Jump to content

No Quarter


Recommended Posts

Listening to the 27/3/75 version atm. Man, I had just been listening to '77 versions for so long but this is awesome! Haven't heard it in a while.

Its stunning aint it!

21.7.73

13.2.75

28.2.75

Go back and dig these as well, although Percys a bit croaky on the 75's, the rest of the lads more than make up for it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

wow im listening to the Snow Jobs version right now and it's blowing my mind

I remember when i first got houses of the holy i really didn't know what to think of no quarter. But the first bootleg i ever got was Listen To This Eddie and that song completely took me by surprised. It is now probably my second favorite song (next to tsrts) to hear live in the post-72 years of zep. haha i just feel stoned whenever i listen to a live version.

but i guess my favorites so far are:

2/28/75 baton rouge

3/19/75 vancouver (jpj at one of his most badass moments)

3/21/75 seattle (same as above)

5/25/75 earls court

4/28/77 cleveland

5/30/77 landover (nice rockin jam)

6/21/77 la (the first bootleg version i heard)

6/23/77 la (best rhythm section in rock and roll)

8/4/79 knebby

and yes...

12/10/07 I think this was one of the better songs from the reunion show and you can tell that jonesy, jason, and jimmy are having a great time

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Bump, I suppose, 'cos "No Quarter" is a tune that's always worth discussing! :D

Been listening to a few '75 shows the last couple of days. I always enjoyed Baton Rouge and the two Seattle shows. Long Beach as well (March 11? The full Millard one.) They got quite jazzy in the piano/drum improvs, didn't they? A completely different groove. Something just added to the song's grandeur once Jonesy busted out the grand piano in the second leg. The earlier shows with just the Rhodes, though shorter in length seem longer to me...like extended versions of the '73 ones, which was extended from the studio take. Philly and Detroit are decent; Page plays good solos (especially in Detroit, where his finger was probably still bothering him)

Nope, there's no way "No Quarter" would have fit into Page's 1980 'cut the waffle' philosophy. You can't really convey the song's 'message' in a short, snappy five minute version. I bet even the studio version was edited down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah.. here we go again my Nut Rockin friend. My favorite music topic there is.

Yeah I listened to Baton Rouge for the first time once the soundboard came out. Before it I had assumed Dallas was the first with the piano. I was surprised how many elements of the piano solo were already in place the first time. Was it just me or did it sound like it was just an E-Piano or a regular piano in Baton Rouge? It did not sound acoustic and grand piano enough.

A certain section of the piano solo, which I think is in most all 75 versions, is where it switches tempo/builds up and Bonzo joins. The first time I heard this was Dallas and it was the most moved by music I think Ive ever been. I was rocking out so hard (to piano??). And it gets me every time. Turns out Dallas (2nd night of course) is one of the best versions for this section with 03-27 being the top. I been trying to either quote a time section of the songs (tough with different releases having different cuts) or have a name for this section and I have found one thanks to ledzeppelin-Database.com. If you look at the Dallas show here http://www.ledzeppelin-database.com/geekbaseweb/setpage.aspx?showid=467 (or any 75 piano show) you will see he named it "Set the Vibe Section". This is a good name since its exactly what it does. And the awesome thing about good databases is we can see all versions of this section here http://www.ledzeppelin-database.com/geekbaseweb/Songpage.aspx?Songid=353&sort=1 (and then sort by length descending). (Cool this is it even includes an example of this section if you need to figure out what im talking about) Of course 03-27 is towards the top, but looks like im going to have to check out 03-17 too (first seattle show). But just because this section is longer does not mean it was as up tempo as on 03-05,03-27, (and any other good examples).

Its hard for me to explain exactly why this is my fav. part of live No Quarters, but it stikes my chord more than any guitar solo part in the song. I really like very melodic, built up solos no matter what the instrument. Now If I could find more live music with piano solos like this (the drums really help too...) I would be very happy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah.. here we go again my Nut Rockin friend. My favorite music topic there is.

Yeah I listened to Baton Rouge for the first time once the soundboard came out. Before it I had assumed Dallas was the first with the piano. I was surprised how many elements of the piano solo were already in place the first time. Was it just me or did it sound like it was just an E-Piano or a regular piano in Baton Rouge? It did not sound acoustic and grand piano enough.

but looks like im going to have to check out 03-17 too (first seattle show). But just because this section is longer does not mean it was as up tempo as on 03-05,03-27, (and any other good examples).

IMO Baton Rouge is best appreciated via the stellar audience recording. Page's solo kicks ass, in spite of the fact that the performance quality started to slip in the last third of the show (a common malady in latter day Zeppelin). But "No Quarter" is awesome on that date. And I believe JPJ is using an actual grand piano (presumably the same one he had in '77?)

Get a hold of the March 17 show. Probably my favourite '75 "No Quarter". The jam is uptempo along the lines of Vancouver and the second Seattle date, but I reckon this was the first time they sped it up like they did. It's a crazy jam. Sound quality is really good too! I'd daresay other than the Millards (Long Beach/LA) that Baton Rouge and the Seattle shows are the best audience tapes of the '75 US tour.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been listening to a few '75 shows the last couple of days. I always enjoyed Baton Rouge and the two Seattle shows. Long Beach as well (March 11? The full Millard one.) They got quite jazzy in the piano/drum improvs, didn't they? A completely different groove. Something just added to the song's grandeur once Jonesy busted out the grand piano in the second leg. The earlier shows with just the Rhodes, though shorter in length seem longer to me...like extended versions of the '73 ones, which was extended from the studio take. Philly and Detroit are decent; Page plays good solos (especially in Detroit, where his finger was probably still bothering him)

I get what you mean. The song seemed to "flow" better in '75, although being the '77 fanatic I am I prefer those versions. In '75 Bonzo and Jimmy both gradually join in but the beat is kept relatively the same, as opposed to having totally different sounding sections of the song i.e the "Boogie" section in '77 before Jimmy's big solo.

