Description
Speaking of June 25th, the day of the consecutive performances at the LA Forum, which was the culmination of the ZEP 1977 tour, the only choice was the mirrored recording (or rather, there was only one type of sound source), and that alone was enough to satisfy me. In such a situation, JEMS released the mirrored master, and the immediately released “L.A. FORUM 1977 4TH NIGHT: MIKE MILLARD MASTER TAPES” was sold out, and now it is a familiar day to enthusiasts due to “CELEBRATORY NIGHT FOR BADGEHOLDING”. After all, the mirrored recording was so wonderful that there were no particular voices calling for the appearance of new sound sources. However, after the JEMS team finished sorting out the mirrored masters, they will start full-scale excavation of Barry Goldstein’s recordings, which have been released little by little for a long time, from 2025, and the first one to be selected was his recording of June 25th at the LA Forum. Goldstein, who is also a friend of Millard, is impressed by the outstanding quality of his recordings, and at that time he did not distribute his own recordings at all among traders. Therefore, this is a very valuable excavation that will be released completely for the first time. Just the fact that it was a separate recording on June 25th at the LA Forum was enough to make a big impact on ZEP enthusiasts around the world, but what’s even more surprising is the sound quality. Goldstein’s recording is mono, while the Millard recording was attractive for its rich stereo spread. Furthermore, since the recording started after the start of the opening “The Song Remains The Same” and the sound image was fuzzy until around “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”, he humbly handed over the way of the June 25th sound source world to Millard. That’s it. Once you open the lid, the sound image becomes closer after “In My Time Of Dying” and it becomes easier to hear at once. On the contrary, the ruggedness unique to mono, which is a little different from the Millard recording, is a masterpiece. Thanks to this, you can enjoy the surprise of Plant singing Little Richard’s “Rip It Up” ad-lib at the end of “In My Time Of Dying”, which is the best scene in the first half of the live performance that day, with more power. Originally, the 1977 LA Forum was unusual in terms of the excitement in the venue every day, and that could be seen from the surroundings of the stereo mirrored recording, but the excitement in the Goldstein recording was unexpectedly calm and easy to hear. What is even more noteworthy is that the sound image sounds closer than in the mirrored recording, such as in the acoustic corners where the sound from the venue is weaker. The familiar “dadgad” further brought out the hidden potential of such newly excavated recordings. In the first place, the sense of Goldstein recording and the “dadgad” remastering seems to be compatible, as proven by the masterpiece “L.A. FORUM 1977 2ND NIGHT: BARRY GOLDSTEIN MASTER TAPES”, which was a historic excavation on the second day of the LA Forum, which had not been blessed with sound sources until then. This time, too, it has evolved into a state where it can be listened to without falling into the dark and flat sound quality that is common in mono recordings. Even so, it is full of fresh surprises that allow you to once again recognize the greatness of the performance on this day. Thanks to the closer sound image, Plant’s passionate singing in “Going To California” and the heaviness that explodes in “Trampled Underfoot” are more pronounced than in the mirrored recording. The sharp mode centered on Bonzo at the beginning of the LA Forum has calmed down, and the evolution of the strength of the heavy performance that is typical of 1977 is easy to understand because it is mono. On the other hand, the scene where Bonzo becomes the explosive backing at the very end of “Stairway To Heaven” is full of the LA Forum style of 1977, and the highlight is the long-awaited “Communication Breakdown” that seems to have been done without any preparation. Even so, Jimmy transitions to the “It’s Your Thing” riff as in the past live version, and Bonzo also finishes off the song brilliantly. When this happens, the songs will be ingrained in your body even if you haven’t played them for a while. For this release, the missing parts, including the beginning of the live performance, are of course patched with mirrored recordings to include each song without omission. At the same time, the editing also clearly teaches the charm of the mono Goldstein recording, which is different from the mirrored recording. Thus, the newly discovered Goldstein Master, who became an unexpected ambush, taught us another look at the LA Forum on June 25th. Once again, I was amazed by the ZEP’s incandescent performance on this day! The Forum, Inglewood, California, USA 25th June 1977 PERFECT SOUND Disc 1 (74:40) 1. Intro ★All Millard supplements 2. The Song Remains The Same ★0:00 – 2:04 Millard supplements 3. Sick Again 4. Nobody’s Fault But Mine 5. In My Time Of Dying 6. Since I’ve Been Loving You 7. No Quarter ★5:46 – 6:04 Millard supplement Disc 2 (63:44) 1. MC 2. Ten Years Gone 3. The Battle Of Evermore 4. Going To California ★5:00 – 5:25 Millard supplement 5. Black Country Woman 6. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp 7. White Summer / Black Mountain Side 8. Kashmir 9. Trampled Underfoot Disc 3 (74:31) 1.MC 2. Over The Top ★6:29 – 8:04 Millard compensation 3. Guitar Solo 4. Achilles Last Stand ★9:40 – 9:53 Millard compensation 5. Stairway To Heaven ★The tape change at 12:34 has already been cut, so it remains as it is 6. Whole Lotta Love 7. Communication Breakdown
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