Posted on 05/28/2003 1:00:57 PM PDT by Drew68
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In the words of one of their songs, Dancing Days are here again for fans of Led Zeppelin.
Defunct for almost 23 years, the pioneering English band behind such hard rock classics as "Stairway to Heaven" and "Kashmir (news - web sites)" has cleaned out its vaults to issue eight hours of previously unreleased live material on DVD and CD.
The "Led Zeppelin DVD" contains footage from four tours spanning 1970 to 1979; the CD "How The West Was Won" combines two Los Angeles shows from 1972 to replicate a single concert.
Remarkably, the band's leader and guitarist, Jimmy Page (news), who compiled the releases, says he remembers all the concerts as if they were yesterday.
"To actually go through it bit by bit and hear sections of it, you go, 'Yeah, yeah, that's really good' or 'I played really well there' or 'My God, that's embarrassing, that bit I played then,"' Page, 58, said in an interview.
Both the DVD and CD were released this week with Page, singer Robert Plant (news), 53, and keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones (news), 56, embarking on a publicity blitz. Ironically, Led Zeppelin shunned such chores during its 12-year reign, preferring to let the music speak for itself.
But rumors that the trio would play together came to naught. The band has reunited only twice since breaking up after the 1980 alcohol-related death of drummer John Bonham (news). Page and Plant toured and recorded together in the 1990s, to Jones' initial chagrin. These days, the threesome's relationship is more business than social, Page says.
"MAGICAL ELEMENT"
"There were four very different personalities anyway in Led Zeppelin, very different personalities," Page said. "But when they bonded musically, the four elements joined together, took on a fifth element -- a thing which is totally intangible and it can't be charted, which was that magical element."
Led Zeppelin's members fused folk and blues influences to create a genre known as heavy metal. The group's catalog, highlighted by their untitled 1971 album and 1975's "Physical Graffiti" has sold about 200 million copies worldwide.
But their strength was arguably live performances. They toured incessantly, setting new standards for ticket sales. Songs from the albums were radically reworked on stage.
The new CD boasts a 25-minute version of "Dazed and Confused," while Bonham drums relentlessly during the 19-minute "Moby Dick." Spontaneity was the key, which is why the band decided to call it a day rather than try to feign improvisation with a new drummer.
"You had to be totally, totally involved. It's like a sacrifice you were there for," Page said.
The DVD features songs from London's Royal Albert Hall (1970) and Earl's Court (1975), New York's Madison Square Garden (1973) and England's Knebworth Festival (1979). And that's it as far as live footage is concerned, Page says.
"We didn't have a documentary crew going round with us all the time. What would we do it for? We weren't a television band," Page said.
"A BIT OF A LAUGH"
Similarly, the only other audio footage in the vaults was from a university gig, which was done "for a bit of a laugh." Page vows it will never see the light of day because the band made so many mistakes. (Page did use some computer tricks to fix a few wrong chords on the newly released material.)
These days, Page divides his time between a historic London townhouse and a mansion in nearby Windsor. His post-Zeppelin career has been patchy, with highlights including a tour with the Black Crowes and recording a rap version of "Kashmir" with rapper Sean Combs. He says he's working on something "quite surprising" but declined to go into detail.
Good song. Favorite Albums of the 90's:
Alice in Chains--Dirt
Soundgarden--Badmotorfinger
Tool--AENIMA
I saw "The Band" at StoneyBrook University on the their first tour. They were very good. I remember Levon Helm switching instruments as did some of the others. Albert Grossman (Dylan's long time manger and theirs too. Dylan woke up one day and fired him when he found how much money, what percentage, he was getting for managing Dylan) was at the soundboard back in the audience looking over the shoulder of whoever was maintaining/mixing the sound. I loved "Music From Big Pink" It was an enormously influential album. It made dudes like Eric Clapton want to change direction completely. Earthy and organic .... Only later did we hear how half of then were shooting smack after a few years of fame.
Saw Hendrix at Anderson theater/Fillmore East. He was super stoned, so stoned he had gay mannerisms, and played the intro to "Sunshine of Your Love" He was king but Cream was up and coming. Was not on the date you mention. I think Buddy Miles was with him by then.
Kooper was great, especially when he played with Dylan and Mike Bloomfield. But that was a few years before then ....in '66-'66.
My favorite concert experience was at a small club in "the valley" in L.A. -- The Palomino...in Feb. of 1987. Taj Mahal was playing, but some unexpected guests showed up.
Taj is the real deal. Both his parents are from Caribbean and IIRC he has a degree from UMass Amherst. He grew up in Western Mass.
I was just sitting at the bar having a few drinks with a buddy (sitting to my left), and I noticed that none other than Bob Dylan was sitting right next to him (to his left). Freaked him out to no end, huge Dylan fan that he was. But he got me back when he pointed out who Dylan was talking to --- George Harrison. So we warily initiated the conversation and ended up rapping with them for about 5 minutes ....both were very pleasant and funny.
Great. Much closer than I ever got to one of the immortals
Then a two young hot blondes approached them and they forgot about us pretty quickly ...lol.
Anyway, John Fogerty also showed up and and the three giants jammed classic rock tunes with Taj and his amazing band (featuring Jesse Ed Davis
American Indian...Dead now but he was on a lot of records. I saw him with Taj way back. Was on some Dylan records
on guitar) till about 2:00 AM. It was an all-time night.
Ahh, yes. He was a guitar god. I agree on EVH, too.
Led Zeppelin(Aerodrome, Schenectady, NY)
Blood, Sweat & Tears w/ Jethro Tull(Fillmore East-NYC)
Led Zeppelin w/ The James Gang (Syracuse War Memorial-Syracuse, NY)
Led Zeppelin w/ Grand Funk Railroad( Syracuse War Menorial-Syracuse, NY)
Traffic (The Albany Armory-Albany, NY)
Jethro Tull ( Albany NY)
Jethro Tull ( Albany NY)
The Byrds(The Tea Party-Boston, Mass)
The Who (SPAC-Saratoga, NY)
Jefferson Airplane (SUNY-Albany,NY)
James Taylor (SPAC-Saratoga, NY)
Dave Mason (Colgate U.- Hamilton, NY)
Joni Mitchell (Civic Arena-Pittsburgh, PA)
Dire Straits ( Sailors and Soldiers- Pittsburgh, PA)
Joe Cocker (Pittsburgh, PA)
Neil Young & Crazyhorse ( Deandome, Chapell Hill, NC)
Pink Floyd (NC State Outdoor- Raleigh, NC)
Amen Brudda.
Let me google this.
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