Description
When you hear the title “LIVE ON BLUEBERRY HILL”, that hot performance immediately comes to mind, as the famous catchphrase “One hundred and six minutes and fifty three seconds of pure alive rock” says. September 4, 1970. A masterpiece and a masterpiece that I don’t know how many times I’ve heard it. It is engraved in history as the most famous title in Zeppelin history, consisting of the trinity of title, artwork, and content. If you have only one Zeppelin item in your house, it is probably “Blueberry Hill” or “Destroyer”. After all, there is an entry on Wikipedia, so it can be said that it is a title that is widely known not only among collectors but also among the general public. This “LIVE ON BLUEBERRY HILL” is a title that is recorded individually from each of the five existing sources. [US tour in the summer of 1970] Zeppelin in 1970 was performing on stage with a hard schedule that is unimaginable now. Originally, Zeppelin’s fame was supported by their all-out staging, and there is no doubt that their reputation grew through word of mouth from fans who actually attended their shows. Looking closely at the schedule for this year, they toured the UK in January, Europe from February to March, and the US from March to April. Moreover, since this tour had been continuing since October 1969, you can see how busy it was. After six shows in June and July, they went on their second US tour of the year, starting with the summer tour in August. The tour was originally scheduled to start in Cincinnati on August 5, 1970, but the first week was postponed due to John Paul Jones’ father’s illness, and the first day was in New Haven on August 15. They toured all over the US for about a month, performing a total of 25 shows. This tour featured many legendary shows in front of enthusiastic audiences, and “LIVE ON BLUEBERRY HILL” is one of the shows that adds color to that legend. Since that year, September 4th has become a memorable day for us Zeppelin fans. In terms of the schedule, it was a little past the halfway point, and great performances and great recordings were left behind in Oakland the day before and in San Diego the day before that. Like the two weeks when Kihachi Enomoto reached the “divine realm,” it was a miraculous period for Zeppelin, where the mind, technique, and body were truly fulfilled. [Tapers operating in the shadows near Los Angeles] “Blueberry Hill” is considered one of the earliest bootlegs. The first recording of this performance was made by enthusiastic enthusiasts K and D. The recording by these two was released on the label BLIMP, and the good sound quality of the recording made it a hot topic. The Rolling Stones’ “LIVER THAN YOU’LL EVER BE,” which is also famous for its high sound quality, was also recorded by the same person using the same equipment, according to the man himself. Although it was initially released on the BLIMP label, it was later reissued under the name TMOQ, a new label founded by K and D. Since the early days of audience recording, the Los Angeles area has been known for producing many excellent recordings, including that of Mike Millard. As proof of this, performances in the Los Angeles area, regardless of the artist, have always been blessed with high-quality audience recordings, whether it be Wings, Floyd, or the Stones. In particular, it has been discovered that there are multiple different sound sources of the same performance on the Blimp/TMOQ label, and five sources have been excavated. There are examples of more sources in Japan, but the fact that there are so many sources for approximately one performance is surprising. This is probably the result of various favorable conditions coinciding with the tapers’ recording with the aim of commercialization from the beginning, the fact that they ran multiple tapes for insurance, and the nature of Los Angeles, where many tapers are active. There is no way to know if there was any exchange between these tapers, but I imagine that they would have had some exchange as rivals and would have competed with each other to improve their skills. [Five Sources] As mentioned above, five sources have been confirmed for the September 4, 1970 Los Angeles performance. This work records them by source. Source 1 is recorded on discs 1 and 2. This is the source used in BLIMP/TMOQ. The high-pitched parts seem to be a little rough, but it is indeed released at the time and became popular, and the sound quality is so high that it is understandable that some people were in a hurry to mistake it for an official release. In particular, the rumble of the bass is well recorded, so you can fully feel that unique sense of groove. If you examine this source 1 closely, you will notice that two sources that seem to have been recorded almost side by side are mixed. Perhaps this is because they were recording with the assumption that they would release it on their own label, so they were running two recorders in the same seat to avoid trouble. After all, Zeppelin’s concerts were kept under the watchful eye of a tough-looking manager named Peter Grant, a beast tamer, and it is said that at the Bus Fest he smashed the recorder that was recording the concert with an axe. It is strange why he had an axe at the concert, but it seems that he was taking insurance to ensure that something like that would happen. For convenience, this work is labeled SOURCE 1a and 1b. Discs 3 and 4 are source 2. It is mono, powerful, and the sound is close, and it is also a high-quality recording that is difficult to choose between. The high range is also calm and very easy to listen to, and it is comparable to the TMOQ source. Empress Valley label and Last Stand Disc label have previously released the TMOQ source and this source 2 as a 4-disc set, and it is true that both are hard to throw away, and enthusiasts should own both of these two. Discs 5 and 6 contain source 3. The greatest feature of this source is the spread and depth of the sound. The three-dimensional sound image was not present in the previous two sources, and although it is a relatively light sound, it is also excellent sound quality. Discs 7 and 8 were excavated in the 1990s. Although it is high quality, the sound image is somewhat distant. If the first appearance performance was excavated with this sound quality, the public would probably be surprised, but since the other sources are so high quality, it is undeniable that the evaluation is a step down relatively. In the three songs “Keep Loving You”, “Strong Two Loves”, and “Communication Breakdown” that have already been released, there were parts where the volume level went up and down in the middle, but in this work, each