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FIVE GLORIOUS NIGHTS EARLS COURT 1975 PHOTO BOOK LATEST/ THE IMAGINARY BOX SET/JIMMY PHOTO AUCTIONED/ TBL EC T-SHIRT/TBL REVIEWER REQUIRED/DL DIARY UPDATE

20 May 2015 2,337 views 3 Comments

 

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133 Glorious days to Five Glorious Nights: Led Zeppelin at Earls Court May 1975 photo book latest:

It was somewhat fitting that on Tuesday – the 40th anniversary of the May 18 gig, designer Mick Lowe and I finally signed off the checking and approving of the final proof copy of the Five Glorious Days Led Zeppelin at Earls Court photo book.

To backtrack on it all:

We did the first test layouts some 133 days ago on Tuesday January 6th. During January and February I wrote the text pieces. As the contact sheets came in via Mark Smith at Rufus Stone we began the proper layouts in early March. On March 11 and again on April 2, I met with Ross Halfin who kindly added his input as photo editorial consultant. It’s been full on all the way through as we attempted to do justice to what has become an incredible challenge.

For a long period, the book only existed in mock form in a pair of A4 sketch pads (as seen in the pic below), that I used as a reference guide to plan where it was all going to fit in. From little acorns…

So it’s been133 glorious days (well not all of them – there were many days of considerable stress!) to get to the end result of Five Glorious Nights…it’s a massive relief we have finally got there – the book content will now be forwarded to the printers.

Suffice to say, massive thanks to Mick for bringing all alive at StudioMix, to Mike Tremaglio and Dec Hickey for proofing and overseeing of the text – to Gary Davies, Cliff Hilliard, Nick Anderson, Scott Baker, Roger Berlin, Peter Chow, AA and Phil Harris for memorabilia  contributions and input – Samantha Lewis for the cover Earls Court shot and the good lady Janet for all her support…

…and to Mark Smith for creating the opportunity…

As for the book itself – I’ve lived and breathed it for many hours and looking over the final completed 288 page book proof today, it’s hard for me to be too objective and it will be for others to judge…but I think we have achieved something pretty special…. a unique lasting photographic record of Led Zeppelin in their absolute prime..

You can pre-order the book at this link:

http://www.rufuspublications.com/r…/Led-Zeppelin-Earls-Court

Details on the ship out details will be announced in due course by Rufus Stone. Right, that one is a warp I’m now underway with TBL 39 and there’s some great stuff lined up on – more on that as it unfolds.

So get ready for another TBL summer of Led Zeppelin…

DL May19, 2015.

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TBL Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Led Zeppelin at Earls Court – Earls Court – The Imaginary Box Set:

This piece was originally written for the TBL Earls Court Journal in 2000. It therefore predates the 2003 DVD and How The West Was Won releases that would go some way to unlocking their live archive.

This is my version of the definitive Earls Court imaginary compilation:

LED ZEPPELIN AT EARLS COURT 1975

 IMAGINE THE EARLS COURT BOX SET…

five tickets

“Think of 1980 – It’s The Song Remains The Same soundtrack or nothing. 1990 – The Song Remains The Same or nothing. And now it’s the same. I’ve always wanted to put out a chronological live album of Zeppelin stuff – there’s some incredibly good stuff – but I just can’t get the others to agree, so I’ve stopped trying.” – Jimmy Page/Classic Rock, March 2000.

It would seem from those latest comments that the long mooted idea of a multi-CD, chronological, live Zeppelin set being officially released was off the drawing board in 2000. And until the situation is resolved, bootlegs will have to suffice.

Nevertheless, it’s fun to speculate on its hypothetical contents. Back in the summer of 1995 I used the Earls Court shows as a basis for an imaginary 4-CD set for a feature in Record Collector magazine (issue 191). In reality it won’t happen of course, not least because it’s doubtful that the group have the complete tapes of all the shows in their archive anyway.

Knowing of the many unofficial audience and soundboard tapes out there, there is scope to produce a complete overview of the five Earls Court shows spread over four CDs, combining the best versions of the regular repertoire with a selection of the unique items performed at these shows in the same way that Deep Purple’s Made In Japan album was expanded to a three-CD Live In Japan commemorative set.

So, having analysed the five shows, here is my imaginary four-CD selection. It offers four and a half hours of definitive Earls Court 1975 Led Zeppelin, 29 live performances selected in chronological order over the five shows. Within this there are nine examples of different versions of the same track, thus offering the opportunity to compare how the songs evolved on successive nights, and it would be all sequenced with relevant between song patter from Plant that captures the unique atmosphere of the Earls Court season.

So here goes:

CD 1: Material from the first two shows:

Rock And Roll (3min 51 sec)/Sick Again (4.51)/The Song Remains The Same (5.20)/The Rain Song (7.40) – all from May 17.

