The Heart of Markness Led Zeppelin Podcast

This is as legendary as legendary gets. Led Zeppelin at the LA Forum, June 23, 1977 is one of the most popular, and famous, bootleg recordings out there. The quality of Mike Millard's master recording is matched by the quality of the bands' performance. The first four songs are from the Barry Goldstein master tape, which is almost as good as Millard's. It really ties the room together, as it were....

This is a great show! The penultimate Page/Plant gig, December 2, 1998 Oberhausen, Westphalia. Unbelievable chemistry between all band members. Jimmy Page is absolutely on fire, and super precise in his tone, and delivery. The band has never sounded better and they are ending their Walking Into Everywhere Tour with a hell of a bang. I play Heartbreaker, Walking Into Clarksdale (insane whammy work...

This is a firecracker of a show recorded the month following the Royal Albert Hall gig, which is featured on the Led Zeppelin DVD. February, 28, 1970 in Copenhagen, Denmark. We have The Nobs performing, to placate the wrath of the elders of the Von Zeppelin family. Zeppelin delivers in Copenhagen, historically, and this show is now different. So, instead calling themselves Led Zeppelin, on this on...

I play a nice show from July 7, 1973 of Led Zeppelin lighting up Chicago. Robert's voice is in rough shape, but not as bad as the night before. Jimmy and Bonzo ably pick up any slack left by Mr. Plant. I play Over the Hills and a raucous Dazed. Good stuff. Performed 51 years ago, today.

This is a wonderful, clear, stereo recording of the legendary, and officially released (with a bunch of cuts and edits) April 1, 1971 performance at the Paris Theater, in London. Jonesy's fat bass sounds so good in the left channel. I play a nice punching Communication Breakdown with a very well represented hi-hat in the mix, and finally an epic Whole Lotta Love with a million well defined medleys...

1996 was a great year for the Jimmy Page/Robert Plant partnership. After their tremendously successful 1995 Unledded tour, they both loosened and tightened up, and headed South (of the Equator) with a smaller coterie of musicians. They played Central and South America, Japan, and finally, Australia. This recording is from their February 24, 1996 in Sydney. The recording is fantastic as is the perf...

This is an incredible recording from Saint Mike Millard on his blessed Nakamichi, of Led Zeppelin at the LA Forum on March 27, 1975. This is one of the legendary marathon shows, running more than 3 hours, in gorgeous full stereo. This is a fresh transfer made by JEMS and lightly mastered by DADGAD. It's a keeper for sure. I play a funky Over The Hills and Far Away and glorious improvisational No Q...

We hear Led Zeppelin playing the Rockpile in Toronto, on Feb. 2, 1969, on their first tour through North America. They conquer like Mongols as they tear across the continent, and this show is no different. I play the initial Train Kept A-Rollin' into I Can't You run, and finishes up with a cool as ice How Many More Times. This band is way better on their first big tour than many bands at their pea...

This show is a monster. Not only is it a 1971 show, making it great by default, it is also the first show with songs from Zep 4 (still 8 months from release), and it's also one of Robert Plant's strongest shows ever. So, it's a winner. I featured this show on Episode 127 where I played all the debut performances of Stairway, Rock and Roll, and Going to California. This time I'm playing the opening...

On August 23, 1998 Jimmy Page & Robert Plant played on a "wet, miserable field" in the rain at the Bizzare Festival, in Cologne/Koln Germany. They were touring in support of Walking Into Clarksdale, which was produced/engineered by the late Steve Albini (RIP). This is a fantastic, professionally broadcast, performance and all systems are go with Jimmy on fire,and Robert's voice strong and in contr...

Them Crooked Vultures is a band with John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme and they rock. Hard. This show is from April 17, 2010 in Las Vegas, and it rocks. Hard. I play Mind Eraser, No Chaser, New Fang, and Warsaw. These men are from Led Zeppelin(!), Foo Fighters, Nirvana, and Queens of the Stone Age. Legends all. It's a great one.

Led Zeppelin's 1973 European tour is generally considered to be the instrumental peak of the band, with Jimmy Page, John Bonham, and John Paul Jones locked in tighter than ever, and playing with breakneck speed. This performance is from Hamburg on March 21, 1973 and is a lovely remastered merge of the 2nd gen audience recording, and the clean as a whistle soundboard (Dazed, Stairway, and Whole Lot...

