ATLANTA AND TAMPA – IT WAS 48 YEARS AGO/EVENINGS WITH REVISED AND EXPANDED PRE ORDER DETAILS/ NEW 1975 US TOUR TAPE SURFACES/LZ NEWS/ROBERT PLANT & SS – GLOUCESTER 2012/DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE/
TBL Archive Special: It was 48 years ago… the moment Led Zeppelin elevated from being an exceptional rock band to becoming a worldwide musical phenomenon…they way it’s been ever since…
Led Zeppelin US tour opening date – 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, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love, Communication Breakdown
Notes: Other tracks most likely performed but not listed in the review: Celebration Day, Bring It on Home Intro/ Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, The Ocean. Four Sticks was noted in the review, but almost certainly not performed.
Led Zeppelin wasted very little time on their U.S. tour to demonstrate their incredible drawing power and meteoric popularity, pulling in 49,236 fans (out of the 50,277 stadium capacity). The concert grossed $246,180 and broke the Atlanta Stadium concert attendance record set by The Beatles on August 18, 1965 (who drew a comparatively modest 33,000 fans).
A closed-circuit TV system projected the group on two 16×24 foot screens positioned on the sides of the stage. This was the very first time the band had ever employed such screens, specifically for faraway fans. Unfortunately, the other stadium gigs on the 1973 U.S. tour did not utilize the technology (Tampa, San Francisco, and Pittsburgh); however, large video screens were eventually used again for their 1975 Earl’s Court shows, 1977 Pontiac, Michigan, 1977 Seattle, and 1979 Knebworth shows.
This concert marked the debut appearance of John Bonham’s Ludwig Amber Vistalite drum set. Bonzo used this set all the way through the last gig at Earl’s Court in London on May 25, 1975.
Although not documented for this concert, Celebration Day was added to the set list on this tour, the first time it had been performed since Charlotte, North Carolina on June 9, 1972. Out on the Tiles had been replaced by Bring It on Home as the introduction to Black Dog on this tour. No Quarter was performed live for the very first time and Moby Dick made a return appearance to the set list for the U.S. tour (the first time it had been played in concert since the October 9, 1972 Osaka, Japan show).
The gig was reviewed in the River City Review, a Memphis, Tennessee underground newspaper. Bill Read’s review featured the following comments:
“The band waited until everyone had time to get into the Stadium and get settled before they started the show and 8:30, and even then people were still arriving. The audience rose to its feet in a gesture of welcome, even as John (Bonzo) Bonham started the group off into ‘Rock and Roll.’ After completing this number, Robert Plant returned the greeting that had been given, and then continued with ‘The Song Remains the Same’ and ‘The Rain Song’ from their new Atlantic release, Houses of the Holy. Plant then made a reference to the now defunct Atlanta Pop Festivals, and proceeded into ‘Misty Mountain Hop’ and ‘Four Sticks’ (ed. note: he was probably referring to Black Dog). For those who could not see very well, there were two large viewing screens on either side of the stage, which showed interesting close-ups of the band as they gave their spectacular performance.”
“As John Paul Jones began the rather un-Zeppelinish ‘No Quarter,’ a fogging devise went into play, creating the eerie effect you might expect for the song. This selection in particular was reproduced in an excellent manner by all members of the band. Then, Jimmy Page, Zep’s producer and lead guitarist, and Plant put a sensual and intense effort into ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You,’ and, much to the delight of the audience, ‘Stairway to Heaven.’ ”
“As the crescent moon shone above, and as God looked down on all of His children, they bestowed upon the spectators their new rendition of ‘Dazed and Confused.’ During the song Jimmy Page stepped forward with his Customized Led Paul, took out his violin bow and expertly fed his original brand of musical data into an echo unit. Page sent the head of every person conscious into a world of ecstasy and wonder; and it occurred to me that we might have been given a preview of music born twenty years from now.”
Hit Parader (December 1973) carried an exclusive on tour with Led Zeppelin cover story written by none other than their press agent – Danny Goldberg. The article read just like Goldberg’s press releases, describing all their record-breaking exploits. He even quoted the mayor of Atlanta, Sam Cassell, as saying “This is the biggest thing that has hit Atlanta since the premiere of ‘Gone with the Wind.’ ” In his 2008 memoir, “Bumping Into Geniuses: my life inside the rock and roll business,” Goldberg conceded that the quote had actually been contrived by Peter Grant the morning after the Atlanta show.
