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If the end of the last millennium with the release of the double CD BBC SESSIONS (later further expanded in 2016 with a maxi version of 3 CDs/5 vinyls!) was a surprise for the fans of Led Zeppelin, in which not many believed, the release of the live HOW THE WEST WAS WON in 2003 turned out to be the so-called explosive release! The band's live discography, except for the event-disc THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME, has been anything but abundant over time, thus providing great satisfaction with the well-timed releases over the years. It is fair to say that the Zeppelin have greatly fueled the bootleg market, both during their active period and post, with products of even high quality that have over time achieved a semi-official status that might have been predictable. A temporal coverage with the introduction of alternative products to the market that still today serve as surprising testimony to spontaneity and artistic vigor, that not always comes across in the official discography. Thus, FILLMORE WEST 1969 or LONDON 1969 fully reflect the fire of the beginnings, while DESTROYER (Cleveland, April 27, 1977) and BONZO'S LAST GIG (July 7, 1980) reflect the final chapter of shows – sometimes self-referential and justifiably characterized by some moments of fatigue, – but always with high caloric power, mesmerizing even the least fervent rocker with titles such as BURN LIKE A CANDLE or WILD BEACH PARTY, documenting that unrepeatable period that remained the eighth number among the tours carried out in the U.S.A. by Page & Co..
Acknowledgment is due to the last two titles (in particular the second, which seems to have also served as a reference for the cover) cited, for having duly drawn from the dates of June 25 and 27, 1972, held respectively at the The Forum in Inglewood and at the Long Beach Arena, pivotal dates of the eighth U.S.A. tour by the Led Zeppelin which can now be enjoyed as a single performance on HOW THE WEST WAS WON. A triple CD (also available in a quadruple vinyl version) showcasing a full yet essential sound, far removed from the nights at the Madison Square Garden that we all know, where the intentions of this publication remain clearly a thanks to the U.S.A. which, unlike the scant generosity shown at the beginnings by the British press, had always paid the right acknowledgments to Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham since that first date held in Denver on December 26, 1968. Thanks which, however, should not overshadow the devotion of the four musicians to their uncontainable love for blues (and for its forefathers), which would lead them to learn and elaborate its foundations, forging an incandescent sound and an enduring identity.
The introductory distortion, usually much longer than "LA Drone", propels us instantly into "Immigrant Song" (taken from the first night), whose rhythmic compactness and chilling scream would always remain its distinctive traits, along with the power of a riff destined to make history, eventually becoming an essential precursor of the forthcoming heavy metal. A fitting continuation is the incandescent "Heartbreaker", which with "Black Dog" and "Over the Hills and Far Away" (the latter two instead taken from the second night), mirror a blistering performance initiated just twenty minutes earlier. The atmosphere becomes quieter (at least in some parts) with the blues of "Since I’ve Been Loving You" and a shiver-inducing rendition (how could it not be) of "Stairway to Heaven", for which the mellotron part (obviously played by Jones), Page draws from the show in Southampton on January 22, 1973! With "This is … "Going to California" (as in IV, placed as the seventh track), Plant introduces a good quarter-hour of intimate music, where arpeggios and plucked strings reign, allowing enjoyment of that pastoral climate which, with "That’s the Way" and the skiffle of "Bron-Yr-Aur-Stomp", it would suffice to close one's eyes to imagine oneself more at a country fair than southwest of Los Angeles. CD 2 opens with the extended version of the psychedelic heavy sounds of "Dazed and Confused", where it is possible to recognize elements from the sessions of what many recall with the supposed title ZOSO, "The Crunge" (eventually ending up on HOUSES OF THE HOLY), "Walter’s Walk" (ten years later on the concluding CODA), and Jimmy Page's jabs with the violin bow on the defenseless strings of his Gibson. A sequence of relaxed melodies and Jones’s elegant bass line in "What Is and What Should Never Be" lead to the carefree hard rock of "Dancing Days" and to "Moby Dick", where the heated and precise instrumental evolutions of the three provide a podium for the explosive percussive creativity of John The Beast Bonham! The striking three notes played over two measures of 4/4 launch a long performance of "Whole Lotta Love" (a hefty 23 minutes!), from whose womb are liberated among others, "Let’s Have Party", "Boogie Chillen’", and "Going Down Slow", which due to a refined mixing effort conceal the various chops to Plant’s vocals, particularly occurring between the fifth and sixth minute. It makes way for the seemingly more recent yet in its own way primordial "Rock and Roll", evidently an example of an insistent 12 blues bar progression, followed by the yet unpublished and energetic "The Ocean", appropriately dedicated to the substantial human mass present at the Zeps concerts, yet also revealing, from the conclusion of the text, an affectionate dedication of the singer to his little daughter Carmen Jane, who was just three years old at the time. The finale belongs to a plunge between the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta with "Bring It On Back" (thus mentioned as part of the medley), dusty and discontinuous, but enclosed in that homage to Sonny Boy Williamson II and to blues overall, citing that apple of discord which was "Bring It On Home", at the beginning and end of the piece.
