Nitpicking Page 1972

[gibsonfan159]

23 hours ago, 1975NQ said:

Any interest in nitpicking any of the 72 Aussie shows? Or 71 UK Fall shows?  

The Aussie shows are some of my favorites,  the missing encores makes me reluctant to nitpick them. 

As for 71, I plan on continuing from Belfast.

[1975NQ]

12 hours ago, gibsonfan159 said:

The Aussie shows are some of my favorites,  the missing encores makes me reluctant to nitpick them. 

As for 71, I plan on continuing from Belfast.

Very cool, 71 is my favorite year for them! Thanks again for doing these, 

Edited December 11, 2021 by 1975NQ

[gibsonfan159]

Nitpicking Page 6/22/1972 San Bernardino, CA (Welcome Back- Godfather)

Excellent audience recording with consistent sound.

Tape Drone- Sounds good to me, no missed notes.

Immigrant Song- The recording isn't the best on the start and Plant's opening wails sound sickly at best. The energy is there however. Plant squeaks throughout the verses but everything else sounds fine. Solo- Page wastes little time and gets his noodling going quickly compared to the warming up section on early versions. Excellent solo with the usual trills and pull-offs. We all know the vikings loved their trills and pull-offs. "B+" factoring in the squeaks.

Heartbreaker- Energy off the charts and Robert isn't quite so chirpy here. 1:52, Page starts a nice pre-solo solo but gets off track some at 2:04. Solo- Jim sets in on an extended rockabilly jam warm up routine, playing fluently. 4:38, the smear section just a hair sticky but mostly smooth. Bouree played well. Fast section- Good start. 6:25, sticky. Overall pretty good. Plant a bit squeaky on the return verses. "B+".

Black Dog- Medium paced and heavy. 2:37, slight chord flub. 2:59, another one. Plant's vocals are lacking a lot of passion through the verses. Solo- not the most articulate but his phrasing is excellent and the energy is through the roof. "B" overall. 

SIBLY- Intro a little hesitant from Page. Plant manages well through the verses. Solo- solid playing with top notch phrasing. Outro has tons of energy as they carry it out in good fashion. "A".

Stairway- Intro and verses sounding good although Plant sounds noticeably subdued vocally. 4:07, Rob coming in a little flat on "Laughter". Solo- decent start. 6:48, Page's phrasing starts getting a little off track. 6:55-7:00, not good. 7:35, still struggling. The final phrases are fairly good. Plant barely audible on the climax but he holds it together well enough. This one isn't a trainwreck but it's lacking in a few places. "B".

Going To California- Beautiful start. 1:45, some strange sounding notes, intentional or not. The extended instrumental break is played smoothly. Plant's voice is scratchy on the bridge. Overall not bad, but not the most inspired version. "A-".

That's The Way- Solid as a rock with Rob sounding more confident. "A".

Tangerine- Page's twelve string isn't cutting through the mix for whatever reason and Robert hushes the crowd (there is a brief squelch of feedback). Not bad but has some issues. "B+". (Plant comments "The PA is up to its usual standards".)

BYAS- Perfectly played intro from Jim. 1:58, small tape cut. 2:30, Plant seemingly mimics a southern accent by repeating "Y'all" three times. The guitar break is simplistic and Bonham adds some extra nifty percussion on the return. Good energy on this one. "A".

Dazed- 2:30, the usually solid intro is marred by a guitar flub. First workout- 5:38, Page launches into a chaotic foray of runs that gets the jam going quickly. 6:03, he gets more on track here with some nimble fingers. 6:55, an interesting series of arpeggios end with an off-putting chord (That Page repeats). Bow section is around seven minutes. Second workout- Page takes off with tons of energy with extra crunchy guitar tone. 15:24-16:01, we get some "Walter's Walk" combined with "Hot's On For Nowhere". 16:12, a bit sticky here. 16:48, some country licks. 17:31, a couple off notes. 18:20, Robert tells the crowd to "Do the crunge" (perhaps forgetting the dance steps were never published). 19:53, small hiccup from Page. Jimmy winds back up nicely on the last section of the workout with adventurous riffing, throwing in everything. Mars is a little loose. The climax hits well and the transition to the last verse sounds good. 26:20, excellent palm-muted riffing. The outro goes on forever with an all out battle between the musicians. Overall very entertaining and dynamic, with just a couple sticky parts. "A-".