June 1972 is a golden month for Zep fans. Lots of great shows, including the ones which would eventually be released as How The West Was Won. This is June 15, 1972 at Nassau Colosseum and it is awesome. We hear a first gen from the AC recording and boy do those guys like to talk. I play Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, and a Whole Lotta Love with a zillion amazing medleys.

This show is all kinds of magickal, to me. First, I was there. Second, Jimmy Page was on fire this whole tour. Third, Robert Plant was in attendance so the band knocked it up a notch. This is October 29, 1988 and Jimmy Page is at the Worcester Centrum supporting his Outrider album. A performance of legend. I play a stellar Midnight Moonlight w/Black Mountainside, an even more amazing solo section...

This a brand new transfer from Mike Millard's master cassettes themselves (not the DAT tansfer) by the laudable JEMS tape group, remastered tastefully by DADGAD. June 27, 1977. Led Zeppelin's final night of a five night run at the LA Forum. I play Sick Again (which rocks), Since I've Been Loving You, which shines in its more mature 1977 arrangement, and an adventurous Ten Years Gone in which not e...

This is an absolute joy of a gig from John Paul Jones, who appeared at the Big Ears Music Festival in Knoxville, TN on March 22, 2024. He played all three days of the event. One night with Sons of Chipotle, one night solo (which is what I'm playing), and one night with Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. Our boy gets around. I play a few tracks from his solo set, an isolated bass rendition of Ramble...

This episode is a request from long time friend and Patron, Other David. Second Knebworth holds a special place in his heart, and he requested I cover this show, which I happily did. We hear the last performance of No Quarter by the original 4 members, with some smooth and jazzy runs by Jimmy, and some almost chaotic chops by Jonesy. It's a unique performance, vibe-wise, and I like it. We also hea...

This is an absolutely delightful 1975 Led Zeppelin concert. 2/12/75 in New York City we hear an excellent audience recording from Jerry Moore, who made a great recording. Jimmy is pretty on top of his game, broken finger notwithstanding. Robert is in great spirits, and Jonesy and Bonzo are locked in tighter than a tourniquet. We hear Sick Again (super tight and Robert has a good time), Over the Hi...

I circle back to this amazing show, because in episode 249 I had the raw recording not the DADGAD remaster as I'd thought. This show fixes that and highlights this great show in all its glory. My absolute favorite performance of In My Time of Dying, along with Nobody's Fault But Mine, and Over the Hills. This show is so so so good.

This is one of the all time best concerts ever. Led Zeppelin at the Fillmore April 26, 1969 upgraded from a 1st VHS source. We witness the end of the telecaster era, the penultimate As Long As I Have You, an unreal How Many More Times, and the first extant performance of Whole Lotta Love, ever! This show is perfect. It goes to eleven.

This is a show I've covered in the long long ago, but I was listening to it and wanted to share more of the brilliance from hungry young Zeppelin. January 10, 1969 at the Fillmore West. These early shows are wild and feral, from a band that is completely unknown. Zep I hasn't been released yet. No one knows anything about these guys, until they take the stage. Then it's kaboom. I play Train Kept A...

This is a joyous scorcher of a show. Led Zeppelin in Hamburg, DE on March 11, 1970 is a rollicking yet chill performance similar to the RAH show two months prior. We hear Heartbreaker, a Since I've Been Loving You so new the wings are still wet, and a massive How Many More Time is a vehicle for a billion cool medleys. A great band at a great time in their great career. Enjoy

We listen to a new compilation of Led Zeppelin's 1977 US Tour from cmoneysmile via Led Zeppelin Boots' Channel. This is a very nice mix of the best performances from this iconic tour. I play a few tracks, Nobody's Fault, Whole Lotta Love, and some acoustic one offs. A very enjoyable listen.

We looked at this show a few years ago but I wanted to revisit Providence because it is such a kick ass show! We hear Celebration Day in which Jonesy is the star, Black Dog in which Robert's voice is like that of a god, and Since I've Been Loving You in which Jimmy is first among equals.

This is the first of three legendary nights at the Boston Tea Party on Led Zeppelin's very first tour of the states. January 23, 1969 is what we're hearing. Wild, Chaotic, almost feral is how hungry young Led Zeppelin sound. Another way to describe it is 'Holy Shit!' I play Train Kept A'Rollin' (from the Yardbird days), As Long as I Have (w/ Fresh Garbage & Bag's Groove), and an embryonic Dazed an...