Reading this kind of stuff is interesting to me as a non-musician. I'm generally more focused on where my ears take me and the end result of a recording or live performance I enjoy, but reading all this provides great context and is a lot of fun, especially with references to other bands where you can connect dots aurally like above. I actually like the processed sound of the solo on "Fool in the Rain", I think it suits the vibe of the song.

Chicago 1-20-75 is one that doesn't get mentioned much but is one of my favs. Both Vancouver versions have really grown on me this year. If I were making the Top 15 NQ list today, I'd lower the one from 5/24 and bump up the Vancouver shows a little. My top 8 would stay the same though. I really think that every version of NQ in 75 has something to offer, that was just the magic song for them that year.

If the theory is true - and again, we will never know - then it could be a combo of self-medication along with tendonitis or some other physical ailment. It's definitely a mystery to me how on some nights in 75 he actually gets better as the night goes on. I've read a number of interesting theories on here about that. Not being a guitar player myself, or ever having a finger injury (knock wood), I find it al interesting but am doubtful we'll ever know the full story.

This is why I love this forum lol. You get to hear someone appreciate something amazing in real time, post about it, and then I get inspired to go back and re-listen .. it's pretty fun, and the excitement is contagious. I just listened to the whole Dazed from Philly just now. Granted, a lot of these 75 shows are relatively new to me (just discovered Philly August of this year) so that's a part of it.

That theory makes a lot of sense to me.

An evil version of Yes lol, love that. And yeah, for most D+C 75 I just check out the Woodstock section due to all the issues you mention. Speaking of, 3-10 which we both love has a killer Woodstock break in it.

This is my thought as well. After Philly, the inconsistency becomes much more of a thing for the rest of the tour. And I also blame Satan for starting the soundboard train with Landover. I want Philly, the Chicago shows, MSG 2-7, and Nassau 2-4 dammit!

2-8 is amazing ,,, but I'm confused, II thought you heard that show before? Satan is def to blame for all their problems, including Jones's wardrobe,

Boy, there sure is a lot of love for 3/3 on here this week. I gave it another listen today while working up through Kashmir. Bonzo sounds fantastic, and it sounds like Jimmy is having a good night. Robert's vocals aren't as bad as I remember - he actually starts sounding ok around IMTOD. It's a solid show with great energy, and I can see why people like it.

I actually think you can hear that tiredness for much of the D+C from 75. The 5/24 version sounds fantastic to me up through Jimmy's bow solo. I can watch or listen to it anytime and be mesmerized. However, after the bow solo ends, it becomes a pretty typical (boring) 1975 version. But just that first half elevates it for me as my fav of the year. The Dazed from 2/7 and 3/20, in comparison, are hot all the way through. I also think the Dazed from 5/17 has a lot to offer. In terms of the show as a whole, it's a mixed bag for sure. I think once it gets to Rain Song, it gets really nice. Jimmy is still struggling a bit and is being quite careful with his playing on RS - it gives the song a more vulnerable feel which I think suits it. Plant's vocals on this one are some of the best of the year imo. Kashmir is somewhat anemic instrumentally but has a great vocal performance from Robert. The acoustic set is fantastic, Tangerine is my favorite, and Stairway is one of my fav versions ever - and this is coming from a guy who prefers 71 STH versions. Anyway, yeah a strange night that gets more praise than it deserves but the "high highs" of the show are fantastic. Whenever I feel like listening to EC, I just watch 5/25 up through RS then switch over to 5/24.

This has to be my favorite nitpick description of all time lol. This WLL is my fav from 75, hands down.

That's a great point. He sounds like he's having fun, and he and the fantastic crowd are feeding off of each other. I should also add that the energy level of SRTS from this night is absolutely through the roof. The energy level is high the whole night, but other versions of SRTS from 75 sound downright sluggish compared to this one.

Many thanks!

Is it wrong that I now feel the desire to give that one a listen lol?

John, have you listened to 2-7 recently since making your revised assessment? I'm asking because on Heartbreaker, Jimmy sounds drunk off his ass to me lol. But you liked it, and it's given high praise on "The Year of Led Zeppelin" website. But to me he sounds drunk!! I'm not a musician, but man that thing is sloppy and erratic and all over the place. I didn't notice it before, but I was listening to the whole show with headphones last night, and it was like night and day compared to how he was playing earlier in the night.