WIAWSNB- Robert hitting the higher notes with ease now. 1:02, Page wanders around the fretboard seemingly lost but stays within the pocket somehow. Solo- teetering on the edge of sloppiness. 3:14, more strange improvs by Page. The outro is played well. Page sounds a little distracted on this one. "B+".

WLL- Solid intro and verses. Theremin section sounding good. Everybody Needs Somebody is instrumental only. Solo- spot on. Boogie Chillen- Plant sounding very good vocally. 6:18, more unusual guitar riffing by Page. Solo- 7:54, not the smoothest playing here. Let's Have A Party- decent playing throughout. Hello Mary Lou- Page noodles away as Robert sings the verses. The solo is gritty and played well. Going Down Slow- 15:05, Page's lead work is slightly erratic as he races through several blistering runs. It's solid guitar work but honestly a far cry from the 1971 shred fest he'd put on in this same section. 19:44, vocal crack. They return to the verses with plenty of enthusiasm to end it. Not bad, not great. Somewhere in between. "A-".

Rock And Roll- Page sounding a little unprepared on the intro and Plant is hesitant with the lyrics. Solo- fingers dancing wildly on the start. Excellent phrasing and passion as Jim finally gets in shred mode. 3:20, Page palm muting the ending chords as Plant nails an awesome repeating vocal to end. What started out as worrisome ends up being a dynamite finish. "A-" considering the botched intro.

Final Assessment- This show is rougher around the edges than I remember it being. There are no trainwrecks anywhere but Page is inconsistent throughout as if he's having some technical issues. Then again his phrasing is very oddball and experimental in places, so who knows. Plant of course takes a while to warm up here but Bonham and Jones are the usual solid foundation. 

[JMH]

As many has said, these are some proper writings that show thought and care.

[Strider]

41 minutes ago, gibsonfan159 said:

Nitpicking Page 6/22/1972 San Bernardino, CA (Welcome Back- Godfather)

Robert tells the crowd to "Do the crunge" (perhaps forgetting the dance steps were never published). 

WLL- Solid intro and verses. Theremin section sounding good. Everybody Needs Somebody is instrumental only. Solo- spot on. Boogie Chillen- Plant sounding very good vocally. 6:18, more unusual guitar riffing by Page. Solo- 7:54, not the smoothest playing here. Let's Have A Party- decent playing throughout. Hello Mary Lou- Page noodles away as Robert sings the verses. The solo is gritty and played well. Going Down Slow- 15:05, Page's lead work is slightly erratic as he races through several blistering runs. It's solid guitar work but honestly a far cry from the 1971 shred fest he'd put on in this same section. 19:44, vocal crack. They return to the verses with plenty of enthusiasm to end it. Not bad, not great. Somewhere in between. "A-".

Great job, as usual gibsonfan159  🍻

As for Robert exhorting the crowd  to "Do the crunge", Jimmy was demonstrating the dance to the audience during this part.

I am curious about your grade for "Whole Lotta Love". Your final assessment is "Not bad, not great. Somewhere in between." Which would suggest to me a C+ or B. But you give it an A-, which is definitely closer to great than bad.

If you are moving on to nitpick June 25, 1972 prepare yourself for more squeaks from Robert Plant.

[gibsonfan159]

I think A- kind of replaces what I used to call B+. Basically solid performance with maybe a flub or two. With extended songs like Dazed and WLL it's tough to tally up all the different sections, so it really comes down to the average.

