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Not Sure if This Deserves it's Own Thread, But Oh Well....


Sue Dounim

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Well, here goes nothing...

Sue here, long time poster, first time reviewer. The show in question for my first review is Led Zeppelin's gargantuan and and explosive final show at their home-away-from-home, The Forum in Inglewood, California on Monday, June 27, 1977.

A bit of background before I get straight into it. This was the second Led Zeppelin show I ever downloaded, the first being 1977/06/21. This was also my favourite show of the tour, and possibly overall back when my ears weren't such a discerning critic. I used to listen to this show moreso than any other, though with the passage of time, I've rarely gone back to it in the last few months, save for the occasional trip through the Noise Solo. Just randomly, I went back through it today, because I managed to find 4 hours to kill. About halfway through, I was re-experiencing so much that I had to tell somebody, and where better than a whole forum (no pun, I swear!) of people who love Led Zeppelin like I do! I've actually been meaning to post a review for some time too, but I couldn't decide on a show to do it with. Pehaps next I'll do Pontiac '77. Anywho, reviewing time!

After a brief soundcheck typical of most Zeppelin shows, 'The Song Remains the Same' bursts out of the gate, albeit not all in one direction. Jimmy's a bit sticky fingered, as he will be for most of this show, but it does nothing to detract from the overall energy this night around. Bonzo's clearly feeling very experimental tonight, as nearly every song has many unusual drum fills, most better than others. While not at the same height of energy as the first night, it's still a very enjoyable version, especially with Jonesy leading the way. The 'The Rover/Sick Again' from this show is usually described as "constantly on the edge of falling apart" by some, but I feel this isn't totally true. While it is very loose, I find this to be one of my favourite versions of 'Sick Again', simply because of how unbelievably heavy it is. It seems to go on forever, much like most '77 iterations of this song, but I feel like this is one of the song's strongest qualities. After Robert says hello and jokes about the band falling over from playing, The band launches into the longest ever 'Nobody's Fault But Mine', with an excellent extended solo from Jimmy, though Robert's harmonica portion is a tad weak, and he doesn't even try to hold the final "Noooo" at the end. 'Over the Hills and Far Away' is a mixed bag for me this time 'round. I like how Jimmy plays the intro with a touch of restraint and sensitivity, something I feel most '75 and after versions were lacking. That's the good part. Now when I hear the solo, the extension makes me hope it's gonna be somthing like the one from 1975/03/27, long but good, unfortunately, the solo here is long, but okay. Jimmy seems to forget himself about halfway through, but somewhat makes up for it for the rest of the song. Again, no real effort from Robert. 'Since I've Been Loving You' isn't something I feel I can comment on too much when it comes to '77, because IMHO, they should've played 'Tea For One'. It just makes much more sense. But ranting aside, Jimmy does some pretty decent soloing here. Very dramatic. Next, 'No Quarter'. Ohhh boy, THIS 'No Quarter'.. Definitely my favourite version after 06/23. Jonesy's playing here, as per usual, is brilliant. Very dark too. I like how he takes a little more time on the electric piano before Jimmy segues him over the grand piano. Very somber, that is of course, until the boogie jam. An especially nice one tonight too. Love 'em or hate 'em, the boogie jams were always interesting, to say the least. Jimmy seems to have gotten himself in shape long enough to really pull of some excellent playing here. Bonzo keeps the rhythym excellently. This jam seems to have a real high-energy, old-fashioned, honky-tonk groovy feel going on here. People love to shit all over the jams, but just remember, No Quarter is a journey, and who ever said that journeys are all doom-and-gloom? Perhaps the people on said journey took a break and got some drinks, and continued their plight the next day. Anywho, now onto the big soloing part of the journey. Everyone's in excellent form here. Jimmy's quick-paced soloing is slathered all over Jonesy's playing like strawberry jam on a fresh piece of golden-brown toast, while Bonzo's the knife spreading that jam real nicely and evenly. I love the jam Jimmy gets into approx. 27 minutes in.The entire outro of the solo, and the return to the main piano riff is amazing. When Jones hits though high keys it never fails to hurt my ears, but my mind is so thoroughly blown at this point I don't care. I still find it amusing that Robert dropped the mic, ruining an otherwise near perfect version of this song. The outro is very good, a nice finish to the last truely epic version of this amazing piece of music.

