So that was the year that was….2017…

Another busy one in the world of Led Zeppelin – with Robert Plant returning with a highly acclaimed new album Carry Fire with the Sensational Space Shifters – and then delighting audiences on a UK tour. Jimmy Page released two albums via his website the vintage Chris Farlowe In The Beginning set plus the revamped Yardbirds ’68 recordings. John Paul Jones was out and about making several cameo appearances -notably with Donovan at the Adoration Trilogy launch, with the Amores Pasados Band at the Swalesdale Festival, Minibus Pimps in Paris and Tres Coyotes in Helsinki.

It now all leads into 2018 and the 50th anniversary of the formation of Led Zeppelin – this is already lining up to be a very special year ahead – with the news of an official Led Zeppelin book due and as Jimmy put it ”all manner of  surprises” along the way.

Whatever is ahead in the world of Led Zeppelin this coming year, I will be doing my best to chronicle it all again through the various TBL channels of the website, Facebook, Twitter and the TBL magazine.

Dave Lewis – December 28, 2017.

………………………….

Led Zeppelin News Update:

In conjunction with the Led Zep news site, each week I will be re- producing highlights from their weekly email update news summary. This goes out every Sunday. Sign up details are below. Many thanks to James Cook.

 Led Zeppelin

Jimmy Page during the interview in which he talked about his plans for Led Zeppelin releases in 2018. (YouTube/Academy of Achievement)
It’s been a big week for Led Zeppelin news. First, Jimmy Page said in a new interview that unreleased music and “surprises” are coming next year for the band’s fiftieth anniversary. Then, days after we wrote up those comments, Led Zeppelin announced that an official photo book will be one of those releases in 2018.

While it’s great news that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin are working together on a photo book, that doesn’t tell us anything about the possibility of unheard music that Page mentioned.

Earlier this week we published a post speculating what could be released next year for Led Zeppelin’s fiftieth anniversary. It seems likely that a live release is on the way, and that’s an exciting prospect following the studio remasters from previous years.

• Myles Kennedy said he hopes his Led Zeppelin audition wasn’t recorded because he was ill. Kennedy spoke to Eddie Trunk earlier this month and spoke briefly about his experience auditioning for Led Zeppelin in 2008.

• Preview pages have been released from the upcoming unofficial, Robert Ellis Led Zeppelin photo book “Led Zeppelin Live Times.” See them here.

Robert Plant

• Robert Plant has announced two new European festival shows for 2018: The Bath Festivals in Bath, UK on May 27, and the Vielles Charrues Festival in Carhaix, France on July 22. Last week he announced a performance at the Festival de Carcassonne in France on July 25, so it looks like those three dates are part of a European tour next summer.

• Robert Plant recorded a video to promote his March 30 performance at the Byron Bay Bluesfest in Australia. Watch it here.

• Japanese label Ward Records will release Robert Plant’s 2016 Festival of Disruption performance on Blu-ray and DVD on January 31. See the cover here.

Upcoming events:

