Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Rock Revival's Time Capsule (1973) Led Zeppelin Take the U.S. By Storm

It's 1973 and Led Zeppelin rule the world. In spring they release their fifth album, 'Houses of the Holy', blending in funk and reggae into their heady mix of folk and rock. It debuts at number 1 in the Uk and US providing the perfect platform for the biggest tour of the US ever seen

Throughout this tour Led Zeppelin broke box-office records, smashing any band that had come before them, particularly the first to invade from Britain, The Beatles.

The highlight was when 56,800 fans attended at at Tampa Stadium, Florida, breaking the record set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium

The reasons for their success as a live band lied in their experimentation. The band was famous for debuting new songs on stage, moulding them live based on audience reaction.

Dave Lewis and Simon Pallett, Led Zep experts, sum it up as follows:

“ Led Zeppelin live was an extraordinary animal. From the very beginning no two performances were alike. Such was the creative spark between the four that the basic structures of their songs were repeatedly reworked, extended and improvised on, making their studio counterparts almost unrecognisable.”

It's all recorded on the classic double live album and movie "The Song Remains the Same" (and on heaps of bootlegs, see above)

1 comment:

Bar L. said...

i was 13 and my mom wouldn't let me go to a concert at that age - but I wore out all my LZ records. if i could turn back time...this is one i'd want to see!