The Heart of Markness Led Zeppelin Podcast

Them Crooked Vultures is a band with John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme and they rock. Hard. This show is from April 17, 2010 in Las Vegas, and it rocks. Hard. I play Mind Eraser, No Chaser, New Fang, and Warsaw. These men are from Led Zeppelin(!), Foo Fighters, Nirvana, and Queens of the Stone Age. Legends all. It's a great one.

Led Zeppelin's 1973 European tour is generally considered to be the instrumental peak of the band, with Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones locked in tighter than ever, and playing with breakneck speed. This performance is from Hamburg on March 21, 1973 and is a lovely remastered merge of the 2nd gen audience recording, and the clean as a whistle soundboard (Dazed, Stairway, and Whole Lotta Love only) to present a complete concert experience with best possible fidelity. All this is courtesy of the legendary dadgad. I play a sublime Since I've Been Loving You and then a Dazed and Confused which is a contender for best ever. It's brilliant. As Luis Rey says, you've heard it all before, but never this perfectly. Bonzo. Goddamn. So good. So so good.

June 1972 is a golden month for Zep fans. Lots of great shows, including the ones which would eventually be released as How The West Was Won. This is June 15, 1972 at Nassau Colosseum and it is awesome. We hear a first gen from the AC recording and boy do those guys like to talk. I play Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, and a Whole Lotta Love with a zillion amazing medleys.

This show is all kinds of magickal, to me. First, I was there. Second, Jimmy Page was on fire this whole tour. Third, Robert Plant was in attendance so the band knocked it up a notch. This is October 29, 1988 and Jimmy Page is at the Worcester Centrum supporting his Outrider album. A performance of legend. I play a stellar Midnight Moonlight w/Black Mountainside, an even more amazing solo section of The Chase w/ bow solo, noise solo (short), and Dazed & Confused w/ some Walter's Walk. It's awesome. We finish up with a perfect, I mean perfect, instrumental performance of Stairway to Heaven that may make you weep. For real.

This a brand new transfer from Mike Millard's master cassettes themselves (not the DAT tansfer) by the laudable JEMS tape group, remastered tastefully by DADGAD. June 27, 1977. Led Zeppelin's final night of a five night run at the LA Forum. I play Sick Again (which rocks), Since I've Been Loving You, which shines in its more mature 1977 arrangement, and an adventurous Ten Years Gone in which not every landing is stuck, but the attempts are noteworthy. This is a stellar recording of really good show. Lots of magic here. Zeppelin at the Forum is not to be missed.

This is an absolute joy of a gig from John Paul Jones, who appeared at the Big Ears Music Festival in Knoxville, TN on March 22, 2024. He played all three days of the event. One night with Sons of Chipotle, one night solo (which is what I'm playing), and one night with Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. Our boy gets around. I play a few tracks from his solo set, an isolated bass rendition of Ramble On (just a couple of minutes long), Since I've Been Loving You on the grand piano, an already legendary performance of Your Time is Gonna Come on a 1928 Wurlitzer organ, and a haunting, elegiac Down to the River to Pray, off of his solo album Zooma. This is a master class in virtuosity and humility. He's a genius and a very lovely man, who completely holds the torch for Led Zeppelin magick in this moment. Enjoy.

This episode is a request from long time friend and Patron, Other David. Second Knebworth holds a special place in his heart, and he requested I cover this show, which I happily did. We hear the last performance of No Quarter by the original 4 members, with some smooth and jazzy runs by Jimmy, and some almost chaotic chops by Jonesy. It's a unique performance, vibe-wise, and I like it. We also hear a fairly pensive Achilles Last Stand with Jimmy deep in thought during the solo, and it also has a unique vibe, which is helped by the audience recording (Galactic Messiah from EVSD). We finish up with Whole Lotta Love with the new arrangement, as well as a rollicking boogie section. Good stuff. Great Band.

This is an absolutely delightful 1975 Led Zeppelin concert. 2/12/75 in New York City we hear an excellent audience recording from Jerry Moore, who made a great recording. Jimmy is pretty on top of his game, broken finger notwithstanding. Robert is in great spirits, and Jonesy and Bonzo are locked in tighter than a tourniquet. We hear Sick Again (super tight and Robert has a good time), Over the Hills (super awesome with a unique solo from Jimmy with him stretching out with some great licks). We finish up with a badass performance of Kashmir. Sounds like the Les Paul to me, too, so it's extra meaty. Jimmy has some really nice riffs and licks in this. The wings are still wet on this song, so it's nice to hear them groove around a little as they work out the final form.

