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TBL ARCHIVE JANUARY 1975 SNAPSHOT/ TBL 45/ LZ NEWS /MICK BONHAM REMEMBERED/NEIL PEART RIP/CODA IN MK /VINYL BLOG/ BEDFORD RECORD 1981/DL DIARY BLOG UPDATE

16 January 2020 1,936 views 5 Comments

TBL Archive Special: A look back to the second date of the Led Zeppelin 1975 touring campaign:

TBL LED ZEPPELIN JANUARY 1975 SNAPSHOT…

DATE: SUNDAY JANUARY 12 1975

VENUE: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

VORST NATIONAAL

Setlist: Rock And Roll/Sick Again/Over The Hills And Far Away/When The Levee Breaks/The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song/Kashmir/The Wanton Song/No Quarter/Trampled Underfoot/In My Time Of Dying/Stairway To Heaven/Whole Lotta Love – Black Dog/Communication Breakdown.

Snapshot Notes: The second warm up date for their forthcoming US tour – the previous night they had played Rotterdam. Before the show Robert conducted an interview backstage with Bob Harris for broadcast the following Friday (January 17th) on BBC2’s Old Grey Whistle Test.

There were five previews aired from the forthcoming Physical Graffiti set – Sick Again, Kashmir, The Wanton Song (which would only be performed on a few of the opening US dates), Trampled Underfoot and In My Time Of Dying. They also included an arrangement of the never before played live When The Levee Breaks – this again did not last for too many performances on the US tour. With Page possibly dealing with a recently damaged finger (see more on this below), the set was less than two hours in length with little improvisation – Dazed And Confused and Moby Dick were both absent – rare omissions for the time. Robert Plant was also beginning to struggle with an oncoming cold. Presentation wise these two warm up warm-up dates were performed with a relatively simple stage set up for the final time.– the US tour will see John Bonham’s drums mounted on a rostrum and a major new light and laser show.

These dates were announced in the UK press at the end of 1974, but I somehow missed this info – – in fact I did not know the gigs  had taken place until a week later such was the low key nature of the gigs – oh for the internet back then! If I had known, I would have made an effort to go for sure!

Snapshot Listen – how it sounded today:

brus 3

It’s Time To Travel Again (Diagrams of Led Zeppelin)

The January 12th Brussels show exists on a fair to good audience recording that I have on the Diagrams of Led Zeppelin CD It’s Time To Travel Again.

Here’s my overview of how it sounded today:

Given the physical frailties of Robert’s voice and (possibly!) Jimmy’s injured finger, once they get in their stride there are some fine performances. The set is a quant one with the notable omission of Dazed And Confused – along with the Rotterdam gig the night before, it was the first time this Zep I standard had not been played live in a Zep performance since their inception. There’s no Moby Dick either making for a much shorter performance than was the standard.

Sick Again kicks in after Rock And Roll and Robert plays it safe on the vocal histrionics. Jimmy is equally tentative on Over The Hills And Far Away with none of the expansive solo improvisation that will be a highlight on the US tour and Earls Court shows.

Their onstage rustiness is evident early on – amply demonstrated by Bonzo going into the intro of When The Levee Breaks when he should have been readying for Over The Hills – where’s that confounded written set list!

When The Levee is duly performed (‘’here’s one we always enjoyed and we’ve finally got around to playing’’). Bonzo is spot on but it’s a rather ponderous plodding arrangement – it will not last too many outings on the US tour. ‘’Jimmy Page steel guitar’’ proclaims Robert at the close.

The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song are fairly perfunctory performances while the new Kashmir is initially a little hap-hazard. Robert loses the lyrics early on but they recover well for the final ‘’Let me take you there’’ sequence which prompts both Page and Plant to up their game.

‘’Another song of lust, a little habit I picked up after meeting Phil Carson (NB: Atlantic Records exec)– one of my idols’’ is Plant’s tongue in cheek intro into The Wanton Song – this works really well with Page now suitably animated in his playing – it’s a shame it was to fall off the setlist after a few performances in the US.

No Quarter is very much a 1973 arrangement with no extended grand piano section – which might be just as well as the crowd seem impatient and slow hand clap as the chorus comes back in. Before that, Jimmy gets into some very delicate and pleasing wah wah effects.

