Led Zeppelin – Avocado Club The Legendary Fillmore Series – West Vol. 1 (Empress Valley EVSD 270-275)

Avocado Club The Legendary Fillmore Series – West Vol. 1 (Empress Valley EVSD 270-275), 6 CDs in a 6 way jewel case

Discs 1 & 2: Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, CA 26th April 1969 (audience recording)
Discs 3 & 4: Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA 27th April 1969 (audience recording)
Discs 5 & 6: Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA 27th April 1969 (soundboard/audience recordings)

Disc 1 (57.32): Intro / Communication Breakdown / I Can’t Quit You / Dazed And Confused / You Shook Me / How Many More Times
Disc 2 (61.57): White Summer – Black Mountain Side / Killing Floor / Babe I’m Gonna Leave You / Pat’s Delight / As Long As I Have You / Whole Lotta Love
Disc 3 (67.41): The Train Kept A’ Rollin’ / I Can’t Quit You / As Long As I Have You Medley / You Shook Me / How Many More Times / Communication Breakdown
Disc 4 (54.41): Killing Floor / Babe I’m Gonna Leave You / White Summer – Black Mountain Side / Sitting And Thinking / Pat’s Delight / Dazed And Confused
Disc 5 (68.51): The Train Kept A Rollin’ / I Can’t Quit You / As Long As I Have You Medley / You Shook Me / How Many More Times / Communication Breakdown
Disc 6 (62.24): Killing Floor / Babe I’m Gonna Leave You / White Summer – Black Mountain Side / Sitting And Thinking / Pat’s Delight / Dazed And Confused

I wondered how long it would take Empress Valley to release these two early classic Led Zeppelin concerts. Empress Valley has chosen to call the release Avocado Club, in reference to the famous green Fillmore series poster of an avocado announcing the four Led Zeppelin concerts in April 1969. Well, the time has come and the results are stunning. The source tapes for the two shows have been circulating for years. The sound quality on Avocado Club is equal to the best versions available for both nights. What makes the Empress Valley release so valuable is that this 6 CD set includes the audience source for both night on discs 1-4 and a seamless mix of the soundboard and audience tape from the 27th of April on disc 5 and 6, available together for the first time in one release. The original Tarantura label release, Lead Set, had the audience source tapes for both nights available as a 4 CD box set. However, Lead Set is extremely expensive and a very difficult title to find. We have also had the excellent soundboard/audience mix from April 27th released by TDOLZ as Collage and one of my personal favorites of the soundboard version, Simplistic Atmosphere, on the Jelly Roll label. These two shows are legendary. They are evidence of a young band melding together to create music that is truly mind boggling. As I listen, I can only imagine what must have been going through the minds of the audience of these shows. The performances are scorching hot. I never tire of hearing a young Zep, blasting through songs like “As Long As I Have You,” “You Shook Me,” “I Can’t Quit You,” and “Communication Breakdown” among others. These two shows are testimony to what can happen when four incredibly talented young musicians come together to create something larger than the sum of the parts. If you are a Zeppelin fan you need these two shows. Empress Valley has made it easy to get both nights plus the soundboard/audience mix from April 27th in one release rather than trying to hunt down several older hard to find titles to obtain the same material. This title is highly recommended. (Scott Shallcross April 04)