I circle back to this amazing show, because in episode 249 I had the raw recording not the DADGAD remaster as I'd thought. This show fixes that and highlights this great show in all its glory. My absolute favorite performance of In My Time of Dying, along with Nobody's Fault But Mine, and Over the Hills. This show is so so so good.

This is one of the all time best concerts ever. Led Zeppelin at the Fillmore April 26, 1969 upgraded from a 1st VHS source. We witness the end of the telecaster era, the penultimate As Long As I Have You, an unreal How Many More Times, and the first extant performance of Whole Lotta Love, ever! This show is perfect. It goes to eleven.

This is a show I've covered in the long long ago, but I was listening to it and wanted to share more of the brilliance from hungry young Zeppelin. January 10, 1969 at the Fillmore West. These early shows are wild and feral, from a band that is completely unknown. Zep I hasn't been released yet. No one knows anything about these guys, until they take the stage. Then it's kaboom. I play Train Kept A Rollin' into I Can't Quit You, Killing Floor (unreal), and How Many More Times from the Mines of Moriah. We finish with a very cool Yardbird's track, For Your Love. Doesn't get much better. They even call out Keith Relf which is pretty cool.

This is a joyous scorcher of a show. Led Zeppelin in Hamburg, DE on March 11, 1970 is a rollicking yet chill performance similar to the RAH show two months prior. We hear Heartbreaker, a Since I've Been Loving You so new the wings are still wet, and a massive How Many More Time is a vehicle for a billion cool medleys. A great band at a great time in their great career. Enjoy

We listen to a new compilation of Led Zeppelin's 1977 US Tour from cmoneysmile via Led Zeppelin Boots' Channel. This is a very nice mix of the best performances from this iconic tour. I play a few tracks, Nobody's Fault, Whole Lotta Love, and some acoustic one offs. A very enjoyable listen.

We looked at this show a few years ago but I wanted to revisit Providence because it is such a kick ass show! We hear Celebration Day in which Jonesy is the star, Black Dog in which Robert's voice is like that of a god, and Since I've Been Loving You in which Jimmy is first among equals.

This is the first of three legendary nights at the Boston Tea Party on Led Zeppelin's very first tour of the states. January 23, 1969 is what we're hearing. Wild, Chaotic, almost feral is how hungry young Led Zeppelin sound. Another way to describe it is 'Holy Shit!' I play Train Kept A'Rollin' (from the Yardbird days), As Long as I Have (w/ Fresh Garbage & Bag's Groove), and an embryonic Dazed and Confused. Incredible improvisation and musicianship are evident from the start.

This show is amazing. The sound quality is bassy with some distortion but DADGAD does a great job balancing this into a paradoxically well balanced/bass heavy recording. The music is magical and the band are locked and playing well. Jimmy's control and technique are in top form and all the musicians are listening, and responding, to each other as they jam. Magic is a word that applies here. I play a fun and tight In My Time of Dying and the longest No Quarter on record (33 minutes!), and it's amazing!

We hear a nice Liriodendron remaster of Led Zeppelin in Frankfurt June 30, 1980, on their Tour Over Europe. This remaster brings a smoother, more professional balance to the soundboard, which makes it all the more fun to hear. I play Trampled Underfoot, (one of the best) Achilles' Last Stand, and a fun and rollicking Whole Lotta Love. They could still deliver in 1980 and they did.

We hear a nice Master audience recording from Led Zeppelin from March 20, 1975 in Vancouver BC. This is a fun show with a powerful Jimmy Page, and I play In My Time Of Dying, Trampled Underfoot, and a funky, frenetic, Whole Lotta Love/Heartbreaker with a bunch of Lickin' Stick to hold it together. A delightful show.

We listen to tracks from Led Zeppelin's second tour of Japan; specifically October 4, 1972 in Osaka. Robert's voice is in the process of shifting from the high register of the early days to the lower range of the latter days (1973 and onwards), which can make for some interesting renditions. We hear Over the Hills and Far Away, and The Song Remains the Same (called the Campaign), and a boisterous Whole Lotta Love with medleys and jams for miles. Powerful show.

We hear Led Zeppelin in Vancouver BC July 18, 1973 in all their glory. This show is unique in that they had to stop early and take Robert to the hospital (they said) because he was tripping balls on LSD and after Stairway was done. The show is still brilliant and we hear Misty Mountain Hop-->Since I've Been Loving You, and a sublime No Quarter, as well as the announcement about Robert's condition.