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Top 5 shows form 1977


godzilla777

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I really like Cleveland - The Destroyer was the second bootleg I ever got. Rolling Stones Records on Irving Park in Chicago somewhere round 1984 or 1985. The RS shop is still there & while they have minimal vinyl, they have a really great selection of zeppelin on cd @ really good prices too. I think I paid $75 bucks for The Destroyer & like JPJ's upright base ... "it severs its purpose" : )

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To me the only way to answer this honestly is if the listener has heard every available show. I know this isn't possible for everyone but if you haven't heard Pontiac or 4/28 (positively light years better than 4/27) you are missing out. To hear arguably the best shows over a relatively large range of the tour dates I would give the following a go:

April 28th - stamina

May 22nd - power

June 13th - bravado

June 21st - chemistry

June 26th - technical skill / talent

These shows each highlight a particular aspect that made Zeppelin amazing. Unfortunetly none of the 3rd leg matches the above, although there are many highlights during the four final shows of the tour.

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Just picked up a copy of 4/28/77 and am really enjoying it! I had read lots of good reviews of it, but stayed away from listening to clips until I had my own copy....guess since today is the anniversary, I must continue through the acoustic set and onward! :yesnod:

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  • 6 months later...

Honorable mention should go to two other shows:

4-10-77, 7-23-77, & 7-24-77

The last Chicago show was brilliant except for the mistakes Jimmy made during TYG.

The final Oakland show according to some friends who were there said the show was very good overall, truncated but good. Maybe because they wanted to get outta Dodge Jimmy was able to focus on his playing vs hie other "distractions" so to speak. Kinda hard to imbibe when you are in fear of the fuzz com in to get ya.

Any other opinions of this final Oakland show????

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My personal top five, strictly based on the performance:

April 28, Cleveland

May 18, Birmingham

May 22, Fort Worth

June 11, New York

June 21, L.A.

Honourable mention:

April 23, Atlanta

June 10, New York

Any other opinions of this final Oakland show????

The main issue I think with the second Oakland show is that the band was essentially performing under duress, and it shows in their "let's get it over with" attitude. I think with the hindsight of 37 years all the 'baggage' that goes along with the history behind the two Oakland '77 shows essentially taints the performances. Having said that, though, I'd classify the second Oakland gig as good, but not great...though better than the first.

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Oh yeah, it's fucking sick how much those old vinyl sets go for on EBay. I'd love to find a cheap Destroyer vinyl (emphasis on cheap), but I paid $70 for both For Badgeholders Only sets (in 1985, mind you). Those things go for triple digits each these days. Time marches on...

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Judging from the contributions to this discussion, so far it seems to be 28-4-77, 22-5-77 and 6-21-77 for the win! The other two "top" five contenders are still up for debate, and probably always will be...

Now let's turn it on its head:

What do you consider to be the top five WORST shows of the '77 tour?

I'll go with

Tempe 20-7-77 (not as bad as people make it to be, but still a very off night for the boys)

Landover 28-5-77 (sloppy, sloppy, sloppy- especially where Page and Bonham are concerned)

Louisville 25-4-77 (the rowdy audience is partly to blame, but when even Jonesy is fucking up they're not having a good night onstage)

Oakland 23-7-77 (aside from the poisonous vibes backstage, I think Zep needed more than one cup of coffee before hitting the stage)

Oklahoma City 3-4-77 (essentially a live rehearsal in front of a paying audience...I can only imagine what the Dallas gig was like)

Hounourable mention:

San Diego 19-6-77 (considering the shape Bonham was in on the night, they should have postponed...)

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  • 2 weeks later...

^^^^Nah.....

June 25th is not that strong a performance, certainly not as good as April 28th or June 13th. On the 25th Jimmy, Robert and Jonesy are strong however Bonham is quite off.

For worst shows, I give credit to the following:

1977/05/28

1977/04/25

1977/07/20

1977/04/03

1977/07/23 (Jimmy's a huge mess on the 3rd leg as a whole)

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Try the entire LA stand! Ha! Nothing compares to it. Question answered and discussion over.

Nah...IMO April 28 in Cleveland wipes the floor with the whole L.A. run. L.A.'s good -don't get me wrong- but the April 28 performance wise is about as close to 'technically' perfect as the '77 tour got.

For worst shows, I give credit to the following:

1977/05/28

1977/04/25

1977/07/20

1977/04/03

1977/07/23 (Jimmy's a huge mess on the 3rd leg as a whole)

Identical list to mine own!

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All the technical problems plus one aspect of Achilles from that show made me bump it for 6/26. Trust me, it wasn't easy, 6/23 has my favorite OtHaFA and SIBLY of that tour.

6/23 has the most incredible performance of Achilles ever. OTHAFA SIBLY NFBM NQ The Acoustic section even the drum solo and Jimmy's solo are really great. its enough to put that how on top for me inspite of the bumps.

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