ROBERT PLANT LEICESTER 88 & DL PHOTO BOOK PROJECT CALL OUT / LZ NEWS/ MY THOUGHTS ON THE NEW HOW THE WEST WAS WON BOOTLEG RELEASE/TBL 1975 SNAPSHOT/MY THOUGHTS ON PAUL McCARTNEY’S THE LYRICS BOOK/FACEBOOK Q & A/ DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE
Which brings me nicely to…
Robert Plant A Life In Vision – From Zen To Now: A photographic collection written and compiled by Dave Lewis (Wymer Publishing)
This is a project I am working on – the plan is to produce a large format chronological photo book covering Robert Plant’s entire career from 1966 to 2022 with accompanying text. I have already collated a fair amount of material from various sources including several long term TBL contributors and there’s already some great stuff lined up.
This is all very much work in progress and a way off yet but I am chipping away at collating potential material and to that end….
Call out for contributions to the book:
I am currently on the look out for contributions to the book – if you have good quality photos (preferably hi res) you have taken of Robert at any point during his career (or know of anybody that has) from the Zep era, Honeydrippers, solo, Page & Plant, Priory of Brion etc. and would like them to be considered for use in the book, please get in touch with the details via my email address below:
davelewis.tbl1@ntlworld.com
I am also looking for recent shots from the late 2021 Saving Grace gigs and also any photos of Robert on stage with Fairport Convention – also anything that’s a bit unusual – anything considered – if you think you have pics that could fit the bill I look forward to hearing from you.
More on this project as it unfolds…
Dave Lewis – January 19, 2022
Led Zeppelin News Update:
Led Zeppelin News Website: Check out the Led Zeppelin news website at
My thoughts on…
Led Zeppelin – How The West Was Won JRK Remix – 3 CD bootleg on the Japanese Empress Valley Supreme Disk label.
This one surfaced late last year from Japan and it recently became my first purchase of 2022.
What we have here is what is described as the JRK remix of the official How The West Was Won live album first issued in 2003 and reworked again for release in 2015.
As explained in the accompanying sleeve note, JRK has taken the 20003 How The West Was Won 5.1 surround sound DVD release and brought the guitars and bass up in the mix. As he notes, this has already been attempted by the renowned Winston Remasters team as How The West Was Redone. JRK goes on to state:
‘’I also toned down the excessive reverb present on the DVD Audio but kept enough to preserve the atmosphere of the recordings.”
Through the admirable research by Zep chronicler Eddie Edwards on his Garden Tapes website, we know that these official recordings from the LA Forum on June 25 1972 and at the Long Beach Arena two days later on June 27, were assembled by Jimmy Page in a hybrid fashion combining extracts from both nights to formulate a full Zep performance.
See further info at http://www.thegardentapes.co.uk/htwww.html
On the same subject, Mike Tremaglio also produced an illuminating two page How The West Was Won Analysis on pages 370 and 371 of the Evenings With Led Zeppelin Revised & Expanded Edition
Over the years both shows have been much bootlegged via the surviving audience tapes notably on the much acclaimed Burn Like a Candle set
On this new Empress Valley bootleg release the Empress team do not attempt a full splice in of the many between song Plant comments edited out of the official release. The label does however, add some elements of audience sourced extracts to create a more complete setlist. JRK was not involved in that process.
Here’s the additions featured on this new package – all of which were omitted from the official live set:
Firsly the acoustic set is embellished with the addition of the audience recorded version of Tangerine. The Whole Lotta medley is presented in a combination of the official soundboard plus audience inserts. This adds audience sourced versions of Heartbreak Hotel and Slow Down. The latter a frantic rendering of the Larry William’s number covered by The Beatles on their Long Tall Sally EP, is as the forensic Mike T notes in the Evenings With LZ entry the only known version performed by Zep and therefore is most welcome.
The Whole Lotta Love medley is also produced a second time remixed by JRK via the soundboard 2003 official version. This includes Hello Mary Lou which for some reason Page snipped out for the 2018 release much to the irritant of many fans.
Very pleasingly, this new set also adds the audience recorded encores of Louie Louie, the JPJ organ solo, Thank you and a brilliantly manic Communication Breakdown closer.