As the band sets up for 'Ten Years Gone', Robert makes a few amusing jabs at Jones about some strawberry tart (like how I foreshadowed that?). This version has some fairly sticky playing from Jimmy, but nothing so bad as to distract from the overall emotion that he's playing with, meanwhile Robert finally puts some real feeling into what he's singing. Now onto the acoustic set, which is definitely my favourite from this tour, and possibly overall. 'The Battle of Evermore' is generally very good here, though if you listen closely, Jimmy flubs pretty hard somewhere in the middle. 'Going to California' is beautiful, as well it should be, considering where it's being played. Robert seems to have finally started putting the effort here too. Now comes my favourite, the 'Just Can't Be Satisfied/Black Country Woman/Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp/Dancing Days' mashup. Excellent, from deep-south beginning to foot-stomping end. Jones' bass playing keeps my foot thumping every second of Jimmy's (finally) nimble-fingered strumming. I love the acoustic rendition of 'Dancing Days', it's played with so much feeling! It's a shame that it wasn't more fully fleshed-out this way. Jimmy's acapella soloing truely is serene in moments during 'Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp', just stunning! After Robert unfortunately makes the all-too accurate prediction that they'll never play Dancing Days again, Jimmy treats the crowd to a 12 minute rendition of 'White Summer/Black Mountain Side', which for the most part, is pretty good. Not sure what made him to decide to play a few licks of 'Kashmir' ahead of time though. Speaking of 'Kashmir', the version from this show is another mixed bag for me. Maybe it's just the version of this show I have, but this 'Kashmir' seems to fluctuate every so often between brilliance and laziness. It finishes up nice and tight though. After Robert makes what I assume is a tongue-in-cheek dedication to 'The good doctor', Jones guides the band into an incredibly groovy 'Trampled Under Foot'. It feels a tad short though, considering how extended everything else up to this point has been. Still a fine rendition nontheless.

'Over the Top' is also pretty short, not even 20 minutes, but that seems to be the norm in LA this year around. The drum solo starts off pretty weak, but the tympani portion is definitely worth the price of admission, as it usually is. And now onto my favourite part of the night, Jimmy's infamous 'Noise Solo'! This version is especially detested by most fans, moreso than usual due to it's extended (distended?) length. However, I love it. That's right. Love. It. :P The Noise Solo here is great to just get lost in thought to. I love the repeated playing of 'America' during the harmonizer portion, and how Jimmy really plays around the whole time. The theremin portion is very good too, very spacey, a sign of things to come in Seattle. The pickup section is extra squeaky, like he's intentionally flubbing, which I also like. The main event, the Violin Bow Solo itself, is also very spaced-out. The crescendo finale is very dramatic and creepy, which segues right into 'Achilles' Last Stand'. I'm not particularly fond of this version, I must say that I feel a slight trepidation in saying that because I never really know how to feel about this version. There are bits I like, but the fact that it sounds a bit weak compared to every other version from the LA run, even though it's played at the same speed, along with the unfortunately-timed tape cut puts me off of this version every time. 'Achilles' is also what I use to rate '77 shows, so that's probably why I hadn't given it a listen in quite some time. 'Stairway to Heaven' is pretty par for the course here, extra long solo aside. Not much to say here. Lastly, the encore. 'Whole Lotta Love' is played very heavy after Robert lists off the cast and crew. 'Rock and Roll' is also good, especially with that new outro they've been toting around since Landover. It's just too bad that they didn't do one more song, y'know? Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. After finally coming back to this show, I mostly can't remember why I ever left. 8/10

Well, that's my review, I hope you, the reader, enjoyed it! Feel free to leave any kind of feedback! I especially want to hear back from you, Strider, considering you were actually there! Thank you for taking the time to read this the whole way through!

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Great review, Sue!

27/6/77 is probably my favourite of the L.A. '77 shows as well, mainly for the reasons you already listed. This show is indeed pretty loose, and can only be described as EPIC. I also agree that the acoustic set is wonderful.

We could easily make a massive thread of 'in depth reviews' of the '77 shows. Next time I get in a full show (I listened to 10/6/77 on Saturday night but I wasn't really in the mood to write a review of the thing at the time) I'll put together a review...

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Great review, Sue!

27/6/77 is probably my favourite of the L.A. '77 shows as well, mainly for the reasons you already listed. This show is indeed pretty loose, and can only be described as EPIC. I also agree that the acoustic set is wonderful.

