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1977 North American Tour - 40th Anniversary


ZepHead315

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10 hours ago, John M said:

One of my favorite moments is the Over the Hills solo on June 22.  As someone said in the YouTube comments, "Dude, that Page solo in OTHAFA was crispy."  I would say it was Jimmy's extra crispy recipe.  During the first part of the solo he gets into earth orbit, and then just when it is supposed to end, he blast off toward the far reaches of the galaxy, bending if not breaking the space time continuum.  Somehow Jones and Bonham keep up with him.   That solo for me epitomizes Jimmy in 1977.  

YES! I always show people that solo whenever they say Page sucked live after '73. Easily one of his best ever solos.

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On 6/17/2017 at 4:56 AM, Strider said:

Haha...ya think? ;)

 

Are you by any chance still doing your 77 tour thread on your memories of these shows? I totally understand if you're too busy...but I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say I'd love to hear/read them! :)

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5 hours ago, ZepHead315 said:

Are you by any chance still doing your 77 tour thread on your memories of these shows? I totally understand if you're too busy...but I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say I'd love to hear/read them! :)

Amen!

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5 hours ago, ZepHead315 said:

Are you by any chance still doing your 77 tour thread on your memories of these shows? I totally understand if you're too busy...but I think I speak for a lot of people here when I say I'd love to hear/read them! :)

 

25 minutes ago, Bonzo_fan said:

Amen!

Just posted about the June 21 show.

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23 minutes ago, Walter said:

Just listened to 6/22 for the first time ever - wow!  The enery just kept increasing as the show went.  

Listened to it for the first time not long ago, love 1977 but always went for the good sounding stuff, soundboards, Millards. Yeah, they rocked the hell out of the Forum that night. I'll lose my shit if a soundboard ever surfaces. I can't wait to hear an Over the Hills '77 style in quality like the 5/30 soundboard. 7/17 Over the Hills is a little slack.

Something about the '77 Over the Hills is really cool, can't put it into words. Really dark, and Robert's changed vocal part of latter years seems to work best in '77. And Jimmy does the darkest most insane solos of his career IMO. Also want to hear a '77 Black Dog in great quality, as those are really unique and have a life of their own, too. Communication Breakdown, Trampled Underfoot... Always love some 1977 live versions, not always sure why, I just like their sound and style. Sick Again, TSRTS, i could go on.

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2 hours ago, Walter said:

Just listened to 6/22 for the first time ever - wow!  The enery just kept increasing as the show went.  

I know I've said it before but I think I agree with Nutrocker...6/22 is maybe the best performed out of all the LA shows. Apart from Page breaking a string a couple of times, there are no real screw ups. My fave versions of IMTOD and OTHAFA and one of my favorite versions of Stairway. Even the drum solo is fantastic, probably the best of 77.

Definitely #1 on my soundboard wish list for 77!

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Listen to This Eddie 6/21/77 at the LA Forum is my favorite of the NA '77 tour. Bonzo at his best. What a fantastic show and the boot's sound quality is great too. Seems like every time Zeppelin played the Forum they put in a great performance, a few of them legendary.

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9 hours ago, Walter said:

Just listened to 6/22 for the first time ever - wow!  The enery just kept increasing as the show went.  

"No Quarter" from that night is fucking epic, innit?

6 hours ago, ZepHead315 said:

I know I've said it before but I think I agree with Nutrocker...6/22 is maybe the best performed out of all the LA shows. Apart from Page breaking a string a couple of times, there are no real screw ups. My fave versions of IMTOD and OTHAFA and one of my favorite versions of Stairway. Even the drum solo is fantastic, probably the best of 77.

Definitely #1 on my soundboard wish list for 77!

Yeah, the 6/22 show is by no means perfect but it's about as close as you can get for '77 I'd reckon. Soundboard would be nice, I agree.

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June 22, 1977: 40 Years Gone. The one night I miss of the 1977 Forum run and Jimmy busts out the best "Over the Hills and Far Away" solo ever! I knew it the moment I first heard it about five years ago. 

