Led Zeppelin/WA,USA 1968 Upgrade

ZEP’s oldest live recording is from Gonzaga University in 1868. Unlike famous venues such as the LA Forum and Hampton, Gonzaga is not known for live recordings by other artists, so it is well known that Gonzaga is the oldest live recording of ZEP. This precious recording was unearthed on the LP “ALPHA&OMEGA” released by TMOQ, and surprised enthusiasts around the world as a 1968 audience recording that had been rumored to exist but had not been confirmed to exist. Before that, there was a title like “FIRST CONCERT AS THE NEW YARDBIRDS AT THE MARQUEE 16-10-1968” that sounded like a New Yardbirds gig, but in fact there was a dud that was just a mix of 1969 BBC and Winterland. Although rumors have been flying around for a long time, Gonzaga is ultimately the only live recording of ZEP in 1968 to this day. With so many years having passed, it must be said that the possibility of a new 1968 live recording of ZEP is extremely slim. Because in 1968 they were just a fledgling band, and Page’s title as “former Yardbirds” barely aroused people’s interest. Moreover, it was before the release of their first album. Nevertheless, ZEP has been actively performing live shows since the beginning to build a foundation for their activities, and in late December they already undertook their first US tour. From their experience with the Yardbirds at the end of their careers, the only way to succeed in America was to tour around the country… Under such a strategy of Peter Grant, ZEP’s first visit to America was realized without waiting for the release of their first album. It is surprising that they went to America under such circumstances, but even more surprising is the schedule that they had to spend the New Year in America. The last gig of their first US tour in 1968 was at Gonzaga University on the 30th. In other words, it was really lucky that the 1968 stage was recorded at the last minute. If it had been a few more days, there would have been no live recordings from 1968, and the oldest recording would have been Whisky A Go-Go in early 1969. However, the Gonzaga audience recordings initially had a poor reputation. This was due to the strong distortion of the sound in the opening song “The Train Kept A Rollin'”. Because of this, there was a time when Gonzaga was branded as “valuable but bad sound”. But what about the fact that it is much easier to listen to from “I Can’t Quit You Baby”, which has a more inflected performance? In the end, it was like a rumor spread by someone who hadn’t really listened. Rather, it is surprising that a fledgling band that had not even released their first album in 1968 could capture the sound quality of their opening performances for star bands Vanilla Fudge and Spirit, which were then star bands. After all, the sound image is surprisingly on-balanced, and in fact, it is easy to hear, so in recent years it has been given a fair evaluation that goes beyond the value of the sound source. At the beginning of the recording, Plant’s voice was somewhat overwhelmed by the performance, but this was resolved as the performance progressed. And above all, it is the voice of a young Plant in 1968, and the way his tireless screams reverberate endlessly is a masterpiece. The entire performance is all small-scale in a good way, and the basic appearance of the songs that begin to evolve on a weekly basis as soon as the year is over sounds fresh, which is a major attraction of Gonzaga. It is noteworthy that they have already featured the live cover “As Long As I Have You”, which is representative of early ZEP, at this point. Compared to the Fillmore concert a few weeks later, the overall length is shorter and the development is still more basic, but it switches to the “Fresh Garbage” riff by Spirit, who was touring with them, and then Plant hums the phrase of Miles Davis & Milt Jackson’s “Bag’s Groove” at high speed (much faster than the original song), which is already complete. The development, which seems to be a jumble of melodies from various genres, is more like art rock than hard rock, and it shows that the taste of the Yardbirds’ late period still exudes. Similarly, even “How Many More Times,” which will escalate from now on and include various songs, is in a very plain state at this point, and it is also refreshing to hear the performance that is almost in line with the album version. It is likely that they played “Communication Breakdown” after Bonzo’s drum solo “Pat’s Delight” and handed the stage over to the next band, Spirit, but unfortunately the recording ended in the middle of Bonzo’s solo. Still, I can only feel grateful that the opening stage for a fledgling band that is not sure if it will ever break out was attended by such a large audience with such good sound quality and length. Gonzaga has produced many items so far, as it is positioned as the oldest live sound source, but for the past ten years or so, EV’s “LIFETIME GUARANTEE” has been considered the best. However, for this limited press CD release, the latest version transferred from the master by KRW_CO, who is well known in the rare sound source world, was used. It was recorded in a more natural state than any title released so far. In particular, the texture of the sound is completely different from “LIFETIME GUARANTEE”, and you will be reminded that the original recording was a vintage recording that absorbed the air of the era of 1968. However, the equalization of “LIFETIME~” is still quite good even to the ears of today, ten years after its release, and beginners may prefer it. Moreover, this time, no equalization was added, respecting the recording from the master. Therefore, I did not try to repair the drop in sound that occurs around 2:52 in “I Can’t Quit You Baby”, but this part was alleviated in “LIFETIME~”. However, the Gonzaga items up to now have been uniformly low pitched, and the same was true for “LIFETIME~”. There is no denying that this initially gave a bad impression of Gonzaga. After all, ZEP’s oldest live sound source, the pitch even goes up and down within the song, but for the first time in this release, we have made as much adjustment as possible. Not only does it have an unprecedented natural taste, but it also allows listening in a normal state like never before, which is a major point. For the reasons mentioned above, Gonzaga was a famous sound source for enthusiasts, and not only is it a long-awaited release, but it is finally an item that will renew the best! Live at Gonzaga University, Kennedy Pavilion, Spokane, WA. USA 30th December 1968 (55:44) 01. Train Kept a Rollin’ 02. I Can’t Quit You Baby 03. As Long As I Have You (incl. Fresh Garbage, Shake, Mockingbird) 04. Dazed and Confused 05. White Summer / Black Mountain Side 06. How Many More Times (incl. The Hunter) 07. Pat’s Delight