As Mike T notes in the Evenings With analysis, Thank You is a truly spectacular rendition In particular the ending of the song where Plant says ”We gotta go now oh yeah” and the audience repeatedly screams back in unison ”No!” It’s an incredible moving moment.
These 1972 live recordings would have course made for a fantastic live set had they been release say in the fall of that year. It would have rightly been acclaimed as one of the all time great live albums.
As it turned out we had to wait 31 years before it surfaced in May 2003. I always felt the original How The West Was Won release got somewhat lost as it was released simultaneously alongside the marathon five hour official DVD set.
It did gain renewed prominence in 2018 when Jimmy Page gave it an overhaul as part of the remastered reissue series.
As for the sound quality, on this JRK remix, I’m no audiophile but I know what I like and this new presentation does sound more muscular and vibrant.
As for the performances it’s always a joy to hear this fantastic example of their on stage prowess.
It’s quite breathtaking to hear how far the band had developed barely a year on from the BBC 1971 In Concert show. They were simply on fire that summer of ’72, brimming with freewheeling confidence and a knowing arrogance that they had elevated to new heights of onstage telepathy. The set features three previews from their forthcoming fifth album, Houses Of The Holy, which would eventually emerge nine months later.
The assured deliveries of Over The Hills And Far Away, Dancing Days and The Ocean are typical of the wave of optimism they were rolling on. An experimental, marathon-length ‘Dazed And Confused’ includes spin-off improvisations on The Crunge, another Houses preview, plus the newly recorded backing track Walters Walk, which would not see the light of day in a finished studio version until the posthumous Coda album. The version of Stairway To Heaven here has an elongated Page solo and the three track acoustic soundboard segment – Going To California, That’s The Way and Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp offers further evidence of their growing acoustic maturity. As mentioned the Whole Lotta Love medley is an absolute tour de force – then there’s a storm through Rock And Roll, the full on riff power of The Ocean and a rare (for the time) outing for Bring It On Home – all of which makes for compulsive listening.
Individually and collectively at this point in their career Led Zeppelin were bursting with creativity. Plant’s vocals would never again match the high register range he propels here, Page is off on a tangent at every turn of the way and Jones and Bonzo are constantly locked together in familiar tight but loose fashion.
As Jimmy Page, the creator of all this outpouring of material commented: ‘‘Playing the West Coast was always fantastic. Each member of the band was playing at their best during those 1972 performances. And when the four of us were playing like that, we combined to make it a fifth element. That was the magic – the intangible.”
Summary:
While there’s nothing previously unheard here, this is a very welcomed package of a much coveted favourite of mine and I am sure many others. The audience sourced addition’s greatly benefitting the overall experience of a live set that accurately captures the on stage excitement of Led Zeppelin in full flight.
In short, this How The West Was Won JRK remix is the perfect start to the 50th anniversary celebrations of some important Led Zep 1972 landmarks ahead – and I for one will be returning to it often as these recordings reach their milestone Birthday.
Dave Lewis – January 18 2022
TBL Archive Special: TBL Led Zep 1975 Snapshot: Number Two
Snapshot Notes:
MONDAY JANUARY 20th, 1975
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
CHICAGO STADIUM
Set: Rock And Roll/Sick Again/Over The Hills And Far Away/When The Levee Breaks/The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song/Kashmir/The Wanton Song/No Quarter/In My Time Of Dying/Trampled Underfoot/Moby Dick/How Many More Times/Stairway To Heaven/Whole Lotta Love – Black Dog/Communication Breakdown.
Robert ‘s flu is now in full effect and Jimmy is struggling with an injured finger. How Many More Times’ was recalled to the set to allow space for guitar improvisation. As Page told Chris Charlesworth of Melody Maker: “We’ve had to cut ‘Dazed And Confused’ from the set and substitute ‘How Many More Times’ which we haven’t played for four years. I’m still doing the violin bow routine but we’ve had to alter even that and I can’t do it as well as I’d like to. I can tell it’s not as good as it usually is but the audience don’t seem to notice.
In addition to these problems, the sound system was a little defective, ensuring that press reviews were not all entirely favourable.
