Sounds about right. Google turned up nothing. Maybe I'm the only one who got one. I call it the "O" face lol.

If you don't listen to Tempe closely it almost sounds normal. If you do then you realize they're all playing out of sync. It's quite a comedy routine.

I had no idea. Can't wait to nitpick this one lol.

I think I got this from merit adventures back in the day. I can't find anything on it. It says "Nic Luciano Feb '78" on the bottom right.

Man, I played this non-stop back in the day.

Certainly not all. I'm gonna skip through some and hit the more notable performances, though I doubt I'll find a Page that matches 2/8.

Nitpicking Page 2/13/1975 Uniondale (Throwing The Wild Seeds) After a mediocre show the previous night, let's move on to Uniondale, NY and see if he gets back on track to match the level of playing from 2/8 Pittsburgh. Another soundboard, I'm not aware of any audience sources. Rock And Roll- Good solid solo. No mishaps. "A". Sick Again- Flub at 0:16. First solo- He starts off pretty good but loses the flow a little at 1:53. Pushes through ok. Outro solo- Keeps a good steady flow with no mishaps. Other than Plant sounding a little hoarse, this is a solid version. "B+". OTHAFA- A string ever so slightly out of tune. Very slow tempo. Those little full neck finger slides Jimmy does between chords sound freaking awesome. 2:12, a Plant yodel. The solo- The 2:52 run sounds out of key but it still works somehow. The low octave noodling has a decent flow. 3:42, he bites off more than he can chew with that speedy run. Recovers with a good one at 3:57-4:07. 4:30, the solo should have ended here. It's not terrible after this, but Page really had no good noodling left from here on. 4:54, fingers stuck in strings. 5:16, turkey gobbling. An "alright" version. "C+". IMTOD- Slow and heavy like the previous night's. Accurate slide work. First solo- Excellent flow on this one. Perfect phrasing. Second solo- Not as good, but still really good. And listen to Jones in the background. 7:30-7:52, Bonzo finally comes alive. "Oh my cheeses". A very good version, one of the best in my opinion. The only problem I have is how reserved Bonham is up until the last half. "A+". TSRTS- Good energy and Page sounds good through the opening. In case the soundboard wasn't twangy enough, here's a twelve string. 2:20, Plant yodel. I had to listen to this one about ten times because it's freaking hilarious. Solo- Very accurate with nimble fingers. 3:36, a missed chord but that really is nitpicking. Second solo- Page gets a second wind and takes off like a madman. Excellent. Very good version apart from Plant channeling Yoko Ono. "A". The Rain Song- The mellotron is accenting the music like a real orchestra for once. (Side note, I recently read that a mellotron plays prerecorded sound samples and doesn't actually produce the sounds. It's like pressing "Play" on a cassette deck. Quite an interesting instrument.) Good playing throughout. Rock section- very passionate and well performed. Plant does a great job on this one. Great version. "A". Kashmir- This version seems slightly unenthusiastic for some reason. Maybe it's the sound quality of the boot, or because Plant sounds half asleep. 4:30, mellotron mishap that sounds quite good. A "B" version. No Quarter- The description on the website gave this a rave review, let's see how it holds up. So. Much. Bass Pedal. Nitpicking Jones- Very solemn and meditative, not exactly showing off, but it works. 4:39-4:44, an arabic sounding run. 6:24, a unique little funk rhythm. Enter Pagey- A good build up, shows some fludity at 8:08. Again at 9:06. Good phrasing so far. 10:22, this run is very fluid but he's done it three times now. 12:03, starts sounding a little desperate but saves it with a good run at 12:13. 13:22, he's playing solid through here but that's it. Kinda got the jamming in my bedroom thing going. But, he's staying within his reach and not straining. Outro solo- A little more fire here with a massive finish. 18:13, Jones tries to end but Jimmy keeps going. Very solid playing throughout, but there's no doubt that Jimmy has lit up the fretboard more than this on other performances. A "B+" version. Trampled Underfoot- Solo has a decent start, but starts losing flow at 4:34. Articulation problems at 4:51. 5:15, we've walked in on Page jamming in his bedroom. 5:34 is a good riff, but he can't take it anywhere. 6:55, someone is hitting wrong notes here but I can't tell if it's Page or Jones. Plant sounds quite excellent through this one and probably steals the show. "B". Moby Dick- Maybe it's the tone of the soundboard but this one isn't quite as exciting. Dazed and Confused- First solo, he gets a good flow going with good phrasing. He channels Freebird at 4:53. The lead in to San Fran is really good. 9:00, I love this sinister riff Jones is putting down. 9:32, Robert is overdoing the "Whoo"s. Bow solo- pretty good, just a little drawn out. Workout section- 21:22-21:34, alright Jimmy, keep it up! Some good phrasing. 22:02, rockabilly jam out of nowhere. 22:14-22:26, not an articulate run but still pretty impressive with a good ending. His phrasing is on point even if his fluidity isn't 100%. 23:27-23:41, excellent run with decent articulation. 23:47, hand cramps up. 23:57, just stop doing this riff dude. Luckily, he winds this down before it goes south. 26:05, Plant has some fun with the call and response section. Last solo, he again gets a good flow going. Very fluid at 27:23. 28:16, we go rockabilly again. 28:32, sounds like "Royal Orleans". 29:27-29:36, articulation sounds great on a good fluid run. Mars section is played devastatingly heavy. 31:32, prog funk section with Jones coming alive. 32:28, perfect entrance into the finale. Outro solo, 34:53, some more Freebird riffs. Some very nice string bends. 38:24, it starts feeling a little too drawn out, but as good as it's been so far it's fair game. Might as well carry this one to the heavens. 39:18, a riff from "Night Flight". 40:17, a slight flub. Strong finish. I'm glad I started doing these nitpicks now because I never realized how awesome this version was before, probably because I usually skipped a lot of the 75 versions of Dazed. Easily one of my favorites now. A very solid "A". An "A+" had the bow section been a little more drastic. Stairway To Heaven- Plant's voice sounds good, but he sounds absolutely exhausted. The solo- Good smooth start. 8:21, very slight flub. His flow slows down some after the 10:00 mark. 10:14-10:32, the same riff. 11:20, Page starts that run off time and even fools Bonzo lol. An average solo, certainly not great. Barely good from a guitarist's view. I think the Jack has kicked in a little bit. Plant also sounds very tired and is forcing himself to sing this. "C+". Whole Lotta Love- Poor Plant is barely hanging on. 1:14, Page flubs. Not a good funk section either. Black Dog- Drags just a little. The solo- Good start with a decent run at 4:05-4:27. Fairly nimble fingers for this late in the show. Slight flub at 5:33. Much better playing than I suspected. "B+". Communication Breakdown- Kicks in at full speed. Plant sounds alright. 0:48, Ron obviously didn't run through the chord changes before taking the stage. His tone on his solo is amazing though as he blazes right through. 3:10, awesome groove. Too bad they didn't stretch that out. I ain't gonna lie, Wood does a better job with the "groove jamming" than Page. Video footage of this would be amazing to see. "A+". How could it not be? Final assessment- Except for a couple of tracks, this show blows 2/12 out of the water for the most part. Definitely a must listen for 1975. On to 2/14.

