23. Led Zeppelin, ‘How the West Was Won’ (2003)
Live Jam
23. Led Zeppelin, ‘How the West Was Won’ (2003)
Led Zeppelin are undoubtedly one of the greatest live acts of the 1970s, but their only live album from the era — the soundtrack to 1976's The Song Remains The Same — captured them on a rather limp night. This situation was finally resolved in 2003 when Jimmy Page combed through hours of tapes from the band's 1972 tour and cobbled together this killer 18 track set. There are tons of Zep bootlegs floating around, but none of them sound this crisp and alive, even though they occasionally cheated and combined multiple versions of a song into one. Highlights include a ferocious "Immigrant Song," a 25-minute "Dazed and Confused" and a 23-minute "Whole Lotta Love" jam. "It's Zeppelin at its best," Page said in 2003. "Every single member of the band is in tip-top form. It's the magic point where it takes on a fifth element." Andy Greene