[gibsonfan159]

Nitpicking Page 6/25/1972 L.A., CA (Welcome Back- Godfather)

Obviously a very famous live show as it's the basis for both the popular bootleg "Burn Like A Candle" and the official live album "How The West Was Won" (Partially). Decent recording quality that varies slightly throughout, very listenable.

Immigrant Song- Plant's opening wails sounding very nice. 0:18, Jones' phrasing is askew during the transition to the first verse. 0:50, Bonham throwing in nice little details on the hi-hat. Verses sound solid throughout. Solo- the usual start leads to some very good noodling. 3:09, nailing this ending phrase. Perfectly energetic version and a good kick off for this show. "A".

Heartbreaker- Bonham feeling very enthusiastic tonight, doing a thunderous fill at the end of every measure. Verses hold up well. Jim gets in a good pre-solo solo but sounds like he ends it too soon. The rockabilly jam gets repetitive as Jimmy drags it out a bit. The smear section is full of oomph and played well. Bouree and 59th St solid as usual. Fast section starts with some loose chording but the solo comes in nicely. 6:50, sticky fingers here. Jimmy tapers off on the noodling toward the end which makes it feel a little lackluster. The returning verses are strong as they wrap it up. An improvement over the San Bernardino but not by much. "A-".

OTHAFA- Excellent intro and Robert nails the high notes on the verses. 2:17, Page botching a couple chords on this transition. Solo- 3:07, lightning fingers as Jim repeats this blues bend. Decent phrasing throughout and nails the final ascending lick. Not his best solo for this but it's very good. Strong finish as they wind down nicely, Jimmy playing a wonderful outro. "A++" for the vocals, Maybe "A" overall.

Black Dog- Thunderous verses played with lots of enthusiasm. 1:40, Plant's first air raid ends on a bit of a squeak. 3:39, maybe slightly better this time. Solo- good bends, solid phrasing, and tons of passion from Jim. "A+".

SIBLY- Beautiful intro from Page. Plant's vocals aren't exactly stunning on the verses but his delivery is decent. 3:11, Jim and Bonzo in perfect sync. Solo- blazing right off the bat. Nice execution throughout, flawless. 6:13, Bonham getting loose with the beat. Energetic, dramatic finish to bring it to an end. "A".

Stairway- Intro sets a perfectly fantasy-esque mood with Plant's vocal delivery done well. 4:27, some unique little accents by Jimmy here. Tempo on the drum intro maybe dragging just a little. Solo- smooth phrasing on the start. Jim keeps a fluid stream of notes flowing, not missing one. Robert sounds good on the climax section, singing with passion. 8:43, minor flub by Jim on the outro. "A".

Going To California- Wonderful playing throughout. "A".

That's The Way- Excellent start. 2:45, awkward pause on the transition back to the verse. The tempo goes a bit slower now. 4:48, another slight pause. The outro is decent but the tempo and pauses throw off the flow significantly. "B".

Tangerine- Solid intro from Jim. Verses sound good as Robert puts adequate emotion into the vocals. "A". (3:26, Bonham can be heard warming up his vocals).

BYAS- An excellent intro as Page throws in some alternate phrases. Verses are very lively, flawless throughout. Top notch performance, "A++". (Bonham shouts something besides "Strider" at the end but I can't tell what it is.)

Dazed- Intro and verses are played well. 3:47, Bonzo getting ultra heavy with the bass drum. First workout- the short jam sounds good with some tight rhythm and noodling from Jimmy. 6:30, ending on a haunting note. Bow section lasts around six minutes. Second workout- 14:20, Jimmy's opening runs are phrased well. 15:00, Walter's Walk followed by some Hots On For Nowhere in which Robert matches the riff with vocals. 16:05-16:30, descending/ascending section just a bit sticky. 16:50, The Crunge played extensively and very well. Just missing those vocals. 18:44, Jim not quite nailing these phrases. Mars sounding a little loose in places but not bad. The climax is nailed down perfectly. 23:10, Jim plays some lead during the last verse which seemingly confuses Robert for a moment. Outro jam sounding solid to bring this entertaining version to a close. Not perfect but the flubs are minor enough to mostly go unnoticed. "A+".

