Zep By Numbers

[Jwycliffe@xxxxxxx]

1.) I don't care how many times I have heard the BBC sessions,
or how many years I've had them in pristine quality, I love the 
"BBC Sessions" release. It's a shame the rest of the world has
had to wait so long to see this side of Led Zeppelin.
 
2.) A lot of people complain that Zeppelin made a mistake when
they decided to drop "When the Levee Breaks" from the '75 Tour
setlist. That was not the mistake. What *was* a mistake was the
fact that they didn't start performing it in '71 when the fourth album 
was released. Any '75 version would have left something to be
desired, but imagine how it would have evolved had it been a regular
part of the live set '71-'73.
 
3.) I wonder why fans' have such diverse opinions about the Earl's
Court shows. Some see these shows as the culmination of the 
band's success (partly attributable to the enormity of the event).
Conversely, many perceive these shows as merely a lot of hype
and as somewhat of a letdown. It is rare for anyone on this list to
mention these performances at all, apart from those clamoring for
video footage. For my own part, I really enjoy these shows. The
addition of "Tangerine" and the first acoustic set since '72 makes
for a special series of concerts. Compared to the heavy, dark sets
from the '75 U.S. Tour, these shows return to the contrast of light 
and shade. The atmosphere is fantastic as well, particularly when
contrasted with the dreariness of some of the early shows from the
'75 U.S. Tour. (Not to mention the improvement of Plant's voice).
Some of the shows from the '75 U.S. Tour are fantastic (2-12, 2-28,
3-12, 3-19-20, 3-21, 3-24-27), and the shows greatly improve as the
tour progresses, but for my money I'll take Earl's Court.
 
4.) If I had one "live Led Zeppelin wish" it would be to be able to hear
the band circa '69-'72 perform some of the songs from later albums
like PG and Presence. No matter how much you enjoy the '75 + '77
live versions of songs from these albums, the band was just not the 
same live dynamo it was in the '69-'72 era. I know it is the height of
an anachronistic impossibility, but I would love to hear '69 Zeppelin
perform tracks like "TYG", "TU", "In the Light", "Nobody's Fault...", 
"Kashmir" etc... The thought boggles the imagination.

~Paul