•
Rating: I consider the live album to be the appointment that every quality band (or solo artist) cannot miss. The challenge for each group that wants to prove it has reached a goal, the confirmation of conquering the peak, and the most evident way to show one's worth. The live test for the artist - going far beyond being a Greatest Hits perhaps with more background noise - seeks to freely convey to the listener (let's say of good music...) that energy only perceivable during the show, allowing anyone who wishes to participate to comfortably sit in an armchair and dream of being in the front row at a Budokan, Hammersmith or Madison Square Garden, where the volume or screams win more than the technique or sound cleanliness.
We could define it as a mandatory passage, perhaps driven by the desire to testify an era that is closing, such as the desire for self-celebration or even the craving to package a nostalgic document. But perhaps, in most cases, the motivation closest to reality is to eternalize on a tape the vigor and physical prowess that only a live act can offer.
For the Zeppelin, 1975 was marked by unpleasant events, with the Plant family, vacationing on the island of Rhodes, experiencing the consequences of a severe car accident in which the singer's wife suffered serious fractures to the skull and pelvis, while Robert sustained injuries to his ankle and elbow, with general bruises for the children; for Bonham – having just become a father to daughter Zoe, being away from his family did nothing but provide opportunities for the drummer to indulge in the excesses that life on tour offers. Meanwhile, the period of inevitable inactivity led to the realization of a documentary film edited by Peter Clifton, where images from concerts are combined with those featuring the band members.
The opening is left to the lively performance of "Rock'n'Roll," which immediately makes clear what the audience should expect from a Zeps show: energy and sweat in abundance. It's Page who maneuvers broadly throughout the track, skillfully giving free rein to his guitar, leaving room for the powerful rhythm section, showing a Plant trying everything to not suffer from comparison with the studio version. The same fabric is shown in "Celebration Day," which captures the Zeps in a performance that brings to the forefront more than the previous one, the more unruly side of a musicality that hits the mark only in this dimension, more than the clean version we already knew. The formidable title-track ferries the listener into the touching "Rain Song," where the intoxication of the guitar refinements that merge ad hoc with Jones' electronic textures make it, together with "No Quarter," one of the most evocative performances. Listening to "Dazed And Confused" allows us to understand the transformation from the original, immersing fully into that synergy between Plant's singing and Page’s work/refinement, where the two let themselves be mutually carried away in a dialogue often comprehensible only to the protagonists. The pure emotions that naturally emerge from the introduction of "Stairway To Heaven" are the same that take shape during the poignant vocalizations that follow, only to transform into real chills down the spine of the listener during the driving instrumental where a synchronism between technique and passion, which marked the golden age of a certain way of making music, is perceivable. The presentation of the "Moby Dick" starts with the lethal opening riff leaving Bonham for the next ten minutes behind the drums as the undisputed protagonist, vigorously striking the skins, with a public participating in every slightest hint of rhythmic provocation. This time "Whole Lotta Love" holds the role of closing. And what a closure! From the thundering riff to the fiery vocalizations, we witness a fabulous medley that twists the track to the unbelievable with the inclusion of blues and rock & roll quotes from the golden years, then brisk pace and a strident solo at the end do the rest.
An album born more to cover the period of absence from the scenes due to the mentioned misadventures of the Plant family but also to combat the thriving bootleg market that was then strongly flourishing, rather than for mere artistic conviction. As Page himself would later recall, the execution in question does not excel for extreme brilliance, but remains the first documented live test on vinyl that the group conceived, and that in its modest imperfections, still today for the historical significance achieved, for many, adequately endures the title of a classic.
[A due note: this double live album remains, as specified at the beginning of the review, the soundtrack of a film dedicated to the band and not of a concert, so much that the main objective is projection in movie theaters. The editions to come would make the product available first in Vhs format and then in Dvd (the last with two indispensable discs) whose viewing can only generate amazement allowing capture of "our "intentionally involved in a fantastic setting dressed as semi-serious actors, offering a Bonham in the guise of a gangster, Jones dressed as a black knight and Page embodying the hermit of Zoso. For the music discourse, the video support offers us a seductive version of "Since I’ve Been Loving You", not available in the original version, at least until the expanded edition arrived on the market shortly after the album's decennial].
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Rock And Roll (04:03)
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
02 Celebration Day (03:43)
Her face is cracked from smiling, all the fears that she's been hiding
And it seems pretty soon everybody's gonna know
And her voice is sore from shouting, cheering winners who are losing
And she worries if their days are few and soon they'll have to go
My my my, I'm so happy
I'm gonna join the band
We gonna dance and sing in celebration
We're in the promised land
She hears them talk of new ways to protect the home she lives in
Then she wonders what it's all about when they break down the door
Her name is Brown or White or Black, you know her very well
You hear her cries of mercy as the winners toll the bell
My my my, I'm so happy
I'm gonna join the band
We gonna dance and sing in celebration
We're in the promised land
There is a train that leaves the station, heading for your destination
But the price you pay to nowhere has increased a dollar more
Yes, it has!
And if you walk you're gonna get there, although it takes a little longer
When you see it in the distance you will wring your hands and moan
05 Dazed And Confused (26:53)
Been dazed and confused for so long it's not true
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you
Lots of people talk and few of them know
Soul of a woman was created below, yeah
You hurt and abuse tellin' all of your lies
Run 'round sweet baby, Lord how they hypnotize
Sweet little baby, I don't know where you've been
Gonna love you baby, here I come again
Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard earned pay
Try to love you baby, but you push me away
Don't know where you're goin', only know just where you've been
Sweet little baby, I want you again
Ah ahh...
Oh yeah, alright
I don't want your lovin' this time yeah
Oh don't leave me so confused, ah
Ohh baby
Been dazed and confused for so long it's not true
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you
Take it easy baby, let them say what they will
Tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?
Oh yeah, alright
Oh oh...
06 No Quarter (12:30)
Close the door, put out the light
Know they won't be home tonight
The snow falls hard and don't you know
The winds of Thor are blowing cold
They're wearing steel that's bright and true
They carry news that must get through
They choose the path where no one goes
They hold no quarter
They hold no quarter
Walking side by side with death
The devil mocks their every step
The snow drives back the foot that's slow
The dogs of doom are howling more
They carry news that must get through
To build a dream for me and you
They choose the path that no one goes
They hold no quarter
They ask no quarter
They hold no quarter
They ask no quarter
They ask no quarter
They give no quarter
07 Stairway To Heaven (10:58)
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
09 Whole Lotta Love (14:24)
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
Loading comments slowly
