How The West Was Won (Remastered CD)

“How the West Was Won” by El Zeppelino was released by Atlantic Records May 2003 but these performances from the 1972 tour were preserved for us all by devoted bootleggers – we thank them- with beaucoup transmodulation of the two shows by Jimmy hisself years later when he borrowed the tapes. We’re talking Pro-Rodeo, defined. And these cowboys got a extraspecial reception whenever they played the Inglewood Forum LA to millions all the way till ’77, last ever shows in the US. And that’s what we’re talkingbout here, a Mack Rawhide Mid-Rise 18 wheeler live on the blacktop in ‘72 entirely at the Forum (mostly) and Long Beach on June 25/27 spliced up as one entire set. We’re talking munitions. We’re talking weaponry, bombardment, artillery, warfare. Storm Trooper Assault. We’re talking military grade rock musik built to combat specifications, high tensile and compressive strengths, hardness, and loudness of Thor. Tactical Military Academy Of Musik, lessons 1 thru 100. Mayhem begins with the LA Drone, and suddenly its Immigrant Song: time rewinds, we’re back in some kinda mezolithic slaughterhouse scenario. We’re talking the best ever signature hammer-motif since “Ride of The Valyrie” 2000 years previous. It’s immediately plain , Jimmy, JPJ and Lil Drummer Boy Demento Diablo go super nova, so yu just gotta wait for the guitar solo to find out that Jimmy’s on fire tonight, nails it, no fingers stuck in strings ce soir, he rips a solo of electrocuting voltage and penetration so now we know fersure, the whole band in a frenzy, primers in the C4. What was it with Jimmy that made him a panchromatic silver surfer astronaut guitarist of the entire universe? Just note this though: at Madison Square Gardens on February 12th 1975 during “Over The Hills And Far Away” Jimmy went and played a top 5 greatest ever electrik guitar solo in all of human history, like that was Jimmy’s destiny, to do that thing that night in NYC. Check it someplace. Anyway, back at the LA Forum, El Zeppolino kick up a wild cherokee mustang storm, tornado style, and reach the limits of human endurance. It’s a highspeed 43 vehicle expressway pile-up in powerchords, whiplash deluxe & non-stop axonal damage. Jimmy plays in Mode 9 throughout on a 25 stringed Dali guitar that bends time and scientists do say it proves the theory of relativity twice, 3 times if you count quickly and he executes six consecutive quark-hadron transitions, Fender style. Which can be represented mathematically as: G -> H -> ... -> SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) -> SU(3) x U(1). Lil Johnny Demento hammers reee-lentlessly in devil-child kamikaze triplet grenades, mambo percussion juju-jojimbo, a neutron pulse pile-driver rhythm machine like 6 drummers with barracuda bass locked in tight. And Lancelot still had most of his screeching powers intact in 1972 so he sounds like one entire choir of screechers. Then you git “Dazed and Confused” – brief by later standards at a mere 25 minutes- and what can you say? – beaucoup boyz n girls tried to write theyselves a Dazed n Confused but nobody ever came close, this is perfected and extended rock music rodeo, mission statement, definitive. And it just goes on and on continuitously till they used up the entire Greater Los Angeles electricity supply 16 hours later. Blackout. Whole deal is a show of force, power, extreme prejudice. Once, in “Rock n Roll” Johnny Demento Diablo hits his drums so hard, you’d swear he’s cracked the space-time continuum permanent. Makes you sit bolt upright. We’re talking Solid Gold, Magna Cum Laudae - 1 of the 5 top supreme live Pro-Rodeo performances of all time. No simulations, no props, no CGI, no net, total commitment to the cause and they done it for real. Nobody else ever came close. Check it right now.

I have had a CD version of the original mastering for some years but was very tempted by the vinyl when this new mastering was announced as a box set. Vinyl is my preferred source, played on a Rega RP10. The 4 discs are nicely presented in individual album covers, all housed in an attractive and sturdy cardboard presentation box. Each disc comes in a good quality, poly-lined inner sleeve, thus avoiding unnecessary dust contamination. After routine cleaning on a wet, vacuum record cleaning machine, all discs play with low surface noise and are free of channel noise, or other defects. While live albums rarely if ever have the sheer dynamics and controlled quality of a good studio recording, some make up for it with their relish, energy and the authenticity of a band just playing together. I think this is a great live album and it really conveys the atmosphere of a big Led Zep concert very well indeed, at a time when they were hugely famous but still full of enthusiasm. You can feel the energy as the band dives straight into "Immigrant Song" as the first track. On a good 2 channel system the imaging is excellent and each element and performer can be "seen" clearly in the soundstage in width and depth. The remaster does seem to have enhanced the sound to my ears, though the effect can be subtle. There is greater clarity of each musical element with extremes of bass and treble being more explicit and a good, natural balance to the different elements. All tracks are worthy of inclusion, although IMHO the extended version of "Dazed and Confused" is rather indulgent and too long, whereas the similarly long "Moby Dick" is actually a highlight for me, showcasing Bonham's drumming brilliantly. It is also part of the album that sounds fantastic, with a clear sound picture of the drum kit and explicit detail. The album also shows what a great blues/rock vocalist Robert Plant is. This is a great addition to the studio albums for any Led Zep fan.

