Audience recording from the Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland Ohio, on April 28th 1977. limited edition of a tape close to being excellent, virtually free of hiss, trebly and overloaded at times. The tape shows wear occasionally and presents cuts and edits almost in its entirety. The band is upfront and the clarity of the instruments is very detailed, the bass is a little indistinct at the end. The cuts and edits eliminate most of Plant’s comments, miss the first few seconds of many songs, cause tape disturbances when the recording resumes and interrupt two tracks in progress. Before Nobody’s Fault the taper curses as he informs he is having problems, a squeal precedes the first cut, when the recording resumes the first few guitar notes are missing.
In My Time is cut briefly in the final vocal a cappella and joined to the last phrase of You Shook Me. No Quaaludes, as introduced by Plant, is cut during the second vocal theme and joined to a couple of seconds of the wha-ed guitar episode, and finally cuts out. Audience noise is minimal, a wise guy is introducing the songs to his mate! s before Plant, an irreverent yell of “this sucks!” in Over the Top ,and the taper cursing again in Stairway; there’s some mumbling in the quiet moments, but nothing really annoying. This is a superb gig, the pacing and playing, together with the very enjoyable recording, make for a listening treat. Page is precise, concise and powerful; Jonesy is all over the place; Plant’s vocal gymnastics are strong from the beginning to the end and seems genuinely touched by the audience’s response; Bonzo is frightening, he seems to destroy the drum kit in every track, the recording captures particularly well his crushing presence. Collectively is the same story, the enthusiasm does not let up a minute, every piece receives special attention and there are no lazy moments. In My Time features great introductory licks to the guitar leads; No Quarter features amazing interplay and Jonesy’s most inspired piano playing. Ten Years is overloaded by the loud twelve-string and cymbals, Achilles by the drums, even distorting the tape, but both are very clear. Tape wear is evident in Over the Top, Kashmir and Stairway; there’s a little distortion in the encores: Rock and Roll, Trampled. Despite these deficiencies, the performance is not affected at all and allows its enjoyment. This show should restore the faith to detractors of this era.
The tape for Zeppelin’s second night in Cleveland is one of the strangest. The tapers were located a ways from the stage, they were experiencing problems with their equipment, and he and his friends were not shy about expressing their opinions throughout the entire show. It is also obvious one of his friends attended the previous evening’s concert and liked to tell the others which song is coming next. Despite these obstacles this is considered one of, if not the best, audience document outside of the tapes for Los Angeles. Its reputation is due to it being very clear and powerful. Zeppelin was the perfect band to use the Richfield Coliseum’s questionable acoustics to their advantage and the result sounds like battery artillery storming the beachhead to the delight of a packed house.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FLgsVzQixI
This tape has been known as The Destroyer since it was released shortly after the event [I believe it might have been as much as a year later or more]. It was first released as a vinyl box set on the Smilin’ Ears Records label complete with the famous painting of the warriors huddled on top of one another.” [collectorsmusicreviews.com]
Recorded 28th-Apr-77 Cleveland, The Second Night
Audience recording from the second night at Richfield Coliseum in Cleveland, OH – 28th April 1977 apparently one of the best performances on the whole tour. Released in 1978; originally sold for $22 via the Pied Piper bootleg catalog.
THE DESTROYER
SMILIN’ EARS 77-300
Side 1: The Song Remains The Same – Sick Again (14:11)/ Nobody’s Fault But Mine (5:36)
Side 2: Since I’ve Been Loving You (17:24)
Side 3: Guitar Solo medley incl. The Star Spangled Banner – Achilles Last Stand (18:21)
Side 4: White Summer medley incl. Black Mountain Side – Kashmir (15:31)
Side 5: Ten Years Gone (8:56)/The Battle Of Evermore (5:25)/ Going To California (4:19)
Side 6: Black Country Woman medley incl. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp (7:00)/ Trampled Underfoot (6:19)/ Rock & Roll (3:54)
Side 7: Kashmir (17:13)
Side 8: Over The Top medley incl. Out On The Tiles/ Moby Dick (16:25)
Recording: Very good mono audience. Taped on platform usually used for television camera for sports broadcasts. “All the cuts exist for two reasons: the taper was trying to save tape, and the recording was done on 60 minute (30mins per side) cassettes. ” Comments: Deluxe box set. Two different covers. Two audience sources exist for this date.
Master tape in detail:
01. The Song Remains The Same (beginning cut) 03:44
02. Sick Again 07:05
03. Nobody’s Fault But Mine 07:17
04. In My Time Of Dying 11:37
05. Since I’ve Been Loving You 09:43
06. No Quarter (cut at 05:07) 20:45
07. Ten Years Gone 10:05
08. The Battle Of Evermore 06:27
09. Going To California 05:14
10. Black Country Woman 01:42
11. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp 05:42
12. White Summer (cut at 00:29) 03:45
13. Black Mountain Side 01:34
14. Kashmir 09:34
15. Over The Top 17:26
16. Noise Solo (cut at 10:06) 10:10
17. Achilles Last Stand 10:28
18. Stairway To Heaven 11:44
19. Rock And Roll(beginning cut) 04:12
20. Trampled Underfoot 06:59
The Fat Angel Sings 