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georgie48
In 1997 I was spending one of several weekends off work in Tokyo roaming the small streets of Shinjuku, known for the presence of many bootleg stores. While my goal was to find possibly interesting material of the Rolling Stones, I came to speak with a shop owner and his assistant, who told me a "shocking" story.
On one day that same year several white men entered their shop and one of them happened to be Jimmy Page, the others his entourage (security people?). He was very interested in the Led Zeppelin corner (obviously?). The staff was excited to have such a famous person in their store and weren't even disappointed that he/they didn't buy anything.
Within an hour however they came back and one of the guys had a couple of big plastic bags. Subsequently they filled them with all (yes, all) the Led Zeppelin bootlegs and when they left without paying, the owner went after them to point out that they would have to pay. Jimmy Page himself then said "you are illegally selling material that is rightfully ours, so why should we pay for it?" and they all left. leaving the owner and his staff shocked. While the owner told me the story, I could see it still upset him.
Jimmy Page ... rightfully ???

Reminds me of this Neil Young video from 1972.

Neil Young Goes Record Shopping (and finds Neil Young bootlegs Records!)




At one point Neil is on the phone with I assume the owner, and Neil says:

"I'm down here at the store and I found one of my records in your bootleg records and I told the guy at the store I'd like to take it with me and I don't think I should have to pay for it".

Hard to hear audio, but Neil smiles and it appears he's allowed to take the album for free, and he then purchases a candle.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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TheGreek
What I wish for from Mr. Page is more complete live shows to be released in multiple formats including complete video of live concerts sort of like the from the Vaults series that the Rolling Stones bless us with .

Agreed. Many tours not even touched and he just fiddles around with stuff people already have in a million different formats already. I had the 1990 box set and its other smaller companion that included their whole catalogue. I then rebought all the albums in 2014 because I thought it had been enough time to have them redone and they actually boasted better sound, even though the bonuses on almost every record were pathetic. Personally, I'll never buy those albums again and I can't imagine what he'll dole out for the 50th thats actually worth investing in. New concerts is literally all I'd want from him and he seems hellbent on not delivering it.

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georgie48
In 1997 I came to speak with a shop owner and his assistant, who told me a "shocking" story.

Then Page went back to his hotel room, started to listen to all these CDs made from "stolen" tapes and realized 97% of the Jap LZ boots were pressed from high-gen turgid vintage audience recordings.

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dcba

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georgie48
In 1997 I came to speak with a shop owner and his assistant, who told me a "shocking" story.

Then Page went back to his hotel room, started to listen to all these CDs made from "stolen" tapes and realized 97% of the Jap LZ boots were pressed from high-gen turgid vintage audience recordings.

No kidding, DCBA, indeed the majority of those bootlegs were live recordings.
When I was in the store, they had already replaced some of the "taken away" CDs and when I asked about that, the owner said, that they have lots of those (and other) bootlegs in a storage room behind the shop. (they were actually made ... in China (even Vinyl Gang stuff! I was - speaking Japanese - even allowed to have a quick look ... boxes full!)). "Poor" Jimmy didn't know that off course. I wrote that it was in 1997, but refressing my mind, it was possibly 1996 ... but it happened for real.

There was a huge market for these bad-souding badly mastered CDs sourced from dubious aud tapes. Then raw SB unmixed tapes of live shows started to circulate. I wonder if Page had a hand in "liberating" them to keep the flame of the band alive?
In truth SB tapes were on the market in the late 80's but most of them were from the dreadful 1980 tour. The "real thing" (SB cassettes from the 75 or 77 tour) didn't circulate until a few years ago.

Quote
dcba
There was a huge market for these bad-souding badly mastered CDs sourced from dubious aud tapes. Then raw SB unmixed tapes of live shows started to circulate. I wonder if Page had a hand in "liberating" them to keep the flame of the band alive?
In truth SB tapes were on the market in the late 80's but most of them were from the dreadful 1980 tour. The "real thing" (SB cassettes from the 75 or 77 tour) didn't circulate until a few years ago.

I have no experience with listening to LZ bootlegs, but specifically quite some Vinyl Gang CDs - mid 90s material - of Stones material was qualitatively pretty good. I compared some of them with "original" vinyl LPs from the same "brand" and often noticed improvements (sort of remastered, I guess).
You could be right about Page's reasons for collecting all that LZ material. Tough job though, because in Shinjuku alone there were countless bootleg stores spread over many tiny streets.

