The French TV version of "Dazed" was released (in audio only) on "Cumular Limit" in 2000. Audio versions of all 3 French TV tracks were included on the "Glimpses" boxed set in 2011. It looks like this is the first time that the entire performance has been released on video. The BBC tracks are the same recordings that have been around forever, but the alternate version of "Think About It" is pretty rare (it was first released in 2011).
if you do not know where the Dark Net is located, you should hereby take two steps to the right, paint your teeth & go to sleep . . .
If there was gonna be a LED ZEPPELIN '68 archival release this year, would the word be out by now ? Is it still a possibility for this year ?
Zep's PR on their pre-50th releases from this year (How the West Was Won reissue; Record Store Day single) has said the 50th anniversary starts in September. Assuming that means a release date, then we should probably get an announcement about two months before that, in July. Just speculation, though.
I haven't been following music that closely, so I just became aware that a Jimmy Page authorized Anderson Theater album had been released, and I immediately ordered it. Like so many of you, I was floored by the quality. I had thought that the group was played a tape with the audience dub very shortly after the show and that the raw tapes did not exist and the audience dub could not be taken out. I also thought that the general muddy sound was attributable to the purportedly dated equipment used and thus could probably not be improved upon. I'm sure some minor miracles were worked with modern technology, but it now appears that the problem beyond the audience dub was just a hasty slip shod engineering job as much as crude taping. I'm particularly amazed that we even got an acceptable drum sound versus the snare only. All of this raises some interesting questions. Why didn't Epic just go back to the original tapes and remaster them without the crowd noise in 1968 or 1971 when the group/Jimmy balked? I suppose in 1971, Jimmy wasn't going to consent to anything with pre-Zep Dazed and Confused, especially with Jake Holmes lyrics. Why did Jimmy finally relent now if he got these tapes back in 1977 through legal action? Euro copyright? Listening to the cleaned up version, it would have been pretty successful in a 1968 environment in which live Cream and Big Brother and the Holding Company were big sellers. It would have been a gold record in 1971, and now it's a limited indy thing for aficiandos. Here's an interesting story for all of you. I walked into a record store in 1977 and was shocked to see about 10 copies each of Anderson Theater (yellow Epic), Over Under Sideways Down and Little Games in the remainder bin for $2.99. I bought one of each, and considered buying the whole stock knowing they were long out of print, but I was afraid they'd been reissued or something. I went to a few more stores and none had them, so I figured they were a great find. I went back to the first store the next morning, but they were all gone. Finally, a quick note about the Anderson Theater. Greg's great book says it was a 500 seat venue. Actually, it was about 1,700. I can't figure out how to paste in this posting a seating chart for the Anderson from my Cue Seating Guide to New York Theaters from the mid 1970s (I counted the seats). Also, I lived nearby and walked by the building all the time. The outside dimensions and height of the fire escape from the balcony were consistent with a quite sizable venue. Acts that played the Anderson also typically played at the Village Theater/Fillmore. The show had decent sized adds in the NY Times Sunday Arts & Leisure section for several weeks, which you wouldn't see for a really small show.
My copy of Russo's book is in storage so I didn't remember him writing that the Anderson seated 500. I did read an interview with the guys who ran the theater and they said it seated 1750, which correlates with your figure. Interesting trivia: Paul Stanley of KISS claims that particular Yardies show at Anderson was the first concert he ever attended.
That record store was Jimmy's Music World, who got all of the copies of the CSP reissue LP (not yellow Epic) through some shady mob-related deal. I bought a copy, it was not a boot, and they were off the shelves again the very next day.
Yah, I also picked up a legit copy of Anderson when it first appeared. And got rid of it after one spin.
The copy I got was at a small independent record store in Huntington, NY and was definitely a 1971 yellow label Epic pressing, not the 1976 CSP reissue (I actually just sold it on ebay a couple of weeks ago). The Over Under Sideways Down was a 1966 Capital Canadian pressing (still have it). I have no idea how those and the 1967 Little Games found their way into that record store. The 500 seat figure was in an earlier post, which also took it from Greg's book.
July 7 : it was 50 years ago today ? .... that the 60s Yardbirds played their final gig at Luton Tech College .... the end of an era .... Several weeks later Jimmy Page was well on his way toward getting his next band together ...
If I could make one change in music history: convince Yardies to take six month sabbatical and then enter studio with Page producing
Lots of weird date-related coincidences in Yardbirds/Zepworld. Peter Grant died in 1995, on the exact same date of the press release announcing the split in 1980.
I love those kind of historical what ifs. Maybe in that reality Plant would have recently retired as an accountant and pub singer, while Bonzo might have gone on tour with Joe Cocker.
Finally listened to this release. Very dissapointed with lacklustre perfomance. Band sounds so tired, Keith is barely singing. In fact he sounds half asleep. No spark from him at all. Keith already sounds tired and disinterested in Beat Beat Beat & Swedish Radio broadcasts from March - April 1967. This in fact might be best ever live recording i heard from The Yardbirds. Just compare it to 1968 perfomance: I think all time best Yardbirds live recordings is in fact off-air BBC recordings with Beck that was released on Glimpses box set (CD 2 & 3)
For me, it was well worth the 30 year wait. Relf sounds fantastic both vocally and on harp. Dreja plays like a scalded dog, Page's perfect foil. Jimmy's tone is amazing and he's on fire.
