Unless, of course, you want to know just how sleazy and underhanded some Zep tape collectors can be. Then those "Freezer" threads at the Den are very educational! Why so disparaging, Sticks? Were you one of the guilty parties involved in this NOLA '73 tape saga back in 2006?

Join up at the trader's den -it's free- and read all about it...

Incredibly, twelve and a half years later, the original "Freezer's Revenge" torrent at the trader's den -with all the drama it entailed- is still available 😄 A transfer from the man's own master tape, like his "12th Gen" version of '75 Baton Rouge show, can't beat that. It is a sloppy show kinda, but just the story behind how these tapes got out is a fucking classic.

I have resurrected this recording and done a bit more work on it now. Man, it was hissy! 😆 Little bit of noise reduction and re-equalization in Sound Forge 13 (love that program!) helped there.

I put this alt source up at dyme if anybody cares😅

Remember back when Freezer had his "12th Gen" version of the '75 Baton Rouge recording uploaded and they originally included a sample from the '71 tape ("Immigrant Song", if memory serves)- said torrent was pulled at Dime and the DEN they weren't happy with Freezer's lineage claims on the '71 source sample. Hell, Freezer told me in the summer of 2008 that he had intended to share out the '71 recording in addition to the '77 Baton Rouge tape but when the TCOLZ people heard the '77 tape might be coming out he thought twice on the '71. Those tapes indeed exist, gentlemen- buried in either the huge "Where do these new sources?" or "Freezer's Revenge" threads at the Den Freezer and a couple of his buddies actually discuss some of the Plantations heard on the '77 tape. I'd be willing to bet maybe only a dozen people -if that- have those recordings directly from Freezer, including the head moderator at the Trader's Den site. And after all these years those recordings are STILL under wraps to the masses... But consider that it took almost ten years or so since this Cleveland alternate source was first mentioned on AA's site for it to be shared out publicly.

Howdy, Strider...yeah, been busy with real life shit but stumbling across this Cleveland recording after all these years got my attention, as any 'new' 1977 goodie will 🤣 So lemme get this straight: in spite of AA having this recording listed on his site for years it was only released to the public (to a limited degree) late last year? And it was supposedly another one of these dealy-o's where it was supposed to be kept under wraps or no more uncirculated tapes from the taper? I am getting a distinct sense of déjà vu here... 😂

Correct on all fronts. The business with AA and the TCOLZ label was ten years ago now, water under the bridge, as is the whole kerfuffle over Freezer's Baton Rouge tape. Hell, I've been outta the loop these last few months, so I was surprised to discover the Cleveland alt source was finally making the rounds to a certain degree, damn right I grabbed it, been wanting to hear that puppy for years😄 For sure it hasn't appeared on dime or anyplace like that, though. I should toss it up there, if I can remember how to upload a fucking torrent😄

...And gee, only took me almost five years to track down the fucking thing! 😄And it was worth it!

Argenteum Astrum has shilled for bootleg labels before- he was one of the prime movers behind the infamous "Not from the internet!" TCOLZ label about ten years back and I am STILL fucking convinced he's the guy who leaked the info about Freezer's Baton Rouge '77 recording to TCOLZ as well. As for this Cleveland 28-4-77 alt source AA mentioned the existence of it on his site years ago, that's how i first heard about it. So now he's making it like he's doing the "community" a big fucking favour by sharing it out after hoarding the goddamn thing for Christ knows how long. I found the alt source through Royal Orleans so obviously they got hold of it as well. Never seen it on any torrent site, though, and maybe that should change...

Can't really argue with that list. I would add the April 9 and July 24 to the "bad/weird" category but that's about it. Other than the third night, yeah, the Chicago shows are a bit under rehearsed but I'll still take 'em over the Landover shows, which are just lackluster performances all around. The Louisville show is pretty sloppy as well due to the rowdy crowd. The Cleveland April 28 show is still the gold standard for me because IMO that gig is about as technically perfect a performance Zeppelin could give in 1977.

