ITALIAN / ENGLISH

Di questo soundboard ne discuto con il mio amico – illustre LZ live recording collector e high level Led Head Amduscia – ormai da diversi anni, da quando insomma ci arrivò la notizia – tramite le nostri fonti – della effettiva esistenza nelle mani della Empress Valley di questo gioiellino e finalmente oggi possiamo godere di questa registrazione soundboard mai sentita prima. Ah, se penso ad alcuni lustri fa quando scambiavo cassette live dei LZ tramite la rete esoterica che avevo tessuto in tutto il mondo e mi accontentavo spesso di registrazioni audience con qualità assai discutibile quando poi negli ultimi anni la Empress Valley Supreme Disc (la mitologica etichetta bootleg nipponica) ha pubblicato parecchi sounboard subito messi a disposizioni della rete dai più generosi… che cambiamento … ormai anche un soundboard di questa portata ci sembra normale amministrazione. Questo nuovo bootleg non è completo, ma poco importa visto che contiene una larga porzione del primo show tenuto alla Festival Hall di Osaka il 28/09/1971. Quello del 1971 in terra giapponese è un tour ritenuto leggendario dai fan dei LZ, il gruppo era probabilmente all’apice delle sue potenzialità, Robert Plant cantava come forse mai nessun altro cantante hard rock aveva mai cantato, il gruppo era coeso, spiritato, divertente, LZ IV stava per essere pubblicato, insomma si era nel periodo d’oro non solo del gruppo ma anche della musica Rock.

AVVERTENZE: per assaporare appieno un bootleg occorre mettersi nella giusta predisposizione d’animo e creare l’atmosfera adatta. Leggo i primi commenti di altri fan (?): “Carino“, “niente male” etc etc…e rimango basito. Non è sufficiente sentire la cosa a pezzi e bocconi, è indispensabile mettersi di buona voglia, preferibilmente in cuffia, riservarsi uno spazio di tempo adeguato e precipitare laggiù negli anni settanta al cospetto di sua maestà il Rock!

La registrazione inizia con la coda dell’assolo di Page in Heartbtreaker (manca dunque la Immigrant Song e la prima parte di HB appunto). Il secondo assolo (quello in cui JPP è accompagnato da Jones e Bonham) è la solita tormenta elettrica. Non appena rientra Plant non ci si può che accorgere della potenza vocale del cantante.

RP: Arigato. Tonight, tonight you will be happy. And so will Phil Carson. This is, uh, this is indeed a pleasure. We had a wonderful, we came from Hiroshima yesterday and, uh, your glorious train was really far out. Long big train with many sleeping and things like that and such. Good milk. And, uh, so we’re in top spirits and, uh, to avoid walking in more bullshit, we’ll go straight on. This is called ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You.’

Ascoltare la batteria d John Bonham in modo così chiaro in Since I’ve Been Loving You è una cosa meravigliosa. Tutto è ben bilanciato, piano elettrico/organo e pedaliera basso perfettamente udibili. Bonham è incontenibile e la voce di Robert Plant è una lama al calor bianco che ti entra il cervello. Il Dark Lord è ispirato e bravo, molto bravo, seppur a tratti un po’ sporco (ma lo sappiamo, è una delle sue caratteristiche). Durante l’assolo di chitarra John Bonham non sta fermo un attimo.

RP: Arigato. I have a terrible problem with my shoes nightly. They keep coming undone. But we, uh, tonight you’ll be more than happy and, thank you. This is one from many moons ago. It’s called, uh, no, I’ll leave you to guess. Mr Jones? Good evening. Right on. This is a thing, in about three weeks time we’ll have a, a new LP coming out, by the fourth album, and, uh, this is one of the tracks from it. It’s called ‘Black Dog.’

LED ZEPPELIN IV non era ancora uscito in quei giorni e chissà cosa ne pensava il pubblico dei nuovi pezzi. Out On The Tile  intro/ Black Dog è suonato con la cazzimma tipica dei LZ del 1971. Semplicemente magnifici!

RP: Wait a minute. Um, this is one from about the same time as that. When we, uh, this is the guy, him. Totally different, right. John Paul Jones.

