Day 181: 1/25/1975 Indianapolis, IN

1/25/1975 Indianapolis, IN  Condition Breakdown

Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, The Wanton Song, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, How Many More Times, Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog

Someone near the taper can be heard saying "this is gonna be so good" just before Rock and Roll crashes into motion. Plant has completely lost his voice. Unable to sing a single note, he literally growls his way through the opening numbers. A cut during The Song Remains the Same leaves us at the end of the first verse of The Rain Song. The song is plagued by feedback problems. Following Kashmir, Plant tells the crowd "we're havin' a little bit of trouble here with the monitor system... I think there's some crushed window pane stuck in the speaker." He improvises an entirely new melody during the final performance of The Wanton Song to accommodate his painfully weak voice.

Jones is introduced as "the man in constant darkness" before No Quarter. A few slight cuts detract from an otherwise fantastic instrumental section. Unfortunately, Page's guitar solo is cut near the end. Little more than the intro and outro of Moby Dick survives. How Many More Times is introduced as "a very, very, very, very old one." Unfortunately, a cut in the tape during the lead-in to the bow solo leaves us at the final "gun!", skipping the majority of the song. Page's intro to Stairway to Heaven is missing from the tape. His fingers get a bit sticky during the guitar solo. As the band returns to the stage, Plant tells the crowd "we're gonna try and go out with a bit of style." Page shreds through an extended guitar solo during the show-closing Black Dog.

The tape is fairly clear, if a bit distant and hissy.

Click here for audio samples courtesy of Black Beauty.

Day 180: 1/24/1975 Cleveland, OH

1/24/1975 Cleveland, OH  Ultraviolence

Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, The Wanton Song, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, How Many More Times, Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, Communication Breakdown

Plant continues to have trouble with his voice, croaking his way through Rock and Roll. Page blazes through the guitar solos during Sick Again. As the song ends, Plant tells the crowd "it's very nice to be back in your part of the woods again." In My Time of Dying features some excellent slide work from Page. The end of the song is punctuated by a loud firecracker blast. The Rain Song is beautiful, despite Plant's injured voice. He refers to Page as "Jimmy 'Jack Daniel's' Page" while introducing a devastatingly heavy The Wanton Song. No Quarter features a long, wandering guitar solo from Page. 

Plant mentions Page's broken finger before introducing Trampled Underfoot. Bonzo is introduced as "Mr. Ultraviolence" before Moby Dick. How Many More Times is excellent. Unfortunately, the finale is missing from the tape. Plant makes a brief reference to Your Time is Gonna Come before introducing Stairway to Heaven as "one of the songs that is encompassed in the spectrum of what we've managed to get together in seven years." Page delivers a fantastic, dynamic guitar solo. Unfortunately, the tape gradually slows down throughout the song. The beginning of Black Dog is met with a deafening roar from the crowd. The band closes the show with a quick and nasty Communication Breakdown, which includes a bit of lemon-squeezing from Plant during the breakdown.

The tape is distant and noisy.

Click here for audio samples courtesy of Black Beauty.

UPDATE: 1/22/1975 Chicago, IL

1/22/1975 Chicago, IL  (1st gen)

Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, The Wanton Song, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, How Many More Times, Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, Communication Breakdown

The newly-surfaced recording begins with a few seconds of crowd noise before Rock and Roll crashes into motion. Plant's voice has improved greatly since the first night, but is still a bit rough at times. Following Sick Again, he tells the crowd "this is the last night we got in Chicago, I'm gettin' over me flu, Pagey's finger is just about healin', and we're gonna have a good time tonight." Page shreds through the guitar solo during Over the Hills and Far Away. In My Time of Dying is excellent. The beginning of The Song Remains the Same is missing from the tape. 

Plant delivers a strong performance during a powerful rendition of The Wanton Song. As the song ends, a cut in the tape leads directly into Jones's intro to No Quarter. There is a slight cut in the tape during the piano solo. The instrumental section features a dynamic guitar solo from Page. Plant introduces Trampled Underfoot as "another one of those tracks that we hope will soon get to you through the good media of FM radio" before dedicating the song to Chuck Berry. Page blazes through the guitar solo. Bonzo is introduced as "the man with only two cavities" before Moby Dick. The majority of the drum solo is missing from the tape. 

