I admit that, in all the time Newstalgia has been up and alive, I haven't included any Led Zeppelin material in my posts. Why? Honestly, I overdosed on them around the time this concert was recorded. Led Zeppelin were probably one of the most visible, most hyped bands of the early 1970's. Their albums were played back to back non-stop on most FM stations in the country. Every Rock magazine had at least some kind of story regarding them in every issue. They toured almost constantly and, frankly I heard enough of them to last me a lifetime.

Not that they weren't a good band or anything, and not that I didn't like them. I just hit critical mass hearing about them and hearing Stairway To Heaven for the 2,000th time. That's all.

But my experience is probably not your experience - so when I ran across this concert I was looking at it as a historic document and not out of personal preference. So I decided to run it.

I am sure this concert has made the bootleg circles many times over, as practically everything they've ever done has, in one form or another. What's interesting about this particular concert, recorded at the BBC's Paris Theater in London in 1971, is how sedate the audience is. Evidence Led Zeppelin were much more popular in the States than they were in their native UK. A Led Zeppelin concert in the U.S. during their heyday was a stoner's paradise with massive quantities of drugs and alcohol ingested over the course of the concert to epidemic proportions. Attesting to that was the fact that, at one Zeppelin concert in Los Angeles, I was thrown up on not once, but twice in one night. Wretched excess is what they call it.

At any rate, in case you missed them the first time around, or never quite got into them in the first place, here is a taste of them live relatively early on.

Enjoy. I promise to grab something new and unknown next week.

Only a slight departure this week from our usual diet of high-voltage, high-energy, high-volume Rock. Melanie is one of those artists who have bubbled under the radar for a number of years. Initially regarded as a kind of homage to Flower-Power, her music has withstood all sorts of flight-of-trend and has maintained its integrity throughout it all.

This weekend it's a concert recording made by the BBC in 1975, which ironically was her first appearance before their microphones, live at The Paris Theater.

Slowing the pace down a bit - quieting the noise from an otherwise really noisy weekend (you know what I'm talking about) and paying tribute to a Woman and her timeless art.

We do what we can.

Back over to London this week for a concert recorded live at The Paris Theater by Badfinger from August 6, 1972.

One of the great and probably most chaos-ridden bands of the late 60's and 70's. One of the premier bands on the fledgling Apple Records label and certainly one of the bands given the blessing of The Beatles, they had all the earmarks to become an enduring and successful band in the annals of Rock. But bad timing, fortunes and horrific mis-management conspired to create one frustrating scenario after the next resulting in disillusionment, dispair and eventual suicide for two of Badfingers founding members.

But in 1972 they were riding the crest of a very high wave and this concert, recorded by the BBC, gives ample evidence of just how good they were and what they were capable of becoming.

If you've never heard them, now's your chance. If you have heard them, now's the time to get reacquainted.

Here's a rundown of songs performed:

Badfinger - Paris Theater, London - August 8, 1972
1. Better Days
2. Only You Know and I know
3. We're For The Dark
4. Sweet Tuesday Morning
5. Feelin' Alright
6. Take It All
7. Suitcase

Enjoy the weekend. Enjoy the show.

Two concerts this week as they both run a bit short, but they are both great and both from 1974.

First up - before he just went as Peter Frampton, Frampton's Camel had just come on the scene. A veteran of many bands, including The Herd and Humble Pie, Peter Frampton had established himself as one of the most respected guitarists of the early 1970's. Having just come back from the U.S. on a tour promoting their first album, the band performs here in London's Paris Theater in 1974 and just before the release of their second album. It's interesting to consider that, a little less than a year later, Peter Frampton would achieve Mega-Pop star status with his Frampton Comes Alive double album and his fortunes would change dramatically. Here he is just at the edge of that success playing to an appreciative crowd at what sounds like a relaxed radio-only gig from the BBC.

Our second concert is a rather short one. Clocking in at a little less than 15 minutes, it's too short to be a full concert and too long to be one of the nightly Roundtable picks. But The Groundhogs were one of the truly great power trios to emerge from the late 1960's and achieve critical success throughout the early 1970's. This set also comes from 1974 right around the time between "Thank Christ For The Bomb" and "Who Will Save The World?"

The Groundhogs had a reputation all through the 60's as one of the great heavy blues bands. By the time of this concert, they had become a three-piece, almost Power Trio but their bottom line was still heavy blues. They've often been mistaken for early Heavy Metal but, aside from the 3-piece lineup they don't have much in common with the Heavy Metal bands we've come to know over the years.

Here they are, also from The Paris Theater and also for a radio-only audience at The BBC in 1974.

My suggestion is to play both very loud and invite the neighbors.

Pink Floyd, during their transition phase of 1970. I'm not sure if I ran this concert last year, but it's a good one and it features Pink Floyd during that seminal period of time when they were exploring new areas and evolving from their legendary Syd Barrett period towards what would eventually be their iconic Dark Side Of The Moon period. This is a half hour excerpt of a longer concert, with many thanks to BBC 6 Music for making these classic concerts available online. I would urge you to go over to their site and check them out - they are a treasure trove of material a lot of people on this side of the Atlantic probably haven't heard before.

But in the meantime, enjoy this one for your Saturday night.

One of the really great bands to see live in the early 1970's. Rod Stewart With Faces, recorded by The BBC on May 13, 1971 at the Paris Theater. This concert is from their Long Player period which was a high point for the band with Rod Stewart in peak form. A killer concert, complete and sounding absolutely wonderful.

It's a suggestion you play this thing as loud as you can . . . it's Saturday night anyway.

(Nick Lowe - quietly cranking out an ocean of memorable music)

Over to 1984 this weekend with a live concert from the Paris Theatre in London in 1984. It features the inimitable Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit. Something of an all-star lineup that was short-lived, the Cowboy Outfit boasted a talented cast, including former Squeeze and Ace frontman Paul Carrack and Martin Belmont, founding member of Ducks Deluxe as well as Graham Parker and The Rumour.

Something tasty for your weekend listening pleasure - or take a break from the politics of the day, or a breather from the World Cup.

Just play it loud and enjoy.