Dazed And Confused live è musicalmente il consueto portento occulto, 30 minuti di interazioni elettriche atte ad evocare il suono delle profondità cosmiche. Nel finale magmatico fuoriesce anche Third Stone From The Sun di Jimi Hendrix.

RP: Yeah goodevening, you must wake up, wake up. This is indeed a great and most honorable pleasure. Far out, man. This is another track off the fourth album, uh, and, um, this, uh, takes on an entirely different mood, really, to anything that we’ve ever done before. And, uh, it’s called ‘Stairway To Heaven.

Stairway To Heaven è eseguita con una purezza ed un candore commoventi.

Col secondo disco inizia l’avanspettacolo: cazzeggio, improvvisazioni di pezzi altrui, la gioia di vivere … un portento insomma.

RP: Arigato. Good evening! You are too quiet. Much too quiet. Dishonorably quiet. It’s not cool. Not far away to the East there is, uh.

Plant sta ancora parlando e Page accenna a Please Please Me (Beatles), Robert non si fa pregare e abbozza il pezzo dei Fab Four. Non contento si butta in From Me To You (Beatles) presto seguito da tutto il gruppo. Uno spasso. Jimmy poi parte con l’intro di Celebration Day e il piombo zeppelin pieno di groove prende di nuovo il sopravvento. Che schianto di band! John Paul Jones superlativo.

Il set acustico inizia con Bron-YR-Aur Stomp a cui è collegata That’s The Way. In quest’ultima Robert a volte si lascia andare a strilli calibrati che ti capovolgono.

LZ Osaka sept 1971

RP: Arigato. Thank you. Thank you. Um, this, this next song is, um, another one from the fourth album. And, uh, this is, uh, no, it’s nothing to do with that at all, man. No, no, now listen, you’ve got to wait. …, there’s no more use saying that. That’s all you know in English. I know a little bit more, you see? Now this is off the fourth album and it’s a sitting down one. ‘Cuz I must have sat through about thirty times for us at two each. If I have spoken more English over here than I ever did in America, it just means I’m happier here, no … ever the same way out. So this is called, uh, ‘Going To California.’ Which is, California being, uh, somewhere between here and the lost continent of Doom (?) and, uh, Atlantis, and, uh, the British Isles. Nevertheless, some people go there. In fact, in California, there is a place called San Francisco and, uh, San Francisco is, uh, I mean, uh, I really wish it could be …, promise they’re not on stage, but it was a wonderful place, so, ‘Going To California.’

Page cambia accordatura – on stage, in diretta, aiutato dal mandolino di Jones – per Going To California. La versione del pezzo è estesa, oltre 8 minuti, parecchi i momenti strumentali sostenuti da chitarra e mandolino; è chiaro che il pezzo in versione live è ancora in divenire, i due musicisti provano e improvvisano, cercano le vie giuste per rendere al meglio questo celestiale quadretto acustico.

RP: Arigato.

Page cambia chitarra acustica, controlla e aggiusta l’accordatura e quindi parte con un bel giro di fingerpicking. Poi Robert si lancia in We Shall Overcame, momento da brividi che continua con Tangerine, versione chitarra voce con Jimmy che nel ritornello canta insieme a Robert. Altro accenno al fingerpicking e quindi i due partono con Down By Th Riverside. Trattasi di spiritual della metà del 1800, pubblicato per la prima volta sembra nel 1918 in una raccolta di canti delle piantagioni. Canzone tra l’altro dai toni pacifisti.  Nel corso del pezzo Jones aggiunge l’organo e quindi la pedaliera basso. I LZ non smettono mai di sorprendere.

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Altro siparietto country prima di ripartire col Rock di What Is And What Should Never Be. 

RP: Good evening! It’s our greatest and, uh, most honorable, uh, pleasure, as often as possible, and, uh, I don’t know how you say it in …, but in English, ladies and gentlemen, it’s your old friend, for a summer season, ladies and gentlemen, John Bonham, ‘Moby Dick!’

Moby Dick chiude il bootleg con la sua inesorabile carica percussiva.

