TBL Led Zep 1975 Snapshot: With the 40th anniversary of Led Zeppelin’s activities in 1975 upon us -I will be celebrating this era with a series of TBL Led Zep 1975 Snapshots – these will take the form of postings covering specific gigs and events from the era, with particular spotlight on the period January to May 1975. They will run periodically on the TBL Facebook pages and on the TBL website. This is designed to track the progress of the year as it unfolded. I will also be listening to the relevant bootleg of the chosen gig on the day to add a perspective of how it sounds 40 years on. 1975 was of course a pivotal year for Led Zeppelin with the US tour, the release of Physical Graffiti and the run of Earls Court shows. This was followed by Robert Plants accident and the enforced decision to record the album that would become Presence in Munich in the fall of the year. In celebration of this 40th anniversary, TBL will be constantly revisiting this landmark period in the coming weeks with the aim to enhance your enjoyment manifold – these celebrations will of course include the forthcoming release of the reissue of Physical Graffiti. So without further ado… TBL LED ZEP 1975 SNAPSHOT - NUMBER ONE: 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 BBC2s 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 performance son the US tour. With Page dealing with a recently damaged finger, 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 not announced in the UK press – in fact I did not know they 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: Its 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 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 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 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 weakened 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 12th, 2015.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 20:23:07 +0000
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