IpMan
-
Posts
4,149 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by IpMan
-
-
55 minutes ago, ThreeSticks said:
At the end of the day, the people who really deserve to be blamed are labour and the UK tax laws at the time. Rod Stewart said in the mid-70's he was paying 98 cents to the dollar in taxes by living in England. So he had to get out and live in California. There's a reason why almost every British musician left the country in the 1970's. That kind of tax rate is utterly insane. If forced musicians into making some very hard decisions.
Typical human nature bullshit, that is to say it is either one extreme or the other. One system and you pay everything and then some, on the flipside a system which does not tax enough. God forbid common sense tax structure is put in place. Then again I do not live in the UK so I have no clue what current tax rate are vs. the 70's.
-
4 hours ago, ThreeSticks said:
I read in an interview where Plant said he was very unhappy about Grant and Co. forcing him to go into tax exile after the accident in Greece. I swear I read this somewhere. Not making it up. It wasn't just that he was angry at the British govt and their tax laws.
Why would Grant or anyone else give a single shit how much in tax Plant was willing to, or not to pay? Grant nor anyone else forced Plant to do a damn thing, nor would there have been any motivation to do so. If Plant went to Jersey or Malibu or the moon to avoid taxes that was his decision and his alone.
I hope that did not come across as brusque, that was not my intent.
-
On 1/31/2017 at 11:06 PM, Boleskinner said:
I agree that Coverdale is an absolute tosser.
He's a caricature of a rock star; whereas Plant was an archetype.
But you can't deny that Coverdale got the best playing out of Page in years, and in the early '90s Coverdale's voice was a lot stronger than Plant's.
The deal with Coverdale is that he is one of those guys that really, REALLY wants to be liked by the fans. He is known to treat fellow musicians he employs in Whitesnake like absolute shit, abusive and does not pay them at times. Regarding the public though, forget it. He is that guy at the party that tries to be everything to everyone to make them happy. I saw Whitesnake in the late 80's and Coverdale was embarrasing, thought the crowd ate it up. Mr. Fuck yeah!!!, eat pussy this, blah, blah, blah between every song. Just petty shock value shit. However one cannot deny he has a great set of pipes and was in fine voice throughout the 90's. Tosser or not, the man can sing. If he would just quit talking like a frat boy in between songs he cred would go up considerably.
-
7 minutes ago, zooma said:
Was probably too much for jimmy to take, being the lessor musician to jones and having him dictate the musical direction at a level that he could no longer reach.
That may be a true statement but not really a fair one. Jones was always the greater musician. Not only the best musician within Led Zep but one of the top 10 musicians in all of rock music. Jones is classically trained and plays a multitude of instruments at an extremely advanced level. Jones in affect is a white Prince in regard to musical ability. Jimmy was / is a guitarist, self taught, and that is what it is. Jimmy was an excellent guitarists but he was not classically taught and only really played the guitar, mandolin, and harmonica. I am sure Jimmy was aware of this from day one and if it did not bother him in Zeppelin I doubt it would bother him now. I assume the reason why Page / Jones group never happened is because Page was obsessed with a Zep reunion tour and nothing else. One thing which has always vexed me is Them Crooked Vultures. Did Jones ever ask Jimmy to come along when he (Jones) went to talk to Grohl & Homme regarding getting together to form a band? Was an offer extended to Jimmy to participate in TCV but he declined?
-
59 minutes ago, ThreeSticks said:
One the major advantages of the tuning-changer (which isn't clumsy) is that it allows you to change the tuning in a middle of a song. So Jimmy could change from DADGAD to concert in an instant, which is great for soloing. Soloing in a DADGAD tuning is hell. The tuner-changer guitar also allows you to be able to play slide guitar in an opening tuning and switch back to concert tuning for playing verses and choruses. It is an incredibly useful guitar.
I never liked Jimmy's Danaelectro. They're cheap guitars. Always preferred Kashmir on the 75 tour. It sounded heavier.
I also never understood why Jimmy had to play the double neck for TSRTS and The Rain Song. Jimmy could've just played a regular 12 string for TSRSS. When the song finished, just hand him a telecaster or whatever tuned to the original Rain Song tuning. There was enough time between both songs to switch guitars. Carrying that large double neck for twenty minutes of music is an utter pain. Those things are heavy. More importantly, you don't have to mess around when retuning guitars during an actual concert.
Supposedly Jimmy used the double neck for TSRTS & RS so as to take advantage of the second neck working in sympathy with the played neck which gave a fuller sound. Personally, I would have done as you suggested (I am a guitar player) and switched off. I played a double neck once and absolutely hated the damn thing. Too heavy and cumbersome. The only song they played live which he actually needed the double neck for was STH.
