Nitpicking Page 6/14/1977 Madison Square Garden, NY (Net Source) The final show at Madison Square Garden. Do they carry the momentum from the previous night and go out on a high note? My source is the "NS-Net Source" that's available on Black Beauty, as it has much more clarity than any other version I've heard. It's slightly distant, but still listenable. TSRTS- Excellent tempo shows they've come to conquer tonight. First solo- Not very articulate (Though it's awfully hard to tell), but he's keeping good time. 4:04, monster drum fill. Second solo- Hard to make out, but sounds pretty awesome anyway. "B+". Sick Again- Keeping the fast tempo for this. Excellent intro. It's almost going too fast. 1:34, almost sounds like Page starts the chorus riff by mistake. First solo- A good set of runs. Plant is singing this with a different, inspired attitude and it sounds good. Second solo- 4:58 sounds rough. He's struggling at 5:14. Hope he gets out of this rut soon. "B+". NFBM- Good beginning. Harmonica solo- Plant gets some good hoots in. 3:38, "Sitdown!" Guitar solo- Some sloppiness in places, but lots of attitude. Not bad at all. Fairly solid and very energetic. "B+". OTHAFA- Page keeps that uptempo going. He gets hesitant on the intro, but stays alive. Plant cracks a little on the first verse. Cracks badly on the second verse. Solo- Heavy reverb engaged and he takes off. Very good build-up phrasing, though it's lacking some articulation. Pretty good. Nice return and ending. Despite the energy, a raspy Plant and some rough picking knock this down to a "B". SIBLY- He launches into the intro quickly, missing the usual emotion that puts you in the mood. 0:26-:33, excellent phrase. 0:45-0:56, he's rushing this big time. Not sure what to think of this spastic playing. It's not necessarily bad, but it's over-expressive. Solo- The beginning sounds good, the aggressiveness works better here to create a serious sense of drama when combined with the organ. Thank goodness this is an audience recording, as I'm afraid a dry soundboard would make the aggressive picking a little overbearing. "B+" for uniqueness anyway. No Quarter- Good energy on the first quarter. Second quarter- Jones' solo fails to take off in any defined direction, but not bad by any means. 7:22, he gets startled by some firecrackers. Bonzo and Page come in for a decent boogie session, featuring some Chuck Berry riffs. 13:28, good interplay between Page and Jonesy, reminiscent of the TSRTS version. Third quarter- Page comes roaring in with some nice, expressive lead licks. 15:16-15:28, very good set of pull-offs. This solo is building nicely. Not great articulation, but his phrasing and attitude are top notch. 17:55, most times I would seriously berate Page for using these frustrated sounding bends, but he makes them work well here and are accented by Bonham. 18:57, getting a little sticky. The extended jam goes on steadily, with Bonham and Page bouncing off each other like thunder and lightning. Fourth quarter- 22:49, my source cuts to the outro. Page comes in with some blistering wah licks, then chills out for a while. Plant tries to bring it back up with some screams, but Page keeps the chill going until the return. Good ending. Despite a mediocre showing from Jones, I still have to keep this at an "A" because of Page's inspired solo. Ten Years Gone- Solid intro and Plant sounds good. First solo- 2:38, sounds like Bonham switches beats for a second and Page gets off track a little. The phrasing is questionable, but he nails the last few notes. 4:20, my favorite vocal line of their live set and goddamn does he nail it here. Second solo- Passionate and well played. Third solo- Absolutely tears this one up. Fourth solo- Some repetitive bends but still solid. Nice ending. This is a tough rating. Omit the first solo and this is easily an "A++". But the average brings it to an "A". Acoustic set: Battle of Evermore- Takes off fast and Jones sounds good. Plant is very expressive and the percussion isn't overwhelming like it usually is. Literally like sitting around a campfire telling druid ghost stories. Going To California- The performance is good, but the guitar is very low in the mix. BCW- sounds like Pinball Wizard on the intro. BronYaur Stomp- Plant can barely keep up with the tempo. Excellent guitar breakdown. WS/BMS- 8:04, awesome. Could easily be from 1970. Truly magical with excellent sound. Overall an "A". Kashmir- Fast paced, of course. Plant sounds lively. Page gets a little twangy on the outro riffs. Monsterous drum fills throughout. "A". Alas, this is all there is. With the momentum they had going I can only imagine what Stairway and Achilles would've sounded like. Final Assessment: One word- Impatient. Most hurried Sick Again, SIBLY, and BronYaur Stomp I've ever heard. Makes for some interesting moments. Page gets off to a rough start but straightens out after a few numbers. Highlights are an excellent No Quarter solo section, a near perfect Ten Years Gone, a magically organic Battle Of Evermore and WS/BMS, and a frantic Kashmir. The lowlights are the constant shouts of "Sit down!" It's a rock concert, not your kid's dance recital. Next up, I'll compile a "Best of" and maybe pit it against the L.A. "Best of" for a deathmatch.

