How The West Was Won: Live (3CD)

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
How the West Was Won has been a long time coming. For a band with such an overarching legacy, the official record of Led Zeppelin's legendary--and unpredictable--live act has previously been poorly represented by the disappointing, scattershot soundtrack to The Song Remains the Same. But this triple-disc live set (culled from 1972 Long Beach/LA shows in advance of Houses of the Holy) addresses history with a vengeance, if a few decades late. These shows have rightfully assumed cult status in the bootleg market, showcasing a band at the peak of its creative and performing powers.

The Zep faithful will welcome this belated release as evidence for enduring loyalty, but younger fans may find its diversity and dynamics even more enlightening--indeed, whole careers have since been built on the musical ideas Jimmy Page and company throw out here as decorative filler. Crucially rooted in the amped-and-hammered American blues of the guitarist's former band, the Yardbirds, the marathon work-outs of "Dazed and Confused" and "Whole Lot a Love" (which consume nearly an hour all by themselves) somehow encompass Ricky Nelson, Morocco, James Brown, Holst, Elvis Presley and Muddy Waters amidst their trademark sturm und drang, while the acoustic set that closes out Disc One showcases the band's--and particularly Robert Plant's--good-natured, crypto-Celtic folk appeal with energetic aplomb. Bigger and brasher than just about any rock act that followed in its historic wake, yet ever fan-loyal to its myriad influences, Led Zeppelin's live juggernaut finally gets the monument it deserves. --Jerry McCulley

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-01-01 rating:
True Led Zeppelin for better or worse
3 CDs Led Zeppelin live in pristine sound quality is a dream come true. This is vintage and true Page-Plant-Jones-Bonham. CD 1 proves it all.
CDs 2 and 3 show indeed why punk treated them as dinosaurs: over-indulgent, boring, too long versions alternate with a few gems (Dancing days, Rock 'n' roll).
These and all the CD 1 tracks could have made a world class single live album.

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review by: date: 2007-12-02 rating:
Going to California
Recorded in California on June 25th and 27th, 1972, this is Led Zeppelin at their absolute, glorious peak.
24 songs all in all, including various blues and early rock n' roll covers which suddenly pop up half way through twenty-minute renditions of "Dazed And Confused" and "Whole Lotta Love". And the band sounds magnificent. Robert Plant hits all the high notes (except in "Stairway", which rarely sounded all that great live anyway), Jimmy Page lays down one crunchy riff after another, and John Paul Jones and John Bonham provide a rock-solid foundation.

This supple but powerful 5½-minute "Black Dog" is even better than the album version, which is saying a lot. The album version is full of guitar overdubs; here there's only Page times one, going straight for the throat and backed by the loudest, heaviest drumming you'll ever hear on a live recording.
The dog is followed by a terrific "Over The Hills And Far Away" with an amazing vocal performance by Robert Plant, and he sounds equally great on an irresistable "Bron-Yr-Aur-Stomp" and the

It may be that only hardcore fanatics will find the 25-minute "Dazed And Confused" and the 19-minute "Moby Dick" sit-through-able, but there is so much else here. I can understand why Led Zeppelin didn't like it when people called them a heavy metal band...in fact, heavy metal is just about the only thing you won't find here. "How The West Was Won" is bursting with sweaty blues and blues rock, hard rock, acoustic and electric folk rock, the driving, pulsating Little Richard-homage "Rock And Roll", and jazzy, funky stylistic fusions like "Dancing Days" and "The Ocean".
And, of course, Robert Plant singing "Hello Mary Lou" and "Let's Have A Party" :-)

This is a truly magnificent live album, a killer slice of rock n' roll which truly shows why it was that Led Zeppelin broke the attendance records of The Beatles and the Stones just about everywhere they went. Bloomin' amazing...!

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review by: kingdon-ward date: 2007-11-19 rating:
The only problem is..
After listening to the live work I almost can't listen to the album versions.
The extended version of Whole Lotta Love; the amazingly slow start to Dazed and Confused developing into the incredibly fast middle section and snippets of Walters Walk and the Crunge; the Out on the Tiles intro to Black Dog; the way Plant actually makes a complete pigs ear of the lyrics or misses a beat in places; and yet it is all so right.
This is what Led Zeppelin were really all about. A LIVE band that were never the same two nights running. John Paul Jones said in a recent interview that it was not about the SONGS it was about the PERFORMANCE.

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review by: date: 2007-11-05 rating:
Led Zeppelin, the greatest rock band ever.
This is the proof, that Led Zeppelin, are indeed, the greatest rock band EVER.
Five stars just ain't enough!


review by: Jason date: 2007-06-28 rating:
The best and worst of a great band
Metal Maz got this spot on. The longs songs are an exercise in complete self indulgence. A 19 minute drum solo!! A twelve minute noodle with a viloin bow (Dazed and Confused). I much prefer the long tracks Deep Purple performed on Made In Japan, much more interesting. Still CD one is great all the way through and there are some really great live renditions (personal faves, Going to California which I prefer to the original and The Ocean).

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