Jimmy Page says previously unheard Led Zeppelin music will be released for band's 50th anniversary

Trouble with the mythical Pontiac and Houston videos, they'd be exactly like Seattle- lots of closeups of Robert and Jimmy, a bit of Bonham and a hint of JPJ ("No Quarter" excepted). Might as well watch the Seattle video with the Houston soundboard playing in the background...I agree that Houston is as mediocre a performance as Seattle is. Next night in Fort Worth was better

 

I'm really kind of surprised at all the love for the live Zep of the 75 to 77 era. There were some good performances and occasionally some great performances. But these tours were endurance tests, IMO, and probably not the kind of thing I'd listen to often if officially released. I've been listening to the 2nd Seattle gig of 1975 in bits and pieces recently-the one with "Since I've Been Loving You". I have to ask myself, would I really want a 27 minute No Quarter featuring a pointless piano solo/jam that takes up most of the song? A nearly 30 minute Moby Dick! And a 45 minute Dazed and Confused! I just think this kind of stuff doesn't translate very well today, but maybe that's just me. I'd rather hear a few more songs from PG than to have three songs stretched out to 90 minutes+ when they had already been jammed to death on previous tours, but with much more focus, IMO. I guess Robert Plant liked his beer/smoke/pee breaks in those days! But yes, give me anything from 69-72 any day.

 

All may not be lost in that situation.
The same thing happened to one of the Zappa Halloween shows from 1977.
The bass drum track was missing but there was a barely audible signal on the multi track which they were able to use as a trigger with a sample of a bass drum hit from one of the other shows.
Not a perfect solution, but it worked great.

A fix like that would've been impossible before the advent of digital workstations, but now it's a different story.

 

I would personally love a DVD/Blu-ray release compiled from the Earl's Court shows.
There's enough material from the filmed shows to make one really good full concert film.

Same with Knebworth. It could, and should be done.

As great as the 2003 DVD was, it was a real missed opportunity not to release full sets for those 2 events.

 

As much as I love the 1977 tour -not so big a fan of '75- I still can't argue with anything you say. Some of those 1975 shows are pure tedium IMO -sure, it would have been awesome on the night, but trying to listen at home 43 years later...as I've said before, the early gigs of the '75 tour, when they still played "The Wanton Song" and "How Many More Times" in place of "Dazed" were better, before the self indulgence really set in. My biggest problem with the '77 shows is the pacing; for example putting Bonham's drum solo and Page's "guitar noise" solo back to back sorta kills the momentum.

The Seattle '77 "soundboard" isn't really a soundboard recording- simply the ripped audio from the pro shot video. I prefer the audience recording to be honest.

 

Pretty much this as well for me, I like the rawer less indulgent zeppelin which is why Zep1 is still my fav album

 

I like the live era of this period due to the additions of Graffiti and Presence tracks and the acoustic sets they were doing.

 

Well he does have a family life too outside of all that, give the guy a break ...

Just out of interest, what's the opinion from fellow SHMF'ers about the Earl's Court shows... meh, good, great, classic, etc? Are they worth the time, money, and effort for a potential 3-CD/4-LP live set...?

I love 'em... there's something about those shows that's very, very special... yeah, they played (and sang) better on other shows on other tours, but very few of them were multi-tracked, the EC stint was and just has something... I don't know... almost mystical about it; an indefinable, elemental, alchemical quality that's hard to put a finger on... if you want power, majesty, and the hammer of the gods then those five glorious nights at the Court are as good a bet as any... it would be a real waste to just leave those multi-tracks in the archives mostly unheard.

And for what it's worth, Bonzo himself thought they were some of the best shows they had ever played to that point...

 

To be fair to Percy, the long breaks in 77 and reintroduction of the acoustic set were to allow him to have a break to rest his knackered leg. Even then for the first few shows he literally had to be carried off stage at the end.

 

To be frank even the best quality EC videos are tedious. The camera's are focussed on medium shots and close ups (which is perfectly legitimate because the purpose of the video feed was to give the people at the back of EC Arena something watch on the Eidophor screen. Knebworth is another story; the multi camera set up was to provide visuals for the giant screen and to capture the shows for possible home video release. So that explains the more dynamic camera work.

 

Plant admitted in a post show interview that he was still in a fair bit of pain when they hit the stage in Dallas. The longest time Robert needed to be on his feet during a '77 show was the first fourty minutes or so, up till when Jones starts doing his thing during "No Quarter".

 

They became a different band. I admire their 69, 70, 71, 72 and 73 gusto. But some of their best songs had yet to come. And to leave the EC multi's in the vault would be criminal.
Just listen to the oomph of Bonzo's kick drum on the In My Time of Dying rendition on DVD
An Earl's Court compilation would make me very happy.

