Led Zeppelin
Frankfurt Special

THE REVIEW

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.