And so it came to pass, around a week ago, the most anticipated release by Empress Valley from their soundboard revolution series this year, ‘How The East Was Won’. A soundboard recording from the bands gig at the Osaka festival hall on the 29th of September, 1971.
Already promoted by two sample ‘singles’, this release was due to blow people’s minds. Apart from EV recklessly didn’t include the single releases, instead leaving them aside so that were exclusive to the disks they were pressed on. It’s a beautiful show, it was hyped for so long but then why split out the tracks over 4 disks (At the very least!) – Sure, the single disks are collectable but they are collectable on their own rather than nixing them from the full show so if you want the full concert, ‘The Immigrant Song’ and ‘Friends / Stairway To Heaven’ singles, if they’re not already sold out, are the way to go.
Whether EV will now concentrate on releasing another version for the festive market featuring the tracks that were played and with extras (There’s already a ‘deluxe’ version of the set with the added edit of the oft’ booted audience recording)
As standard, the Eelgrass label haven’t been far behind producing their own version with the single tracks reinstated. The packaging, you’ll understand, just ain’t the same.
Those of you who have joined our Facebook group will already have seen the flyer that comes within EV’s box, pointedly ensuring no one misses the point that EV aren’t happy with the torrenters or bootleggers of their own material.
12 Comments
It’s being reported elsewhere that the Eelgrass title has cuts between the tracks which suggests it’s from an MP3 source can anyone confirm this ?
I don’t like to hear that (reported) news, esp. as I’ve already ordered the Eelgrass & I’m due to likely receive it sometime next week, but aren’t all Eelgrass releases just exact or identical copies of much more expensive Empress Valley titles? Or did Eelgrass somehow make an exception to the rule this particular time? Thanks to anybody who could kindly let us know.
I believe between the added tracks on disc two. Which leads to the fact the whole thing can fit on one disc!
Careful Axeman Eugene: I’ve heard the Wendy title you are talking about and it is just another, differently processed, version of the old well-known source. It’s often referred to as a soundboard
but within the Zep community it seems some sort of consensus today is that it’s actually a very bad multi-track mixdown, hence my use of “so-called soundboard”.
I know some people prefer the Wendy to the earlier titles from the same source but it uses way too much noise reduction for my taste creating that metallic sound. Either way, it still has nothing to do with this new source from EVSD and “night and day” is certainly NOT an exaggeration, that’s how good this new one sounds. IMO of course.
You might think differently, although I doubt it, but I’d say wait until you hear it.
Well, thanks for your opinions/thoughts, but I just listened to a 2 & a half minute sound sample of the Eelgrass version yesterday, and unless it’s somehow noticeably inferior to the much-more expensive Empress Vallley versions, it certainly didn’t impress me as being any noticeably better than what I remember from my Wendy 6CD version, although I didn’t make any direct comparison.
However, since the Eelgrass version is so much cheaper than the outrageously pricey EVSD versions that don’t even have the whole show & are missing “Stairway to Heaven” & “Friends”, I went ahead & included it (Eelgrass) in an online CD order that I made very late last night or very early this morning…so I won’t be missing out on anything, unless the Eelgrass somehow isn’t as excellent as the EVSD’s, and I’ll have yet another version of the 929 show to add to my collection. But there’s absolutely no way I was going to pay so much $$$ for any of the EVSD releases…esp. after having already spent much for the older Wendy 6CD version.
Again, thanks anyway.
Try this, if you can get it to work for you…..
http://i64.tinypic.com/33ld16b.jpg
I apologize (sorry) if that doesn’t help in any way whatsoever.
Thanks for the link
No problem
I may still get the Eelgrass version since it’s not anywhere as expensive as the Empress Valley versions, but what I don’t get is why such a big deal is being made about these latest releases when no one said anything when the Wendy label’s “Live in Japan 1971 929” 6CD version was released in 2017, or was it late 2016? What’s wrong with Wendy’s 6CD version? At least it wasn’t so pricey.
Here’s a chart of the sources used by Wendy that’s printed on the insert in the inner artwork of their 6CD version –
http://i68.tinypic.com/1zb763d.jpg
It’s a big deal because it’s a new, never before heard, “true” soundboard source in more or less perfect sound quality. The old so-called soundboard source, used on that Wendy title and many others through the years, is not very good quality. To compare the two are like night and day. Unfortunately the new source is far from complete, but what’s there is the greatest new Zep recording to be released in a long, long time.
“Not very good quallity”? Are you sure? Have you actually heard it yourself? And how can you be so sure that it’s not true soundboard? I’ve actually listened to it myself, since I bought it & still own it, and although I’m not sure that it’s true soundboard, to my ears it at least sounds a lot better than their previous “Fatally Wanderer” versions, and noticeably better than the supposedly definitive “929” no-label audience recording versions that were released just a few or several months before the Wendy 6CD came out. To my ears it sounds excellent enough that these latest versions can’t possibly sound so drastically superior, although I haven’t actually heard them yet myself and I’m not disputing how superb they supposedly sound. But to say “night & day” and “not very good quality” are very likely quite an exaggeration, esp. if one hasn’t actually heard the Wendy 6CD version.
Anyone know the track listing of the Eelgrass title ? The EV omits both Stairway To Heaven and Friends, the latter being incomplete, even though both were released as singles prior to this edition. I want to buy the EV but having a hard time justifying the price for 90 minutes of music, but agree the label needs compensated for the investment of these SB’s its just really expensive and I would gather more of this recording will eventually see the light of day. I have resisted downloading it as well….for now the no label Winston Remaster is going to have to do.
That reply, incl. link (http://i64.tinypic.com/33ld16b.jpg), was intended for Relayer67.
After I got the Wendy 6CD version last year (2017), which I seem to remember was called “Live in Japan 1971 929”, which claims to be true soundboard, with significant audience patches, for the first 3 discs, and the definitive audience recording for the last 3 discs (also with significant audience patches from slightly inferior sources), I see no reason to spend any more $$$ on such expensive releases for the 929 show, unless Ii’m somehow missing something that other people know that I don’t. Just my 1.9 cents.