Zep Blog Continuous

Live Aid 1985: The Alleged Zep Reunion.

I am, from most accounts and conversations with my friends who are Zep fans, a penultimate fanboy. I remember Live Aid 1985 only due to the fact that my father had MTV back then. However, I had not yet discovered Zeppelin, as I was only 9 years old. But, once I reached the age of musical acountability ( somewhere around 14 ) I knew that something was wrong that performance, and it extended beyond Phil Collins bastardizing Bonzo's drums beats.

But, until we get to the point of discussing that, here is a Zep moment from the show known as Live Aid.



While Collins was quite the presence in Genesis, his performance at Live Aid with Page, Plant, and Jones was nothing more than a place-holder, and weak at that. But the vibe that day overshadowed that. It could have been Ginger Baker ( whom I would have prefered ) or Carmine Appice and the crowd would have been just as pleased simply because it was the first time the Page, Plant, and Jones had appeared on stage since Bonham's death.

And now, for some vintage Zep.

Tangerine at Earls Court.

Quite possibly one of Zeps penultimate performances, we see Page and Plant in full form at Earl's Court. The solid guitar stylings and the vocals from the Zep III LP ( who most people discounted as complete rubbish ) are as wonderful as ever.



Back when the dark and muddy Mississippi flooded the midwest in the early 90s, my friends and I wonderd why this track wasn't released and the proceeds used to benefit those that suffered.



And then there's more. As Jimmy Page takes a standard scale upward, above, and beyond to create Achilles Last Stand



Quite possibly the greatest Zep jam from back in the day: How Many More Times

In the breakdown, you can hear echos of Whole Lotta Love; and you begin to beg the jam to continue.



There are far too many bands that have recordings that are labeled "live". Each time I see or hear something like this, I have to laugh when I hear it. That's when I return to Zep's catalog of truly live material and realize that musicianship died some time ago. But, at least we have the recording of the legends that made real music a possibility.