Description
Starting with the announcement “Your Mother Wouldn’t Like It!”, the memorable scene of Earl’s Court on May 24, 1975, by Led Zeppelin. In the first place, the first item released at Earl’s Court by ZEP was the very first, so the impression of May 24 is very strong. For many ZEP enthusiasts, this day is what comes to mind when they think of Earl’s Court. Page wore a black dragon suit, and at the end of the live performance, the words “LED ZEPPELIN” were raised in large letters, creating an atmosphere unique to Earl’s Court. It was only after the 21st century that we were able to enjoy this, and the live footage from the 24th, which had been known to exist for a long time, is now well known, and the full picture of Earl’s Court, which had only been seen in photos until then, has become completely clear. Looking back, the impact when the audio from that footage appeared as a soundboard recording of Earl’s Court was really big. Starting with the nostalgic Condor CD, soundboard recordings of the 24th show have become the norm ever since. Furthermore, with the advent of video, the quality of the soundboard recording on the 24th has improved dramatically in the 21st century. It is already the highest quality video soundboard of 1975, and it is no exaggeration to say so. The freshness was also wonderful. As if it was lured by it, the sound source and video of the 25th were excavated and the video was upgraded at once to the present. Earl’s Court 24th was originally the standard for ZEP live in 1975, but the soundboard recording has become an unshakable standard among enthusiasts around the world. Since it is originally a mono video soundboard, it does not reach the level of the official “LED ZEPPELIN DVD”. However, even in the same 1975 ZEP live, the Earl’s Court show in May, which had a completely different atmosphere from the US tour from January to March, and the charm of being able to enjoy the whole picture of the stage with such sound quality is too great. Rather, it seems that the staging that lets you listen to ZEP’s performance carefully and the monaural sound that boasts its splendid clarity match perfectly. As mentioned at the time of the release of “MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 1st NIGHT” that we just released, the American tour was long, and there were many turbulent elements, such as the tour being carried out despite the poor health of Plant and Page. The result was probably reflected in the tactics of improvisation that were full of ups and downs and the uneven performance in a good sense. Overall, the performance of the American tour can be said to be the result of an escalation of improvisation with many gimmicks and flashy developments, but in that respect, ZEP at Earl’s Court is surprisingly slow to play. The most notable is Bonzo, who plays drums with many gimmicks throughout the show, but the point is that it does not develop into a so-called “runaway” development. In other words, the tension is never low, and while there are gimmicks and fun elements here and there, it doesn’t develop in a way that could disrupt the ensemble like in LA. Listening to this on a soundboard recording with outstanding clarity feels really good. At the end of the US tour, “Dazed And Confused,” which had escalated to 40 minutes, was kept within the category of 30 minutes, and the appeal of the latter half of the Earl’s Court show was that the 1975-like groove-oriented improvisation was played out with a refreshing feeling. Unlike the US tour, which is unavoidable to a greater or lesser extent due to travel, problems and temptations outside the stage (drugs, etc.), the small schedule in their home country of England, where they could devote themselves to the stage, transformed ZEP’s performance so much in just two months. It has been more than ten years since the best quality monaural soundboard recording of the video sound capturing the stage on the 24th appeared. In terms of sound quality, this is a sound source that seems to have reached its peak, but as for this day, the missing acoustic parts, mainly “Going To California”, and the problem of the deterioration of sound quality in the middle of “Stairway To Heaven” have not yet been resolved. In particular, it seems likely that “Going To California” was not recorded when the video tape was changed. After all, it is not easy to completely record a long Earl’s Court show. Moreover, there was no thought of releasing a complete live video of this day. On the other hand, Bonzo’s drumming is so sharp, and the change in sound quality of “Stairway To ~”, where Page’s guitar solo shines as if he is supported by him, is a pity. There was a typical example of a refreshing performance unique to Earl’s Court. Even in this release, those shortcomings remain the same, and the adjustment is the same as the past items (“Going To California” is an audience recording), so in that respect it may be unsatisfactory. However, this release includes a version remastered by overseas fans. The flatness felt due to the original monaural video sound has been eliminated to a moderate extent, and the noise that is only possible with video sound has been thoroughly removed, polishing the original clear sound quality. Of course, it is a sound source with a different flavor from the pure upper version, so it is undeniable that enthusiasts will feel unsatisfied. However, it has evolved to a state that can be confidently recommended to all fans in that it is a version that makes the classic soundboard recording of Earl’s Court 24th, which is on par with Destroyer and 929, even easier to listen to. It is not an unpleasant equalization, but a sound quality that is naturally bright and spread. You can especially feel the quality of this finish when playing it from a speaker. Live at Earl’s Court Arena, London, UK 24th May 1975 SBD
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