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RollingFreak

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TheGreek
What I wish for from Mr. Page is more complete live shows to be released in multiple formats including complete video of live concerts sort of like the from the Vaults series that the Rolling Stones bless us with .

Agreed. Many tours not even touched and he just fiddles around with stuff people already have in a million different formats already. I had the 1990 box set and its other smaller companion that included their whole catalogue. I then rebought all the albums in 2014 because I thought it had been enough time to have them redone and they actually boasted better sound, even though the bonuses on almost every record were pathetic. Personally, I'll never buy those albums again and I can't imagine what he'll dole out for the 50th thats actually worth investing in. New concerts is literally all I'd want from him and he seems hellbent on not delivering it.

The three remaining members recently had a meeting in regards as to what the 50th Anniversary will entail, and evidently this new version of How the West Was Won being released was part of the discussion.
In putting all the "blame" on Page for this, you fail to acknowledge that it had to have been approved by Plant and Jones, and the bitterness you direct at him sounds like a personal vendetta which honestly is quite bizarre.
Rather than getting all bent out of shape, maybe be grateful for all the work he did while he was with Led Zeppelin, his solo material, the Firm, the Page/Plant tours and albums, the O2 show with cd and dvd, etc., etc., etc.
It's the 50th anniversary of the band - why not celebrate it instead of focusing all of your frustration and anger on Jimmy Page? The fact that he's still alive and well is enough to be grateful for on it's own.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Ok. I hate Robert Plant and John Paul Jones as well lol.

In the meantime I'll just turn up In My Time Of Dying over here... "WELL, WELL, WELL!"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-25 00:58 by RollingFreak.

Quote
RollingFreak
Ok. I hate Robert Plant and John Paul Jones as well lol.

In the meantime I'll just turn up In My Time Of Dying over here... "WELL, WELL, WELL!"

Oh My Jesus!

Just bought tickets to a tribute night for Zeppelin in March. Every year in NY, they do a tribute show for a certain artist at Carnegie Hall. This year its Zeppelin. The guy who runs it also owns and runs the City Winery in NY so each year they do a rehearsal show there the night before. Super small awesome place. This year's lineup is OAR, The Zombies, Richie Sambora, Living Colour, Brian Wheat from one of my old favorite band's Tesla, and several more. Led by Tony Shanahan of Patti Smith's band. Not really a giant fan of any of those people (love the Zombies and Sambora is cool so it'll be cool to see them in an intimate setting), but should be a fun night and figure at worst you're hearing competent musicians play Zeppelin songs which still hold up. Maybe Jimmy Page hole himself out of his house listening to old Zeppelin tapes and join these guys for their honor.

If anyone in the area is interested check the City Winery's website. March 6th. Cheap show and an awesome venue if you've never been.

I hope there's more releases besides this. If not I can understand the frustration of hard core fans. After all who buys this stuff except people like us. Hard for me to believe a casual fan wants this and is willing to pay a high price too. On the other hand I'm happy three of them are still alive, happy and healthy I'm guessing. Hard to say what makes a great 50th celebration without any concerts. That's my input on the subject, for what it's worth.

Quote
frankotero
I hope there's more releases besides this. If not I can understand the frustration of hard core fans. After all who buys this stuff except people like us. Hard for me to believe a casual fan wants this and is willing to pay a high price too. On the other hand I'm happy three of them are still alive, happy and healthy I'm guessing. Hard to say what makes a great 50th celebration without any concerts. That's my input on the subject, for what it's worth.

I wouldn't recommend holding your breath for a "Led Zeppelin" reunion, but that's not to say there won't be any live shows involving Page, or Plant, or Jones, or a combo of just two of them (maybe Page and Jones?), and a slim possibility of all three of them - maybe under the name "Page/Plant/Jones". It would be cool to see an all acoustic show along with a Q&A - maybe just them on a sound stage without an audience, but have it streamed live and then re-air it for all to see, and eventually to purchase.

All that daydreaming aside, the article posted by keefriff99 on the previous page did state:

"Details of additional LED ZEPPELIN 50th-anniversary releases and events will be announced later this year".