Saturday, May 5, 1973 Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida, USA
Setlist:
Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, Bring It on Home (Intro)/Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Dazed and Confused (incl. San Francisco), Stairway to Heaven, Moby Dick, Heartbreaker, Whole Lotta Love Medley (incl. Boogie Chillun’), The Ocean, Communication Breakdown (incl. It’s Your Thing)
The band certainly did not have to wait a very long time to top their Atlanta attendance figure. The next night in Tampa they drew a record 56,443 fans ($297,632 gross receipts), passing The Beatles attendance record for a single artist set at Shea Stadium in New York on August 15, 1965 (attendance: 55,600).
Photos of Robert Plant and the record crowd appeared on the front page of the Atlanta Constitution with the headline “Stadium Rocks – Led Zeppelin Plays to 50,000.” The article was primarily focused on the crowd itself and mentioned that it was the first time the field had been opened to an audience. Curiously, it also mentioned that “paper and aluminum cans were trampled underfoot or were skittered across bare parts by the wind.” Coincidence?
Soon after the Tampa show, an Associated Press article written by journalist Mary Campbell was published in newspapers throughout the United States. Robert Plant discussed the Tampa concert with Campbell:
“I think it was the biggest thrill I’ve had. I pretend – I kid myself – I’m not very nervous in a situation like that. I try to bounce around just like normal. But, if you do a proportionate thing, it would be like half of England’s population. It was a real surprise. Tampa is the last place I would expect to see nigh on 60,000 people. It’s not the country’s biggest city. It was fantastic. One would think it would be very hard to communicate; with 60,000 people some have got to be quite a distance off. There were no movie screens showing us, like in Atlanta. The only thing they could pick up on was the complete vibe of what music was being done.”
Plant was asked why the band was more willing to talk to the press this time around and he responded:
“Last summer when the Stones were in America we were doing a tour concurrent with theirs. We had no coverage. We were beating their attendance, though…We’ve been aware of how we’ve been doing for a long time. And I really think some people ought to know what we’ve done. I’m proud of what we’ve done and what we are doing, and so many more people could dig it. That is the idea.”
Phil Rogers, staff writer for the Evening Independent (May 7, 1973) newspaper in St. Petersburg, Florida reviewed the gig in an article titled “Led Zeppelin Style: Start Slow to Buiold” (sic). Here are some key excerpts from Rogers’ article:
“Then the long awaited were on stage. Zeppelin started slow and built slow, for each song, for the whole show. Robert Plant’s voice vibrated into the open cavern of people that covered – painted – wallpapered every viewable spot in the stadium.”
“At times attention wandered from the stage. Someone said she was bored. At the time the remark was made, I would tend to agree. No one else in the crowd seemed to be exactly jumping up and down either. But then, Led Zeppelin was building.”
“Led Zeppelin was starting to warm up. Jimmy Page took a violin bow to his guitar, drummer John Bonham took a long, very excellent drum solo and the sound started to come alive…The first notes of ‘Stairway to Heaven’ drew immediate applause. ‘There’s a lady…’ Plant’s voice brought recognition to the rest of the crowd and more cheers for the group. The best song so far; things were getting better.”
“The finale, ‘Gimme Some Lovin’ (sic). White doves, released from the stage, flew to the audience in a message of fluttering, wheeling peace. Thousands, upon thousands of matches spotted the stadium like little eyes looking for the group’s return. A granted request.”
The Watcher (May 21-27, 1973) underground newspaper (Winter Park, Florida) carried a review of the record-breaking show titled “The Apex of Rock and Roll Attendance – Led Zeppelin Fills Tampa Stadium.” Written by Michael Crites, the review included the following observations:
“Led Zeppelin performed a predominantly high-energy concert with only a taste of their progressive soul and glamorock experiments of recent days, and their acoustic tunes. The quality of sound was not good, very little of the patented Zeppelin echo was audible and there was a somewhat fuzzy edge. Of course, these are natural drawbacks to a stadium show.”