Two back to back Physical Graffiti previews follow: Trampled Underfoot is fast and furious and In My Time Of Dying is a valiant performance given the physical restraints. Both of these of course will come good with a few more performances

Finally…’’A song from not too long ago …what you might call a permanent favourite ‘ as Plant explains.

So come in Stairway To Heaven – now elevated to the main setlist closer. From the slightly extended strummed intro though to the crescendo ending, this performance strongly hints at the majesty this piece will attain ahead. It’s a great performance and worth the price of admission alone with Plant adlibbing away (note he still sings ‘’Dear lady’’ and ‘’Your Stairway’’ tonight – this will change to ‘’Dear people’ and ‘’Our Stairway’’ during the US tour). As for Jimmy, he delivers that long and winding jittering solo with sheer intent – a solo that will further develop and extend in the coming months and reach something of a zenith in Earls Court come May. It’s already very evident how much they have moved this piece on from the 1973 tour.

Encores: A brief Whole Lotta Love that segues into Black Dog and a strident Communication Breakdown with a chugging mid-section (‘’I don’t need…I don’t want’’) and gig number two of 1975 is over.

In the coming weeks in America , Plant’s voice will initially become weaker and Page’s finger injury will deem that How Many More Times temporarily replaces Dazed as the violin bow showcase. The stage setting will become more extravagant and the light and laser show ever striking. The audiences will become increasingly crazy, and a double album called Physical Graffiti will create a fervent rush at record stores across the land.

This night in Brussels is a quint and fascinating transitory performance – the health problems may be evident but inspired by their new material, this slightly tentative Led Zeppelin are very keen to make their mark in 1975.

And make their mark they will do as you will read in the next TBL Led Zep 1975 Snapshot…

To be continued…

Dave Lewis – January 2020.

Jimmy s Injured Finger:

It was well documented that Jimmy injured his finger – shutting it in a train door in early 1975 – it’s difficult to pin point the actual date it happened – I was under the impression it was just before the Rotterdam and Brussels dates but I could well be wrong. here are some thoughts on the topic from TBL contributor Andy Crofts

The 1975 finger thing, I couldn’t resist a quick word about that. It is frustrating, because it’s very hard to square all the reported facts.

You are right that it is simplest to assume that it happened pre-Brussels, but the Rolling Stone interview from March 75 is equally clear that it happened ‘just a week’ before the US tour started, and JP had only one rehearsal to work out how to play everything. Both Keith Shadwick and Mick Wall back this up in their books, although neither gives a proper reference, maddeningly.

The Brussels gig is weird, because they don’t play Dazed And Confused  and How Many More Times -or Moby Dick for that matter, which I’d have thought ideal if the guitarist is unwell! But… JP plays very well in Brussels (this initially surprised me when I started listening), RP doesn’t make any mention of fingers onstage (which he does do on later US gigs), and the Bob Harris interview with him the same day doesn’t touch on it either. I also can’t help shake the feeling that they would just have cancelled those warm-ups had JP done his finger in immediately prior.

My take is that initially they never intended to play Dazed And Confused in 1975. They had other stuff in the set, like Levee and Wanton, and potentially others too; the setlist from the disputed Minneapolis rehearsal tape is an indicator here (I don’t believe this can be from 1973, but that’s a whole other argument!). So that’s why it’s not played in Brussels. They get to the US and realise they don’t like Levee, and need more material to fill the gap. This needs to be familiar to the audience, which won’t have heard the new stuff yet. The unrehearsed Dazed And Confused is considered a stretch too far, given the by-now broken finger, so they have a go at How many More Times for a few nights… equally unrehearsed, but it worked quite well when they did it impromptu in Southampton in 1973. Putting my guitarist’s hat on, I don’t see how a shortish Dazed And Confused is necessarily harder on the fingers than How Many More Times (something else that’s always bothered me about that part of the story), but the latter is certainly easier to pick up if you haven’t played it for a while.

All this squares the known and reported facts, and also makes sense of Jimmy’s other comment in Rolling Stone, that he wants Dazed And Confused back in the set ASAP… he preferred playing that to How Many More Times , which was probably a bit old-fashioned for him by 1975.

There’s another possibility of course, which is that the Brussels tape is incomplete, and other songs were played… it does seem very short. But I don’t think so. It’s maddening not to have anything from Rotterdam or indeed Minneapolis to compare it with.

