LED ZEPPELIN – AWESOME FOURSOME : EARLS COURT ARENA 1975 THIRD NIGHT (6 CD)

Description

Live at Earls Court Arena, London, England 23rd May 1975

★The definitive recording of the 3rd day of the 1975 Earls Court 5-day concert, specifically the 23rd performance, is now available!
★A massive 6-CD set with a truly new source extra disc (the entirety of Discs 5-6)!
★A thorough recording of the 23rd performance using three different audience recordings! This is the first time such a voluminous title has been released for the 23rd performance alone!
★The extra disc (Discs 5-6) features a stereo source that is almost entirely new (over 135 minutes of the total 137 minutes are new) and is being released on CD for the first time (not via the internet)!
★Furthermore, Disc 4 includes bonus tracks (excerpts from an alternate mono source separate from the main performance)!
★Limited edition with a serial number (attached to the front case)!

★Contents
Disc 1-4 (Main disc): Source 1 main + several tracks from Source 3 as a bonus
Disc 5-6 (Extra disc): Source 4 main ★Most tracks are appearing for the first time

★Audio Source Organization (Numbers are for convenience only)
Source 1: A mono Aud recording lasting approximately 200 minutes, the main source for this title. It has been available since the analog LP era, and first appeared on CD around 1993 on a CG disc.
Source 2: An Aud recording of unknown details, neither mono nor stereo (probably mono). This recording was previously always used to fill in the end of Trampled, but it seems that nothing other than that fill-in part has ever been released, and the sound quality is poor, so it has already lost its value, but it has become the most mysterious recording of the day. Some specialist sites seem to confuse this with Source 4, but in reality, they are two different recordings. Appears on a nostalgic anthology disc.
Source 3: A mono Aud recording lasting approximately 200 minutes. It has a slightly distant feel, but is characterized by its delicate sound. Part of it is included as a bonus on Disc 4.
Source 4: A 137-minute stereo Aud recording, and this is the first appearance of this item except for the end of Trampled. Incidentally, some specialist sites count this as Source 2. Special features included on Discs 5-6.

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The Earls Court concert from May 23, 1975, is now available as a definitive 6-CD set with an overwhelming amount of content!

When discussing the 1975 Earls Court performances, it’s only natural that attention is drawn to the 24th and 25th shows, where the discovery and updating of professional video footage and audio (SB) recordings, which became popular around the turn of the 21st century, progressed. As a result, the positioning of each of the five Earls Court performances and the status of item releases have changed somewhat compared to the past.
Looking back over the last 20 years or so, the 23rd performance, like the opening night performance on the 17th, has been somewhat overshadowed by professional video footage and soundboard items, and has been somewhat neglected. This is a real shame (and I’m sure many people feel the same way). The
23rd performance was released during the LP era, and despite being an audience recording, the sound quality is excellent. Moreover, it’s undeniable that the performance itself is far more highly regarded than that of the 24th performance (although there are some minor mistakes and PA problems). However
, even during this time when it has been overshadowed by professional video footage and soundboard titles, thankfully, the discovery of new recordings and the upgrading of existing ones have not been forgotten and have been steadily carried out, albeit quietly.
This time, we’re focusing on the May 23rd performance, the third of the five Earls Court shows, a performance that has often been overlooked but can be considered a “great performance,” and have compiled it in detail. Based on three of the best sources (Sources 1, 3, and 4), it has been condensed into six CDs through thorough research and meticulous mastering. This is a definitive title packed with content. While there have been
several large box sets in the past that included all five days of the Earls Court performances, this release includes previously unreleased audio (most of Discs 5-6) that was not included in those boxes, and this is naturally the first standalone title to so thoroughly compile the May 23rd performance.

The main source for the main feature (Discs 1-4) is Source 1 (mono Aud: not from the internet), as with previous releases. However, this time, Source 3 (mono Aud) and Source 4 (stereo Aud), which have appeared in recent years, are used as supplementary sub-sources and bonus material to capture the best
possible recording of the 23rd performance. Regarding Source 1’s mono Aud, issues such as the often lacking clarity in the high frequencies in previous releases and the misalignment of the sound image (which was often uneven in previous releases) have been resolved. This is truly the first title to combine clear clarity with stable sound image localization in the center, as is typical of mono sources.
It is also necessary to clarify its positioning in relation to previous releases, so I will briefly touch
on that. The CG disc “THE AWESOME FOURSOME,” which appeared around 1993 and was the first CD release, actually had surprisingly good clarity (although Discs 2-3 are a bit muffled), and if anything, it was the best title in terms of clarity and naturalness until this title was released. However, there were problems with the content of that release; as it was a 3-CD set, Moby Dick was split across the second and third CDs, as those who own it know (4-CD sets were still a bit of a hurdle in the early days of CDs).
Also, the most recent title, the Scorpio version, was released in the 2010s, and while it wasn’t exactly muffled, the frequency range dropped sharply around 12-16kHz, and there were also unfortunate issues such as gaps between tracks that weren’t present in previous releases, and gap noise on Disc 4.

Next, regarding Source 3 (Mono Aud) and Source 4 (Stereo Aud), which serve as supplementary and bonus material, these are, as mentioned earlier, relatively recent additions.