“One of the outstanding numbers from ‘Houses of the Holy’ titled ‘No Quarter’ is indicative of Zeppelin’s schizophrenic nature. The song included a mysteriously mellow piano, a solid drum beat and disguised heavy guitar. At the mellotron Jones activated the strings, which are dynamite in your living room and probably would be exciting in a concert hall. Zeppelin took off in developing an orchestrated piece formed by intricate composition.”
“The fifteen minute drum solo was a useless filler and a condescension to the masses. I think Bonham is a damned good drummer without continuous beating. Charlie Watts has never played more than thirty seconds by himself. ‘Moby Dick’ was the only boring portion of the show.
A three and a half minute news report was broadcast on local TV station, Channel 13. The feature showed the band getting off their planes and into limos, footage of the crowd, and short clips of the band performing on stage (with Misty Mountain Hop from the fourth LP being played instead of the actual live audio). Part of this feature was used as the intro to their 2007 reunion concert at the 02 Arena in London.
Text adapted frot from the Evenings With Led Zeppelin book – talking of which…
The countdown continues:
127 day to go to the publication of Evenings With Led Zeppelin –The Complete Concert Chronicle Revised & Expanded Edition by Dave Lewis and Mike Tremaglio
The new expanded edition is extended by 48 pages bringing the total to 624 – including a brand new 10-page concert bootleg CD discography appendix
Dozens of additional concert ads, handbills, ticket stubs, press reviews, venue photos have been added – many images updated and improved.
More on stage photos have been added, including many never published before.
If you bought the first edition you already know that it is a thorough and complete chronicle of Led Zeppelin’s concert history – it achieved a 95% five star rating on Amazon reviews.
This new updated edition is a major upgrade over that highly acclaimed first edition – and even if you have the first book – this new edition adds so much more -and will be a very worthwhile re investment…
Here are some statistics on the additions to the revised & expanded edition:
Now includes over 300,000 words and 3,100 images!
55 Concert entries have been expanded in length with new text, images, and information
55 Concert entries include new press concert previews & reviews (many with images)
100 Concert tickets added
75 Concert adverts added
25 Concert photos added
22 New Led Zeppelin (11 unconfirmed or cancelled gigs) & pre-Zep 1968 concert listings (11)
20 Handbills/Posters images added
20 Miscellaneous images (Programs/Membership cards/press releases/contracts/venue pics, etc.) added
10 Page concert bootleg CD discography added to the Appendix section.
If you have yet to invest, be prepared to be amazed – this is essential reading for every Led Zeppelin fan…
You can pre-order the forthcoming Revised & Expanded Edition at the following links:
UK Amazon:
US Amazon:
Don’t miss out- this is the Led Zeppelin story told from where their legacy was forged – live on stage…
Evenings With Led Zeppelin – Revised & Expanded Edition – signed by Dave Lewis edition – for UK buyers:
As with the first run of the book, I do intend to make available a signed by Dave Lewis edition – this will be in a limited edition of 100 books which I will personally sign – there will also be an interview with the author’s insert included. More on this to follow.
Due to the prohibitive overseas postage costs, this offer is for the UK only. The cost will be in the region of £56 including postage – if you would like to reserve one of these copies please email me at davelewis.tbl1@ntlworld.com and I will ensure a copy is reserved for you.
Stop the press – another yet another new tape find:
A previously unheard audience recording of Led Zeppelin’s January 18, 1975 performance in Bloomington, Minnesota has emerged online.
This via LZ News:
The tape was released online by the Dogs of Doom group which has previously tracked down and released a series of unheard recordings, videos and photographs including a tape of Led Zeppelin’s 1969 Atlanta Pop show and an audience recording of San Francisco November 7, 1969 performance.
This newly released audience recording comes after parts of a soundboard tape of the same Bloomington show emerged online in February last year.
The audience tape, recorded by Don R and released by the Dogs of Doom group, misses out “In My Time Of Dying” and the encore songs “Whole Lotta Love” and “Black Dog” according to the entry for the show on Led Zeppelin’s official website.
