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Ranking The 1975 Shows


Bonzo_fan

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9 hours ago, JohnOsbourne said:

I think there have been two new sources with much better sound quality to appear recently, you should definitely check out the link posted earlier in this thread.  3-12 is an all-time great show.

Would one of you kind folk have a link to this boot?

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1 hour ago, Bonzo_fan said:

If you meant where to download it, I think someone sent that at the end of the previous page.

Man, that solo section of OTHAFA is just vicious! Bonham misses the Page's signature  outro riff and comes in two measures early, but other than that its fucking perfect. Love to get a soundboard of this show...

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http://www.rambleonzep.com/dates/info/1975-03-12LongBeachSrc3Mix.htm - that has no d'load link. Going from the main page to the date has a bunch of boots, but the AUD 3 source mix is not linked either. Starship has individual mp3 files. Is there a FLAC source somewhere?

I assume this is an nice improvement worth the effort over the Mike the Mike Winston remaster??? (I have that one)

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On 4/7/2020 at 2:41 PM, pujols05 said:

By the way, I don't have a single performance of NQ ranked less than 4 stars. Always a highlight of a '75 show for me (all-time fave is 5-24). 

Where would you personally put the 3/21 Seattle version? That one stands out to me the most for that incredible, frenetic grooving solo. Such a different take from the usual.

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4 hours ago, rm2551 said:

http://www.rambleonzep.com/dates/info/1975-03-12LongBeachSrc3Mix.htm - that has no d'load link. Going from the main page to the date has a bunch of boots, but the AUD 3 source mix is not linked either. Starship has individual mp3 files. Is there a FLAC source somewhere?

I assume this is an nice improvement worth the effort over the Mike the Mike Winston remaster??? (I have that one)

Oh yes. It's just as good as a Millard recording IMO. His portion of it is from Stairway onwards, but I honestly think the newly discovered source that runs up until that point is better. A true gem. I'll help you out..

Edited by johnlennon696
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16 hours ago, johnlennon696 said:

Oh yes. It's just as good as a Millard recording IMO. His portion of it is from Stairway onwards, but I honestly think the newly discovered source that runs up until that point is better. A true gem. I'll help you out..

Me too please mate 

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Montreal has always been a favourite of mine. I know the AUD recording could be better, but it's still an enjoyable listen. 

Yea Plant's voice is still in poor shape, but overall I enjoyed this show.

Page in particular is in excellent form. Dazed is one of my favourites from the tour and it's like Page is really pushing himself as his playing is fast and fluid here. It's definetly a Jimmy Page show.

Kashmir is also very good again even with Plant's voice. The tapers' "Holy fuck" comment when it finished bought a smile to my face. Perfectly encapsulated someone hearing the track for the first time.

The tapers' comments throughout are also worth the listen too.

Overall a good early show IMO with an enjoyable recording.

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On 4/11/2020 at 10:05 PM, 1998giventofly said:

Where would you personally put the 3/21 Seattle version? That one stands out to me the most for that incredible, frenetic grooving solo. Such a different take from the usual.

Just enjoyed this show last week. Four stars there for me. To my ears, JPJ initially goes in a direction that seems to foreshadow the '77 versions, and then comes back toward the '75 versions, but not quite the usual, as you say. For me, it's just not quite focused enough. Which is a strange thing to say for a "jam" song. 

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  • 1 month later...
4 hours ago, Page Les Paul said:

What is the preferred version of the 02/12/1975 NYC show? I see where bluecongo did a version of this show.

I've only ever listened to Godfather's That's Alright New York, which sounds great.

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  • 1 month later...

Just going on what I'm really familiar with (I still need to find time to listen to the whole 2/16 show), here's how I would rank 'em:

 

3/19

3/5

2/14

5/25

2/28

2/13

3/21 (Definitely need to revisit this one soon, A Blazing NQ and a few others)...

3/12

3/20

3/11

 

Edited by paul carruthers
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1 hour ago, paul carruthers said:

Just going on what I'm really familiar with (I still need to find time to listen to the whole 2/16 show), here's how I would rank 'em:

 

3/19

3/5

2/14

5/25

2/28

2/13

3/21 (Definitely need to revisit this one soon, A Blazing NQ and a few others)...

3/12

3/20

3/11

 

3/19 is certainly among the small handful of acceptable choices for the top spot.  Time spent listening to 3/21 is never wasted, so definitely revisit it!  A blazing NQ indeed, and the best '75 Dazed IMO.

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I'm much more of a '77 guy than a '75 guy but 1975 isn't without its charms even though IMO a) the setlist isn't perfect and b) the tedium can set in in the last third of some of them shows pretty easy. As I've said many times before I would have preferred if they'd kept "Wanton Song" and "How Many More Times" (as opposed to D & C) in the set.

