Following the surprising upgrade of “BONZO’S BIRTHDAY PARTY: BARRY GOLDSTEIN MASTER CASSETTES,” the classic first leg of ZEP’s 1973 US tour, this June 2nd performance at Kezer Stadium was another standout. While the previous Bonzo’s Birthday and the final leg of this week’s Kezer concerts featured many refreshingly refreshing performances, this Kezer performance, centered around Bonzo, delivers a truly refreshing performance from start to finish. The reason this performance has become so popular is due in large part to the existence of high-quality stereo audience recordings. The first release was the LP “PERSISTANCE,” wrapped in a distinctively American-inspired, quirky jacket. Countless CD releases have followed, beginning with the vermilion-sleeved “THE VIBES ARE REAL” released by Scorpio under the name Continental Sounds. The Continental Sounds version was released in 1992, during the early days of CDs, further demonstrating the quality of this Audi CD. Since then, sound quality has been further improved with now-nostalgic releases like “WHO’S NEXT” and “TAKKA TAKKA.” In the 21st century, even soundboards have been unearthed. The 2018 release of “KEZAR STADIUM 1973” is a culmination of Kezar Stadium, which has solidified its position as a legendary recording source from the United States in 1973. While this title has long since sold out, its careful compilation of the best versions from the masters on both the Audi and SBD versions has earned it high praise among enthusiasts, and it remains a beloved and enduringly popular definitive Kezar CD. However, the 2018 release was not perfect, with the biggest issue being the left-side shift in the Audi CD due to phase misalignment, which was left uncorrected. Kezar’s music consistently had a high pitch. Using Jimmy as the reference point for adjusting it would have been difficult due to his unstable guitar tuning that day. Therefore, this time, I reworked it using Jonesy’s keyboards, such as “Misty Mountain Hop,” as the reference point. Also, the missing sections of the SBD, “Whole Lotta Love” and the MC parts of the final two songs of the live show, were filled in with Audio, resulting in an extremely smooth finish that sounds natural at first listen. This SBD, which only includes the final part of the live show, was preserved as part of the “Bonzo Board,” supposedly recorded by Bonzo to test his own playing. It now sounds more complete than ever. Since June 1st, the day after Bonzo’s birthday, was a Friday, Jimmy and Robert likely had a night off and partying all night. They were two hours late arriving for Kezar’s Saturday afternoon performance. This is likely the reason why Jimmy’s tuning was even weaker than usual, a fact that becomes clear from the intro of “Stairway To Heaven.” Fortunately, his playing really took off around “Over The Hills And Far Away,” and from then on, he delivered a series of lively phrases typical of the first leg. Aside from Jimmy, everyone else was in top form from the opening, and Bonzo’s lively playing in particular seemed to define the performance. The way he captured his bass drum was also a great feature of the Audi CD on this day. This new, definitive release thoroughly corrects the previously neglected left-leaning balance and pitch inaccuracies that hadn’t been fully corrected. Furthermore, the 2018 release, which maximized the sound quality of both the Audi CD and the SBD CD from the master, has been further refined and improved from a modern perspective. No matter how many times I listen to it, this performance is truly amazing. Remaster Notes: Phase correction has been made to the previous release. Bonus features from the previous release have been added to the SBD source with Audi CD. Live at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California, USA 2nd June 1973 ULTIMATE SOUND / SBD UPGRADE!!! Disc 1 (62:14) 01. Introduction 02. Rock And Roll 03. Celebration Day 04. Black Dog 05. Over The Hills And Far Away 06. Misty Mountain Hop 07. Since I’ve Been Loving You 08. No Quarter ★6:27 cut 09. The Song Remains the Same 10. The Rain Song Disc 2 (78:08) 01. MC 02. Dazed And Confused ★20:42 cut 03. Stairway To Heaven 04. Moby Dick ★1:28 cut 05. Heartbreaker 06. Whole Lotta Love 07. Communication Breakdown 08. The Ocean Disc 3 (62:43) SOUNDBOARD RECORDING 01. MC 02. Moby Dick 03. Heartbreaker 04. Whole Lotta Love ★0:31-0:40 Audio supplement / 12:38-12:52 (after performance) Audio supplement 05. Communication Breakdown ★4:03-4:20 (after performance) Audio supplement 06. The Ocean ★5:06-5:26 (after performance) Audio supplement / 5:46 Cut section cross