RARE NIGHT 2 LED ZEPPELIN TEST PRESSING "LIVE AT BERKLEY" BLANK EVERYTHING EX

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RARE LED ZEPPELIN TEST PRESSING "LIVE AT BERKLEY" RARE NIGHT 2 (ORIGINALLY LISTED WRONG!!!)

WITH BLACK DOG / GOING TO CALIFORNIA AND STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN ALL PLAYED LIVE BEFORE THEIR STUDIO RELEASES STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN HAD ONLY BEEN PLAYED A FEW TIMES 9 TO MY UNDERSTANDING 3 OR 4 TIMES) LIVE BEFORE THIS SHOW. MANY BELIEVE THIS IS THEIR GREATEST LIVE PERFORMANCE... IT IS NOT A RE RELEASE, THE COVER IS QUITE OLD AND THE PERSON I BOUGHT IT FROM ONLY KNEW IT WAS ACQUIRED IT IN THE EARLY 70'S BY HIS BROTHER WHEN HE WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL (SINCE PASSED AWAY)

BLANK COVER & LABELS DOUBLE LIVE LP VINYL EXCELLENT / EXCELLENT MINUS / COVER SPLIT DISCOLORING

HAND ETCHED MATRIX SIMPLY READS CL-1 / CL-2 /  CL-3 / CL-4 (NOT TMQ???)

ONE OF A KIND!!! UNKNOWN EVERYTHING. ANY INFORMATION WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED..ANY BID CONSIDERED 

Community Theatre, Berkeley, CA, USA – 14 September, 1971

Disc 1: Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker [inc. The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)/J. S. Bach: Bourrée from Suite in E minor for Lute, BWV 996] Since I’ve Been Loving You, [Out On The Tiles Intro/] Black Dog, Dazed And Confused [inc. Back In The USA]

Disc 2: Stairway To Heaven, That’s The Way, Going To California, Whole Lotta Love [inc. Just A Little Bit, Boogie Chillun’, Hello Mary Lou, My Baby Left Me, A Mess Of Blues, You Shook Me, The Lemon Song]

REVIEW FROM GODFATHER RECORDS

The first disc ends with a truly staggering version of Dazed And Confused, twenty-two minutes here, though it would soon get longer.  Rey states that the song is, “prolonged by rare song references inside what seems an interminable, cloudy solo.  The violin bow solo is particularly dramatic, with ominous, deep, droning vocals in perfect exchange.”  Page’s violin bow section and his fast solo are equally impressive and here, as for  much of the show, Plant is in good voice and he sings a few lines of Chuck Berry’s Back The U.S.A. (which had been released on the album of the same name by the MC5 the year before this performance) during the latter part of this performance.

The second disc’s opening performance of Stairway To Heaven, a song which, like Black Dog and Going To California, was still unreleased at this point, is marvellous.  Having received only a handful of public performances, the song still possesses a beguiling air of freshness which makes it both my preferred live version of the song and my favourite number from the show.  Dave Lewis, in Led Zeppelin: The Concert File, refers to it as, “another superb performance…as impressive as on any night on the tour.”  At one point Plant inserts what Lewis claims to be the unique line, “You are the home of the children of the sun,” referencing the song Going To California, which contains the lines, “The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake/As the children of the sun began to awake.”

The acoustic section of the show, which features John Paul Jones’ mandolin to very good effect, comes across as wonderfully intimate.  First we are treated to an utterly gorgeous rendition of the delicate That’s The Way.  This is succeeded by a gently lyrical performance of Going To California, which, despite being another song from the as-yet-unreleased album, receives a warm welcome at the end of Plant’s rather meandering introduction, doubtless due to the location of the concert.  (Plant’s introduction ends with him saying, “this is called Going To California…which is somewhere round here.”) 

