Les Zeppelin / LA, USA 1973 SBD/AUD Matrix Edition

Led Zeppelin’s 1973 US tour was blessed with a PA-out soundboard recording in May. The first and most representative of these was the classic “DEFINITIVE MOBILE 1973,” but the New Orleans recording from the following day has long been popular as a soundboard from this period. Above all, it was recorded for a longer period of time than the previous day’s mobile, and it can be counted as one of the standard soundboards in that you can enjoy almost the entire live performance. In addition, in the 21st century, audience recordings from the same day were also unearthed. Thanks to this, it was a groundbreaking discovery that revealed parts that could not be captured on the soundboard. However, since most of the live performance could be heard on the soundboard, it was only released on EV’s “BOURBON STREET RENEGADES,” which was the first recording of the live performance, and is now mainly used as a soundboard supplement. It certainly boasted high quality as an audience recording from the 1973 tour, but it is undeniable that it still lacked impact. Thus, up until now, the New Orleans 73 has been mainly recorded with “SBD main with Aud patch” for the longest time, and many items have been produced. The release of the items for New Orleans 73 has settled down, but last year a version recorded from the Aud master suddenly appeared. Despite this, the reason it did not become a topic of conversation was due to the existence of a soundboard. The show on this day was recorded from the audience by Louisiana Taper’s “Freezer”. If his masterpiece is the 1975 Baton Rouge performance of the Rolling Stones and ZEP, enthusiasts should know. No wonder he boasted such easy-to-listen-to quality among the 1973 tour audience. Combining the best version of Aud on this day with the familiar best version of SBD…everyone would think of it up to this point. However, this time, a maniac calling himself “RMCH” has created a matrix of these two types of sound sources with an even more groundbreaking approach. The area where this innovative approach has been a great success is between songs. As enthusiasts know, the PA out sound board inevitably dilutes the sense of realism of the live performance. The dilemma of the sound source was that it became clear between songs, but this version solved it by matrixing the audience recording of the same day. In addition, there was a skirmish between the audience and security in the first half of the live performance that day, and the matrix this time conveyed the sense of realism that could not be conveyed by the sound board, while the performance was very clear and enjoyable, which is the best part. Also, as the past releases proved, the appearance of the “Freezer” sound source made it possible to hear the opening part of “Rock And Roll” that was not recorded on the sound board, but the editing is smoother than the past items. It switches so smoothly that there is almost no sense of incongruity when transitioning to the sound board. Furthermore, the finish with a sense of realism that was not thought of in past items is simply wonderful. Not only the intervals between songs mentioned earlier, but also the quiet intro of “Over the Hills and Far Away” maintains the realism unique to the matrix, and the live-like feel is incomparable to past items. On the contrary, it even captures the state of the audience after the live performance. Especially on this day, the incandescent performance of “Heartbreaker” was amazing, and it conveyed it with more power than the bland PA out. After all, a live record should be like this. And while the sound board itself was sold out, “NEW ORLEANS 1973” used the nostalgic “Winston Remasters” version, this time the latest transfer from the master provides a more natural listening experience. In this way, this new dimension of New Orleans 73, based on the best versions of both SBD and Aud, has successfully eliminated the blandness peculiar to PA out. ZEP’s standard PA sound board, which was easy to hear but could not do anything about the low realism of the live performance, has been beautifully reborn! Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, LA, USA 14th May 1973 Disc:1 (61:24) 1. Intro 2. Rock and Roll 3. Celebration Day 4. Black Dog 5. Over the Hills and Far Away 6. Misty Mountain Hop 7. Since I’ve Been Loving You 8. No Quarter 9. The Song Remains the Same 10. The Rain Song Disc:2 (40:51) 1. and Confused 2. Stairway To Heaven Disc:3 (47:36) 1. Moby Dick 2. Heartbreaker 3. Whole Lotta Love 4. Communication Breakdown STEREO SOUNDBOARD RECORDING