DRAGON SLAYERS
GENUINE MASTERS GM-LZ-17.07.1977-DVD-A-20
DVD Audio:
The Song Remains The Same/The Rover Intro/Sick Again/Nobody's Fault But Mine/
Over The Hills And Far Away/Since I've Been Loving You/No Quarter/Ten Years Gone/The Battle Of Evermore/
Going To California/Black Country Woman medley incl. Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp/
White Summer medley incl. Black Mountain Side/Kashmir/Over The Top medley incl. Out On The Tiles,
Moby Dick/Guitar Solo/Achilles Last Stand/Stairway To Heaven/Whole Lotta Love/Rock And Roll (209:18)
Recording:
Excellent stereo soundboard/Color pro visual artwork. Source: Kingdome, Seattle, Washington July 17 '77.
Comments: Australian bootleg. Deluxe standard DVD case. Picture discs.
http://www.uuweb.led-zeppelin.us/1977.html#17-Jul-77 Seattle
Dragon Slayers (Genuine Masters GM-LZ-17.07.1977-DVD-A-20) Hybrid DVD-Audio Kingdome, Seattle, WA, 17 July 1977 209-min 18-sec
Soundboard source (not video soundtrack).
Tracks: 1. The Song Remains The Same / 2. The Rover / 3. Sick Again 4. Nobody's Fault But Mine 5. Over The Hills And Far Away
6. Since I've Been Loving You 7. No Quarter 8. Ten Years Gone 9. The Battle Of Evermore 10. Going To California
11. Black Country Woman / 12. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp 13. White Summer / Black Mountain Side 14. Kashmir 15. Out On The Tiles / 16. Moby Dick
17. Page Guitar Solo / 18. Achilles Last Stand 19. Stairway To Heaven 20. Whole Lotta Love / 21. Rock And Roll
This show has been available before as a soundboard recording, but those releases were taken from the video soundtrack.
This new release from Genuine Masters uses a proper soundboard recording rather than the video audio track. There is a fair amount of difference as well.
This new soundboard source has a really clear and sharp top end, which is an improvement over the video source. There is not quite so much bottom end on
this new source however. Previously Empress Valley released the video soundtrack as Year Of The Dragon on 4 (rather than 3) CDs.
This new release clocks in at 210 minutes, and incredibly has been fitted onto one 4.7 Gig DVDR. One problem with the soundboard source is that
Plant's vocals are a bit harsh or shrill. That has been corrected on this release and we now have a far nicer sound to the vocals.
Robert Plant talks about the band's legendary concerts in the Seattle Center Coliseum in previous years, especially the one on 19 June 1972 when they gave
so many encores. Just before The Battle Of Evermore Plant coughs and says "Arsenal", which was a catchphrase of comedian Eric Morecambe at the time on
British TV. The concert at this new venue was rather erratic, and there are some mistakes in a few songs.
It is however one of the few soundboards available for the 1977 Tour and overall it is an excellent sounding release and
highly recommended to all fans of this tout. Stunning full colour cover art and a nice colour picture disc combine with the excellent sound,
to make this a tremendous release. (Jules McTrainspotter March 06)
It took some time for me to accurately assess the quality of the "soundboard" recording featured in this new release from GM, comparing with the audio of the
same GM's "Supersonic Seattle" which still stands as the best ever title featuring the video soundtrack. (Scorpio has recently issued a title called
"Over The Top" which conveniently contains onto a single multi-layer DVD the same video in a quality almost equal to that of GM's "Supersonic Seattle",
but I found that the audio of GM's title is still superior especially in its higher ends, more vividly reviving the atmosphere of an almost "nastily"
loud Zeppelin concert of those days.) Unfortunately, the condition of the soundboard recording is, probably originally, not perfect. Apparently,
it lacks the range, especially in its lower ends, which makes the overall sound a bit tiny and thin. Just like the video soundtrack,
the sound volume of some portions of the opening tune "The Song Remains The Same" fluctuates even in this soundboard recording, for some unknown reason.
However, the soundboard has much less digital or hiss noises and, thus, is much cleaner than the video soundtrack.
I am sure you will best understand what I am saying., if you listen to the audio of the relatively quiet parts of the show
(e.g., the acoustic set or "White Summer/Black Mountain Side"), which is now really enjoyable with its very cleanness. Unlike in the video soundtrack,
there is no balance fluctuation during "White Summer/Black Mountain Side". All in all, the soundboard recording of this show is a welcomed new find,
which is now made public for the first time in a most decent quality by the masterful hands of Mr. Black Dog. The artwork for the cover of this title is
sensationally outstanding. Especially, I love the very attractive looking Dragon Slayer depicted in it! The slide shows for the title,
which include some rare shots from the band's '77 U.S. Tour, are also very intricate, artistic and highly enjoyable.
A very nice addition to our collection! (Takemi Hiramatsu March 06)