Let's Revisit Led Zeppelin's 1988 Reunion Show
On May 14, 1988, Led Zeppelin—Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jason Bonham (the 2007 Celebration Day lineup, for you youngsters out there)—reunited for Atlantic Records' massive 40th-anniversary party at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
Below, you'll find a video of Led Zeppelin's complete set from that night, starting with "Kashmir," moving into "Heartbreaker" (complete with a variation on Page's guitar solo), followed by an updated version of "Whole Lotta Love" (Note the change in the riff).
After that, you'll hear "Misty Mountain Hop" and other goodies; in all, it's 30-plus minutes of pure, late-Eighties Led Zeppelin.
I watched their set on TV that night, and I remember the horrible mix the band—or maybe it was just the TV viewers—were subjected to. The faulty mix is most obvious on "Kashmir." (Can anyone hear Jones' keyboards? I can't.) Luckily, the more guitar-heavy tracks sound better.
Other acts performing that night included Foreigner; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Genesis; Emerson Lake and Palmer; Wilson Pickett and Ben E. King.
Three years earlier, the band got together for Live Aid; you can read up on that interesting show right here.
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
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