Rocktober Then and Now

In this issue:

• Concert Videos Made in Japan

• Coming Soon

Concert Videos Made in Japan

I’ve always been fascinated with Zeppelin’s world tours; in particular, Japan. I recall seeing pictures of Japanese fans tailing the band members through traditional gardens, beautiful parks and past amazing architecture. Photos of Jimmy Page using chopsticks! But, until recently, there hadn’t been many visuals of the actual concerts performed on Led Zeppelin’s two Japanese tours.

This was quite surprising, especially given the massive amount of bootlegged audio that came out of Japan on tape, record and CD as well as high-quality official studio releases on Japanese import.

Led Zeppelin’s first Japanese Tour was in September 1971. The band was a smash hit from the beginning. Japanese audiences were every bit as avid and passionate as their Western counterparts and fans there were finally able to experience live and first-hand what the uproar was all about. Led Zeppelin’s album sales and the band’s popularity were huge before – and after – that first Japanese Tour.

Drummer John Bonham once commented that Immigrant Song (which was the opening number for all five concerts on that First Tour) was the favourite with Japanese audiences. The set list included the following:

• Immigrant Song,
• Heartbreaker,
• Since I’ve Been Loving You,
• Black Dog,
• Dazed and Confused,
• Stairway to Heaven,
• Celebration Day,
• That’s the Way,
• Going to California,
• Tangerine,
• What Is and What Should Never Be,
• Moby Dick,
• Whole Lotta Love,
• Communication Breakdown.

Thank You and Rock and Roll were sometimes played, sometimes not. But the most interesting piece from an improvisational standpoint was Whole Lotta Love. Every night, it was different because of the rock’n’roll tribute medleys that were sandwiched into it as well as excerpts from Zeppelin’s own material.

Thanks to bootlegged audio material and eyewitness concert accounts, we know that Led Zeppelin really put on a show, paying tribute to their blues roots and the early days of rock’n’roll that their Japanese audiences loved so much. One of the band’s most amazing medleys ever, Whole Lotta Love as played on that First Tour of Japan, variously included:

• Let that Boy Boogie (John Lee Hooker),
• Be-Bop-a-LuLa (Gene Vincent),
• Cocaine Blues (T.J. “Red” Arnall, popularized by Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan),
• Rave On (Sonny West/recorded by Buddy Holly),
• Hello Mary Lou (Gene Pitney/recorded by Ricky Nelson),
• Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison),
• I’m a Man (Bo Diddley),
• Mess of Blues (Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman/recorded by Elvis Presley and covered by Jeff Healey),
• Tobacco Road (John Loudermilk/recorded by The Nashville Teens),
• Bachelor Boy (Cliff Richard),
• Maybelline (Chuck Berry),
• I Gotta Know (Matt Williams and Elvis Presley),
• Twist and Shout (Phil Medley and Bert Berns/recorded by the Top Notes, Isley Brothers and most famously, The Beatles),
• Fortune Teller (Alain Toussaint aka Naomi Neville/variously recorded by Benny Spellman, The Rolling Stones, The Hollies, The Who, Strawberry Alarm Clock and reprised on Raising Sand by Robert Plant/Alison Krauss).

Excerpts from Led Zeppelin’s own recorded catalogue included: Good Times Bad Times plus The Hunter (Albert King), You Shook Me (Willy Dixon/J.B. Lenoir) and How Many More Times (Howlin’ Wolf).

In February of 1972, Led Zeppelin went on its first and, as it turned out, only tour of Australia and New Zealand. That summer, the band toured extensively in the United States. After two dates in Honolulu, Hawaii, October found Led Zeppelin back in Japan for a Second Tour that included two dates at each of Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Festival Hall in Osaka and one-nighters in Nagoya and Kyoto.

The band’s fifth studio album, Houses of the Holy, had been recorded before this Japanese tour but wouldn’t be released until March of 1973. As usual, the band debuted songs from its upcoming album whose tracks were, for the first time, all of Led Zeppelin’s own composition.

Just think about the timing and what was going on! On Zeppelin’s First Tour of Japan in September 1971, they were debuting songs from the yet-to-be-released untitled fourth album. On their Second Tour of Japan in October 1972, they were debuting songs from their upcoming FIFTH studio album!

After having listened to every boot I could locate of those two Japanese tours, I was thrilled when video concert footage recently surfaced! Thanks to 8mm clips featured on Led Zeppelin’s official website and YouTube channel, we’re finally able to SEE as well as hear those historic performances.

Although short, these videos provide a tangible sense of how the venue felt, how the band was playing and why the group was so blown away at the Japanese audience’s reception of its music.

BUDOKAN HALL, TOKYO JAPAN, SEPTEMBER 23, 1971 Approximate Length of 8mm Footage: 6:22

Click to view this video.

The resolution is clear enough you can really pick up on what’s going on. The camera person did a fine job zooming in and out. You can hear the enthusiastic crowd going wild at the end of John Bonham’s drum solo, Moby Dick. And there’s the trademark hand clapping the Japanese are famous for, in What Is and What Should Never Be and Whole Lotta Love.

As Robert Plant introduces some numbers, and you see his band-mates milling around the stage, it’s almost like you’re there for a moment, it’s that powerful. A cloth banner announcing “Led Zeppelin” provides a stage backdrop that was never used in the West.

BUDOKAN HALL, TOKYO JAPAN, OCTOBER 2, 1972 Approximate Lenth of 8mm Footage: 2:56

Click to view this video.

Although short and rough, this video fragment’s still a treasure. It appears to have been shot from the upper reaches of the Budokan Hall. Despite the grainy footage, the band’s energy is apparent on then-new material like The Song Remains the Same.

Led Zeppelin would never tour Japan again but at least we fans have audio – and now some video – records of those rising stars in the Land of the Rising Sun.

COMING SOON!

We're excited to announce that our e-book about J.J. Jackson is going to be available soon in an e-pub format that you can download to an e-reader, PDA or cell phone. We have plans to add more titles in both e-pub and PDF formats in the new year.

Stay tuned!

The Essential Zep Read: Tangible, Collectible, Re-readable! 40,000 word packed edition featuring:

• Jimmy Page: The Visual Autobiography – Exclusive preview Robert Plant & The Band of Joy - Extensive coverage of the BoJ tour and album
• John Bonham Remembered by Jason Bonham. 30 years gone plus the fans’ reaction –Gary Davies and Dave Lewis reflect on the impact and aftermath of September 25, 1980
• Black Country Communion - Keeping The Faith with Glenn, Joe & Jason –exclusive interviews with today’s hottest rock supergroup
• Zep Summer of ’70 Tour Log - Tracking the Zep concert trail of 40 years ago from Iceland to Milwaukee
• Plus Latest John Paul Jones News - Nick Kent Interview Part 2, CD reviews, latest news and more.

Order your copy of Led Zeppelin history at Tight But Loose!

Thanks for reading and keep rockin' 'til next month!

Reminders

Want to learn about Led? Visit Learn-about-Led.com

Order Sonic Boom Volume 1 here.

And don't forget to tell us what's YOUR favourite Led Zeppelin album!

Do you already own True Blues & Beyond, my e-book that explores Led Zeppelin's earliest influences in the blues? It's free for Enzepploziners. Click here to download it.