This 2003 release of archive material from two big arena concerts in California in 1972 contains probably the best available material of Zeppelin playing to a live audience in their heyday. The compilation was put together by Jimmy Page from material he discovered "...while searching through the archives for visual and audio material for the Led Zeppelin DVD". The gigs were at the LA Forum on 25th June & Long Beach Arena on 27th June, so several months before the `Houses of the Holy' album was released in March 1973 (though a few numbers from that release are performed here) and prior to any of the material for `Physical Graffiti' being composed or recorded. You get 3 separate CDs. The first disk is the real star of the show, with `Immigrant Song', `Heartbreaker', `Black Dog', `Over the Hills & Far Away' & `Since I've been loving You' (definite highpoint especially from a highly expressive Plant with beautiful lyrical phrasing) moving into the familiar 1970s Zeppelin acoustic set, which is truly sublime: `Stairway' is followed by `Goin' to California', `That's the Way' & `Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp' with phenomenal acoustic playing from Page's open-tuned 12-string & Jones on mandolin. It's here above all that the high quality of the recordings & mix shines, with perfect balance of sound doing justice to the exemplary playing & Plant in top form giving astounding vocal expression to these great numbers. Only on disk 2 do some of the notorious 1970s excesses of self-indulgence make their presence felt, with `What is & what should never be' & `Dancing Days' sandwiched between a 25-minute `Dazed & Confused' medley & Bonzo's overlong `Moby Dick', surely of interest only to rock drummers (but it gave the rest of the band a welcome break in mid-concert). Things pick up nicely again on disk 3, with the 23-minute `Whole Lotta Love' medley, a storming `Rock & Roll', new track `The Ocean' & 9-minute `Bring it on Home' as the closer. This really is the definitive live Zeppelin album. If you're of a later generation and don't understand why your parents' generation speak of Zeppelin with such reverence, then put Disk 1 into a big sound system, crank up the volume & listen. You'll start to get it, and might wish you'd been of an age to see & hear this great band live during the definitive & never-to-be-repeated golden era for rock music.

A cracking live 3CD set of classic tracks recorded live in the US on 25 June at the LA Forum and on 27 June at Long Beach Arena. It includes the tracks- Immigrant Song, Black Dog, Dazed and Confused, That's the way, Bron Yr Aur Stomp, Moby Dick, Bring it on home, Whole lotta love and much more. A great live album from the UK rock legends.

This box set with this lovely 4 heavy weight LP's is amazing. The sound is spectacular. The only problem is the LP 4 has a little problem on both sides at the beginning of the tracks. The needle/arm shakes sideways and you have to put some weight on to keep on track otherwise it jumps as if it was scratched. At first I thought if was faulty but my second copy has the same issue. I guess the whole lot will be like that. If wasn't for that issue it deserves 5 stars no doubt. It is one of the best live albums of all times.

This cd is a revelation. It captures the power and thunderousness of zeppelin at their absolute zenith. Fantastic. The recordings come from 2 1972 los angeles concerts, long beach and LA forum. This is definitive live zeppelin, and remastering is also very good. They sound so damn good live! They are as epic as in studio, but with a wilder edge. I think many of these tracks actually sound as good or even better than the studio versions. Highlights include immigrant song, black dog, thats the way, what is and what should never be, dancing days, moby dick, (Bonham is amazing) the whole lotta love medley, the ocean and bring it on home, (I might just have mentioned most of them) which I think are just as good as the studio versions, if not better! Way better than song remains the same, this is the best live zeppelin offer to be had.

A very significant part of rock history. Raw, rough and ready, with warts and all. The powerhouse that is Led Zeppelin. I don't play this very often but when I do I am instantly reminded of why I bought it, why I love Zeppelin and why it makes me grab my Les Paul.

Great range of tracks with different versions. Ie live not studio