Led Zeppelin / Texas Two Steps Definitive Edition / 2CD

Led Zeppelin / Texas Two Steps Definitive Edition / 2CD / Graf Zeppelin

Live at Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, TX, USA 28th March 1970
Live at Hofheinz Pavillion, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA 29th March 1970

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From the North American tour in the spring of 1970, a 2CD press board containing the performance in Dallas on March 28 and the performance in Houston on the following 29th will be released as a bonus!
As you can guess from this title, both performances were made into CDs with the same song selection from the nostalgic TDOLZ board, but of course the contents of this title are not copies, and the sound quality is slightly higher than the TDOLZ board. In addition, although it is sober, you can see a few parts that first appeared, and the careful mastering that is typical of this label has ensured a reliable upgrade.

The part of the Dallas performance on March 28, which was recorded in the main, seems to have no distribution on the net, and the performance itself has been completely forgotten in the recent biased release tendency (only popular items are bursting out). Since the TDOLZ board appeared around 1997, it has not been made into a CD at all, and it has become a performance that is completely difficult to obtain.
This time, it’s been a long time since it appeared, but the 2nd Gen master has been carefully mastered, and the recording with the quality that can be said to be the best at present is realized.

It is undeniable that there is a sense of distance from the stage, and the texture is fluffy and hiss is conspicuous, but there is no phase shift that was significantly out of order on the existing board, and the sound image is firmly localized in the center like a monaural sound. And that alone sounds quite different. Also, in the existing board, the low range was cut and the processing was done closer to the mid range, so the instrument was sharp, but it was undeniable that it was thin, light and flat. This time, the balance-oriented processing is properly performed, and there is a lot of hiss, which is the same as the existing one, but the mastering emphasizes freshness. Avoiding noise reduction that reduces the freshness, the low range is firmly included, and the high range is moderate, so the sound is deeper and more vivid than the existing one.

The content is almost the same as the previous one, and there are no major upgrades such as the cut in “White Summer” and the cut of “Moby” in 19 minutes after the drum solo, but before the live starts. There is a quiet first appearance part in the intro part of the CD start, although it is less than 3 seconds, and it is clear that it is not an easy copy title. In addition, noise removal is applied to the cut part between songs to the extent that it is not overdone as necessary, and although it is not cross-processed, jarring noise such as the tape being cut at the cut part is cut and easy to hear. The processing is moderately applied.

The March 29th Houston performance part, which was recorded as a bonus, was recorded for about 34 minutes and recorded “White Summer” and “How Many ~”. In addition to the TDOLZ version, the existing version was also recorded in the title “Ultimate Mudslide” (OMS) that appeared around 2000, but there it was a deterioration like a humming MP3 that reflected the times. It was a substitute that could be said to be worse than the TDOLZ board for those who dislike digital noise due to the explosion of noise. In addition, sound sources of unknown generation are still distributed on the net, but the sound is not good there, or the pitch (key) is correct but the tempo is obviously strange, etc., all of which are of low quality. Just.

For that reason, this Houston performance is not blessed with good items like the main Dallas performance, but this time, careful mastering from the 2nd Gen master (not the net) will finally free you from this pitiful situation. In terms of sound quality, it is not as super-high-quality as the main Dallas, but the sound quality is definitely improved with a sound that is deeper, thicker and fresher than the TDOLZ, which has a thin and thin texture. There is no phase shift and the center localization is solid, and there is almost no problem with existing and noticeable distortion.
There is no big difference from the TDOLZ board in terms of content, and as mentioned above, only two songs will be recorded, but since “How Many ~” was not received at the Dallas performance, this should be a good complement to the main story. Also, in detail, there was a part that first appeared before the performance of “White Summer”, and in the previous release, the part playing the guitar was actually missing for a few seconds (this time Disc 2 track 4 CD time 0: 27-0: 28) The phrase in the vicinity is missing in the existing version), and it is a simple but surely more complete version.

Anyway, the ’70 Dallas & Houston performance, which has been treated unfortunately until now, is back as a decisive board!
Comes with a limited numbering and is attached to the front of the case.
The CD label is now available on the permanent edition of the picture disc!

