Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes "Live at the Greek" 2000***

It's been more than 20 years since this album came out, and I remember feeling conflicted about whether I should buy it. On the one hand I hoped that it would be great: Like every other red-blooded rock fan, I love Led Zeppelin, which of course also means Page's guitar playing. Since Zeppelin disbanded, his releases have been few and far between, but he rarely revisited their classics on record. I enjoyed the couple of albums he made with Robert Plant, but they were both too different to their old band. Plant had taken his distance from hard rock, and as a consequence Page's playing was also too restrained. Even when they did play Zeppelin classics together, it was with a new twist: more acoustic, and with different arrangements. Then they went their separate ways anyway, and hopes for a Zeppelin reunion were quashed once more. So Page's return alongside a younger hard rock group was a good omen: he'd surely now be able to cut loose on the guitar. On the other hand, there were doubts: For starters, would the old man be able to stand the comparison to his virile young self? Nowadays that seems a little laughable: Page was still only 55; twenty years later, his contemporaries (Clapton, Richards, Jeff Beck) still play their old hits without fear of disgracing their legacies. Secondly, and more importantly, could anyone other than Robert Plant sing these songs and do them justice? Live at the Greek was recorded during a two-night gig at the Greek Theater in L.A. Page and the band have incredible chemistry and are obviously enjoying themselves. They don't replicate Zeppelin's majesty and mystique, but display playfulness and easy affinity with the material. The arrangements do not deviate much from the originals, but there's room for stretching out, including some nice piano and harmonica solos that bring the songs closer to Southern Rock territory. Chris Robinson sings his ass off, successfully emulating Plant's style even though his voice is quite different - when he was singing "You Shook Me" he didn't remind me of the Led Zeppelin version, but the one by the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart on vocals. Ditto during the cover of The Yardbirds' "Shape Of Things To Come". The song choices seem a bit random at first: it's not "the best of Led Zeppelin" - hell, there isn't a single track from their most popular album (Led Zeppelin IV, Four Symbols, or however you want to call it - they never named it). But, by including a few B-list numbers, they do more to remind us how great Zeppelin were than if they played the familiar hits like "Stairway To Heaven" and "Black Dog". There are a couple of crowd pleasers from II ("Heartbreaker", "Whole Lotta Love"), as well as blues workouts ("In My Time Of Dying", "The Lemon Song", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "You Shook Me"), folkier tunes ("What Is And What Should Never Be", "Ten Years Gone", "Your Time Is Gonna Come"), and the atypically poppy B-side "Hey Hey What Can I Do".  Above all, there's a heathy dose of hard rock ("Celebration Day", "Custard Pie", "Sick Again", "Out On The Tiles"). But, competent as the Zeppelin covers are, the singer and band sound more natural and relaxed during the blues covers ("Woke Up This Morning", "Sloppy Drunk", "Mellow Down Easy", "Shake Your Money Maker") and Fleetwood Mac's ""Oh Well". Everyone's being themselves instead of trying to sound like Led Zeppelin. I know that everybody was there to hear Page perform classic Zeppelin (I would, too), but these blues covers are the highlight of the record for me. I wish he dipped into that well more often, rather than offer mediocre original compositions like he did in the rare occasions he did resurface after the group disbanded. Incidentally, a few Black Crowes songs were performed during the L.A. shows, but they have never surfaced due to contractual reasons. After the success of these concerts, Page and The Crowes decided to take the show on the road, only to have the tour cut in half when Page packed it up and left. Health problems were cited as the reason, although according to others it was (guitarist) Rich Robinson's fault for insulting Page by turning down his idea to write new songs together. This aural document of their cooperation was released as a souvenir of their short time together - initially very limitedly, and then more widely on TVT Records. It was very well received by an audience starved for live Led Zeppelin material - and rightly so: if the original band had stayed together and sounded this good in 2000, nobody would complain. Except that... the original band (with Jason Bonham taking his father's place beside the drums) did get together one last time in 2007, and they sounded way better than anybody could have expected - the resulting live album Celebration Day is easily better than Live At The Greek,  rendering it superfluous. Effectively, with the exception of the one-off Zeppelin reunion, Page retired as a performer after breaking up with The Black Crowes - he hasn't made another record or toured. Which is a great pity, because he's the only one who could have kept Led Zeppelin's legacy alive, and there's every indication that he had been up to the task all along, if only Plant was a willing collaborator or if he could find a suitable replacement. Now, it's unfortunately too late - or is it?

