Led Zeppelin went 'West,' young men

Most people reading this either weren't born or weren't old enough to appreciate Led Zeppelin by the time of the band's 1980 dissolution. If I could have climbed into a time machine and seen one concert, it might have been Zep circa 1972, right between Led Zeppelin IV and Houses of the Holy. So the newly released How the West Was Won, a three-disc live document of the band covering two June 1972 southern California shows that includes three Houses songs, had me slobbering in anticipation. (The band simultaneously released a two-DVD set covering the band during this era as visual proof.)\nThe musicians don't fail to please. Their mastery of blues and late '50s rock by this point was so nimble they were toying with both their audience and their music. Compared to the hyperearnest nu-metal of today, a band enjoying itself on stage sounds almost anathema to the concert-going experience. Zep never needed to divert the listener from its musicality.\nThankfully, this toying doesn't lead to pretentious wankery, though the 25-minute "Dazed and Confused" comes awfully close. Rather, Jimmy Page reinterprets his guitar lines for better psychedelic effect while Robert Plant detonates more machismo than should be legal. The rhythm section's pretty good too. You knew that already. But perhaps you need reminding.