a role.

'73 no question, esp. March and July.

But tell us what you really think.

Good band, glad to hear they're not calling it a day.

Awesome pics.

I just discovered today that in 2004, Rush released an EP of covers of old rock and roll songs; it's great, it sounds like it could be off their first album! This kicks ass:

Yeah, definitely give Dystopia another chance, I think it's worth it. Agree with your assessment of Hardwired, basically recycled Death Magnetic. Nothing wrong with that, but nothing I really feel like committing time to, either. At least the album has their amazing cover of "When a Blind Man Cries" by Purple.

Supercollidor had a fair bit of variety to it (and generally succeeded), it's probably why they returned to form with a vengeance on Dystopia. Have to disagree re. Death Magnetic, that's a great album, however Dystopia is much better than Hardwired.

Yes, I like Megadeth a lot. Of the "big four" of thrash (them, Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, all of whom I like), they're probably the most versatile (their experiments have generally worked out better than Metallica's, and Slayer is like the AC/DC of thrash, they only do one thing but they do it really well, Anthrax is too inconsistent). The last album (Dystopia) is brilliant, they are definitely not slowing down.

I still maintain Coverdale/Page is the "best" overall effort put forth by any one of the three ex-members of Led Zeppelin. Just IMO. Definitely, CP has held up very well. I really liked the first Firm album when it came out, but it has not aged well.