MAGE MUSIC

Thursday, January 7, 2016

On This Day 07 January

Strangled cat? Really?

1970 07 January On This Day Led Zeppelin in Birmingham UK

1967 The Yardbirds - Lowell, MA at Commodore Ballroom
1970 Led Zeppelin - Birmingham, UK at Town Hall
1973 Led Zeppelin - Oxford, UK at New Theatre

1970
Text for today's On This Day: Express and Star review

Led Zeppelin and the lovely strangled cat sound
Fans cheered wildly, danced in the aisles and even their seats last night to give Led Zeppelin one of the most fantastic receptions ever witnessed at Birmingham Town Hall.
Zeppelin, the group that conquered the States, was opening its first British tour for many months. It was interesting that the group should have chosen Birmingham to do this and must have been pleasing for the boys to receive such a reception.
The two-and-a-half-hour show featured solely Zeppelin... and some of the best rock music I have ever heard.
The group opened its act with Groove, before going into one of their early numbers, Dazed and Confused featuring brilliant lead guitar work from Jimmy Page, who, with the aid of cello bow, made his guitar sound like a cat being strangled.
All was, by then going great for the group and more of Jimmy Page, by way of a solo with White Sabbath bought more applause.
Other numbers included, Since I've Been Loving You written by the group only a couple of days before the concert and featuring John Paul Jones on organ- a track likely to be on the groups forthcoming album. Led Zeppelin III - and Thank You again with John on organ.
The final touch to the show was added by Robert Plant, gyrating around the stage calling on the audience to “Do Your Thing” and screaming out some really groovy rock.
Then things got going with Moby Dick featuring Dudley's John Bonham with a tremendous ten-minute drum solo. Discarding drumsticks, he added to the magnificence by playing barehanded, and bought the audience to its feet.
There it stayed until the end of the show, Zeppelin playing some of the greatest rock music, including such numbers as Rip It Up, By By Johnny, Come On Everybody, and Somethin' Else.
Two encores and eventually the group came on to close with a really wild version of Bring It On Home leaving the audience ecstatic and the Town Hall shaking to its very foundations after one of the wildest shows ever seen there.
The group performed its two and a half hours without a break, and when it finished, all four looked as though they had given everything they had, although I imagine they would have quite willingly carried on for an extra two and a half hours.
The Birmingham based outfits tour continues tonight in Bristol and if things go as well as last night, perhaps it wont be too long before the group gets the chart success it deserves and has seen in the States.

A nice review, although I'm not so sure about the strangled cat thing. Plus some creative reporting of song titles.

2007 05 December Jimmy Page Shepperton rehearsal (Ross Halfin photo)

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♪ Full set (Led Zeppelin, Oxford 1973) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

On This Day 06 January

Banned in Boston

1975 06 January On This Day Led Zeppelin caused a riot and they weren't even there

1975:
"Banned in Boston" is a phrase used to describe works of art (literature, music, movies or plays) that were prohibited from distribution or exhibition in Boston because of , "objectionable content", including but not limited to works with sexual content or foul language. Remember, Boston was founded by Puritans, and artwork was banned in Boston as early as 1651.

On this day in Boston, events led to the band's being banned in Boston for five years, but it was Led Zeppelin shows rather than the music that was banned.

It all started when Led Zeppelin was booked to play at Boston Garden on 04 February 1975. The announcement of the concert, the “first monster rock show of the new year”, was made on December 31, 1974, and stated that tickets would go on sale the following Tuesday (07 January, 1975), with the show expected to be sold out immediately.

On the night of 06 January, Boston police (including a few from Boston's Tactical Patrol Force) were sent to Boston Garden to deal with a reported 3000 fans who had arrived in advance for the box office to open at 10 a.m. the next day and who were trashing the place. Because of the cold, the doors had been opened to allow freezing fans to wait inside. Somehow that act of mercy resulted in the fans running amok, vandalizing the building to the tune of about $30,000. Police confiscated knives and martial arts implements from some of the rioters.

In spite of the fact that Led Zeppelin had been booked for the show the concert had not actually been licensed by the Boston Licensing Board. Mayor Kevin White, reportedly a Stones fan, refused the permit for Led Zeppelin's show and they were banned in Boston for five years.

1972 busted in Rhode Island but saved by Boston's mayor

Mayor White had personally got Keith Richards and Mick Jagger out of assault busts in Rhode Island in 1972 because fans who were waiting at Boston Garden would riot if the band didn't show up. Yet in June 1975 The Stones were booked for the Garden and they got their permit just fine. Talk about politics.

2012 January Classic Rock Magazine (Ross Halfin cover photo)

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♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

On This Day 05 January

On the road

1977 05 January On This Day Jimmy Page traveling to Mexico & South America

1969 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go (day 4 of 4)

1977
While Jimmy Page may admire the music of Yma Sumac, it does nothing for me, so if you want to look at it you'll have to either go to Jimmy Page's website today while it's still there, or hunt for it on the web.

Aside from scattered guest appearances of individual members of the band, Led Zeppelin did not perform between 26 July 1977, the date of the death of Robert Plant's son, Karac, and 23 July 1979 in Copenhagen for a warmup for Knebworth.

