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BOTM#6 part 1

Today's random choice is.............

  Cosmic Crazy (Last Stand)
http://zeppelinart.com/main/1975/1975-03-25%20los%20angeles/cosmic%20crazy%20%28last%20stand%29/cosmic_f.jpg
http://zeppelinart.com/main/1975/1975-03-25%20los%20angeles/cosmic%20crazy%20%28last%20stand%29/cosmic_b.jpg

   3/25/75 The Forum, Inglewood, California U.S.A.
http://www.oldbuckeye.com/Houses_of_the_Holy/imagepages/image109.html

Not a bad draw.
Unlike the last BOTM which featured several minutes of crowd noise before we hear the Mighty Zep, this one fades in with Rock ' Roll already in progress. Overall the sound is good, actually have Jonesy well in the mix. It's the end of a long US tour that began back in January so Plants voice is in pretty damn good shape considering. Hoarse but in control. Jimmy's solo errrr....I liked the early years when he nailed it. These always seemed like they would never quite be nailed again. The song ends and they launch right into Sick Again. Bonzo takes the initiative to step up here and he is all over it. The sound kinda gets ckrinkly on this one. Is that a proper boot term ? Definately bounces around the speakers. Plants voice is definately showing the wear and he even sounds a bit nasaly at times. Page does a decent job of the solo, but kinda gets sticky at the end. Seems kinda abrupt, maybe stepping on the mxr phasor cut off the last note. . . The last ah ah ahaha's of Plant's are replaced with an echoed oooooooooohhhh and " Good Evening The Forum!!!! A very aptly titled building" And right off the bat you know Robert's gonna be in a quirky 'tation way as " That spotlights gonna catch us sooner or later....in the light...every makes it thru...Look at that see that guy's jerking himself off up there!" whoops and yells abound! " Last night we had a really reaaly good time. We had a great concert here. It was one of the finest we had in California I think for a long time.... for tonight I'd think we'd like to try to get it a little bit better" Hooo yeah! I'm ready... He goes on about the different avenues of music and "We must start it by looking into the distance" and Jimmy starts OTHAFA...
Wow, what a difference 2 years make. It sounds so different from '73's like like like Jimmy's guitar is outta tune!! Ha... The meat of it begins with Robert issuing a Do it! and then another Push push yeah as Jimmy launches into his solo. Again this has changed dramatically and I guess 'heavier' is a good way of putting it. It's great with a flurry of notes from Jimmy being followed by a barrage from Bonzo and is longer than before. Argk, the sound gets gnarly and I guess that's a quick cut before the ascending end of it. Robert returns sounding even more nasally! But all in all a good one. The crowd is into it and Robert " So you remember that one eh?" and then as they ackowledge that " Eh Shut up! Shh! some other time...it can hardly be called news but it's important to us because it marks I think ( you hear him counting up ) 14 sides of plastic in 6 & 1/2 years at last we got Physical Graffiti in the shops" and you hear an audience member go AIIIIieiieiieiieiieeiiA!!! " A great human(?) cry I can imagine..." and as he's going on I swear I hear an audience member go 'shut up and play!!!' Oh the humanity! "...an evening song after the chain gang had stopped and it goes like this"
And they launch into IMTOD. The album I guess had only been out like 3 or so weeks so wondering how many fans knew what they were in for!?! Page's slide sounds jangly and unfortunately during the solo sections he fades in and out. But still what a piece! Must've been quite a sight I'm imagining...Jimmy wearing the Dragon suit he introduced only the night before, Danelectro slung low blowing America's mind with a slide like they've never heard before and all the while Bonzo and Jonesy maintaining this massive backing to it all. I don't think I ever appreciated the depth of their work on this until the very first time I ever caught glimpse of absolutely terrible ( But friggin fantastic for the time!!! ) EC footage so many years ago. It's said that colour and B&W cine footage exists of this gig. I'd like to see it!!!
Afterwards Plant continues to work the audience..."I think the atmosphere is beginning to develope between you and us...We must try to get it a little bit warmer than it is though you know...I want to see you sweat as much as me..total satisfaction you know..it's a man and female relationship where you should both sweat...to enable us to take you to the point of satisfaction, climax......It's called the Song remains the Same" And BANG my speakers jolt me as Jimmy's chord punctuations between the single notes blast out! And Jones is practically doing a solo bass piece in the intro although it sounds like in an off key? They are having fun with this one and I wish the sound of Jimmy's guitar was consistent so I could enjoy it more as it seems like everytime he's soloing it's phasing in and out. Maybe the PA guys were having fun tonite? Wether or not Plant's throat was sore don't matter cause He's giving it all he's got with the pushes and oooh oh oooh oooh yeahs! The second guitar solo sounds better although a bit of stickum snuck on.. They follow it up with Rain Song. Somehow this has lost its innocence. I guess when you’re playing in massive arenas with mega watt sound systems it can’t help but take on a slightly harsh edge. Still a beautiful piece and it totally quiets down the audience as Jonesy’s mellotron take them to their happy place. I would love to hear what they could do with this nowadays with a proper synth with all the velocity curves attack sustain etc you can assign to practically each key. They slam into the winter part and wish at this point the keys were a little lower. The sond ends nicely with Robert giving it his best Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! against Bonzo's gong backdrop. " A kinda simple cut and dry song of Love"...yeah, dry ...that's a good way to describe that mellotron sound. " Never again it will be like that...until the next time...." 

to be continued...