It's possible they may have been referring to the infamous "Jack Dog" from the Baton Rouge show.

Nice, let me know what you think! The run of shows they did 2-6 through 2-8 are hot Page shows for sure. They all kind of bleed together for me, and I still need to get my arms around the 3, as far as comparing apples to apples. It takes several months for me to fully appreciate just one Zep show. I started listening to these shows casually August - October of this year while putting together the NQ rankings and began listening more closely October - now. My fav NQ of the 3 is Montreal 2-6 with MSG 2-7 being a very close second. And fav Dazed is from MSG 2-7, one of the few D+C from 75 I actually find listenable start to finish. Most D+C from 75 just feel tedious to me, and I usually skip em. Beyond that, my brain is still in "processing" mode lol. 2-7 has a quality to it that keeps pulling me back and so far is the one I listen to the most, start to finish. Philly 2-8 might be Page's best night for 75 and is also one of Robert's best nights of the year (to my ears). But sometimes the sum of parts doesn't always equal the whole. Anyway, a few months from now I'll have a better idea how I'd rate them - all 3 shows are inconsistent, per 75. Wait until you hear the HB from 2-7 ... he sounds drunk off his ass 🤣 Landover is a show I partially listened to but wasn't blown away. I should give it another listen for sure.

I agree about the energy part, but I have a tough time with Plant's vocals on this one, they're really bad even for 75.

Have you heard 2-7-75 yet? It's one of the few shows from 75 that I enjoy start to finish (most 75 shows lose me at some point or other due to erratic issues from Robert, Jimmy or both). It's really won me over this year.

I reckon time constraints, don't you? The 75 set list is painstakingly put together.Considering their objectives with NQ and Dazed (not to mention the obligatory Moby Dick), they just didn't have the room. They'd have to either cut down one of the jam songs (deal-breakers for them at that time) or replace one of the other songs. I personally would have been happy if they swapped out "Rock and Roll" (a bit tired by that point and Wanton could have been the perfect set opener in 75) or "Trampled Underfoot" for "Wanton Song", but oh well.

More love for Chicago 1/22 - been listening to this one all week and still not tired of it It's quickly turning into one of my fav shows from 75. Very enjoyable listen, start to finish. The band is fired up, Robert is having one of his best 75 nights once he gets warmed up, and as mentioned earlier the material from PG just sounds fresh and really hot - "Wanton Song" in particular is the best live version I've heard.

Love em all, but my fav is the fourth album with PG a close second.

I was joking about having an epiphany earlier, and funny enough - I had an actual epiphany. I listened to the show up through NQ. The show still doesn't quite click with me, but I'm glad I gave that first half another listen. The crowd is really into it, and you can really feel the great atmosphere. Also, those 4 guys were really plugged into each other. I think all 3 could immediately tell Pagey was not as fluid as usual that night. But they could also tell (and hear) that Jimmy himself was well aware of that and was still feeling great and playing around his limitations, whatever the cause of them may have been (we'll never know). You mentioned Jimmy needing a rock solid rhythm section, and that's just what Bonzo and Jonesy give him on No Quarter. That groove during his solo is fantastic, and he is really playing, in the literal sense of the word. Bonzo and Jones give him the freedom to get jazzy with it and just play. His playing is not like his magical fluid self of 73 or Philly 75 or fill-in-the-blank. But it is VERY "Page-like" if that makes any sense. It has a great vibe and sounds good without having the technical killer playing from other nights. He's enjoying himself. And they are all feeling that and hearing it. Heck, even Robert gets into it at the end with that abominable (and yet somehow appropriately fun) shriek lol. A full moon kind of thing. One guy "feels the spirit", the crowd feels it, the other 3 guys feel it too. This is rambling, and I apologize if it's not completely coherent, but I think you (and hopefully anyone else reading this) get what I'm saying. So, now I get why this version of No Quarter is so loved. It's about how it feels, what's behind the notes vs the notes themselves. Which in itself is very Page-like. As far as the other songs from this night - still not a big fan, but I do like how SRTS sounds (I actually think that's where all the atmosphere/chemistry/whatever starts to happen). Net-net is I'm much more receptive to this version of NQ and will give it more listens in the future now that I've "seen the light", so to speak.