BOTM#7 Part 1

[tytlane@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Running late for work today I really did do a blind grab outta "The 
Case" this am and because of a gap left by a show not returned to place 
I landed on another '71 show... All 3 cd's worth... I'm talking about

Rock and Roll Magic ( Electric Magic )
http://hpbimg.digzep-dutch.com/02121971bournemouth.jpg


December 2, 1971  Starkers Royal Ballroom  Bournemoth England.
http://www.oldbuckeye.com/Houses_of_the_Holy/imagepages/image25.html

Last audioly ( ???  Hey if Bush can make up words so can I! ) documented 
show of the year and close to the end of the Winter UK tour. It'll be 
interesting to hear what they sound like, or in this case hear again ; )
I'm glad I'm doing this....it's making me listen to shows I haven't to 
in awhile...rediscovering what made me get into this fascinating hobby.

What a year for Zeppelin eh ? End of 70 and early 71 spent recording the 
fourth album, an early spring UK club tour, a European tour ending in 
disaster in Milan, A US excursion, a Holiday in Wakikii, blowing away 
Japan, and now finally a winter UK tour to coincide with the 4th album 
finally being released in November..what more could a Zep fan ask for ?

 Ok brief hit of applause and IS starts and whoa there NEllie!!!! Plant 
starts in way early!!!! Luckily the band are in synch with his and 
follow suit. For so late in '71 Plants voice sounds strong and he hit 
those first wails spot on, but can't ssay the same for round two! Sound 
starts off ok and it sounds like the sound men make some adjustments as 
Plants voice goes from flat to echoey in spots. Bonzos cymbal are fading 
in and out it seems, dull at one point and  overly brite and swishy in 
others... But I try to dismiss that as Page starts his solo and turns on 
the afterburners. Jimmy fades in and out a bit and those cymbals do 
indeed distract me from a very cool solo. As typical of this year they 
launch directly into Heartbreaker. Sound seems to improve a bit and the 
solo starts off sounding nice and clean with Jimmy doing his first run 
up and down the fretboard....then he almost dissappears and as I turn it 
up there it is...this nasty metallic swishhhhhhh and the teltale signs 
of a bad noise reduction job on top of killer EQ. As Jimmy gets ever 
quieter, the audience starts clapping a bit as if to move him along...he 
listens and blasts into a firey section before once again getting super 
quiet doing Bouree before starting the pice leading into the gang 
joining back in...a cool wahhhahhahhah second during the Power chords 
before he continues his speedy workout. He seems to be trying out 
something new but it dosen't quite workout and then misses his own cue 
stopping and restarting the a/g/a/c/a/g/a to synch up with Jonesy and 
Bonzo...it ends with Plant keeping it low key. The audience love it. 
It's hard to tell what Plant is saying but sounds like he complains 
about a cold..a broken string ? and then clearly you do hear him ask for 
 a Kleenex tissue...
 No talking up Black Dog just simply " Black Dog" and you hear Bonzo 
count it off with his stick and the OOTT intro leads us into it. Unless 
they were in Ireland or Denmark or managed to be at the BBC recording 
earlier this year they had little time to be familiarized with this so 
no cheering from the audience or participation during the ah ahs Plant 
don't even try. This one has Plant sticking to the lyrics as on the 
album. Heavy echo on his voice make it sound very album like too. Page 
is all over the solo like white on rice!!!! Wow! and a great reception 
from the audince as well!

 "Good Evening!" Someone shouts something back at Plant and I try 
several, ok , many times to figure it out Johnny Red Leg? Plant 
certainly heard it and replies " you should say that, our drummers 
favorite record at the moment" and Jimmy does a quick little riff
Cool, playing to the audience instead of telling them to Shhh! Sounds 
like they're in very good spirits indeed as after Plant introduces SIBLY 
there's a slight delay and your hear the audience laughing.

 It starts off sounding very similar to the album cut save for Jimmy's 
guitar being a bit flat sounding tone wise. But as it picks up it gets 
better. Plant's voice starts in sounding very distorted and ugh, but by 
the time we get to the solo everything's sounding distorted to hell 
WTF?!?!  It's not like it's getting louder, if anything the volume drops 
 as the solo builds but the distortion grows. A damn shame as it was a 
good solo. by the 6 minute mark the whole recording is like a cheese 
grater on crack. I can't listen....FF>>  there's some Plant audience 
interaction going on but I can't make it out but again sounds like 
they're having fun from the occasional bursts of laughter. You hear him 
introduce Stairway and that get a nice round of applause, I guess word 
had spread fast about this one eh? ; )

 It start off sounding nicely with Jonesy on organ and the distortion 
has diminished. Still a bit on Plant's voice but not too bad. wait, I 
tak eit back...by the 3 minute mark it's so bad you can't even make out 
what Plant's singing. It just keeps getting worse....sorry cannot 
comment on the solo as again I just have to FF>> to spare my cellmates. 
Again too bad as it somewhat sounds like it could've been a killer...
WTF?!?!?!?!  The audience on the other hand thoroughly loved it!!