is adjusted flat and processed so that it does not feel strange. And the last disc 9 is recorded as source 5 from the analog record of the RUBBER DUBBER label. Unfortunately, this source does not seem to remain on tape, and all the previously released discs are recorded from analog records. However, this work carefully removes the needle sound, and it is recorded in a clean state that you will not notice that it is based on an analog record at first listen. [Artwork] One of the major features that characterizes “LIVE ON BLUEBERRY HILL” is its excellent artwork. It can be said that “LIVE ON BLUEBERRY HILL” was the first time that bootlegs were elevated from bland vinyl to a “work of art” including a jacket. This artwork was also created by the two members of TMOQ. The painting of nude women lined up on the front is based on the painting “Portrait of Gabrielle d’Estrées and her Sister, Duchess of Biard” (artist unknown) by the Fontainebleau School at the end of the 16th century. The jacket was completed by applying various collages based on this masterpiece. Because it is such an impressive and excellent design, it is a design that has been followed by many titles even in the CD era. The front of the slipcase for this work is the original monotone, and inside the slip is a colored version. There are countless titles for albums with the same name as “DESTROYER,” but I think many people would say that “LIVE ON BLUEBERRY HILL” only fits with this jacket. [Setlist] Looking back at Zeppelin from a historical perspective, 1970 was the early period, and unlike later years when setlists were standardized for the sake of production and other reasons, it can be said that the stage had a lot of freedom. “Blueberry Hill,” from which the title of this performance is derived, is one of them. It is a cover of Fats Domino’s song that was played as an encore, and it can be confirmed from the recording that it was played at the Oakland performance two days before as well as at this performance. Such oldies are probably Plant’s hobby. “Out On The Tiles,” which is also played as an encore, is also a very rare selection. Since 1973, only the intro has been played as a prelude to “Black Dog,” but the only recording of the entire song being played is from this performance. Although it is a song included in “LED ZEPPELIN III”, it had not yet been released at this point, and in fact, it was recorded during this tour. Other songs such as the opening “Immigrant Song”, “That’s The Way”, “Keep Loving You”, and “Bron-Yr-Aur” were also unreleased songs for the audience, and they must have heard them for the first time at this time. Of course, playing such unreleased songs before their release is intended to promote the new album, but in addition, since this is the second US tour in a short period of time, they probably wanted to add freshness to the set list. The opening song “We’re Gonna Groove” from the previous tour was changed to “Immigrant Song”, and the pattern of connecting it to “Heartbreaker” in a medley became fixed for a long time after this. At the Bus Festival at the end of June, “Immigrant Song” was still incomplete and prototype, so it was almost completed in just a few dozen days. The different medleys inserted into “Whole Lotta Love” one after another every night at Zeppelin’s live shows are a selling point of the show. On this day, the songs played were Boogie Chillun, Movin’ On, Red House, Some Other Guy, Think It Over, Honey Bee, and The Lemon Song, in that order. All of the songs were arranged in hard style, a selection that perfectly reflects Plant’s tastes. “Some Other Guy” is famous for being performed by The Beatles at the Cavern Club for Granada Television in 1962, but whereas The Beatles performed it as rock and roll, Zeppelin here performed it as a hard rock song, and the result was a perfection that completely surpassed The Beatles’. A medley was also inserted into the following track, “Communication Breakdown.” First up is “Good Times Bad Times,” the very first track on the debut album. It’s not just a touch-and-feel like many medleys, but is performed properly at a length that could have been credited as a single song. This song was never performed live on its own during Zeppelin’s active days, but on this second album, “Good Times Bad Times” is played on the first track.Many people will remember that it was chosen as the opening number for the 2007 reunion. After “For What It’s Worth,” they even played the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There.” Although the title of the song alone is surprising, it’s more of a follow-up to the lyrics, so if you’re expecting that kind of energetic performance, you’ll be disappointed. However, the way they break down the song with their own interpretation is also the best part of a cover. [LIVE ON BLUEBERRY HILL] The Zeppelin collector’s market has matured quite a bit, and has evolved to a degree that is no longer comparable to what it was 10 years ago. However, in the midst of all of this, “LIVE ON BLUEBERRY HILL,” released in the 1970s, still shines brilliantly. A great performance, a passionate audience, and high-quality recording, this is a great performance and a great sound source that has all three elements. This work contains five sources, each of which has its own merits, so you can understand that it is not necessarily the case that one is better than the other. And the difference in sound quality characteristics cannot be filled by editing. It is no exaggeration to say that if you are a maniac, you must own all the sources. This work is a 9-disc set that meets that expectation, covering all the existing Blueberry Hill sound sources. Since all of them are recorded with high sound quality that is difficult to choose, it is a set that seems to convey even the passion of the taper at that time. THE FORUM INGLEWOOD LOS ANGELES CA USA September 4, 1970 AUDIO SOURCE 1a + 1b DISC ONE 01. Introduction 02. Immigrant Song 03. Heartbreaker 04. Dazed And Confused 05. Bring It On Home 06. That’s The Way 07. Bron-YR-Aur 08. Since I’ve Been Loving You 09. Organ Thank Solo 10. You DISC TWO 01. What Is And What Should Never Be 02. Moby Dick 03. Whole Lotta Love 04. Communication Breakdown 05. Out On The Tiles 06. Blueberry Hill AUDIO SOURCE 2 DISC THREE 01. Introduction 02. Immigrant Song 03. Heartbreaker 04. Dazed And Confused 05. Bring It On Home 06. That’s The Way 07. Bron-YR-Aur 08. Since I’ve Been Loving You 09. Organ Solo 10. Thank You DISC FOUR 01. What Is And What Should Never Be 02. Moby Dick 03. Whole Lotta Love 04. Communication Breakdown 05. Out On The Tiles 06. Blueberry Hill
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