Saturday, January 14, 2012

Led Zep Week: Bootlegs are bad, yes? Well...

You can't celebrate *LED ZEP WEEK* without a mention of the thriving BOOTLEG scene, eh?
I am listening to "FOR BADGEHOLDERS ONLY" this morning before I head to work.
"Welcome to three hours of lunacy," ROBERT PAGE tells the LOS ANGELES FORUM crowd on June 23, 1977 before the band launches into a brief snippet of "THE ROVER" that segues into "SICK AGAIN."
It's a magical LED ZEPPELIN moment that wouldn't be possible without the illicit taping of the concert.
Led Zeppelin manager PETER GRANT would famously storm into record shops and smash bootlegs of the band, and he instructed security staff to toss out concert audience members suspected of having outlawed recording equipment.
Still, the bootlegging continued, offering an alternative document of the biggest band on the planet at the time.
Sure, the sound quality isn't always the best. The bootlegs do give a sense of the experience.
In the case of "For Badgeholders Only," the bootleg provides a parting impression of Led Zeppelin: The band never toured America again after that 1977 cross-country jaunt.