What makes the June 22 solo so special? It has all the same elements from all the other great OTHAFA solos...6.21,6.23, 6.13, etc...but played with more drive, confidence, fluidity. There is not one moment of hesitation or unsteadiness by Jimmy. Plus a little something extra not played in any other performance of "Over the Hills and Far Away"

The solo begins at 2:30 with those big deep bent notes...or as I call them: dinosaur groans. Then Jimmy sets off over the hills and far away, traversing the peaks and valleys, ascending the mountains...and beyond. At around 3:50 or so, he unleashes that fusillade of cascading notes that usually signified the solo was coming to an end. But he extends it a bit at 4:10 with a few tasty licks that hint that he is about to wrap it up...but then, at 4:25 he decides to push further and further until at 4:35 he enters a new dimension of the stratosphere. A whole new segment, almost a call-and-response type dialogue, that ups the swagger quotient of the solo...it's so damn sexy and saucy that it makes you raise your fist, smile and yell "Go Jimmy Go! I have listened to around 50 "Over the Hills and Far Away" performances. It is a 30 second bit that was only played on this night. Finally, at 5:10 the usual slashing chords bring the solo to an end.

Don't sleep on June 22....it may not have the fame of "Listen To This, Eddie" or "For Badgeholders Only", but it rocks just as hard. The audience tape of June 22 isn't the quality of Mike Millard unfortunately, but it's good enough to tell Jimmy Page is en fuego! Plus, this was the only night of the entire 1977 tour where they played "In My Time of Dying", "Trampled Under Foot", and "Over the Hills and Far Away" in the same show. Another special quirk of June 22, 1977: Jimmy rips into the Stairway solo directly after the opening fanfare, just like on the studio version, instead of those extra bars of 12-string riffing before making the switch to the 6-string. 

Oh well...Lesson learned. Next time Led Zeppelin schedules multiple nights at a venue, go to all of them. ;)

 

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Nice write up,Strider.  I don't recall them playing TUF that night though.  I listened on my phone while unpacking parts of the kitchen yesterday and thought the quality wasn't that bad at all.  Very enjoyable show.  Highlights for me we're In My Time Of Dying, Since I've Been Loving You, No Quarter, WS/Black Mt Side w/Swan Song inc into it, Kashmir, Over The Hills, Achilles, and probably the most vicious Rock and Roll since '72.  Great show for sure!

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On 6/23/2017 at 4:03 AM, Strider said:

The solo begins at 2:30 with those big deep bent notes...or as I call them: dinosaur groans. Then Jimmy sets off over the hills and far away, traversing the peaks and valleys, ascending the mountains...and beyond. At around 3:50 or so, he unleashes that fusillade of cascading notes that usually signified the solo was coming to an end. But he extends it a bit at 4:10 with a few tasty licks that hint that he is about to wrap it up...but then, at 4:25 he decides to push further and further until at 4:35 he enters a new dimension of the stratosphere. A whole new segment, almost a call-and-response type dialogue, that ups the swagger quotient of the solo...it's so damn sexy and saucy that it makes you raise your fist, smile and yell "Go Jimmy Go! I have listened to around 50 "Over the Hills and Far Away" performances. It is a 30 second bit that was only played on this night. Finally, at 5:10 the usual slashing chords bring the solo to an end.

Strider - well put.   As I have listened to this recently I thought of that old movie quote - "I'll have what he's having!"  There is something extra special about Jimmy that night.  Maybe it is partly the ambience of the recording.

 

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5 hours ago, John M said:

Strider - well put.   As I have listened to this recently I thought of that old movie quote - "I'll have what he's having!"  There is something extra special about Jimmy that night.  Maybe it is partly the ambience of the recording.

 

Everything coalesced perfectly that night.

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Ah, so today is 40 years to the day of the fourth show at the Forum, aka "Badgeholders' Annual Meeting".

Unpopular opinion time: I don't get the hype about Kashmir at this show. Bonham's having a bit of an off night and it shows here. Whenever I listen to Kashmir from this show, all I can think about for the first few minutes is how plodding and slow he sounds compared to other versions. Plus, around the two minute mark (just after Plant does his "oh! oh! ooooooohhh!"), Page does a pretty big flub. IIRC, this is longest version of Kashmir ever. To me that is not a good thing. It seems to drag a bit. I will say that the 2nd half is impressive, what with Bonham's fills and all, but I'm personally not a huge fan of this version.