That would be a dream. Unfortunately, Page's superb playing on No Quarter doesn't have a good impact because the rest of the band doesn't really match his playing.

I know, but I can't resist being a smartass. Thanks for letting me know about the matrix.

Playing. I'm talking creativity.

Outrider?

I'm gonna work my way towards that one and will use those sources. Doing 2/13 as we speak.

No, I definitely think I'm still right. Nothing he has ever done post 1979 is as near creative and well crafted. The Coverdale/Page stuff had some good musicianship, but it's all still forgettable. Like I said, he lost that core creative spark that allowed him to truly captivate the public with original music. It was mostly downhill for Page after Zep, with only a couple of noticeable tunes.

That was 90s. Im talking The Firm, Outrider, and whatever guest appearances or charity events he was doing. Jimmy went from the coolest musician on stage to almost irrelevant in a few years. His 90s stuff was pretty good though and I even liked Clarksdale.

Let's face it, Page lost his core creative spark in the late 70s. The acoustic folksy/hard rock hybrid, mystical fairytale stuff is what enamored so many Zep fans and he almost completely abandoned that persona. I guess he felt it was time to grow up musically, but man did he flop throughout the 80s. But so did a lot of the other 70s rock groups. It's hard to believe that someone who could cast such a spell over people with his creativity in the 60s and 70s suddenly could barely tap into something remotely interesting the next decade, and then give up completely. Maybe he was only really able to tap into it with the other three? Maybe he got tired of playing the damn guitar?

All I wanted was a version of The Crunge without the wonky synthesizer. Take out the synths and add some nifty lead work and that could've been a really cool track.

