How the West Was Won

Disc 1
1	L.A. Drone 0:14
2	Immigrant Song 3:41
3	Heartbreaker 7:24
4	Black Dog 5:40
5	Over the Hills and Far Away 5:07
6	Since I've Been Loving You 8:01
7	Stairway to Heaven 9:37
8	Going to California 5:36
9	That's the Way 5:53
10	Bron-Y-Aur Stomp 4:52
Disc 2
1	Dazed and Confused/Walter's Walk/The Crunge 25:25
2	What Is and What Should Never Be 4:39
3	Dancing Days 3:41
4	Moby Dick 19:23
Disc 3
1	Whole Lotta Love/Boogie Chillun/Let's Have a Party/Hello Marylou/Going 23:07
2	Rock and Roll 3:55
3	The Ocean 4:19
4	Bring It on Home/Bring It on Back 9:29

Barnes & Noble

While the seemingly endless archive of Led Zeppelin studio material has been tapped again and again since the band's demise, there's been precious little official material to back up their reputation as one of the most powerful live bands of their era -- until now. This three-disc set, culled from what was arguably Zeppelin's peak period, specifically over two shows in Los Angeles, 1972. That's hot on the heels of their untitled fourth album ("Zoso") and headed full-bore for Houses of the Holy, a moment when the band were at their most gripping, and most excessive. The latter element is showcased in full flower on a version of "Dazed and Confused" that pushes well beyond the 20-minute mark, with Jimmy Page trotting out virtually every weapon of eardrum destruction at his disposal, from e-bow to distortion pedal to flat-out funky picking. Similarly, the percussive tour de force "Moby Dick" finds drummer John Bonham in full Ahab mode for 18 of the most sweat-soaked minutes in recent live album history. Just as importantly, How the West Was Won demonstrates that Zeppelin knew when to keep things short and sweet: The one-two punch of "Immigrant Song" and "Heartbreaker" that opens the first disc is breathtaking in its galvanizing effect. Although the vast majority of the songs contained herein are well-known (to say the least), there's an undeniable freshness in the alternately playful and fierce sparring in which Page and singer Robert Plant engage on a mega medley grounded in "Whole Lotta Love" and on "Since I've Been Loving You." One part time capsule and one part time machine, How the West Was Won is a must -- not just for Zep-heads, but for anyone interested in where hard rock has been and is likely to head in the future. [Released concurrently is a two-DVD set entitled Led Zeppelin, containing five and a half hours of alternate live footage, recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1970, Earl's Court in 1975, and the Knebworth Festival in 1979.] David Sprague

All Music Guide

For years, Led Zeppelin fans complained that there was one missing item in the group's catalog: a good live album. It's not that there weren't live albums to be had. The Song Remains the Same, of course, was a soundtrack of a live performance, but it was a choppy, uneven performance, lacking the majesty of the group at its peak. BBC Sessions was an excellent, comprehensive double-disc set of their live radio sessions, necessary for any Zeppelin collection (particularly because it contained three songs, all covers, never recorded anywhere else), but some carped that the music suffered from not being taped in front of a large audience, which is how they built their legacy -- or, in the parlance of this triple-disc collection of previously unreleased live recordings compiled by Jimmy Page, How the West Was Won. The West in this case is the West Coast of California, since this contains selections from two 1972 concerts in Los Angeles: a show at the LA Forum on June 25, and one two days later at Long Beach Arena. This is the first archival release of live recordings of Zeppelin at their peak and while the wait has been nigh on interminable, the end result is certainly worth the wait. Both of these shows have been heavily bootlegged for years and while those same bootleggers may be frustrated by the sequencing that swaps the two shows interchangeably (they always prefer full shows wherever possible), by picking the best of the two nights, Page has assembled a killer live album that captures the full, majestic sweep of Zeppelin at their glorious peak. And, make no mistake, he tries to shove everything into these three discs -- tight, furious blasts of energy; gonzo freak-outs; blues; and rock, a sparkling acoustic set. Like always, the very long numbers -- the 25-minute "Dazed and Confused," the 23-minute "Whole Lotta Love," the 19-minute "Moby Dick" -- are alternately fascinating and indulgent, yet even when they meander, there is a real sense of grandeur, achieving a cinematic scale attempted by few of their peers (certainly no other hard rock or metal band could be this grand; only Queen or David Bowie truly attempted this). But the real power of the band comes through on the shorter songs, where their sound is distilled to its essence. In the studio, Zeppelin was all about subtle colors, textures, and shifts in the arrangement. On-stage, they were similarly epic, but they were looser, wilder, and hit harder; witness how "Black Dog" goes straight for the gut here, while the studio version escalates into a veritable guitar army -- it's the same song, but the song has not remained the same. That's the case throughout How the West Was Won, where songs that have grown overly familiar through years of play seem fresh and new because of these vigorous, muscular performances. For those who never got to see Zeppelin live, this -- or its accompanying two-DVD video set -- is as close as they'll ever get. For those who did see them live, this is a priceless souvenir. For either group, this is absolutely essential, as it is for anybody who really loves hard rock & roll. It doesn't get much better than this. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

New York Times

Here, for history, is the best evidence there is likely to be of just how great Led Zeppelin, on a good night, could be. Here too, for pure listening pleasure, is the thrill of arguably the most influential rock sound of the last 35 years carefeully, deliriously arriving at itself. Gerald Marzorati

Rolling Stone

It captures Zep in prime swagger, fresh off their masterpiece, Led Zeppelin IV, with Houses of the Holy just around the corner. Greg Kot