**** for Sick Again, Woke Up This Morning, In My Time Of Dying, Your Time Is Gonna Come, Nobody's Fault But Mine, Heartbreaker, Hey Hey What Can I Do, Mellow Down Easy, Shake Your Money Maker, Whole Lotta Love

*** for Celebration Day, Custard Pie, What Is And What Should Never Be, Shape Of Things To Come, Sloppy Drunk, Ten Years Gone, The Lemon Song, Oh Well, You Shook Me, Out On The Tiles

Led Zeppelin "How the West Was Won" 1972(rec) 2003(release)*****

One of the most commonplace things "experts" always did with Led Zeppelin was to lament how they disbanded without releasing a live album worthy of their reputation. The movie and soundtrack of The Song Remains The Same (recorded 1973) were considered underwhelming, especially in comparison with classic live albums like The Who's Live At Leeds, Deep Purple's Made In Japan or Thin Lizzy's Live And Dangerous. I daresay that The Song... was vastly improved when it was reissued in 2007 with a new remastering and 6 extra tracks including big hits like "Black Dog" and "Heartbreaker". No-one listening to it now would put it down so easily. Next to that, we now have 3 more posthumous live albums and one DVD to choose from: BBC Sessions (recorded 1969-71), How The West Was Won (rec.1972),  Led Zeppelin DVD (1969-79) and the band's triumphant 2002 one-off comeback Celebration Day (released in 2012). They all offer ample proof that Led Zeppelin were a monster of a live band, probably even the best rock performers ever, period. Among these, How the West Was Won, recorded in California (hence the West of the title) in June 1972, is arguably the best representation of the band on top of their game. They sound supremely confident and powerful as they tear through their songs, elongating and reshaping them at will. I can just picture audiences staring at them with mouth open in awe, as they launch with the Viking attack of "Immigrant Song": Bonham banging the drums as if trying to get the rowing warriors to achieve ramming speed (and who could withstand such an assault?), Plant in total command of his voice, shrieking like a berserker or singing low like an epic troubadour, Page shredding... wait, Page shredding? that doesn't sound right. Page is known for his heavy blues riffs, he's not a shredder. Rewind: yes, here he is, releasing a torrent of angry notes right at the point where the studio version used to end. I guess he can do anything he wants: listen to the next song "Heartbreaker" where he goes from the heavy opening riff to playing everything from blues to country to medieval folk in the bridge, until the heavens open again for Bonham's thunderbolts and more guitar shredding. If you think I'm unnecessarily waxing poetic, you haven't read much about Led Zeppelin. It's impossible to approach this band in a pedestrian manner. You can either marvel at what they do, or hate them for their grandstanding, for buying into their own myth and for disappearing into their own asses to play 25-minute jams ("Dazed And Confused") and 19-minute drum solos ("Moby Dick"). But those two songs are in Disc Two. I don't think anyone could find a fault in Disc One: 9 amazingly powerful performances of classic Zeppelin. Plant drips with passion on "Since I've Been Loving You", and "Stairway To Heaven" is like a gorgeous lady you've gotten too accustomed with: change a few details and you're ready to fall in love with her all over again. "Going To California" gets, of course, an enthusiastic crowd reaction (this was, after all, recorded in California) and proves Zeppelin don't need thousands of Volts to work magic: Page's acoustic and Jones' mandolin, together with Plant's dreamy vocals will suffice. "That's The Way" and the country-ish "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp" complete the acoustic segment that closes Disc One. Disc Two is overburdened by the two aforementioned behemoths that are alternately spell-binding and tiresome: Page using a violin bow on his guitar on "Dazed..." is one of the highlights of a long, self-indulgent, piece, and I'll probably choose "Moby Dick" anytime I want to listen to a marathon drum solo, but that doesn't happen too often. Disc Three opens with the monster riff of "Whole Lotta Love", and the band takes us on a 23-minute trip, into which they incorporate not only the famous psychedelic bridge but also a medley of covers including John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen", Leslie Gore's "Let's Have A Party", Ricky Nelson's "Hello Mary-Lou" and Jimmy Oden's "Going Down Slow". "Rock And Roll" perfectly encapsulates the meaning of those three little words. As penultimate track they give the audience a preview of then-still-unreleased "The Ocean", and finally close with a return to the roots and Willie Dixon's classic "Bring It On Home". Plant gets downhome here, even blowing some blues harp, but it's still the blues Led Zeppelin-style i.e. with bone-crunching riffs and thunderous drums. I guess I'm like most people who've been listening to Rock for decades: I rarely feel like listening to Zeppelin since I'm overtly familiar with every little nuance of their classics. Maybe it's getting re-acquainted with them through these new versions that makes me enjoy this live CD so much, or maybe these performances just really are so awesome. Certainly I've never heard Bonham sound so good before. Hammer Of The Gods, indeed! Let there never be said again that Led Zeppelin have never made a truly classic live album.