Never liked the Dano and never understood why he used it. Played Dano's before and they are ok. I like that they are light as hell but the tone is a bit thin for my tastes.
-
The Bron-Yr-Aur & Down by the Seaside double shot are my absolute favorite, hanging out at the beach on Coronado Island as the sun is setting tunes. Just pure, laid back Zep magic with a Pina Colada from the Del in one hand, and some sweet leaf in the other. A beautiful woman by my side and a host of friends. If it gets any better than that then only big baby Jesus knows.
For me, that is Nirvana, pure bliss.
-
8 hours ago, SteveAJones said:
The decision to disband was immediate and unanimous. It was Peter Grant who suggested they "think it over" with the understanding they would reconvene in about two month's time, which they did. Although the press may have speculated on a replacement, there was never any considered by the band nor any rehearsals held.
You are likely right Steve however I believe an alternate theory is just as plausible:
I think that Page & Jones did in fact want to move forward with a new drummer, at least to finish out their commitments toward the NA tour, but Robert immediately said no way, game over. Jimmy realized the band could not lose two members and continue in any fashion so that was that. I truly believe it was ultimately a Robert decision, and one he made the very second he found out Bonzo had passed away.
-
Black Dog was another tough track to nail. It sounds pretty simple, however the problem is in the off-timing and is a real bear for the three players to stay in sync.
-
1 hour ago, porgie66 said:
I wasn't there but I can relate to this post. This is very well put. 77 may have had the benefit of the tunes from Graffiti and Presence in their repertoire but if I could go back to one show it'd be pre 75. If you saw them in Seattle in 72 then you saw the greatest rock band at the apex of their career. One of the all time greatest rock concerts .
True, but for the lucky ones who saw them at NY or LA or several other gigs in 77', that was the apex of Zep's career. As much crap as 77' gets, Strider put it best. The majority of that tour was pretty good, however the bad shows were really bad, and that brought down the rest.
-
4 hours ago, Sandey said:
LOL @lpMan!
For me the Japan shows of 71 and most of 72-73 are all peak Jimmy. I think this is mainly about consistency, because there are patches of brilliance just about every year, if only for one song in a show. Then there's 1998. This is something I stumbled upon once.
Holy Jesus tap dancing Christ, that break in the middle was one of the most tortured solos I have ever heard. Simply heartbreaking and brilliant. I never saw this before and I am a huge fan of 98". For me, this is Jimmy at the top of his game...Period.
Thank you Sandey
-
I don't know about Jimmy, but I peaked something fine last night around midnight. That sweet bud I picked up coupled with a glass of Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old bourbon sent me to Saturn and back.
WOWZA!!!
Oh, and I also found out my dog thinks the UPS guy is satan and the cats told me they really don't give a single fuck...about anything.
-
On a consistent basis, yes, 73' would be his peak in Zeppelin. However I would suggest he was just as good if not better in 98'. In 98' he was amazing every damn night, just mind blowing on that tour.
-
7 hours ago, Strider said:
Boy, there is a lot of nitpicking going on with 1977.
First of all, when craigled said 1977 was Led Zeppelin's best tour, I think he was not just talking about the show itself but the totality of the tour, the gigantity of it all.
When I think of a rock and roll tour, I think of a band on the road for months at a time hitting all the regions of the country. I think of endless days of speculation and anticipation and media reports coming in as the band marches across the country, the buzz building and building until you think you are going to burst with excitement when the band at last comes to your town.
By the mid-70s, after Led Zeppelin and the Stones and Elton John and others laid the groundwork for the modern rock tour, it was common-place for bands to tour for more than 30 or 40 shows in the U.S.
But for most of the early years, a Led Zeppelin tour barely lasted a month or more. Even in 1972, while the Stones were blazing around America, when Led Zeppelin toured the Led Zeppelin IV album, they played only 19 shows on that summer tour. No shows in San Francisco, Chicago, Texas, or anywhere in the Deep South.
1973 was their first real bona-fide multi-month cross-country tour of America. 36 shows and this time Led Zeppelin did hit the south and San Francisco and Chicago and many other places they had neglected. That was a great tour.
In 1975, they had another boffo tour...but even at 38 shows across three months, it seemed short. Again there were places ignored...no San Francisco/Oakland dates, for instance. Other issues hampered the tour...the band's health and the fact that the majority of the tour took place in the freezing winter, which exacerbated the band's health issues.
The 1977 U.S. Tour, on the other hand, felt different right from the beginning. For one thing, it was a spring-summer tour. Warm weather and warm vibes. Like 1973, they hit all the regions of the country, playing places they missed in 1975. 51 total dates scheduled from April to August...of which 44 were played before Karac's tragic passing forced the cancellation of the rest of the dates. The 1977 tour was not only covered by Creem, Circus, and the rock media and daily newspapers of the cities on the tour. It was also covered by the national mainstream press such as Time and Newsweek.