RP: John Bonham! ‘Moby Dick!’ 

All’appello mancano: Whole Lotta Love (+medley) / C’mom Everybody / Hi-Heel Sneekers / Communication Breakdown.

Original Festival Hall – Osaka.

Registrazione dunque da avere a tutti i costi per tornare a sognare e per potersi rendere conto una volta di più di che cosa era la musica Rock e i Led Zeppelin nel 1971. BEST BAND EVER!

La porzione soundboard inizia al minuto 21:20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLkRU9SH0wM

(broken) ENGLISH

I am discussing this soundboard with my friend – illustrious LZ live recording collector and high level Led Head –  Amduscia for several years now, since in short we got the news – through our sources – of the actual existence in the hands of the Empress Valley of this little gem and finally today we can enjoy this soundboard recording never heard before. Ah, if I think of a few decades ago when I was exchanging LZ live recordings on cassettes through the esoteric network that I had woven all over the world and I was often satisfied with audience recordings with very questionable quality when then in recent years the Empress Valley Supreme Disc (the mythological Japanese bootleg label) has published several sounboards immediately made available to the network by the most generous … what a change … now even a soundboard of this magnitude seems routine. This new bootleg is not complete, but it does not matter since it contains a large portion of the first show held at the Osaka Festival Hall on 09/28/1971. Japan 1971 is a tour considered legendary by LZ fans, the group was probably at the peak of its potential, Robert Plant sang like perhaps no other hard rock singer had ever sung, the group was cohesive, spirited, funny, LZ IV was about to be published, in short it was the golden age not only of the group but also of Rock music.

WARNINGS: to fully enjoy a bootleg, you need to put yourself in the right frame of mind and create the right atmosphere. I read the first comments of other fans (?): “Cute“, “not bad” etc etc … and I am disgusted. It is not enough to hear the thing in pieces and bits, it is essential to put yourself in good will, preferably with the headphones on, reserve an adequate space of time, surrender and  precipitate down over there in the seventies in the presence of his majesty Rock music!

The recording starts with the solo of Page in Heartbtreaker (therefore the Immigrant Song and the first part of HB are missing). The second solo (the one in which JPP is accompanied by Jones and Bonham) is the usual electrical storm. As soon as Plant returns, one cannot but notice the vocal power of the singer.

RP: Arigato. Tonight, tonight you will be happy. And so will Phil Carson. This is, uh, this is indeed a pleasure. We had a wonderful, we came from Hiroshima yesterday and, uh, your glorious train was really far out. Long big train with many sleeping and things like that and such. Good milk. And, uh, so we’re in top spirits and, uh, to avoid walking in more bullshit, we’ll go straight on. This is called ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You.’

Listening to John Bonham’s drums so clearly in Since I’ve Been Loving You is a wonderful thing. Everything is well balanced, perfectly audible are electric piano / organ  and bass pedal. Bonham is uncontainable and Robert Plant’s voice is a whitewashed blade that enters your brain. The Dark Lord is inspired and good, very good, albeit at times a little dirty (but we know, it is one of his characteristics). During the guitar solo John Bonham does not stand still for a moment.

RP: Arigato. I have a terrible problem with my shoes nightly. They keep coming undone. But we, uh, tonight you’ll be more than happy and, thank you. This is one from many moons ago. It’s called, uh, no, I’ll leave you to guess. Mr Jones? Good evening. Right on. This is a thing, in about three weeks time we’ll have a, a new LP coming out, by the fourth album, and, uh, this is one of the tracks from it. It’s called ‘Black Dog.’

LED ZEPPELIN IV had not yet come out in those days and who knows what the public thought of the new pieces. Out On The Tile intro / Black Dog is played with the typical LZ “cazzimma*” of 1971. Simply magnificent!

*(Napoletanity is something difficult to explain – as the famous “cazzimma”, they are feelings more than simple words, untranslatable terms, guttural sounds, soul assonance. Anyway think about something like cocky/badass attitude. ED)

RP: Wait a minute. Um, this is one from about the same time as that. When we, uh, this is the guy, him. Totally different, right. John Paul Jones.