Five huh? 😂 June 11, 1977, New York June 27, 1977, L. A. March 19,1975, Vancouver February 28, 1975, Baton Rouge ...and of course July 28, 1973, New York

I finally tracked this puppy down. FINALLY! 😂 And the tapes live up to the years of hype- as an 'alternative' source its a good one, not as boomy as the main source recording (I still think this is the best 1977 performance, by the way) but clearly taped in a different part of Richfield. Plus, it's complete and you don't have Beavis and Butthead -the source one tapers- yacking and "Oh fuck!"ing every thirty seconds. The crowds a little chatty here but not overly annoying, though I miss the "Hey Jimmy, learn to play guitar" remark before "Trampled" 😂 For the audio savvy, knock about 9dbs of bass off and you have a very enjoyable listen here. I thought the raw tape sounded a bit fuzzy.

Sigh...now it's official...RIP Tom! http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/tom-petty-dead-1.4317148

Give 'em a listen. Like i said, other than "Achilles" Tempe isn't that bad of a performance (Plant's voice is the real wink link on the night), Greensboro is half decent as well. Let's put it this way: there are worse performances on the 1980 tour IMO than Tempe or Greensboro.

Yeah, I think it's pretty safe to say that the Tempe "Achilles" is the blue ribbon winner for Zeppelin's single worst live performance (the rest of the gig- at least based on the incomplete audience tape we have- isn't that bad) That flash pot going off near Jimmy must have been one helluva bang. It sounds like the entire band was thrown off kilter by it, not just Page. They do bounce back nicely for a good long version of "Stairway" right after though.

Walter Becker's final performance, Greenwich CT, 27 May 2017:

If you liked 70's Dan -particularly Aja and Gaucho- you'd probably like The Nightfly, Fagen's first solo album. It's basically a Becker-less Steely Dan album (same musicians, sound, producer etc). As for the two SD "reunion" albums, they're alright, a little bit too smooth in places maybe- you can lash together an album on par with their 70's stuff by taking the best songs off of Two Against Nature and Everything Must Go.

^^^ Absolutely irreplaceable. This means the end for Steely Dan once and for all. Fagen on his own is one thing (The Nightfly is a classic just as good as any of the actual Steely Dan albums) but Becker gave the music a certain edge.

This is fucking devastating...my wife and I both love the Dan. Becker was a great guitarist- in spite of all the great Skunk, Carlton, Randall etc guitar solos on the albums Becker still got his licks in- "Black Friday", "Bad Sneakers", "Home At Last" to name a few. It was sad to see how he'd deteriorated near the end there, waddling to the microphone, noodling guitar solos all over the place. Hate to say it, but when I got the news (no pun intended) today about Walter's passing I wasn't really surprised. Shit, like so many others the fuckin' guy shoulda been dead fourty years ago... RIP Walter Becker. RIP Steely Dan, 'cos you can't have the Dan without Becker. Becker and Fagen were the American Lennon/McCartney.

That June 22 "No Quarter" is awesome- very epic indeed. Too bad the sound quality on the circulating recording leaves much to be desired. If the sound quality of the June 22 recordings was on par with the 21st or 23rd the June 22 show would be spoken of in the same reverential tones as "Eddie" or "Badgeholders". But what the hell- Mike Millard couldn't tape every show, I suppose.

Christ, that venue just looks immense- even the stage and the video screen look tiny. Woulda sucked to have been sitting up in the nosebleeds, I'd imagine. Seeing the Stones in '81 at the Kingdome...my aunt and uncle and I had good seats as I recall but the band still looked like fuckin' ants! And, no, the Pontiac audience recording isn't that bad- the known gen (1st, I think) copy that circulates is a vast improvement over the old Hot Rods In Pontiac boot. I did a remaster of the recording a couple years back that I reckoned was even more of an improvement IMO.

It's simple- it's the mentality of a fuckin' eight year old: "I have something you don't have! Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!" As if 99.9% of the world population gives a shit that you have an uncirculated Led Zeppelin recording...or claim to have. Which is the more likely scenario.

Fucking typical.

Considering that the hoarded Pontiac/Houston '77 rumours over the years basically started at R.O. I'm not surprised in the least I would be willing to bet fifty bucks, right here and now, that if those videos are being hoarded, it is probably somebody who is a prominent member over there who is doing the hoarding.