Empress Valley have finally released the long awaited September 29th, 1971Osaka show, sourced from soundboard. It has previously circulated foryears, from a lower quality audio source copied from the multitrackmixdown. It comes with a major drawback in that the complete show has not been released. With the 28th show also in their hands, Empress Valley look to maximise their return with these fragmentary releases.
Fans have already been busy incorporating the previously released, Stairway to Heaven and Friends surprisingly omitted from this bootleg.This was Zeppelin's fifth and final performance on their debut Japanese tour of 1971. It is regarded as one of their greatest ever shows and significant for one offs and surprises, such as the only known performance of Friends during the acoustic set. A brief extract of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes follows and Pennies From Heaven is included within Dazed And Confused, these one and only performances add to the importance of the show.Unfortunately the 30-minute Whole Lotta Love is missing as is Good Times Bad Times and You Shook Me but we do get the closing track of the three-hour set, Rock and Roll which was another first for this tour. A tasty preview from the upcoming album IV.
Led Zeppelin Listen To This Eddie
9 Texas International Pop Festival August 31, 1969A rare soundboard recording from the band’s earliest years on the road, this show and recording have taken on something of special aura all its own. The performance is astounding, as Led Zepplin already commands much of the swagger and vigor that set them apart from their contemporaries. We know now that most of the sets at the festival were filmed, but until some unknown figure comes forward to produce that long sought visual document, we’ll just have to content ourselves with this superb bootleg. 7 'Any Port in a Storm: Southampton University' January 22, 1973Just before mounting a large-scale tour of North America in 1973 that would spawn the album and film Page and company set out on a shorter tour of smaller venues around the U.K. Whether it was the intimate environment, the scaled-down nature or the fact they were on their home turf, this item on our Top 10 Led Zeppelin Live Bootlegs really brought the fury. It doesn’t hurt that the quality of this soundboard recording is truly phenomenal, as well. 3 'Dancing Avocado: Fillmore West' April 24, 1969Clocking in at a just under an hour, this San Francisco show isn’t the Led Zeppelin who would come to define the overstuffed arena rock monster extravaganzas of the next decade.
No, this entry on our list of Top 10 Led Zeppelin Live Bootlegs is short, sweet and to the point - a portrait of a young enthusiastic group determined to prove themselves. Sourced directly from the PA monitors, the sound quality of this show is tremendous and Led Zeppelin’s medley take on the frequently performed Garnet Mimms song ‘As Long As I Have You’ may never have been equaled. 2 'Listen to this Eddie!: L.A. Forum' June 21, 1977With some exception, Led Zeppelin never played as good as they did as when they played in Los Angeles. From 1970 on, the Forum in Inglewood became the site of some of the group’s biggest triumphs, including the vaunted show in 1972 that resulted in the triple-disc collection In 1977, Zeppelin played an astounding six-night run at the Forum, all of which produced bootlegs of notable acclaim. It was the first night of their residency, however, that not only produced the best quality recording, but also the best overall performance resulting in what many consider to be the best live bootleg of any artist from that era.
1 'Earl's Court: London' May 25, 1975Like Knebworth and the Royal Albert Hall shows found earlier on our list of Top 10 Led Zeppelin Live Bootlegs, a great deal of material from this concert is available on the Led Zeppelin DVD. But this performance simply begs for the full-listening experience - because it finds Led Zeppelin at their zenith.
They were never bigger or as good as they were on this spring night just outside of London. And with a full on mini-acoustic set included, it stands as the greatest live representation we have of the diverse sonic spectrum that they were able to traverse.