Here’s the YouTube link to listen to the tape:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nh-WbU0Fok&t=1s
In conjunction with the Led Zep news site, each week I will be re- producing highlights from their email update news summary. This goes out periodically. Sign up details are below. Many thanks to James Cook.
Led Zeppelin
- A previously unheard audience recording of Led Zeppelin’s January 18, 1975 performance in Bloomington, Minnesota emerged online this week. Soundboard fragments of the same show emerged last year.
- Previously unseen footage of Led Zeppelin performing in Indianapolis on January 25, 1975 was released online. Watch it here.
- Previously unseen photographs of Led Zeppelin performing in Dallas on April 1, 1977 were released online this week on Led Zeppelin’s official forum.
Jimmy Page
- Jimmy Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones signed a letter demanding the Prime Minister reforms the law on royalties paid from music streaming. Page was the first signatory of the letter, according to its organiser.
Robert Plant
- “Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm,” a documentary film that features an interview with Robert Plant, will be released digitally on May 14. It was shown on BBC television in the UK last year.
Upcoming events:
May 5 – John Bonham’s gong will be auctioned in Bonhams’ entertainment memorabilia sale.
May 14 – “Rockfield: The Studio on the Farm,” a documentary featuring Robert Plant, will be released online.
June 12 – Parts of Robert Plant’s Knebworth 1990 performance will be released on vinyl for Record Store Day.
June 18 – The remastered box set of Yardbirds aka Roger the Engineer, featuring Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, will be released.
June 24 – Robert Plant will perform as part of Saving Grace in Exmouth.
June 25 – Robert Plant will perform as part of Saving Grace in Poole.
June 25-27 – Robert Plant will perform as part of Saving Grace at the Black Deer festival in Kent.
June 29 – Robert Plant will perform as part of Saving Grace in Shrewsbury.
August 10 – “Led Zeppelin Vinyl: The Essential Collection” by Ross Halfin will be published.
September 7 – “Beast: John Bonham and the Rise of Led Zeppelin” by C.M. Kushins will be published.
September 9 – The revised and expanded edition of “Evenings With Led Zeppelin” will be published.
September 25 – The 2021 John Bonham celebration event will be held in Redditch.
November 9 – “Led Zeppelin: The Biography” by Bob Spitz will be published.
Many thanks to James Cook.
The complete Led Zeppelin News email goes out periodically. To receive it sign up here:http://tinyletter.com/LedZepNews
Led Zeppelin News Website: Check out the Led Zeppelin news website at
TBL Archive – it was nine years ago – Robert Plant presents Sensational Space Shifters – Guildhall Gloucester – Tuesday May 8th 2012.
Now this was a very memorable evening all of nine years ago this week.This was the first step on the Sensational Space Shifters journey and what a night it was – this one is right up there in my favourite Robert Plant gigs of all time. Looking back now it all seems so carefree and easy – we just rocked up and soaked it all up…what memories…
Robert Plant presents Sensational Space Shifters – Guildhall Gloucester – Tuesday May 8th 2012.
Set List: 18 Hammers/Tin Pan Valley/44/Four Sticks/Hey Joe/Bron- Y- Aur Stomp/Standing In The Shadow (Patty Griffin vocal)/No Bad News (Patty Griffin vocal),Black Dog/Somebody Knocking/I’m Your Witchdoctor/Whole Lotta Love-Bury My Body/Encores: Song To The Siren/Gallows Pole.
The band were in the Guildhall venue for a sound check early afternoon and ran through instrumental versions of Song To The Siren, Four Sticks, Hey Joe, Bron- Y- Stomp. Juldeh also did a lengthy warm up. Robert arrived around 4.30pm with Patty. They kicked off by running down Black Dog.
The venue itself had a surprisingly very small entrance leading up to a rather grand staircase and on to the small high ceilinged hall. Prior to the gig I had quick word with Justin Adams –he said there had been a few rehearsals beforehand in Bath but as most of the band had played together so much in the past, not too much preparation had been necessary.
The hall was already filling up fast as support act The Toy Hearts – a two female and one male trio ran through an enjoyable rockerbilly/swing set. The Sensational Space Shifters line up had Skin Tyson to the left, John Baggott’s keyboards centre, Dave Smith’s drums to the right of that. Billy Fuller on bass was situated by Justin who was far left. Juldeh for his pasts stood next to Justin – Patty was to the right of Robert.