January 28 – The exhibition at Proud Central in London that includes photos of Led Zeppelin will close.
January 31 – Warp Records will release Robert Plant’s 2016 Festival of Disruption performance on Blu-ray and DVD.
February/March – New Led Zeppelin photo book “Led Zeppelin Live Times” will be released.
February 1 – Robert Plant will perform at the UK Americana Awards in London.
February 9 – Robert Plant will perform in Raleigh, North Carolina.
February 11 – Robert Plant will perform in Charlotte, North Carolina.
February 12 – Robert Plant will perform in Norfolk, Virginia.
February 14 – Robert Plant will perform in New York.
February 16 – Robert Plant will perform in Boston, Massachusetts.
February 17 – Robert Plant will perform in Toronto, Ontario.
February 20 – Robert Plant will perform in Chicago, Illinois.
February 22 – Robert Plant will perform in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
February 24 – Robert Plant will perform in Denver, Colorado.
February 26 – Robert Plant will perform in Phoenix, Arizona.
February 27 – Robert Plant will be interviewed on Dan Rather’s “The Big Interview” on AXS TV.
February 28 – Robert Plant will perform in Oakland, California.
March 2 – Robert Plant will perform in Los Angeles, California.
March 23 – Robert Plant will perform in Sydney, Australia.
March 26 – Robert Plant will perform in Sydney, Australia.
March 27 – Robert Plant will perform in Sydney, Australia.
March 30 – Robert Plant will perform at the Byron Bay Bluesfest in Australia.
April 1 – Robert Plant will perform in Melbourne, Australia.
April 2 – Robert Plant will perform in Melbourne, Australia.
April 5 – Robert Plant will perform in Adelaide, Australia.
April 8 – Robert Plant will perform in Perth, Australia.
May 27 – Robert Plant will perform at the Bath Festivals in Bath, UK.
May 31 – The statue of John Bonham in Redditch is planned to be unveiled.
July 22 – Robert Plant will perform at the Vielles Charrues Festival in Carhaix, France.
July 25 – Robert Plant will perform at the Festival de Carcassonne in France.

Many thanks to James Cook for another year of extensive Led Zeppelin coverage – a fantastic service for all Led Zeppelin fans. Happy New Year mate!

The complete Led Zeppelin News email goes out every weekend. To receive it each week sign up here:http://tinyletter.com/LedZepNews

Led Zeppelin News Website: Check out the Led Zeppelin news website at

http://ledzepnews.com/

……………………………

I’ve been catching up on some highly recommended magazines and books and CDs …

Flashback magazine:

The new issue of the brilliant Flashback Magazine is out now. Edited by Richard Morton Jack (co-founder of Sunbeam Records and editor of the Galactic Ramble and Endless Trip books).I issue 9 is another 212 page mini book packed with fascinating features on 1960s/70s Psych, Prog, Jazz, Folk, Blues & beyond. Superb retro features and images. I particularly liked the feature on the Disc and Music Echo music paper and the interview with DJ of the era Jeff Dexter. A top read and recommended – order via this link

http://www.flashbackmag.com/

………………..

David Bowie I Was There:

This a great book- David Bowie I Was There features more than 350 eyewitness accounts from fans who saw him live in concert, from colleagues who played music and worked with him and from friends. From his early shows in Bromley – through the 182-date Ziggy Stardust Tour and the 12 other major tours across the world – this is a unique view of the David Bowie story. It places him in the context of the times he lived through and his place in the lives of those who saw him. The book features a wealth of fascinating stories – I am privileged to have two of my first-hand accounts published in the book – namely the David Bowie gigs I saw at Earls Court in 1978 and the Docklands Arena in 1990.

Order link here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Bowie-was-There-first-hand/dp/1911346431

……………………….

Seattle 1975 – The Hammer Of The Gods – new version on the Eat a Peach label:

This is a more affordable four CD version of the brilliant Led Zeppelin performance on March 21 1975 at the Seattle Coliseum previously issued as Deus ex Machina via Empress Valley . The second night of a pair of gigs at the venue that saw them really move into top gear.

The often maligned US 1975 tour with its injured Page finger and Plant voice problems often found them struggling to put on the show they really wanted. By the time they got to the West Coast in late March, they were firing on all cylinders. So much so, they just wanted to play and play and on this second Seattle night that is exactly what they do. They do it with no rules and no limits. It’s one of the longest ever evenings with Led Zeppelin.

And what an evening it was.

I’ve long held this performance in the highest esteem – the audience tape of which I’ve spend many a good hour with. To hear it now in pristine sound quality is unsurprisingly an absolute revelation.

This is the band in all their elongated, improvisational glory. The soundboard recording itself is very powerful and full – easily on a par with the iconic Feb 12 Flying Circus releases that heralded the 1975 US soundboard surge. As I’ve often proclaimed, this era is one that I find utterly captivating.