We could easily make a massive thread of 'in depth reviews' of the '77 shows. Next time I get in a full show (I listened to 10/6/77 on Saturday night but I wasn't really in the mood to write a review of the thing at the time) I'll put together a review...

That sounds great! 06/10 is another one of my very favourites from this tour as well! Perhaps a joint effort?
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Perhaps a joint effort?

Well, if I'd written the thing on Saturday night watching the hockey game it certainly would have been a joint effort...Heineken too :lol:

No, you go ahead with what you want (I see you want to write up 30/4/77)...I've actually been on a bit of 1980 tour jag lately (spurred on by the compilation I did)...most likely this year I'll try to do my thing of listening to as many '77 shows as I can on the date they were performed...great way to listen to the tour!

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Great review, haven't heard this show in ages.

Also funny to finally meet someone who actually listens to and likes the 77 noise solos.

I loved to get stoned and listen to that part of the concert, an entire trip by itself (even if everybody else in the household hated it)

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I like the Noise solo. I found it as something different in their sets. I've listened to the majority of the '77 soundboards I have to say, despite all their problems with drugs and whatnot, they still manage to jam and still play pretty well. Yeah, this whole tour had way more ups and downs than possibly previous tour, but people make mistakes, even Led Zeppelin. Hahaha.

Enjoyed the review.

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Well, here goes nothing...

Sue here, long time poster, first time reviewer. The show in question for my first review is Led Zeppelin's gargantuan and and explosive final show at their home-away-from-home, The Forum in Inglewood, California on Monday, June 27, 1977...

...Well, that's my review, I hope you, the reader, enjoyed it! Feel free to leave any kind of feedback! I especially want to hear back from you, Strider, considering you were actually there! Thank you for taking the time to read this the whole way through!

BRAVA! Congratulations, Sue, on breaking your review-cherry!

Your very in-depth and detailed personalized reactions made it a pleasure to read. I have some specific questions that I'll shoot to you in a PM. But I look forward to your Pontiac review with relish.

As for my reaction to the show...it all depends on whether you are asking the 15-year-old me, fresh after the concert or the 50-year-old me after years of having the bootlegs to compare and contrast the details of each show?

The 15-year-old me was blown away by the show of course, and slightly haunted by the question of when/if Led Zeppelin would return again. Make no mistake, every show I saw on that run was mindblowing...a three-and-a-half-hour onslaught of light and sound. Even if the setlist was fairly stagnant, it was a pleasure to hear those songs performed...you felt honoured to be there.

But even as great as the final night was, by then I had become so used to the setlist that I was able to settle in and relax and actually pay more atrention to what is being played...and how. The first couple of shows of the LA Forum run, I was so excited and anxious and pumped that they could have come out and farted and I would have applauded. Those first two shows(6.21 and 6.23) flew by so fast, that my initial memory of those concerts is one big long whoooosh, punctuated at the end by the strange appearance of Keith Moon!

By the weekend, for the Sat-Sun-Mon closing set of shows, I was a bit more settled down and able to focus and listen clearly. And I have to say that as great and epic in length the final Forum show was, with the previous two nights fresh in my memory, I thought 6.27 paled slightly to the others...especially 6.26, which I thought was one of the best of the entire week!!!

In fact, after the epic looneyness of the 6.23, which will always be my favourite one of the five '77 shows I saw, the 6.26 gives 6.21 a run for its money for the Number 2 slot...call 'em 2a and 2b.

But of course, I had the luxury of attending multiple shows. If I had only artended one, even if it was the Tempe, Arizona disaster, you can bet that I would argue that that one was the greatest concert I ever saw.

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Have you read any of the Timeline reviews? I have posted mine there 5 yrs ago. I cannot read such a long review knowing you were not actually at the concert, sorry. I respect your admiration for Led Zeppelin and am very happy to see youngsters like you gettinig into the band. i am more apt to read reviews on the Timeline of those that were there in the flesh. Because of the experiences they went through before, during and after. A review of the music itself? I have a pretty good idea of what it sounds like as I have been a fan for over 4 decades. I went through a very tough experience to see Led Zeppelin and traveled far to do so. Remember, there were no cell phones in those days. No way to communicate like there is now. I had written down all the songs after the concert so I would not lose the memory. I lost the paper I wrote them on years ago. But never lost the ticket stub. Luckily.

