Led Zeppelin/Belgium 1980

Speaking of ZEP’s 1980 tour from our shop, “BERLIN 1980: THE LAST CONCERT” is probably the most recent. Not only was it the last day of the 1980 European tour, but it ended up being Led Zeppelin’s last live concert. While it has such historical weight, it is difficult to say that it is a representative performance of the tour. Of course, the hyper performance of the last song “Whole Lotta Love” was enough to make you think “ZEP was amazing after all,” but it is true that the vitality that was present in the first half of the tour had completely disappeared. When we first released the final day of Berlin, the finish without the equalization of the sound board part was highly praised by enthusiasts, and the result was better than expected. The 1980 tour sound board of this era was released too much at once through bootlegs, and in fact, I think the performance content was not properly evaluated. Rather, it seems that the withered ZEP live sound was too exposed by the sound board recording, and it was simply dismissed as a “final performance”. Or maybe they were intoxicated by the impact of the soundboard recording and forgot to grasp the whole picture of the performance. It is true that ZEP may no longer have the dazzling sound or the free expansion of improvisation that they had up until 1977. However, it was Knebworth and the 1980 tour that they felt the changes of the 1980s and began to change course to a compact and tight sound. It should have been possible to deepen it even further. So this time, two titles from the June leg of the 1980 tour, which conveys the enthusiasm and spirit that ZEP was originally aiming for, are released at once, starting with Brussels on June 20th. ZEP in June is full of the joy of regenerating the group and the joy of being able to start touring again, and every day is full of lively vitality. Among them, Brussels is worthy of being called the “early tour masterpiece”. It will make you listen to it all at once with a lively performance. On this day, our shop previously released an audience recording titled “RAID OVER BRUSSELS”, but this time it is a soundboard recording. The original was the familiar Winston Remasters. The soundboard and audience recordings each used a first-generation copy of the low-generation sound source, and the show was completely recorded. The soundboard recording belongs to the second generation release in the series of 1980 tour sound sources. The nostalgic Condor CD appeared in two parts, “PLATINUM” and “STRAITJACKET”. I remember that they were not very popular performances when they were released, but with all the live sound sources of ZEP available, the vitality of the first half of the 1980 tour has begun to be reconsidered. The first of these is Brussels. The opening “Train Kept A Rollin'” (which is probably proof that they were trying to go back to their roots) is originally an up-tempo performance, but from there to “Black Dog”, the source of clear momentum and vitality is conveyed. ZEP is there, full of motivation. After the initial period of the tour, ZEP is going to set the world ablaze again… The good thing about the soundboard recording is that you can feel that kind of spirit. In addition, from the fact that he is unusually talkative in the “Page’s Greetings” corner that appears before the start of “Black Dog”, you can feel that ZEP is clearly “on board” that day. Yes, it seems that Page’s good performance on this day was a big factor in Brussels being a great performance on the 1980 tour. Maybe he sweated less than usual (lol), but Page’s play shines, playing through the roughness unique to 1980 with momentum. Plant’s voice was not in good condition in the first half of the show that day, and perhaps he felt the desire to cover it. The intro to “Hot Dog”, which was a nightly hurdle for Page, was so smooth that it made me want to call it the best of the 1980 tour. Although it is not as good as Copenhagen, you can see that Page is getting through it with momentum. This song is a prime example, but the big difference between Knebworth and the 1980 tour is that the album “IN THROUGH THE OUTDOOR” was released and became a big hit. That’s why when “All My Love” starts, the venue gets more excited than ever. It is the privilege of active bands to be able to excite the venue with songs from the latest album. From the performance of the band united in this song, to “Trampled Underfoot” and “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, Page’s brilliance in the old songs. He plays well in both, doesn’t he? I can’t help but think that if he could maintain this level even after the 1980 tour entered July… Anyway, Page is on a roll, so in “Achilles Last Stand”, he finally gets too excited and makes a mistake in the composition of the song, but the other three members continue to play without any shaking, so it’s reliable. Although Paige started “White Summer”, he was worried that the audience was not quiet, so he asked “Wait a minute, can you be quiet?” This is because he was playing well that day. Thus, Winston Remasters created the best version of Brussels, a masterpiece from Europe in 1980, without a doubt. The ending of “The Rain Song” and the gap between the encore, which were missing in the soundboard recording, were precisely adjusted with the audience recording on the same day. This kind of editing itself is not new, but it is very good that both sound sources are in a state without equalization. Page and the rest of ZEP, who are full of motivation, are sealed in the best condition that they showed in Brussels. If you want to listen to the 1980 tour, start from here! Live at Vorst Nationaal, Brussels, Belgium 20th June 1980 Disc 1 (73:44) 1. Intro 2. Train Kept a Rollin’ 3. Nobody’s Fault But Mine 4. Black Dog 5. In The Evening 6. Rain Song 7. Hot Dog 8. All My Love 9. Trampled Underfoot 10. Since I’ve Been Loving You 11. Achilles Last Stand Disc 2 ( 50:28) 1. MC 2. White Summer / Black Mountainside 3. Kashmir 4. Stairway to Heaven