And Jimmy was having a very hot night.I originally approached this release with a fair bit of skepticism, but was quickly impressed with the great improvement.
Why was this? The original house mix wisely buried Plant, while placing Jimmy's guitar up front. The result was so difficult to listen to that I recommended the audience tape over the soundboard. "In my previous review of "Led Zeppelin's Flying Circus" I wrote that the soundboard, while of incredible quality, exposed Robert Plant's flu-ridden voice mercilessly. An outstanding matrix of audience and soundboard recordings." "like an army marching into battle." The final verdict "An unbelievable performance. Theyearofledzeppelin blog describes 'Kashmir' as sounding Neither recording ever goes out of sync, leaving us with the best sounding Led Zeppelin bootleg yet (and yes, I'm including Southampton)." It's a perfect example of a matrix done right. The best version of this show is easily Bluecongo's "Four Blocks in the Snow". I even personally put it above The Song Remains the Same in terms of sound. If you're a sucker for good sound quality, this is quite possibly the best Led Zeppelin bootleg. Honestly, in terms of pure sound quality, this could easily pass for an official release. Both the music and atmosphere are left perfectly intact. The clarity of the recording is jaw-dropping. The tape is a phenomenal matrix of an outstanding soundboard recording and an excellent audience recording (reportedly done by a regular Grateful Dead taper). The band moves as one as they pummel the crowd with their thunderous attack. Jones and Bonham are tight as ever, playing as one solid unit throughout.
Jimmy is still recovering from his broken finger injury that he suffered about a month beforehand, but he's fine form here, full of energy and enthusiasm in his soloing.
Fortunately, the rest of the band makes up for it. He mostly sings in a hoarse voice, and is clearly congested with a sore throat. This concert is from the middle of the band's 1975 American tour, Plant has the flu and it shows. It took place during a blinding snowstorm in New York City, which Plant mentions during the show. "This was the third and final night at Madison Square Garden. With so many versions available I can recommend this release by Empress Valley.Ī review on Redditt gives the show some context as follows: It was difficult to discern any major difference in sound quality between the Bluecongo production 'Four Blocks In The Snow' and this.
That's Alright New York (SBD)ĭefinitive Flying Circus (soundboard with audience)įlying Circus 40th Anniversary Edition Audience and Soundboard Matrixįrom Empress Valley we have graduated from the soundboard in 2002, to the Definitive Version! and finally (at the moment) the 40th anniversary edition in 2015. Physical Riffiti (SBD)įour Blocks in the Snow V.2 A (SBD/AUD Matrix) (3) Civic Center, Providence, RI Nov.Numerous soundboard & matrix versions of this show exist: (1) Municipal Auditorium, Bangor, ME Nov. The cover is a wild shot of Dylan in partial face pancake Any collection, of any size needs at least one RTR tour show. If you are a fan of Rolling Thunder, this is an absolute 'must-have' CD. Of course, it's a bit muddy by today's digital standards). A mind blowing performance in fantastic soundboard quality (as far as the 1975 technology goes. This great two CD set captures the entire Dylan portion of the Toronto show. 04 - Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With YouĠ5 - This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie) (all)ġ4 - It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) (solo)(3)