Disc two then concludes with a lengthy Whole Lotta Love medley.  Holdren contends that, “the rest of the concert notwithstanding, the ‘Whole Lotta Love’ medley is the highlight of the night, and likely one of the best ever.”  Argenteum Astrum is also impressed, arguing that, “the wild and long medley is exciting, especially with Robert’s great vocals.”  Gsparaco comments that the medley section is, “played on fire with amazing fluidity.” and Rey comments on its “classic virtuosity.”  Included in this performance are Just A Little Bit, the 1959 Rosco Gordon single, recorded by Roy Head (single, 1965), Them (The Angry Young Them, 1965), Etta James (Tell Mama, 1967) and Magic Sam (Black Magic, 1968), a couple of lines from which appear before the medley section proper, during the theremin section; Boogie Chillun’, recorded in 1948 by John Lee Hooker; Hello Mary Lou,  the Gene Pitney-penned Ricky Nelson hit from 1961;  My Baby Left Me, written by Arthur Crudup in the late 1940s and later recorded by Elvis Presley (b-side to I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, 1956), Dave Berry (single, 1964) and Creedence Clearwater Revival (Cosmo’s Factory, 1970); A Mess of Blues, written by Doc Pomus  and Mort Shuman and originally recorded by Elvis Presley in 1960; You Shook Me  (of which Holdren writes: “Page’s guitar wails and moans more than Plant in an ideal version”) and The Lemon Song (which he adds, “returns the band to the WLL main theme. A spectacular conclusion”).  The whole magnificent edifice comes in at twenty-five minutes.

Thus ends, at least on disc, a show which is quite rightly regarded as a classic among Led Zeppelin live performances.  Gsparaco calls it, “one of the greatest Zeppelin performances on record,” and “an essential concert.”  Captain McCrunge concurs, stating that, “For many, it…ranks among the higher points of their entire live career…The band really were hitting a peak.”  Argenteum Astrum is of similar mind, arguing that, “the whole band is playing better than ever,” Rey reckons it, “a most satisfying performance,” The Year Of Led Zeppelin calls it, “an amazing performance,” and Holdren rates it as “a classic show!”

The sound quality is most impressive for an audience recording from 1971, as numerous commentators testify.  Gsparaco calls it, “the best recorded show from the tour,” and Argentium Astrum, posting on the band’s official website, contends that, “the sound on this recording is absolutely fabulous!”  The Year Of Led Zeppelin states that, “the tape is an excellent audience recording…A wonderful recording.”  Argenteum Astrum’s’s Led Zeppelin Database website refers to the Cashmere, Cobra and Beelzebub releases as, “excellent mono/stereo audience,” whereas the Shout To The Top and TMQ/Tarantura releases are accorded the status of “superb mono/stereo audience.”  The reference to mono/stereo is due to the fact that, as referred to above, there is a switch to stereo near the beginning of Heartbreaker.  The Title Comparisons page of theBootledZ website comments: “TMQ could possibly be copied and edited from STTT. Their content is identical except for TMQ’s edits at cuts and removal of the vinyl noise. TMQ amplified their title significantly.  Cashmere’s title is highly identical to TMQ but has a cut during Dazed not found on the other titles. Their sound is almost as loud as TMQ.”  Despite the high quality of the tape, resulting in what gsparaco reckons is, “the best recorded show from the tour,” the sourcing from vinyl for all CD releases does cause problems with some editions. Rosina Diaz Scali, writing on the Underground Uprising website expressed a preference for the no label version over the Shout To the Top release, arguing that it, “used a much better preserved vinyl source with hardly any evidence of a crack or pop throughout, whereas Shout To The Top’s offering has its fair share of surface noise.” Brian Ingham, on the same site, notes specific problems on the latter release: “Immigrant Song (vinyl scratching at beginning…a couple of vinyl ‘pops’ near ending)…Stairway to Heaven (minor vinyl “pops” at beginning)…You Shook Me (3 noticeable vinyl “pops” in middle…)…Lemon Song(vinyl scratching at beginning).”

Despite BootledZ’s contention that the TMQ/Tarantura version could “possibly” have its origins in the Shout To The Top release, Gsparaco suggests that the former is sourced directly from vinyl.  He clearly rates it very highly, regarding it as, “the definitive version…The label uses what sounds like a virgin vinyl source and do a professional sounding, flawless transfer…their mastering is absolutely phenomenal…Listening to it you will have to remind yourself of its origins.”  The TMQ/Tarantura and Godfather versions would therefore seem to have something in common, as the Recent Updates page of the Led Zeppelin Database states that Godfather’s source for this new release is an “unplayed LP.”  As with the TMQ/Tarantura release, there is no sign of the set’s LP origins in the form of pops, clicks or scratches.  The sound of Berkeley Daze – 2nd Night is most impressive.  The TMQ/Tarantura release has, to my ears, a little more presence, but this new Godfather transfer sounds cleaner and more refined and it effectively eliminates the hiss that is clearly audible on the TMQ/Tarantura version.