The sound system, the staging, the light show and special effects. Everything was a leap above what had come previously.
And now let us talk about the concert itself. Everyone mentions Tempe. Ok, Tempe was bad...or that's what one hears from the available tape.
But how many "bad" shows were there really on the 1977 tour? I can vouch for the LA Forum run...not a bad show in the bunch. Even the one I missed, the 22nd of June, is top-notch. Best "Over the Hills" solo Jimmy ever played...and maybe the best "No Quarter" of the Forum week.
All the New York shows sound like they were good shows...some like the June 7th reach epic heights. So between LA and NY, that's 12 good to great shows right there.
Both Cleveland shows, Cincinnati, Pontiac Silverdome, Atlanta, Ft. Worth, Houston, and two of the Largo Center, MD shows (May 28 and 30) all sound like passable good shows to me...the worst of them is still above average.
So far we have two Largo shows and Tempe that one could objectively rank as below average. That makes 3 bad shows and 21 above average or better shows.
Chicago I have only heard in fragments, so I cannot really vouch for those dates. But let's go ahead and concede that the show where Jimmy collapsed was not a good night for the band. Nor can I make a judgement on all the early dates that have not surfaced in any form. I never received Freezer's Baton Rouge tape. But people that have heard it rave about the show.
Tampa was rained out but what they did play sounds like it would have been a killer show.
That leaves San Diego and the third leg of the tour. I haven't listened to San Diego or the Oakland shows in years. I recall Bonham being deathly ill during the San Diego show so I cut the band some slack for that night. The Oakland shows I recall not being impressed compared to the Forum shows, but I don't know that I would say they were bad shows...the quality or non-quality of the audience tape may hinder one's judgement of a show.
Last but not least, we have the Seattle Kingdome show, which I have previously reconsidered on this Forum and found it to be quite enjoyable, especially via the audience tape.
So, let us say the San Diego and one of the Oakland shows were bad.
That means that out of a 44 date tour, we only have evidence of 6 "bad" shows: Tempe, San Diego, Oakland, Chicago, and two Largos. 27 shows are good-to-great and we are still waiting on tapes for the rest.
That is a pretty good ratio and hardly the disaster people try to make the 1977 tour seem.
Well...when you put it like THAT
-
3 hours ago, LedZeppfan1977 said:
This tour had Physical Graffiti and Presence included!!!!!! No way the worst. And of course it was the night of Memorial Day 1977 that I had my only chance to see them live. It was one of the best shows ever according to many reviews here. Two nights after Jimmy was carried off the stage so he made up for that. It was 3 1/2 hours of magic
Exactly my point, very inconsistent tour. The highs were stratospheric, however the lows were pretty dramatic. Though the supposed worst gig that year, Tempe, is so bad at times to be entertaining in a hilarious sort of way. Listening to ALS from that show, for me at least, is a real treat. It starts off as one of the best ALS ever with an improvised intro but after Jimmy almost gets blown up by a flash pot, what happens for the rest of the song is just comedic gold.
-
I think a better, more honest assessment of the 77' tour would be, on a consistent basis, was not the best tour in fact, likely their worst. However, as far as individual shows, the excellent shows of 77' such as the NY & LA runs we some of the best shows the band played and the end of the era of excess.
Ps. Quit with the hate for 80', the majority of the shows were damn good with only a few turds floating around plus it showed the band could adapt to the times. I know not everyones cup o' tea being no real improv marathons, but, we have one of the most interesting WLL played at the Berlin gig so there is that for old times sake.
-
2 hours ago, mikezep61 said:
The problem with this is the copy would have been in by 11pm on the 6th for it to make it into the paper on the 7th. This only addresses that the concert was scheduled which was confirmed. However, if the concert was cancelled to to Bonzo's health, it would be better to pull the microfiche files for the 8th or 9th from this paper for confirmation of one or the other. Has anyone done this?
-
If you assign a number value to the first letter of each word you get: Trac 16. This is just a theory but makes as much sense as anything else.
-
Happy 73rd Birthday Jimmy, and may many more come your way, in health and happiness.
-
2 hours ago, Zino said:
What is your definition of "vocal capability" ?
The ability to sing higher or deeper than others ?
Then my vote goes to Johnny Cash & Lee Marvin.
Apart from that, I still think that Jim Morrison & Chris Farlowe had more fitting Rock & Blues voices than Robert Plant or Freddie Mercury.
And Don Glen Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart plus Roger Chapman (listen to the first two Family albums from 1968/69) were in their heydays simply in a complete different vocal league - with an energy, intensity, originality and individuality Mr. Plant could only dream of....
