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European Tour 1973


tictac

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^^^

It's not that slippery a slope. I mean, as early as 1972 they were already composing stuff like Rain Song, No Quarter, and The Song Remains the Same. So I'm not buying the line that the drugs and turmoil were needed to come up with Kashmir or In the Light. Page and Plant had already been to Bombay and travelled afar, so their interest in North African and Middle Eastern music was known. Plant's accident in Greece was nearly fatal. No song or album is worth death. For all we know, Presence might have been a better album had there been NO accident.

All I was saying in the first place was imagine the 1977 tour with the fast-and-fluid Jimmy of March 1973...picture how amazing Achilles Last Stand would sound.

Back on the subject of the European Tour of 1973, is Hamburg the consensus favourite?

I, myself, prefer Offenburg a tad more, even though it's lacking Dancing Days. Jimmy's guitar sounds razor sharp, and I like the atmosphere you get with the audience tape, which is a little rough at the start but clears up once Over the Hills and Far Away begins.

I have always felt there has to be a Soundboard of Offenburg out there...if not the whole show, then the same Dazed, Stairway, WLL, and Heartbreaker segment that showed up on the Soundboard Platter release. I mean, if Essen and Hamburg Soundboards exist, why not Offenburg?

My top 3 European '73 shows:

1. Offenburg

2. Hamburg

3. Vienna

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Quote: "I, myself, prefer Offenburg a tad more, even though it's lacking Dancing Days. Jimmy's guitar sounds razor sharp, and I like the atmosphere you get with the audience tape, which is a little rough at the start but clears up once Over the Hills and Far Away begins."

Totally agree with that opinion ... and regard it as one of their best performances ever, because Jimmy`s playing that evening was not from this world

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^^^

It's not that slippery a slope. I mean, as early as 1972 they were already composing stuff like Rain Song, No Quarter, and The Song Remains the Same. So I'm not buying the line that the drugs and turmoil were needed to come up with Kashmir or In the Light. Page and Plant had already been to Bombay and travelled afar, so their interest in North African and Middle Eastern music was known. Plant's accident in Greece was nearly fatal. No song or album is worth death. For all we know, Presence might have been a better album had there been NO accident.

All I was saying in the first place was imagine the 1977 tour with the fast-and-fluid Jimmy of March 1973...picture how amazing Achilles Last Stand would sound.

It's an incredibly slippery slope...and, like I said, totally a pipe-dream. Drugs and turmoil -- including the near-fatal accident that you mentioned -- cannot be ruled out as having played a huge part in the development of the band's creativity and their performances. You can't say that Presence might have been "better" if not for the accident -- it's far more likely that the album wouldn't exist at all.

Too many factors would have, historically, to have been eliminated in order for Jimmy to be preserved in a 1973 state, in terms of his performance.

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Which version of Offenburg is the one to get?

The one I have apparently is one that doesn't exist, as I can't find it listed anywhere...not even on ZeppelinArt.com. It's a CD-R and the cover says "Offenbach Daze". It's an audience tape a little over two hours.

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  • 4 years later...
2 hours ago, johnlennon696 said:

Been listening to Vienna this week and I forgot how much it smokes. Dazed and WLL/Heartbreaker are esp outstanding. It's a great full gig too for SQ with an AUD/SBD merge.

Agreed, Vienna sometimes gets overlooked because of all the other monster shows from this tour, but it's a killer.  The guitar-drum interplay on STH is particularly amazing, shows just how important Bonham was to the band.

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2 hours ago, johnlennon696 said:

Been listening to Vienna this week and I forgot how much it smokes. Dazed and WLL/Heartbreaker are esp outstanding. It's a great full gig too for SQ with an AUD/SBD merge.

That version of Dazed is my all time favorite. Just explosive from beginning to end. Page and Bonham both killing it. And in excellent sound quality to boot!

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  • 3 months later...

One of my 3 favorite Zep tours!! (along with US 6th in Aug-Sep '70 and 1975)

One thing that occurred to me, regarding Bonzo's insane play on this tour. They didn't have Moby Dick in the setlist. The dude LOVED playing drums and going completely nuts at some point. Not having a dedicated outlet for that he would just do it throughout the show instead.

And as far as Jimmy's insane WLL excursions, if they had by then already decided that the American versions would lose most of the boogie medley and especially the slow jam, he knew that he wouldn't get to play those for a while or possibly ever again and just gave it his all as a farewell to that era of Zep, basically.

Jimmy in general seems to have a sense of occasion. He always plays extra special in farewell gigs and seems to put a little extra into performances of songs that would subsequently disappear from the setlist.

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Well, 45 years ago tonight, Zeppelin were kicking off this amazing tour with their show in Copenhagen, Denmark (sadly no recording of this show currently circulates). I intend to celebrate by having this tour in rotation throughout the month. Currently listening to Dazed from Essen. Bonham is just...WOW!!! :o It's as if he's deliberately trying to destroy his drumkit and it sounds awesome!

What's your favorite show from this run? Mine would probably be Offenburg since Page is playing like a man possessed at that gig. I also enjoy Vienna, Hamburg, Essen, and the 2nd Paris show. All great performances.

What about favorite Dazed and/or WLL medley? I already said Dazed from Vienna as my personal choice, and I would choose WLL from Essen (that Turn on Your Lovelight portion!). 

Just a great great tour. Second only to Japan '71 imho.

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