The numbered rating listed on the LP and CD discographies is only an approximation. If you disagree, feel free to contact me and your opinion may be used to revise the rating.

Given the enormous efforts that the authorities are undertaking both in the United States and worldwide to stem the flow of bootleg CDs, there is a severe drought in new releases in most of the world except for Japan. While new CDs do appear regularly, there is nowhere near the number of releases that was seen in the years from 1988-1994.

The only good thing about the sad situation is that the flow of rehashed and chopped releases from Europe seems to have stopped and most of the remaining CD labels still operating are collector oriented and most new releases are of a higher quality or collectibility than before. That's not to say that everything new is instantly worthwhile; a couple of labels in Japan seem obsessed in seeing that every tape available is released on CD, and many of the remaining unused tapes are of very poor quality. Be sure to patronize a dealer that lets you listen before you buy if you are looking at something that I or someone else has not covered!

Due to this situation, I've begun to gather information from all sorts of sources to catalog and document the many underground tapes circulating. The sound ratings used for these are different than the 1-10 scale used for the CD and vinyl releases; a general description is used that ranges from poor for the worst quality tapes to excellent for the best quality.

A recent development in the bootleg wars is the CD-R. A CD-R is a compact disc that can be created by anyone with the proper equipment on most any personal computer available. Many CD-Rs are intended for limited distribution of only a few dozen but there are a few bootleg labels that are specializing in the CD-R format. These releases tend to have a slightly wider release of up to 1000 as well as professional quality graphics and presentation. Of course sound quality varies with each release and manufacturer, and some releases suffer from lack of decent packaging.

poor	Awful recording quality, with distorted and/or faint sound and overwhelming amounts of audience participation.
fair	Possibly muffled or distorted, but given some patience or EQ, the recording it still listenable.
good	For the most part an enjoyable tape. There may be some minor problems, but for the most part nothing that really distracts from the listening experience.
excellent	The best possible sound for an underground recording.
	Considered by collectors to be the best combination of performance and sound quality.
Individual tracks may include these modifiers:
cut	A portion of the song is edited or missing.
incomplete	The beginning or end of the song is missing.
includes	A medley of one or more songs is played within another song.

The setlists are only listed when a tape source is available, many of the tapes are of questionable quality and are incomplete. The CD references listed are not necessarily the complete tape and the generation of the tape used for each individual release is not always the best available.

If you are interested in a detailed description of the performances on these tapes, Luis Rey's book Led Zeppelin Live: An Illustrated Exploration of Underground Tapes - The Final Edition is very highly recommended.

An excellent on-line resource for individual tape reviews can be found at David's Led Zeppelin Live Concert Reviews.

The CD references cited in the tape section are as accurate as possible and I have corrected many releases, but because of the common practice of misdating many CDs and tapes or cleverly mixing source tapes, there is still a chance of error on my part.

There is some confusion among collectors concerning the different types of recordings available, with "soundboard" and "audience" being the most common definitions. While accurate, the terms soundboard and audience don't adequately cover all of the different ranges within those categories.

Most PA (Public Address) systems consist of two soundboards; the FOH, or "Front of House" mix, and the "monitor" mix. The FOH is the source that is heard by the audience while the musicians on stage typically will each have a specialized monitor mix that allows each musician to balance elements of the groups sound that are inaudible or overwhelming on the stage. The monitor mixes also lack reverb and room sound, the lack of which can produce a dry or lifeless recording.

Except for the 1969 radio broadcasts, which could be considered a form of FOH mix, most available Led Zeppelin soundboard tapes are monitor mixes and the quality of the sound is dependent on which musician's mix was used for the tape. Typically one or two musician's dominate the mix leaving the rest of the band in the background and producing an unbalanced recording. Usually, Robert Plant's vocals dominate the mix as they are the one element that can't be heard on stage over the drums and electric instruments. Good examples of an unbalanced monitor mix is the numerous soundboard tapes available from the 1973 Tour, all of which feature varying musicians in the front of the mix while the others are in the background.

Most soundboard tapes will have little or no audience noise, generally only what was picked up by the stage microphones.

The quality of an audience tape depends on the equipment used by the taper as well as the position of the taper in the room. There are many excellent tapes available from the early tours simply because Led Zeppelin played smaller venues then and it was easier to capture the sound when the band was only a short distance away. As the tours grew larger and the band began to play arenas and stadiums, the position of the taper became more important, and many of the audience tapes from the later tours pale in comparison to the earlier ones because the taper was unable to record from a good location.

Unlike many soundboard tapes, audience tapes typically feature varying amounts of audience noise. While sometimes annoying, a active audience around the taper produces an effect similar to a professionally mixed live album, which will typically have a small amount of audience noise added to the mix to enhance the feeling of "being there". If the taper was able to elevate his microphones, the audience noise is greatly reduced but many audience tapes were recorded right from the taper's seat and sometimes have an overwhelming amount of talking, cheering, and fighting, which can destroy the recording.

I've gotten many letters asking for either a discography or set/tape lists from the Page/Plant tours. While I can understand the collectors frustration in looking for this information, this site is maintained as a free site, and as such I keep it updated in my spare time. There simply is not enough time in my day to add all of the information that is out there on underground releases that are related to Led Zeppelin!

If you are looking for information on that I haven't covered here, be sure to check out Yahoo's Led Zeppelin links, which has links to most of the Led Zeppelin, Page/Plant, and related sites on the internet.

A great source for more obscure web sites, Buckeye's Led Zeppelin Page is an excellent place to look for links and information.

Yahoo also has a growing bootleg section.

If it is CD tracklistings that you are looking for, I recommend that you check out Over The Hills for a ongoing effort to list the tracks for all underground Led Zeppelin CDs.

For Badgeholders Only is the Led Zeppelin and Page/Plant mailing list. Your best source if you want to break into either Led Zeppelin or Page/Plant tape trading.

Digital Graffitti is a moderated mailing list.

Any information on releases not listed, or corrections to information provided, is always welcome. Where possible, false information has been corrected.

Because this list is in the electronic format, it is and will always be an ever changing and growing documentation of unofficial Led Zeppelin material. All information is welcome and appreciated, though I may not be able to respond to everything due to time constraints.

Live! Music Review is a 38 page bi-monthly magazine that covers all aspects of bootleg and independent recordings.

1 year (6 issues); $20 USA, $28 Canada & South America, $32 for Europe & Asia. Sample Issue: $4 USA, $6 all other countries. Please make payment by check or money order (U.S. funds) to Live Music Review. Visa or Mastercard accepted. Live Music Review RR2 Box 47 Urbana, MO 65767 USA Phone or FAX: (417) 993-5983

Send corrections, comments, updates, and reviews to:
jsbarlow@spamcop.net

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Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Trampled Underground is © 1996-2000 Jeff Barlow. All rights reserved.

No part of this site, including design and graphics, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, mechanical, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The term Bootleg, as used herein, refers to any release that is not authorized by the artist, record company, or their representatives. The use of this term does not imply any illegal deed or intention; many manufacturers pay royalties in compliance with the laws of their respective countries.