LZ-’75
The Lost Chronicles of
Led Zeppelin’s 1975
American Tour
Stephen Davis
FOURTH ESTATE - London
Contents
CHAPTER 1 Cold Might on Boone’s Farm
CHAPTER 4 Vision of the Future
CHAPTER 4 A Giant Hug for Led Zeppelin
CHAPTER 5 He Cried Twice That Night
CHAPTER 6 Hell-Bent for Valhalla
CHAPTER 7 A Complex Die-Cut Affair
CHAPTER 8 The True Pride of Led Zeppelin
CHAPTER 9 Expansive Spiritual Vistas
CHAPTER 10 Savant of the Occult
CHAPTER 12 Journey to Middle Earth
CHAPTER 13 Hot Tea with Lemon, Please
CHAPTER 14 Aware of the Energies
CHAPTER 15 The Magus of Franklin Street
CHAPTER 16 Drones and Cones of White Noise
CHAPTER 19 Little Red Corvette
CHAPTER 20 The Smiling Dog Saloon
CHAPTER 22 Abrupt Change of Weather
CHAPTER 23 The Pipes of Pan in L.A.
CHAPTER 26 Dionysus in San Diego
CHAPTER 27 The Prairie Princess
CHAPTER 30 The Application of Attitude
CHAPTER 31 Tomorrow Will Be Too Late
CHAPTER 33 Cherry Bombs and Toilet Paper
CHAPTER 34 A Town of Great Fishermen
CHAPTER 35 Transmitter of the Gods
CHAPTER 38 The Hard Road to Presence
CHAPTER 39 Clean and Purifying Riffs
Led Zeppelin rarely let journalists anywhere near the band. Shortly after guitarist Jimmy Page founded the English rock group in 1968, relations with the press deteriorated to the point of outright hostility on both sides. Early reviews of Led Zeppelin’s recordings and concerts were negative, unkind, and even vitriolic. Led Zeppelin was described as an unholy amalgam of hype, money, depravity, and Satanism. The band retaliated by banning writers and photographers from their shows, with the exception of a few trusted people who could be counted on to write positive articles and make authorized, band-approved photographs. There were also reliable accounts of journalists being assaulted by members of Led Zeppelin; being spat on; having drinks flung in their faces.
“The press,” as it was known, was terrified of Led Zeppelin. All this changed, somewhat, in 1975. By then, Led Zeppelin was the biggest, highest-grossing rock band in the world, as well as the booming music industry’s biggest act. The records shipped platinum. The tours sold out in moments. Zeppelin started a record label, and the products started selling tonnage as well.
But in 1975, the mainstream media didn’t play along. The rock press was eager for any piece of Led Zeppelin, but as the band prepared a new album of songs, maybe its best ever, and a sold-out tour of North America, the band’s media representatives found certain doors slamming shut and important phone calls