The band took to the stage to hugh applause and promptly kicked into the bluesy 18 Hammers. Fashion note: Robert in simple grey t shirt, black jeans and retro Goal trainers. After all the stress of ticket arrangements and planning to make it here (I’d actually been feeling well under par during the last couple of days), it was an absolute tonic to be in close proximity as Robert re interpreted those Oh Rosie lyrics as deployed on How Many More Times on Zep 1.
Tin Pan Valley followed – played in a laid back free form arrangement, a characteristic of the band’s overall performance – it was all a lot less frenetic than the Mighty Rearranger era and definitely a case of more loose than tight.
Throughout the set, Robert was at his most informal with a series of one-liners that added much to the charm of the low key approach. Mind you, things got a little too loose when early on in the set , the main part of Robert’s mic promptly flew off leaving him with er….just the knob! That would have not gone down too well at the 02!
After a knockerbout version of the old blues standard 44 recorded way back by the likes of Roosevelt Sykes and Howlin’ Wolf, Four Sticks followed, again in a moodier slower understated delivery that suited the mood perfectly. In introducing Hey Joe Robert made reference to how this sort of music had as he put it ‘’saved me from Engelbert’’ – a reference to the veteran crooner who has been chosen to represent the UK in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. This brought the extraordinary Juldeh Camara to the fore as he exhorted exotic noises from suitably exotic instruments. Throughout the show, for their part Skin and Justin contributed contasting guitar styles that perfectly complimented the overall mix of styles.
Patty Griffin joined the line up on mandolin for a delightful romp through Bron -Y- Aur Stomp which was the first live UK airing of the Zep 3 standard indoors since it was played by Zep at Earls Court in 1975 ( it was played by The Band Of Joy at the outdoor Big Chill Festival last year – thank you Billy F!) At the close instead of a call of ”Stryder” they all chorused ”Arthur!”
Some delay in setting up her acoustic guitar led to a slight set list switch. Robert stepped back to add backing vocals to her Standing In the Shadow Of The Hill. Patty then explained her next song No Bad News was written about George W Bush.
Patti stayed on to share duel lead vocals with Robert on the Band Of Joy arrangement of Black Dog –effectively embellished by Juldeh who added a distinctive vocal all of his own which merged into a quite frenetic finale.
Robert read from a lyric sheet on the floor as they performed an unorthodox version of Somebody Knocking. He then unfolded a tale of how the next song had been performed by John Mayall with Eric Clapton on guitar and had been produced ‘’by I’m not sure who?’’. A tongue in cheek reference to the fact it was one Jimmy Page. They duly performed I’m Your Witchdoctor. This was an absolute highlight for me – I’ve had this single on the Immediate label in my collection since the mid 70s and it was thrilling to hear Robert add his edge to an arrangement that stayed fairly true to the original, John Baggott getting in some suitably bluesy organ breaks. On the slowed down outro, Robert crunched down on the power chords in familiar fashion.
The version of Whole Lotta Love that followed was in keeping with the Space Shifters strategy – moody and understated as he merged Bo Diddley’s Who Do You Love ( a UK hit in 1970 for Juicy Lucy) into the You Need Love refrain and then added Jesus My Dying Bed lines from In my Time of Dying and a reprise of Oh Rosie.
They were back for an encore of Song To The Siren which featured just Skin, John Baggott and Robert – a simply mesmerising vocal performance . There was a bit of a sketch before the final number as Robert presented Patty with an award for ‘’sales of 500 Band Of Joy albums in Russia.”
‘’Who starts this one?…oh it’s me’’ was the cue for Robert to kick into Gallows Pole performed in the more rocky mid noughties Strange Sensation arrangement with Skin delivering the banjo guitar parts.
”Thanks for coming out tonight…time to catch Newsnight’’
And that was the Sensation Space Shifters step one.