I concur with all of this. Mercury was an excellent singer, but he always seemed very monotone to me. He couldn't hit really high notes or low notes, he just hovered somewhere in the middle. No one worked a stage like he did though. Elvis vs Plant? Why not compare Pavarotti and Rob Halford? Or Johnny Cash and Brian Johnson? Very apples and oranges.

I found the Flying Circus FLAC. Will take a listen and see if the flubs stand out as much.

I do not. Do you think Page plays better on it?

My two cents- Geoff Tate in his prime was untouchable range wise. Sammy Hagar has maybe the most solid vocals for rock music ever. Just the right amount of raspiness without being harsh and a lot of emotion. In the studio? Plant. Easily. Aside from vocal abilities, his ability to sing intricate parts with the perfect melodies was pretty phenomenal. Something like Misty Mountain Hop really stands out. Plant used his voice like an instrument and actually created "riffs" just the same as Page was doing on guitar, ala Black Dog. Hey Hey What Can I Do is a really underrated vocal performance, with both the lyrics and emotion he uses to convey the story, while adding all the little ad lib style parts that fit so perfectly. Plant's intuition to know exactly how long to drag a note out was remarkable. Elvis had an untouchable tone and had amazing control over his voice, but he still just sounded like Elvis on every song he did. And he sure as heck wasn't writing riffs with his vocals. The fact that I've been listening to Zep for three days straight may have influenced this lol. But I'll admit, I've not indulged enough in Elvis or Mercury to really argue about it. I do know Mick Jagger is the worst rock vocalist I've ever heard lol.