1969 Led Zeppelin at Whisky a Go Go

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♪ Rock and Ruin (Jimmy Page demo 1981) From 04 January Mage Music post

* The MP3 above may or may not be Rock and Ruin. The MP3 was provided to me with a different name and represented as Rock and Ruin. So maybe yes, maybe no.
♪ For Your Love (Led Zeppelin, Whisky A Go-Go January 5 1969) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

Monday, January 4, 2016

On This Day 04 January

That party was over, but a great new one is going to start this year!

1981 04 January On This Day Jimmy Page XYZ sessions
Audio*:

1969 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go (day 3 of 4)
1981 Jimmy Page with Alan White & Chris Squire XYZ Sessions

1969 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin at Whisky a Go Go

1981:
Called by some the "supergroup that never happened", it was more the "musicians who recorded while messing around and never released the tapes". Jimmy Page, Chris Squire and Alan White jammed at Jimmy Page's Sol Studios and recorded the demos but it went no further. Jimmy Page went on to record his soundtrack for Death Wish II in 1982 and toured in 1983 for the ARMS concert series. The band Yes reformed itself in 1983.

Compare the demo below from the XYZ sessions to The Firm's Fortune Hunter.

1995 Jimmy Page

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♪ XYZ Sessions demo (Jimmy Page / Chris Squire / Alan White 1981) YouTube
♪ Fortune Hunter (The Firm, Mean Business, 1986) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

* The audio posted above may or may not be Rock and Ruin. The MP3 was provided to me with a different name and represented as Rock and Ruin. So maybe yes, maybe no.

Sunday, January 3, 2016

On This Day 03 January

Happy Birthday John Paul Jones, born on this day in 1946

1964 03 January On This Day Dave Berry's My Baby Left Me released
Audio: My Baby Left Me (Soundcloud)

1969 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go (day 2 of 4)

1964:

"Big" Jim Sullivan (1941 - 2012) on Jimmy Page (a.k.a. "Little Jim"):

"I'll always remember the first time I met Jimmy. We had a session at Decca studios for Dave Berry. It was the session for 'My Baby Left Me' and Jimmy played lead guitar and I played rhythm. I remember the great solo that he did on that session, it is one of the best constructed rock solos on record.

"The rhythm section that played on a lot of the 60's group record consisted of Jimmy, myself, John Baldwin or John Paul Jones as he liked to be called, and Bobby Graham on Drums. The amount of recordings we did together was amazing and when he said he and John were going to leave he said I should join them too. I said I was married and would stay in sessions a while longer."

1969 Jimmy Page/Led Zeppelin Whisky a Go Go

1946:
On this day, John Baldwin was born. Baldwin is, of course, better known today as John Paul Jones, bassist, keyboardist and composer with Led Zeppelin and now embarked on an independent musical career, including the 2009 band, Them Crooked Vultures, with Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme (and guitarist Alain Johannes during live performances).

Interestingly enough, the "other" John Paul Jones, born in 1747, was born John Paul and also adopted the last names "Jones". However that JPJ did so to hide from law enforcement after winning a duel.

ca. 1965 John Paul Jones, session man

John Paul Jones / Led Zeppelin

2015 John Paul Jones

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♪ Diamonds (Jet Harris & Tony Meehan, feat. Jimmy Page & John Paul Jones 1963) YouTube
♪ My Baby Left Me (Dave Berry, feat Jimmy Page guitar 1964) YouTube
♪ Hoochie Coochie Man (Dave Berry, feat Jimmy Page guitar 1964) YouTube
♪ Celebration Day (Led Zeppelin, isolated bass, vocals & drum tracks) YouTube
♪ New Fang (Them Crooked Vultures) YouTube

♪ Mage Music 1 playlist at YouTube
♪ Mage Music 2 playlist at YouTube

Saturday, January 2, 2016

On This Day 02 January

The show must go on

1963 02 January On This Day Diamonds, featuring Jimmy Page acoustic guitar, released
AUDIO: Diamonds (Jet Harris, feat. Jimmy Page acoustic guitar 1963) YouTube

1969 Led Zeppelin - Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go (day 1 of 4)
1973 Led Zeppelin - Sheffield England at Sheffield City Hall

1969:
Led Zeppelin opened for Alice Cooper, and was promoted as “featuring Jimmy Page, formerly of the Yardbirds". Jimmy Page was sick with the flu but went onstage anyway with a raging fever. The band could only perform one set and were docked in pay. Alice Cooper recalled that there were only about 100 people in the audience, since no one had heard of either him or Led Zeppelin at that point. Cooper also recalls tossing a coin to see which act would perform first.

1969 Jimmy Page / Led Zeppelin, Los Angeles at Whisky A Go Go

1973:
According to Dave Lewis, John Bonham and Robert Plant drove together to the Sheffield gig in Bonzo’s Bentley, which broke down. The two were forced to hitchhike in the rain the rest of the way to the show. Unfortunately – and coincidentally, given the 1969 show on this day - Robert took sick from the adventure and had a rough time singing. The next two days’ shows were cancelled while he recovered.