Summary: What we have here looks to be hybrid of Strange Sensation, mixed in with the exotica of Juldeh, adding a tinge of the Band Of Joy with the informality of the Priory Of Brion. The whole affair had a very loose and casual feel that perfectly suited the surroundings and low key nature of this gig number one. It was a real joy to see the likes of Justin and Skin back to the fore to add a harder edged element.
As for the singer…well business as usual really – his passion to hop and skip effortlessly between varying musical styles was more than evident, as was the way he deploys his voice as a total instrument. You get the feeling he can move and shake within this unit of musicians as he so feels fit. There’s no big agenda –no album to push or media game to play. He can, as his manager Bill Curbishley remarked to me ‘’Do whatever he wants’’
And in doing whatever he wants, Robert Plant continues to inspire and enthral.
The old witchdoctor is back… and at the Guildhall in Gloucester it was more than a privilege to once again be under his spell.
Aftermath: After the show we hooked up at the Café Rio bar until the early hours where they had a variety of Led Zep tracks playing loud – Achilles and Ten Years Gone sounding very impressive –it was quite amazing to think that we had seen the singer of these songs perform a mere stone’s throw away a few hours earlier. I had to shrug off the hangover fairly quickly yesterday morning as I was contacted by BBC Radio Gloucestershire to do a quick phone interview live on their breakfast show around 7.30. On the afternoon of the gig I also recorded a preview interview for BBC Radio Gloucestershire which aired on Steve Kitchen’s drive time show. As ever it was great to see many familiar faces during our Gloucester experience – amongst them Lorraine and Michael Robertson, Michaela and Dan Firth, Jonathan Taylor, Mike Lewis, Richard and Roberta Grubb, Simon Wicker from Hats Off To Led Zep and his wife, Dawn Atherton, and Paul Harper.
Dave Lewis, May 10th 2012
Above photos by Dave Lewis for TBL
Reading that back confirms that this Gloucester occasion is right up there in my all time favourite gigs listing – it really was a special one…
Dave Lewis – May 5, 2021.
DL Diary Blog Update:
Friday April 30:
it’s a Happy Birthday to Mr Alan G Parker – the esteemed music man and director of film documentaries such as Hello Quo and Sgt Pepper. It Was 50 years Ago. Alan’s illuminating Facebook posts light up many a day here.
Here we are together in our collective office The Spice Of Life in London in March 2019 – hope to see you in there again soon mate – have a great day today and Happy Birthday from us here…
Friday April 30:
It’s a Happy Birthday to Mr Mick Bulow – long time friend and TBL supporter and all round top man.
Here we are at the TBL 40th anniversary Led Zep Knebworth gathering at The Atlas pub in London in August 2019. Mick is relaying his tales of being at Knebworth back in 1979 and encountering repeated cries of’ Wally!’ in the crowd…
Have a great day mate hope to see you and Berni soon and Happy Birthday from Janet and I!
Saturday May 1:
Saturday treats at the Vinyl Barn…
At the always excellent Vinyl Barn this morning very nice haul to start the month….the 20 Greatest Hits Beatles 1982 compilation, Alan Freeman’s First Lesson, an album of Decca hits compiled by the great DJ in 1972 which includes the brilliant version of Terry Reid’s Friends by Arrival.
Finally, I was well pleased to find a copy of The Beach Boys 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights), a US copy on Capitol Records – top stuff indeed – thanks Darren!
Saturday May 1:
Saturday is platterday – on the player Alan Freeman’s First Lesson – a great 1972 Decca compilation and every track a winner….purchased today at the Vinyl Barn…
Saturday May 1:
Coral Hay one year gone…we’ve been thinking of our much missed friend today…so many sweet memories of being in her company…we love this picture of Coral taken on our wedding day in 1984…
RIP you lovely lady…
Saturday May 1:
Saturday is platterday – on the player the superb Bruce Springsteen Letter To You album….the brilliant and emotive final track I’ll See You In My Dreams matching a melancholy mood here…
Sunday May 2:
Sunday sounds on CD – loading up the superb 2015 3 CD extended reissue of the Led Zeppelin Coda album – all very timely as I’ve been writing about some of the performances on this this morning for a Zep project ahead…
Sunday May 2:
It was over to the Rushden Lakes Record Fair earlier today where my very good friend and fellow record collecting comrade Steve waded through yet more record boxes in search of vinyl gold.
