Led zeplin on tour12/28/2023 ![]() “No Quarter” thus fills the void for collective improvisation and, though keyboard-oriented and obviously lacking the popular history of the discarded pieces, fills in ably as both a showcase for John Paul Jones and an artistic vehicle for the three-man instrumental machine. He also employs the theremin (making up for the drastically truncated, encore-reserved “Whole Lotta Love” now teased as an introduction to “Rock and Roll”) and the Eventide Harmonizer, yet another electronic innovation. “Dazed and Confused” has been dropped, not to be seen again until the 2007 reunion at the O2 Arena, though Page retains the bowed guitar segment as the culmination of his effects solo spot, with the “Mars, the Bringer of War” passage serving as a segue into “Achilles Last Stand”. Out of necessity, the set list sees its most dramatic revision since the 1973 North American Tour. The shows open with the technically-demanding gallop of “The Song Remains the Same”, which, rather than receding into “The Rain Song”, drops into “The Rover” for nearly a minute before settling on “Sick Again”. Though this entry is by no means meant to be historically comprehensive or inclined to devote full evaluations to each show (as done graciously in Luis Rey’s Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes print releases and The Year of Led Zeppelin), it presents an overview of the tour musically, and the shows discussed should convince anyone courting the idea of objectivity or even intrigue of Led Zeppelin’s unscathed force. Not aided by the generally dry, dull soundboard recordings 3 that pale in comparison to the official release-caliber 1975 tapes or the cursory approach that overlooks worthy shows 4, the tour seems to incur most of the denigration levelled at the band with little cause. Thoroughly documented and visually immortalized (due in no small part to Page’s white “poppy” suit), the tour remains one of the better-represented chapters in Led Zeppelin’s history thanks to the enormity of the concerts. The vast majority of shows 1, accordingly, are available on unofficial formats and occasionally augmented by amateur footage. However, offhand remarks and write-ups from those unfamiliar with any shows considered even mediocre in quality have marred the tour’s reputation 2 to such an extent that it is often cast aside by rock critics or non-Led Zeppelin fans. More so even than the “American Return” in 1975 that saw the band weather illness and injury after an eighteen month absence from touring, the 1977 North American Tour heralded a reassertion of the band’s dominance after considerable developments in popular music and the ascension of rock acts such as Aerosmith, Queen, Heart, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Swan Song signee Bad Company to stardom. Following a one-month postponement attributed to Plant contracting laryngitis, during which the band reportedly did not rehearse as all of the instruments had been shipped ahead in accordance with the original schedule, the four men reconvened officially at Dallas Memorial Stadium on April 1 for the most significant undertaking in the group’s history. Segmented into three legs, the tour comprised 51 dates with 1.3 million attendees and ticket sales averaging a rate of 72,000 per day. Prohibited from touring for nearly two years due to Robert Plant’s physical rehabilitation and recovery, which led to the release of both Presence and The Song Remains the Same in 1976, Led Zeppelin embarked upon what at the time stood as the largest (in terms of financial success and attendance) tour ever undertaken in April of 1977. Tour rehearsals at ELP’s Manticore Studios in February 1977
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