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RECORD COLLECTOR SINGLES FEATURE / LZ NEWS/BLUEBERRY HILL/ TBL ARCHIVE – LED ZEPPELIN III / DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE

13 October 2016 1,700 views 4 Comments

singles-feature

Record Collector Singles Feature:

The new issue of Record Collector out now has a feature written by yours truly –it focuses on 21 singles issued in the period 1968 to 1971 from rock artists seeking chart success and how they fared – all of which can be picked up for less than a tenner – I had a lot of fun selecting the singles for this feature – quite a few were picked up on the Vinyl Barn over the last few months via Darren Harte. There is of course a Led Zep reference in there…be sure to check it out – it’s in newsagents now.

Here’s a preview:

When rock went serious at the end of the 60s, many bands focused on albums. But some still issued fine 45s in search of chart success. DAVE LEWIS selects 21 rock band 7” gems released FROM1968-’71, which can ALL be picked up for less than a tenner (IF NOT IN SOME OF THE LOVELY PIC SLEEVES)

By 1968 album sales were beginning to eclipse those of the single. This however, did not deter the established and not-so established album artists of the era seeking out success in the singles chart because record companies were all too aware that a big selling single could lead to even bigger album sales. This, of course, often prompted cries of “sell out!’’ from fans anxious for their underground heroes not to conform with appearances on Top of The Pops and the like. As a new decade emerged, the traditional 45rpm single was undergoing some major changes.

The switch to stereo, the use of 331/3 playing speed and the advent of three- or four-track maxi singles (a throwback to the EP format) were all factors in making the single format an increasingly viable method for album-making artists to reach out to a wider audience. This created an influx of collectable releases as record companies encouraged their acts to rack up both albums and singles sales alike. The results, as you will read, were often surprisingly successful. So here are 21 examples of chart-seeking rock artists – remnants of a period where quality on 45 rpm was not hard to find. In fact, all of these 21 titles can still be gathered up in good to very good condition for under a tenner – bargains for sure.
by DAVE LEWIS

More info and ordering details at:
http://recordcollectormag.com/articles/singles-band

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LZ News:
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.

Hello! Welcome to the fifty-ninth Led Zeppelin News email. We email out a summary of the week’s news every weekend so that you don’t miss anything.
Led Zeppelin

The new Empress Valley bootleg release of Led Zeppelin’s 07/03/1970 Montreux show has finally been released. It includes four songs in soundboard quality: “Moby Dick,” “How Many More Times,” “Whole Lotta Love” and “Communication Breakdown.”

Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page has given a new interview to Classic Rock Magazine after the solo in “Stairway To Heaven” was voted the greatest of all time.

New photos of Jimmy Page with Jeff Beck at Van Morrison’s album launch party in London on September 28 have been published online.

Robert Plant

Robert Plant performed at David Lynch’s Festival of Disruption in Los Angeles on October 8. It’s his first performance since his August 5 UK show. He was photographed backstage with Debbie Harry, who gave a talk at the festival. Here’s what we know of the setlist:

Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
Turn It Up
Dazed And Confused
Black Dog
What Is And What Should Never Be
Whole Lotta Love
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Going To California
Ozzy Osbourne and his son Jack were interviewed on the Conan talk show , and Jack told a story of how Ozzy accidentally texted Robert Plant about a missing cat.

Here’s the relevant section of the transcript:
Ozzy Osbourne: “I can’t work a bloody digital watch, never mind a phone.”

Jack Osbourne: “He once accidentally sent Robert Plant a text message being like, ‘I can’t find the cat.'”

Ozzy Osbourne: “He sent it back going,’ You can’t find the cat…?'”

Upcoming events:
October 12 – Robert Plant will perform as part of the Lampedusa tour in Milwaukee.
October 13 – Robert Plant will perform as part of the Lampedusa tour in Chicago.
October 14 – Robert Plant will perform as part of the Lampedusa tour in Toronto.
October 15 – Robert Plant’s “Austin City Limits” performance will be shown on PBS.
October 16 – Robert Plant will perform as part of the Lampedusa tour in Boston.
October 18 – Robert Plant will perform as part of the Lampedusa tour in New York.
October 19 – Robert Plant will perform as part of the Lampedusa tour in Philadelphia.
October 21 – Robert Plant will perform as part of the Lampedusa tour in Washington, D.C.
October 28 – Robert Plant will perform at Bill Wyman’s 80th birthday celebration in London.
November 11 – Jimmy Page will attend the Classic Rock Awards in Tokyo.

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

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One from Sean Atkinson’s site: Q and A with Morgana Welch:

https://www.facebook.com/Morgana-Welch-a-Q-and-A-1802588223354536/?pnref=story

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TBL magazine Subscriptions:

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Many thanks to all those who came back on board following my call out for lapsed subscribers last week.