Highlights here and there are many: the free falling solo in Over The Hills And Far Away, an urgent stomping Kashmir, a totally out there freeform No Quarter, the rarely played Since I’ve Been Loving You, a truly epic Dazed And Confused and riotous encore double up of Communication Break-down and Heartbreaker that would thrill the audience in attendance at the last night of the Earls Court run.

Suffice to say, if you are a Led Zeppelin you need this stupendous Seattle recording in your life. This new Eat a Peach version is therefore much welcomed.

DL

………………………………

Yardbirds ’68:

Here’s a review of the new Yardbirds ’68 release by Ken Winovich

It’s finally here. Not only is it here, it’s properly here! Properly as in ‘done-the-correct-way’. Not the ‘capitalize-on-jimmy-page’s-fame-and-make-a-fast-buck’ rush job that Epic Records pulled back in 1971. Count it – THE FIRST Jimmy Page officially produced Yardbirds album has finally landed. And it’s a double! Don’t be surprised if it outsells the rest of their catalog. This historical blast from the past not only sounds better, it even look’s better. There’s a nice palette of colors on the CD/Album sleeve reminiscent of the 60’s psychedelic era and is credited to Jimmy Page. Is it artwork from his art college days before he joined The Yardbirds? Perhaps. The familiar Yardbirds logo graces the package sleeve. This release has got great historical photos. It also corrects history. The live album was originally released by Epic Records in 1971 to capitalize on Page’s success in Led Zeppelin. But the engineer had tacked on bull-fight cheers, tinkling cocktail glasses and club atmosphere chit-chatting which had Jimmy Page quickly pull it off the market with an injunction. Record company execs tried unsuccessfully again in 1977 and Page had it permanently removed from circulation and his lawyers wisely demanded that all the master tapes be handed over which is why we finally have it remixed and properly done today. I know many would rather see Page spend his time making new music and performing live but this unsettled matter just had to be settled and once again, Jimmy has come up with the goods.

The Yardbirds are the most under-rated group in that British Invasion 60’s mix. They only lasted five short years but had they never even formed, the music you and I enjoyed over these past 55 years would have been drastically different because they influenced nearly everybody. Their music was the first clarion call to all rock musicians – this is the ‘proper way’ to make a rock song rooted in the blues. But we all must remember – this music was new back in it’s hey day and sadly, too many pompous ‘know-it-alls’ running the music business in that decade kept getting in the way. Toss in poor management thru seventy percent of their career, disappearing ‘singles-albums-tour’ money and poor handling by their record label and it’s a wonder they didn’t call it quits sooner. I mean, who starts off their discography with a live album? Just imagine how all these British Invasion bands might have sounded like on vinyl had they all been given more artistic control and freedom in the production of their own records had the focus not been on a fast buck? It all becomes clear why Jimmy Page wanted artistic control over Led Zeppelin’s records in a vice grip. He learned well during his time in The Yardbirds. In many ways this live album eclipses them all. It catches the band in their last gasps of breath but more importantly, they sound better than they ever had because of new advances in microphones, amps, pa systems and gear by the time it was recorded end of March back in ’68. Just like with the remastered Zeppelin catalog in 2014-15, Yardbirds drummer Jim McCarty sounds like he’s got a brand new drum kit on this new release. So why all the fuss? Simple. The only known live tapes of this band can be counted on two hands and out of all those few illegal bootleg tapes, radio broadcasts and poor sounding TV shows, history has given us only three officially live recorded Yardbirds concerts. Four if you count ‘Blueswailing ’64’. The first two have Eric Clapton on them and were recorded professionally, but recorded back in the early 60’s when microphones and equipment were ‘primitive’ compared to what was available by the end of that decade. Sadly, none properly exist with Jeff Beck on them. But despite their decision to fold by mid ’68. they were professionals. The show must go on, even if it’s your last U. S. tour. They were rightfully inducted into the R & R Hall of Fame back in 1992 and had a remastered release this good been put out in the early 80’s, they would have been inducted sooner. Enuff history and on to the music.

