12 December 1972; Capitol Club; Cardiff, U.K.

(*): Whole Lotta Love (incomplete), Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker, Organ Solo/Thank You.

Comments: The recording starts with the end of a terrific Rock And Roll, and Robert demonstrates right away that this is going to be his night. He sets off with some amazing screams rarely heard in these late performances. He calms down for Celebration Dayand Black Dog, and the listener may fear that Robert damaged his voice at the start. Nevertheless, the rest of the band put in a very solid performance right from the beginning, and you can tell it is going to be a great night. Over The Hills and Far Away has Jimmy wandering off into outer space during his excellent solo, played coherently for once and sounding really great. Misty Mountain Hop is introduced as "about the loss of brain cells. You heard it last year anyway -- its really good." Page fools the rhythm section at the end of the piece by dragging the piece a little but eventually gets into a very relaxed Since I've Been Loving You. Robert comes back to life here and uses his vocals to superb effect. This is a really laid-back version -- Page refuses to get carried away despite Bonzo's attempts to wake him up with huge drum crashes. The fun really begins with No Quarter. Jones' seriously dark introduction prompts comments of "Oh wow!; oh boy!" from the tapers or nearby, and the piece develops into a really great three-way improvisation, with Bonham again hammering the piece into everyone's heads.

Some top-end distorion accompanies the twelve string throughout The Song Remains The Same, which is a shame - but the playing in this section of the concert is superb. Dazed And Confused is taken really slowly and dramatically -- Page dictates his own pace again and despite two small cuts this is a superb version with some of the best playing all year. Robert concludes "I think that was quite good." This is a serious understatement. Moby Dick is almost entirely absent: only the introduction and coda remain. This excellent show is underlined by a great version of "I'm Going Down" inside Whole Lotta Love and two superb encores, although one of the tapers takes it upon himself to accompany The Ocean.

The Cardiff show starts inside the Whole Lotta Love medley with an incomplete Let's Have a Party, followed by Heartbreak Hotel, I Can't Quit You, and the coda of the piece. The audience is amazing and this is a fragment of what was clearly a superb show.

Packaging: cardboard slip case (with enough space for three CDs). Nicely presented: the front has a shot of the band setting off for leg two of the 9th U.S. tour, July 1973, the rear has a shot of Jimmy from 1973 (probably the 9th U.S. tour again). The inner gatefold has the shot of the band outside the Starship in Pittburgh, July 1973, and some shots from the 1974 studio recreation of Madison Square Garden for their film.

Adrian Campbell (8/29/97)

The review for "Detroit Rock City" is ©1997 Adrian Campbell, and may not be reproduced in any media, electronic or otherwise, without the express permission of the author.