“Led Zeppelin: malfunctions reduce power,” reported Al Rudis: “Led Zeppelin is alive, but not well. Robert Plant’s ‘flu-ridden voice hurt the British band in its concert Monday. Jimmy Page was nursing a broken finger too. What was worst of all was the old bugaboo of rock and roll: defective sound equipment. In Zeppelin’s case, it’s understandable that the group wouldn’t want to be burdened with maintaining its own sound system if it only tours every year and a half; but they’re the ones who rented the system used Monday night, so they must be held responsible.”
“Kinky Led Zeppelin still king of the funky,” wrote Jack Hafferkamp: “For its part, the band played a new variation on its standard heavy-heavy, super-loud, bare-chested, Victorian decadent, fingernail polish and lipstick, kiss-me-because-I’m-really-funky, cartoon performance. Two hours worth.
“Still there were a few surprises. My companion, for example, noted she owns a blouse just like the one Robert Plant was wearing. John Bonham played what must have been the longest drum solo in the history of mankind. And Plant revealed over, and over, and over again that he has the flu. He said that almost as many times as he mentioned the title of the band’s new record. In fact, I think the final score was New Record 8, Flu 5.”
TUESDAY JANUARY 21st, 1975
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
CHICAGO STADIUM
Set: Rock And Roll/Sick Again/Over The Hills And Far Away/When The Levee Breaks/The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song/Kashmir/The Wanton Song/No Quarter/In My Time Of Dying/Trampled Underfoot/Moby Dick/How Many More Times/Stairway To Heaven/Whole Lotta Love – Black Dog/Communication Breakdown.
The second night in Chicago was a marked improvement, as Lisa Robinson famously reported: “Fifteen seconds onstage and everyone knows it’s going to be HOT. They’ve been truly depressed and confused all day about the first Chicago show. No matter, tonight they’re playing with that old black Zeppelin magic again, and the audience go wild. It sounds as if The Beatles battled the Stones in a parking lot – and Zeppelin won!”
Snapshot Listen – how it sounded today:
Led Zeppelin Live On The Levee (Silver Rarities)
The January 21st Chicago show is available on various CD releases – It’s actually made up of mainly the 20th night with fourteen minutes from the 21st. I have it on the Silver Rarities purchased from the Victoria Record Fair in the early 90s. The tape is a fairly clear if noisy audience recording but suffers at times with tape drop out and fluctuations.
”I’ve got a touch of flue” admits Robert early on and his vocals are certainly suffering. For his part, Jimmy battles on regardless of the finger problem. Over The Hills is already extending in length with that wonderfully lyrical solo. Jimmy is also well animated for When the Levee Breaks and In My Time of Dying played back to back – instrumentally both are pretty awesome deliveries – what a thrill it must have been to witness this rare double dose of bottleneck bravado live on stage. Levee is particularly menacing.
Kashmir (”Jonesy on mellotron – saves all the bread for the orchestra people”) works well despite Robert struggling at times. The Wanton Song (”from the long awaited album even by us”) is a definite highlight, Page attacking the riff with strong intent. It’s a real shame they did not preserve with this and keep in the set. No Quarter is still in a state of transition before it became something of a marathon, Trampled Underfoot is a fairly standard delivery while Moby Dick is back with usual Bonham aplomb (”One man’s got the flu one man’s fit as a fiddle!”) and then to How Many More Times.
A compact eleven minute delivery that features the bow episode and then switches into the Oh Rosie segment and on to the home straight. Stairway To Heaven is an epic performance and from this point, Robert rallies well vocally. In fact, on any given night in 1975, Stairway was performed with immense dedication. Encores – something of a unique arrangement for Whole Lotta Love with Plant going straight into the ”keep a coolin’ baby, I wanna be your backdoor man” usual closing refrain and then they hit Black Dog head on and boy – after all the physical drawbacks, the power of Led Zeppelin in 1975 is clearly in evidence.
It would be awhile before they were back to 100% fitness on this tour but already there was indication of the onstage embellishments to come.
To be continued…
DL – January 19,2022
Paul McCartney The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present
by Paul McCartney (Author), Paul Muldoon (Editor)
I’ve been listening to Paul McCartney’s solo work for over 50 years.
I vividly remember the storm that broke out in the music press when, through a self-interview that coincided with the release of his debut solo album McCartney. Paul made it very clear he had no plans to write with John Lennon or work with The Beatles again..
