How the West Was Won (Led Zeppelin album)

Last updated

How the West Was Won
Led Zeppelin - How the West Was Won.jpg
Live album by
Led Zeppelin
Released27 May 2003 (2003-05-27)
Recorded
  • 25 and 27 June 1972
  • 22 January 1973
Venue
Genre
Length150:27
Label Atlantic
Producer Jimmy Page
CompilerJimmy Page
Led Zeppelin chronology
Led Zeppelin DVD
(2003)		How the West Was Won
(2003)		 Mothership
(2007)

How the West Was Won is a live triple album by the English rock group Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on compact disc on 27 May 2003, DVD-Audio on 7 October 2003 and Blu-ray audio in 2018. The recordings are taken from two 1972 performances in California during their tour of North America: L.A. Forum (25 June 1972) and Long Beach Arena (27 June 1972).

Contents

Background

Guitarist Jimmy Page considers Led Zeppelin at this point to have been at their artistic peak, as is mentioned in the album's liner notes and in an interview he gave to The Times newspaper in 2010. [1]

For many years, recordings of these two shows circulated only in the form of bootlegs, such as Burn Like a Candle . Though soundboard recordings of Led Zeppelin concerts were circulated among fans after being stolen from Page's personal archive in the mid-1980s, no such versions of the 1972 Long Beach or LA Forum shows were taken, meaning How the West Was Won was the first chance fans had of hearing the soundboard versions of these concerts. [2] The songs from the two shows underwent extensive editing and audio engineering by Page at Island Studios in London before being released on the album.

"It wasn't in our thoughts to try and outdo The Song Remains the Same …" remarked engineer Kevin Shirley. "The reason those performances still stand up now is because Jimmy really was a genius. He could create tempests, summon storms. He really was the master of light and shade. And the musicians around him allowed him to flesh out that vision. Especially John Bonham, without whom Jimmy and Zeppelin would never have been able to do what he did." [3]

The album was remastered and reissued on 23 March 2018 in many formats, including 3CD, 4LP, Blu-Ray Audio and a Super Deluxe Edition box set. [4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 97/100 [5]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Entertainment Weekly A− [8]
Pitchfork 8.8/10 [9]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Stylus Magazine A− [11]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending 14 June 2003 at number 1, with sales of 154,000 copies. It remained on the chart for 16 weeks. [13] It was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA on 30 June 2003. [14] [15] How the West Was Won received an overall score of 97 by review site Metacritic . [5]

Accolades for How the West Was Won
PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
Classic Rock UK"The 50 Greatest Live Albums Ever" [16] 20034
Les Inrockuptibles France"2003 Best Reissues" [17] 20034
Record Collector UK"New Albums: Readers Top 10" (2003) [18] 20044
The Village Voice US"Albums of the Year" [19] 200437
Q UK"10 Live Albums You Must Own" [20] 2005*
QUK"The 20 Greatest Live Albums" [21] 200611
Rock HardGermany"The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time [22] 2005342
Rolling Stone USA"The 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time [23] 201523
Guitar World USA"The 10 Best Live Albums You Must Hear [24] 20197
Planet Rock magazine UK"The 100 Greatest Live Albums Ever"2020*

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing

Disc one
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date and venueLength
1."LA Drone" John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page 27 June, Long Beach Arena0:14
2."Immigrant Song" (from Led Zeppelin III )Page, Robert Plant Mixed from both nights3:42
3."Heartbreaker" (from Led Zeppelin II ) John Bonham, Jones, Page, PlantMixed from both nights7:25
4."Black Dog" (from Led Zeppelin IV )Jones, Page, PlantMixed from both nights5:41
5."Over the Hills and Far Away" (from Houses of the Holy )Page, PlantMixed from both nights5:08
6."Since I've Been Loving You" (from Led Zeppelin III)Jones, Page, Plant27 June8:02
7."Stairway to Heaven" (from Led Zeppelin IV)Page, PlantMixed from both nights; Mellotron from Southampton University, Southampton, England, 22 January 19739:38
8."Going to California" (from Led Zeppelin IV)Page, Plant27 June5:37
9."That's the Way" (from Led Zeppelin III)Page, Plant25 June, LA Forum5:54
10."Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" (from Led Zeppelin III)Jones, Page, Plant27 June4:55
Disc two
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date and venueLength
1."Dazed and Confused"
"Walter's Walk"
"The Crunge" (from Led Zeppelin / Coda / Houses of the Holy)		Page (inspired by Jake Holmes)
Page, Plant
Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant		25 June25:25
2."What Is and What Should Never Be" (from Led Zeppelin II)Page, Plant27 June4:41
3."Dancing Days" (from Houses of the Holy)Page, PlantMixed from both nights3:42
4."Moby Dick" (from Led Zeppelin II)Bonham, Jones, Page25 June19:20
Disc three
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording date and venueLength
1."Whole Lotta Love"
"Boogie Chillun"
"Let's Have a Party"
"Hello Mary Lou" (omitted from 2018 reissue)
"Going Down Slow" (from Led Zeppelin II)		Bonham, Willie Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant
Bernie Besman, John Lee Hooker
Jessie Mae Robinson
Cayet Mangiaracina, Gene Pitney
James B. Oden 		25 June23:07
2."Rock and Roll" (from Led Zeppelin IV)Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant27 June3:56
3."The Ocean" (from Houses of the Holy)Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant25 June4:21
4."Bring It On Home"
"Bring It On Back" (from Led Zeppelin II)		Dixon
Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant		25 June9:30
Total length:150:27

Notes:

Personnel

Led Zeppelin

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for How the West Was Won
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) [51] Gold50,000*
Canada (Music Canada) [52] Platinum100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [53] Gold100,000^
United States (RIAA) [14] Platinum500,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release formats for How the West Was Won
RegionDateLabelFormatCatalog #
United States27 May 2003 Atlantic Records Compact Disc (×3)83587-2
7 October 2003 DVD-Audio (×2)83587-9
Japan27 May 2003 WEA JapanCompact Disc (×3)11585-7
Worldwide23 March 2018Warner Blu-ray (×1)
Worldwide23 March 2018WarnerVinyl (×4)

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References

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  2. ↑ Lewis, Dave (2003). Led Zeppelin: The 'Tight but Loose' Files: Celebration II (1st ed.). London: Omnibus Press. p. 156. ISBN   1-84449-056-4.
  3. ↑ "Live albums". Classic Rock supplement: The Live Albums That Changed The World . December 2011. p. 14.
  4. ↑ Sinclair, Paul (24 January 2018). "Led Zeppelin / How The West Was Won reissued on vinyl, blu-ray and box set". Super Deluxe Edition. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  5. 1 2 How the West Was Won at Metacritic OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
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