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Struggling with the 1970 summer tour


donb8

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I've been a huge Zepp fan since 2015 and their best live work, from 1969 to 1973 has kept me going. However, I've always had issues with 1970. RAH does nothing for me, though the first 30 minutes of Montreux are incredible. Robert's best voice of the year with his 69 timbres still intact. Recently, I decided to give this year a second try starting with the US spring tour. It's incredible, the band is on fire at Memphis, Raleigh. Jimi's playing well at the la forum as well. However, am still struggling with the summer tour. I get bored after the first two tracks. Robert's voice is great(though diminished in timbre from earlier in the year), but the rest of the band is tame in comparison, Professional, but tame. I can barely hear what Jimi's playing most times. Bonham doesn't deliver to the level of Memphis and Raleigh earlier. I need some help in finding a show from this tour where the entire band is firing on all cylinders(not just plant) nor is plant overshadowing the band. Shows from the summer tour I've listened to partially or completely;  Milwaukee, Honolulu, San Diego, New York evening show, la forum.

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2 hours ago, donb8 said:

Perhaps am just not getting the vibe of this tour? 

Perhaps, I personally love the band in this year. However, I believe that they got better thought the next couple of years. The thing about Robert’s voice is, it was and is magical throughout their time together, as well as now. Certainly there are notes he could hit at the beginning of their time that he was not able to later on, as well as notes and phrasing, and octaves that he hit later on that he would not have been able to do earlier in his career.  They were learning, developing, growing, changing and reaching their peaks. Much like an athlete does in my opinion. And to me they all did it together. Jones being the exception, he was always just brilliant. Getting back to the point, their songs took on new life with each tour, they expanded, and became more creative. They often played two sets a night for their first few years and up until 70, and a few times played 3 sets in one night. By 70 they had been touring non stop throughout 69 and 70 in the USA and Europe. It wasn’t as if they went back to their rooms and drank tea. Robert didn’t go back and not talk to rest his voice. They were going for it, smoking, drinking, maybe a few other things, playing several shows, then sitting in with other bands. I have rambled on way to long. I apologize, it could be the shows that you are listening to, it could be the quality of the recording? I often think about the technology of the gear being used back then compared to what is available now and wonder what they would sound like if you dropped them into today. Not that they would use and or have tricks, just the stage set up, the quality of the mics, speakers, PA systems. 
 

Thanks for posting that. I’m going to go put on some shoes from 70. 

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51 minutes ago, Plant77 said:

Perhaps, I personally love the band in this year. However, I believe that they got better thought the next couple of years. The thing about Robert’s voice is, it was and is magical throughout their time together, as well as now. Certainly there are notes he could hit at the beginning of their time that he was not able to later on, as well as notes and phrasing, and octaves that he hit later on that he would not have been able to do earlier in his career.  They were learning, developing, growing, changing and reaching their peaks. Much like an athlete does in my opinion. And to me they all did it together. Jones being the exception, he was always just brilliant. Getting back to the point, their songs took on new life with each tour, they expanded, and became more creative. They often played two sets a night for their first few years and up until 70, and a few times played 3 sets in one night. By 70 they had been touring non stop throughout 69 and 70 in the USA and Europe. It wasn’t as if they went back to their rooms and drank tea. Robert didn’t go back and not talk to rest his voice. They were going for it, smoking, drinking, maybe a few other things, playing several shows, then sitting in with other bands. I have rambled on way to long. I apologize, it could be the shows that you are listening to, it could be the quality of the recording? I often think about the technology of the gear being used back then compared to what is available now and wonder what they would sound like if you dropped them into today. Not that they would use and or have tricks, just the stage set up, the quality of the mics, speakers, PA systems. 
 

Thanks for posting that. I’m going to go put on some shoes from 70. 

Thanks for the response. Perhaps its the recordings from that second us tour in 1970 that don't emphasize Bonham or Jimmy well....

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Really? The Royal Albert Hall show is outstanding. Obviously we have the Video/Audio but maybe your bootleg ears are masking your enjoyment of other shows? As you said Montreux is an excellent show and I recently listened to the evening show from Madison Square Garden in September. It really is a classic. In the top 3 ever shows. 