In My Time Of Dying (12.23)/Kashmir (10.05)/No Quarter (21.26)/Moby Dick (12.50 edit) – all from May 18

CD2: Material from the third show:

Over The Hills And Far Away (8.00)/Tangerine (4.20)/Going To California 5.50)/That’s The Way (7.45)/Dazed And Confused (32.00)/Stairway To Heaven (12.35) – all from May 23

CD3: Material from the fourth show:

No Quarter (22.51)/Tangerine (4.00)/That’s The Way 6.06)/Trampled Underfoot 9.05)/Dazed And Confused (33.21) – all from May 24

CD4: Material from the final show:

Over The Hills And Far Away (7.50)/In My Time Of Dying (10.05)/Kashmir (9.07)/Going To California (4.53)/Bron Yr Aur Stomp (5.40)/Stairway To Heaven (10.43)/Whole Lotta Love (6.35)/Black Dog (6.50)/Heartbreaker (5.58)/Communication Breakdown (5.03) – May 25

So there you have it: 270 minutes of unchallengeable evidence that Earls Court was one of the greatest series of concerts Led Zeppelin ever performed.

Dave Lewis

Originally published in the TBL Earls Court Journal 2000

Postscript 2015: THE greatest….

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TBL Five Glorious Nights Led Zeppelin at Earls Court May 1975 40th Anniversary T-Shirt:

tee shirt ec

The new TBL T Shirt is now available – this one celebrates the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin at Earls Court – with a front logo depicting the Five Glorious Nights script. The perfect  T- shirt to be seen in this summer!

Ordering link here:

http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/celebrate-the-40th-anniversary-of-led-zeppelin-at-earls-court-with-the-new-tbl-t-shirt/

Jimmy Page signed photo raises £2,000 at the Print Bank Charitable Trust Auction:

The a charity auction of iconic rock photographs at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday May 16 saw the Jimmy Page signed photo raise £2.000. The auction was staged by  The Print Bank Charitable Trust and sponsored by Rockarchive.com. All profits raised will be split between the charities Shelter, Shooting Star Chase, PETA & Teenage Cancer Trust.

https://classicrock.teamrock.com/news/2015-05-17/led-zepellin-photo-ps2000-charity-auction

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 TBL magazine – CD Reviewer Required:

Since the sad passing of Gerard Sparaco, the TBL magazine has been lacking a regular CD/LP review column. I am therefore on the look out for someone to join the TBL crew in the role of CD reviewer. Specifically you would need to be an avid  collector of the unofficial CD/LP reviews and be well up to date with recent releases. What I require is a periodical summary of the unofficial releases with informed reviews on quality, performance and packaging accompanied by relevant images. If you suitably knowledgeable on this subject and would like to contribute a regular review column for TBL, please get in touch via email to:

davelewis.tbl1@ntlworld.com

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DL Diary Update:

Another full on week here with the final signing off of the Earls Court photo book (see above) and work on TBL 39. There’s also been plenty of Earls Court 40th Anniversary activity – I hope you have been enjoying the updates on TBL website and the TBL Facebook page. There’s a whole lot more of that to follow in the coming days.

playlist two

I am aiming to get the TBL issue 39 out for late June. As previously mentioned, there’s some great stuff lined up including another perceptive piece on the Zep reissues by Richard Grubb, Larry Bergmann Jr explains why the recent Jimmy Page Sound Tracks release is one of the most important of his career, Neil Jeffries on taking tea for one at Physical GraffiTea, Bucks Burnett reveals details of one of the rarest Physical Graffiti collectables and Nick Anderson rounds up the latest Led Zep reissue promo items in his Collectors column. Chris Charlesworth also wades in with a story about conducting his first ever Zep interview in early 1969. All this and more…

On the player, you guessed it – Led Zeppelin at Earls Court from a variety of CD and LP sources as seen in this pic. 40 years on it just keeps getting better…

Dave Lewis May  20, 2015

 

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You Tube Clip:

Led Zeppelin at Earls Court performing Going To California – absolute perfection:

Until next time…

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend…

Keep listening, keep reading…

Dave Lewis/Gary Foy –  May 20, 2015 

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To view additional photos and TBL info be sure to hook up with the Tight But Loose Facebook page (add us as a friend) at

http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1611296783

 Also follow Dave Lewis/TBL on Twitter – LedzeppelinTBL

 

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3 Comments »

  • Malcolm B said:

    Hi Dave,

    Great idea for an imaginary 4 CD.

    Here’s a thought but not so imaginary. Why not one DVD of the best of the Five Glorious Nights? Even if footage of only the 24th and 25th is available, and I doubt it is, how good would it be, as they were probably the best two nights anyway. He did it with How The West Was Won.
    The bootleg DVDs are great but they don’t compare to the quality of the Earls Court segment in the official 2003 DVD.

    Along with your book what a great 40th anniversary celebration that would be!

  • Roger Berlin said:

    …thank you, Dave.
    Roger Berlin

  • Graham Rodger said:

    I miss Gerard’s reviews on the Collectors Music Reviews website, they really informed my decision whether to buy new releases or not.

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