Source 3 is a mono Aud recording that has a slightly more distant feel compared to Source 1, but the clarity is excellent, and it can be said that the delicate sound of the performance is a distinctive feature. The applause and cheers of the audience are heard in a strangely crackling and direct way, which is quite a contrast to Source 1, which has a wide-ranging, booming sound, even though both are mono Aud recordings, and it is interesting. The original material is quite long, just like Source 1, and in recent years there have been fan titles on the internet that have been edited mainly using Source 3 (although the editing is rough). In this release, Source 3 is treated as a sub-source, and it is used to fill in the gaps between songs that cannot be fully covered by Source 1 or Source 4, but it has been specially selected and included as a bonus after the end of the main feature on Disc 4, mainly from the acoustic set and the end of the live performance. This source has also been carefully remastered, of course. The originally biased sound image localization has been corrected to be centered, as is typical for mono sources. Furthermore, the tape shake that frequently occurred mainly in the left channel has been eliminated for the first time in this release. The acoustic section, which fully showcases the delicate nuances of Source 3, is a bonus track but incredibly worth listening to!

Source 4 is a stereo audience recording that first appeared as a filler for the end of “Trampled Underfoot” on the previously released Scorpio album, but this time, almost the entire existing version (137 minutes total) is included as bonus material on Discs 5 and 6. The sound has a slightly thin, hard texture, but the performance is very close and the directness is outstanding. As it is less than 140 minutes long, it is far from a complete recording, and the overall tonal balance is inferior to Source 1, so this time it is limited to filling in the main content and bonus material. However, as a new recording that has appeared in recent years, it is of very high sound quality, and above all, it is the first stereo source for this day, and moreover, it is the first recording of the complete take of “Trampled Underfoot” from this day, so even though it is bonus material, it is not to be missed. The majority of this recording (about 135 minutes) is appearing for the first time, and the audio itself is not available online.

This Source 4 fills in about two places in the main recording, but it’s been converted to mono to match the main recording before filling in the gaps. The biggest fill-in is at the end of “Trampled Underfoot,” which is the only cut in Source 1, but by converting it to mono to match the main recording, it’s a remarkably smooth fill-in without any sense of incongruity, so it’s a must-listen. The difference is obvious even when compared to previous releases
. Some literature counts this stereo source as the same source as Source 2 (mono Aud), which first appeared on the anthology and was subsequently used for a while to fill in the end of “Trampled Underfoot” on previous releases, but as you can tell by comparing them, the surrounding applause and cheers clearly indicate that they are different sources. Incidentally, Source 2 appears to be a mono recording, although it’s difficult to tell due to phase shifts on previous releases. Also, after its first appearance on the anthology, Source 2 was routinely used as a fill-in source at the end of “Trampled Underfoot,” but surprisingly, details such as the full version of this source remain unknown even now. Therefore, although this is purely speculation, I believe that Source 2 was probably an exclusive recording owned by Antra Records (＊This is purely a guess).

For other details, including editing points, please refer to the track listing. However, since the main source is a high-quality source with minimal cuts, there are relatively few audio source changes. You can enjoy a top-ranking performance from the five days at Earls Court with consistently excellent sound quality without any jarring changes!

This limited edition features a numbered design and comes with a sticker.
The CD label is a picture disc, making it a collector’s item with a permanent design!

★Disc 1-4 Mono Aud Source
The main source is Source 1 (Mono Aud), but it delivers the clearest sound with excellent high frequencies (not from the internet)!
Disc 1 (58:49)
01. Introduction
02. Rock And Roll
03. Sick Again
04. Over The Hills And Far Away
05. In My Time Of Dying
06. The Song Remains The Same
07. The Rain Song
08. Kashmir

Disc 2 (63:21)
01. MC
02. No Quarter
03. Tangerine
04. Going To California
05. That’s The Way
06. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
07. Trampled Underfoot ★The stereo source is converted to mono towards the end for a smoother transition.

Disc 3 (58:05)
01. MC
02. Moby Dick
03. Dazed And Confused

Disc 4 (78:37)
01. MC
02. Stairway To Heaven
03. Whole Lotta Love
04. Black Dog

Extra Tracks: Alternate Mono Aud Source
★The extra tracks feature a different mono audio source from the main feature, offering a distant but very clear and delicate sound.
05. Tangerine
06. Going To California
07. That’s The Way
08. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
09. Stairway To Heaven
10. Whole Lotta Love
11. Black Dog

★Discs 5-6 Stereo Aud Source
★The stereo source used to compensate for the trample (about 2 minutes in the main feature) is included in its entirety (137 minutes) on Discs 5-6!
Therefore, everything except the trample is making its first appearance and first CD release! All 137 minutes of the existing stereo source are specially included on Discs 5-6!
Disc 5 (74:31) ★Stereo Aud
01. Rock And Roll ★Cut-in
02. Sick Again
03. Over The Hills And Far Away
04. In My Time Of Dying
05. The Song Remains The Same
06. The Rain Song
07. Kashmir
08. Going To California ★Cut-in
09. That’s The Way
10. Bron-Y-Aur Stomp

Disc 6 (63:21) ★Stereo Aud
01. MC
02. Trampled Underfoot ★First single, uncut recording of this performance!
03. Moby Dick
04. Dazed And Confused ★Cutout
05. Applause / MC
06. Whole Lotta Love
07. Black Dog