Led Zeppelin – Burn Like A Candle (Graf Zeppelin LZSC-011A/B/C)

Burn Like A Candle (Graf Zeppelin LZSC-011A/B/C)

The Forum, Inglewood, CA, USA – June 25, 1972

Disc 1 (67:56) Introduction, Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Over The Hills And Far Away, Black Dog, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Stairway To Heaven, Going To California, That’s The Way, Tangerine, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp

Disc 2 (57:13) MC, Dazed and Confused, What Is And What Should Never Be, Dancing Days, Moby Dick

Disc 3 (62:06) MC, Whole Lotta Love, Rock And Roll, The Ocean, Louie Louie, Thank You, Communication Breakdown, Bring It On Home

In the myriad of Zeppelin releases over the past year comes a new title from the folks at Graf Zeppelin, the label is somewhat of a curiosity as they seem to not be in any hurry to put out title after title but seem to be only concerned with releasing quality material. This new title is their take on the famous Zeppelin L.A. Forum gig from 1972, any collector of Zeppelin’s unofficial live catalog most certainly has this concert in their collection and the serious have a bundle of them.

Dating back to the days of vinyl, a fragment of this tape was released as L.A. Forum A Night At The Heartbreak Hotel (Artemis CO 7199A-B) but it was not until the Burn Like A Candle (The Smokin Pig LZCA-01/2/3) and A Night At The Heartbreak Hotel (Missing Link 011/012/013) titles were collectors able to fully sink their teeth into this concert. Blessed with great sound and save for a minor cut on the Whole Lotta Love Medley, a virtually complete concert. When one couples this with the fact that it comes from Led Zep’s eight US tour in the summer of 72 makes it even more special as the band’s playing was at an incredible peak, a peak that would last throughout the year and well into 1973. The tape would receive many other releases in the following years, Tarantura would release it as Route 66 (Tarantura T4CD-3), and later as Burn That Candle (Tarantura TCD 51-1/2/3/4). Empress Valley released Burn Like A Candle (Empress Valley EVSD 138/139/140) in a deluxe version with a T-Shirt and would reissue it coupled with the June 27 Long Beach show using the same matrix numbers and at least two other issues of this material in one form or another. Other notable titles are Burn That Candle (Equinox EX-00-010/011/012), Burn Like A Candle (Wendy WECD 63/64/65), and most recently as Burn That Candle (No Label) and Burn That Candle (Scorpio (UK) – 80). Most certainly one of the best and most complete was found on the deluxe box set Welcome Back : How The West Was Won Revisited (Godfatherecords Godfather Box 08). There is an extensive review of that title where you can find a detailed analysis and deserves reading if you have not done so already.

The folks at Graf Zeppelin now take their stab at it and have released a three CD edition of the concert, and for comparison I used the Godfather version of this title as I agree with GS that it was one of the best versions of the tape. Both titles are very similar in sound and completeness with this new Graf Zeppelin title getting the nod as it just a bit clearer with the top end being cleaner and less distorted. The tape hiss is the same and unless you are in a quiet section you do not know it is even there, the tape cut during the Whole Lotta Love medley is smooth and the company does not employ any other editing techniques to make the recording seem longer than it is, simply put, a superb version of an incredible recording.

The packaging is featured the now classic art work from William Stout originated on the old Smokin Pig title and includes a bonus two sided fold out poster featuring black and white and color versions of said art work. The CD’s have pictures on them and the Trade Mark of Quality Pig is also featured on the discs and front cover sticker. All this is housed on a fat boy jewel case and the release is limited to 200 numbered copies. In this day and age it is hard to call anything definitive, for now this release makes a case for that distinction, and at an affordable price.