So far with the off-topic. Back now to the Who....
Which is only your subjective opinion, which means absolutely nothing, just as my subjective opinion means nothing.
I guess I could go over to the Who forums and start subjectively slagging The Who but that would make me a childish, boorish asshole. Instead I will celebrate the fact of two great bands who made great music and played amazing shows.
-
On 1/7/2017 at 4:45 AM, Zino said:
The above mentioned Jim Morrison and Chris Farlowe had no 'quality voices' ?
And what about Bob Seger or Peter Wolf in their heydays?
I like Nina Simone. Amongst my favorite female vocalists are Sandy Denny, Maddy Prior, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Jacqui McShee, Rosetta Tharpe, Signe Toly Anderson, Cass Elliott, Shirley Collins, Aretha Franklin, Big Mama Thornton....
I never said they had NO quality of voice, what I said was emotional delivery OVER quality of voice. Just because someone says "prefer emotion over quality of voice" does not mean the people have no quality whatsoever. Of course Morrison & Wolf & Seger have a quality of voice, however, in their cases emotive presence is considerably predominant over technique. There is absolutely no way Morrison, Seger, or Wolf have the vocal capability of Mercury, Plant, or Perry, there is not even a question with that, nor is there anything wrong with that. I too prefer a singer with raw emotion over someone who can work the scales like a Chicago alderman, but you cannot say those singers are better than the other as it is all preference.
I love Leonard Cohen & Tom Waits but no one is gonna claim they have excellent technical ability, but their raw emotion and delivery is amazing and that is what makes all the difference. One can state a fact honestly without that fact being misinterpreted as an insult or slight.
-
Some domestic inspired by ISIS. That's just this losers lame excuse for his own problems. The fact is some self-loathing jackass who hates the world decided to murder people, end of story. My sister in law was at that airport on Monday, flying down from Montreal for the season. Thank god she did not book a few days later.
-
4 hours ago, Zino said:
Well, vocally, I rank Charley Patton, Don Van Vliet, Howlin' Wolf, Chris Farlowe, Roger Chapman, Paul Rodgers, Jim Morrison plus 35 others higher....
By the way, and honestly: isn't /wasn't Barry Melton a better guitar player than Jimmy Page....?
As far as singing is concerned, it sounds like your preference is toward raw emotion over actual quality of voice. If that is your benchmark, and I love all of those singers you mentioned as well, then no one compares to either Nina Simone or Billie Holiday. I would argue no man living or dead has ever matched or even come close to the emotion and pain in the voice of Nina Simone. Her versions of Pirate Jenny, Wild is the Wind, & Strange Fruit make the term haunting, pained, and furious to the core an understatement.
Regarding Melton, IMO no, he is not a better guitarist but that is based on what I like in a guitarist. Again, that is like comparing Kurt Cobain to Paul Simon, its all in what you like.
-
What a killer version Strider, very intense and powerful. Over the top yet controlled.
-
3 hours ago, Zino said:
Talking about great live shows in the early seventies, I give Deep Purple the edge over Led Zep.
Judging by their studio album output alone, I rank Led Zep slightly higher
And what about Led Zep versus Mountain ?
I say 'Climbing' & 'Nantucket Sleighride' are on the same level as the best studio work of Led Zep.
But I think that West, Pappalardi, Laing & Knight in their heydays were more compelling on stage
Well at least you are now in the same ballpark though, I have to disagree. I have seen all of those bands live and IMO Zep was the best. Though Deep Purple comes close and even sometimes equalled Zep live I could never say they were consistently as good. Then again it all comes down to ones singular perspective and what one likes in a band. I guarantee there are millions of Bieber fans who think he is the son of god of which his live performances could not be matched.
I too like Mountain but I never thought of them in the same league as either Zeppelin or Purple, not even close. The breakdown between members of Purple & Zep however is scary similar in regard to talent, however, Blackmore was not a visual player like Page was and Gillian kinda had the same problem performance wise. At the height of their playing abilities I would put Page & Blackmore pretty much equal, though Blackmore was a cleaner, more professional player over the long haul. Blackmore may not be a flashy player visually, but he is a very, very consistent player and he rarely played a bad show. Regarding overall creativity though, the edge goes to Page.
Plant / Gillian again IMO is really no contest, Plant was the much better singer and had a much larger stage presence than Gillan. When people mention great rock singers, it's almost unanimous: Plant, Mercury, Perry, then everyone else.
.jpg.86bdc8ada9b432535e6aaa9aa607bfb1.jpg)
the Star Wars thread...
in Ramble On
Posted
Why not? There have been numerous films released posthumously why is this any different? I believe that is what Ms. Fisher would want, unless it is a particularly horrid movie.