So this won't be the only release, and some sort of events will take place - maybe an all star tribute show featuring the biggest acts in rock paying their respects and playing all Zeppelin.
I imagine bands like Aerosmith, Foo Fighters, and artists like Paul Rogers and others of that ilk would be happy to join in the celebration.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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RollingFreak

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TheGreek
What I wish for from Mr. Page is more complete live shows to be released in multiple formats including complete video of live concerts sort of like the from the Vaults series that the Rolling Stones bless us with .

Agreed. Many tours not even touched and he just fiddles around with stuff people already have in a million different formats already. I had the 1990 box set and its other smaller companion that included their whole catalogue. I then rebought all the albums in 2014 because I thought it had been enough time to have them redone and they actually boasted better sound, even though the bonuses on almost every record were pathetic. Personally, I'll never buy those albums again and I can't imagine what he'll dole out for the 50th thats actually worth investing in. New concerts is literally all I'd want from him and he seems hellbent on not delivering it.

I agree. Page is very shy and has to be dragged onto the stage. When he did his last Rock Hall thing, Joe Perry had to go and beg him to come out of his room and perform. He needs to get over Led Zeppelin's "legacy" and get out and play. What a waste.

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RollingFreak

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TheGreek
What I wish for from Mr. Page is more complete live shows to be released in multiple formats including complete video of live concerts sort of like the from the Vaults series that the Rolling Stones bless us with .

Agreed. Many tours not even touched and he just fiddles around with stuff people already have in a million different formats already. I had the 1990 box set and its other smaller companion that included their whole catalogue. I then rebought all the albums in 2014 because I thought it had been enough time to have them redone and they actually boasted better sound, even though the bonuses on almost every record were pathetic. Personally, I'll never buy those albums again and I can't imagine what he'll dole out for the 50th thats actually worth investing in. New concerts is literally all I'd want from him and he seems hellbent on not delivering it.

I like the bonus discs with songs at various stages. But I can understand how someone not interested in geeky nerdy audio things like that would think otherwise.

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GasLightStreet

Quote
RollingFreak

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TheGreek
What I wish for from Mr. Page is more complete live shows to be released in multiple formats including complete video of live concerts sort of like the from the Vaults series that the Rolling Stones bless us with .

Agreed. Many tours not even touched and he just fiddles around with stuff people already have in a million different formats already. I had the 1990 box set and its other smaller companion that included their whole catalogue. I then rebought all the albums in 2014 because I thought it had been enough time to have them redone and they actually boasted better sound, even though the bonuses on almost every record were pathetic. Personally, I'll never buy those albums again and I can't imagine what he'll dole out for the 50th thats actually worth investing in. New concerts is literally all I'd want from him and he seems hellbent on not delivering it.

I like the bonus discs with songs at various stages. But I can understand how someone not interested in geeky nerdy audio things like that would think otherwise.

I think they're interesting as well, and it's similar to what the Beatles did with Anthology. That said, some of those extras are head scratchers in that they're not much different than the final cuts, and I'll admit I haven't listened to them in quite awhile. But if they weren't included in those releases, you'd probably have some of the same people who are moaning and whining about them now complaining that they weren't included and Jimmy Page is a greedy hoarder lol.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-28 03:49 by Hairball.

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keefriff99

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RollingFreak

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keefriff99
LED ZEPPELIN's Live Album 'How The West Was Won' To Be Reissued With New Remastering Supervised By JIMMY PAGE

[www.blabbermouth.net]


So NOW Page is remastering a live album that was only released 15 years ago. Talk about being stuck in the mud.

Wow, thats beyond retarded. I adore that album, but it sounds fine. I don't think there's literally anything you can do to it to make it sound "better", and thats really a credit to them 15 years ago. But if thats not an example of literally finding anything related to Zeppelin to work on besides solo work or a new collaboration then I don't know what is. The Song Remains The Same at least actually warranted it because it was a hatchet job when released and became a worthwhile release by going back to it. This is just a horrendous time waster. Thankfully it doesn't look like he's adding any bonus tracks to it to try and entice people, which almost makes the release even stupider but at least its more transparent.

Yeah, I mean, as I've said many times, Zeppelin's catalog deserves to be curated with care, but this seems excessive even for Page.

I remember reading interviews with Page when How the West Was Won first came out where he discussed all the time he took fixing up the audio, even going so far as to splice a missing guitar chord into a song (I forget which one)...I can't imagine he really needs to spend that much more time making this release sound better.

