10cc was a fine studio band, but its live outing, "Live and Let Live," is a bit of a disaster, according to Goldmine's Dave Thompson. U.K. Records publicity photo.

By Dave Thompson

David Bowie’s 1978 European tour was not a glorious affair. First, he butchered his image — baggy pants and skewed sailor hat are never a good look, even if you are the chameleon of rock.

Then he butchered his songs. When your last two studio albums were semi-impenetrable slabs of Krautrock-inspired instrumental meanderings, the last thing you want to do is sing “Suffragette City.” And it showed.

And then, when he realized that the mini-Zigs in the audience were still having a good time, he butchered the live album that was supposed to document the occasion.

Out went the one truly inspired performance of the entire show, a dissolute swagger through Brecht and Weill’s “Alabama Song.” Out went whatever internal logic had dictated the original set list, as he realigned the songs in loose chronological order. And finally, out went the audience, and, although he still had the temerity to title the ensuing double album “Stage,” he could just as easily have titled it “Me and My Mates Mucking About In An Empty Room.” Because that is what it sounded like.

Live albums are a curious phenomenon. On the one hand, their purpose is simple — to offer audiences a takeaway taste of a singular occasion, and a chance to relive a concert in the less-sweaty surroundings of their own home. And on the other, they are a shop window for the as-yet-unconverted, a chance to show the doubters what an act is really made of.

To this, you could also add the less salubrious reasons for releasing one: running down an old record contract (“you still owe us three albums” or “my next one’s a triple live”); filling a creative void (“I’ve not written a decent song in three years; I’d better dig out the old ones again”); and, beat bootleggers to the punch (at least, that was the reasoning behind some of the best live albums of the early 1970s). Famously, The Stones’ “Get Yer Ya-Yas Out” and The Who’s “Live At Leeds” were both official responses to ultra-popular bootleg discs, while Dylan and The Band’s “Before The Flood” was so titled because they hoped it would be in the stores before the flood of souvenir boots.

Then something happened.

“Frampton Comes Alive” happened. And long before it had chalked up even a fraction of the 10 or 11 million copies it inexplicably went on to sell in the USA alone, every band on the planet was suddenly rolling the tapes and then redubbing the solos (and the vocals, and the drums, and the bass), in the hope that Frampers-shaped lightning might strike them as well. Suddenly, what had been a comfortable cottage industry of megastars rewarding their fans for being faithful became as much of a marketing gimmick as anything else that the mid-1970s could conceive, from 12-inch singles to picture discs, and on to the free razor-blade-sharpening cardboard pyramid that came free with Todd Rundgren’s first Utopia album. (I am not making this stuff up.)

Live albums changed overnight. In the past, live albums were an event. For a band to even dream of cutting one, they needed to have attained a certain level, whether of popularity, acclaim or simply critical kudos. The disc itself might still have been a stopgap between regular releases, but there had to be a meaningful gap that needed to be stopped. Now, they were inevitable. The modern mantra of “I tour, therefore I release a live album” was born here.

Double live albums, too, had been rare (triples even rarer, but beyond the proggy circles trod by the likes of Yes and ELP, nobody really took that amount of time to play a handful of songs in those days). Now, they were de rigueur.

And lousy, horrible, please-don’t-ever-make-me-listen-to-that-drum-solo-again live albums could be counted off one by one: The Stones’ “Got Live If You Want It” (1966), with the screaming audience seemingly captured at twice the volume of the band itself; The Kinks’ “Live at Kelvin Hall” (1967), where the equally irritating screaming was matched only by the sheer ineptitude of the performance (never record a concert if you can’t actually hear yourselves play) and, surprisingly, because it should actually have been a lot of fun, the Plastic Ono Band’s “Live Peace In Toronto.” Side One — Lennon and friends jam some old rock ’n’ roll standards. Side Two — Lennon and friends watch Yoko writhe in a bag. Yeah, maybe you had to be there.