DISC ONE – Live At the Anderson Theatre

‘Train Kept A-Rollin’ – The show kicks off in crisp remastered glory. Singer Keith Relf has never sounded better! He’d always been kicked around in reviews as ‘weak’ but one of his lungs collapsed during their career. He more than makes up for any deficiencies with his fantastic blues harp which is showcased now more than ever with this remastered release. The way he plays the harmonica against Page’s guitar playing is fantastic. It was a thrill to hear Jimmy Page cut loose with the first guitar solo that’s not obscured by all the bull-fight crowd roars that were overdubbed onto the discontinued release from ’71.

‘You’re A Better Man Than I’ – On this track all four bandmembers have never sounded better. It’s a pleasure to hear singer Keith Relf jiggle his lower jaw palate for vibrato! When Page rips off his over-driven distortion guitar solo, it’s a real treat as his guitar tone kills. I can only imagine what this guitar solo would sound like on a tube stereo! This track in particular will be the focus of plenty of listening time!

The group segue into ‘Heart Full Of Soul’, showing a glimpse of the successful formula Page carried over to Led Zeppelin – dynamics. Light and shade. Soft one moment with all hell breaking loose in the next!

‘Dazed And Confused’ – This track will be the highlight of the show. It’s mixed well as the kick drum comes thru nicely. Relf hums notes all up and down the musical scale. Page’s string vibrato (the violent wiggling of a string note that’s fretted with the finger) is absolutely wicked. He was even doing the string bends behind the nut back then. You’d swear that drummer Jim McCarty had just bought a new drum kit. Page’s cello bow solo sounds even more moody and slightly different than in Zeppelin and is probably due to the choice of guitar amplifier and distortion pedal from that period. Dreja’s bass stands out on this track. When Page cuts loose with a ferocious guitar solo, it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for as it just slays and it’s also a thrill to listen to all four of these musicians bringing the track to a close. Fantastic!

‘My Baby’ – This ones finally mixed right! So much so that on the original ’71 release, the vocals got on my nerves half way through the song in the chorus because it was mixed so poorly. Now that you can hear Keith Relf much better and with no silly engineer inserts, one notices that he says “Bway…bee’ on the lyric ‘baby’ and yes, that’s not a spelling error….with included ‘w’ the first time the word is sung. Page’s sonic textures with the wah-wah pedal are a real standout treat. This track was carried over by Jimmy into Led Zeppelin at it’s birth and was originally considered for their first tour in Scandinavia and their first album but didn’t make the cut.

‘Over Under Sideways Down’ – Without all the silly engineer inserts from the ’71 release, one can finally hear the complex playing of this band. Dreja does some nice ‘up-and-down-the-scale’ bass notes. On my first listen with headphones which was done from a blu-ray player attached to my TV as I lay tired in bed, I could barely hear McCarty’s backup vocals as they sounded washed out. But when played on my stereo on the second listen with the volume turned up high, they are just right and this music sounds good with the volume turned up.

‘Drinking Muddy Water’ – Much better mix. Keith’s harp playing got on my nerves with the old release but now that mixing maestro Jimmy Page has properly mixed it, one can enjoy Keith’s excellent harp playing and this is as good a time as any to study his mastery of the blues harp causing me to think how much sooner The Yardies would have been inducted into the R & R Hall of Fame had this remaster been out decades earlier. Relf’s vocal groaning and the beat of the music near the end of the song are great. Nice start and stop blues runs. Even the audience claps sound crisp and great. I can’t tell you how many concerts I’d been to and studied a good guitarist and smiled ’cause I finally figured out how he did this and that and that and then the very next day, go into overload! How could you possibly do that with Jimmy Page who probably played over a million notes each show. Fantastic!

‘Shapes of Things’ – Nice wah-wah notes intro which resonate out. Page’s guitar slips out of tune just before the solo but when he steps on the distortion pedal, the guitar solo kills! Very nice to hear Relf’s vocal tricks and accents. Page does a classic trick on this track where while playing some hammer-ons, he firmly grasps the guitar neck and then pushes on the back body of the guitar in the direction of the neck, bending all the string notes slightly upward for an cool effect.