I'm gonna keep all future 1975 nitpicks under this thread as not to clog up the forum. Nitpicking Page 2/12/75 Madison Square Garden (Four Blocks In The Snow) This one has a reputation as one of the best shows of 1975. Of course this is a straight soundboard source, so I really need to imagine how it would sound live to judge fairly. I've listened to it a few times before but have never nitpicked it, so here we go. (Here's a remaster I did of the show that doesn't sound so dry- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKfR9NOkf_U&list=PLtkfyvuP52RcQVJt6vNVOF6SsyDo-lf6L&index=1 Rock And Roll- A good solid start, Plant doesn't sound half bad. The solo, very reminiscent of the soundtrack version, except a little different at the end. Very nice start. Sick Again- First solo, good start. Hangs up a little at 1:49. 1:58, strains a bit. Outro solo, good fluidity but gets a little repetitive. A very pale comparison to 2/8, but not as bad as 3/21. OTHAFA- No flubs at the start. The solo, good noodling on the lower notes. The SB mix makes some of the bends sound strained, but I imagine they sounded more impressive live. Decent phrasing and improv throughout. 6:45, flubs the chords a bit. Not a bad version, though Plant started sounding flat. IMTOD- Solid playing, slow and heavy. One of my favorite versions actually. Solo 1, good flow with nothing forced. Pretty much perfect. Solo 2, same here. A solid slide routine. Page doesn't tend to improvise with the slide as much, but maybe that's a good thing. 10:22, listen to Percy! I guess that's as high as he could get in 1975 lol. A superb version, with Jones and Bonham also playing well. TSRTS- A muddy mix on this. The guitar on the first verses seems a little lackluster. The solo seems a bit strained at times, but I'm sure the SB mix accents that. The outro solo at 4:48 has Page's fingers tiring just a little. This version may not have been perfect, but it still had lots of energy. The Rain Song- 3:12, attack of the shitty mellotron (Or whatever he was using here). It drags a little up until the rock part, then seems to get back on track. Page's playing is fine though. 7:26, throw that damn mellotron out a hotel window. Beautiful ending otherwise. Kashmir- A very good version. 3:30, the mellotron acts up but it actually sounds intentional. No Quarter- Nitpicking Jones, he's putting down a very nice groove. Not really showing off, but playing what needs to be played. In comes JP. Not really nailing the flow on the funky part, but still maintaining the groove. Some decent fluidity on 9:05-9:12. He's playing very relaxed and without the fire he usually has for this. Sticky fingers at 10:03. 10:33-10:48, phrasing nightmare. Could this be the show where he really starts to lose his phrasing ability? 11:03-11:10, a nice fluid run. 12:37, some good bends. Bonzo and Jones are sounding excellent through this. 14:03, the jam seems to drift into an open field with Jimmy not sure what to do, but it almost mimics a Pink Floyd sound. The song comes back on track nicely. Outro solo, some solid playing accented by the wah pedal. It's obvious though that he's not in shred mode like 2/8. He's relying more on the powerful bends rather than lightning runs. It works alright for now. Trampled Underfoot- I'm sure Jones is doing some technical stuff for his solo on this song, but I've never found it very interesting. Luckily Page comes in soon. He's playing with some fire and nailing the bends. 4:22-4:27, these slow release bends usually sound terrible, but my god does he nail this one. 5:22, I love when he invents new rock riffs during a solo. Not the most articulate Page, but his phrasing was something else here. My only complaint is the incessant bass pedal through the whole thing. Moby Dick. 0.18, guitar flub. 0:42, flub. Damn Jimmy, you OK? Bonzo is, he's killing it. It's nice to hear this on a good soundboard where you can hear all those little snare rolls he's doing between the big hits. 18:58, guitar flub lol. Maybe he's out of tune? Dazed and Confused- I have to say, this song suffers badly without Plant's higher register. It just doesn't have the same impact. Maybe that's why they dropped it after 75. Page is playing very well through the opening. Not a bad opening solo, good phrasing and no strains. This San Fran section sounds really good, maybe the best I've heard. Bow solo, 11:50, that's officially the creepiest sound I've ever heard. It sounds like Plant is dying lol. This is a horror film done with sound. If there's any evidence the guys made a pact with satan, it's this bow section. Workout time- 18:03, sticky fingers. 18:10, some straining. 18:17-18:40, not good. Bad phrasing and articulation. 18:42, he finally gives up to rest his hand. Or brain. He comes back in and it's the same thing. 18:42-18:49 induces cringe. I'm thinking the Jack Daniels has kicked in? 22:30, he gets back in gear a little, with the speedy right hand showing up. The articulation is still a little rough. 22:38, very cool riffing. 24:25, officially out of ideas. He does manage to go into the Mars section flawlessly. 26:30, a very cool improv riff despite his sporadic playing. The song comes to an end like nothing bad ever happened lol. It's a shame because with the good opening, awesome San Fran section, and haunting bow section, this could have really been a classic. Stairway- "Sometimes all of our tharts.." Plant is singing with extra enthusiasm. Anyone know what he says at 5:58? The solo- a good start but Page seems to lose his direction quickly and starts repeating the same licks and pausing frequently. This has nothing to do with an injured finger, he's clearly inebriated and unable to focus. It's not a terrible solo, but compared to others it's a huge step down. To a nitpicker, it's an embarrasment. Plant sounds good though. Whole Lotta Love (Partial)- Plant is feeling good tonight. Opening riff sounds awesome and Plant is giving the crowd their money's worth. Black Dog- For all his flawed lead playing, Page is hammering down these riffs like a pro. Maybe it's muscle memory VS. improv ability (While drunk)? The solo- Other than a little bit of turkey gobbling, it's really not bad at all. He does the bends adequately and doesn't venture too far from the norm. 5:20 is a perfect speedy run to end it. Heartbreaker- I already dread nitpicking this solo. Let's see how goes it. Thundering intro. Solo- It's a standard "Heartbreaker" amount of sloppy. 6:07, nice change up. 7:10-8:48 somehow Page gets out of his mental fog and nails down a solid, fluid series of licks to end the song. 8:54, that drum fill must be mentioned. Final assessment- A good show overall. Plant, Jones, and Bonzo are relatively flawless. Page starts out alright, but sure enough after Moby Dick, his lead playing takes a noticeable dive. There's a pattern I've noticed with him starting a lead run, ending with a bend, and then he pauses like he doesn't know where to go from there. To mend this mental problem he starts repeating a line a few times as if to give himself time to figure out where he's going next. Until a soundboard of 2/8 surfaces I can't make an absolutist judgement, but Page is nowhere near the level here he was for that show or Montreal. As bad as 3/21? Maybe on par, but I'd have to listen to them side by side.

So mote be it.

Except 3/21, where he struggles more at the beginning. The 2/28 show is the tell all though, where the first half is superb, but when they come back after Moby Dick Page is basically flat on his face.