Not just a product destined to be purchased at all costs, but also an exhaustive summary of the English band’s career up to that point. Between the reverb of IV and an unexpected masterpiece to come such as HOUSES OF THE HOLY, it reveals how Jimmy Page's group began to undergo that natural metamorphosis that led to surpass the thin line distinguishing two apparently similar terms like legend and omnipotence. An unmissable opportunity to take a sonic ride into a past turned history and understand how four young Englishmen came … To Conquer the West!
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
02 Immigrant Song (03:42)
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
On we sweep with threshing oar, Our only goal will be the western shore.
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
How soft your fields so green, can whisper tales of gore,
Of how we calmed the tides of war. We are your overlords.
On we sweep with threshing oar, Our only goal will be the western shore.
So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins,
For peace and trust can win the day despite of all your losing.
03 Heartbreaker (07:24)
Hey fellas, have you heard the news?
You know that Annie's back in town?
It won't take long, just watch and see
All the fellas lay their money down
Her style is new, but the face the same
As it was so long ago
But from her eyes, a different smile
Like that of one who knows
Well, it's been ten years and maybe more
Since I first set eyes on you
The best years of my life gone by
Here I am alone and blue
Some people cry and some people die
By the wicked ways of love
But I'll just keep on rollin' along
With the grace of the Lord above
People talkin' all around
'Bout the way you left me flat
I don't care what the people say
I know where their jive is at
One thing I do have on my mind
If you can clarify, please do
It's the way you call me another guy's name
When I try to make love to you
I try to make love, but it ain't no use
Give it to me, give it
Work so hard, I can't unwind
Get some money saved
Abuse my love a thousand times
However hard I tried
Heartbreaker, your time has come
Can't take your evil ways
Go away, heartbreaker
Heartbreaker, heartbreaker, heart!
04 Black Dog (05:40)
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
05 Over the Hills and Far Away (05:08)
Hey lady
You got the love I need
Maybe more than enough
Oh, darlin', darlin', darlin'
Walk a while with me
Ohh, you've got so much
So much
So much
Many have I loved
Many times been bitten
Many times I've gazed along the open road
Many times I've lied
And many times I've listened
Many times I've wondered how much there is to know
Many dreams come true
And some have silver linings
I live for my dream and a pocketful of gold
Mellow is the man
Who knows what he's been missing
Many many men can't see the open road
Many is a word that only leaves you guessing
Guessing 'bout a thing you really ought to know, ohh ohh ohh ohh
Really ought to know, ohh ohh
I really ought to know
07 Stairway to Heaven (09:37)
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
08 Going to California (05:37)
Spent my days with a woman unkind
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine
Made up my mind to make a new start
Goin' to California with an achin' in my heart
Someone told me there's a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair
Took my chances on a big jet plane
Never let them tell you that they're all the same
Oh, the sea was red and the sky was grey
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
As the children of the sun began to awake
Watch out
Seems that the wrath of the Gods got a punch on the nose
And it started to flow, I think I might be sinkin'
Throw me a line, if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there where the path runs straight and high
To find a queen without a king
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings, la la la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born
Standin' on a hill in my mountain of dreams
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems
10 Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp (04:52)
I caught you smiling at me,
That's the way it should be,
Like a leaf is to a tree so fine.
Ah all the good times we had,
I sang love songs so glad,
Always smiling never sad so fine.
As we walk down a country lane,
I'll be singing a song,
Hear me calling your name.
Hear the whisper in the trees,
Telling mother nature bout you and me.
Well, if the sunshines so bright,
Or on our way it's darkest night,
The road we choose is always right so fine.
Ah can your love be so strong,
When so many loves go wrong,
Will our love go on and on and on and on and on and on.
As we walk down a country lane,
I'll be singing a song,
Hear me calling your name.
Hear the whisper in the trees,
Telling mother nature bout you and me.
My my, la de la, come on now it ain't too far,
Tell your friends all around the world,
Ain't no companion like a blue eyed merle.
Come on now well let me tell you,
What you're missing missing round them brick walls.
So, of one thing I am sure,
It's a friendship so pure,
Angels singing all around my door so fine.
Yeah, ain't but one thing to do
Spend my natural life with you,
You're the finest dog I knew so fine.
When you're old and your eyes are dim,
There ain't no old Shep gonna happen again.
We'll still go walking down country lanes,
I'll sing the same old songs,
Hear me call your name.
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Other reviews
By jk
Far surpassing the previous official live album "The Song Remains The Same," this triple offering provides us with a perfect synthesis of our beloved Led Zeppelin at their best.
Every time they are considered defunct (artistically speaking, of course), our guys return to show us once again WHO ROCKS!!!
By glitch
The concert was used as a testing and experimentation ground, leading the music to constant evolution.
How The West Was Won is destined to enter the history of the best live rock albums, succeeding where The Song Remains The Same failed.
By cece65
Robert Plant having an incredible voice, Jimmy Page with a guitar that sounds like a machine gun.
To be introduced to the younger generation, because those who listen to Pearl Jam, Phish, and Black Crowes today must know who the Led Zeppelin were and what they represented.
By paloz
These 18 tracks are nothing short of extraordinary!!! Almost three hours of magic signed by Zeppelin.
If we want to sum it up, we can safely say that nothing like this live performance has been seen since the 1976 film/concert.
By Cimbarello132
Led Zeppelin are considered one of the greatest live bands of all time, and listening to this triple album one will understand why.
This triple album represents the essence of the group, what they were and can never repeat again.