‘White Summer’ – Page clearly pulls out the Dano guitar for this number. The guitar tone is slightly distorted but a little muddy and bassy probably because Page wanted a lower-end bottom during the show. Nice gallop drum beat from McCarty. We can finally hear the details in this song without the silly engineer ’71 overdubs. McCarty’s drumming follows Page’s notes nicely as the two bring the song to it’s finale. On my second play of this new release, I almost expected ‘Kashmir’ to start! Wrong decade!

‘I’m A Man’ (contains ‘Moanin’ and Sobbin’) – This song has as good a blues roots foundation as the band would ever get. Relf harmonica-scats alongside Page’s guitar notes. Just before Page’s guitar solo starts, listen to McCarty, Relf’s harmonica and Page’s guitar. It’s a classic moment on this release. Page’s solo is awesome and not washed out like on the ’71 release. Great interplay between Relf’s harmonica and Page’s brushing of the strings. Would I even dare after this final show number to even pull out that ’71 injunction release for reference? Relf does some sweet humming as Page drags the cello bow across his guitar strings for yet another classic moment in this concert. The tambourine is crisp. When Relf yells out “Ho!”, the band work up the note scales higher and higher in a nice frenzied rave-up which is what The Yardbirds became famous for. Page’s bow sounds like a cow mooing as he goes back down the fretboard. Fantastic!

In summary, not only has this show been remastered in all it’s glory, but Page has elevated his late band members singing and harmonica playing a ton because it was lost in that ’71 Lp mix. Relf’s vocals and harp suffered from blow-out due to a poor mix and when coupled with the engineer’s abomination of silly overdubs, it has to be one of the music industry’s worst travesties – all of which falls just short of say a recording studio burning down with everone’s tapes lost! At times, this finished live product suffers from deleted Relf chit-chat with the audience between songs but the music’s the focus. A five star rating for sure and Yardbirds fans will cherish this one for years to come!

Scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best:

Content: 5.0

Audio: 5.0

Satisfaction: 5.0

DISC TWO – Studio Sketches

This new release also includes studio sketches of what would have been the second official Jimmy Page studio Yardbirds album to follow ‘Little Games’ that we never got. ‘Little Games’, which we all know was nothing more than a typical candy-apple-coated Mickie Most pop-hit production, included the groups’ 8th A & B side single and Mickie could have cared less what other tracks filled up the album and it shows. This new release finally put’s an exclamation mark on one of the most important rock bands to come out of the 60’s decade besides The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Who, The Animals, Cream, Pink Floyd and The Jimi Hendrix Experience – and that band is The Yardbirds. Any young aspiring wanna-be musician worth his weight in gold from the 60’s would have been a regular attendee at any Yardbirds concert because no matter which line-up you witnessed, you would have seen one of the three greatest British guitarists that made up the Trinity of British Blues Rock Guitar – Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Not only were all three of these guitarists deadly with a guitar in their hands, each of them fused the Blues into rock in the 60’s decade. Blues purists will love Eric Clapton’s pure, no-effects-pedals blues. Rock lovers will love Jeff Beck’s experimental rock guitar sounds and psychedelic rock fans will love Jimmy Page’s explosive guitar chording, sonic textures and smoking hot guitar licks and riffs. These guys learned the tricks of the trade. They spent months studying the sounds they could get out of their amps, changing and experimenting with different guitars, rewiring their pickups, tossing the bottom E-string and moving the rest over and placing a banjo string on the high E-string enabling easier B B King style string bends and more. No wonder they made every other guitarist look totally silly.

