Led Zeppelin -- BBC Sessions

Before the BBC Sessions was released back in 1997 there was precious little Led Zeppelin live material on the market, which is why this album was hailed by Zeppelin fans as finally being the testament to their live capabilities.

The first disc contains live cuts from various BBC radio shows ('Top Gear', 'One Night Stand', 'Chris Grant's Tasty Pop Sundae'), recorded in 1969. There are a few tracks on the first disc which are repeated a few times which kind of strange as there were many more live tracks to choose from in Zeppelin's repertoire. The standout tracks from the first disc include the early blues covers 'You Shook Me' and 'I Can't Quit You Baby', the raucous first version of 'Communication Breakdown', the riff-ladened 'The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair', the immaculate slide workout of 'Travelling Riverside Blues' and the disc one closer, 'How Many More Times' (A Live staple at that time along with Dazed & Confused). There is also a great version of 'Whole Lotta Love', which to a lot of people outshines the album version.

Disc 2 of the double album takes in a whole, unedited show from the BBC's "In Concert" series, recorded at the Paris Theatre, London in 1971.

To be brutally honest, this is not the best Zeppelin have ever played and some of the songs kind of get lost in the Theatre atmosphere (the show was probably not helped by a very tepid audience who very politely applauded at the end of each track unsure of what to expect next).

Although, saying that there are some very nice versions of 'Since I've Been Loving You', 'Immigrant Song' and warm renditions of the acoustic tracks 'Going To California' and 'That's The Way'. There was also a debut to that crowd of 'Stairway To Heaven', as the 'Untitled' album had yet to be released.

Led Zeppelin were renound as a live band, and this album showcases their sublime art of power, precision and subtlety, mixed with their influences of Blues, Folk and straight up Rock to a tee.