Oops, I’ve written an essay. These nitpicking things are interesting in an ubergeek kind of way, and I think it’s fascinating how things which may not be quite right become accepted fact, just through repetition. I think Led Zeppelin simply started with one set list in 1975 and abandoned it in the face of their US audience. A shame. I’ve recently been reading about Cream’s experiences in the US, and they were the same; lots of parallels actually. Jimmy’s finger is ultimately a red herring, because – painful or otherwise – he plays very well throughout Jan 75.

Many Thanks Andy for those comments.

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TBL issue 45- last of the run…

These are the last 15 of the run of 675 – once they are gone it’s gone…if you have yet to indulge get in quick …free TBL issue 44 with every order…

 TBL 45 – Led Zeppelin Knebworth 40th anniversary special issue –

OUT NOW – ORDER HERE! 

LIMITED OFFER – FREE COPY OF TBL ISSUE 44 WITH EVERY TBL 45 ORDER! 

 World Exclusive new interview with John Paul Jones for TBL 45

TBL issue 45 features a world exclusive new interview with John Paul Jones

This is yet another reason to be sure not to miss out on what is a monumental issue.

TBL 45 is one of the most ambitious magazines yet produced – almost a double issue.

A 64 page issue it includes a reprint of the complete 40 page  Tight But Loose issue 3 – the Knebworth special first published in October 1979.

Ordering link below:

http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/tbl-45-special-60-page-knebworth-40th-anniversary-issue-including-complete-reprint-of-tbl-issue-3-limited-edition-pre-order-now/

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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

Robert Plant

John Paul Jones

Upcoming events:

February-March – Jimmy Page’s new book, “Jimmy Page: The Anthology,” will be released.
February 28 – Robert Plant’s vinyl singles box set “Digging Deep” will be released.
March 26-29 – John Paul Jones will perform a solo set as well as a second set as part of Sons Of Chipotle at the Big Ears music festival in Knoxville, Tennessee.
September 25-26 – The next John Bonham celebration event will be held in Redditch, UK.

Many thanks to James Cook.

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/

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Neil Peart RIP:

It was very sad to hear the passing of the Rush drummer Neil Peart aged 67.

Here’s a host of tributes from the Classic Rock website:

https://www.loudersound.com/news/the-rock-world-reacts-to-the-death-of-neil-peart

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Remembering  the late great Mick Bonham – RIP…

Remembering the late great Mick Bonham – 20 years gone this week …

Back in early 1980 I contacted Mick to request some of his amazing photos he had taken of Led Zeppelin at Knebworth to use in the then forthcoming TBL issue 4. He was more than generous in supplying a whole batch of previously unpublished shots.

That generosity and great spirit was well in evidence years later, when along with other members of the wonderful Bonham family, Mick attended the 1992 Led Zeppelin Celebration Days Convention Andy Adams and I staged in London…here’s a great pic taken by Jan Mulder from that weekend of Mick on stage with Deb and the band –RIP you lovely man….

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Deborah Bonham Auction details for Australians Wildlife:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Coda at MK 11 Milton Keynes on Friday:

The excellent Coda tribute band are lined up for a date at the MK11 Live Music Venue & Sports Bar in Milton Keynes on Friday January 17 – full details of their gigs at this link:

https://www.codaledzeppelintributeband.co.uk/gigs

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Led Zeppelin Transmission 1969 2 CD:

Interesting package of the 1969 BBC sessions due from Amazon -another in the dubious legal releases but looks worth catching at a bargain price…

Order link below:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Transmissions-1969-2CD-Led-Zeppelin/dp/B07ZWBRGJW/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=led+zeppelin+transmission&qid=1579077729&sr=8-1

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David Deal Blog:

Fellow vinyl enthusiast David Deal has been in touch to point me in the direction of his excellent contributions to the Superhype blog site. Be sure to check out these excellent features written by David…

https://superhypeblog.com/music/why-we-buy-vinyl

https://superhypeblog.com/music/how-david-bowies-blackstar-taught-us-how-to-die?fbclid=IwAR2p7ow1LUohyG8LX0og9Binmpj_vlXGbpQ_Um18IAucK2xyCqj7msP_tY0

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More TBL Archive:

It was 39 years ago: DL Life with the stars…. 

It was 39 years ago this month that the local Bedford paper The Bedford Record published a centre page feature piece on the Tight But Loose magazine and my affinity for Led Zeppelin (the first of a number of such stories that would appear over the next three decades – I discovered that local newspaper editors love this stuff).