WIAWSNB- Good vibes on the first verses as Plant hits some higher register vocals throughout. Solo- pretty much nailed perfectly. Outro- Done well. One of the more vocally dynamic versions as Plant sounds both 1970 and 1972. "A+".

Dancing Days- Some of the chording on the intro sounds loose, nothing too notable. Solid verses. Solo- 2:57, Page uses the wah pedal here for a strange, screeching effect. Not bad "A".

WLL- A thumping intro to get this one rolling. Plant sings the vocals in his higher, "screechier" 1972 voice. The freakout section is dynamic and full of energy. 4:55, Page's chording on "Everybody" gets a little off track. Solo- excellent. Boogie Chillen, Bonham joins in on the vocal/guitar duel. Tons of enthusiasm from everyone here. Solo- Page plays steadily throughout, nailing every phrase. Let's Have A Party- 11:03, strong vocals. Very good. Hello Mary Lou- Page does some nifty country pickin and the energy is off the charts. 13:47, the ending is simply nuts. Heartbreak Hotel- slow and soothing. Solo- short and very gritty. Slow Down- they bring the energy level way up here and Page nails a wonderful solo. Going Down- 18:52, a cut in this source takes us to the solo. 20:04, Page and Bonham very loose here. Not quite on the level of other versions as Page sounds more reserved, but not bad. Plant gets an excellent air raid scream in to bring us to the outro, which is played nicely as Bonham wrecks his kit for the finale. Overall "B+".

Rock And Roll- Verses sound good as usual. 1:57, Jimmy maybe struggling some to keep up. Otherwise excellent solo. 3:20, Plant nailing the higher register on the last chorus. Bonham again wrecks his drums on the ending. "A".

The Ocean- Solid start with the verses blasting the roof off. Plant's vocals aren't as high pitched for this. Solo- good. 1:57, some loose chords. 2:21, Page's ad libs for the vocal harmony section sounding a little off. Outro- played well to my ears. I wouldn't call this the best version but it's certainly not bad. "B+". 

Louie Louie- Bombastic intro with everyone falling in place perfectly. 1:12, Rob straining a bit here. Solo- absolutely nailed, perfect execution and phrasing. Awesome cover but Plant sounds a bit unsure and unconfident with the vocals. Jones' ending organ solo winds out nicely. "A".

Thank You- A good start with Bonzo's drums rattling the walls. Verses spot on. Solo- Page works his way in slowly with steady phrasing. 3:32, Bonzo threatens to drown Jimmy out on the quieter section. 3:49, not sure what pops into Page's head here but he goes for an improvised power chord riff and gets off track badly. Luckily he ends the solo decently. 4:30, Page again sounds lost on these rhythmic chords, leading me to believe he either broke a string or had some other technical issue. 6:30, Plant brings the song to a close with Jimmy still missing for the most part. Gotta call it like it is- "B".

CB- Plant not quite so powerful through the verses, sounding very subdued. Solo- good up to 1:54 where the phrasing gets a bit limp. "It's Your Thing" is a little more than a tease but done well. "A-".

BIOH- Solid and energetic start as Jimmy and Robert get the momentum going. Plant sounding decent on the verses. Breakdown- Page noodles at a low volume but it's a little too straightforward. Plant comes in with some excellent harmonica and picks the energy back up. 6:30, Page finally comes alive and squares off with Bonham for an exciting duel. Not bad at all but it's a far cry from those 1970 versions. "A". 