’70年春の北米ツアーより3月28日ダラス公演とボーナスに翌29日のヒューストン公演を収録した2CDプレス盤が登場！
本タイトルからお察しのとおり、懐かしのTDOLZ盤から同じ選曲にてCD化されていた両公演ですが、本タイトルの中身の方はもちろんコピーではなく、TDOLZ盤よりも音質は若干ながらアップ。また地味ながら初登場パートも僅かに見られるなど、当レーベルらしい丁寧なマスタリングにより確実なアップグレードがはかられています。

メインで収録の3月28日ダラス公演部分は、ネット上にもどうやら一切流通がないようで、また公演自体が近年の偏ったリリース傾向(人気アイテムばかりが乱発される)の中ではすっかり忘れ去られた存在となってしまい、TDOLZ盤が’97年頃登場して以降は一切のCD化もなく現在に至り、すっかり入手困難な公演となってしまっていました。
今回、実に久々の登場となるわけですが、2nd Genマスターから丁寧なマスタリングが施され、現状間違いなくベストと言えるクオリティでの収録が実現。

元々ステージからの距離感もあり、なおかつモコモコでヒスも目立つ質感なのは否めないところですが、既発盤で大幅に狂っていた位相のズレもなく、モノラルサウンドらしくセンターにどっしりと音像が定位しており、それだけでもかなり印象が違って聞こえます。また既発盤では低域がカットされ中域寄りの処理がなされたことで楽器のメリハリはありましたが、薄っぺらく軽めで平坦な質感なのは否めない所でした。今回はバランス重視の処理が適切に行われており、ヒスは多めでそこは既発と同等ですが、鮮度重視のマスタリング。鮮度が落ちるようなノイズ・リダクションは避け、また低域もしっかり入って、なおかつ高域も程々にあることで、既発と比べ深みと生々しさが増したサウンドとなっております。

内容的には既発とほぼ同じで、「White Summer」でのカット、「モビー」がドラム・ソロ19分過ぎでカットして終わってしまうなど大幅なアップグレードがあるわけではありませんが、ライブ開始前のCD出だしのイントロ部に3秒弱ながら地味に初登場部があり、安易なコピータイトルではないことはこれだけでも明白。また曲間カット部では必要に応じてやり過ぎない程度のノイズ除去は施されており、クロス処理はされてませんがカット部でテープが切れるバツっというような耳障りなノイズはカットされ聞きやすくなるような処理はほどほどに施されています。

ボーナス的に収録の3月29日ヒューストン公演部分は、34分ほどの録音で、「White Summer」、「How Many〜」を収録。既発盤はTDOLZ盤のほかに、’00年前後に登場した「Ultimate Mudslide」(OMS)というタイトルにも収録されていましたが、そこでは時代を反映したようなヒュルヒュルしたMP3のような劣化ノイズが炸裂、デジノイズ嫌いな人にはTDOLZ盤よりも音が悪いと言えるような代物でした。またネット上にもジェネレーション不明の音源は現在も流通していますが、そこでは音はイマイチであるか、またはピッチ(キー)は合ってるがテンポが明らかにおかしいものなど、いずれも低品質のものばかり。

そんな訳でメインのダラス公演同様に良いアイテムには恵まれないこのヒューストン公演ですが、今回は2nd Genマスター(ネットではない)からの丁寧なマスタリングにより、この不憫な状況から遂に解放されます。音質的には、メインのダラス同様に超高音質ということはありませんが、薄っぺらく痩せた質感のTDOLZに比べ確実に深み・厚みと鮮度の増したサウンドで音質アップ。位相のズレもなくセンター定位でどっしりで、既発で目立った歪みも殆ど問題なし。
内容的にはTDOLZ盤と大きな違いはなく、前述のとおり2曲のみの収録とはなりますが、「How Many〜」はダラス公演では未収でしたので、これは本編の良い補完になるはず。また細かいところでは「White Summer」演奏前に初登場部分があり、既発ではギターを奏でる部分が実はコンマ数秒ながら欠落していた、というもの(今回Disc2 トラック4 CDタイム0:27-0:28付近のフレーズが既発盤では欠落)で、地味ながらも確実に完成度の増したものとなっております。

とにもかくにも、今まで不憫な扱いを受けてきた’70ダラス＆ヒューストン公演が決定盤になって還ってきた！
限定ナンバリング入りで、ケース前面に添付。
CDラベルはピクチャーディスクの永久仕様の愛蔵盤で登場です！

Disc 1 (63:38)
1. Introduction ★イントロは唯一の既発TDOLZより若干長い
2. We’re Gonna Groove
3. Dazed And Confused
4. Heartbreaker
5. Bring It On Home
6. White Summer Incl. Black Mountainside
7. Since I’ve Been Loving You
8. Organ Solo
9. Thank You

Disc 2 (58:51)
1. MC
2. What Is and What Should Never Be
3. Moby Dick

Bonus Trax: “HOUSTON 1970”
4. Tuning / MC ★ネットや既発盤でカットだった0:27-28付近は今回初のカットなし
5. White Summer Incl. Black Mountainside
6. How Many More Times Incl. For What It’s Worth, Down By The River, Beck’s Bolero, The Hunter, Tobacco Road, etc

Graf Zeppelin. LZSC-328A/B