Press review & Jimmy Page interview: 

6,000 young people acclaimed "Led Zeppelin" in Brussels 
( translated from Dutch)

Despite small technical mishaps, a vague ruckus, and some "dead time," it was an exceptional evening that 6,000 fans, coming from all corners of Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, experienced on Sunday at Forest National on the occasion of the unique concert by "Led Zeppelin."

To our knowledge, no pop group has ever obtained such success in our regions, and such a record attendance will likely not be beaten anytime soon. It is true that "Led Zeppelin," one of the most famous and most expensive bands of the moment, gives you your money's worth. For more than two hours (from 9:00 PM to 11:15 PM), it was a frenzy, both on stage and in the hall. Rare are the spectators who remained insensitive to this tidal wave that transformed Forest National into a true "drunken boat." We have been so disappointed in this field before that today we do not hesitate to display an unreserved enthusiasm, even if it seems a bit excessive to some.

The success of "Led Zeppelin" is, moreover, not due to chance. Since 1969, the year of its creation and its lightning ascension, this English group—formed in part from the "Yardbirds"—has never ceased to do excellent work. Without bluffing, without phony publicity, without complacent "hype," it has climbed very quickly to the top ranks of international hit parades. And yet, this extraordinary quartet has not made many concessions to "show business." It has never released "hits" for jukeboxes, it has always refused to appear on television, and it hasn't churned out albums on an assembly line like some groups that benefit from massive financial resources. Four Long Playing albums in three years and numerous performances worldwide were enough to bring them glory. It is, ultimately, the public that has made "Led Zeppelin" the super-star they have become.

The reception received in Brussels only confirmed their superiority over all the other groups that have paraded through this season (only Jethro Tull can stand the comparison). Thus, this evening, which is not quite historical, will nonetheless remain an important event in the world of entertainment.

A WELL-PREPARED CONCERT

Of course, the whole thing had been well prepared. And the Antwerp promoter Paul Ambach had every reason to rejoice at the outcome of the concert; his initiative lacked neither audacity nor courage. It is true that this dynamic organizer already has some successes to his credit. It was he, for example, who brought James Brown, José Feliciano, and Roland Kirk to Belgium. With "Led Zeppelin," he took risks. He took them. He was right. Let this serve as a lesson to all those who dare not step off the beaten path or who limit themselves to groups whose interest is most doubtful.

One has repeated it enough: the contempt of certain bands for their public and the incompetence of some "managers" are largely the causes of a total void. This was the case recently for the "Beach Boys" who had to cancel their performance at this same Forest National because not enough publicity had been made about their visit. A week before the concert, no one was aware. And three days before the scheduled date (May 12), only 350 seats had been booked.

A FULL HOUSE

"Led Zeppelin," for its part, played to a full house. All the seats were occupied. There were also hundreds of young people huddled on the stairs and dozens sitting on the edges of the perimeter wall. That some may have been disappointed by the show (we have heard echoes to this effect) is understandable. Everyone hoped for total perfection from start to finish. However, from the first piece, there were some technical difficulties. Certain amplifiers were not working as expected and the microphone was whistling. This created a certain ruckus in the audience and a change of style in the orchestra. J-P. Jones paid the price: he had to settle for strumming a muted guitar while the leader, Jimmy Page, who plays a twelve-string electric, went into his numerous improvisational numbers. Page, the former companion of Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, is of extraordinary skill, there is no doubt. But he often wanted to overdo it, to the great disapproval of an audience that wanted, above all, a show and not interminable improvisations where technical performance sometimes triumphs over musical quality. This almost turned sour when Jimmy Page, who plays on a double-neck guitar, threw his bow into the crowd that was whistling at him. Meanwhile, singer Robert Plant tried vainly to play the star by strutting on stage without ever succeeding in fascinating his audience.

THE BUDDHA-DRUMMER

Finally, the only musician to truly play, to give his all, is the drummer John Bonham. Stout, aggressive, efficient, and tireless, he gave the best of himself and often stood up to a Jimmy Page who was chasing him to his last breath. Bonham, who is rightly considered one of the best drummers of the moment, sometimes gave the impression of being a Hindu statue, a six-armed Buddha who hammered like a madman on drums, bass drums, and cymbals whose dull echo still fills our ears today.

Abandoning the style that is uniquely theirs, "Led Zeppelin" ended the evening by repeating some old hits by Elvis Presley and Gene Vincent. Some claim this is out of contempt, to throw "scraps" to the audience from fifteen years ago. Others claim it is because the shrill chords of electric guitars make them nervous and annoyed. Whatever the case, "Led Zeppelin" achieved a famous success on Sunday. Not only did they fill the house, but they satisfied all those who sometimes came from afar to confirm their glory and celebrity. This will perhaps allow this "Zeppelin" to fly very high for a long time to come...

Gilbert DUTRIEUX.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Excerpt - Jimmy Page interview after the concert: 

Jimmy Page: We now have a sound engineer, an American who built our entire sound system. He makes adjustments at each concert, according to the venue's acoustics, and also while we play, because the volume often varies, sometimes during the same piece. If you watched him, you saw how precisely he worked, manipulating all his knobs according to musical passages he knew by heart. Like a fifth musician. A "live" album? We're going on tour in the USA now, and we're going to record our shows there; It's not impossible that we'll make a record of it. Although we've already recorded fourteen tracks for our fifth album, which is more than enough for two sides. So, maybe a double album, we'll see when we get back. It should be out after the summer. 

I finally have my eight-track studio at home. I can work on it as much as I want, search for musical or technical ideas, find riffs and melodies taking all the time I need, experimenting with re-recording, lots of things. This formula has the enormous advantage of eliminating all those hours spent in studios searching, sometimes without finding anything. It's not always easy, when you have an idea, to put it into shape.  

We proceed very differently, each of us being able to make changes to an initial idea; it's a more collective creation that has the advantage of not frustrating anyone. We rarely see each other outside of recording sessions and tours. Everyone has their own lives, their own families, their own friends. We don't even rehearse anymore; it's not necessary since our repertoire is currently unchanged. However, of course, when we haven't played for months, like yesterday in Amsterdam and tonight, we're a little rusty. That doesn't mean we play less well; the reflexes remain, and we know the pieces like the back of our hand. It's simply a very personal feeling that we lack a little flexibility and ease. This doesn't stop us from improvising, contrary to what many people believe. Of course, a show needs to be planned, and I don't know any that aren't; but, for example, the whole section we devote to old rock and roll is improvised to the extent that we don't even know, when we go on stage, what we're going to play. When the time comes, I start a riff, or Robert starts a song, and everyone joins in; when it's over, we think of another song, it might be "Hello Mary Lou" or "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," no one knows in advance.   [-PARINGAUX 1972]