The 1996 tour of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page is universally regarded as being amazing. Great energy, great performances, and great setlists. All these conspire to create great gigs. This show in Nagoya on Feb. 17, 1996 is one such great gig. So great in fact that I'm focusing solely on the three encore songs performed. All three are awesome and completely tight and glorious. I play a tender and delicate acoustic Rain Song, a breathtakingly poignant Tea For One, and an absolutely perfect and amazing In The Evening. Magic is a word which would apply to this show.

I play a couple of tracks from the Source 1 stereo tape of Led Zeppelin playing the Alexandria Palace, on Dec. 22, 1972. This is the first show of their UK tour and it absolutely rocks. I play a rapturous Whole Lotta Love (with many medleys thrown in) and one of the sweetest Stairways I've heard. Very beautiful solo from the Zosophonic one.

We listen to the incredible Winston remaster of this iconic show. Led Zeppelin at the LA Forum June 23, 1977, in all their scandalous glory. I play what may be the best No Quarter ever. 31 minutes of off the charts improvisation and tight but looseness. I also play Sick Again because it's awesome.

We hear a banger of a show from Jimmy Page/Robert Plant from March 11, 1995 in New Orleans. This show had some unique performances and great energy. I play House of The Rising Sun/Good Times Bad Times, a lovely Thank You, and a super groovy Dancing Days. A good one!

This is a North Bridge remix/remaster of Led Zeppelin playing Frankfurt on June 30, 1980. This is a fun, very good show with flashes of magic. North Bridge did a hell of job fattening up the soundboard recording, and making it sound almost professionally recorded. I play In the Evening (which benefits the most imo from the North Bridge treatment), Trampled Underfoot, and a glorious, fun, joyous, playful Whole Lotta Love with Jimmy playing sweet blues licks in the Boogie Mama section, along with a spontaneous performance of Frankfurt Special. This is a good one.

This is a show I covered in a two parter about 5 years ago. Led Zeppelin in Cleveland, Ohio on April 28, 1977. I'm revisiting it now because it's an amazing show, worthy of another listen. The band is on and the power and mystery are on display. Bonzo seems locked in a little tighter, Jonesy seems a bit more front and center, and it makes for a glorious show. I play The Song Remains the Same, Achilles Last Stand, and a rare encore performance of Trampled Underfoot. This is a fantastic gig and a very nice recording.

This is a fantastic Two of Us recording of Lou Reed at NYC's St. James Theater, on March 21, 1989. He plays the entirety of the New York album before playing a second set of Lou faves. It's glorious.

You may be wondering about Part 1 of this series. No worries, I don't blame you. Part 1 was a couple years back, Ep. 188. I play different songs so there's no overlap if you want to 1, 2 it. This is June 28, 1972 in Tucson Arizona (such a fine sight to see) which was the last show of the US 1972 tour. They're playing Houses of the Holy material to an audience completely unfamiliar. Can you imagine hearing Over the Hills for the first time ever, and it's live? I play Over the Hills and Far Away, Dancing Days, and an epic Dazed and Confused which imo rivals the 25th (officially released).

This podcast has introduced me to some wonderful and amazing people. One of them provided this recording of Robert Plant and Saving Grace with Suzi Dian, in Malmo, Sweden on May 9, 2025. I play a strong acoustic Four Sticks, a lovely Down to the Sea (off Fate of Nations), and a haunting Gillian Welch song, Orphan Girl. It's nice to hear Robert out and about and enjoying himself.

This is a very enjoyable recording of Bad Company playing the Boston Garden on August 6, 1977. They were on tour supporting their album Burning Sky and KRW_Co did an excellent job digitizing the 1st gen reels. I play Burning Sky, Ready For Love, and a powerful Deal with the Preacher. Paul Rodgers sings like room temp butter spread on toast. Glorious. Enjoy.

Radiohead played an outdoor festival in Switzerland on July 2, 2016, which was broadcast on tv and radio. This recording is a matrix of three different sources of this show, giving us a complete, intro to outro, concert. I play Nude, Lucky, No Surprises, and Exit Music (From a Film). Each one of those songs is brilliant and I think you'll be very happy hearing them.