On his 28th birthday June 18 1970, I went to see The Beatles Let It Be film at our local Granada cinema. It was a poignant experience and I vowed that whatever solo projects they embarked on I would be right there with them. Over the next couple of years I was enthralled by the likes of George’s All Things Must Pass and The Concert For Bangla Desh ,John’s Imagine, Ringo’s run of singles that began with It Don’t Come Easy and Paul’s Another Day single and the Ram album.
I embraced Wings almost as a new Beatles – From 1973onwards and for a good few years I bought every single and album on the day of release. I had much listening pleasure with those albums – Wild Life, Red Rose Speedway, Band On The Run, Venus And Mars, Wings At The Speed Of Sound, London Town, Back To The Egg – all of which remain much loved records in my collection.
Post Wings, there was also much to enjoy including the McCartney II album, Tug Of War, his collaboration with Elvis Costello Flowers In The Dirt, and Off The Ground. In January 1990 I was lucky enough to see his concert at Wembley Arena.
In recent years I’ve dropped off a bit with his solo work but I’ve soaked up a lot of his reissues, notably Ram and Band On The Run. In 2014, I wrote a major cover feature for Record Collector celebrating its 40th anniversary (with some great input from my very good friend and Beatles expert Paul Humbley.)
In 2020 I was well pleased to acquire a copy of the McCartney album reissue – the half speed mastered edition made available as part of the third drop of this year’s Record Store Day. I also indulged in his last album McCartney III album which I enjoyed it a lot.
I was aware that he was compiling a compendium of his lyrics but was not really are of the scope of this project – until I began seeing some of the pre-publication adverts. This was a book I really wanted to see. I was therefore well pleased to find a copy under the Christmas tree – a present from the good lady Janet.
It’s a truly a lavish beautifully packed affair – two hardback volumes in a slip case –a massive 870 pages in all.
It works brilliantly on three levels:
Level One: firstly the lyrics themselves which as we know, includes some of the finest words ever put to music Reading them as words on a page the sheer poetry of McCartney’s song writing craft shines through – dazzlingly so.
Level Two: each of the 154 song lyrics presented are accompanied by an array of fascinating memorabilia – hand writing lyrics, orchestral charts and logs, original diary entries all woven in with a quite stunning selection of photos – many of them new to me and for a man with countless Beatles books on the shelf that is some feat. Early on stage Beatles shots, candid Abbey Road studio images, relaxed shots of Paul and Linda on their Scottish farm retreat and many more –for example: want to see the actual moment Paul began writing Two Of Us which they were on a drive into the country ? It’s all here. 600 images in total drawn from his own personal archives.
Level Three: the commentary to each song is an absolute revelation. The basic idea for the book grew out of a series of extensive interviews conducted with the Pulitzer prize winning poet Paul Muldoon. These interviews about the chosen songs spanned a five year period. In his introduction to the book Muldoon declares his empathy with the subject matter and there’s no doubt the pair excelled in this process. The interviews have been cleverly edited to provide countless insights into the creative process of McCartney’s song writing skills. You really do get a sense of how these songs were constructed , how he feels about them now and their context within the story. All relayed with candour and honesty that he rarely has rarely offered in the normal run of the mill interviews.
I think there is a parallel to be drawn here with that of the Jimmy Page Anthology book. In the Anthology Page cleverly told his story by focusing on the guitars and equipment he deployed to make it all happen. Paul adopts a similar method using his songs as the backdrop. Neither musicians felt the need to indulge in the standard autobiography format and both books greatly benefit from this strategy.
Incidentally, Jimmy Page does get a mention in the text when Paul discusses Rock Show a track on the 1975 Venus And Mars track with the immortal line ‘’Tell me what’s that man moving ‘cross the stage it looks like the one used by Jimmy Page‘’
Staying with the Zep references there’s an affectionate nod to John Bonham as Paul states on page 132 ‘’I admired John Bonham and I was a friend of his. He was like a great big farmer and bashed the hell out of the kit.’’
John worked with McCartney’s on the Rockestra recording sessions in 1978 and can also be heard on an outtake of Beware My Love on the Wings At The Speed Of Sound reissue.
