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Bonzo Last Concert


rtyper

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Ah, memories...the first non official Zeppelin recording I ever heard was this show, many, many moons ago. Sadly, by 1980, Zeppelin was a shadow of its former self: Page was so stoned he more or less fumbled his way through most of the Europe '80 shows, and Plant for the most part didn't want to be there at all. Clearly something had to give for Led Zeppelin at that point; unfortunately it turned out to be John Bonham.

Yet this show must be heard by any self respecting Zeppelin fan, if not for its historical value, but to see just how low they were starting to sink. Performance-wise, it's got it's moments: the longest ever versions of "Trampled Under Foot" and "Stairway To Heaven" as well as a crushing nineteen minute version of "Whole Lotta Love". Listening to these renditions, it's almost as if Jimmy Page KNEW it was going to be the last show. Unfortunately, the show also contains an infamous eighteen minute deconstruction of "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" that is essentially just a tuning exercise in futility, not a song. Standard 1980 setlist, minus "Achilles Last Stand" (for whatever reason):

Train Kept A Rollin'/Nobody's Fault But Mine/Black Dog/In The Evening/The Rain Song/Hot Dog/All My Love/Trampled Under Foot/Since I've Been Loving You/White Summer/Kashmir/Stairway To Heaven/Rock And Roll/Whole Lotta Love

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Ah, memories...the first non official Zeppelin recording I ever heard was this show, many, many moons ago. Sadly, by 1980, Zeppelin was a shadow of its former self: Page was so stoned he more or less fumbled his way through most of the Europe '80 shows, and Plant for the most part didn't want to be there at all. Clearly something had to give for Led Zeppelin at that point; unfortunately it turned out to be John Bonham.

Yet this show must be heard by any self respecting Zeppelin fan, if not for its historical value, but to see just how low they were starting to sink. Performance-wise, it's got it's moments: the longest ever versions of "Trampled Under Foot" and "Stairway To Heaven" as well as a crushing nineteen minute version of "Whole Lotta Love". Listening to these renditions, it's almost as if Jimmy Page KNEW it was going to be the last show. Unfortunately, the show also contains an infamous eighteen minute deconstruction of "White Summer/Black Mountain Side" that is essentially just a tuning exercise in futility, not a song. Standard 1980 setlist, minus "Achilles Last Stand" (for whatever reason):

Train Kept A Rollin'/Nobody's Fault But Mine/Black Dog/In The Evening/The Rain Song/Hot Dog/All My Love/Trampled Under Foot/Since I've Been Loving You/White Summer/Kashmir/Stairway To Heaven/Rock And Roll/Whole Lotta Love

Got it. My version is called Bonzo's Last Stand

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