Personally, I always thought Dylan’s “Before The Flood” was a slapdash affair, as well, wasting wax and electricity that would have been far better saved for 1976’s “Hard Rain.” But the world’s favorite septuagenarian had far worse in store, if only you stuck with his career long enough. “Real Live” (1985) was real boring, and “Dylan and the Dead” (1989) suggested Dylan was dead, and in those last months before “Oh Mercy,” maybe he was. But to single out Dylan as a serial purveyor of dodgy concert recordings is to overlook the contributions made to the genre by far less forgivable souls than he. 10cc, for example. Irreproachable geniuses in the studio, even they admitted that their live show left a lot to be desired unless you came from that peculiarly American Midwestern school of “When in doubt, muthas, boogie.” But “Live and Let Live” (1977) caught the boys throwing caution to the wind regardless, and it emerged almost defiantly unlistenable.

So, three years later, did the first live offering by the one U.S. band whose studio perfectionism matched 10cc’s. How could anybody even have imagined that an Eagles live album (“Eagles Live”) would be a good idea?

In 1977, The Rolling Stones followed up their most divisive studio album yet, the love-it-or-hate-it “Black And Blue,” with a double live set that actually made up your mind for you; “Love You Live” wasn’t simply a flaccid run through of a bunch of songs that were already well past their sell-by date. It suggested that the Stones themselves knew it, which is why they gave one entire side over to a semi-secret club date where they went back and played the blues. And that is the side that people still play today. The rest of the disc is filed away as a gruesome prophecy of the future that awaited Mick and the gang, who now seem to release a new live album every time they leave the house. It has yet to be confirmed, but “Keith Pops Out To Buy Some Cigarettes” (2009) is earmarked for release next summer.

We could go on. Any live disc The Who has released since they stopped being a band and turned into a pension-renewal scheme can be safely discarded. Likewise for 90 percent of the coasters that bore the dread Unplugged logo; seriously, if you really needed to hear Bon Jovi play without an electrical supply, you could just unplug the CD player.

Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains The Same” (1976) disappointed on release and, that admittedly stellar “Stairway To Heaven” notwithstanding, still creaks out loud today. While we probably shouldn’t poke fun at archive releases that were actually blocked by their creators during their own musical lifetime, The Beatles’ “Live at Hollywood Bowl” takes a lot of beating in the “Dear Santa, I hate you” thank-you letter stakes.

But if there is any one live album that, more than any other, advocates the immediate incarceration not only of the band that made it, but also of every single person in the room who encouraged them while they were doing so, it is — the one that you, the Goldmine readership, nominate. So, get going! Drop us an e-mail at goldminemag@fwmedia.com, or leave a comment below.

By Patrick Prince

Anyone out there who worships the hard rock/heavy blues sounds of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple — the electric classic rock sound of the ’70s — will simply love the L.A.-based band Rival Sons. In fact, they are one of the best sounding bands in years.

Sometimes labeled rock revivalists, Rival Sons hit the scene running with 2009′s magnificent “Before the Fire,” then a self-titled EP in January of this year followed. Comprised of vocalist Jay Buchanan, guitarist Scott Holiday, bassist Robin Everhart and drummer Michael Miley, the band has already toured with the likes of AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest and Queensryche and even juiced up a few soundtracks to car commercials on American television. Their new album ”Pressure and Time” on Earache Records was released on July 26 (check it out here).

Rival Sons, L to R: Michael Miley, Scott Holiday, Robin Everhart and Jay Buchanan

In July, before the release of the newest album, Jay Buchanan answered a few of our questions.

Why an EP release this year?
Jay Buchanan: We’d had plans to hop in the studio and snap off a few to tape and print some vinyl before we’d had any interest in signing with Earache and we knew we’d be signing with someone very quickly so we wanted one last independent swing. Once we did record the EP, we signed with Earache, hit the road for two months and started recording the LP the day after we drove in so there wasn’t much time in between the two sessions.

