This is one concert I have been longing to own for several years. Upon first hearing it I was knocked over by the sheer force of the band's playing that particular night. Having been off the road for almost two years and being vilified by the young punk upstarts of the day, Led Zep played on as if their life depended on it breathing fresh air (and arrangements) in to the songs adding a sense of ferocity and mouth gaping admiration.
As far as the actual gig is concerned, this was one of Zeppelin's better days. Unlike the concert on the 11th, this gig is chock full of exciting playing and powerful moments. There are some downsides: the cheezy synth sounds take the grandeur out of Kashmir (at least until the sound engineer remixes it halfway through), and there are moments where the boys are momentarily lost or tired (Trampled Underfoot, Whole Lotta Love) but overall the concert moves like a runaway freight train. The performance is incendiary!
Standout tracks include: Nobody's Fault But Mine, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Sick Again, In the Evening and Whole Lotta Love. I should mention that to my ears, songs frequently start out politely but get more intense as they progress. And how many times do you get to hear 180,000 people singing "You'll Never Walk Alone?" In my humble opinion, this show is at least equal to, if not better than most of the '77 L.A shows!
This release uses an Ex- to Ex soundboard source. The tape captures much of the onstage ambience and sounds more complex that many of the 1973 and 1980 soundboards. It was probably mixed from a multi-track recording as the various instrument levels are very dynamic. There are a few minor faults: the sound is generally trebbly - particularly for the first two numbers. On the other hand, having heard the audience tape, this may have been what actually came off the stage. Also, there is a strong metallic hum throughout most of the songs (Though I only heard it with headphones). Again, this may have come from the stage. The audience tape is used to fill in the intro to White Summer and Whole Lotta Love (From "Way Down Inside..." to the end) The tape lacks bass frequencies, but is acceptable. Overall, it's a very nice sounding boot.
And yes I will eventually post the August 11th, 1979 Knebworth performance...stay tuned.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