I was well pleased to find a copy of Jethro Tull’s Benefit album – a US pressing on the Reprise label and the 1970 Track Records budget sampler Backtrack 7 –this includes Marsha Hunt’s great versions of Paul Simon’s Keep The Customer Satisfied and Marc Bolan’s Hippy Gumbo… top stuff indeed…
Sunday May 2:
At Rushden Lakes earlier today with Anne Marie, the good lady Janet, Steve, Jenny and Dave – a much welcomed reunion with our very good friends who we have greatly missed….this was the good lady Janet’s first venture out of Bedford since breaking her leg in December 2019 – it was very busy there but all went ok…
Monday May 3:
It’s a Happy Birthday to our very good friend Mr Dave Linwood –creator of the TBL website in 1995, great support to us here over many years and all round top man – Happy Birthday from Janet and I – have a great day mate!
Monday May 3:
On the Bank Holiday playlist – the 1980 Pete Townshend solo album Empty Glass. I’ve been looking for a good copy of this for a while and it came good at the excellent Rushden Lakes record fair yesterday – £3? I’ll take it…and it sounds great….
Monday May 3:
On the Bank Holiday playlist – working on some text for a Zep project today the Led Zeppelin How the West Was Won Live set has been the ideal inspiration…
Tuesday May 4:
Countdown to Bob Dylan 80th Birthday – 20 days to go:
In the countdown to Bob Dylan’s milestone birthday, I’ll be wading through the backwaters of the LPs and CD’s I own of his illustrious work – kicking off with the truly excellent Bootleg Series Vol 4 – Bob Dylan Live 1966…
This is the so called Royal Albert Hall recording that was actually from the May 17 1966 Free Trade Hall Manchester concert. I have this on a Trade Mark of Quality original bootleg LP which I bought in 1972. This 1998 2 CD release was a superb upgrade – the Disc 2 electric set is just sensational…
Tuesday May 4:
8 Track Stereo Cartridge of the day here – a newly acquired one that I was well pleased to find – The New Age Of Atlantic – the 1972 sampler including Hey Hey What Can I Do by Led Zeppelin and the Yes version of Paul Simon’s America and sounding great switching through the four programmes…
Wednesday May 5:
Wednesday treats at the Vinyl Barn..
At the always excellent Vinyl Barn this morning I was well pleased to find a copy of the 1973 album Strong In the Sun by the Irish folk rock band Tir Na Nog.
This album on the Chrysalis label is significant for the inclusion of a cover version of Nick Drake’s Free Ride from his Pink Moon album -one of the very few cover versions recorded by another artist during Nick’s short lifetime – the only other I know of is Millie Small’s version of Mayfair released as a single in 1970 which I have.
I also picked up a copy of the excellent Todd Rundgren Anthology double album -top stuff all round – thanks Darren!
Some particular inspirations this past week:
The new issue of the Free Appreciation Society magazine dropping through the door…
The new issue of the always excellent Shindig! magazine dropping through the door – Sonja Kristina, Rare Bird, Tony Joe White ,1970 movie soundtracks and more – count me in
Paul Weller’s appearance on the Jonathan Ross show -I am very much looking forward to his new album which is out next week…
E- mail correspondence with Mike Tremaglio as we discussed the final updates of the Evenings With Led Zeppelin Revised & Expanded Edition…
A catch up on the phone with Pete Gozzard…
Receiving a couple of 8 track cartridges in the post – many thanks Paul H …
Update here:
It was good to get out on Sunday with the good lady Janet -thanks to our very good friends Steve and Anne Marie. This was Janet’s first venture out of town for 17 months. Her leg was not too bad though we were both well tired the next day. I have been feeling a bit stressed and a bit up and down mentally for various reasons – I think I need to pace myself a bit after all the upturn in activity. Work wise, It’s been very full on here with a fast turnaround on a deadline of a Led Zep project required at short notice – along with the ongoing projects I am working on. More on all this soon.
Thanks for listening – stay safe and well you very lovely people…
Dave Lewis – May 5, 2021
Until next time, stay safe and stay well…
TBL website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis
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