THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
2,004) Led Zeppelin — “As Long as I Have You” (live at the Fillmore West, April 27, 1969)
“Listening to Zep [see #110, 589] live and raw is just one of life’s greatest joys.” (BubbaZen10, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lg98FMKupU) “The[ir] early, raw recordings are mind-blowing perfect.” (Michael-yn9tx, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lg98FMKupU) Yesterday, I featured “As Long as I Have You”, a ’64 soul stunner by Garnet Mimms. Today, I feature Led Zeppelin’s volcanic and “furious medley centered on ‘As Long As I Have You'” (Nick Tavares, https://www.staticandfeedback.com/Music/1009zepp.html) from the April 27, 1969 show at San Francisco’s Fillmore West. “Unbridled power is all that comes to mind as the band roughs up the crowd with this naked display of brute strength and musical ability.” (talkfromtherockroom (discussing a performance of the song at a Miami show), https://talkfromtherockroom.com/2019/11/put-boot-in-new-yardbirds-become-led.html) The song was a staple of Zeppelin’s early shows — and thank heavens concertgoers taped them, as no studio version has ever come to light (even assuming there is one, as legend maintains).
Paul writes:
Led Zeppelin played it in concert at least 80 times (only in 1968 and 1969), which makes it one of their most frequently performed covers in their career. . . . As chance has it, most of the performances of the song were never bootlegged, or were only recorded poorly. But luckily, there’s one pristine soundboard recording of it from April [27,] 1969 that’s extraordinary. The song is 18 minutes long, and it’s a medley with “As Long as I Have You” for a few minutes at the start and about a minute at the end. . . . [I]t’s incredible to me that no version . . . has been officially released. The bonus tracks that have been added to deluxe editions of their official albums in recent years make it seem like they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, with most of them the same songs on those albums but with some minor differences. Meanwhile, some of the band’s greatest musical performances remain unreleased and obscure. It’s very strange.
https://albumsthatshouldexist.blogspot.com/2018/09/led-zeppelin-born-in-darkness-various.html
Talkfromtherockroom explores a performance in Miami:
At this point in the band’s career they were lacking original compositions, so songs like “As Long As I Have You” were their main improvisational vehicles until tunes like ‘Whole Lotta Love” came into the rotation. There are a few versions of this song available on other Zep boots such as 4/24/69 and 4/27/69 which contain soundboard sound quality and arguably more mature performances. But this in no way dampens the astonishing intensity of this [February 14, 1969] audience recording. Intensity may be too broad a term for this jam, as it is full of dynamics, light, shade, and careful instrumental placement. But it is played with such enthusiasm and strength that intensity seems an apt description. At around five minutes into the song things really heat up as Bonham and Page start to churn a delicious groove that just rumbles quietly until igniting into a “Mockingbird” jam. Jimmy has his “Wah Wah” emanating a slippery whine behind Robert’s bellowing vocals. The jam suddenly drives into a heavy syncopated rock and roll swing with Page laying down his most impressive”Yardbird” riffs which are marinated in a spicy psychedelic sauce. Riff after riff is shot out like machine gun ordnance until they climax into a long sound wave of guitar feedback that segues into a wordless Robert Plant [see #1,998] scream recital. Led Zeppelin is now a tight and smoking R&B band strutting their stuff across the darkened stage. “As Long As I Have You” epitomizes the early Led Zeppelin ideal, and gives fans a glimpse into the band’s influences, and a peek at the “nuts and bolts” of the group. This is Led Zeppelin broken into their primal elements. At one moment the band is a sharp toothed beast clawing its way toward your throat, at another a dancing gazelle gliding across the landscape.
https://talkfromtherockroom.com/2019/11/put-boot-in-new-yardbirds-become-led.html
Fans discuss their favorite performances here: https://forums.ledzeppelin.com/topic/15892-as-long-as-i-have-you.
Miami, 2/14/69:
The Fillmore West, San Francisco, 4/24/69:
The Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco, 4/26/69:
Los Angeles, 1/5/69:
Spokane, 12/30/68:
Boston, 1/25/69:
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