Final Assessment- A steamroller of a set list with plenty of highlights. A couple surprising lowlights as well. It's hard to not single out OTHAFA as the main standout as it's one of the last times we'll hear it in it's original form. Almost every other song is also in solid form. Page gets off track on Thank You for whatever reason but it's still a decent listen. Also noticeable is Plant's voice getting more tired as the show drags on. 

[gibsonfan159]

Nitpicking Page 6/27/1972 Long Beach, CA (Welcome Back- Godfather)

The recordings I'm using come from the Godfather boxset and use pretty decent sources. 

Immigrant Song- Recording sounding pretty dreadful on the start but clears up around 0:42. Plant's opening wails could be anyone's guess, but judging by his vocals later they're probably not great. 1:02, Plant's throat simply shuts off for this scream. 1:39, another vocal crack. 1:51, another. Solo- 2:48, after a brief warm up section Page gets some very aggressive runs going, some of it sounding similar to the Dazed workout. He changes up the ending for this one a bit. Factoring in a rough Plant, "B". Instrumentally it's good.

Heartbreaker- Extremely tight playing as everyone is locked in. 1:01, Bonham throwing in unbelievable fills. 1:50, Page's lead-in to the solo sounds just a tad disjointed. 2:25, pull-off section not as smooth as usual. Nothing bad so far though. Rockabilly noodling sounds solid enough. 4:30, smear section getting just a little sticky. Bouree is played decently. Fast section starts nicely with Page finding a good flow of phrases. 6:35, these phrases sounding a little off. A stark contrast between the bombastic verses and the loosely played solo section. Overall "B+".

Black Dog- Plant's voice has recovered fully now as he nails the higher notes. 2:27, Fairly certain he says "Big lipped woman". Excellent verses with a stomping tempo. Solo- Jimmy's fingers get loose as he fires off some impressive lightning fast runs. Perfectly gritty phrasing throughout for a top notch solo. "A++".

OTHAFA- Perfectly played intro but Robert comes in sounding a little tired. Once the verses kick off though he's nailing the high notes. Solo- fantastic start as Jim bends the strings to the sky and gets a couple smooth runs in. 3:36, a rough finish as Jimmy flubs the ending of the ascending phrase. 3:46, vocal crack. The tempo here is break neck speed. 4:10, vocal squeak. Beautiful outro. "A-". (Stay tuned to hear Jim riff on Tarantella Napoletana).

SIBLY- Awesome start and solid verses. Solo- the initial launch is aggressive, passionate, and just a hair sticky on the tail end. Excellent phrasing and gritty playing as Jim pours his soul into it. 5:35, Robert also putting some soul into his vocals. They wind this one out nicely as well. "A+".

Stairway- Verses sound very good with the atmosphere hitting just right. 2:54, Jim throws in a nice little pulloff. Solo- phrasing good to start. Jim takes his time, careful not to crowd the notes. 7:24, sounds like some off notes through here but nothing major. The final bars are nailed perfectly. Plant sounds fairly strong on the climax and the energy level is booming. "A".

GTC- The intro has some warmup time before Jonesy officially launches the verses with his mandolin. 1:14, Plant a bit raspy. 3:14, he manages this final extended note on the bridge quite well. 4:00, sounds like Jones is attempting some country style bends with the mando. Final verses are solid but this obviously isn't Plant's strongest performance. 5:19, he does end with another nice extended note. "A-".

That's The Way- A switch to a better source for this. 0:51, Jones enters with some nice tremolo picking. 2:14, Robert sounding much stronger, still hitting those wonderful extended notes. 4:40, Robert putting in extra emotion. 4:50, another very impressive extended vocal. They end this one nicely. Plant sings "This is my lucky day" afterwards, possibly eluding to his vocals not cracking on the high notes. Top tier version, maybe the best. "A+++".

Tangerine- Verses sound solid throughout. 1:37, Page fumbles the bridge just a bit but pulls through. Outro is good. "A-".