For the LA run, I'll stick with the 6/21 version. Much more on point, imo. Probably my favorite version of Kashmir ever.

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11 hours ago, ZepHead315 said:

Ah, so today is 40 years to the day of the fourth show at the Forum, aka "Badgeholders' Annual Meeting".

Unpopular opinion time: I don't get the hype about Kashmir at this show. Bonham's having a bit of an off night and it shows here. Whenever I listen to Kashmir from this show, all I can think about for the first few minutes is how plodding and slow he sounds compared to other versions. Plus, around the two minute mark (just after Plant does his "oh! oh! ooooooohhh!"), Page does a pretty big flub. IIRC, this is longest version of Kashmir ever. To me that is not a good thing. It seems to drag a bit. I will say that the 2nd half is impressive, what with Bonham's fills and all, but I'm personally not a huge fan of this version.

For the LA run, I'll stick with the 6/21 version. Much more on point, imo. Probably my favorite version of Kashmir ever.

I'd have to disagree with you there; I think it's an excellent version of "Kashmir," although the 21st (& 22nd) have stellar versions as well.  I thought 5/28 Landover has the longest version of "Kashmir"...

My opinion of this show has actually changed over the course of my listening to it today.  I used to agree with you and ListenToThis that Bonham was having an off night on the 25th, but now I'm not so sure.  I would still rank it 5th or 6th out of the L.A. shows (soft spot for the 27th), but it is still a very solid show, and securely in the upper echelon of '77 shows.

Highlights/Noteworthy Moments:

- Great "Nobody's Fault But Mine"

- Final performance of "In My Time Of Dying"

- Great "Since I've Been Loving You"

- Tight, solid "No Quarter," even though it's the shortest of the L.A. run at 28:30something

- Funny mention of McDonald's by Plant before "Going To California," part of a very nice acoustic set overall--better than the 23rd in this regard IMO

- Possibly the best-ever "Kashmir"

- Best "Trampled Under Foot" of the L.A. run, and one of the better ones of '77

- Longest and maybe best (22nd?) "Over The Top" of the L.A. run--probably the last truly epic one--maybe Strider could speak to the one on the 26th since the tape is cut significantly.  If memory serves, the one in Seattle is cool for the historical significance of it being the last one, and it's nice to have the video, but I don't think it's quite as good as this one.  This one has the same epic feel as 5/22 Ft. Worth and the earlier greats like 7/17/73 & 3/21/75

- Pretty good and tight "Achilles Last Stand"

- Great Stairway solo

- Plant greeting Lori Maddox

- Only "Communication Breakdown" of '77

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3 hours ago, Bonzo_fan said:

I'd have to disagree with you there; I think it's an excellent version of "Kashmir," although the 21st (& 22nd) have stellar versions as well.  I thought 5/28 Landover has the longest version of "Kashmir"...

My opinion of this show has actually changed over the course of my listening to it today.  I used to agree with you and ListenToThis that Bonham was having an off night on the 25th, but now I'm not so sure.  I would still rank it 5th or 6th out of the L.A. shows (soft spot for the 27th), but it is still a very solid show, and securely in the upper echelon of '77 shows.

Highlights/Noteworthy Moments:

- Great "Nobody's Fault But Mine"

- Final performance of "In My Time Of Dying"

- Great "Since I've Been Loving You"

- Tight, solid "No Quarter," even though it's the shortest of the L.A. run at 28:30something

- Funny mention of McDonald's by Plant before "Going To California," part of a very nice acoustic set overall--better than the 23rd in this regard IMO

- Possibly the best-ever "Kashmir"

- Best "Trampled Under Foot" of the L.A. run, and one of the better ones of '77

- Longest and maybe best (22nd?) "Over The Top" of the L.A. run--probably the last truly epic one--maybe Strider could speak to the one on the 26th since the tape is cut significantly.  If memory serves, the one in Seattle is cool for the historical significance of it being the last one, and it's nice to have the video, but I don't think it's quite as good as this one.  This one has the same epic feel as 5/22 Ft. Worth and the earlier greats like 7/17/73 & 3/21/75

- Pretty good and tight "Achilles Last Stand"

- Great Stairway solo

- Plant greeting Lori Maddox

- Only "Communication Breakdown" of '77

I night have mentioned this before, so I'm not going to search it out, but, in all of my years I that went to see Zeppelin concerts (from 1970-1977), the SINGLE most EPIC experience, was in 1977, at the Ft. Worth concert, that being "Kashmir".

