In the world of gimmicky bootlegs, I have seen some weird stuff. Tin metal plates, three white Lego pieces to build your own Pink Floyd style Wall, cardboard jewelry and trinkets, homemade patches and spray-painted boxes constructed out of chip board and duct-tape. I don’t bring any of this up to complain, mind you, since these cool little items are a big part of what makes collecting bootlegs fun. When I saw the new Zeppelin release, New Orleans Blues by Pigs on the Groove though, I wasn’t sure what it was going to actually be like when it arrived. As you can see from the photos, we’re dealing with some weird packaging here.
Honestly, I’m not sure whether this is the first time the Pigs on the Groove label has made a set quite like this, but it certainly is unique. Despite the fact that some of their products have been hit or miss for me (I’ve gotten some records that sound great, and some that are pressed so poorly they are basically unplayable), I am always excited when I see these guys put something out. They are always pretty unique in some way or another, and no matter how the actual release turns out, whatever they are planning always seems like a great idea at the time. At least when I first see the advertising pictures. This crazy looking octagonal box set that the new 4 LP New Orleans Blues comes in is a primary example of something like this. Great idea in theory, but maybe not so much in practice.
I guess I should say right away that really, I could have done without the fancy packaging. I’m sure the guy who sold and shipped it to me, who is a friend of mine, would say the exact same thing. My box arrived from overseas in great condition, but that’s only because the seller took the time and expense to painstakingly pack this thing up. There is no doubt that the box looks cool. The printing quality is superb, and the carboard is a sort of textured material which makes it feel pretty luxurious overall. The problem is that the cardboard itself is extremely thin and weak. It doesn’t take much to bend it up and destroy it. The whole thing did come sealed inside a jumbo outer sleeve, but that doesn’t really do much to protect what’s inside. As you can imagine, storing this thing on a shelf on its end, like you would normally store records, is certainly challenging.
New Orleans Blues is a 4 LP set and is available on several different colors of wax. As I recall, the colors are red, blue, green and black (test pressing). Normally, I would go for a red copy, but I’ve been getting a lot of red Zeppelin records lately, so the blue was a good change. Each set is numbered, and the blue one I have indicated that it’s out of 320 copies. I’m not sure if this means there are 320 copies in total, or 320 copies of each color, since information on this release is kind of sparse. The wax itself is the standard POTG vinyl, which is a nice looking, semi-transparent color. Each disc has the POTG label with a unique catalogue code, but they are otherwise the same.
The packaging still gets weirder, since you obviously can’t fit standard sized inner record sleeves into an octagonal shaped box, right? Well instead, we’ve got octagonal shaped jackets that just barely fit inside the box. There are four of these, and each one has a different band member printed on the front of it. The print quality of the jackets is exceptionally high, and rivals anything I’ve seen for an official release lately. Inside each jacket, we have a kind of (but not quite) loosely fitting poly sleeves to store the actual discs in. Since I won’t be able to substitute my usual non-scratching MOFI style inner sleeves, using these included ones will have to do. They certainly aren’t perfect, but they do get the job done, and I think they should keep the discs scratch free in the long term.
Extras wise, we also get a printed booklet which has some information about the band during this time period, along with a pretty small, folded poster. Once again, the print quality on these items is great, but they are also just a bit too large for the box. In order to make them fit, POTG sort of just folded the ends a little bit and stuffed them in there. This has resulted in bent edges on both of these paper items, but I guess it could be worse. In order to keep anything from getting seriously damaged, they did have the foresight to add some bubble wrap to the top and bottom of the box before closing it, which does prevent things from shifting around too much.
Pressing wise, my records looked nice and flat after removing them from their weird, octagonal sleeves. They did, however, look pretty dirty. There was actually what looked to be a brown dirt smudge on the white portion of one of the labels, but I was thankfully able to remove most of that with a damp paper towel. I cleaned all four of the records in the VPI machine and then in the ultrasonic, and they did come out looking a lot cleaner. Since I had no choice but to use the included die-cut sleeves, I made sure they were free of dust and debris before putting the discs back inside of those. After this intense round of cleaning, I was finally ready to give this show a spin.
