Day 192: 2/14/1975 Uniondale, NY

2/14/1975 Uniondale, NY (1st gen>cdr)

Rock and Roll, Sick Again, Over the Hills and Far Away, In My Time of Dying, Since I've Been Loving You, The Song Remains the Same, The Rain Song, Kashmir, No Quarter, Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, Dazed and Confused, Stairway to Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, Heartbreaker

The band's final night in New York begins with a brief soundcheck before Rock and Roll explodes out of the gate. Plant sings about "the New York queens" during Sick Again. The thunderous rhythm section pummels the crowd as Page blazes through the guitar solos. The combined onslaught threatens to destroy the taper's equipment. As the song ends, Plant tells the crowd "today is one of the last of the pagan traditions that is carried on into the twentieth century, it's the day for... sewing wild seeds" before dedicating the show to Saint Valentine himself.

Prior to Over the Hills and Far Away, Plant announces "we intend to take a knife and cut right through the glorious ice cream of Led Zeppelin and give you a little bit of vanilla, a little bit of chocolate, a little bit of color, a little bit of everything." He mentions Swan Song for the first time before In My Time of Dying, which includes some great slide work from Page. Plant tells the crowd "there's a lot of numbers that we haven't done for such a long time that we've nearly forgot them, but there's a few people that we see here night after night... and so, for those people, we're gonna play you somethin' and who knows what it's gonna sound like!" before the first appearance of Since I've Been Loving You since 7/29/1973. The band seems a bit hesitant at first, warming up as the song progresses. Page is especially subdued, unsure if his injured finger can take the strain. As the song ends, Plant announces "despite our depleted physical forms, we intend to shake this building," adding "and as you're fully aware, we can't shake this building by ourselves."

The Song Remains the Same is somewhat disjointed with both Page and Plant getting a bit lost early in the song. Kashmir is introduced as "one that the regulars who come here every night know quite well." Plant delivers a strong performance, having regained control of his voice. As the song ends, Page makes a brief reference to Train Kept a Rollin'. No Quarter is fantastically epic. The climax of the instrumental section is explosively chaotic. An excellent performance. Page is on fire during Trampled Underfoot, soloing wildly at every opportunity with Bonzo close behind. A blistering performance, the best thus far. A large portion of Moby Dick is missing from the tape.

Plant dedicates Dazed and Confused to "all the people who've been good to us in New York." Page solos wildly during the lead-in to the bow solo, getting the band into a frantic jam prior to the hauntingly beautiful San Francisco interlude. Unfortunately, there is a cut in the tape during the heavy section, leaving us near the beginning of the bow solo. Page is absolutely on fire during the guitar solo/workout section. His fingers fly across the fretboard as Bonzo and Jones race along at top speed. As the song ends, Plant hints at Tangerine before admitting he's forgotten the words. Stairway to Heaven is introduced as "a song that supersedes our wildest dreams." There is a cut in the tape just as Page begins an excellent guitar solo. The theramin freakout during Whole Lotta Love is surrounded by a funky jam. As the band returns to the stage, Plant tells the crowd "we'd like to thank you for New York being New York." Heartbreaker is preceded by a heavy jam with references to Ricky Nelson's If You Can't Rock Me. The a cappella solo is followed by an impromptu rendition of Elvis Presley's A Mess of Blues. Page shreds through the fast guitar solo. Bonzo gets lost during the final verse, resulting in a unique stop-start arrangement. An incredibly loose performance.

The tape is fairly clear, if a bit noisy and overloaded.