Led Zeppelin/AL,USA 1977

Zeppelin’s 1977 US tour was historically the last American tour. It was the last time that American fans who had supported the band for a long time saw Zeppelin perform. The tour was divided into three parts, the first leg from the end of February to mid-March, the second leg from April 1st to mid-June, and the third leg from July 17th to August 13th in Philadelphia. The third leg was cut short after only 10 shows. Originally, there were more shows scheduled, but they were interrupted due to the unexpected death of Plant’s son. Still, it was a massive tour with a total of 44 shows. It seems that Peter Grant’s will had a big influence on the decision to go on such a tour. Grant is said to have planned such a long tour because he thought it was necessary to make Zeppelin known as the biggest band of the 70s amid the various praises and criticisms. From the beginning of the tour, Plant complained of throat inflammation, and the schedule was changed, and as mentioned above, it ended with a cancellation due to the death of Plant’s son, so it was a turbulent tour, but this tour was the first to feature songs from the masterpiece “Presence” on stage, the set list was significantly changed from previous ones, and it has been engraved in history as a tour that produced many great performances. After this, Zeppelin performed four shows in 1979 and a short European tour in 1980, but it is hard to say that they were shining as they once were, and this 1977 US tour may have been the last heroic figure that made them Zeppelin. The most representative sound source of this tour is “DESTROYER” from Cleveland on April 27, 1977. The sound quality recorded on the soundboard has long reigned as a classic. There are many high quality audience recordings from consecutive performances in Los Angeles such as “LISTEN TO THIS EDDIE” on June 21, 1977, “FOR BADGEHOLDERS ONLY” on June 23, “SUNSET BOULVARD” on June 25, and “FULL IMPERIAL COLLAPSE” on June 27, as well as consecutive performances at Madison Square Garden. I think that this performance in Birmingham, Alabama on May 18, 1977 will also be one of those masterpieces. This Birmingham performance, located in the middle of the second leg, has been confirmed to have two types of audience sources. However, it cannot be said that it is blessed with existing titles, and except for privately made ones, there are only one title each of Source 1 and Source 2 from a few years ago on the press board. The reason for this is that Source 1 was a somewhat distant sound with strong hiss noise, and Source 2 also had poor sound quality, so it seems that it was avoided until then. However, this work surpasses the previously released version by using a low-generation tape for Source 1 and supplementing it with Source 2 as the main source. [About sound quality] Regarding Source 1, the previously released version was significantly out of date, and there was a hiss noise associated with dubbing throughout, and the biggest drawback was that the mid-range was extremely emphasized, a product of the era when equalization was popular about 10 years ago. It is difficult to describe the sound in words, but it was unpleasant, like a direct hit to the brain stem, and it was something that could not be heard with headphones, let alone with speakers. Of course, that was considered acceptable in those days, but in the current trend of finding value in naturalness, it cannot be denied that it feels anachronistic. This work uses a tape of unknown generation, but it is clearly young, and the sound is easy on the ears without excessively strengthening the mid-range. It is finished in a sound that is as it should be. Another thing worth mentioning is that there is almost no hiss noise due to the young generation. The vocals have a sense of a hall overall, and although they are not close, there are no noisy audiences, and it is clear that the recording is very clean. I hope that this work will change the evaluation of this Birmingham performance. In addition, it cannot be denied that Source 2, which is used for complementation, is inferior in sound quality to Source 1. This has been adjusted to remove the hiss caused by the master and to make the sound image as close as possible to Source 1, but please forgive us as it is only a complement source. However, there are many parts that are only included in Source 2, and the content is important. [About the contents] First of all, the host’s greeting in the intro and the buzz before the start of the performance are recorded from Source 2. Source 1 is a fairly excellent sound source with very few cuts and is properly recorded up to the last “Rock and Roll”, but there are still several defects. First of all, the ending part of “IN MY TIME OF DYING”, where a verse of “YOU SHOOK ME” is sung, is missing for about 10 seconds. Although it is only about 10 seconds, 10 seconds of musical elements should feel quite long when actually listening. In this work, this part is complemented with Source 2 to make it a complete recording. “NO QUARTER” fades out almost at the end of the already released version, but this is also complemented with Source 2 and the ending is completely recorded. In detail, the MC by Plant after “GOING TO CALIFORNIA” and the missing intro of the following “BLACK COUNTRY WOMAN” are also missing in Source 1, and Source 2 is used. And although it may not be very important for ordinary fans, there is a gap of about 30 seconds in the middle of “MOBY DICK”, and although it may not be a very important point, the guitar solo before Achilles has a gap of more than 1 minute in Source 1, which is also complemented to be completely recorded in Source 2. And the biggest difficulty is that “Achilles Last Stand”. There is a large gap of about 25 seconds in the middle of Source 1. This is also complemented with Source 2, and it is the first time that it is completely recorded. Other details, not musical parts, include the audience applause that connects “Stairway to Heaven” and “Rock and Roll” and Plant’s MC after the concert. [This work “CRIMSON TIDE”] This is a performance in Birmingham, Alabama on May 18, 1977. Two existing sources are used. Source 1 uses a younger generation source than the conventional one, and it is complemented by Source 2, making this concert the first complete recording. JEFFERSON MEMORIAL COLISEUM, BIRMINGHAM ALABAMA U.S.A. May 18, 1977 DISC ONE 01. Introduction 02. The Song Remains The Same 03. Sick Again 04. Nobody’s Fault But Mine 05. In My Time Of Dying 06. Since I’ve Been Loving You 07. No Quarter DISC TWO 01. Ten Years Gone 02. Battle Of Everymore 03. Going To California 04. Black Country Woman 05. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp 06. White Summer – Black Mountain Side 07. Kashmir 08. Moby Dick DISC THREE 01. Guitar Solo 02. Achilles Last Stand 03. Stairway To Heaven 04. Rock And Roll