Walesdad Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 . . . . the bands greatest series of shows at a single venue? The group played multiple consecutive shows at single venues all through their career and places like Madison Square Garden in New York, the Budokan in Tokyo and Earls Court in London saw some great performances. But these L.A. shows have a power, breadth of material and terrific performances all of their own. All are worth hearing and probably three or four would be in most people's top twenty or so best performances, and just joys to listen too, by the group. Any opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 No. By 1977 the band were overblown and, quite frankly boring. Whilst the recordings are good, the shows go on and on. "Welcome to 3hrs of lunacy". And please 45 minutes of No Quarter and a "guitar noise solo"? No thanks. Give me 1970- 1973 any day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgeholder Still Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 One common aspect of Zep fandom is the quest to identify the idealized version of the band, usually based on certain time frames, then find ways to disregard the rest. Playing that game i would point to Fall 71 as the classic idyllic version of the band. With that, Japan 71 has it's own significance. It is it's own version of perfect, but really just a plateau from where they continued with an upward trajectory. Same for NYC73. I think it would be between EC75 and LA77, and for me it's the latter. LA '77 has certain significance beyond the performances themselves and really spotlights the dynamic of the band/crowd relationship. The magic of the band, for me, is based on the Tight But Loose concept, musically & otherwise, and LA77 is the epitome of TBL, musically & otherwise in the best ways. The band produces some all timer performances while being absolutely one with the crowd. Now, i'll say the same about EC75, but consider that a more formal affair. An official homecoming with family. Proper enough for the bloody Queen even. LA77 is the after party where it all hangs out. Rock n Roll Ground Zero. Warts and all, LA77 is for me the finest documented example of rock concerts as communal events. As opposed to say, a crowd just getting played at. And 6/23 is the crown jewel. Did they play spot the looney in Japan 71, NYC73, EC75? Over time I've noticed many don't have regard for this aspect, the personality of the event itself, and continue to obsess over flubs, the flu, heroin... to each their own. Of course their recorded history is riddled with examples of the band and crowd playing off each other. But LA 77 is a destination of sorts. Like other special things in life, it can be hard to put into words. But i always kinda thought LA77 spoke for itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
right-there Posted September 23 Share Posted September 23 1977 fans might be interested in what's displayed in the image below. While not every show is from the LA Forum in '77, the image is the top menu 'page' from a virtual DVD that compiles California Mystery Train; Listen To This, Eddie; For Badgeholders Only; Saturday Night's Alright; and Deep Striker. As well as providing the entire shows (as much as each of those sets delivers), the 'disc' also presents all the songs from each show accessible in 'end to end' sequence - that is to say you can play 'The Song Remains The Same' from each show one after the other in order to experience, and yes, assess, the performance of every song from across the shows presented. It's a virtual DVD because after downloading the folder you drop it onto the play window of the VLC app on your PC or Mac and you are presented with the menu screen as below that looks exactly the same and is just as navigable with clicking images/buttons as a DVD offers. The audio is in [tisdu] sound, offering a 'bigger' sound than the original boot sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyToe Posted September 30 Share Posted September 30 The 26th is my favorite of the LA run. I imagine the vibe of LA, summer of 77', possibly the greatest touring year in rock history with all the immortals straight from the garden of Allah descending on LA night after night all holding court. There were no wars, California was awesome, people were friendly, and this was the peak of the party, before the great Malaise would settle in. Those were great days, and jiving with Zeppelin on a warm LA night in June must have seemed a glorious dream. I envy those who were part of that. Truly a moment of communion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAJones Posted September 30 Share Posted September 30 I prefer the 1975 Earls Court shows which, IIMHO, showcased the band at their artistic zenith. Inside every bloated '77 LA recording is a killer 90-minute recording just dying to get out. That said, I'm sure the excitement in LA for those shows was unprecedented. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMH Posted September 30 Share Posted September 30 Just perhaps 77 LA was the Rock ’n Roll Zenith of Zep in all its glimmer, sonic boom and decadence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeplz71 Posted September 30 Share Posted September 30 If I could choose to attend the LA 77 shows or Earls Court 75, I'd go for LA 77 as an in-person experience by far. Earls Court may be better on video / audio all these years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
