Thursday, February 21, 2008

Day 52: 4/14/1970 Ottawa, Ontario

4/14/1970 Ottawa, Ontario  TMOQ Masters Vol. 1: Parliament Hill
Dazed and Confused, Heartbreaker, White Summer/Black Mountain Side, Since I've Been Loving You, Thank You, Whole Lotta Love

Another fragmentary recording, but far more satisfying than the last. The tape begins during the initial verses of Dazed and Confused. There is a slight cut in the tape right before the bow solo. Another cut during the finale leads us right into the echo-heavy intro to Heartbreaker, with Plant shouting "alright!" Page plays a relaxed a cappella solo. The song ends with another burst of echo, leading directly into Bring it on Home

The beginning of White Summer/Black Mountain Side, which features some excellent fingerwork from Page, is missing from the tape. Another cut leaves us a few bars into Since I've Been Loving You. Thank You is preceded by a brief driving organ solo, almost certainly longer than what exists on the tape. A cut during the finale leads directly into the second chorus of Whole Lotta Love. Page mimics a police siren with the theramin during the freakout. The recording ends just as the band returns to the main riff.

The tape is clear, if a bit bass-heavy, with Page and Plant up front. If only it weren't so fragmentary.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

1970-04-14, Ottawa Civic Centre, Ottawa, Canada "Parliament Hill" (Flying Disc Music - TMQM)
Show starts with Heartbreaker, guessing from other set lists from this tour we're missing the start of the show. After Heartbreaker, Bring It On Home is played. White Summer is as always impressive. Since I've Been Loving You and Thank You follow, though the very end gets cut. Dazed and Confused follows, missing the very start, and having some cuts in it. Also the quality is a bit lower. Whole Lotta Love gets cut before the end as well.

Quality is pretty good overall. Consistent recording, a bit muddy, but overall enjoyable. You hear an occasional talker, but fairly rarely. Shame it's not complete. I have a 'from source' version of this that claims to be from a Master to DAT transfer, but it has the same sound and exact same track times as the Silver Flying Disc release I bought nearly 10 years ago, so I'm guessing the lineage on that source is incorrect.

Anonymous said...

No, D&C does not ~follow SIBLY as in most latter year shows. If you look at the setlists from around this time (and in 69), you can see what is going on. They used to start off with Train Kept a Rollin/Communication Breakdown, which immediately led into I Can't Quit You, then D&C. In 70, when the opener became We're Gonna Groove, they eventually decided that ICQY wouldn't work anymore and dropped it (after the Vancouver show). That put D&C right after WGG. This only lasted until the Bath show, when the introduction of Immigrant Song changed the order yet again.