Led Zeppelin - Earls Court 1975.

Hello Again Worlds.... I'm back !!

It's going to be a quiet night, here in the 'homestead'.... not !!  As I type, I'm sat here alone & the music of the moment is just turned down to deafening !!  B has just gone down to the Dr's to pick up some more of my pills & potions..... from there, I think, she has gone into the gym, for another session of torture !!

I did say - as she had been working hard in the garden all afternoon - she should miss it tonight, but.... she wanted to go & I'm not going to stop her.

So - that's B... the guys are upstairs.  I think ME is setting up to have along, deep bubble bath... so, I will see her in an hour or so, I guess !! No really - she wants a soak & that's all I can say about that
really !!  J is upstairs as well - probably on his computer by now...... such is life !!

The main reason for posting again, tonight, is to cover Led Zeppelin's Earls Court concerts.  They took place on the 17th/18th/23rd/24th & 25th of May in 1975.... 5 nights in front of about 85,000 people - one of who was me !!  I went up on the 24th, with a guy I used to know way back then & who - like a lot of friends - I've lost contact with.  Anyhoo...... I wrote about all of that, either last May, or the May before....

The concerts all featured the same basic set list:

  1) Introduction
  2) Rock & Roll
  3) Sick Again
  4) Over The Hills & Far Away
  5) In My Time Of dying
  6) The Song Remains The Same
  7) The Rain Song
  8) Kashmir
  9) No Quarter
10) Tangerine
11) Going To California
12) That's The Way
13) Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
14) Trampled Underfoot
15) Moby Dick
16) Dazed & Confused
17) Stairway To Heaven
18) Whole Lotta Love
19) Black Dog

To say there are bootlegs of these shows available... well, that would be an understatement, no matter how you described it !!  There are sooooo many of them, it's really stupid !!  I'm playing a copy of the show, from the 18th, as I type........ I had this particular concert (well, part of it) first on the Lp 'No Quarter' & then, as time went on, on Cd - it has come out several times...... under different names & what have you & in various lengths...... 1-2-3- & 4 Cd's .

There are 2 really well produced Lp's of the show, from the 24th.... the sound quality is not 100% - but, the cover design is well good.  So good, in fact, that it was for sale in a record shop in Taunton.... mainly as the guy who owned it - for a short while - didn't know they were bootlegs !!  I'm not sure how much these Lp's are fetching now - but, the last time I saw 'No Quarter', the guy wanted £150 for it !!  As I've said before - don't buy bootlegs !!  You can get some of the Earls Court show on the official DVD that came out a few years back.... so, buy that instead !!

The introductions to each show was done by a different DJ each night...... so, that's one way of telling which show you're listening too + altho' the tracks stayed more or less the same, for each show - the last night also featured 'Heartbreaker' and 'Communication Breakdown'..... so, that makes a bit of a difference, in a good sort of way.

I think a lot people say the show from May 24th was the best - but, it's the one that came out first - well, maybe not first.... but, it was the show that a lot of people heard first & so, a reputation for it being the best night kind of grew from that.  I personally like the 24th - but, I can happily sit thru' any of the recordings & enjoy them..... they all have their own merits & good bits !!

There is no getting away from the fact - they were 5 of the best concerts the band ever played in the UK & the mythology surrounding them has grown (and grown) over the years.  Worth a listen - but, again... don't buy bootlegs - buy the official stuff instead !!

There are several books available, which cover the bands concerts.  Some are pretty crap... but, there are a few good ones.  I would recommend 'The Concert File' by Simon Pallett & Dave Lewis for a starter.... plus any thing Luis Rey has written is always a good read - especially when it comes to the older Lp's that came out.  There is also a good 'Collectors Guide' to Led Zeppelin's compact disc by Robert Godwin, which is a must for anybody looking for various Cd's & the shows they are from.......

The one thing I will say - in closing.... which I think I've written before.... just because somebody doesn't have a copy of show, it doesn't mean that show does not exist !!  There are lots of tapes in the World, which have never made it to Cd's & what have you..... people aren't being tight, or mean, for not letting people have them, they just like listening to stuff & b****r what the rest of the World thinks !!

Ok - enough of Led Zeppelin for tonight......... and probably for a few days, unless I find another concert from another year !!  But - for tonight, I'm away....... it's nearly 7pm & I need my beauty sleep, ho-hum !!

I will be back another time.... until then...

Bye Bye