As for the many Macca revelations, we get to know who Desmond was in Ob- La- Di –Ob-La- Da, the location and moment John and he cried together as documented in his moving Lennon tribute Here Today (‘’What about the night we cried’’), the identity of the man who was standing with ‘’a bootleg in his hand’’ in Hi Hi Hi and what might have been a more appropriate title for his baring of the soul to John lament Dear Friend. These examples are a mere snapshot of many a revealing anecdote.
Unsurprising, his former song writing partner looms large throughout. There’s a refreshingly honest portrayal of Lennon’s lasting role in McCartney’s life, particularly the immediate post Beatle break up period. During that time John was blatantly nasty to him –both in interviews and songs –notably on the vicious How Do You Sleep? Paul himself fought back in song with Too Many People on the Ram album. It’s of much solace to Macca that they reconciled their differences before John’s tragic demise.
Female inspiration is a constant theme throughout the book. There’s much discussion of his mother and her early passing, his first big love Jane Asher ( And I Love Her and Here there And Everywhere were two of the songs he wrote about her), Yoko’s effect on John, Linda’s crucial post Beatle and Wings influence and much warmth for his current wife Nancy. However, ex-wife, Heather Mills is conspicuous by her absence – clearly that is one episode he does not want to dwell on.
Paul also pays tribute to his father Jim and school teacher Alan Durband – his Liverpool upbringing clearly shaped the man he became.
The songs are presented alphabetically so they jump from era to era – this is not a problem as Paul is quick to offer an overview of where he was at with every selection.
The Beatle big hitters are all present and correct and there’s also an illuminating focus on lesser known gems particularly from the Wings and solo catalogue. The likes of Magnito And Titanium Man, Country Dreamer , Once Upon a Long Ago, Getting Closer, Put It There, Single Pigeon, Arrow Through Me, Mrs Vandebilt, Café On The Left Bank, Woman And Wives and I’m Carrying are given renewed attention and will no doubt inspire a return to those songs and albums they appear on here in the coming weeks.
Fundamentally, like all great books of this nature The Lyrics takes you back to the music with renewed perspective and it’s McCartney’s incisive and insightful thoughts that make this all possible.
Having read every last word of this magnificent outpouring, I feel even more in awe of Paul McCartney’s genius – Frog Song and all. His is a life filled with song and his eagerness to share it is evident with every turn of the page.
The Lyrics is therefore a lasting testament to an extraordinary career that has provided some of the most revered music of the 20th century and beyond.
Right, I am off to dig out Band On The Run and re- read the story of how Dustin Hoffman provided the inspiration for the brilliant Picasso’s Last Words (Drink To Me). This and so many other revelations in The Lyrics bring us all closer to the art and legacy of Paul McCartney than ever before.
It’s a magnificent book work and highly recommended..
Dave Lewis – January 5,2022
UK readers note – Paul McCartney – The Lyrics is currently on offer for a bargain £37.50 on UK Amazon – see link at:
It was 49 years ago today…
On the player – the 3 LP bootleg box set Led Zeppelin Fab 4 Liverpool as recorded on this day at the Empire Theatre Liverpool – limited edition of 150. The Sgt Pepper sleeve parody is rather impressive.
Saturday January 15:
Some rather splendid wintery scenes with the early morning rowers and swans by the Embankment in Bedford earlier…
Saturday January 15:
Saturday January 15:
It was 49 years ago today…
On the player…
Loading up the excellent 2 CD Led Zeppelin soundboard recording Groovin’ In The Garden as recorded on this day at the Trentham Gardens Stoke –this is part of the superb Ascension In The Wane –The January 1973 Soundboards box set…
Saturday January 15:
It was 45 years ago today:
45 years ago today, I was very excited to see this headline in the National Rockstar music paper. This short lived addition to the music papers was actually published at the local Beds County Press. The story revealed that Led Zeppelin had begun rehearsals at the Cabin Studios in Fulham – this was actually the Manticore Studios owned by ELP. They were rehearsing in preparation for a US tour due to start late Feb/early March (it would eventually begin in April due to Robert Plant’s laryngitis problem).
This was very big news indeed for this then 20 year old mad keen more than obsessed Zep fan. I vividly remember calling the Swan Song office the next day and speaking to Unity Mclean – she told me they would be booking an extensive US tour but no UK dates were planned as yet, though they were looking at a big summer outdoor appearance.. By the way, this call was made from a pay phone red call box just around the corner from where I lived – as at the time we had no phone at home.
