How the West Was Won (Led Zeppelin album)
Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox album 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).
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.<ref name=jackson2>James Jackson, "Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin IV, the band's peak and their reunion, The Times, 8 January 2010 .</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Reception
Template:Music ratings 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.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA on 30 June 2003.Template:Certification Cite Ref<ref name="US billboard 200 chart">Template:Cite magazine</ref> How the West Was Won received an overall score of 97 by review site Metacritic.<ref name="metacritic" />
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Rock | UK | "The 50 Greatest Live Albums Ever"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2003 | 4 |
| Les Inrockuptibles | France | "2003 Best Reissues"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2003 | 4 |
| Record Collector | UK | "New Albums: Readers Top 10" (2003)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2004 | 4 |
| The Village Voice | US | "Albums of the Year"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2004 | 37 |
| Q | UK | "10 Live Albums You Must Own"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2005 | * |
| Q | UK | "The 20 Greatest Live Albums"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2006 | 11 |
| Rock Hard | Germany | "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> | 2005 | 342 |
| Rolling Stone | USA | "The 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2015 | 23 |
| Guitar World | USA | "The 10 Best Live Albums You Must Hear<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2019 | 7 |
| Planet Rock magazine | UK | "The 100 Greatest Live Albums Ever" | 2020 | * |
Track listing
Template:Track listing Template:Track listing Template:Track listing
Notes:
- The DVD-Audio version of the album has tracks 1–11 on disc one with tracks 12–18 on disc two. It features the whole album in 24bit/48 kHz for both 5.1 and Stereo.
- The Blu-Ray Audio version of the albums has all tracks on one disc. It features the whole album in 24-bit/96 kHz DTS-Master Audio 5.1, as well as two stereo tracks (PCM and DTS-MA)
- The 4 LP version of the album has tracks 1–4 on Side A, tracks 5, 12 & 13 on Side B, track 6 & 7 on Side C, track 8–10 on Side D, tracks 11, 14 & 15 on Sides E, F & G respectively, and tracks 16–18 on Side H
- The medley omitting "Hello Mary Lou" has a runtime of 20:59 in the 2018 reissue
Personnel
Led Zeppelin
- Robert Plant – vocals, harmonica
- Jimmy Page – guitars, mandolin
- John Paul Jones – bass guitar, double bass, bass pedals, keyboards, mandolin, backing vocals
- John Bonham – drums, percussion, backing vocals, co-lead vocals on "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp"
Additional personnel
- Jim Cummins – photography
- James Fortune – photography
- Drew Griffiths – sound assistant
- Ross Halfin – package creative consultant
- Eddie Kramer – engineering
- Phil Lemon – design, artwork
- Jeffrey Mayer – photography
- Michael Putland – photography
- Kevin Shirley – engineering, mixing
- John Davis – mastering (2018 reissue)
Charts
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Weekly charts
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums Chart<ref name="Japanese albums chart">Template:Cite web</ref> | 3 |
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|
Year-end charts
| Chart (2003) | Position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 51 |
| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 136 |
| US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> | 140 |
Certifications
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Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 27 May 2003 | Atlantic Records | Compact Disc (×3) | 83587-2 |
| 7 October 2003 | DVD-Audio (×2) | 83587-9 | ||
| Japan | 27 May 2003 | WEA Japan | Compact Disc (×3) | 11585-7 |
| Worldwide | 23 March 2018 | Warner | Blu-ray (×1) | |
| Worldwide | 23 March 2018 | Warner | Vinyl (×4) |
References
External links
- How the West Was Won from Led Zeppelin's official site Template:Webarchive
- The Garden Tapes – analysis of live tracks edits for the album
- Template:Metacritic album
- Template:Discogs master