6/21/1980 Rotterdam, Holland Rotterdam RevisitedTrain Kept a Rollin', Nobody's Fault But Mine, Black Dog, In the Evening, The Rain Song, Hot Dog, All My Love, Trampled Underfoot, Since I've Been Loving You, Achilles Last Stand, White Summer/Black Mountain Side, Kashmir, Stairway to Heaven, Rock and Roll, Heartbreaker
The tape begins with a brief soundcheck before Page tears into the opening chords of Train Kept a Rollin'. Plant barks aggressively through Nobody's Fault But Mine. Page blazes through an excellent guitar solo. The band pummels the crowd with a devastatingly heavy Black Dog. Page shreds through a frenzied guitar solo near the end of In the Evening. As the song ends, Plant announces "thank you most kindly," joking "the main group will be on shortly." Someone in the crowd can be heard shouting "Moby Dick!" following The Rain Song, to which Plant responds "Bonzo can't do that anymore.
Trampled Underfoot is a brutal assault. Page shreds wildly through a blistering guitar solo. An outstanding performance, one of the best in recent memory. Since I've Been Loving You features a violently emotional guitar solo. Page achieves some particularly beautiful passages during an occasionally sticky-fingered White Summer/Black Mountain Side. Plant delivers a strong performance during Kashmir, belting out each line with power and conviction. The crowd erupts as Stairway to Heaven begins. Plant sings "I keep changin' and changin' and changin'... but I keep comin' back!" following the fifth verse. Page's fingers are a bit sticky as he blazes through an echo-heavy guitar solo. His guitar cuts out briefly during the second verse of Rock and Roll. The band closes the show with a frenzied Heartbreaker. Plant pushes his voice to the limit during the final verse. Another excellent performance.
The tape is a combination of two sources. The first, used through the first few bars of The Rain Song, is a fairly clear audience recording. The second, used for the remainder of the show, is another fantastic soundboard recording.
1 comment:
To me, this show gives a good glimpse into the behind the scenes difficulties faced by the group members toward the end. Jimmy's heroin addiction and Bonzo's alcoholism set an even sadder scene for a very wounded Robert Plant, who was still suffering greatly from the death of his son, Karac, in 1977.
What stands out for me in this show is Robert Plant's performance. Many lyrics are sung with reflection, mourning, and grief. The last half of Kashmir, in particular, is outstanding. He ad libs lyrics toward the end that I cannot completely decipher except for, "Stop the pain, stop the pain, stop the pain". It is very powerful and ominous. Robert sings about where he has been in the last few years: "I can take... you there", if we dare to go. When you then hear, "Let me take, let me take" without the "there" added, you know what he is talking about... This is amongst the rawest and most powerful deliveries that I have heard him give.
On the other hand, I also get a gut feeling that Jimmy wasn't that sympathetic for whatever reasons. If you listen to the guitar solos on All My Love from the early shows of this tour, they sound kind of pathetic-- almost as if he didn't care about the song, which, of course, is Robert's tribute to Karac.
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