Live Adventure At Fillmore West (Wendy wecd-25/26)
Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA – January 10th, 1969
Disc 1: Train Kept A Rollin’, I Can’t Quit You, As Long As I Have You, Dazed And Confused, How Many More Times
Disc 2: White Summer, Killing Floor, You Shook Me, Pat’s Delight, Babe I’m Going To Leave You, Communication Breakdown, For Your Love
This is one of the earliest tapes in existence for Led Zeppelin, coming just two weeks on their first US tour in 1969. The sound quality of the tape is nothing special. It is listenable and somewhat enjoyable for the fan and curious, but really isn’t for the general collector. This release by Wendy sounds about the same as previous releases, no big improvement. What is great about listening to real early Zeppelin is the opportunity to hear them learn what power they wield and how the songs would change in arrangement from show to show. That was a virtue of theirs that was lost as time went on.
“Dazed & Confused” was performed much like it was in the latter Yardbirds years (compare to the Anderson Theater show), and “How Many More Times” has not developed much into the medley that it would be later in the year although it has “The Hunter” and a rare appearance of the Appalachian traditional “The Riddle Song”. This show also contains the only known Zeppelin performance of the Yardbirds hit “For Your Love” in a very Hendrix-like arrangement.
The liner notes point out other interesting tidbits about this show. The slow arpeggios in “How Many More Times” before the violin bow section would in the future find a home in “Dazed & Confused” and contain songs such as “San Francisco” and “Woodstock”. “Killing Floor” contains sections that are similar to the refrain in “What Is…” from Led Zeppelin II (but with different, inaudible lyrics). The cover contains the strangest liner notes I’ve ever read on a boot. Some story about a little girl named Wendy who grows up. Very strange, but then this is a strange label. In general, if you are in need of some very early Zeppelin then get this. Wendy have not used excessive mastering on the tape and it is quite listenable and enjoyable.