How Many More Times is introduced as "an old one." Page solos wildly during the lead-in to the bow solo as Plant sings about his "little school girl", ending with "she's gone!" The final verse is a riotous explosion of energy. As the song ends, Plant jokes "I think we should rehearse that, maybe put it on an album." There is a slight cut accompanied by a brief volume shift during the initial verses of Stairway to Heaven, just before Bonzo enters. Page breaks a string during the guitar solo, causing him to improvise an alternate arrangement. The pyrotechnics at the beginning of Black Dog are met with a loud cheer from the crowd. The band closes the show with a blistering Communication Breakdown, which includes lyrics from Kisses Sweeter than Wine during the funky breakdown. A surprisingly strong performance for the band's final night in Chicago.

The tape is clear and enjoyable, if a bit distant, hissy, and lacking in bottom end.

Day 179: 1/20/1975 Chicago, IL

1/20/1975 Chicago, IL  Sweet Home Chicago

Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, When the Levee Breaks, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, The Wanton Song, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, How Many More Times, Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, Communication Breakdown

The tape begins as someone onstage announces "ladies and gentlemen, the American return of Led Zeppelin!" Plant has the flu and it shows, his voice is reduced to an injured monotone. Page blazes through the guitar solo during Over the Hills and Far Away. The second and final appearance of When the Levee Breaks shows marked improvement on the performance in Brussels a week earlier. Plant makes mention of Page's broken finger following In My Time of Dying, joking "it must be for our sins."

Bonzo and Jones deliver a solid performance of The Wanton Song, despite their bandmates' hindrances. Trampled Underfoot is introduced as "a song for a guy who works at a gas station." Page shreds through an erratic guitar solo. Moby Dick is followed by the first appearance of How Many More Times since 1/22/1973, which includes the Dazed and Confused bow solo dropped in the middle. As the song ends, Plant announces "that was for the old folks!" The Out on the Tiles intro to Black Dog is devastatingly heavy. The band closes the show with a high-energy Communication Breakdown. Bonzo and Jones stop playing for a moment during the guitar solo, leaving Page to shred furiously a cappella. 

The tape is distant and noisy.

Day 178: 1/12/1975 Brussels, Belgium

1/12/1975 Brussels, Belgium  (2nd gen>dat>cdr)

Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, When the Levee Breaks, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, The Wanton Song, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, In My Time of Dying, Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, Communication Breakdown

The first recording from 1975 and the band's second show in nearly eighteen months. The crowd erupts as Rock and Roll crashes into motion. The finale is immediately followed by the explosive opening chords of the first appearance of Sick Again. Following Over the Hills and Far Away, Plant tells the crowd "among the new numbers are some old numbers we never really attempted before... this is one we really always enjoyed and finally got 'round to playing" before the first rare appearance of When the Levee Breaks. Bonzo's thunderous intro echoes through the arena. Plant's initial harmonica outburst threatens to destroy the taper's equipment. Page's slide work seems slightly out of tune throughout, a somewhat shaky first attempt.

Page has recently broken one of the fingers on his left hand, forcing him to adopt a three-fingered playing style with varying results, as heard during a lackluster The Song Remains the Same. The Rain Song is followed by the first appearance of Kashmir. After a cut in the tape, Plant introduces the first rare appearance of The Wanton Song as "another song of lust." Page butchers the guitar solo. The crowd begins to clap rhythmically during the final verse of an uneven No Quarter. The band hammers through the first appearance of Trampled Underfoot.

The new songs are met with approval from the excited crowd. Despite a few missteps, the band tears through the first appearance of In My Time of Dying. Stairway to Heaven is introduced as "a permanent favorite." Plant shreds his voice during the final verse. Whole Lotta Love has been reduced to a minute-long intro to Black Dog. Plant forgets the lyrics to the latter. Page's fingers become entangled in the strings during the guitar solo. The band closes the show with a terribly sloppy Communication Breakdown. A lackluster welcome to 1975.

The tape is distant and quite noisy.