What we have here are the last studio gasps at creativity by the Yardbirds and it would have been a travesty if these had never been released because they clearly show a new and exciting direction the band were headed in and that’s testament to the fact that Jimmy Page’s long logging of studio hours as a session man enabled him to circle around all different forms and styles of music. Had Relf and McCarty hung on, who knows what might have been. Perhaps even more rewarding success. But how can one blame them when one takes into account the poor management, ‘tour-and-never-rest’ marathons across the globe with little to no reward. Although they punted out when the money actually started coming in thanks to Peter Grant taking over the managerial reigns, for an artist, it’s not always about the money. It’s a wonder they even continued on with their own musical projects outside of The Yardbirds at all. On to the studio sketches.

‘Avron Knows’ – In this nice ‘call-and-response’ track, the response lyrics are particularly funny and complement this nice guitar riff. The song’s about a friend of Keith Relf’s named Avron and this track easily conquers anything from the Mickie Most era.

‘Spanish Blood’ – Nice Clint Eastwood Spaghetti western feel starts this track coupled with taps of a metal triangle. This track right here shows you just what that next Jimmy Page Yardbirds album would have been like. Page’s guitar harmonics and strumming lift the track upwards. Nice flamenco style playing! What a feel, atmosphere and mood. You almost know that some sort of salsa vocals are on the way. This is what the boys would have come up with if they weren’t forced to search for that hopeless 2 and a half minute hit single. One wonders if they were still under contract with Mickie Most for this aborted next album.

‘Knowing That I’m Losing You (Tangerine)’ – A backing track. It’s just about the ‘Tangerine’ companion track we never got off the new remastered ‘Led Zeppelin III’ companion album. I can hear that Giannini acoustic 12-string chiming out. Nice guitar solo and includes pedal steel guitar.

‘Taking A Hold On Me’ – I love this track. This one has a nice Jimi Hendrix jam feel. Did Page possibly break a string at the end with Dreja and McCarty continuing the rhythm? We’re glad they did! Excellent ending to this track and it’s a shame it didn’t continue for four more bars.

‘Drinking Muddy Water (Version Two)’ – Just as good as the official release with Relf’s harmonica playing the main feature.

‘My Baby’ – Pleasure to hear this one properly mixed without vocal blowout on the chorus.

‘Avron’s Eyes’ – Nice faster-and-faster rave-up at the end!

‘Spanish Blood (instrumental)’ – It was worth Page putting this one on again as an instrumental because the flamenco style playing is a real treat! It’s a shame it never made it to live audiences as it may have even eclipsed ‘White Summer’. Fantastic!

In summary, assuming The Yardbirds would somehow have been free from Mickie Most for this next Yardbirds Page-era studio album, it would have been a damn good one and I give this disc two a 5 star rating as well. But if you really want to know for yourself what that final Yardbirds Page album might have sounded like, try assembling these Yardbirds Page-era tracks that are out there in the collector’s world in this order and you’ll get a nice glimpse into what might have been – 01-Taking A Hold On Me; 02-Avron Knows; 03-Never Mind; 04-Spanish Blood; 05-Knowing That I’m Losing You; 06-Think About It; 07-Puzzles; 08-My Baby; 09-Ten Little Indians; 10-You Stole My Love; 11-Goodnight Sweet Josephine & 12-I Remember The Night.

Scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best:

Content: 5.0

Audio: 5.0

Satisfaction: 5.0

Ken Winovitch

…………..

Remembering Lemmy – two years gone:

I was privileged to be in his company a couple of times – notably at the Classic Rock awards at the Roundhouse in 2011. Lemmy was there that night to pick up an award. I had a few minutes with him (this pic was taken then) and asked him for a quote about Led Zeppelin IV for the then forthcoming TBL issue 30 which was celebrating the album’s 40th anniversary. This is what he told me:

”I can remember being down the Speakeasy club with Jimmy quite a few times and Bonzo would be around too. They were just the best musicians and that album is one of many of theirs that still sound amazing. They were a fucking amazing band”

The same could be said for his band -RIP Lemmy…

……………………………….

