Ten Years Later...
burning up all sides...
Robert Plant- vocals
Robbie Blunt- guitar
Jezz Woodroffe- keyboards
Bob Mayo- keyboards
Paul Martinez- bass
Phil Collins- drums
The Centrum
Worcester Mass. U.S.A.
September 6, 1983
performance quality: A or very close to, a very strong performance
recording quality: B (it's clean, just not high fidelity mikes and a
very loud excited crowd. Not overbearing in the recording but very much there)
source 1st generation audience tape
lineage: Realistic twinhead stereo microphone >
Sony D-6 cassette deck (dolby off) >
Maxell XLII cassettes > copy (same) >
soundforge 4.5 (WAV) > FLAC > torrent.
setlist: disc 1: 56:47
1: in the mood
2: pledge pin
3: messin' with the mekon
4: worse than Detroit
5: moonlight in Samosa
6: fat lip
7: through with the two step
8: other arms
disc 2: 66:35
9: horizontal departure
10: lively up yourself
11: restless love
12: slow dancer
13: like I've never been gone
14: big log
15: burning down one side
16: far post!!!
17: stranger here than over there
18: backstage interview with Rob Barrett on 107.3 FM WAAF Worcester (just over 2 minutes)
comments:
This can only be described as a blistering performance, Robert's first ever visit
to the Centrum (it opened about a year before this show) and he made sure to
leave a lasting impression. Plant's first U.S. tour was for his first 2 solo albums,
Pictures at Eleven and the Principle of Moments (my 2 favorite solo Plant albums).
there is alot of crowd in here, it could not be avoided. Not as loud as I thought.
Especially since the crowd was going nuts, as would I have been if I'd seen this show.
All the first 6 songs are sizzling versions.
the energy of this concert was very high intensity from start to finish.
the version of Slow Dancer is the best I've heard yet.
every song is a tight solid performance.
Even before the final tune Robert sounds ready for a second set.
I believe it had been about 10 years since the last Robert Plant concert in Massachusetts
(where Led Zeppelin is as popular as anywhere and has been for over 37 years...)
so the Plant jones was like a bomb waiting to explode at this show. (for over two hours)
Sure would have been a perfect time for "Ten Years Gone" huh?
They didn't play that, but they played Like I've Never Been Gone. Close enough, Robert.
plenty of great current songs.
in 1975 Led Zeppelin got banned out of Boston like a torrent with all-released material,
after gate crashing incident plagued ticket sales at N.Y. 2/75 Physical Grafitti concerts,
and it was a cold day (in hell) when the tix were to go on sale in Boston and they were
not prepared for folks waiting in freezing weather for tix. So the show was cancelled,
and not only did New York have to handle the ENTIRE Big Apple Zep jones in 75 and 77,
they had to handle Boston's too. ALL of it. All at once. Definitely not a good situation
AT ALL for the N.Y.P.D. or anyone living or working in that area at the time...
If Plant wondered if the Boston Garden legacy he had with Zeppelin (late 69-73 only!)
was willing to truck itself 30 miles west to Worcester, he got his answer FAST.
Like, before the band was even on stage...
I believe this was Plant's 1st appearance in Mass. since the death of John Bonham,
and ever since 1973 for that matter with Led Zeppelin (Song Remains the Same tour).
He sounded very hot this night, full of life and energy, which the frenzied crowd
was eager to fuel all through a more than 120 min show.
this post partly by request of, and very much with another dime uploader in mind.
(even before he told me his copy of this is a "highly generated tape with problems".)
TT Richardson has provided us with some nice post Zep Plant from this area where Plant
thrives. I just found out he has a crummy version of this. So this should be an upgrade.
This is not fabulous high end quality, but pretty good for a Centrum recording.
and mine is from a Purple Moon Productions master tape. Pretty good one. He is among the
best of getting unobstructed mikes at crowded shows of close contact, moving around fans.
there was alot of that here but the presence in the recording stays quite good.
If you like any solo Plant, I have to say, this show is mandatory listening. the band is on fire.
And it is (imho) the best band Plant's ever had (except maybe his original one)
This is probably the best post Zep Robert Plant concert I have ever heard.
maybe even the best ANY Plant I've ever heard. He had an outstanding night.
the taper of this show also said it was a great performance from Robert and his whole band.
They play Far Post, which is rarely played live, a great version here.
Plant even says it's the 1st time they ever played it live in this concert!
Sure sounded tight for a live debut, but this is Robert Plant here. Sounding like
maybe the most dynamic frontman in rock music for about 35 years. (especially in concert)
Not a single weak number in here, and this is a full monty setlist for Plant's 83 tour.
He didn't leave anything out that I noticed. Even threw in a cool Bob Marley tune
during the Horizontal Departure...
I did not see this show. Wish I had! It was a serious rocker like ONLY Robert Plant
knows how to do it. Definitely a very memorable evening here, one of the very best
shows I've ever heard by anyone from the Worcester Centrum (and they have had many
good ones, I have a few to share, not a lot.) This is my only local Plant show to post.
it you like Plant, and you've never heard this concert, the only excuse you have not to hear this
is if you HAVE an upgrade. (If you do, we'd all like to hear it.) I haven't heard a better
version of this and if I had I'd be posting it. Maybe not the best possible aud for this concert,
but the new transfer and no CD glitches at all (also no "CD in this lineage at all, glitchy or otherwise)
means this is now a clean enjoyable version with pretty good intrumental representation.
that's what the new transfer is for. I haven't seen this concert posted AT ALL, so that hideous
error has now been fixed, just in time for the Red Sox to go after a 3rd World Series in the decade.
make this a very enjoyable recording of a truly amazing Robert Plant show.
do not sell this recording.
Trade freely and losslessly.
'cuz not all plants grow on trees.