I've always been partial to these '75 versions:

3/19/75

2/12/75

3/14/75

3/27/75

2/16/75

3/21/75

But overall I just prefer '77. Can't beat the "Babybabybabybaby" ad-lib Robert did just before Jimmy went into his final solo of the song, always love this. I also prefer how Jimmy's solo started in '77. Listen to the Badgeholders's show for an example of this, it's just awesome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMO Baton Rouge is best appreciated via the stellar audience recording. Page's solo kicks ass, in spite of the fact that the performance quality started to slip in the last third of the show (a common malady in latter day Zeppelin). But "No Quarter" is awesome on that date. And I believe JPJ is using an actual grand piano (presumably the same one he had in '77?)

I think the weak areas of shows really change year by year, in 75 the first third is generally the weakest for me where as in 77 its the last third that often disapoints.

One performance that doesnt get enough love is IMHO 23/5/75, listening to it right now and while other versions are maybe more focused the first 2-3 mins of JPJ's solo on that night is just a thing of beauty.

Its interesting to think how different Zep's image might have been if one of the 75 versions had gotten an offical release. Yes the MSG 73 versions is a great performance not its really still very much in the same spirit as the studio original, atmospheric hard rock track just with a longer solo by Page. The 75 versions on the other hand move into two areas Zep never really touched in the studio, jazz and classical fusion and IMHO do so more sucessfully than pretty much anyone else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can't really convey the song's 'message' in a short, snappy five minute version. I bet even the studio version was edited down.

There is a studio outtake on Cabala? that has an alternate version that is much faster in tempo. It would have made an interesting dynamic had they tried that version live a few times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Listen to 05-18-1975 Earls Court version today, I just did. Its amazing I think its my fav under 22 mins.

2nd half of Pages solo he does some amazing elements I dont recall hearing in other NQ's and gets maybe as fast as Ive heard him in NQ since TSRTS.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Listen to 05-18-1975 Earls Court version today, I just did. Its amazing I think its my fav under 22 mins.

2nd half of Pages solo he does some amazing elements I dont recall hearing in other NQ's and gets maybe as fast as Ive heard him in NQ since TSRTS.

I have a feeling that if this version was in the vault it might have made it onto the DVD, as ou say some very nice soloing from Page and generally a very tight performance with few misteps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I couldn't believe it...the other day I got hold of a couple of alternate sources for the 6/10/77 MSG show, commonly circulating as the "Rock And Roll Circus" boot. NQ on that one is about 27 minutes; there's a cut about nine minutes in where JPJ is winding down his piano solo before it abruptly cuts into the 'boogie jam' section before Page's solo, right? The overall impression is almost as if the taper got bored with the piano solo and started taping again when things got more interesting, though it was likely more a case of a tape flip. So, I checked out the two other (non-boot) sources thinking, "Oh, good...now maybe I can hear the tune uncut in its entirety!" Well, the "second source" turned out to be taped by the same bunch of yahoos who yammered, hooted and hollered their way through that one '75 New York show (Feb 3 or 7th, I can't remember- when I hear an audience recording I want to hear the fuckin' music, man, not a bunch of stoned babbling...I can do that enough on my own, thanks!). And, go figure, the waterheads missed most of the piano solo, jumping right ahead to Page's big solo, missing the boogie section altogether! The "third source" probably sounded the best of the three, even though there's still a fair bit of conversation going on...but, once again, there's a cut at the end of the piano solo...you get maybe ten or twenty seconds more of the boogie than on the "Rock And Roll Circus" source, but, man was I cheesed off! Three different tapers in the Garden that night, and not one of 'em got a complete "No Quarter"! I mean, it's Led Zeppelin, you know they're gonna do at least three hours, bring enough goddamn tapes!

...It also just occurred to me that out of the six MSG '77 shows, only the 6/14 doesn't have more than one source...I remember somebody saying once how surprised they were that that run of shows didn't have more recordings...off the top of my head, I can think of fourteen different 1977 New York recordings, two for the 7th, 8th and 13th; at least three each for the 10th and 11th and one for the 14th...and IMO maybe only half of those fourteen sound anything above mediocre...wonder what's up with that?

(It's probably rants like this that were at least part of the reason my wife and friends dubbed me the "King Of '77", usually adding, "You're obsessed!" with hearty laughter...but she hasn't served me with divorce papers yet, so I must still be doing at least something right... :P )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

I prefer 6-23 .,..and Robert actually hits the high notes

same here. Something about NQ seemed to draw their concentration and unify. I often wish they had a STORYTELLERS version of how NQ came about. Idea to recording to live. Bonzo always played as though he really, REALLY wanted to be playing. On NQ, they all matched this. No dissing anyone, just to me NQ is a call to arms and a place of identity. Wonderful to say the least.

Like a few other posts, I used to fall asleep during the midnight showings in Dallas back in the early '80s during NQ. Woke up so refreshed.

PS. - - the set list for Shepherds Bush is one of my favorites.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think all versions are good from 1973-1979.

Baton Rouge 2-28-75 is a good version.

The version from New York 6-14-77 hardly ever gets mentioned, but Jimmy is playing faster and very precise in that version during his solo more-so than any other version I have ever heard including the LA 6-21-77 and LA 6-23-77 versions.

Any of the 1977 versions with Nutrocker in it are groovyliscious as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So many great No Quarters, I just listened to San Diego March 10, 1975....my god the 75's are sooo good.....listen to Bonzo come in on this night...sounds just like Levee Breaks!........and you can taste the warmth of Pages solo.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...