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In 1980, the manager of Led Zeppelin, Peter Grant, announces the fourth European tour of the band, after seven long years of absence from the old continent. In the band's intentions, the European tour (fifteen dates, two of which were canceled, scattered among Germany, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland) is a sort of warm-up in anticipation of an imminent return of the Zeppelin on North American soil. As is now well known, the story didn't go that way, and that brief concert tour would become the epitaph of the glorious English quartet.
The numerous problems plaguing the musicians (Jimmy Page, completely overwhelmed by heroin; Robert Plant, exhausted by the tragedies that have struck him and his family over the past five years, increasingly demotivated in his role as "rock viking"; John Bonham, trapped in a spiral of alcohol and antidepressants that would seal his fate), dragged on during most of these concerts (often mediocre in technical/musical terms), alternating great performances with underwhelming shows. Naturally, there are exceptions.
"FRANKFURT SPECIAL" documents (on double compact disc) one of the rare magical concerts from that troubled tour, specifically at the Festhalle in Frankfurt, on June 30, 1980. Just one day after the equally formidable Zurich performance, the band delivers a thrilling show; nervous, powerful music, sometimes impeccable.
Train Kept A Rollin' (a classic of the Yardbirds and early Zeppelin), Nobody's Fault But Mine, and Black Dog (introduced to the audience, as was customary on this tour, by an almost brash Page) are true lightning bolts, dominated by Jimmy's distorted guitar and Robert's abrasive voice (in great form!), just like the "crushing" version of Trampled Underfoot, almost as if to reaffirm the power of the Zeppelin. There are also less "agitated" moments, the ethereal Rain Song (performed with a synthesizer instead of the old mellotron), the skillfully controlled pop of All My Love (a new entry in their setlist), well-rendered despite possibly seeming slightly out of place. On the contrary, a smoky version of Since I've Been Loving You, no longer dominated by Jimmy's guitar but by John Paul Jones' grand piano (perhaps the only one unaffected by the years on tour and the consequences of that dangerous lifestyle), fits perfectly into that wild sound.
So much magnificence gives way to deliberate lapses in style, perhaps not In The Evening, but rather the country/rock of Hot Dog (still superior to the version on IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR) and the tedious medley, White Summer/Black Mountain Side (enough to incite the audience against the guitarist).
Conversely, some tracks are clearly "giants," like Achilles Last Stand, slightly simplified in its rhythmic base, but just as successful, as is the monumental Kashmir, superior to the on-stage versions of 1975-1977, and the timeless classic - Stairway To Heaven. The band's performance of the piece is finally worthy of its best days, Robert is convincing and spirited in the final part, while Jimmy takes the lead with a long, improvised solo reminiscent of certain passages from the 1977 USA tour.
What makes this show particularly magical are the encores granted by the group to their audience. Rock And Roll, recalls the powerful version played at Knebworth on August 4, 1979, and in this case too, Robert's voice is really harsh. For the second encore, the singer invites Phil Carson, an Atlantic executive, on stage, who joins the band on bass while Jones switches to piano, to perform an unrecognizable version of Money (the one reinterpreted by the Beatles on their second LP) without the usual choruses of the piece, but just as wild.
In conclusion, the band's last gift to their German audience, a pounding version of Whole Lotta Love, containing a long medley on Boogie Woogie and, for the first time, "Frankfurt Special" (hence the title of the double CD) from Elvis's repertoire. The band demonstrates strength worthy of the old days, in certain passages, it seems like reliving the live versions from 1971-1973, when Led Zeppelin was in full splendor.
Whole Lotta Love concludes this extremely interesting bootleg (recorded with superb audio and equally well-packaged), offering the Zeppelin's vast audience a little-known side of their champions. They are no longer the perfect quartet of yesteryear, those of the Royal Albert Hall, of the BBC SESSIONS (1969-1971), of the American concerts of HOW THE WEST WAS WON (1972), and precisely for this reason, it's interesting to listen to a band that, despite so many (too many) vicissitudes, manages to offer, without great fireworks, a powerful, hard ... magical show.
Tracklist and Lyrics
03 Black Dog (00:00)
Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move
Gonna make you sweat
Gonna make you groove
Ah, ah, child, way you shake that thing
Gonna make you burn
Gonna make you sting
Hey, hey, baby, when you walk that way
Watch your honey drip
Can't keep away
Oh yeah, oh yeah, ah, ah, ah
Oh yeah, oh yeah, ah, ah, ah
I gotta roll, can't stand still
Got a flamin' heart, can't get my fill
Eyes that shine, burnin' red
Dreams of you all through my head
Ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ahhh
Hey baby, whoa baby, pretty baby
Darlin' makes 'em do me now
Hey baby, oh baby, pretty baby
Move me like you're doin' now
Didn't take too long 'fore I found out
What people mean by down and out
Spent my money, took my car
Started tellin' her friends she gonna be a star
I don't know, but I been told
A big-legged woman ain't got no soul
Oh yeah, oh yeah, ah, ah, ah
Oh yeah, oh yeah, ah, ah, ah
All I ask for, all I pray
A steady rollin' woman gonna come my way
Need a woman gonna hold my hand
Won't tell me no lies, make me a happy man
Ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah, ahhh
04 In The Evening (00:00)
In the evening, When the day is done
I'm looking for a woman, but the girl don't come
So don't let her, Play you for a fool
She don't show no pity baby, she don't make no rules
*Chorus: Oh, oh, I need your love, I need your love
Oh, I need your love, I just got to have
So don't you let her, Oh, get under your skin
It's only bad luck and trouble, From the day that you begin
I hear you crying in the darkness, Don't ask nobody's help
Ain't no pockets full of mercy baby, Cause you can only blame yourself
Chorus
Oh it's simple, All the pain that you go through
You can turn away from fortune, fortune, Cause that's all that's left to you
It's lonely at the bottom, Man, it's dizzy at the top
But if you're standing in the middle, Ain't no way you're gonna stop
Chorus
Oh whatever that your days may bring
No use hiding in a corner, Cause that won't change a thing
If you're dancing in the doldrums, One day soon, it's got to stop, it's got to stop
When you're the master of the off-chance, When you don't expect a lot
Chorus
10 Achilles Last Stand (00:00)
It was an April morning when they told us we should go.