Levee's gonna break..

Not saying it's better, but I usually end up listening to TSRTS more (76 version of course). As much as I love the WLL medleys, there's something about the one on HTWWW that makes it not appeal to me. It sounds too contrived and less spontaneous than others. Plus the WLL on TSRTS has that awesome improvised groove near the end. I think the band plays with more maturity on TSRTS, but not nearly as energetic. The original No Quarter combined with the bonus tracks puts it on par to HTWWW in my opinion, but damn those remaster edits.

I'm no expert on the computers, but I believe there are indeed bots called "Crawlers" that automatically scroll through threads retrieving info. Might ask Webmaster Sam about that lol.

Yes sir.

As a whole? I know I skipped a show and have one more to go, but I think the L.A. run is just more solid and energetic overall. Page really only got sloppy on the last L.A. show. That No Quarter is quite remarkable, except for Jimmy's solo. Sounds like he got a bad start and couldn't steer it out of the ditch. Everything else was an A+ though. I'll probably do a few other notable 77 shows, like the two Clevelands and Pontiac if the audio isn't too bad. Requests are welcome. I think someone wanted a review on Ft. Worth.

Nitpicking Page 6/13/1977 Madison Square Garden (2 Source Mix) A day off after a not so hot show on the 11th. Maybe they got it back together. I'm using the "Alt Source" from the LongLive site. The recording has decent clarity, but it also has a lot of audience noise, so you've really gotta picture yourself in the audience to enjoy it. TSRTS- Impressive energy out of the gate and Bonham rips a monster fill at 0:38. I can't tell if it's Jones or Bonzo's foot, but there's some nice bottom end thumping going on. Plant is sounding excellent. First solo- Not too bad, but sounds like he's having trouble keeping up with Bonzo. 3:33, there's the bottom end and it's definitely Jones' fingers running a marathon. Second solo- Page sounded a little more prepared this time. Pure energy. "A". Sick Again- Bonham destroying his kit on the intro and Page playing nicely. First solo- Page gets some nimble runs in and the exit is good. Second solo- Murky, but sounds like the usual unstructured set of leads. I think Bonzo keeps this at an "A". NFBM- Excellent start with Bonham again beating the daylights out of his kit. Harmonica solo- Plant belts out some impressive...whatever sounds a harmonica makes. Don't let Bonzo's drumwork go unnoticed, working the snare like Buddy Rich on crack. Guitar solo- Maybe not the most articulate, but he's playing with some serious fire. 5:50, snare work. I gotta go "A", with Bonham stealing the show a little. OTHAFA- Intro sounds good, with the firecrackers keeping time. Oooh, Plant trips up on the first verses. Is he actually trying to sing in the original key? Surely not. Is the tape running fast? Solo- Page gets in the spaceship for this one, keeping a steady flow of bends and staccato notes going with heavy reverb and delay. Not quite 6/22, but fairly good. Plant comes back in hitting the notes a little better. Nice fade out. A solid performance but I don't know what to make of the vocals. "B+". SIBLY- Solid intro. Plant cracks slightly on his opening vocal. Solo- Page takes his time and gets some excellent runs down. Fairly solid version. "A". No Quarter- Plant singing with conviction on the first verses. Nitpicking Jones- The phrasing all sounds a little forced and unenthusiastic. The boogie jam with Bonzo is also a little bland, and Jimmy comes in with some decent boosted leads that follow no sense of purpose. Solo- Already better than the last show. He's chilled out some and phrasing things well. 15:28, some unique noodling. He keeps a steady stream of notes flowing throughout, with nice interplay with Bonzo. Nothing spectacular, but a vast improvement over the last show. The return and ending is good, but Jones brings this one down. "B". Ten Years Gone- Good beginning and Plant sounds excellent, delivering thorough emotion in his vocals. First solo- Murky, but it sounds well phrased with good bends. The part at 3:51 sounds like it might've been fudged. Plant sounds really good on this one, especially 5:15. Second solo- He gets some decent licks in, good bends. Third solo- Sounds good to my ears, well played. Fourth solo- Very murky, but I'd say it's alright. Bonzo gets some good drum rolls in to bring this to a stop. I really want a soundboard, but it sounds quite excellent as is. "A". Acoustic set- Battle Of Evermore- One of the best harmonies I've heard from the band at 4:16. GTC- Plant sounds as good as 1971 here. Black Country Woman- Page takes off with a fast tempo and when the others join in, it makes for one of the most hard stomping versions I've heard. BronYaur Stomp- Good energy and the breakdown is nicely done. WS/BMS is pretty solid, slightly bland in places. I'd still rate the set overall an "A". Kashmir- Plant's enthusiasm hasn't faded a bit. Sounds like a perfectly solid version to me with a good, up-tempo. "A". Heartbreaker- Unique false intro. Good beginning. Solo- Page can't really get his fingers to let loose. Even Bouree sounds half-assed. The sloppy part is a little too sloppy. He sounds very unconfident on the rockabilly jam. 4:57, returning to the aggressive picking, he masks it a little better this time. Unfortunately my source switches here to a less inferior one. "B". Achilles Last Stand- Insane tempo. First solo- Not bad, a little loose. Second Solo- Good, accented nicely by Bonzo. Third solo- Sounds alright, none too impressive. Jones at 8:36 literally sounds like a freight train hauling ass down the track. The ending is a little lackluster. Excellent energy, but performance wise I gotta go "B+". Stairway To Heaven- A solid first half. Solo- Page plays very relaxed, but he keeps a steady stream of notes going and matches the mood perfectly. No real flubs that I can hear as he gets some excellent lead work in. Good ending and the crowd goes absolutely insane. "A". Whole Lotta Love- Still some energy left for the encores. They get lost on the transition into Black Dog and Plant steps up and leads them in. Solo- Some inarticulate runs, but tremendous energy. I've never liked Black Dog as an encore personally, but they did a fairly good job here. "B+". Final Assessment- I think this stands toe to toe with 6/10, especially the first half. The highlights are a solid acoustic set and certainly the first three numbers, featuring a frenetic TSRTS, hard-hitting Sick Again, and a brutal NFBM. A very nice Stairway solo as well. The only real ball drop was Heartbreaker, which was played between the drum solo and the guitar solo for some reason. This is yet another one that gives a punch in the gut to anyone who criticizes the 77 tour. Plant sounds as good as ever (though I don't know what he was doing on OTHAFA), Jones and Bonham are locked in throughout, and Page stays focused and articulate for the most part.