This all grew out of some quotes I gave to then local journalist Andy Bull at the time about the sales hike experienced after John Lennon’s death. When I mentioned I published a magazine on Led Zeppelin he was very keen to interview me for the paper. A photographer was despatched to the Dents Road shrine (my bedroom) and next thing I knew my name was in lights (sort of).

Coming home on my bike from working at WH Smiths (where the talk of the day had been my inclusion in the paper) that evening of January 6th 1981, I noticed the billboard outside the local newsagents shop previewing the papers content. It read (I kid you not!)  ‘’ Bedford Record : Bedford man’s life with the stars’’. I got off my bike, calmly walked in showed the shopkeeper the paper and my picture in it and asked  for said billboard. He kindly offered it to me and I still have it  – here’s a pic of me with it from about eight years back –  I really should get it framed.

Bedford mans life with the stars then: The young DL in the Dents Road shrine with TBL 5 – as seen in the Bedford Record January 6th 1981.

DL Diary Blog Update:

From my Facebook page:

In the light of Jimmy’s Birthday – here’s a piece of TBL history:

This is a limited edition cassette in a run of about 40 I compiled and handed out at a special TBL gathering at the Camden Record Fair staged at the Electric Ballroom venue on Saturday January 8 1994 to celebrate Jimmy Page’s 50th Birthday …all of 26 years ago … it’s been a lifetime but a second…

Update here:

Another week of ups and downs – I’m still having trouble facing the world again. I did venture into town on Monday but felt very anxious and it did not go well. That self esteem I took for granted has taken quite a knock with everything that has gone on in the past few weeks. I am hoping it will return but it’s an ongoing problem at the moment. Every venture out seems a test that I have to face up to.

The good lady Janet is getting around on her walker frame and crutches. With no weight bearing allowed on her broken right leg, that can be quite an effort but she is doing really well with her mobility – limited though it is.

Overall, in the past few days it’s been the now familiar mix of hopes and fears, emotions running high, tearful moments – some happy when things seem clearer and stronger, some sad when they don’t – all combined with efforts between us to normalise the situation here as much as we can. Thanks again for all your support and kindness. Much love Dave and Janet.

Winterlude Playlist:

Some more wintery record selections providing comfort for the cold days and long nights here:

Frank Sinatra – A Man Alone

The Who – Who’s Next

When The Day Is Done – The Orchestrations of Robert Kirby

David Crosby – If I Could Only Remember My Name…

Phil Collins – Face Value

Marianne Faithfull – Rich Kids Blues

Until next time …

Have a great weekend

Dave Lewis  – January 16,2020 

Website updates written and compiled by Dave Lewis

with thanks to Gary Foy, Mike Tremaglio 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

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5 Comments »

  • Allen said:

    As to Page’s damaged finger, I recall at the time reading in one of the UK music papers that the injury took place departing or boarding a train at London’s Paddington Station

  • Chris Serratella said:

    I point my psychic violin bow at you and send you the power and strength of a billion suns. The chosen spokesman for the TBL faithful should have a spring in his step and a swagger in his demeanour. LA drone…thump, thump, thump…Immigrant Song Viking wail….feel it? The rabble can’t compete.

  • Jodeo said:

    Praying for your recovery, friend.

    Thank you for the mention of Neil Peart. The tributes have been streaming steadily over the past week.

    Neil frequently cited John Bonham and Keith Moon as two of his key influences. It might be nice for readers to point to any particular Rush tracks they feel reflect a bit of “Bonzo” – whether in style or attitude – for reflection.

    A few that come to mind for me are
    * Peaceable Kingdom (Vapor Trails)
    * Headlong Flight (Clockwork Angels)
    * Jacob’s Ladder (Permanent Waves)
    * The Anarchist (Clockwork Angels)
    * Spindrift (Snakes & Arrows)

    An amazing percussionist – quite humble about himself and proud of the craft – and insightful lyricist.

    Hoping all will view the delightful documentary, “Beyond the Lighted Stage.” Peart also narrates the audiobook, “Clockwork Angels” – the novelization of Rush’s final studio record – and does so quite well.

    Thanks, Dave!
    Be well!

  • Dave Lewis (author) said:

    Bruce many thanks for your kind words…

  • Bruce said:

    Dave, you have many readers and supporters sending positive thoughts/prayers and energy your way. You will get through this difficult period!

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