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14 hours ago, The Rover said:

I night have mentioned this before, so I'm not going to search it out, but, in all of my years I that went to see Zeppelin concerts (from 1970-1977), the SINGLE most EPIC experience, was in 1977, at the Ft. Worth concert, that being "Kashmir".

Yes, I remember you saying that before.  I can imagine how "Kashmir" especially would be much cooler in person than on a bootleg.

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21 hours ago, Bonzo_fan said:

I'd have to disagree with you there; I think it's an excellent version of "Kashmir," although the 21st (& 22nd) have stellar versions as well.  I thought 5/28 Landover has the longest version of "Kashmir"...

My opinion of this show has actually changed over the course of my listening to it today.  I used to agree with you and ListenToThis that Bonham was having an off night on the 25th, but now I'm not so sure.  I would still rank it 5th or 6th out of the L.A. shows (soft spot for the 27th), but it is still a very solid show, and securely in the upper echelon of '77 shows.

Highlights/Noteworthy Moments:

- Great "Nobody's Fault But Mine"

- Final performance of "In My Time Of Dying"

- Great "Since I've Been Loving You"

- Tight, solid "No Quarter," even though it's the shortest of the L.A. run at 28:30something

- Funny mention of McDonald's by Plant before "Going To California," part of a very nice acoustic set overall--better than the 23rd in this regard IMO

- Possibly the best-ever "Kashmir"

- Best "Trampled Under Foot" of the L.A. run, and one of the better ones of '77

- Longest and maybe best (22nd?) "Over The Top" of the L.A. run--probably the last truly epic one--maybe Strider could speak to the one on the 26th since the tape is cut significantly.  If memory serves, the one in Seattle is cool for the historical significance of it being the last one, and it's nice to have the video, but I don't think it's quite as good as this one.  This one has the same epic feel as 5/22 Ft. Worth and the earlier greats like 7/17/73 & 3/21/75

- Pretty good and tight "Achilles Last Stand"

- Great Stairway solo

- Plant greeting Lori Maddox

- Only "Communication Breakdown" of '77

We'll agree to disagree here. In terms of Bonham's performance, I honestly think he partied a little too much with Keith Moon. Plant even references it the next night when he says something like "we're pleased to have John Bonham back with us". I also don't care for Over The Top here either. It's got cool moments, but it drags a little and is too long, imo. The other drum solos for this run were tight and explosive. I do agree with you on the rest, especially how this show contains the best TUF of the run (the 23rd has Page's guitar cutting out, while on the 27th, he's quite erratic)

If I were to rank the LA 77 run, here would be my list:

1. 6/22 - The tightest and best-performed of all the shows, imo. Take the energy and aggression of the opening numbers of the 21st and spread it out throughout the whole show and you get this. Longest NQ ever (and one of the best), only time OTHAFA and IMTOD were both performed in a 77 concert (not to mention flawless versions of both, possibly the best ever), a devastating Achilles Last Stand (even with a broken string), a phenomenal Stairway (which features Page going straight into the solo and lacks Plant's "does anybody remember laughter?" ad libs), and the best drum solo of the run. Just devastating from beginning to end.

2. 6/21 - One of Bonham's best ever shows. The energy is off the charts at the beginning. The band clearly has something to prove tonight. Best TSRTS ever, great NQ, my favorite version of Kashmir, and a great Stairway. The one knock I have against this show is that Bonham is actually SO good that he actually throws Page off a bit. For example, in Achilles, I can hear Page flub notes a couple of times. Nothing major, but I almost sense that Bonham's explosiveness actually distracted him. Still a minor nitpick at worst.