DL Best of The Year:

Here’s a round up of my fave vinyl record and CD acquisitions of 2017:

Top 20 Vinyl Record Finds in 2017:

In no particular order as follows…

Led Zeppelin – Berkeley Days – 2nd Second Night – great reissue of the classic 1971 live set via Casino Records.

Robert Plant – Carry Fire

Led Zeppelin – Soundtrack to the film The Song Remains The Same –Swan Song Portuguese pressing with glossy cover

Led Zeppelin – I Told You Baby Long Time Ago –Scandinavia March 1969 -another fine Casino Records package.

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin 1 – Australian pressing

The Yardbirds – The Yardbirds 68 – Jimmypage.com release

The Yardbirds – Live Yardbirds – US Epic original unearthed at the September Victoria Fair

Marianne Faithfull – Rich Kid Blues – Record Store Day release

Bruce Springsteen – London 75 – RSD release 4LP pressing of the legendary Hammersmith 1975 set

Elton John – 7- 11- 70 – RSD release – extended version of the Elton 1970 live album

David Bowie – Cracked Actor – RSD release – superb 1974 live album

Family – Family Entertainment – rare promo copy on US Reprise label

P P Arnold – The Turning Tide – recently revamped lost late 60s album from the always talented songstress

Frank Sinatra – A Man Alone – one of my all time fave albums in a rare US Reprise gatefold sleeve

Chris Farlowe – 14 Things To Think About  – Immediate label

Here We Go ‘Round The Mulberry Bush soundtrack – classic 1960s film soundtrack with Traffic and Spencer Davis Group etc on US United Artists

The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 2LP re-release  -it was 50 years ago…

Lulu – New Routes – US Atco  – great find at the November Olympia Record Fair

Melody soundtrack – another of my fave films and soundtracks – 1971 film starring Jack Wild and Mark Lester with The Bee Gees and C, S, N and Y on the soundtrack

Nick Drake – Fruit Tree box set – I’ve been looking for the vinyl version of this beautiful set for ages – discovered it via the Harpenden Record Fair

……………………………………….

Top 20 CD finds in 2017: 

Whilst vinyl is the preferred format here , there is still much to cherish about the CD format particularly the box set collections and reissues -and during this year a fair few box sets have come my way (thanks Darren!)

In no particular order as follows…

Led Zeppelin – Deus ex Machina – Empress Valley CD set  – best soundboard recording of recent years

Led Zeppelin – A Very Nice Night Vienna 73 – a great night

The Beatles – 1968 FM White Album broadcast CD

Forever Changes – The Golden Age of Elektra CD box  set

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers Playback – CD box set

Bad Company Run With The Pack  -extended with some great bonus material

Elvis Presley –  Elvis at Stax

Be Bop Deluxe  – At the BBC 4CD set

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – The Complete Fillmore Tapes 4 CD set

Milk of The Tree – An Anthology of Vocal Folk and Singer Songwriters – CD set

Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal – Island Records Anthology 1967 – 1972

Legend of a Mind – The Underground Anthology – from the Decca vaults

Love – Love Story 1967 -1972

Elton john – To Be Continued – 4 CD box set

Stevie Wonder – Classic Album Selection 1972 – 1975

Lee Hazlewood – Strung out On Something New  2CD compilation

What the World Need Now is Burt – Songs Of Bacharach and David – from the Warner & Atlantic Vaults

George Harrison – Through All These Years compilation

The Kinks – The Kinks Are The Village Preservation Society reissue

Chicago  – At the Carniege Hall reissue

plus

Cat Stevens – box set

With thanks to Darren Harte/Vinyl Barn, Nick Carruthers, Warren at Slide Records Bedford, Oxfam Bedford, Black Barn Records Northampton, David’s Letchworth, Sister Ray Records London, Sound of the Universe London,  Reckless Records London, Fopp London, Empire Records St Albans, Black Circle Records Leighton Buzzard, Hitchin Market, VIP Victoria and Olympia Record Fairs, Reading Record Fair and Harpenden Record Fair – and fellow Record Fair TBL crew members Tom, Phil H, Ian S, Steve L, Gary and Cliff ‘the ticket man’ Hilliard. To Paul Sheppard, Julian Walker, Nick Anderson and Andy Adams for continued collecting inspiration.