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I'm very glad most of you all liked it, especially after I just went back and saw all the typos I made! :blink: If anyone's interested in seeing a corrected version, head on over to R-O and look in the 'What Place to Rest the Search' sub-forum.

Strider, I'm looking forward to that PM, and thank you for the in-depth response!

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Great job Sue! I always enjoy listening to that show and just by chance I began listening to the 21/23/25/27 run I have on disc, last week in my car - currently in the middle of the 23rd. I have always felt the 27th hasn't gotten it's due while in the shadow of the 21/23 shows. I love it! Thanks again and keep 'em comin'! :)

:yourock:

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Great job Sue! I always enjoy listening to that show and just by chance I began listening to the 21/23/25/27 run I have on disc, last week in my car - currently in the middle of the 23rd. I have always felt the 27th hasn't gotten it's due while in the shadow of the 21/23 shows. I love it! Thanks again and keep 'em comin'! :)

:yourock:

No problem, and I certainly plan to! I'm thinking maybe I'll review 1975/03/27 instead and I'll save Pontiac for when I'm feeling really good and creative!

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Nice job Sue! I'm especially with you on the Acoustic set being the best of '77 tour, no doubt in my mind!

Strider, thanks for confirming what I have always thought was a solid, very underrated show - 6/26! Because Mike wasn't there to capture the magic, it doesn't sound as good as his other LA recordings. In fact, I'm going to put that one on as a next listen, because it's been awhile (mainly because all of the '77 LA shows were magnificent, but this show tends to not get as many listens as the others)!

I've always been partial to 6/25...they sound so refreshed after a night off! And I still can't get over Zep not playing Rock And Roll for 2 straight nights/shows (6/25 amnd 6/26)...has to be the only time that ever happened, since it became a regular part of the set from '73 on!

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  • 1 year later...

^^^

The mods don't take kindly to spam.

Nice job Sue! I'm especially with you on the Acoustic set being the best of '77 tour, no doubt in my mind!

Strider, thanks for confirming what I have always thought was a solid, very underrated show - 6/26! Because Mike wasn't there to capture the magic, it doesn't sound as good as his other LA recordings. In fact, I'm going to put that one on as a next listen, because it's been awhile (mainly because all of the '77 LA shows were magnificent, but this show tends to not get as many listens as the others)!

I've always been partial to 6/25...they sound so refreshed after a night off! And I still can't get over Zep not playing Rock And Roll for 2 straight nights/shows (6/25 amnd 6/26)...has to be the only time that ever happened, since it became a regular part of the set from '73 on!

I lost track of this thread, so I hope And You Know How It Is? doesn't mind that I took so long to respond.

Anyway, to your point about the band not playing Rock and Roll for two consecutive nights...THAT is a major reason why I enjoyed 6.26 (and 6.25) so much! "It'll Be Me" was a killer encore! Because the set list had settled into a routine, it was a thrill anytime they played something different from the norm. Whether it was "Heartbreaker" the first night or "Dancing Days" the last night. Luckily, each night I went had something a little special to give the show a buzz.

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Love the review! Very insightful.

When I was on another Zep board (Planet Zeppelin) we used to do a Sat night meetup. Someone would say "Join me online at this chatroom address, I'll be playing the LA Show June 27, 1977". We would usually get at least a dozen people online, you could hear the show as it was being played by someone who had it, and we would all be chatting away (textually of course so we wouldn't talk over the music).

Was pretty cool! I'm off to find a tape of this show.

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I also think the 27th is a very good show. Pity about the cut in Achilles but its small so it doesn't really detract. This one and 1975/03/27 can drag on a little but unlike the '75 concert I don't get bored with the final Forum performance. I much prefer NQ over DAC and the acoustic set is fantastic.

I agree with Strider that 6/26 is a phenomenal performance, the only one of the second 3 to match 6/21 - 6/23 in my opinion. The 26th features a tighter framework and has Bonham back at his best - he is a quarter or eighth step behind at many points on the 25th. Mind you he does play a number of excellent fills throughout and the end of Kashmir is particularly impressive, but his rhythm is off on the whole to me. I know some people regard the 25th as on par with Eddie or Badge, but listen to Bonham in ALS or NQ and you can clearly hear he is slow, especially compared to the following night. It is said he partied quite heavily on the 24th off day, and Plant on the 26th makes a reference to welcoming Bonzo back (just like he does on the 21st after the San Diego performance).

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