My top five 1975 performances are probably: Vancouver March 19th (love the jazzy "No Quarter", not a fan of the smuttier than usual Plantations on the night), Philly February 8 (as one review or another said, "This show doesn't crawl, it runs!"- a nice, understated performance), Detroit January 31 (for similar reasons as the Philly show plus we've still got Wanton and HMMT in there), Baton Rouge February 28 (mainly on the basis of the quality of Freezer's audience tape plus "No Quarter" kicks ass on the night) and Chicago January 22 (though truth be told I like both of the available Chi '75 shows- where the hell is the complete 21st recording???!!!)

Admittedly I'm not a big fan of the (IMO) overblown L.A. and Earls Court gigs. THAT'S where I find the tedium can really set in...

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Just spent an enjoyable 3 months listening to the 1975 Tour in order, so my top five would be.....19th March Vancouver, 21 March Seattle, 28th Feb Baton Rouge, 27th March L.A. Forum, and 18th May Earl's Court. No set order 1-5, depends on mood. 

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4 hours ago, WD52 said:

Just spent an enjoyable 3 months listening to the 1975 Tour in order, so my top five would be.....19th March Vancouver, 21 March Seattle, 28th Feb Baton Rouge, 27th March L.A. Forum, and 18th May Earl's Court. No set order 1-5, depends on mood. 

Can't argue with that, all good choices.  I listened to them all in order back in January, February and March -- it's a nice little journey, isn't it?  Especially once you get to March.

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I like many of the January gigs, especially Chicago. Jimmy played very well, some shows Robert was decent, and the early setlist I much preferred. If they would have stuck with WS & Levee, and alternate HMMT with D&C that would have been quite lovely. Maybe even toss in the occasional Custard Pie...drop down baby 😉

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2 minutes ago, PeaceFrogYum said:

I like many of the January gigs, especially Chicago. Jimmy played very well, some shows Robert was decent, and the early setlist I much preferred. If they would have stuck with WS & Levee, and alternate HMMT with D&C that would have been quite lovely. Maybe even toss in the occasional Custard Pie...drop down baby 😉

It would be nice to have a soundboard of one of the better January shows to help us judge better, but I agree.  That Minneapolis soundboard tease in February was very tantalizing.  

I wish they had done that with the setlist as well, and I've always wished they would've played "Custard Pie" in '75.  It would have made for a much better opener than poor Robert croaking his way through "Rock And Roll" most nights, especially for the second leg once Physical Graffiti was in the shops...

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12 hours ago, Bonzo_fan said:

It would be nice to have a soundboard of one of the better January shows to help us judge better, but I agree.  That Minneapolis soundboard tease in February was very tantalizing.  

I wish they had done that with the setlist as well, and I've always wished they would've played "Custard Pie" in '75.  It would have made for a much better opener than poor Robert croaking his way through "Rock And Roll" most nights, especially for the second leg once Physical Graffiti was in the shops...

Yep, the croak would have actually worked for CP as it is recorded with Plant's voice in Kim Carnes mode anyway. Kinda like Tom Waits does Zeppelin. BTW I love Tom Waits so, good to go for me.

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  • 9 months later...

This is a question some of the Brits will be better qualified to answer than the rest of us, but I have always wondered if the 1975 Earls Court gigs would be better remembered and ranked higher by Zeppelin fans if they had played those shows at the Rainbow Theatre, Empire Pool, Hammersmith Odeon, or Royal Albert Hall instead? In other words, did the dull, dark, dead acoustical atmosphere of Earls Court as a venue contribute to the overall leaden feeling of the gigs themselves?

Edited by Strider
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^ Not really. The EC gigs are memorable for their spectacle more than anything else. Britain in the mid 70s was not like North America and there were very few large arenas to play in. For a long time EC was THE large scale concert venue in London - only Wembley Stadium surpassed it, and bands didn't really start playing there until the 80s I think. The Who played shows at The Oval cricket ground and Charlton Athletic's The Valley football stadium in the 70s, but those were something of an exception to the rule.

Playing, say 10 nights at Hammersmith might have produced better shows, but for sheer grandiosity it had to be EC. Empire Pool (now Wembley Arena) was a decent size but nowhere near as big, and although the Royal Albert Hall has the history and atmosphere and status it still doesn't have the scale.

The EC gigs aren't the best of 1975 (the 18th is possibly in the top 10 for the year perhaps), but those concerts have entered legend because to fill 5 nights at Earls Court in those days was in British terms something like doing 10 MSG or LA Forum shows. It's the sheer 'wow' factor and epicness of it all - that's what really impresses. As mentioned above, 10 nights at Hammersmith might have produced better performances, but I'm not sure that they would have become part of the Zeppelin legend like EC did.

Edited by Cosmic_Equilibrium
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