right-there Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 LA 77 were big shows with a captivated audience, similar looks on the audience faces in a 1969 Danmarks Radio studio. What a run the band had live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in_the_evening Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 On 9/23/2024 at 11:06 AM, chillumpuffer said: No. By 1977 the band were overblown and, quite frankly boring. Whilst the recordings are good, the shows go on and on. "Welcome to 3hrs of lunacy". And please 45 minutes of No Quarter and a "guitar noise solo"? No thanks. Give me 1970- 1973 any day While I love some of the 77 shows, the 80 shows (Tour Over Europe) are sometimes incredibly good for the reason you state: no ungodly long meandering parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hummingbird69 Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 On 9/23/2024 at 1:28 PM, Badgeholder Still said: One common aspect of Zep fandom is the quest to identify the idealized version of the band, usually based on certain time frames, then find ways to disregard the rest. Playing that game i would point to Fall 71 as the classic idyllic version of the band. With that, Japan 71 has it's own significance. It is it's own version of perfect, but really just a plateau from where they continued with an upward trajectory. Same for NYC73. I think it would be between EC75 and LA77, and for me it's the latter. LA '77 has certain significance beyond the performances themselves and really spotlights the dynamic of the band/crowd relationship. The magic of the band, for me, is based on the Tight But Loose concept, musically & otherwise, and LA77 is the epitome of TBL, musically & otherwise in the best ways. The band produces some all timer performances while being absolutely one with the crowd. Now, i'll say the same about EC75, but consider that a more formal affair. An official homecoming with family. Proper enough for the bloody Queen even. LA77 is the after party where it all hangs out. Rock n Roll Ground Zero. Warts and all, LA77 is for me the finest documented example of rock concerts as communal events. As opposed to say, a crowd just getting played at. And 6/23 is the crown jewel. Did they play spot the looney in Japan 71, NYC73, EC75? Over time I've noticed many don't have regard for this aspect, the personality of the event itself, and continue to obsess over flubs, the flu, heroin... to each their own. Of course their recorded history is riddled with examples of the band and crowd playing off each other. But LA 77 is a destination of sorts. Like other special things in life, it can be hard to put into words. But i always kinda thought LA77 spoke for itself. Nicely said! I love the LA run also with 6/23 being my fav show from 77. How can you not want to spend three hours with Led zeppelin. Listening to 6/23 puts you right in the seats. If you close your eyes you almost feel like you are there. Those who think 77 is bloated and too long do not understand Led Zeppelin. They were all about excess and that applied to their shows as well as the party. They played for three hours because they wanted too, not because of what they thought the crowd wanted. The more time I could spend with them the better. I do not waste any time ruminating over flubs or their personal problems. no one and nothing is perfect although they sometimes come close to being both. P.S. I see that a lot of people say "I skip the drum solo" Not me, I want to spend as much time with Bonham as I can. Even when he isn't all that inspired he still displays incredible skills especially with his snare work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsj Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 2 hours ago, hummingbird69 said: Nicely said! I love the LA run also with 6/23 being my fav show from 77. How can you not want to spend three hours with Led zeppelin. I’d like to spend 3 hours Led Zeppelin, but the 77 tour is really 1.5 hours of the band collectively and 1.5 hours of an individual of the band alone on stage messing about showing off and not always effectively. The band bits are great, but the rest is over bloated nonsense in my opinion obviously. I know plenty like it though they could have played so many songs instead of those solo spots, more like the Knebworth shows did I find it a bit odd that before the tour they’d seen the Damned and a few other of the new bands coming through and expressed their understanding of what they were about but then go and play their most bloated shows ever. Some dig it and some don’t. Even flying off my tits on drugs I’d have been bored out my brains at a drum solo lasting as long or longer than a whole album, and then Page having two solo spots (two! fucking hell!) also lasting as long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chillumpuffer Posted October 7 Share Posted October 7 4 hours ago, jsj said: I’d like to spend 3 hours Led Zeppelin, but the 77 tour is really 1.5 hours of the band collectively and 1.5 hours of an individual of the band alone on stage messing about showing off and not always effectively. The band bits are great, but the rest is over bloated nonsense in my opinion obviously. I know plenty like it though they could have played so many songs instead of those solo spots, more like the Knebworth shows did I find it a bit odd that before the tour they’d seen the Damned and a few other of the new bands coming through and expressed their understanding of what they were about but then go and play their most bloated shows ever. Some dig it and some don’t. Even flying off my tits on drugs I’d have been bored out my brains at a drum solo lasting as long or longer than a whole album, and then Page having two solo spots (two! fucking hell!) also lasting as long Totally agree. If I was to play one show to someone who I was trying to convert to the band, it would probably be the LA Forum 1972 show (Burn Like A Candle) .However, if I played them any show from 77, then I would expect them to say " great start but that 40 minutes of piano/dixie stuff, the unlistenable noise rubbish and a 30 minute drum solo just didn't do it for me" In fact 2 audience reactions from 2 different era's kind of some up peoples views of the band live 1 " we've had the guitar lesson" LA 1977 2. "Boring" !!! If anyone gets that show correct then kudos to you for knowing your shows !! (Hint: it isn't from the US) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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