Full Imperial Collapse(Wendy wecd-98/99/100)
The Forum, Los Angeles, CA – June 27th, 1977
Disc 1: The Song Remains The Same, Sick Again, Nobody’s Fault But Mine, Over The Hills And Far Away, Since I’ve Been Loving You, No Quarter
Disc 2: Ten Years Gone, The Battle of Evermore, Going To California, Going Down South, Black Country Woman, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, Dancing Days, White Summer / Black Mountain Side, Kashmir, Trampled Underfoot
Disc 3: Out On The Tiles / Moby Dick, guitar solo, Achilles Last Stand, Stairway To Heaven, Whole Lotta Love, Rock And Roll
Full Imperial Collapse is the strangely named Wendy release covering Led Zeppelin’s marathon final performance in Los Angeles on June 27 1977. Like all of the compact disc releases of this concert, Wendy use the excellent sounding complete source of the full show whose earliest release was in the early nineties on the European three disc release The Legendary End (Silver Rarities SIRA 206/207/208). The Tarantura label released it on the four disc title The Legend of the End (Tarantura T19CD-16-19) issued both in the A Week For Badgeholders box set of the entire six show run at the Forum and as an individual release.
The Diagrams Of Led Zeppelin also issued the tape spread over four discs on Sunset (TDOLZ Vol. 55) released both individually and in the Power & Glory box set. The obscure Rabbit label released Farewell To L.A. (Rabbit Records RR 001/2/3) spread over three discs several years later. Deep Striker (Empress Valley EVSD-26/27/28/29) was the second Led Zeppelin release on that label and came out in 1999 and the latest title was Coherence (Watchtower WT 2005137/138/139).
This new release, like the Watch Tower, is conveniently spread over three discs instead of four. Wendy sometimes try to improve tapes but apply too much mastering which results in a harsh sound, but their work with the Millard 1977 is generally pretty solid. It is has deep, warm and natural sound and is as good as the Empress Valley and Watch Tower releases, both of which are considered to be the best of this show.
Full Imperial Collapse is packaged in a fatboy jewel case with an obi on the spine. At this point the Wendy label have released the four Millard tapes from these shows. Hopefully they will complete the set and release the definitive version of the June 22nd show