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10 hours ago, donb8 said:

I've been a huge Zepp fan since 2015 and their best live work, from 1969 to 1973 has kept me going. However, I've always had issues with 1970. RAH does nothing for me, though the first 30 minutes of Montreux are incredible. Robert's best voice of the year with his 69 timbres still intact. Recently, I decided to give this year a second try starting with the US spring tour. It's incredible, the band is on fire at Memphis, Raleigh. Jimi's playing well at the la forum as well. However, am still struggling with the summer tour. I get bored after the first two tracks. Robert's voice is great(though diminished in timbre from earlier in the year), but the rest of the band is tame in comparison, Professional, but tame. I can barely hear what Jimi's playing most times. Bonham doesn't deliver to the level of Memphis and Raleigh earlier. I need some help in finding a show from this tour where the entire band is firing on all cylinders(not just plant) nor is plant overshadowing the band. Shows from the summer tour I've listened to partially or completely;  Milwaukee, Honolulu, San Diego, New York evening show, la forum.

Seems like you're complaining about sound quality more than performance. As mentioned, summer 70 is prime Zep. I'd also include Bath Festival 6-28-70 as one of their all time highlights.

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7 minutes ago, zeplz71 said:

Seems like you're complaining about sound quality more than performance. As mentioned, summer 70 is prime Zep. I'd also include Bath Festival 6-28-70 as one of their all time highlights.

Agreed about Bath. "Thank you" at MSG Evening show from September sums up how great this band were in 1970. I just wish that it was recorded in sight and sound from The Albert Hall gig?

In fact listening to Zeppelin from 1975 onwards, you would think it's a different band altogether. 

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Well, first off there aren't that many shows to pick from:

June 28th - Shepton Mallet

July 19th - Berlin

Aug 10th - Hampton

Aug 15th - New Haven

Aug 21st - Tulsa

Aug 31st - Milwaukee

I assume most wouldn't consider Oakland, San Diego, Inglewood, Honolulu, Boston, and New York as summer shows. Shepton Mallet is considered by many to be an all time show, so that would be my recommendation. When all fails, there's March 1973.

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6 hours ago, shnflacwav said:

Well, first off there aren't that many shows to pick from:

June 28th - Shepton Mallet

July 19th - Berlin

Aug 10th - Hampton

Aug 15th - New Haven

Aug 21st - Tulsa

Aug 31st - Milwaukee

I assume most wouldn't consider Oakland, San Diego, Inglewood, Honolulu, Boston, and New York as summer shows. Shepton Mallet is considered by many to be an all time show, so that would be my recommendation. When all fails, there's March 1973.

If you read the OP he opens with The Royal Albert Hall show which of course is January 1970. So his thread title of " Summer tour" is slightly  misleading. Though of course being from the US he assumes that the band never toured anywhere else ;)

Reykjavik (Iceland) in June 1970 looks like a cracker too and it was a week before Bath

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On 8/5/2022 at 10:37 PM, shnflacwav said:

Well, first off there aren't that many shows to pick from:

June 28th - Shepton Mallet

July 19th - Berlin

Aug 10th - Hampton

Aug 15th - New Haven

Aug 21st - Tulsa

Aug 31st - Milwaukee

I assume most wouldn't consider Oakland, San Diego, Inglewood, Honolulu, Boston, and New York as summer shows. Shepton Mallet is considered by many to be an all time show, so that would be my recommendation. When all fails, there's March 1973.

There is also the Detroit show on August 28, but it’s very poor quality and incomplete; I’d certainly consider the September shows as part of the summer tour (the Fall Equinox wasn’t until after New York shows). 

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23 hours ago, ledzepfilm said:

There is also the Detroit show on August 28, but it’s very poor quality and incomplete; I’d certainly consider the September shows as part of the summer tour (the Fall Equinox wasn’t until after New York shows). 

True, I am just used to considering "summer" that period when the kids aren't in school.

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