Dazed And Confused live is musically the usual occult wonder, 30 minutes of electrical interactions designed to evoke the sound of the cosmic depths. Jimi Hendrix’s Third Stone From The Sun also emerges in the magmatic ending.

RP: Yeah goodevening, you must wake up, wake up. This is indeed a great and most honorable pleasure. Far out, man. This is another track off the fourth album, uh, and, um, this, uh, takes on an entirely different mood, really, to anything that we’ve ever done before. And, uh, it’s called ‘Stairway To Heaven.

Stairway To Heaven is performed with moving purity and candor,

With the second disc, the vaudeville begins: fooling around, improvisations of other people’s songs, the joy of living … in short, a portentous.

RP: Arigato. Good evening! You are too quiet. Much too quiet. Dishonorably quiet. It’s not cool. Not far away to the East there is, uh.

Plant is still talking while Page mentions with the guitar Please Please Me (Beatles), so Robert sing a small bit of the Fab Four’s song. Not yt happy he throws himself in From Me To You (Beatles) soon followed by the whole group. A real treat. Jimmy then starts the intro of Celebration Day and the zeppelin leaded groove takes over again. What a band! John Paul Jones is superlative.

The acoustic set begins with Bron-YR-Aur Stomp to which That’s The Way is connected. In the latter Robert sometimes lets himself go to calibrated shrieks that turn you upside down.

LZ Osaka sept 1971

RP: Arigato. Thank you. Thank you. Um, this, this next song is, um, another one from the fourth album. And, uh, this is, uh, no, it’s nothing to do with that at all, man. No, no, now listen, you’ve got to wait. …, there’s no more use saying that. That’s all you know in English. I know a little bit more, you see? Now this is off the fourth album and it’s a sitting down one. ‘Cuz I must have sat through about thirty times for us at two each. If I have spoken more English over here than I ever did in America, it just means I’m happier here, no … ever the same way out. So this is called, uh, ‘Going To California.’ Which is, California being, uh, somewhere between here and the lost continent of Doom (?) and, uh, Atlantis, and, uh, the British Isles. Nevertheless, some people go there. In fact, in California, there is a place called San Francisco and, uh, San Francisco is, uh, I mean, uh, I really wish it could be …, promise they’re not on stage, but it was a wonderful place, so, ‘Going To California.’

Page changes tuning – on stage, live, aided by Jones’ mandolin – for Going To California. The version of the piece is extended, over 8 minutes, several instrumental moments  by guitar and mandolin; it is clear that the piece in live version is still in progress, the two musicians try and improvise, looking for the right ways to make the best of this celestial acoustic picture.

RP: Arigato.

Page changes acoustic guitar, checks and adjusts the tuning and then starts with a nice fingerpicking sketch. Then Robert begins We Shall Overcame, a thrilling moment that continues with Tangerine, guitar/vocals version with Jimmy who sings with Robert in the refrain. Beautiful. Another hint of fingerpicking and then the two start Down By Th Riverside. This is a spiritual from the mid-1800s, published for the first time in 1918 in a collection of plantation songs. this song, among other things, has pacifist tones. Jones adds the organ and then the bass pedal. LZ never cease to surprise.

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Another country tease before What Is And What Should Never Be.

RP: Good evening! It’s our greatest and, uh, most honorable, uh, pleasure, as often as possible, and, uh, I don’t know how you say it in …, but in English, ladies and gentlemen, it’s your old friend, for a summer season, ladies and gentlemen, John Bonham, ‘Moby Dick!’

Moby Dick closes the bootleg with his relentless percussive charge.

RP: John Bonham! ‘Moby Dick!’

The missing tracks: Whole Lotta Love (+ medley) / C’mom Everybody / Hi-Heel Sneekers / Communication Breakdown.

Original Festival Hall – Osaka.

Live recording therefore to have at all costs to be able to return to dream and to be able to realize once more what Rock music and Led Zeppelin was in 1971. BEST BAND EVER!

La porzione soundboard inizia al minuto 21:20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLkRU9SH0wM