Would be interested in getting this on vinyl but the price is ridiculous

[ledzepnews.com]

We will never get a real live album from Page without him "fixing" what he considers blemishes or mistakes in his playing. This is why I will stick with the bootlegs. There are a ton of amazing raw Zep booltegs for us to enjoy with out having to pay for Page's sanitized recycled stuff.

Quote
oldschool

Would be interested in getting this on vinyl but the price is ridiculous

[ledzepnews.com]

We will never get a real live album from Page without him "fixing" what he considers blemishes or mistakes in his playing. This is why I will stick with the bootlegs. There are a ton of amazing raw Zep booltegs for us to enjoy with out having to pay for Page's sanitized recycled stuff.

The link says: "The prices are not yet confirmed and may change before the album is released".

Sure enough, on Amazon it is listed at $104.44 which is a bit more reasonable (though still expensive imo).Led Zep Vinyl

The three cd set and the blu-ray are both listed at $24.98 - the same as the above link.

And the mammoth 4 vinyl/3 CD/ 1 DVD deluxe box is also listed at the same price as the above link at $179.98, and while the set is interesting, the price is well beyond what I'd be willing to pay.
And the fact that the box doesn't also contain the blu-ray stinks. Not really interested in the print ("High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered") as having 30,000 of anything doesn't really equate to "limited" imo. The book itself would be cool to have as the photos in that link look quite intriguing, but a book filled with cool pictures is not something that makes this all worthwhile.

All I want is the vinyl, but will wait patiently until the prices drop dramatically!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball

Quote
oldschool

Would be interested in getting this on vinyl but the price is ridiculous

[ledzepnews.com]

We will never get a real live album from Page without him "fixing" what he considers blemishes or mistakes in his playing. This is why I will stick with the bootlegs. There are a ton of amazing raw Zep booltegs for us to enjoy with out having to pay for Page's sanitized recycled stuff.

The link says: "The prices are not yet confirmed and may change before the album is released".

Sure enough, on Amazon it is listed at $104.44 which is a bit more reasonable (though still expensive imo).Led Zep Vinyl

The three cd set and the blu-ray are both listed at $24.98 - the same as the above link.

And the mammoth 4 vinyl/3 CD/ 1 DVD deluxe box is also listed at the same price as the above link at $179.98, and while the set is interesting, the price is well beyond what I'd be willing to pay.
And the fact that the box doesn't also contain the blu-ray stinks. Not really interested in the print ("High-quality print of the original album cover, the first 30,000 of which will be individually numbered") as having 30,000 of anything doesn't really equate to "limited" imo. The book itself would be cool to have as the photos in that link look quite intriguing, but a book filled with cool pictures is not something that makes this all worthwhile.

All I want is the vinyl, but will wait patiently until the prices drop dramatically!

Same here I only want the vinyl but not at $100. If it ever gets down to the $50-60 I am in but until then I am not buying.

"The upcoming remaster of How The West Was Won appears to have cut some audio that was on the original release"
[ledzepnews.com]

Oh Jimmy...
Page should learn the meaning of the "warts and all" expression before tweaking his own musical legacy ad nauseam...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-28 14:59 by dcba.

-Hmm, vinyl, no, I´ll stick to my CD bought 15 years ago.

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Hairball

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GasLightStreet

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RollingFreak

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TheGreek
What I wish for from Mr. Page is more complete live shows to be released in multiple formats including complete video of live concerts sort of like the from the Vaults series that the Rolling Stones bless us with .

Agreed. Many tours not even touched and he just fiddles around with stuff people already have in a million different formats already. I had the 1990 box set and its other smaller companion that included their whole catalogue. I then rebought all the albums in 2014 because I thought it had been enough time to have them redone and they actually boasted better sound, even though the bonuses on almost every record were pathetic. Personally, I'll never buy those albums again and I can't imagine what he'll dole out for the 50th thats actually worth investing in. New concerts is literally all I'd want from him and he seems hellbent on not delivering it.

I like the bonus discs with songs at various stages. But I can understand how someone not interested in geeky nerdy audio things like that would think otherwise.