Are you satisfied with the way the “Pressure and Time” LP turned out?
Buchanan: It’s good enough as a snapshot of where the band was a couple months ago I suppose but as of now I’m pretty much over it. My focus is on the next record.

What statement are you trying to make with this album?
Buchanan: Statement? No way. It would be easy and predictable to feed you a line of bullshit about how calculated and thoughtful we are but we wrote on a song to song basis. It was a very rowdy twenty consecutive days with no time for high fives.

How would you say this differs from the last releases, “Before the Fire”?
Buchanan: The last release had us recording material we’d worked out live so the songs were naturally more long form whereas this release is on the spot writing and first takes.

Do you like the classic hard rock comparisons? Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple ….
Buchanan: It is what it is. Those are legendary bands in the world of rock, so what’s not to like? If you walk into a pub and people tell you that you remind them of James Dean or Steve McQueen, what are you going to do, get upset? No way. You’d do what anybody would: take the free drinks and get laid.

Some feel there aren’t enough bands like Rival Sons out there nowadays: classic rock, old school, heavy electric blues … whatever you want to call it. Don’t you think you fill a void?
Buchanan: Whether or not we fill any void is for somebody else to decide, we just make the music and people will do what they like with it regardless of what I think..

Have you heard of the band Black Country Communion? … they rock a similar sound…
Buchanan: Black Country Communion? Rock band. There’s no denying Glenn’s vocal range and prowess but I don’t hear nearly enough blues in their sound to legitimately call it rock ‘n’ roll.

How would you describe your music?
Buchanan: Rock ‘n’ roll.

How is the SO. CAL music scene now?
Buchanan: Good as it’s ever been I’d guess. Los Angeles is always hungry and ready to devour the dreams and break the body of anyone willing to move there trying to “make it.”

Is there some disappointment in L.A., i.e., a song called “Burn Down Los Angeles”?
Buchanan: I wouldn’t think so, Los Angeles is always catching fire these days. The song is about thriving in the belly of the beast, not actually setting it to fire.

Your music has been featured in a few TV commercials …?
Buchanan: Yep, got bills to pay and grits ain’t groceries.

Were you psyched about the European tour? Have you been to Europe before?
Buchanan: Europe is wonderful, yes. Just got home from a U.S. tour yesterday, have just enough time to laundry the contents of my luggage and pack them back in before we leave again in a couple days.

What do you think of being packaged on tour with Judas Priest and Queensryche?
Buchanan: Either way we come out swinging and kicking every night so no one will be walking away clean.

Do you like playing big festivals? Sonisphere, for example. Would you rather play clubs?
Buchanan: Festivals and clubs are two different beasts entirely. If we’re on, we’re on and that’s the key to any show.

For more information, go to www.rivalsons.com

By Patrick Prince

Lez Zeppelin are four female musicians (bassist Megan Thomas, drummer Leesa Squyres, singer Shannon Conley and guitarist Steph Paynes) who recreate the Led Zeppelin musical experience. In fact, the band’s latest album is a recreation of the classic album, Led Zeppelin I in painstaking detail.

“The band employed all of the same vintage equipment used by Led in 1968,” reads their bio, “from the ’50s era Les Paul and Telecaster, to the Supro amp, 60’s era compressor, Hammond organ and Fuzzbender stomp box — working fastidiously to recreate the incredibly complex layers of the album with a dedication that has never before been demonstrated by any band of this type in the history of the rock world.”

Lez Zeppelin’s first album was actually released in 2007. The legendary producer Eddie Kramer was behind the helm. It was a combination of Zep tunes and originals (Kramer had a songwriting credit on Lez original “On the Rocks”). However, since then there have been a few lineup changes. But the one constant remains to be founding member, guitarist Steph Paynes. Paynes feels that this current lineup represents Lez the best. And the Lez continue to impress icons from Joe Perry to the actual members of Zeppelin.

This year, to support the recreation of Led Zeppelin I, the ladies have undertaken a full-year tour of both America and Europe. Seeing Lez live is just another way to expand the Zeppelin experience.