3. 6/23 - Some slight technical issues mar this performance, and I'm not a huge fan of the acoustic set here for some reason. Other than that, this is a great performance with the best NQ ever and the best Ten Years Gone, Since I've Been Loving You, and Sick Again of the run. Great Achilles as well (tied with the 22nd for my favorite). Kashmir is unfortunate although the band makes up for it in the 2nd half. Overall, a great performance brought down slightly by technical issues.

4. 6/26 - Probably the most consistent performance of the run, with (IIRC) no dropouts or broken strings from Page to speak of. That being said, I haven't heard any song (aside from It'll Be Me of course) that I would rate as being the best version being performed here. Very good, but nothing rises to the level of being truly great, imo.

5. 6/27 - Very erratic. It's obvious fatigue is setting in, especially with Page. He seems to teeter on the edge of disaster, but manages to pull himself together at the last moment. Bonham is also slightly erratic too ("was that Keith Bonham on drums?"), but still manages to turn in a great drum solo. A great acoustic set, too, easily the best of the run, imo. Fantastic OTHAFA as well.

6. 6/25 - Things get off to a sluggish start. Page is very loose and Bonham is more laid back than the other shows. He's not as bad as he was during, say, Landover, but to me, it's obvious he's not at 100%. Apart from Trampled and Communication Breakdown, I can't really think of anything from this show that I would use if I were to compile a "best of LA 77" CD. Bonham on a (slightly) off night to me is less tolerable than Page having an off night. Kashmir is marred by his performance imo. For the first half, he just seems to plod. Yes, he picks up in time for the 2nd half, but to me this version just goes on for too long. Still a good show, especially by 77 standards, but it's the LA 77 show that I have the least interest in listening to again.

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5 hours ago, Bonzo_fan said:

Yes, I remember you saying that before.  I can imagine how "Kashmir" especially would be much cooler in person than on a bootleg.

I still get goosebumps listening to the O2 Kashmir and the Symphonic Led Zeppelin Kashmir (with the Dawn at the great Pyramid introduction) on the big speakers in the den, but with the remembrance of the '77 Ft. Worth performance as the Kashmir reference point.

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On 6/25/2017 at 8:11 AM, ZepHead315 said:

Ah, so today is 40 years to the day of the fourth show at the Forum, aka "Badgeholders' Annual Meeting".

Unpopular opinion time: I don't get the hype about Kashmir at this show. Bonham's having a bit of an off night and it shows here. Whenever I listen to Kashmir from this show, all I can think about for the first few minutes is how plodding and slow he sounds compared to other versions. Plus, around the two minute mark (just after Plant does his "oh! oh! ooooooohhh!"), Page does a pretty big flub. IIRC, this is longest version of Kashmir ever. To me that is not a good thing. It seems to drag a bit. I will say that the 2nd half is impressive, what with Bonham's fills and all, but I'm personally not a huge fan of this version.

For the LA run, I'll stick with the 6/21 version. Much more on point, imo. Probably my favorite version of Kashmir ever.

I respectfully disagree. "Kashmir" sounded amazing on the 25th. Bonham is not plodding, he is measured...it's tempting for lesser drummers to want to speed up but Bonham was a master at keeping that steady whomp. It is not the longest "Kashmir"...Led Zeppelin Database has it wrong. It is not over 11 minutes long...it is 10:15. Most of the other "Kashmir"s on the L.A. run were over nine minutes. The extra length on the 25th is all in the closing coda, as Bonham does a few more rounds of fills. 

However, the pace and speed of "Kashmir" on the 25th is exactly the same as the other L.A. dates. You can tell this by the fact that Robert Plant's long scream "Where I've beeeeeeeen" that ends the middle section comes at exactly the same spot as the others: 4:22.

What really made the Kashmir on the 25th so epic was that all four elements were clearly heard. On some nights, the keyboards would overshadow the guitar or vice versa. Or Plant would struggle with the vocals. But on the 25th, Jones' mellotron and Jimmy's guitar were in perfect balance. That made the middle section especially hypnotic with Jones' keyboards whirling and swirling around your head. Bonham was laying down a deep and heavy beat. And Plant sang his arse off and used his vocal effects masterfully...his voice echoing and reverbing around the hall.

 

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