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Music CD - Led Zeppelin: How the West Was Won
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Music CD: How the West Was Won
Artist: Led Zeppelin
List Price: $26.98
Our Price: $11.39
Your Save: $ 15.59 ( 58% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Tracks:
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1. LA Drone
2. Immigrant Song
3. Heartbreaker
4. Black Dog
5. Over The Hills And Far Away
6. Since I've Been Loving You
7. Stairway To Heaven
8. Going To California
9. That's The Way
10. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0075678358722
Format: Live
Label: Atlantic / Wea
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
Number Of Discs: 3
Publication Date: 2003
Publisher: Atlantic / Wea
Release Date: 2003-05-27
Studio: Atlantic / Wea
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: im not sure about this one
Comment: This is a very mixed up set in terms of quality of version. Some of these it's like, "Yeah, this is alright." Some are like, "Eh, whatever." And some are like, "No, that was bad." Like the acoustic songs, Robert Plant sounds kinda like he's bored! Now maybe its just me, but I don't like it when they drag out Whole Lotta Love. It's one of those songs where it's just fine at the length that it is. The only REALLY good song here is Immigrant Song. If you want to get it, go ahead, but don't really recomend it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Go for this one.
Comment: This is an excellent album. If you have not heard this, you have missed a big part of what Led Zeppelin is about. What I especially liked about it is that shows sides of Led Zeppelin which you do not hear if you buy greatest hit compilations. I personally like Led Zeppelin best up to this stage. What came later is not as good - in my view.
Customer Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars
Comment: Only at the end of a legendary career, long after the release of their last studio album, can a band just sort of shrug and say, "Yeah...why not put out a triple live?"
Early, it would be seen as arrogance. A triple live album? For most bands, it would still remain a daunting task. But this is Zeppelin. The normal rules, and quite possibly the laws of physics, just don't apply.
Disc one is just great. The opening notes of "Immigrant Song" seem SOOO heavy, when compared to the studio track, and Robert Plant's vocals take on an almost haunting quality over the heaviness of the riffs. And then comes "Heartbreaker," which might as well be labeled "The Jimmy Page Show." "Black Dog" really highlights Plant's stage presence (yes, even on an audio album), in that he constantly changes the vocal melodies from those found on Led Zeppelin IV, taking the performance from audience sing-a-long to one in which he is a captivating performer, teasing the audience with a silent break in the music, followed by a soaring high vocal line that contrasts nicely with the lower tones used in this performance of the song.
It is only then, after a heavy, full scale rock n' roll start that things slow down a bit, with the subdued opening of "Over the Hills and Far Away," before the groove infused riffs burst forth, as if they just can't be contained. The deliciously slow blues of "Since I've Been Loving You" plays well, live, and once again lets Page's playing shine ever so brightly...and so continues the first disc, with great performances of what have become classic Zeppelin songs.
The second disc is remarkably different. "Dazed and Confused," initially stretched out to a tortuously slow pace, seems all the heavier for it, taking on a sinister, almost Sabbath-esque quality. When the song bleeds into an extended jam, Page's use of a bow on his guitar strings lends a great atmospheric quality to the music, creating a dark, eerie sound, before leading back into a reprise of "Dazed and Confused," all told, clocking in at an impressive 25 minutes in length. The crowd is then treated to a playful rendition of "What Is and What Should Never Be" and a pretty by-the-book rendition of "Dancing Days," before another incredibly long performance, this time of "Moby Dick." While there's no question that John Bonham is an incredible drummer, the solo here is excessive, and takes away from a song that had such a cool back and forth between a great riff and killer rhythm section. If you really dig a drum solo (which I do not), then you'll love this track. If you don't...well, it drags on a bit too long.
Disc three begins with an incredible "Whole Lotta Love" medley, going from heavy to bluesy to an oldies feel to slow blues, and then back to "Whole Lotta Love." After another such incredibly long track, the album closes off in fairly straight forward fashion. "Rock and Roll" is played pretty much by the book, as is "The Ocean." "Bring It on Home" is a great closer for both the disc and the album, and is played with a lot of energy and soul.
All together, this is a great live set. It captures the energy and talent of what I think may have been the best band ever to play. Excellent!
Customer Rating:
Summary: How the West Was Won
Comment: The greatest band of the 70's at their peak. If you enjoy Led Zeppelin, this must be part of yor CD collection.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I'd rather have The Song Remains the Same, but...
Comment: This is a good triple disc set of live Zeppelin to be sure. Maybe it is my comfort level with TSRTS that makes it hard for me to vote this higher, I don't know. There is much that is very similar, especially Dazed and Confused and parts of Whole Lotta Love although both of those are not as pleasing to me as TSRTS versions.
The big pay-off for me is the acoustic set on the first disc. Actually, the whole first disc is fantastic, but the acoustic is such a bonus and so well done here.
It has been recommended that you buy this AND TSRTS and that's a valid argument. Together they give you a pretty comprehensive overview of live Zeppelin from the early seventies, right around the time of Houses of the Holy. If you are not familiar with live Led, you should know that these are not note-for-note studio reproductions. Additionally, Jimmy Page has a tendency to get a bit sloppy live and some of the editing seems a bit more jagged than on TSRTS. Still, it is a very worthwhile collection of live performances and gives you a great companion piece to The Song Remains The Same. If you don't mind the somewhat steep price tag (although it is three discs), you'll enjoy the mighty Zeppelin live in all their sometimes ragged glory.
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Editorial Reviews:
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For a band with such an overarching legacy, the official record of Led Zeppelin's legendary--and unpredictable--live act has heretofore 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. Zep faithful will welcome the 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 toss off here as decorative filler. Crucially rooted in the amped-and-hammered American blues of the guitarist's former band, the Yardbirds, the marathon workouts of "Dazed and Confused" and "Whole Lotta 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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