Why recreate the album Led Zeppelin I? Do you think this is the album that best represents Led Zeppelin?
Steph Paynes: Led Zeppelin’s first album might very well be the band’s greatest. But, even if one were to argue that this record is not wholly representative of all the musical landscapes that would later become Zeppelin’s legacy, then at the very least, Led Zeppelin I serves as the perfect introduction to their unique alchemy of light and shade. For this reason, the logical place to start for anyone who is serious about tracing the musical steps of Led would be to explore Led Zeppelin I. In order to capture the feel of it, though, we learned quickly that the music basically needs to be recorded live in the studio and requires deep immersion into the blues, British Celtic/folk music and some of the psychedelic rock of the period. We took great pains to retain authenticity of the sound and structure of the vinyl, and yet allow for that which happens between musicians in the moment. Spontaneous combustion is really what this album is all about.

Was it a lot to take on trying to recreate Led Zeppelin I to almost every last detail?
Paynes: Let’s just say that the longer you look at a rainbow, the more colors you see. It was an amazing experience for both the producers and the band to try and deconstruct the sounds and textures — as well as the licks that aren’t so apparent until you really arrive on the front line of Page’s guitar army. Also, so many of these sounds and techniques are old school, and that, in itself, presented us with certain challenges. For example, you realize just how little distortion was used on all those guitar sounds. In other words, the guitar does not do you the favor of playing itself thanks to all that modern, permissive overdrive. Instead, all sorts of serious technique is required. Don’t even ask about the pedal steel… I have seen the face of the devil, and he looks just like the pedal steel guitar!

Will there be more Zep album recreations?
Paynes: It might be hard to resist Led Zeppelin II simply because of the possibilities for the album cover.

Will there ever be an album of originals under Lez Zeppelin?
Paynes: People and industry folk are asking us that all the time now. We might have to oblige one of these days.

All the band members who recorded the debut album are now gone — why did they leave? How hard was it to replace them? Was it a smooth transition?
Paynes: The last big line-up change was actually not the first. The group has gone through several incarnations since the band was hatched in 2004. Although each ensemble ran its natural course and had its myriad qualities, I have to say that it has consistently evolved. The present members, without doubt, come closest to my original vision for the project, both musically and charismatically. There is now a communication and depth of musicianship onstage that takes this thing to a whole other level.

What was it like to work with Eddie Kramer — and also have him involved in some of the band’s songwriting (“On the Rocks)?
Paynes: Eddie was very enthusiastic about our first record and was all for letting the band’s sound and personality come through to create something fresh. He was very excited about the two originals we brought to the table and had some excellent arrangement ideas for “On the Rocks.” Of course, he had a few Zep stories and pics he took of them at Headley Grange, which were amazing to see. It was also pretty special to go into Studio A at Electric Lady and record all our basic tracks there. A bit dreamlike all around.

Do you play originals live? If not, why?
Paynes: Yes, we actually play “Winter Sun” from our first album quite a bit as part of our acoustic set and it always goes over extremely well.

Do you like the tag ‘tribute band’?
Paynes: We never have and never will use that “tag” to describe Lez Zeppelin. Unlike most “tribute bands,” we do not impersonate or try to convince anyone that they are actually seeing/hearing Led Zeppelin. Instead, our aim is to reinterpret the classical music of our time. Just as an orchestra would play Beethoven, we bring ourselves to this music in order to resurrect the full concert experience. It’s hard to find a word to describe exactly what we do, but you might call it a “She-incarnation.”

Do you think there are too many tribute bands out there nowadays?
Paynes: It has definitely become much more crowded out there since we landed on the scene. Not so much with female bands per say, but there are many, many more groups in all sorts of genres. Some are more serious in their attention to the music than others, obviously.

How do you compare your band to other Zeppelin tribute bands?
Paynes: We don’t.

