joeboy Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I agree with him in the sense that live playing never really came back to the same quality until the end of the 1977 tour. Even then Jimmy was sadly addicted to drugs and some songs showed this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sathington Willoughby Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I agree, looks like that's one thing RC got right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjin-san Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Nice tin foil hat too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matjaz1 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Three fans belive it's over! Weird news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottlyle Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 You must not of listened to Zeppelin in late March 75,probably the heaviest they ever were and some absolute killer concerts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboy Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 Jimmy's fingers were broken and Roberts voice was getting better but not as good as July 1973. The momentum was gone by 1975 and they were in coast mode. Jimmy also said he hated the 1977 tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sathington Willoughby Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Jimmy's fingers were broken and Roberts voice was getting better but not as good as July 1973. The momentum was gone by 1975 and they were in coast mode. Jimmy also said he hated the 1977 tour. Precisely. They could never regain that same momentum after that year and a half off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IpMan Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I don't fully agree, however momentum was indeed lost after 73'. The March & May 75' gigs were amazing and a good chunk of 77', especially the second leg, were some of the best in the bands career. Jimmy played amazing that year (77') when sober and Robert's voice was, IMO, the best it had ever been, But, yes, as far as overall performance in a live setting, they were never as consistent after 73, but over??? HELL NO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pagefan55 Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Certain concerts in '75 and '77 were amazing, so it certainly wasn't over in '73. Cole is wrong...again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mstork Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 When/where did Cole say this? Link?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecongo Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Absolute BS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutrocker Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Meh...Richard Cole has made so many contradictory -if not outright bullshit- statements over the years that you need to take everything he says with a goddamn salt lick, nevermind a pinch! Not only that, but the dude was so fucked up on drugs at the time that I doubt he really remembers anything from the mid to late seventies with anything resembling clarity... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ListenToThis Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Well, to be fair the young, fresh faced Zeppelin certainly came to an end in 1973, and by and large it was never the same again in terms of consistent and energetic performances night after night. The '73 U.S. tour is when the band first started allowing drugs (in this case cocaine) to have an influence on their onstage prowess, as evidenced by one or sometimes two members putting in a subpar performance every few gigs or so. This never happened in the past. Previously the only damper on shows and energy was Plant's declining vocal abilities (beginning with amazingly much lower key Japan concerts in late '72) and continuing with the U.K tour that followed. But in the US in '73 the energy was impacted by increasingly malevolent backstage antics, Cole himself certainly included. This continued in '75 with the introduction of drinking to excess by a couple members that further deteriorated the 5th element if you will, and poor performances by two members or so on the same nights became increasingly frequent. In 1977 you suddenly had a gig that couldn't even be finished (Chicago for Jimmy) and some shows that barely made it (Bonham in San Diego and Jimmy in Tempe). Then of course Bonham collapsed completely in Nuremberg in '80, the result of very poor nutrition via bad eating habits combined with too much booze. The four members as well as Cole and Grant all have testified to lamenting the introduction and then permanent fixture of drugs, which stemmed by and large from pressure, boredom, loneliness and self esteem which was affected by increasing age, perceived decreased musical ability, and the all to well known issue of "no where to go from here but down". The dream of Zeppelin, the concept and challenge of what they could become, was relentlessly crafted and created by the band for four years, finally coming to fruition in the U.S in '73. However the celebration was short lived, as the top never holds one aloft for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matjaz1 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Sure yeah, pretty much agree with most of you, it's just that there were some damn good shows latter on! And there are actually quite a lot of people in the states, who think it was over there in 72, Plant's voice and lower energy of playing in 73, are the factors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgeholder Still Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 I don't believe Cole's comments pertain entirely to the quality of material or performances, but more to how, as success became a reality, the dynamic inside the band changed forever. Consider the weaknesses of the mortal frame on the 75 tour, the Plant family car accident, heroin, the Oakland incident, and the deaths of Karac and Bonzo , and you've got different era with completely different vibes. Like in all relationships, there's a honeymoon phase until ultimately reality starts seeping through the cracks. Led Zeppelin just had one hell of a honeymoon. By the end of the 1973 tour, it (the honeymoon) was over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Duck Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 When/where did Cole say this? Link?... This jives with some of the statements in Barney Hoskyn's book. The 1973 tour was their longest to date and the band was exhausted by the time it ended. Jimmy Page was in particularly bad shape by the end of that tour. Robert Plant's voice was shot. John Paul Jones was fed up with the constant touring and wanted out. My own observation: Led Zeppelin recorded four albums during their first three years; that's more than one album per year. However, sixteen months elapsed between Led Zeppelin IV and The Houses of the Holy. Then two years between Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti. Did the band have a harder time finding composing great songs after 1971? Did the conflicts between the various band members start to impact the music making? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayley10 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Page addicted in 1973? I think not. He didn't start until 1975 or 6 to the best of my knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the chase Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 This jives with some of the statements in Barney Hoskyn's book. The 1973 tour was their longest to date and the band was exhausted by the time it ended. Jimmy Page was in particularly bad shape by the end of that tour. Robert Plant's voice was shot. John Paul Jones was fed up with the constant touring and wanted out. My own observation: Led Zeppelin recorded four albums during their first three years; that's more than one album per year. However, sixteen months elapsed between Led Zeppelin IV and The Houses of the Holy. Then two years between Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti. Did the band have a harder time finding composing great songs after 1971? Did the conflicts between the various band members start to impact the music making? Houses was completed months before it was released. It was held up due to issues with the artwork. They planned on taking late 1973 through 1974 off. Even still, on a supposed break, they formed Swan Song, filmed additional footage for TSRTS AND recorded 8 new tracks for PG. They were the biggest band in the world after the 4th album (or at least right up there).. They had the clout to take their time and work at their own pace is my guess.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NealR2000 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 The Earls Court 1975 shows were considered by many to be the best the band ever performed, taking into consideration the actual performances as well as where the band was artistically at the time (i.e. Physical Graffiti and the albums before it). I think its fair to say that the issues that were degrading the band's performances in the mid to late 70s were universal in the industry. If you look at their peers, The Who, The Rolling Stones, etc., they were also going through similar phases with inconsistent performances due to substance abuse and general excess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stairway is NOT stolen Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Sure yeah, pretty much agree with most of you, it's just that there were some damn good shows latter on! And there are actually quite a lot of people in the states, who think it was over there in 72, Plant's voice and lower energy of playing in 73, are the factors! The entire acoustic set from Earls court 1975 comes to mind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sathington Willoughby Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Well, to be fair the young, fresh faced Zeppelin certainly came to an end in 1973, and by and large it was never the same again in terms of consistent and energetic performances night after night. The '73 U.S. tour is when the band first started allowing drugs (in this case cocaine) to have an influence on their onstage prowess, as evidenced by one or sometimes two members putting in a subpar performance every few gigs or so. This never happened in the past. Previously the only damper on shows and energy was Plant's declining vocal abilities (beginning with amazingly much lower key Japan concerts in late '72) and continuing with the U.K tour that followed. But in the US in '73 the energy was impacted by increasingly malevolent backstage antics, Cole himself certainly included. This continued in '75 with the introduction of drinking to excess by a couple members that further deteriorated the 5th element if you will, and poor performances by two members or so on the same nights became increasingly frequent. In 1977 you suddenly had a gig that couldn't even be finished (Chicago for Jimmy) and some shows that barely made it (Bonham in San Diego and Jimmy in Tempe). Then of course Bonham collapsed completely in Nuremberg in '80, the result of very poor nutrition via bad eating habits combined with too much booze. The four members as well as Cole and Grant all have testified to lamenting the introduction and then permanent fixture of drugs, which stemmed by and large from pressure, boredom, loneliness and self esteem which was affected by increasing age, perceived decreased musical ability, and the all to well known issue of "no where to go from here but down". The dream of Zeppelin, the concept and challenge of what they could become, was relentlessly crafted and created by the band for four years, finally coming to fruition in the U.S in '73. However the celebration was short lived, as the top never holds one aloft for long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic_juice Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Page addicted in 1973? I think not. He didn't start until 1975 or 6 to the best of my knowledge. He wasn't addicted to heroin in 73 so i agree with that...but cocaine and booze... some joints mixed in... they were having a blast... but they had also been doing it for so long... some of them were probably missing their family lives... and having moments of taking other musical excursions... but they could still lay it down night after night... Plants vocals took a beating... yeah Page could fuck a note up and not everyone miss it... but by 1975... those looking for that 71 voice noticed it wasn't there... but the fans still ate it up... cause they were all hooked too if you catch my drift...songs like Kashmir just blew em away... and Plants voice at the time worked on that one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NealR2000 Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 It was the 73 tour that made them all extremely wealthy. They were well off up until then, but it was the 73 tour and beyond that put them into the stupid money category. This can have a huge effect on relatively young men. We see this all the time in Hollywood and professional sports. Motivation to work slips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
And You Know How It Is? Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Say what you will about Richard, but I'll always firmly believe this: had Richard not been in an Italian jail 34 years ago today, but instead had been with the band at Bray and at Jimmy's afterwards, I don't think John Bonham would have died. Of course, had he not been in jail, hard to say whether Peter would have given Richard his job back before the US tour started (and maybe the band liked Phil Carlo from the summer European tour). Regardless, I just believe Richard would have taken proper care of Bonham that day, 34 years gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NealR2000 Posted September 24, 2014 Share Posted September 24, 2014 Say what you will about Richard, but I'll always firmly believe this: had Richard not been in an Italian jail 34 years ago today, but instead had been with the band at Bray and at Jimmy's afterwards, I don't think John Bonham would have died. Of course, had he not been in jail, hard to say whether Peter would have given Richard his job back before the US tour started (and maybe the band liked Phil Carlo from the summer European tour). Regardless, I just believe Richard would have taken proper care of Bonham that day, 34 years gone. Cole was a mess at the time. Even if he hadn't been mistakenly arrested, he was still a mess, which is why Grant replaced him, in a very gentlemanly way. Lets pretend that Cole was the old Cole, on his game. I hardly think he or anyone else could have saved Bonzo that night. Bonzo was a legendary drinker, and him being put to bed in that state was almost standard procedure. Even the best of Zep's management and oversight wasn't in the business of watching over band members as they slept. Fingers can be pointed for many of the band's mistakes, but Bonzo's death was simply a tragic misadventure with only the man himself being responsible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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