Well here it is, one of the ultimate documentations of one of Metal's most influential bands, in the ultimate live setting. "How the West was Won," is compiled like a complete live Zeppelin concert, mixing performances from two concerts that took place at Los Angeles' Long Beach Arena and LA Forum in 1972, placed in a discreet order by
Jimmy Page himself, obviously organized like a real Zeppelin set list would be. Page discovered these tracks, while searching the archives for material to place on the companion DVD that compliments this set (containing eight hours of video footage!!!).
Well for one thing, this is the "Houses of the Holy" Tour, the last tour that they did before becoming a more art-rock tinged band, going beyond their "blues-based" raw sound. This period is the favorite for many Zeppelin fans; it is when their sound paralleled Black Sabbath's. But all in all it is the perfect showcase for this period showcasing Robert Plant's vocals that come at you like a freight train, Page's phenomenal guitar playing, some of the most aggressive drumming ever played by John Bonham, and the pure musicianship and arrangements of bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones (who in the end, was really responsible for the production on the later period Zeppelin records, seeing that he was always sober and always seemed to dodge tragedy).
It's the energy harnessed here that is the real focus of this album, I mean through the whole album it seems as if Plant is ready to explode with his powerful pipes, even through ballads like the acoustic
"Going to California" and
"That's the Way." But when it gets electric, it gets wild, many extended tracks grace this record including
"Dazed and Confused," clocking at over twenty five minutes, going from the eased dark Sabbath-esque opus to one of Page's wild guitar jam sessions, metamorphosizing from his spooked out violin bow solo, to including riffs from
"The Crunge". "Moby Dick" will make any drummer want to put down his sticks for good after hearing Bonham pounding the shit out of the skins (you know, he has been known on many occasions to hit the gong on his drum kit with his fist, now how many drummers would have the balls today to do that, seriously folks, he risked breaking every bone in his hand to do it).
"Whole Lotta Love" clocks in at just barely above twenty three minutes, and goes from the barrowing rocker that we all know and love so much to a blues jam session that only Page could execute with such precision, the same precision that he, along with the rest of the band execute when they perform
"Stairway to Heaven."
The sound quality is clear as can be, leaving the tape hiss and muddy conations of bootlegs behind, proving that this was not just something that was quickly put together or just conjured up by Atlantic Records for reissues sake, the setlist flows perfectly from one track to the next.
Jimmy Page produced this, not to mention these recordings were originally recorded by famed Hard Rock/Metal producer/engineer Eddie Kramer (Kiss, Jimi Hendrix). This release all in all puts "The Song Remains the Same" to shame (not that TSRTS was bad at all), yes those are strong words, I know, but one listen and you will truly understand my statement, this is a close to being there as it gets. Play Loud!
Written by
Hashman Wednesday, September 3, 2003
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