You're gonna need your "bootleg ears" for most of this one. Sounds like the tapers were standing outside the venue for a while. But while still in search of a solid Page performance from 75, I needed to give this one a nitpick. Thanks to user Pluribus for the suggestion. Rock And Roll- No flubs, fluid and powerful solo. Sick Again- Energetic start. First solo- Pretty much flawless. Fluid pull-offs and pitch perfect bends. Outro solo- The phrasing is a little frantic, but his fingers are still very nimble. Hell, he's playing this like it's the Dazed workout section. Bonham misses the ending. OTHAFA- Flawless intro. Plant is sounding decent now. Solo- Starts off very solid. Nothing spectacular, but still good. 3:24-3:32, what a run! It finishes up with excellent riffing. The tempo now seems to be a bit faster lol. Jimmy is feeling good so far tonight. In My Time Of Dying- The audio clears up a little. Solid guitar work. Solo 1- He seems to lose his flow a little at first, but still plays on point. Solo 2- Better phrasing on this one, but still a different approach for what he would play for other shows. Energetic outro with Bonzo beating the shit out of his drums. A soundboard for this would be amazing. TSRTS- Up tempo and exciting. Plant sounds excellent now. Solo- Audio drops a little, but sounds perfectly fluid. Something happens at 4:19, maybe a dropped pick as you can hear Page stop for just a second and then come back in fine. The Rain Song- A solid performance. Kashmir- Excellent phrasing with the arabic scales. A solid version. No Quarter- Nitpicking Jones, he doesn't really seem to go anywhere with the organ solo. Page comes in with nice funky chording. Solid phrasing and fluidity, he's stealing the show here. 8:54-9:02, this is the Page fluidity we should've heard for the whole tour. He had it in him, but couldn't access it for most of post 73 for some reason. 10:10-11:25, Page absolutely leaves the earth. Unfortunately, it sounds like Jones failed to transition to the appropriate rhythm, so the awesome solo sounds almost out of place. THE best No Quarter solo I've heard for 75 and one of the best period, in my opinion. Outro solo- Here he goes again. Jesus, those bends. He's playing like he's got something to prove again. This is undoubtedly some of the best playing I've heard from post 73. Trampled Underfoot- Another speedy take off. Solo- An off start, but he jumps on track quickly and starts shredding. Fingers get a little sticky at 3:40, but good lord listen to that pick hand. Sounds like "Eruption" for a second lol. He switches phrasing up and ends nicely, straining ever so slightly but not very noticeably. 6:10 and on, listen to those little accented notes. Page ate his Wheaties this morning. Moby Dick- An excellent version, I must say. Not much dragging at all. Dazed And Confused- I'm expecting big things for this based on what I've heard so far. He's sticking to the basic formula throughout the first part. A solid first lead section, with Bonzo and Jones laying down a hectic groove. 5:32/San Francisco, other than a string slightly out of tune, this is absolutely stunning. Very beautiful and delicate. Imagine hearing this on a multitrack. 7:55, the transition to the bow section takes forever, roadie must've been playing with it backstage. A little mundane, but a good bow solo. 14:53 and on, a good solid workout section. Nothing amazing, but very fluid. 21:16/Mars, Bringer Of War- Nailed it. Even brings the bow back out for the outro. Overall, nothing spectacular, but a very solid version that could easily be an official release with very little editing. Stairway To Heaven- Tapers are still trying to figure out what happened to their buddy lol. Plant sounds fantastic for this and very inspired. Solo- He gets a good flow going but it seems to lack some emotion and is slightly erratic, but not really in a bad way. 8:18, excellent double note bends. 9:01, a slight flub. A great solo with good phrasing. A soundboard might really bring it alive. Whole Lotta Love (Partial)- The guitar drops in the mix and is barely audible. Sounds like the taper went out for a smoke. Black Dog- Plant is sounding very hoarse now, but there's still a lot of energy. 1:45, 1:51, Page is throwing some nice accents in there. The solo- That Van Halen right hand appears again at 3:51. Straining a little on the big bends, but still managing. His phrasing moves along nicely and never sounds forced (like so many other versions). A solid version and solo. Heartbreaker- Bonham's drums sound like a giant robot walking down a hallway. The solo- The taper says "We need to stand up for this" lol. You're damn right. Sounding good, but he sounds a little lost. 4:47, the speedy part- articulation is fairly good, a little sloppy, but his phrasing seems to have taken a dive. He sounds like he doesn't know what he wants to do. 5:47, his fingers aren't quite as nimble here, but he's moving along okay. 7:32, he flubs the chords. Not a bad version at all for 75. Final assessment- This is definitely the hottest Page I've heard so far in 75 and is easily comparable to previous years. It's a shame the audio is lackluster and Plant's voice isn't 100%, but let's hope for a soundboard anyway. After doing 2/6 (Good) and 2/8 (Great), I think I'll go straight to 2/10 to see if the momentum kept going in Maryland.