Monday, June 9, 2008

Day 149: 4/1/1973 Paris, France

4/1/1973 Paris, France (2nd gen)
Rock and Roll, Over the Hills and Far Away, Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You, Dancing Days, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love

The tape begins just as Rock and Roll crashes into motion. There is a slight cut during Page's intro to Over the Hills and Far Away. The tape is cut between songs. Page blazes through the guitar solo during Black Dog. As the song ends, Plant asks the crowd to stop throwing bottles. There is a brief dropout during the intro to Since I've Been Loving You. Plant's voice is surprisingly strong, having finally adjusted ti his new range. He unleashes a spine-chilling squeal near the end of the song. An incredibly powerful performance.

Plant introduces The Song Remains the Same as "a track from Houses of the Holy... of which one famous English journalist said we'd lost our way" adding "this is the way we lose our way." Page's fingers fly across the fretboard during the guitar solos. The lead-in to the bow solo during Dazed and Confused features a heavy start-stop battle prior to the San Francisco interlude. Page shreds through the guitar solo/workout section. The medley during Whole Lotta Love includes Boogie Chillen', Elvis Presley favorites (You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care and Let's Have a Party, I Can't Quit You Baby, and The Lemon Song. There is a dropout just before the excellent blues improvisation. The recording ends with the song as the crowd goes wild.

The tape is noisy, hissy, and plagued by tape issues, but the strong performances shines through.

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