Re: "Thanksgiving Shows"

["Eric Ganz"<ganze@xxxxxx>]

Hey Gang,

I agree with a couple of Paul's picks here.
Boston '71.  I just finished making a copy of this show for someone and I have 
to agree.  This show kicks major ass.  Right from the opening bell, you get hit 
with  a sledgehammer and, because of the cuts in the recording, you keep getting
pummeled throughout the show.  The opening 1-2 of IS and HB is one of the most 
powerful I have heard(it makes the BBC sound weak!). The interplay between Page 
and Plant on Killing Floor is great and sounds just as ferocious as the "You 
Shook Me" bit in the WLL medley from the 9/14 Berkeley show. 

2/12/75 NY - Great recording.  One of my favorite versions of OTHAFA.  A great 
extended solo from Page, the type that sounds so good you just wish he would 
keep on going.  This is complimented of course by the great groove provided by 
the rhythm section.  And of course, there is the version of 'Heartbreaker' with 
'That's Alright' thrown in which shows how much fun they were having on this 
night.

My own pick:
6/7/77 I am just grateful that there is a couple of recordings of the show I 
went to.  Yeah they flub Kashmir a little bit, but overall this is a pretty good
show.  Plant is in very good voice and, for '77,  Page is pretty good as well.  
Some of the highlights from this show are: Sick Again, IMTOD, SIBLY and of 
course No Quarter, which includes the Nutbuster. Yes, I know there are better 
shows out there from this tour, but those of you who have been to a Zep show, 
know how much it means to have a recording of it. 

Cheers,

Eric

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________


In honor of the holiday, here's a show from each year ('69-'77) 
that I am thankful for:

1975: New York 2-12-75: When Robert describes how the snow
lends a certain "vibe" to the city, he sums up this entire show... 
it has a transcendent vibe to it. This concert wipes away any of 
the tarnish from the first three weeks of the '75 U.S. Tour. This 
is one of those "special" concerts where the band is on and the 
audience is 100% with them. Zep at the very top of their game 
circa '75, I'll take it over some of the March epics any time. If 
you are a new collector looking for a '75 show, start right here.
     
1971: Boston 9-6-71: Okay, If I couldn't choose a fragmentary show, 
and wanted to be a bit more conventional, I would go LA 8-21-71 here. 
The first '71 LA Forum show is *everything* you could want a concert
to be. It combines all of Zep's finest qualities: power, finesse, diversity, 
spontaneity, epic length, rarities... Unlike this LA show, the Boston 
concert has only one quality, sheer force. In what exists of the show
the band flies through the set with the savage intent and dynamic of 
the first Tea Party gigs. Page has never been more powerful or fast, 
nor Plant more wild. Jones and Bonham are bulldozers. Even with
the cut in the recording that edits out half the concert, the brilliance 
of this concert as a whole shines through. The rare version of "Killing 
Floor" in the WLL medley is extremely inspired, and shows that it
is a piece that should have been played more often in '71. No WLL 
medley from '71 (not even LA or Berkeley) can compare to what 
has come to light of this one. The encores are icing on the cake... 
with the best version I have ever heard of "Thank You".