If you are unsure of your subscription status -there is a simple way to tell if you are subscribed or not – if you received issue 41 you are all paid up to issue 43.

if you did not receive issue 41 -now is the time to re-subscribe – and the link below will take you to the e ordering page – many thanks for all your support.

DL

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Meanwhile back in 1970…

One of mine here I wrote for Classic Rock on the Live On Blueberry Hill album: Agree to disagree!
http://teamrock.com/feature/2016-10-06/why-a-live-bootleg-could-be-the-greatest-album-led-zeppelin-ever-made

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TBL Archive – Led Zeppelin III 46 Years Gone:

To mark the 46th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin III -here’s a piece I wrote at the time of the reissue of the Led Zeppelin III album.

Led Zeppelin III: Solid gas then… Solid gold now…

THEN:

Led Zeppelin III was my first experience of the anticipation and waiting that would often be required leading up to the release of a new Zep album.
The waiting began in early 1970 and would last a period of ten months.
This anticipation was played out via the pages of the NME music paper as that was my prime source of Zep info. We had the NME delivered to our house and each week I would devour it religiously to seek out any info out on the band. I also looked in the newsagents to keep up with the other weekly music papers namely Melody Maker, Disc and Music Echo and Record Mirror. If there was a good story in any of those, again I’d snap that up.

As 1970 unfolded there was a fair bit of activity to track with reports of the Royal Albert Hall show, that Goldrush Record Mirror colour cover as they flew out to the US, the early reports of them turning down TV offers and then accepting the opportunity to top the Bath Festival, the subsequent Bath Festival rave reviews and then the news stories building up to the release of the third album.

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All of this was against a backdrop of many other events that year that had a huge impression on this particular then 13 year old – on March 21st I attended one of my first ever big league football matchs watching Chelsea beat Man Utd 2-1 with my friend Dave Corp (more of him later!) , there was the breakup of The Beatles, the World Cup in Mexico which saw England lose to West Germany and the magnificent Brazil side triumph, nearer to home Deep Purple and Chicken Shack topped a one day festival at Bedford Town football club ground – I had to be content with hearing it from my bedroom as back then the 25 shilling asking price was way out of my league.

Then there was the voting in of the Edward Heath’s Conservative government – on that Election day (June 18th) I went to see The Beatles Let It Be film. In the autumn the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin occurred within weeks of each other and the Sounds music paper was launched (I still have the first issues). Just before the release of Zep III, I watched with some awe Ernie Hunt’s donkey kick free kick goal for Coventry v Everton on Match of The day (YouTube it – its amazing!).

All of these events added to a very memorable year and acted as a rites of passage to my maturing as a teenager – oh and I also began developing an interest in the female form – the singer Julie Driscoll ( who had a big hit with Wheels On Fire) being an early pin up fave.
Back to the initiation of this third Zep album. It was down to Radio One DJ Alan Freeman to supply the initial thrills – on two Sunday afternoons in late September during his Pick of The Pops top 40 chart run down, he aired previews from Zep III namely Immigrant Song and Out On The Tiles. I taped these on my reel to reel tape recorder, so even before the album was issued in the UK I had some fresh Led Zeppelin music to play…

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Finally in early October came the day when I clapped eyes on the incredible sleeve. I can still quite verbatim from the NME review of the album by Nick Logan which stated in the headline ‘’Zeppelin Solid Gas, Solid Gold.’’

Suffice to say, Led Zeppelin III was top of my playlist for the next six months – along with the subsequent Zep 1 and II acquisitions – eventually they were slightly edged out by my reel to reel recording of the BBC In Concert broadcast of April 1971.
There is one other anecdote surrounding the arrival of Led Zep III –I distinctly remember being amongst some friends attending a Luton Town match in the autumn of 1970 – when we were discussing our favourite music outside the ground before the match, I enthusiastically talked up the new Zep album only for an acquaintance amongst us to retort ‘’Led Zeppelin? They’re a bit pathetic aren’t they?’’

Er…no!

A quick aside -I was with my childhood friend Dave Corp at that Luton match (he was not the one who made the remark!) – by coincidence, some 46 years on I am hooking back up with him this weekend.

Back to the story:

I was quite stunned by this as it was the first time I’d had experience of the musical snobbery that surrounded my affection for liking rock music. It was not to be the last as the Slade/T. Rex v Zep wars raged on into 1972 and beyond.