As I turned to you, you smiled at me; how could we say no?
Whoa, the fun to have! To live the dreams we always had.
Whoa, the songs to sing! When we at last return again.
Sending off a glancing kiss to those who claim they know
Below the streets that steam and hiss, the devil's in his home.
Whoa, to sail away! Sandy lands and other days.
Whoa, to touch the dream! That hides inside and is never seen, yeah.
Into the sun of south and north at last the birds have flown.
The shackles of commitment fell in pieces on the ground.
Whoa, to ride the wind! To tread the air above the din.
Whoa, to laugh aloud! Dancing high above the crowd.
Seek the man whose pointing hand the giant step unfolds.
With guidance from the curving path that churns up into stone!
If one bell should ring, celebration for a king.
So fast the heart should beat, as proud the head with heavy feet, yeah.
[Solo]
Days went by when you and I made an eternal summer's glow
As far away and distant, our mutual time to grow.
Whoa, the sweet refrain! It soothes the soul and calms the pain.
Oh, Albion remains! Sleeping now to rise again.
Wandering the wanderings. What place to rest the search?
Where the mighty arms of Atlas hold the heavens from the earth!
Where the mighty arms of Atlas hold the heavens from the earth!
From the earth!
I know the way, know the way, know the way, know the way.
I know the way, know the way, know the way, know the way.
Where the mighty arms of Atlas hold the heavens from the earth!
13 Kashmir (00:00)
Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed
Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, whose sounds caress my ear
But not a word I heard could I relate, the story was quite clear
Oh, oh.
Oh, I been blind... mama, there ain't no denyin'
I've been blind, ain't no denyin', no denyin'
All I see turns to brown, as the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land
Trying to find, trying to find where I've been.
Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream
Heed the path that led me to that place, yellow desert stream
My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again
Sure as the dust that floats high in June, when movin' through Kashmir.
Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails, across the sea of years
With no provision but an open face, along the straits of fear
Ohh.
When I'm on, when I'm on my way, yeah
When I see, when I see the way, you stay-yeah
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when I'm down...
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, well I'm down, so down
Ooh, my baby, oooh, my baby, let me take you there
Let me take you there. Let me take you there
14 Stairway To Heaven (00:00)
There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven
There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it makes me wonder
There's a feeling I get when I look to the west
And my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
Ooh, it makes me wonder
Ooh, it really makes me wonder
And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on
And it makes me wonder
Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know
Your stairway lies on the whispering wind
And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
15 Rock And Roll (00:00)
It's been a long time since I rock and rolled
It's been a long time since I did the stroll
Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back, let me get it back
Baby, where I come from
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time, yes it has
It's been a long time since the book of love
I can't count the tears of a life with no love
Carry me back, carry me back, carry me back
Baby, where I come from, whoa whoa whoa-oh-oh
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time
Oh, seems so long since we walked in the moonlight
Makin' vows that just can't work right
Ah yeah, open your arms, opens your arms, open your arms
Baby, let my love come running in, let it
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time
17 Whole Lotta Love (00:00)
You need coolin'
Baby, I'm not foolin'
I'm gonna send you
Back to schoolin'
Way down inside honey, you need it
I'm gonna give you my love
I'm gonna give you my love
Oh, wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
You've been learnin'
Baby, I been learnin'
All them good times, baby, baby
I've been yearnin'
Way way down inside, honey, you need it
I'm gonna give you my love
I'm gonna give you my love
Oh! Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
I don't want, ah
Ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ahh
Ah-ah, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh
Ahh, ahh, ah! No, no, no, no
Ah
Lord!
Lo-ooh-whoa-ooh-whoa-ooh-whoa-ooh-whoa!
You've been coolin'
Baby, I've been droolin'
All the good times, baby
I've been misusin'
Way way down inside
I'm gonna give you my love
I'm gonna give you every inch of my love
Gonna give you my love
Hey! Alright! Let's go!
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Wanna whole lotta love
Way down inside, woman, you need it
Lord!
My, my, my, my
My, my, my, my
Oh!
Shake for me, girl
I wanna be your back door man
Hey, oh, hey, oh, hey, oh
Oooh ahh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Ooh my, my babe
Keep it coolin' baby
A-keep it coolin' baby
A-keep it coolin' baby
Ah-keep it coolin' baby
Ahh, ahhh-hahhh-oh
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