1/29/1975 Greensboro, NC Footstomping GraffitiRock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, How Many More Times, Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, Communication Breakdown
Plant is a shadow of his former self, gasping his way through Rock and Roll, choking on every word. Before Over the Hills and Far Away, someone near the taper can be heard exclaiming "look at how low Page has his guitar!" The end of the song is punctuated by a loud firecracker explosion. Plant's injured moans add a mournful tone to The Rain Song. Before Kashmir, someone near the taper can be heard saying "I want a copy of that tape." No Quarter features an excellent, moody piano solo from Jones. Page solos wildly during the coda. Plant again mentions Page's broken finger before introducing Trampled Underfoot. Bonzo is introduced as "Mr. Ultraviolence" before Moby Dick. How Many More Times is sloppy and uninspired. Plant is almost inaudible by the end of Stairway to Heaven. Page's fingers become hopelessly entangled in the strings during the guitar solo at the end of Black Dog. The band closes the show with a quick and dirty Communication Breakdown. Truly a night to forget.
The tape is fairly clear, if a bit distant and boomy.
3 comments:
Along with Tempe '77, Greensboro '75 is usually knocked as Zep's "worst performance"...it's actually not that bad, given the circumstances (poor health, etc). At least in Greensboro the band were TRYING; in Tempe they simply insulted the audience's intelligence.
That said, you don't hear the audience booing at either show...
Maybe it's not one of their most unforgettable concerts, but not so bad at all. I expected much worse. Jimmy doesn't sound uninspired at all and he plays well despite his broken finger and Robert is doing his best too, so I don't think there were people who wanted their money back after the gig.
Maybe it’s the fact that this is an echoey audience tape that hides a multitude of sins, or the tinny iPhone speaker, but I’m listening to this show right now, and even Plant doesn’t sound that bad to me. (Compared to the Landover soundboard from a couple of weeks later, where he sounds on the verge of death for the first few numbers.) I wish there was a soundboard for comparison at least.
Just my opinion, but. . . Well, damn - even the reputed “second worst” (after Tempe ‘77) show isn’t that bad. There’s a reason these guys are also called The Gods.
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