Best Gigs Attended in 2017:

1: Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters – BBC 6 Music Session Maida Vale – October 6

2: Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters – Wolverhampton Civic Hall – November 20

3: Robert Plant and The Sensational Space Shifters – Royal Albert Hall, London  – December 8

4: Paul Rodgers/Deborah Bonham plus two special guests  – Oxford New Theatre  – May 15

5: Nigel Kennedy with Robert Plant special guest -Royal Albert Hall, London -March 15

……………………….

DL Diary Blog Update:

As mentioned last week, I was not feeling that well in the week leading up to Christmas. I’ve been fending off this achy exhausted feeling for some days now. I’m still not back to 100% form but hoping I can get a bit of zest back for the weekend ahead.

Despite all that, it’s been a fantastic Christmas here – led by the fact that our Sam is back home from Australia. I met her off the Heathrow flight at 6am on Christmas Eve. The previous night it was good to hook up with Dec who was over from London for Christmas. Sam is now here for a few weeks and it’s been a revelation for all four of us that’s the good lady Janet, Sam and Adam to be altogether.  The pics here are Sam and myself just after Sam arrived off the plane – plus the good lady Janet and myself on Christmas Eve – note the annual outing for the LZ tie (thanks Larry Ratner!) and LZ shirt (thanks John Lodge!).

Once again Santa has been very kind and there’s been some wonderful new acquisitions to be found under the Christmas tree including:

The Zombies – Odyssey & Oracle

Egg – The Polite Force –  rare second album from the early English progressive rock outfit on the Deram label – I’ve had tracks from this album on various compilations but never found the album (thanks Andrew A for those two!)

Magnavox presents a Reprise of Great Hits – Frank Sinatra promo album based on his 1973 comeback TV show with tracks from Frank, Count Basie, The Association, Barbara McNair etc. -superb! (thanks John P!)

Led Zeppelin – Songs For Europe – March 17 1973 Olympia Halle Munich appearance – Tarantura label – limited edition of 75(thanks PB)

I also had the Danny Baker book Going On The Turn (thanks Max and Julie!)  I’ve started reading that -it’s the third in his series of the DJ/writers autobiographies – a fantastic tale with a fair few Zep references including the story of how Danny joined the band for 25 minutes in 1991.

it was good to watch the Tottenham v Southampton game down the Fox as Harry Kane netted yet another hat-trick. Here’s hoping the Spurs can keep up with the Premier League front runners in 2018 and continue to make progress in the Champions League. On TV I really enjoyed the Oasis documentary film Supersonic which chronicled the band’s rise from 1993 up to their Knebworth shows in 1996. That band had some swagger and their songs still sound so uplifting.

2018 beckons and it’s shaping up to be a full on year, what with the 50th anniversary to celebrate, plus various TBL projects to see through – not least the Evenings With LZ book.

As usual, I have a fair few New Year resolutions – one of which in light of how I’ve been feeling lately, is to adapt a smarter way of working that spreads the workload a little more sensibly.

On Sunday night when the clock strikes 12 midnight, I will raise a glass and take a cup of kindness for auld lang syne to the many people (and I’m sure they know who they are) who one way or another, have been an absolute inspiration to me in 2017.

Then it will be down to the serious business of getting on with the various TBL projects and celebrating their 50th anniversary….

So it’s ever onward…

Thank you for your continued support of all things TBL, may I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018.

Dave Lewis – December 28, 2017

Until 2018 – have a great new year…

TBL Website updates compiled by Dave Lewis

with thanks to Gary Foy and James Cook

Follow TBL/DL on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/tightbutloose.loose

The TBL/DL Facebook page has regular updates and photos – be sure to check it out.

And follow TBL/DL on Twitter