***** for Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Black Dog, Over The Hills And Far Away, Since I've Been Loving You, Stairway To Heaven, That's The Way, Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp, Whole Lotta Love, Rock And Roll 

**** for Going To California, What Is And What Should Never Be, The Ocean, Bring It On Home 

*** for Dazed And Confused, Dancing Days, Moby Dick

Led Zeppelin ‎– Led Zeppelin (blue lettering edition) 1969*****

I'll actually write a full presentation later, but I had to share my excitement about finding an unexpected treasure trove on ebay. This new user who goes by the name kor0.ido1973 is putting an entire vinyl collection for sale. Everything goes for €3, supposedly all lp's are condition Very Good/VG. Among them, this ultra rare original copy of Led Zeppelin's debut, with blue lettering instead of orange. I thought it might be a scam, but it sounded too good to pass. Well it was delivered today and, imagine my surprise, it really is the real thing: catalogue number and other details check out. Furthermore, the condition is far better than VG, in my opinion it's Near Mint/NM. It seems as if some eccentric collector hoarded all the vinyls he could get his hands on, barely listening to them throughout the years. This collection has obviously fell in the hands of an ignorant relative looking to make a quick buck by selling everything on ebay. I logged back in and made a big order snatching the choicest items, but there's thousands of them. Maybe you'll find what you've been seeking, too.

Led Zeppelin Deluxe Editions

I recently went on a binge and bought most of the new Led Zeppelin remasters in their "Deluxe" versions featuring one extra CD of demos and outtakes per album. I only left out my least favourite ones "Presence" and "In Through The Out Door", so I now only have them twice while I have everything else 3 times: In the vinyl LP's, as part of the Remastered Led Zeppelin Box Set (4CD) and Led Zeppelin Box Set Vol. 2 (2CD) - and, now, the Deluxe 2015 remasters. The two boxsets mentioned combined all of Zeppelin's studio material plus a few bonus tracks, and were remastered and resequenced by Jimmy Page back in 1990. The sound is so vibrant and dynamic that a new remastering did not initially appeal to me. As for the bonus tracks, according to all reviews these are mostly works in progress, and far from essential. After a first listening, I have to admit that Page worked wonders again: All instruments come alive and the slightest nuance is heard loud and clear - I actually wondered if there such a thing as too much hi-fi. A couple of times I discovered details that I'd prefer to stay hidden in the background - but then again, the good stuff (which is, of course, the majority) sounds even better now. As for the bonus tracks, a real verdict would require a lot of listening, but for the time being this should be enough: It's Led Zeppelin shaping some of Rock music's greatest albums in the studio. Wouldn't you like to be in a corner listening? This is as close as you'll get to that. More details later. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to review the LP's and Deluxe CD's together or separately, but eventually all will appear in this blog.

P.S. these are the back covers of the Deluxe Editions, the front covers are replicas of the original vinyls - down to the gimmicks in III and Physical Graffiti. I'm not crazy about the paper cases though, as the CD's are bound to get scratches and finger marks going in and out, plus the glue is already coming off. They'll tell you they use paper to enhance the "vinyl replica" effect, but that's bollocks, they're just being cheap. You want to do it right, use inner sleeves like the original LP's came in, and like proper reissues (e.g. The Beatles in Mono box). Carelessness regarding such small details will eventually spell the end for the CD era. It reminds me of the LP covers (cheap paper, bad print jobs, incomplete artwork) and low quality vinyl and we bought in the late 80's and 90's - in Europe at least. No relation to modern-day 180 gram vinyl LPs. They got easily scratched and warped and were often mastered so quietly that to really listen to the music we had to crank up the volume and got a lot of surface noise and clicks. The first generation of CD's may have sounded a bit flat, but compared to mass-produced vinyl played in affordable everyday stereos it was an improvement, don't let them tell you otherwise...