*Source A comes from a very good audience tape that doesn't pick up much audience noise. Some distortion, fuzziness, and dullness don't take anything away from its presence and punch. Bass and drums sound distinct and powerful with Jones cutting right through the mix. Unfortunately the beginning is missing! The usual tape hiss doesn't interfere much with the sound. I'll give it a 7.5.

The Splice: *The story goes that "Mr. Sonic," the same good citizen who taped the 3/21/75 show, was in a car wreck on the way to this show, and missed the opening 4 tracks. TDOLZ presents the complete show by splicing the above source with the remainder of the concert as taped by Mr. Sonic.

*The audience cheers on Source A fade out after In My Time, and Source B thumps in with a rather clumsy edit and picks up after some hiss and bumps with Plant talking. No music is cut, but the splice could sound more professional (just crossfade the audience noise!).

Source "B": *The Song Remains The Same/The Rain Song, No Quarter (minor dropout 21 minutes in), Trampled Underfoot, Moby Dick, Dazed And Confused (minor dropout during Woodstock prelude, includes Woodstock, 15 second dropout during vocal return), Stairway To Heaven, Whole Lotta Love/The Crunge/JB's Jam/ Black Dog.

*This source features another very good audience recording, bordering on excellent. Again, little audience noise. However, this one's a more dimensional recording, a bit airy and more precise. Not as bass heavy as Source A, but a bit more hiss. Also several edits between songs, elimintaing some of the chatter. An 8.

*I compared this 3/17 source to Cobla's 3/21 package, as both were taped by the same person with the same equipment and placement. Although overall very similar in sound, I found 3/21 a touch clearer, sharper, treble-heavy, and hissier. Despite complaints I have heard (and made myself!) about the hiss on Cobla's 3/21, it's only a fraction hissier than 3/17 which is mastered with more bass emphasis. What does this mean? Maybe the original tapes had a little more than the usual hiss, and I've got no right to complain. I even think that I prefer the sound of 3/21, so I may have to retract some of my negative comments about "214 & 207.19."

However, the longer numbers don't measure up to the end of tour standard. Jones dies at the piano trying to start his No Quarter solo, maybe thinking something like "What should I play now?" Bonham enters very early during the solo, rescuing the piece which meanders into much stronger territory. The beautiful prelude to Woodstock that Page plays during Dazed (the E natural harmonic minor thing that became the Achilles bridge) sounds undeveloped. He delivers a far superior version on the 21st, a night when Plant's voice also sounds much stronger.

Packaging: A decent but only average (consdering the high standards of current Japanese CD's) presentation in Silver Rarities fashion. Diagrams trades in the usual paper slipcase for a triple jewel case. Front cover: b/w Earl's Court photo (great shot!). Back cover: from the '75 tour but not this concert, a bit of a shame because there are many great, well-circulated photos from this show, not to mention photos of ticket stubs. Unfortunately, no inlays or inserts.

Special Note: Some hints for writing this came from Hugh Jones' great Seattle '75 issue, Proximity #17. Great writeups of the shows and the taping of them. Read it while listening to this and you are almost there!

Eric Romano (9/26/97)

The review for "Seattle Won't You Listen" is ©1998 Eric Romano, and may not be reproduced in any media, electronic or otherwise, without the express permission of the author.