Led Zeppelin live - the Unauthorised Australian CDs


Bootleg records - LPs and CDs - are unauthorised releases, usually issued without the knowledge, or permission, of the artists or recording companies involved. They became common in the rock and pop world during the second half of the 1960s, as individuals - and sometimes members or associates of performers and bands - began recording live concerts and converting them to LPs, and later CDs. Bob Dylan's The Great White Wonder - an early release of the so-called Basement Tapes he made at Woodstock with The Band - was a notorious example, first appearing in 1968. Live on Blueberry Hill was an early 70s Led Zeppelin bootleg, and Golden Eggs was a similar one for the Yardbirds. The list could go on.... By that time Head Shops and some record retailers around the world began to sell collections of bootlegs, mostly of live gigs, but also studio recordings, though they were mostly outtakes and rejects. The initial flood of bootlegs had tapered off by the late 1970s, as record companies got their acts together and began to release more material to satisfy the fans. However, during 1993 a series of bootleg CDs were released in Australia with the stamp UNAUTHORISED across their covers, and the following annotations:

The Unauthorised Live Recordings .... This live recording and its release, has not been authorised by [Name of performer or band] or their record company. This sound recording was recorded with amateur equipment and will not be of the same quality as an authorised release.

Apparently a local court had ruled that, under the Australian copyright law, these bootleg recordings could legitimately be released and sold, as long as the above notation was prominently displayed on the cover of the CD package. This exemption lasted for two years before it was repealed. As a result, a flood of bootlegs began to appear in stores around the country during 1993. This author purchased a few, then decided to collect as many of the Led Zeppelin discs as possible. At that point in time there was no real live recordings of the band readily available, apart from The Song Remains the Same soundtrack, which was rather tame. On the other hand, the new Unauthorised collections included some terrific material from the band's peak period 1969-72. As such, they were highly desirable. As far as is known, the following CDs were issued in Australia by organisations such as Joker Productions, Banana and Mainline Music:

* Joker Productions

  • JOK-008-A Led Zeppelin Live Vol.1 - 47.11 minutes [Discog: Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York 28 July 1973]
  • JOK-008-B Led Zeppelin Live Vol.2 - 44.52 minutes [Discog: Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, Canada, March 21, 1970 ]
  • JOK-008-C Led Zeppelin Live Vol.3 - 31.55 minutes [Discog: Tracks 1-4: Top Gear, Playhouse Theatre, London, England 3 March 1969; Tracks 5-7: Top Gear, Studio 4, Maida Vale, London, England 24 June 1969]
  • JOK-008-D Led Zeppelin Live Vol.4 - 42.16 minutes [Switzerland, circa 1977] ****[Page's lead playing is strained, due in part to his heroin addiction at the time]

No information was provided with the CDs in regards to the date or location of the live recordings. Only the songs were listed. Judging by the content, the four discs covered the period 1969 through to the band's final concerts in 1979. These Joker Production CDs were lacking, though the one's issued by Banana were more forthcoming, with dates, location and running times:

* Banana

  • BAN-008-A Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love Vol.1 - Live in USA 69 - 65.11 minutes
  • BAN-008-B Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love Vol.2 - Live in Europe 69 / USA 1969 - 71.17 minutes
  • BAN-008-C Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love Vol.3 - Live in Europe 69 - 50.26 minutes
  • BAN-008-D Led Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love Vol.4 - Live in USA 69 - [61.30 minutes]
  • BAN-028-A Led Zeppelin Last Stand Vol.1 - Live in USA 77 (Pt.1) - 73.16 minutes
  • BAN-028-B Led Zeppelin Last Stand Vol.2 - Live in USA 77 (Pt.2)
  • BAN-028-C Led Zeppelin Last Stand Vol.3 - Live in Europe 80 (Pt.1) - 35.11 minutes
  • BAN-028-D Led Zeppelin Last Stand Vol.4 - Live in Europe 80 (Pt.2) - 44.52 minutes
  • BAN-050-A Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven Vol.1 - Live in Europe 73 (Pt.1) - 57.06 minutes
  • BAN-050-B Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven Vol.2 - Live in Europe 73 (Pt.2) - 62 minutes
  • BAN-050-C Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven Vol.3 - Live in Europe 73 (Pt.3) - 73.47 minutes
  • BAN-050-D Led Zeppelin Stairway to Heaven Vol.4  - Live in Europe 73 (Pt.4)
  • BAN-054-A Led Zeppelin Black Dog Vol.1 - Live in Europe 69 / Canada 69 - 67.48 minutes
  • BAN-054-B Led Zeppelin Black Dog Vol.2 - Live in Canada 71 - 68.41 minutes
  • BAN-054-C Led Zeppelin Black Dog Vol.3 - Live in Europe 75 (Pt.1) - 68.19 minutes
  • BAN-054-D Led Zeppelin Black Dog Vol.4 - Live in Europe 75 (Pt.2) - 73.06 minutes

Mainline Music also released a group of CDs around this time, though it is not clear whether there were just two, or four as in the previous series:

* Mainline Music

  • SW70 Led Zeppelin Live Vol.1 
  • SW72 Led Zeppelin Live Vol.2 [47.14 minutes] **** [Tinny, echo, great guitar work on Stairway to Heaven, circa 1971?]
  • SW73 Led Zeppelin Live Vol.3
  • SW74 Led Zeppelin Live Vol.4

The Mainline CDs had no specific date or location information, but merely song titles. The origin of the recordings is unclear. Many were obviously soundboard recording and could therefore have come from members of the band or their intimate associates, such as their road crew and technical support staff. There is also a rumour that some recordings were stolen from Jimmy Page's personal archive during the late 1970s and early 1980s when he was suffering from heroin addiction. The quality of the CDs varies, though it is mostly relatively high quality in terms of bootleg recordings. A 5 star rating of the recording quality has been applied above by this author where a copy of the CD is available. It is also likely that some of the CDs listed above rehash some of the recordings from other Unauthorised series. The Bootleg section of the online Led Zeppelin Database outlines the history of band bootlegs, including reference to the aforementioned Australian releases.

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References

[Led Zeppelin] Bootlegs, Led Zeppelin Database [website], 2020. Available URL: http://www.argenteumastrum.com/bootlegs.htm.

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Last updated: 6 January 2020

Michael Organ, Australia

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