Led Zeppelin - 1977-05-18 - Birmingham, AL (AUD/FLAC)

(Audience FLAC)

PREVIOUSLY UNCIRCULATED ALTERNATE SOURCE (Thanks to Jon Meacham in Birmingham for finding the recording and having it professionally transferred)

8 TRACK MASTER CASSETTES (as in 70's style 8 track tapes!) digitally transferred in Birmingham by a company that wishes to remain 'nameless' ;)

8 track cassette master > professional digital transfer to CDR > EAC > WAV > Sony Sound Forge 8 (track editing, speed/pitch correcting and EQ; alternate sources used to patch cuts- see below) > WAV > TLH > FLAC

I patched the major cuts in the recording using the following:

"Out Of The Way" silver CDs > EAC > WAV > Sony Sound Forge 8

"Dixie" silver CDs > EAC > WAV > Sony Sound Forge 8

SQ 6-7

01 - MC/Crowd intro

02 - The Song Remains The Same

03 - The Rover > Sick Again

04 - Nobody's Fault But Mine

05 - In My Time Of Dying (ending cut; patched w/ OOTW & Dixie sources)

06 - Since I've Been Loving You

07 - No Quarter

08 - Ten Years Gone

09 - Battle Of Evermore

10 - Going To California (ending cut; patched w/ OOTW source)

11 - Black Country Woman > Bron Y Aur Stomp (slight cut during BYAS; patched w/ OOTW source)

12 - White Summer > Black Mountain Side

13 - Kashmir (temporary volume drop in middle)

14 - Over The Top (slight cut during tympani section)

15 - Noise Solo

16 - Achilles Last Stand

17 - Stairway To Heaven

18 - Rock And Roll

Notes:

Jon Meacham's brother and a couple of friends attended the concert and made this recording. In true 70's fashion they taped the show using 8 track tapes. After his brother's passing Jon discovered the 8 track tapes; then he went to a company in Birmingham that does digital transfers of analog audio and video recordings. He then contacted me over at the official Led Zeppelin website for advice (where I was known for my 'expertise' on the '77 tour and recordings.) He offered to send me a copy of the raw digital transfer, so that I could try to improve the sound quality. And here is the end result; the raw recording played at least a step fast, so I did some speed and pitch correcting on it. I also re-EQ'd and boosted the volume of the recording, as the raw recording was very boomy in the low end (not to mention quiet). That said, it is by no means perfect; there are a few cuts here and there, the most major ones I "patched" using my Birmingham "Out Of The Way" and "Dixie" CDs. There were also some tape issues (flutter and warbling) during the acoustic set, not to mention a bit of digital static (presumably made during the digital transfer) also during the acoustic set. These issues are nothing too serious, though (I've heard worse.) Still listenable. That aside, sound quality wise, IMO this alternate source is much better than the "Dixie" recording but still a notch or two below the "Out Of The Way" source.