Following the success of their MTV Unplugged set in 1994, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page pulled together a band and hit the road. This recording finds the pair on stage at The Shark Tank in San Jose for a show that many considered to be the highlight of the tour.
Over the course of 16 songs, they naturally dive headlong into the Led Zeppelin catalogue. They also find for a few covers, the most surprising of which is a quite wonderful take on The Cure’s ‘Lullaby’ that features Cure member Porl Thompson on guitar. Most importantly, these are inventive and inspired takes on Zep’s original blueprints. They showcase the phenomenal vocals of Plant and Page injects a distinctly Middle-Eastern feel into his guitar. ‘Kashmir’ in particular becomes a stretched-out hypnotic jam that feels at times oppressively heavy, and at others, transcendental. Similarly, the amalgam of ‘Calling To You’, ‘Dazed And Confused’ and ‘Break On Through’ is a phenomenal exercise in virtuosity and composed chaos and showcases a band at the top of its game
This double album showcases Jimmy Page and Robert Plant’s spectacular concert at the Shark Tank Arena, in San Jose, California, on 20 May 1995.
Led Zeppelin’s main songwriters had reformed 17th April 1994 as a part of the Alexis Korner Memorial Concert, held at the Buxton Opera House, in Buxton, Derbyshire. Then, on 25th and 26th August, the duo recorded performances in London, Wales and Morocco, with Egyptian and Moroccan orchestration. The performances aired as part of the 90-minute MTV project “UnLedded“, and were so successful that the two co-ordinated a tour which kicked off in February 1995.
This release captures an incredible performance from that tour. Featured, are both new material and middle eastern-influenced covers of Zeppelin classics such as “Kashmir”, “Black Dog”, “Ramble On”, “Since I’ve Been Loving You”, “No Quarter” and more. Also included is a unique cover of The Cure’s “Lullaby”.
This recording came from a FM Broadcast from a concert in San Jose, California.
The Fat Angel Sings 