Here’s the first part of a 25th Anniversary  TBL Fate Of Nations Archive special.

25 years….now where did that go?
It was all of 25 years ago this month that Robert Plant kicked off his Fate Of Nations touring campaign with two low ley appearances in Fulham. It was the beginning of a hugely enjoyable period as he toured across the globe in support of the truly excellent Fate Of Nations album. We pick up the story right at the beginning. These secret appearances were incredibly exciting and I count myself very lucky to have …

TBL Archive – May 1973: 45 years Gone..
With the 45th anniversary of the famous record breaking Tampa Stadium date rolling around this week – here’s a timely TBL Archive piece focusing on the early May 1973 dates of the American tour. This was compiled by Mike Tremaglio  for TBL 36 – this is the structure that Mike and I have adapted for our forthcoming Evenings With Led Zeppelin book.
 
 
 
Friday, May 4, 1973 Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Setlist (from River City Review)
Rock and Roll, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, …

Led Zeppelin on 45RPM…from £1.25 new pence for Whole Lotta Love in 1972 – to £11.99 for Rock And Roll on Record Store Day in 2018… 
I’ve been fascinated with Led Zeppelin singles for over 47 years.
Because they were primarily an albums band, for me there’s always been almost an illicit thrill to hear a Led Zeppelin track framed in the 45 RPM seven inch format.
That fasciation goes right back to 1970 when I was aware, through the pages of the NME, that Whole Lotta Love and Immigrant Song had been extracted …

Led Zeppelin Record Store Day Release – Rock And Roll (Sunset Sound Mix)/Friends (Olympic Studios Mix) TBL PREVIEW:
Since we’ve been loving them….again…
Just had a listen to this promo copy I’ve received – here’s how it sounds to these ears..

Rock And Roll the Sunset Sound Studios Mix – slightly punchier in the rhythm department and slightly more shrill in the vocal. The guitar solo is more prominent and up front. It’s Rock And Roll…and it’s brilliant…
Friends Olympic Studios Mix – this is an absolute gem. Basically a mix without the string …

 
 Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters for Blues Fest 2018 double header with Van Morrison:
 Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters and Van Morrison join John Fogerty and Steve Miller Band in the line up for BluesFest 2018.
Here’s the info:
Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters, and Van Morrison have both been announced as playing full sets at Bluesfest London, which returns to the various venues of O2 Arena, Greenwich, from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th October 2018. Plant and Van Morrison will appear on Friday 26th October plus special guest Colin Macleod.
Plant appeared …

TBL Archive 1 – Jimmy Page & Robert Plant – Walking Into Clarksdale – 20 Years Gone:
Photo by Eric Ubben
To mark the release of the Walking into Clarksdale album 20 years ago this month, here’s a TBL archive piece that looks back to the release of the album.
On the back of the Shepherds Bush gig and all the media coverage, it was such a great time to be a Page & Plant fan. Here’s my original and very optimistic review of the Walking Into Clarksdale album written for TBL issue 13.
 Walking …

How The West Was Won remastered. The countdown is nearly over…
The countdown is nearly over – This Friday March 23 marks the worldwide release of the How The West Was Won remastered set…
To set the scene, below is an overview of the Los Angeles and Long Beach shows that make up the How The West Was Won set and the circumstances they were recorded in. Plus the state of play at the time within Led Zeppelin – all you need to know to get you in the mood for the latest remastered Zep fix…
So let’s travel back to …

How The West Was Won remastered. The countdown is on…
The countdown is on for the March 23 worldwide release of the How The West Was Won remastered set…with 8 days to go and counting.
To set the scene, below is the first of a two a part overview of the Los Angeles and Long Beach shows that make up the How The West Was Won set and the circumstances they were recorded in. Plus the state of play at the time within Led Zeppelin – all you need to know to get you in the mood for the …

TBL ARCHIVE SPECIAL :JIMMY PAGE & ROBERT PLANT LIVE IN ISTANBUL – 20 YEARS GONE…

Now this one is a bit of an epic.  This was first published in TBL 13 – It’s an road chronicle of the TBL crew’s adventures in pursuit of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant across the and month of March 1998. This took in two dates in Istanbul – something of a zenith in my own ‘’Crazy things I’ve done in the name of Zep’’ portfolio, followed by the superb Shepherds Bush Empire gig which in …

RECORD STORE DAY x LED ZEPPELIN = COLLECTING JOY: 
…AND STILL BIGGER THAN ANYONE ELSE…
Some DL thoughts…
The announcement of the Led Zeppelin Record Store Day special limited edition single on Tuesday, was met with what has become a familiar mixed bag of comments – some for, some very much against.
Call me a fool, but a limited edition single with two unreleased mixes of two of their finest achievements on yellow vinyl? Come on, what’s not to like!
Yes, the strategy of Record Store Day is by no means perfect – too many releases now …