I have massive affinity for the time that Led Zeppelin III arrived in my life.
Along with Physical Graffiti and Presence, it’s my favourite and most played Zep album. I’ve also enjoyed some very memorable live renditions by the principal players of the songs from Led Zeppelin III – that fist blast in my schoolboy ears of Immigrant Song at the Electric Magic Wembley show in 1971, Celebration Day at Knebworth in ‘79 and Robert Plant with Strange Sensation at Hammersmith Odeon 2002 , Gallows Pole, Friends and That’s The Way at the Page & Plant Unledded filming in 1994, a killer P & P delivery of Since I’ve Been Loving You at Sheffield Arena in 1995, Tangerine (‘’This is for our families and friends..’’) and Bron Yr Aur Stomp at Earls Court.

I also love the live renditions of Zep III numbers (Immigrant Song,Out On the Tiles,Since I’ve Been Loving You, That’s The Way,) to be heard on the Live On Blueberry Hill and Going To California TMQ label bootleg albums.

As for the collecting of Led Zeppelin III, I have a fair few pressings including the UK original plum and orange Polydor pressing , a Spanish pressing with the titles on the back and a recently acquired New Zealand pressing which omits the wheel and just has blank spaces on the sleeve. I also have a bootleg pressing said to be a mono mix put out in Uruguay.
Over the years I’ve written extensively about the album, notably for a feature in TBL issue 10 and a major Record Collector piece that appeared in the Christmas edition of 2010 marking the album’s 40th anniversary.

Put simply, Led Zeppelin III is an integral part of my Zep DNA.

NOW:

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So to the newly remastered edition via the super deluxe box set. A very faithful reproduction of the cover and then to the vinyl…as with Zep 1 and 2 the quality is just exceptional – far sprightlier than previous versions.
And it’s the finer detail that really delights : John Paul jones bass runs all through Immigrant Song , the clarity of Robert’s opening vocal on Celebration Day, the crispness of John Bonham’s drumming on Since I’ve Been Living You, the ‘’Keep a coolin’ ‘’ line thrown in at the end of Gallows Pole, the rush of acoustic guitar beauty on the opening of That’s the Way, the maracas on Bron yr Aur Stomp.. All these unique nuances are heard to greater effect that ever before.
Creatively, well we all know it was a watershed album as they emphatically demonstrated that Led Zeppelin was not going to be just about plugging into Marshall and Orange amplifiers. There is a depth and subtly in these performances that is forever awe inspiring.

As for the companion disc well this is a joy from start to finish –there’s so many enlightening moments – the vocal tracking on the line ‘’In spite of all your losing’’ on The Immigrant Song, the hypnotic quality of the instrumental Friends, the looseness of the Celebration Day mix, the Bonham drum assault in Bathroom Sound which is a masterclass of percussive brilliance. The incredible group synergy revealed by the early take of Gallows Pole, the lushness of the dulcimer led That’s The Way, the delightful early attempt at the Page guitar army approach on Jennings Farm Blues backed by some class Bonzo drumming. The sheer pure bluesness of the Key To the Highway/Trouble In Mind performance.

Best of all and worth the price of admission alone, is the take of Since I’ve Been Loving – a quite brilliant snapshot of the sheer creativity of Led Zeppelin during that summer of 1970. Again it’s the group synergy at its best. Robert offers up an astounding vocal performance, Jimmy is out of this world and John and JPJ carry it all with effortless aplomb.
To paraphrase my own words in TBL 27: Folks, this version of Since I’ve Been loving You is what the phrase ‘tight but loose’ was invented for as this take of the track is fucking incredible. And I use the adjective quite purposely and forcefully. Absolutely fucking incredible.

Led Zeppelin III summary:

This is my favourite album of the first three reissues – it holds so many memories from an enlightening period for me as a teenage Zep fan but at the same time, it sounds so contemporary and fresh. It’s just brimming with creativity and set the seal on the path ahead. Falling in love with it all over again this past month has been an absolute joy.

Dave Lewis – July 2014

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DL Diary Blog Update:

Friday Vinyl Treats at the Vinyl Barn – there was an outstanding fine last week  namely We’ve Got Your Music – US Atlantic Records instore play promo sampler from 1977 – features Stairway To Heaven plus tracks from Bad Co, ELP, Peter Gabriel, Foreigner etc £12 I’ll take it! I collect any Atlantic promos so this is vinyl gold for me –Darren Harte you are the man! I also also got The Unforgettable Django Reinhardt on original UK HMV and I could not leave an original Song Remains The Same in the racks now could I?!

In between work on TBL 42 on Monday I had an afternoon of record shopping in Cambridge. My good friends Pete Burridge and Mat Roberts had been trying to organise a trip for the three of us for some time and we finally got around to it – and it was a memorable one.

cambridge-3

Here’s why:

You wait for ages for one bus to come along then another turns up – same with records last Monday – I was well pleased to see a copy of the rare Robert Plant album Fate Of Nations in Black Barn Records  – it wasn’t cheap ( 50 of my English pounds!) but I had to have it – I have not seen this at any record fair or shop before. It was released on vinyl when the album came out in 1993 but for some reason I did not invest – it was a bit of a CD world then. Mercury Records did not press a lot of copies on vinyl and it has gone on to become a much sought after item.

cambridge-one

Imagine my surprise then when I saw another copy in Relevant Records -the very next shop we visited –it was for the same price but did not have the inner sleeve. Anway, it’s great to have a copy of this superb album on vinyl and it’s been a joy playing it this week.