BYAS- Another source switch, this one more distant. Page's intro is murky and hard to judge for technicality, but it's certainly played fast. Even though the energy is there, there are some parts where Plant sounds like he's rushing the verses. The guitar breakdown is also hard to make out. Not a bad version at all from what I can hear (which isn't much). "A-".

Dazed- 2:06, a very intimidating intro is slightly marred by Page playing this phrase out of time. Excellent energy on the verses with Bonham showing off some. First workout- Page a little hard to hear but this jam sounds tight and explosive. 6:30, perfectly ethereal transition to the bow section. 6:46, Jim again hits this atonal chord to signal for his bow. Bow section lasts just over six minutes. Second workout- 15:35, Plant destroying what vocals he has left. Page is on fire through here, again throwing in some Walter's Walk and Hots On For Nowhere. The Crunge jam is played very fast with everyone locked in perfectly. Plant sings "Do the Hyatt House". 19:20, nice bluesy leads by Jim on the final funk section. Mars section lands perfectly with the energy still booming. Bonham wrecks his drums on the climax. Jimmy goes absolutely ape with the wah pedal on the outro, leaving the planet. This version is up there in the ranks, "A++".

WIAWSNB- Lots of swagger and attitude on the verses with Bonzo's drums rattling the walls. 1:11, Plant shouts out what sounds like "Wedding ring". Solo- Page nails this one down quite well. 2:53, Plant breaks his verse to sing "No more firecrackers". Outro sounds good. Robert's improv kinda makes this one off beat lyrically but everything else is excellent. "A".

Dancing Days- Plant sounding very lively through the verses with his voice still holding up well. Page works the wah nicely on the outro. Very good. "A+".

WLL- Page tests his guitar tone before launching into the menacing open riff. Solid verses with Plant again sounding strong. Freakout section is played wildly with Bonham giving us a mini snare solo. "Everybody" section is loose and raucous as Bonzo crashes his cymbals throughout. Solo- 4:51, very small hiccup but otherwise perfect. 5:44, Rob stretching his vocal chords some. Boogie Chillen- tons of energy. Page's solo is just a little loose on the phrasing but his fingers are nimble. Let's Have A Party- Jim hammers down a perfect solo here. Very good. Mary Lou takes off before Jim is ready, making him lag behind just a little through the verses. His country phrased solo is played well. 13:17, big finish from Bonham. Blueberry Hill- sounding good to start. Solo- excellent phrasing from Jimmy. 15:43, this section gets a little grating with the vocals as Robert tries to maintain the higher register. Going Down Slow- Page's solo is the usual blistering set of blues leads, accented nicely with Bonham's soulful groove. Robert winds it out with more soulful verses. The return has a decent scream of  "Love" from Plant as they push towards the end. mostly solid version with some very dynamic sections. "A" overall but I might not put this one up against some other top tier versions. 

Rock And Roll- Inferior source for this. The energy is certainly there but the details are masked by a noisy recording. 

Final Assessment- A rough start as Plant is struggling on the first few songs but that changes by the time we get to the acoustic section. Page is up and down throughout but mostly impressive. The real standout is Plant's extra vocal improvs. He's obviously feeling great once he gets warmed up and shows off quite a bit vocally (and lyrically). Bonham is also extra lively on this show. Black Dog, That's The Way, and Dazed are the highlights, with Plant being extremely dynamic on the acoustic track. A pretty good ending to this California run. 

[gibsonfan159]

Some might notice that I put the average length of the bow section in Dazed. This is to give a scale of how much it was extended or changed over time.

 

[ROTC]

i wanna cum on long beach wll

[ROTC]

My take on Long beach dazed:

Jimmy teases tortured cries from his axe like a sadistic hunter finishing off a fatally injured animal during the bow section. The workout section detonates with supernova force as Jimmy sets off on some stupendously massive runs. A kaleidoscope of tasty wah drenched guitar licks