I think they're interesting as well, and it's similar to what the Beatles did with Anthology. That said, some of those extras are head scratchers in that they're not much different than the final cuts, and I'll admit I haven't listened to them in quite awhile. But if they weren't included in those releases, you'd probably have some of the same people who are moaning and whining about them now complaining that they weren't included and Jimmy Page is a greedy hoarder lol.

Or that he released a BOX SET of unfinished/work mixes songs! Money grabber!

Well, yeah, that's always the case: it costs money to buy a box set.


I think it's What Is And What Should Never Be on the bonus disc of LZ2 that is a perfect example of what they did do for the LP - there are some detailed things missing even though it's not much different. It's really cool to hear what's not there. Part of what's interesting is the perception based on what you know - duh, why didn't you just do etc? Because they hadn't thought of it yet! It seems to simple but that's because we know what it ended up as.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-28 18:09 by GasLightStreet.

Quote
dcba
"The upcoming remaster of How The West Was Won appears to have cut some audio that was on the original release"
[ledzepnews.com]

Oh Jimmy...
Page should learn the meaning of the "warts and all" expression before tweaking his own musical legacy ad nauseam...

Thats great. Page (and everyone in the Led Zeppelin camp, cause I apparently now have to be fair to everyone) are clueless. Nothing in that fantastic Whole Lotta Love should be cut so if thats not a misprint then stick with the original.

The outtakes, for the most part, seemed pointless to me. I liked the inclusion of live stuff then that all but became nonexistent after the first disc. Some of the outtakes were good. Or not good, but at least I could see the interest. The earlier version of In The Light, some of the unreleased instrumentals or original songs. Coda outtakes of songs from previous records were actually fairly different, with the Bombay stuff. Again, nothing I maybe ever need to go back to, but at least that was something different. Most of those "works in progress" or "rough mixes" were literally the songs with maybe a chord or a note taken out. I understand how its cool for very uber fans, but it was hardly worth hearing once. There MUST be more, like different takes that go screwed up for one reason or another, or true demos like the Beatles Anthology. Again, all of those are also probably one and done listens, but IMO would be more illuminating than what was included. But hey, he got my money so who's the real idiot in the scenario. But what he initially hyped up could have been a million times better. Almost every disc besides the good sound remixing/upgrade was a spectacular miss IMO.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-01-28 20:02 by RollingFreak.

Quote
dcba
"The upcoming remaster of How The West Was Won appears to have cut some audio that was on the original release"
[ledzepnews.com]

Oh Jimmy...
Page should learn the meaning of the "warts and all" expression before tweaking his own musical legacy ad nauseam...

From what I read Jimmy is a obsessive compulsive perfectionist so I don't think we ever get a "wart and all" live recording from him. He did the same thing on "The Song Remains The Same" where he corrected all his perceived guitar flaws and also cobbled together songs from several different concerts.

If you want a "warts and all" live concert from Led Zeppelin you will have to make due with the bootlegs I am afraid.

You're right but it's quite saddening to think that if we ever get an official 1977 release it'll still be inferior to the four/five? exc+ live tapes Mike Millard made during the L.A. residency...

I don't actually mind his touch ups and never have. Some are aggredous, but as someone that doesn't listen to bootlegs I understand he's only trying to give us the best possible product and for the most parts its worked out very well. But I think for him to go back and change things on previous releases and shorten them is pretty dumb. If that is what he ended up doing here. Not EVERYTHING has to be perfect.

Plants cancels the five scandinavian shows on this tour. In the news today...

Hmmm....any reason given for the cancellations?
Can't find much info. whatsoever except for some scheduled dates for August, and tickets haven't even gone on sale yet from what I can tell?

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

re-scheduling arrangements»

[www.vg.no]-

Interesting.

This is sure to spark some speculation regarding the 50th anniversary events of Led Zeppelin.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Pre-order Now Available: Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin - Official Illustrated Book

February 1, 2018



Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin is the first and only official illustrated book to be produced in collaboration with the members of the band. Celebrating 50 years since their formation, it covers the group’s unparalleled musical career and features photographs of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham on and offstage, in candid moments and in the recording studio. This definitive 368-page volume includes unseen photographs and artwork from the Led Zeppelin archives and contributions from photographers around the world.

Available to pre-order now.

[www.reelartpress.com]

[www.amazon.com]

Published by Reel Art Press, October 2018

[www.ledzeppelin.com]