My acquisitions included a US copy of The Doors single Touch Me and at Relevant Records  The Herd album Paradise Lost on UK 1968 original on the Fontana label and a promo copy of Joe Cocker’s 1968 single Marjorine which has Jimmy Page on it. All in all it was a very welcome afternoon away from the office as it were.

 

I have to say recently it’s been a bit up and down here – we have had some great days out but in-between all that, there’s been some anxiety and I can’t seem to shake off the panic attacks I’ve been having – we’ve been pretty anxious about a few things, not least Janet’s mum’s bungalow which we are still trying to sort out – it’s often proving somewhat overwhelming.

Disappointingly, that old black dog is never far away – reading extracts from the new Bruce Springsteen biography it would seem I am in good company as he has suffered the same trouble. I know from a lot of feedback I have had that depression is an issue for a lot of people out there.  In my 30s and 40s  I seem to breeze through things and just get on with it  – not so now – a visit to the eye clinic this week for my annual diabetes 2 check and a flu jab were yet more indications that at 60 this is the way it is.

I like to think I still have the zest for life I did back in my younger days – and overall in my mind I certainly do – physically and sometimes mentally though, it is not so simple.

The trick is to try and not get too bogged down with stuff and keep a clear perspective. It ain’t always easy but I am trying…

Thankfully there is the salvation of music at hand and on the player some great stuff including:

Fate Of Nations on vinyl as mentioned above – the Led Zeppelin Live at Olympia companion album to the Led Zep I reissue,  Gene Vincent – Crazy Times – remembering the late great Gene 45 years gone on October 12, Paul Simon Still Crazy After All These Years – always a melancholy autumn favourite  – plus the aforementioned Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run and The Dave Clark Five album In Session

The latter is an appropriate choice as back in 1964/65, my childhood friend Dave Corp and I were big fans – in fact we formed a group The Dave Lewis Five which had him on a battered old acoustic guitar and me on a drum kit of old tin cans set up in our garden. Dave was in attendance at my 60th birthday gathering at the White Horse last month -it was fantastic to see him.

On Saturday I am going to get the bus to nearby Rushden to replay the compliment and visit him.

Amongst other things, there will be some nostalgic talk of the legendary DC5 and the day back in 1970 we went to see his beloved Chelsea play Manchester United at Stamford Bridge in a crowd of 63,000.

If there are any tin cans lying around in Dave’s garden, the neighbours had better get some ear plugs…

Dave Lewis – October 13, 2016

Until next time – have a great weekend…

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

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

You Tube Clip: Robert Plant & the Sensational Space Shifters – Austin City Limits – great performance here…

TBL Retro Clippings:
Led Zeppelin III reviews/comment from October 1970:

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4 Comments »

  • Dave Lewis (author) said:

    I think it was 3-1 the goal stood for sure!

  • steven.gale@centralnottingham.ac.uk said:

    Dave,
    I agree with you on the Ernie Hunt free kick – what memories you have reminded me of. Wasn’t it disallowed though? Also, I remember Coventry winning 3-1. Am I right on both counts?
    Steven Gale.

  • Steve A. Jones said:

    Keep a coolin’, Dave Lewis!

  • Larry said:

    Dave, enjoyed the look back at III, and as usual after reading your commentaries, I’ll need to play the album again.

    It really is one of their finest achievements. Of course all of the albums are terrific in their own way, but III gives off a warm vibe, and it was such a gutsy and honest statement from them at the time. Some critics and folks in the music business thought they were out of their minds with that LP after the thunder of I and II. But there’s no doubting the utter grace and diversification of the album.

    Blueberry Hill dovetails right in with that whole time of course. My first two bootlegs were Going To California, and a 2-LP set of the second half of the 8/4 Knebworth show. But Blueberry Hill followed shortly thereafter, and it was quite a revelation.

    Over the years, I’ve collected more than a few versions of the show. Recently I heard for the first time a fan version entitled Individually and Collectively, a Slumpymatrix. To those who haven’t heard it, I highly recommend seeking it out. It’s sourced from the Mono recording, and the results are absolutely stunning. It puts you right on the floor of The Forum, the quality is so vivid you can almost see the band playing in front of you. I’ve listened to the show more times than I could ever remember, but hearing Slumpy’s version was like hearing this classic show for the first time.

    Fate Of Nations on vinyl…nice!!!

    As always Dave, all the best to you, Janet and your family.

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