Audience 8.7  &  Audience 9.7 - The first part of the disc is electric and the rest is an acoustic in-store, and it is very intimate and excellent! I prefer it to the electric set in fact.

Pro Pre-Broadcast Master FM 9.7. It’s hard not to be drawn in to this performance; actually it’s Linda who does all the heart stealing here. Wow, I’d consider collecting all of the live shows at this point because I never knew how much genuine charm and warmth this lady had, and transferred to audiences effortlessly. Oh, and the songs are good too!

Audience 8.3 - Good and clear.

Audience 7.8 - Bonham is the star of this show, he sounds great. The recording, while not offering too much in the way of dynamics, does present enough separation of instruments to appreciate the performance.

Audience 8.8 - What is a rating anyway? When it comes to a gig like this, it’s almost irrelevant. Look, just get this and you will know what I mean. Even the band would probably direct you to grab this one.

Audience 7.5 - This tape is not nearly as bad as what it used to sound like before we had high end re-mastering tools. So, it’s got some noise issues that kind of keep it from really opening up but the amazing thing now is you really can hear the whole band, and Jimmy is just on fire. Collectors really praise the band performance from this show, and it is obviously much improved now, so yeah, I recommend it. (3-27-70)

Audience 8.1 - A very decent and clear recording from maybe midway back of the hall. Show is fantastic, and the recording sufficiently documents this event.

Audience 8.2 - This is a good recording, clear and pretty strong when the levels are right, but there’s the rub. The sound levels occasionally drop a notch lower throughout the course of the set, ultimately they do settle into a predictable place which is fine, think of it like listening along when suddenly they hit the overdrive pedal. When that happens, it gets VERY good for a while. Well worth having this despite that.

Audience 7.2 - Yes a little rough here, but this is so historically important as it represents some of the earliest thundering by the fledgling Led Zeppelin live in the United States. The tape seems to improve in spots, and the re-mastering on it has really helped immensely. * Bonus DVD-A is a real plus, and those with higher end systems will be able to take advantage of the higher resolution audio.

Audience 9.0 - This is a brilliant live document, captured during Zep’s “Back To The Clubs” Tour of 1971. A sort of intimate atmosphere and a very jovial and chatty Robert Plant. The band sounds loose and genuinely having a great time.

Audience 8.7 - Pretty crisp and clear especially Page, who shines in this performance.

Audience 7.0–7.4 - Muddled, distant and lacking in separation of instruments, this is for completists only. To be fair, the mud does clear somewhat and some remastering has allowed us to hear reasonably clear lead guitar and higher frequencies that are not residing down where the tape distortion is, so for instance songs like Stairway To Heaven are like sun rays peaking through, so I gave this a spread rating which is more realistic.

Audience 9.2 - This one deserves a high rating for not only having great sound quality (with some minor taper adjustment in the beginning) but also because, quite simply, this gig is off the charts cool. Plant makes reference to "the vibes" during the show and it's just obvious that the crowd knows they are witnessing something magic, and the best part is - so does the band. When they realize they are all four "in the zone", the show takes off to levels unprecedented heretofore. A stellar No Quarter and perhaps the best Dazed and Confused of the whole tour...you get that and more. One tiny blemish, during the end of The Rain Song, an equipment malfunction destroys what would have been the penultimate version, and Plant himself recognized the disaster. To me, it's not a deal breaker at all, it lasts a couple seconds, but I understand Plant's frustration completely. Get this now!

Audience 8.6 - A fantastic early recording of the band during their summer rock festival circuit tour. These are some of their most fiery performances, playing in front of huge festival crowds where there is palpable kinetic energy, and this show really delivers! At times, taper seems to move to different spots and so the sound occasionally fades but then comes back strong again.

Audience 7.4 - A little cluttered in the middle, volume pushed to max – but not that bad and quite historical given the fact it’s the first show in Osaka which was a legendary stand of concerts back in ’71.   (first night 9-28-71)

Both Shows: Early Show - Audience 7.2 - The lesser of the two shows, but the performance is strong, you’ll know they mean business after the first 30 seconds of Immigrant Song! Late Show - Audience 7.7 - Several notches cleaner and stronger than the early show, but both are worth your time.