They remastered off the 2007 release, so I imagine they only adjusted the mix and balance from the multitrack they had saved for that release. The problem with many recordings between 2000 and 2012 is over-compression, known as the "Loudness wars". For some reason record labels got into a competition to see how much they could increase the volume on CDs. In order to keep the audio from distorting, they had to compress the hell out of it, resulting in inferior sound quality. These remasters have the compression dialed back which gives the instruments more space. It's the one thing they did right with them.

Page comes in a little early. Sounds like he slows down to fall back into the beat while Bonzo speeds up to catch him and they pass each other up. Page does the smart thing though and just plays a palm mute until Bonzo gets in sync, then goes back into the riff.

Who's being negative now? Kidding, Strider. I feel you. For a man so concerned about the image and sound of his musical heyday, Page seems to really be missing the mark on all these remasters. He had an opportunity to give the fans exactly what they want, but for some reason played it safe all the way. I don't know, maybe the record execs are pulling the strings more than we think.

Oh, there's plenty of bass. PLANG PLANG PLANG PLANG PLUNK PLANG

Good ol Gonzo.

Jesus H. Christ, I'm not arguing with him lol. I give up.

https://tenor.com/uN6m.gif

Uhmm, I'm not the one who said it sucked. I made a case for how it didn't. I just asked about the legitimacy of Creem and I appreciate the info. Unwad that panties, dear sir.

That's nice and all, but I don't see how you're using teenagers voting on polls in a magazine to justify the quality of a tour. Obviously Iggy Pop had the comeback of the year despite making the most pathetic list lol.

Was Creem even a legitimate music review or was it more like the Tiger Beat of the day? They've got Freddy Mercury at #5 in best vocalist. Or am I missing the sarcasm here?

Absolutely nope. Jimmy played his leads sloppily, or at least in a non-precise manner, from the very beginning and still is regarded as one of the greats because you can still be creative playing sloppy guitar. You never hear of a sloppy drummer because they don't have jobs. I don't know how anyone could compare 75 Bonham to 77. Apart from a few notable shows he was practically non-existent for 1975. He was "more reserved" alright, to the point of a drum machine. He may have had highs and lows in 77, but at least he played with some character. The setlist in 77 also allowed him to shine, with excellent drum tracks like NFBM and Achilles.

"The only other thing that got loaded was something from a university that was done for a bit of a laugh, and it actually sounded too much of a laugh to actually wanna ever put that out and be measured up by it, because that was something that had a quite a few mistakes on it. We were playing numbers when we had just sorta recorded them and maybe played it for the first time and it was a lot to remember in the set. Consequently you’re gonna come unstuck a little bit. And it’s just something that will never see the light of day. That’s all there is. There’s just one other performance. Everything else is now out that we had live-wise." Okay, he's talking about Southampton for the most part, but what is the "One other performance"?