What did you think of Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin tribute tour?
Paynes: It was very touching to see Jason pay homage to his father. I was most impressed with his performance and his spoken interactions with the audience. They struck me as sincere and clearly this project provided him with a creative way to share his memories and admiration for his dad.

What about a farcical tribute like Dread Zeppelin?
Paynes: Hilarious! And, creatively done.

Have any members of Zeppelin given feedback on the band?
Paynes: We have received communications from Page over the last few years through a close mutual friend and he is very supportive of the group. He was also helpful with and very much appreciated LEZ ZEPPELIN I. Plant would be hard-pressed not to know who we are, especially after the 2008 Bonnaroo Festival, when we were both on the bill and everyone was speculating publicly as to whether Plant would get on stage with us and do a few numbers! But, we have also gotten his best wishes from members of his touring crew that we know. I actually met John Paul Jones at Zeppelin’s 2007 Reunion in London. He expressed what can only be described as delight when I was introduced to him as a member of Lez Zeppelin, and told me he’d heard only great things and was very anxious to hear us play. Needless to say, this kinda’ blew my mind.

What was it like to get such a rave review from an icon like Joe Perry of Aerosmith?
Paynes: It was “priceless,” as they say! What was even more amazing was the way he was able to so succinctly express what we are doing in terms of re-interpreting this “classical” music and looking to follow in the footsteps of our classic rock heroes — such as Aerosmith and their colleagues — who were inspired by the blues and early British invasion bands, etc. Playing this particular kind of music requires a lot of work and determination, and Joe really seems to understand and appreciate this on a very personal level.

What are the immediate plans of the band?
Paynes: You might say the band is built for festivals, so we are very excited to be back on a major festival stage. We have some US touring planned for the summer and are looking to possibly visit Australia and return to Europe and hopefully Japan once things settle down there later in the year. We are also the subject of a full-length documentary, which should be finished soon and hopefully will go to some of the film festivals next year. And, we have a few other crazy things up our sleeves, including some more recording.

And, finally, do you think Led Zeppelin should ever get back together and do a world tour? (And could you imagine opening up for that tour?)
Paynes: Well, since I did have the honor of attending the 02 reunion in London, I can vouch for the fact that if the remaining members of Led wished to go out there again, there is no doubt in my mind that they could deliver an amazing concert experience. I witnessed it. However, it appears clear that they are not all on board with such an endeavor. People seem very upset about this, but you have to remember that when Bonham died in 1980, the group decided then to disband. I think that decision portrayed incredible integrity. Whether or not they agree at some point to do more shows, their legacy remains intact and I can see from our own shows, that it continues to inspire and turn-on new generations. But, I admit that I would love to see Jimmy come back into the bustle of things. Whether he produces, writes a symphony or just plays his guitar by the fire and puts it on YouTube, he is missed. Of course, he is ever and always invited to come and play his music with us. You know, there are plenty of guitar parts to go around…

For related items that you may enjoy in our Goldmine store:

• Download Goldmine’s Guide to Led Zeppelin

Robert Plant’s Blue Note on DVD August 23

Robert Plant’s journey through the territories that have most acutely informed and inspired his music is perhaps one of the most multi-faceted of any artist from his generation. In a remarkable career that has spanned five decades, Plant has traveled from gold-maned god of hard rock to balladeering country troubadour, a process of reinvention guided by an ever-expanding musical palette and tireless searches through global song. His fantastic voyage has essayed the plantations of Mississippi, the deserts and townships of Africa and the settlements of the Appalachians.

This film follows Robert’s incredible and on-going tour of musical styles and acts as travelogue in its unique approach to documenting and reviewing a career that has been built on endless fascination, consistent experimentation and a unique talent that makes the incorporation of his discoveries into a popular contemporary form seem almost effortless.

Featuring rare footage, performance archive, recorded interviews, contributions from his closest collaborators, expert critique from the finest music writers, plus location film, news reports seldom seen photographs and a host of other features.

To pre-order click here.