Led Zeppelin played 10 or 11 shows in my hometown of Seattle, including one played very close to my house in a town called Woodinville. The first was in 1968, the last was in 1977 at the massive concrete eyesore known as the Kingdome. I was just a kid when that last show happened and I never got to see the might Zep live (though I did see Robert Plant live once on, I believe, the Manic Nirvana tour…). Despite that I still have a fascination with the band’s shows in the city and I’ve done my best to track down copies where they exist.
In Zeppelin circles the July 17, 1977 show in Seattle is regarded as one of the best and there are all kinds of releases of it out there. Individual tracks appear on various compilations (official and less-than-official) and there are a few dozen versions of the show on DVD and CD, many if not most of which are produced and manufactured in Japan. One of the recent entries into this pool is Kingdom Come: Seattle 1977 Definitive Edition, a three CD, 23-track collection clocking in at roughly 3.5 hours. It’s said to be a mono soundboard recording and the producers cleaned up some of the audio challenges that plagued earlier versions. Now, I haven’t heard other versions of this concert, at least not of the entire show, so I can’t speak to how it compares with its predecessors. What I can tell you, however, is that it’s exquisite.
The Kingdome was a notoriously garbage venue for live shows, a massive wart with a concrete roof and concrete walls and a concrete floor. So much concrete. All the concrete. A relic from the era of multi-purpose facilities that could host any kind of event you wanted, but somehow make all of them generally unpleasant. But despite this, the sound quality of this show is fantastic. I’m not an audio engineer, but I assume since this was recorded through the sound board the building’s unique problems didn’t have any impact on the overall quality. The mix is well balanced and all the instruments have their parts – Page’s solo on “Over the Hills and Far Away” is lovely, and Jones’ keyboard solo on “No Quarter” is staggeringly good with just the slightest hint of applause in the far recesses. Ever member of the band has their place and there is none of the muddiness that you get from some many live recordings.
If I have a complaint with this show it’s in the setlist. There is very little here from the first two albums – “Black Mountain Side” and “Whole Lotta Love” (I don’t really count “Moby Dick” given it’s basically a drum solo…). I’d have enjoyed a bit more of the earlier material. That being said, there isn’t a stinker anywhere in the set.
If you’re looking for a clean version of the 1977 Seattle show, or just a late-era live Zep show in general, Kingdom Come: Seattle 1977 Definitive Edition is the one for you.