Nitpicking Page 6/11/1977 MSG, NY (Long Live Led Zeppelin Remaster) Hopefully this is even better than the previous night. There's about ten versions of this available so I just went with this one, which is a remaster of a four source mix. All the sources vary in quality but they're all fairly listenable, though either too bright or too murky in places. TSRTS- Good energy on the intro and decent verses. First solo- Page's fingers sound nimble. Plant sounds a little rough on the return, maybe he overdid it the night before? Second solo- Not bad. "A". Sick Again- Solid intro and the verses sound good. Plant has smoothed out some. First solo- Straining very slightly, but otherwise well played. Outro solo- Spastic and unstructured, but it always is. "A". NFBM- The slow tempo makes this sound extra heavy. Harmonica solo- a little uninspired. Guitar solo- 6:32-6:38, very sloppy. Again at 6:50. Some decent bends, but overall not a good solo. Plant sounds good but Bonham doesn't show off much. "B". IMTOD- Slow paced and heavy. Excellent drum fill at 1:43. 2:18, Bonham's kick drum echoes for miles. First solo- The mix is very muddy here, but the phrasing sounds rather dreadful to my ears. Second solo- A little more inspired. Bonham and Plant sound lively on the outro, which features some You Shook Me. "B+". SIBLY- Decent intro, but the run at 1:50 is extremely sloppy. Plant's vocals are rather unconvincing and lacking real emotion as he spurts out every verse as fast as he can. Solo- Page bursts into a frantic run, but then slows down and gets some solid leads down. Far from the best solo. The mood is here for the song, but the performance isn't. "B". No Quarter- Much better sound quality now. Solid first quarter. Jones gets a good routine going for his solo. The "Silent film" section is actually quite intriguing. 11:07, Page and Bonzo come roaring in for an excellent boogie jam, with Jones letting loose with some superb key work. Page is low in the mix, but he also gets in some good old-school rock riffs. 17:01, Page's sloppy intro to the solo is a sign of bad things to come. Bear with me. 17:54, Inarticulate slop. 19:08-19:25, the bedroom jammer returns. 21:15, he barely stays together on this phrase. 22:37, Page attempts to liven things up with a series of improv riffs, but they just don't work well. 24:50, the "Yallah" riff. Page sounds a little better through here, but not good enough to rescue this solo. The return sounds great as Page unleashes some nice wah riffs and Bonham fires off the snare-machine gun. Page brought this otherwise good performance way down. "B". Ten Years Gone- Good intro and first verses. First solo- Page's opening runs just don't flow well. He fudges the riff at 3:18. Plant's vocals aren't as inspired here. Second solo- Once again, Page fails to get any decent phrasing down. Third solo- A step up, but also lacking. Fourth solo- Decent. 7:59, the guitar signal gets crossed with Plant's vocal effect. A listenable version, but I wouldn't recommend it. "B". Acoustic Set- Very good sound. Battle Of Evermore- The Plant/Jones vocal duel actually sounds quite good here. GTC sounds good, but is frequently interrupted by the tapers. BronYaur Stomp sounds lively but Page fudges the guitar breakdown a little. WS/BMS sounds energetic. "B+". Kashmir- Extremely epic version but the sound goes south near the end. "A". Achilles Last Stand- Poor sound. Good first half. First solo- Takes a while to get going, but he ends with a nice fluid run at 4:31. Second solo- sounds good as far as I can tell. The source may sound terrible, but Bonham's explosiveness can still be felt. He's drumming his ass off. Third solo- Sounds ok. Really too murky to judge, but I'll go "A". Stairway To Heaven- 1:20-1:31, this stretch sounds especially magical to me. The verses progress nicely to an excellent build up. Solo- Murky, but sounds decent at the start. 7:37, very nice fluid run. Another one at 10:00. Last four bars are played well. Despite some good noodling, this solo made me quite drowsy. "B+". Heartbreaker (Partial)- Sounding good. Solo- A little lackluster. Not sure what Page attempts at 3:44-4:00, but it sounds pretty rough. He gets some interesting arpeggiated chords in before the tape fades out. Final Assessment- The show starts off promising but the band fail to get back on the level of the previous night, especially Page. Highlights are a solid Sick Again, a refreshing Battle Of Evermore, an adventurous White Summer, and an epic Kashmir. No Quarter is excellent if you ignore the solo.

Ha, it appeared at the top of the tracklist for some reason and I forgot about it. Heartbreaker (6/10/1977)- Lively intro with the band sounding determined. Solo- Page gets some muscular runs going for a good solo section. Plant sounds excellent on the return and lacks just a hair of hitting the original vocal range. "A".

There would more than likely already be some press leaks and promotions happening by now for any of those dates. There would be eyewitness accounts of Page being in a studio working on production. I hope I'm wrong, but there's been nothing but extremely vague hints by Page who said it could happen over the next few years, if he lives.

I think Stallone and Arnold actually have no problem returning for sellout money.

I can't believe there wasn't a green edition out of the four colors. I've always thought that was the definitive color for the band.