BIG LED ZEPPELIN releases top this weeks' Bootleg News!

First of all, Empress Valley is set to ship a brand new live Soundboard Recording in the form of a 3CD set called "The Dragon Snake", and the source is from The Summit in Houston on May 21st, 1977...The BIG question that looms and awaits confirmation one way, or the other, is whether this will actually be a soundboard?...OR...the soundtrack to the video that is rumored to exist. The good news is we should know by the end of the week - and either way this is quite exciting for ZEPPELIN collectors.

Secondly, and nearly as exciting, is the new Watchtower 2DVD set of LED ZEPPELIN "Secrets Revealed"...the complete video of their first performance at Knebworth on August 4th, 1979 available in this long-source form for the very first time. The early word is that it's being compared to the last batch of the August 11th DVD's from Genuine Masters & Genuine Bastard in terms of quality and is featured in 5.1 Stereo Surround Audio. Again, the first-hand accounts will start flowing out to collectors in the next week but just by the nice screen shots featured in the pre-release artwork below - it appears we are getting the straight scoop on quality.



In other ZEPPELIN bootleg news...it seems the Joe Maloney tape from Boston Garden on July 20th, 1973 will see several boot releases from all the usual labels...Empress Valley's will come to us in the form of "Boston Cream Pie"...Beezlebub Records' is "Thank You and Good Night, Led Zeppelin Are Gone"...and Badgeholders' will be "Wild And Relatively Mellow"...at this juncture it appears the Empress Valley title will be the only one to feature a complete show utilizing 2 sources. Also coming from Empress Valley is "The Lost Mixes Vol. 7" which is supposedly a DVD of Royal Albert Hall outtakes featuring a "basic mix" and "longer versions" than what was prepared for the official "DVD", which will be VERY cool if this is true! Tarantura have divulged their next ZEP release, "HaaHaHaHa, The Woody Woodpecker Show!"...which is the very good audience tape from the Schaefer Music Festival from Central Park in New York City on July 21st, 1969...the question will be - how much does the label tweak this one or will they offer a worth-while piece to collectors?



The latest in other Japanese releases today...Trial has released U2 "Dismantle Twickenham", a 4CDR + bonus 2CDR with the first 50 copies...the title features audience recordings from Twickenham Stadium in London on June 18 & 19th with the bonus discs featuring the FM broadcast of the show on the 18th. now on the Ace Of Spades Label is METALLICA "Nowhere Else To Roam", a 2CD Stereo Soundboard from Gentofte Stadium in Copenhagen on May 28th, 1993...Wardour has just issued QUEEN "Ultimate Dreamer", a 4CD set with recordings from April 19th & 20th in Osaka 1979. Earlier in the week, we pointed these other new titles...Power Gate has released GARY MOORE "Dark Days Of The Blues",
a DVD-R that features the pro-shot footage "Ohne Filter" along with the VH1 production "Take It To The Bridge"...it also comes with a bonus CDR of a stereo soundboard from the Piazza Blues Festival in Switzerland in June of 2001...also from Trial comes "A Story Ended: The Dick Heckstall-Smith Tribute"...Live at the Astoria, London on June 6th, 2005...AND...DARYL HALL & JOHN OATES "Palladium Jam", a stereo soundboard on 2CDR's that features their November 21st, 1981 show at The Palladium in New York City...on the Darker Than Blue Label is a new RAINBOW 2CD set called "Down To Europe" that features a January 1980 soundcheck from Gothenburg, Sweden on disc 1 and a raw version of "Down To Earth" taken from a master cassette on disc 2...and from Zion is a new JOURNEY 2CD (with bonus DVD-R in the first 150 sets) called "The Great Escape"...the audio is a stereo soundboard from Tokyo in January of 1981...the bonus DVD-R is a pro-shot document of the same event...Mid-Valley has released ERIC CLAPTON w/BLIND FAITH "Hyde Park 1969", which comes with a mini tour booklet and extensive liner notes...and watch for a new JEFF BECK GROUP release called "Changing The Strings", which is a single CD of their 10/28/71 Phoenix concert, plus some bonus tracks from London '72...Highland is set to release PINK FLOYD "The Show Must Go On: The Wall Live in Earl's Court 1980", another version of the August 6th, 1980 show but Highland is also adding a bonus CDR of The Wall Rehearsals from Paramount Studios February 1st, 1980...The next ROLLING STONES release from Dog 'N Cat Records tells us that their next title will be "Happy Birthday Nicky"...you got it - the Perth and Sydney soundboards from the Australian Tour 1973 on more time. Great stuff but how ridiculous is that?



And cleaning up the release news for this second week of July are New BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN titles from Doberman: "American Recordings" features 31 audienced-sourced tracks from the U.S. leg of the Devils & Dust Tour..."Hotter Than Hell" features the May 27th, 2005 Royal Albert Hall show while "Yabba Dabba Doo" features the May 28th show - both are 2CDR sets...plus, there is a new BRUCE double-DVDR out on the Doppleganger Label called "One Man Band" that comprises a nearly complete April 30th, 2005 show in Phoenix and features some very rare tunes.



That's it for this Monday, thanks for dropping by and keep checking the pages for updated reviews! Have a great week.

Svengi
July 11th, 2005