I did harbour a plan to head up to London and hang out around the Mainticore Studio in the hope of catching a glimpse of them. However, soon after, I contacted Glandular fever and was off work for three weeks. I also was weighing up how I might even get to one of the New York Madison Square Garden gigs. This was the era of Freddie Laker’s budget airline Sky Train. As it turned out, my weekly wage of £22 selling records at WH Smith was not quite in the Sky Train league and it was not to be. I did hatch a more cost effective plan to wave them off at the Heathrow when they flew out. That is another story for another day.
All this potential 1977 Zep activity was fueling my idea to produce a Led Zep fan magazine which would be further inspired by the arrival of the Punk fanzines later that year.
‘’Led Zeppelin back in action’’…that headline all of 45 years ago kick-started a hive of Zep activity that year for me – and the imminent arrival of The Song Remains The Same film to Bedford’s Granada cinema for a week on January 23 was yet more reason to cheerful. More on that ahead…
Saturday January 15:
Six years ago today and five days after David Bowe’s passing, the good lady Janet and I decided that we really needed to go to London to pay our respects. Like countless others, David Bowie had been the soundtrack to our lives – when we started going out together the first concert Janet and I attended as a couple was his fantastic Serious Moonlight show at the Milton Keynes Bowl on July 3,1983.
So on the morning of Saturday January 15, 2016 we visited the David Bowie mural in Brixton – this was the focus of much of the outpouring of love and respect for the man. Being there was moving, comforting and a beautiful place to be.
Here’s some thoughts I wrote down about our visit on that day.
So this morning Janet and I walked towards the David Bowie mural in Brixton. Peaceful, and tranquil -it felt like the only place for us to be today.
A few sniffles could be heard amongst the assembled – all with quiet dignity. We laid our tribute (”’there will always be a Starman waiting in the sky’’) and I wrote on the wall as many were doing.
Looking across at the faces of those paying their respects was simply heartbreaking. We were lost souls standing there but not a lost generation. Our generation and many others past and present, will always find solace and inspiration from his wondrous music.
But, as we gazed at the flowers, the tributes and heartfelt notes with heavy hearts and a lump in our throats, we all knew what we had lost…
We didn’t really want to leave this place of David Bowie sanction – it felt like we were leaving him behind forever and so much more…
Somewhat reluctantly, we shuffled away towards the Brixton tube station – the gentle familiar words of Life On Mars from a busker drifting over us in the cold Saturday morning January air…
’’Wonder if he’ll ever know he’s in the bestselling show.’’
Looking down on us here today, I’m sure he does…
Monday January 17:
Monday January 17:
Update here:
As mentioned above, I’ve began work collating material for the Robert Plant photo book project. As usual there’s been some music inspirations and alongside the above, here’s some LP and CD selections currently accompanying the long cold days and nights here…
Led Zeppelin – How The West Was Won JRK Remix – 3 CD
Robert Plant – 66 To Timbuktu – 2CD
Bob Dylan -Desire LP
The Beatles – Rubber Soul LP
Sandie Shaw -Reviewing The Situation – Record Store Day reissue LP
Simon And Garfunkel – The Essential Simon And Garfunkel 2CD
Bad Company -Bad Company reissue 2 LP
Bad Company – Straight Shooter reissue 2 LP
Dave Lewis – January 19,2022
Until next time, stay safe and stay well…
Website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis
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Greetings, Dave! Sorry to drop off the map. Came down with Covid at my sister’s right after Christmas, and then it’s been a mad dash getting ready to move to a new apartment. Great post here, with plenty of fresh takes. Love the Robert Plant ’88 story. I saw him about the same time in Louisville KY and it was indeed fantastic to see him re-embrace his LZ past.
Happily surprised by the Macca Lyrics review, and so glad you had a nice visit from Dave Linwood. I believe I had a few email exchanges with him soon after TBL online launched.
Anyway, thanks so much, as always, for the zeal and love for music and all things Zeppelin.
Best to you and Janet – Ralph in Cincinnati, Ohio
PS – I’ll send you a separate email about photos for your RP book project. Best wishes on that!
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