Led Zeppelin/TN,USA 1970

In recent years, the values ​​of how ZEP live recordings are treated have changed. It was a welcome situation that the treble-emphasizing equalization, which could be called the equalization war about 15 years ago, has subsided, but on the other hand, the idea that if everything is natural, it is not good, is also not true. For example, if it is a top-notch audience recording such as the recordings recorded by Mike Millard, it is better to have natural sound. However, there are many audience recordings in the 1970s that do not reach that level. Most of these recordings have a noticeable hiss noise, or the recording condition has a narrow range, so there is room for improvement. The top audience recording that captures such a ZEP live performance is the 1970 Memphis performance. The best performance can be heard, but on the other hand, the sound quality is… Although it is at a level that can be heard well, everyone thinks, “If only the sound was a little better.” Rather than being analog-chic, the expression “old-fashioned” is the perfect fit. Thanks to this, the fact that no items have been released in recent years despite the great performances speaks volumes about the position of the Memphis performance. It’s listenable, but the sound is not that great. Perhaps because of this, the Memphis performance was not a popular subject among ZEP sound source remastering enthusiasts, but Liliondendron has done it again. It seems that the purpose of his remastering based on the 2nd Gen. sound source for the Memphis performance was to reduce the “narrow range and muffled texture” and “grand hiss noise”. By increasing the clarity of the “old-sounding sound” mentioned earlier, it has changed to a state with much better visibility. And the hiss noise, which had become a major stress on listening, has also been brilliantly reduced. Originally, it was a sound source that was better played from speakers than listened to with headphones, but Memphis, which had the impression of being a high-threshold sound source apart from the performance content, has become much easier to listen to. And yet there is no sense of excessive equalization. Even an unexpected happening occurred, and the super-passionate performance of Memphis became so easy to listen to. And speaking of Memphis in 1970, it was praised in the classic book “LIVE FILE” as “the greatest performance of the spring American tour”. In the spring of 1970 in America, which originally had a strong impression of being for enthusiasts, the fierceness of Plant’s scream on this day was something to behold. Plant was in top form from the opening “We’re Gonna Groove”, which is unique to this time of year. The fun of “Heartbreaker”, which starts with a spacey intro using echo, is also unique to this time of year. And above all, “Since I’ve Been Loving You” is a loose and intense song by Plant, which is different from Copenhagen, which will be released at the same time, and it’s the best! In addition, the sound of Page’s guitar can be heard with a very on-balance, which is also attractive. And above all, “How Many More Times” at the end of the live performance is amazing. Page poured all of his favorite phrases from that period, such as Jeff Beck Group’s “Rice Pudding” and Ravel’s “Bolero”. The performance lasted nearly 30 minutes, but when Plant started singing “Memphis Tennessee” by the late Chuck Berry, which is a local song, the venue heated up, the venue was illuminated, and the audience stood up in a big fuss. Before this chaos, the manager Peter Grant was held at gunpoint by the promoter in the wings of the stage. Plant saw this and pleaded with the audience to sit down, but at first the audience did not take it seriously, mistaking it for a performance or something and got very excited. In such a situation, they somehow managed to resume the performance, and this time they started singing Elvis’s “That’s Alright” because of the Memphis connection, so the situation did not improve at all. After the second interruption, the audience finally grasped the seriousness of the situation, and the situation finally started to converge. Even so, Plant’s screams remain intense, and due to the excitement and time over, the show was forced to end with “Whole Lotta Love”. The sense of realism in the second half of the live performance, where the word “touch and go” fits perfectly, is also conveyed firmly. For this release, even the subtle pitch deviations that occurred in “Thank You” and “Whole Lotta Love” have been carefully adjusted. This is the definitive version of the turbulent performance that clearly shows the awesomeness of ZEP in 1970! Live at Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, TN. USA 17th April 1970 Disc 1 (58:07) 1. Taper’s Comments 2. Intro. 3. We’re Gonna Groove 4. Dazed and Confused 5. Heartbreaker 6. Bring It On Home7. White Summer / Black Mountain Side 8. Since I’ve Been Loving You Disc 2 (76:21) 1. Organ Thank Solo 2. You 3. What Is and What Should Never Be 4. Moby Dick 5. How Many More Times 6. Whole Lotta Love 7. Taper’s Comments