You can imagine my delight when I saw that Led Zeppelin Boots had created an updated edition of the 1975 soundboard compilation that'd been around for a bit. Choosing tracks from the extant soundboard tapes, Boots crafted a very enjoyable listener. You can think of it as a sampler. You get a taste of each show represented. I play Sick Again from 3/21 Seattle, Levee from 1/18 Bloomington, and Kashmir from 2/28 Baton Rouge.

North Bridge has released a new remix/remaster of Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden on June 7, 1977. This is the first night of their multi night residency in NYC. Jonesy's bass is very well represented, with a fat tone missing from many 1977 boots. I play Achilles Last Stand (Jonesy's bass dude...) and an epic, eternal No Quarter with the Nutrocker included. It's nuts. Then Bonzo and Jimmy go primal on the festivities, and we have another 1977 No Quarter in the books. Good stuff. I like the instrument separation North Bridge attains through his remixing the stems extracted from the raw recording.

This is posted one day after the 52 anniversary of this wonderful show. Led Zeppelin playing to 58,000 people outside, in broad daylight, at Kezar Stadium on June 2, 1973. This show is famous for the photo of Robert Plant holding a dove in his hand. I play a very nice 31 minuted Dazed and Confused followed by the show closer, The Ocean. It's a really nice show overshadowed by the shows directly before and after.

This is a very cool look at Jimmy Page's music mere months before the formation of Led Zeppelin. May 29, 1968 at the Concord Colosseum had The Yardbirds playing a very cool bluesy/psychedelic set to a very lucky audience. Given that Clapton, Beck, and Page all gestated within the Yardbirds, it's safe to say the Yardbirds were a guitar band. Unfortunately, they were marketed as a pop combo, so as the 60's evolved into the wilder, more improvisational psychedelic areas, the disconnect between their record company and the band became unsustainable. The band folded shortly after this gig, leaving Jimmy with the Yardbirds name. I play Mr. You're a Better Man Than I, Heartful of Soul, and a wild and improvisational I'm A Man. I find it interesting that I'm a Man is the song in which the band stretches out and jams, rather than Dazed and Confused, which was also in the setlist. This a very cool snapshot of a very cool time in music, as well as the future of Led Zeppelin.

I can't believe the Earl's Court shows are 50 years old! Jesus. For this episode I am featuring an audience compilation of the best of all five nights. I play In My Time of Dying from the May 25th, Tangerine from the 18th (great harmonies from all 4 gents), and Heartbreaker & Communication Breakdown, both from the 25th.

This is an amazing send off for Robert Plant's higher range. December 8, 1972 at the Hard Rock in Manchester, UK is a great performance of a great band reaching their peak. The recording is clear and nice, and the instruments are all well balanced and represented. I play Since I've Been Loving You, and a raucous 27 minute Whole Lotta Love, with jams and medleys aplenty. It's great. It's 1972 Led Zeppelin. You should get the whole recording.

I was delighted to come across this wonderful recording through Led Zeppelin Boots' amazing YouTube channel. April 14, 1970 had Led Zeppelin playing Ottawa, Alberta in a brilliant, exciting, explosive kaboom of awesomeness. The tape itself in fragmentary and incomplete, but what's here is gold. I play Dazed and Confused, Heartbreaker, and an incredible White Summer/Black Mountainside. This show was a delight!

Boston was always a big Led Zeppelin town, starting back at the very beginning with the marathon Tea Party gigs, through this show right here. July 20, 1973 is the last time Zeppelin played Boston. The crowd is wild at this gig, so much so that the band eliminate Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You, and Moby Dick from the setlist. All to keep the crowd from going Chernobyl. No encores either. I play Celebration Day, a smokin' Stairway, and a brilliant No Quarter that presages the brilliance about to be recorded in NYC a week later.

This is nice stereo FM master recording of Aerosmith in Detroit on April 7, 1974, broadcast on WABX back in the day. The band is rapidly ascending to the top of Rock Mountain with Get Your Wings, the album they're supporting here. I play Mama Kin, Dream On, and Same Old Song & Dance. It's good ol' dirty rock and roll a la The Faces or The New Barbarians. Good stuff.