 

I think the Earls Court concerts are a good representation of the final period of live work from the 1970's (1975/1977/1979). The concerts are not perfect, but there are enough high quality performances to justify an audio set (the Earls Court segment from the "DVD" is fantastic). The shows were cleaner and more consistent than 1977 and 1979. As I previously posted, I think a 3CD set in the style of "HTWWW," properly edited and engineered, would be a compelling set.

 

The EC gigs are to 1975 what the Madison Square Garden run was to '73. Last shows of the year, and not the best, but still good (grading on a curve for all post-'73 Zeppelin shows).

And, it being 1975, the medleys were gone, so no worries about royalties for other artists to tie up/impede things.

But man, how I wish they'd done the California '73 shows professionally, or just the ones at The Forum. The June 3 gig is a monster, and the audience tape is tragically screwed.

 

I am sure that Jimmy knows that 98% of what's in the vaults will be vetoed by Plant, so he doesn't bother.

Why go to all the work to get these live sets into shape for release when Plant will say no?

 

The lack of any pro-shot 1977 footage on the DVD was a travesty. Thankfully we got what we got on the MTV Rocumentary. There is a quick shot of Bonzo's foot on the drum pedal from Seattle on the DVD. I haven't watched it in years but clearly remember seeing that quick 2 seconds of footage and nothing more.

 

Jeeze, did LZ ever sound good live? I'm not familiar with much of their live recordings, so I'm in the dark there, but reading this thread it sounds like they were subpar live very often?

Maybe there's something in the can that isn't live, but an unused studio session or demos of some kind that have never been released and just might be?

 

They were arguably the greatest live band in the World from late '68 until 1973 so yes, they did sound pretty good live. A lot.

 

I agree, but then there are few recordings from their peak era, or recordings that Jimmy and Robert can't agree on for release? I'm just getting at, whats the hold up for more live stuff...

 

For only around 250+ shows over a five year period. So, you know, never really......

 

Right. I was being facetious. If there are so many shows where they sound great, shouldn't it be relatively easy to release one or a compilation for the 50th? I'm just saying what's the hold up, and yes there have been lots of comments on this thread about the band sounding poor on stage, which is just not something I've encountered before, being only a casual fan.

 

Page generally will only release a multitrack, they recorded very few shows on multitrack equipment that we know of.

As for the hold up, you would need to ask the people involved.

 

Plant allegedly vetoed a couple of prospective live projects during the 1980's and early 1990's, but it does not appear he has vetoed anything in recent years. Early this year he referred to unreleased live material coming out, with various other things coming out over the next ten years. Who knows why this year's planned archival released was delayed, but Plant gave his consent.

 

Regarding the issue of band vetoes, I recall reading a Mick Wall blog back either in 2003 or 2007 around the time of the releases in those years and it detailed just how difficult it was to get all three surviving members to agree on anything regarding releases (IIRC it was the packaging and liner notes for the 2003 DVD but I may be wrong).

Folks often point to Plant, and of course there's some merit to that, but John Paul Jones may not be someone who simply nods along and agrees to whatever the others want. The Bonham estate is another factor. They also have a veto. Plus for all that we assume Jimmy is the LZ cheerleader eager to release stuff, he may be a roadblock to some stuff as well. Look at what seems to have happened with what some of us fans called "the Js" after the O2 when Plant went off with Alison and Jimmy, John and Jason tried to form a new band with a different vocalist. It initially seemed as if it died because the media incorrectly called it "Led Zeppelin trying to carry on with a new singer", but interviews later on with both JP and JPJ seemed to point to Jones and Bonham Jr being keen to forge ahead with a new vocalist but Jimmy refusing to commit to vocalists holding out hope that Plant would change his mind. So JPJ gave up and did the Them Crooked Vultures thing. Jason did his projects with Black Country Communion and then the Led Zeppelin tribute thing. So Jimmy may be blocking some stuff. He was rumored to have said no to a LZ reunion for (IIRC) a Hurricane Sandy relief concert that Plant alleged agreed to do. Plus Plant claimed in an Australian interview that we should "blame the Capricorns" for there being no LZ reunion after the O2. Or that may be just another typical Plantism not based in fact.

Or maybe Jimmy is just too busy with his upcoming solo album. ;-)

Anyway, other than those who may have connections inside the various camps, we can only speculate as to what really happened/will happen. Personally, I think there'll be some releases in some form, possibly only streaming, but it's conceivable that nothing much will happen until 2019.

 

Yes. The idea that Robert is always blocking LZ releases is a myth some fans with certain preconceptions love to indulge in.

Look at what's already been given the go-ahead, like over eight hours of video and audio in 2003 on the same day. Self-anointed uberfans who have heard everything will always contend that bootlegs are always better, and official releases are always disappointing. Same goes for any of the big-ticket classic acts.