I am familiar with quite a few Led Zeppelin shows and have many on vinyl and CD. Somehow though, I had never managed to hear this particular one before, so I didn’t know what kind of audio quality to expect. The box doesn’t say what kind of recording this is supposed to be, and when that happens, it usually means it’s an audience recording. Most people are more interested in soundboards, so if there’s a chance that it is one, or can pass for one, any rogue record label worth its salt will remember to point that out on the package. Even if this is an audience recording, I have to say that it’s an unusually excellent one. Certainly, whoever captured this really knew what they were doing, and even all these years later, it really shows.
Pressing wise, I was really stunned with how this came out. As I mentioned prior, POTG has been really hit or miss for me. I think the last thing I got from them was a live version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, which I wrote about here. That pressing and source was also stunning and was a million times better than anything I had gotten from this label prior. Most of the releases I have gotten from them that have had issues are quite old now, so I’m guessing they have refined their process. New Orleans Blues is certainly a great pressing, and my copy has almost zero perceptible surface noise. Anything that is there is just your standard vinyl record warmth, which is what I am looking for in the first place.
Regarding the concert, there really isn’t too much to say that Zeppelin collectors won’t already be aware of. We are all pretty familiar with this time period (1973), and I would say that this is a top-quality performance. At the start, I thought that there was something off about Robert Plants’ voice on this particular evening, but as the show moved on, I decided that anything that sounded funny was just him adding some inflection to his singing. There are no records that I could find about him being ill or anything, and I did try to look. The entire band is on fire for this show, and you can tell they are excited to be in New Orleans. As a matter of fact, Plant mentions that it really feels like home for them there, and they are always excited to be back in town.
Live Recording – Municipal Auditorium – New Orleans, LA, USA – 14th May, 1973
A1 Rock And Roll
A2 Celebration Day
A3 Black Dog (Bring It On Home intro)
A4 Over The Hills And Far Away
B1 Misty Mountain Hop
B2 Since I’ve Been Loving You
B3 No Quarter
C1 The Song Remains The Same
C2 Rain Song
D Dazed and Confused Part 1
E1 Dazed and Confused Part 2 (Incl. San Francisco)
E2 Stairway To Heaven
F Moby Dick
G1 Heartbreaker
G2 Whole Lotta Love (incl. Let That Boy Boogie)
H Communication Breakdown
As can be seen from the set list, many long-time favorites are here, and there is a little something for everyone. Usually, I am pretty critical about drum solos, but Bonham’s version of “Moby Dick” on this night is a very good one. It still takes up an entire side of an LP which I still maintain is excessive, but I think it’s one of his more interesting versions of the solo. It also helps that the audio quality is so good. “Dazed and Confused” is split between two LP’s but I don’t think there’s really anything that could be done about that since it’s so long. They go into a cool rendition of the Scott McKenzie song “San Francisco” (be sure to wear flowers in your hair) during the second half, which I thought was really cool. “Stairway To Heaven” is also as excellent as you would expect it to be, and I never get tired of hearing it, no matter what anyone else thinks.
Honestly, I think that the great audio quality from whatever the original source is, combined with the fact that this is a killer pressing, makes New Orleans Blues a good choice for new and seasoned collectors alike. If you have never collected live Zeppelin stuff before, I think this is a good place to get started. It might not have every single song you’re looking for, but there’s probably enough of the hits here to satisfy most casual fans and maybe expose them to some new material. For long time collectors, I think the box and the packaging are probably unique enough that most of you will want to pick this one up, even though it’s annoying and not really a plus for me personally. This is a fantastic version of the show, and I would say this level of quality is rarely seen on vinyl releases these days. There is a new Casino Records Zeppelin coming out this week or next, but I’m not sure it can possibly rival this one in quality or novelty.
Overall, the audio source for New Orleans Blues is an easy 9/10. Once again, I’m not sure exactly how this was recorded, but it sounds great for an unofficial source. Most collectors will be more than happy with the sound quality. I usually give pressing and packaging ratings together, but I have to split them up this time to paint more of a fair picture. The packaging gets a 6/10. It looks cool, but it’s just not practical, and I don’t think it will hold up well at all with repeated opening and closing, or even with normal shelf wear and storage. The extras in the box are cool and the die cut sleeves are unique, but a lot of that stuff ended up bent, and I just don’t think the weird shape is worth the hassle. The pressing itself though is an easy 10/10, which in my opinion certainly makes this set worth picking up while it’s still available. Get one while you can, and happy hunting!