Good, but not that good

Led Zep were without doubt one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time and have rightly sown a place in rock immortality. There were gave exceptional value for money in concert, often being on stage for a bum numbing 3 hours plus. CD 1 is fantastic, rip roaring versions of Immigrant Song, Heartbreaker & Black Dog, chilled accoustica in Going To California, blues in Since I've Been Loving You & of course Stairway To Heaven. However the band were notoriously self indulgent and egotistical & CD 2 has a yawn inducing 25 minute version of Dazed & Confused. Bonham is one of the best drummers ever, but do we really have to endure 20 minutes of Moby Dick? Zzzzz. Cd 3 begins with another ego tripping 23 minute version of Whole Lotta Love, with banal trips into Lets Have A Party and Hello Mary Lou.However, it is followed by a terrific all out Rock & Rollwhich almost makes up for it. That being said, it is a beautifully packaged affair and the sound is sublime. You can always skip those 3 songs & concentrate on the remaining gems.

one of the greatest live albums

how the west was won is one of the greatest live albums ever made along with foghat live.this album features blistering versions of classics like immigrant song,whole lotta love,rock and roll,black dog,stairway to heaven.jimmy page is brilliant on this album.very highly recommended.five stars.

Wow is this incredible, I mean it.

Well I'm partial to Ten Years After live at the Fillmore, but Led Zeppelin's HOW THE WEST WAS WON is probably the greatest 'live' release of all-time.



It draws its numbers from one of the best catolouges, and on this album you hear the utterly crips and beautifully power-raunched sound of Led Zeppelin's classic and brilliant songs in a new environment. They take their numbers to new heights as they launch musical grenades into the heads of everybody who picks this album up.



Disc one is song after song of pure classics, Immigrant Song surpasses it's studio predecessor with a vamped-up rampage backline and a freaking awesome solo. Heartbreaker is torn through with an amazing, cool, extra-extended guitar solo. Over The Hills is a powerhouse power-ballad worthy of any. Black Dog is as groovey and hardcore as ever, especailly with the flailing Out On the Tiles intro. Stairway is dead-on good, powerful, and an excellent rendition. Since I've Been Loving You is passionate and as all hell. The whole acoustic set is beautiful, it's great to hear Zep do some supreme acoustic work. Going To California is a meanderign acoustic jam in this form. That's The Way is enchanting. Bron Yr Aur Stomp is a great song, unusual among Zep's other songs.



The other two discs are almost as delicious as the first. Dazed And Confused is *drool* I can't believe what a cool song that is, it's the king of enthralling goodness (the studio version is drop dead beautiful but the live versions become an absolute monster pummel). What Is And What Should Never Be & Dancing Days are both excellent renditions, I particularly like that version of WIAWSNB. Moby Dick is masterfully entertaining, I love ever minute of it. WLL medley is crazy good, very entertaining and groovy and musical. Rock And Roll is a true powerhouse stomp with raunchy guitar soloage throughout. The Ocean is a slicing riffage piece. Bring It On Home is smooth & powerful & groovey to the max all at the same time.



The whole thing together makes for a wonderful experience. I'd say it's worth your consideration. Let's get down to the gritty-honesty here, I tend to preffer studio work over live work. Live work can at at times be absolutely unfathomably cool, but for the most part the way a band puts together a song in the studio has the song at it's absolute height. Never the less, it'd be a good thing to consider getting Led Zeppelin's How The West Was Won because it is just plain incredible. The energy is equal or above any that I have ever heard. I say that being a serious grunge fan as I am, loving Alice In Chains & Nirvana and such... Led Zeppelin matches their loudness on this live album, they really do.

You can never have too many versions of "Dazed & Confused"

I have a half-dozen bootleg albums of Led Zeppelin concerts from the mid-1970s salted away, which means that when it comes to listening to the group in live performance the sound on "How the West Was Won" is actually a step up from what I was used to during Led Zep's glory years. But even if your experience to Led Zeppelin live is limited to the soundtrack for "The Song Remains the Same" you can still appreciate the way the group refused to simply get up on stage and play their songs the way they appeared on their albums. "Whole Lotta Love" and "Dazed and Confused" were always an opportunity to indulge in the wide variety of musical forms that had inspire Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. This is why when you listen to the former you find John Lee Hooker's "Boggie Chillun," Jerry Leiber's "Let's Have a Party," Gene Pitney's "Hello Marylou," and James B. Oden's "Going Down Slow" into the mix. But during the later Led Zep would reference its own work, both known ("The Crunge") and unknown ("Walter's Walk"). Both "Heartbreaker" and "Bring It On Home" are extended in similar ways as well, playing to the group's strengths.



The tracks collected here are taken from two concerts, recorded two days apart, in June of 1972. The order of the 18 tracks follows the set list for those two concerts, with the only omission from both concerts being "Tangerine" from the acoustic set that ends Disc 1 (Disc 3 has half of the encore material from the L.A. gig, which apparently went on much longer than the one in Long Beach, including "Louie Louie," "Thank You" and "Communication Breakdown"). The bottom line is that "How the West Was Won" is one of those albums where the fact that it has previously unreleased live Led Zeppelin music is enough to make you decide whether or not you want to pick it up, even if you already have any of the bootlegs that exist (I have one of 1973 Forum concert that was Bonzo's 25th birthday, but that is not this one).



Even when you are aware of the similarities between some of the songs that are on both this album and "The Song Remains the Same," there are always some significant differences that makes you appreciate the way Led Zep usually made their songs extended jam sessions. Besides, you get a version of the one song that is in the concert film of "The Song Remains the Same" but not on the album, "Since I've Been Loving You," which is a Led Zeppelin blues classic that I never thought got the credit it deserved. The expectation is not that "How the West Was Won" is going to converst anybody. This CD-collection is for the faithful.