Friday, June 20, 2003 | 9:29 a.m.
Spencer Patterson covers music for the Sun. His music notes column appears Fridays. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-2309.
The year has already produced plenty of great new music, but my pick as 2003's top CD release is actually more than 30 years old.
Led Zeppelin's live, three-disc "How the West Was Won," which debuted at No. 1 on the album charts this month, is as good as anticipated.
Culled from a pair of June 1972 shows, the set easily offers the best official evidence of the band's legendary concert prowess.
I know a bit about Zeppelin's live potential, having spent two or three years in high school obsessively hunting for the band's elusive bootleg CDs.
Periodically, my friends and I used our quest as an excuse to drive two hours from Phoenix to Tucson, where a record store housed in a giant warehouse sold the mythical objects for ridiculously high prices.
The problem was, not only were the discs priced at $25 and higher, they also typically featured sub-standard recording quality. It's tough to enjoy the band's scorching Knebworth '79 performance when the music is accompanied by a near-continuous conversation between two Brits standing nearby.
"How the West Was Won" has no such issues. Though its sound may not compare to modern live, multi-track soundboard recordings, it's one of the most listenable Zeppelin concert documents I've ever heard.
Amazingly, as good as they are, the three compact discs are not even the most essential new Zeppelin product on the market. That honor goes to "Led Zeppelin DVD," a two-disc treasure trove of rare concert footage.
The DVDs present a clear look at a band rarely captured on camera (not to mention Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound). Topping five hours, the discs present portions of four concerts -- one each from 1970, '73, '75 and '79 -- along with a few interview sessions and short promo films.
Among the many highlights: tight shots of Jimmy Page performing solo guitar on "White Summer" and John Bonham blazing through his long drum solo in "Moby Dick" at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Music notes
The list game: Another month, another inane list program on VH1. This time it's the incredibly convoluted "100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years," all five hours of which air tonight starting at 6 on Cox cable channel 33.
I won't spoil the surprise and reveal what the voting panel of "VH1 executives" chose for the No. 1 slot. But I will tell you that Eminem's "Lose Yourself" is No. 4, a sad fact that invalidates the entire show.
Not that I don't like "Lose Yourself." It may be Eminem's best song, and one of the top hip-hop tracks in the past few years. But selecting a song that's less than a year old -- without being able to judge how well it holds up over any length of time -- is ridiculous.
Other dubious inclusions: No Doubt's "Don't Speak" (No. 16), Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (No. 45) and Hanson's "MMMBop' (No. 98). And at No. 38, the Clash's seminal "London Calling" came in 10 spots behind Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" (No. 28).
Yuck.
See you real soon: Rolling Stone cover duo Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake arrive at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night at 7:30.
The two singers spent part of their early careers together in the "Mickey Mouse Club" before both became teen pop sensations, Aguilera as a solo artist and Timberlake in N'Sync. Last year Timberlake released his solo debut, "Justified," one week after Aguilera's "Stripped" hit shelves.
Tickets are $48, $78 and $98 and are available at the MGM box office, at TicketMaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 or online at ticketmaster.com.
On sale
Alt-metal band Korn returns to Las Vegas July 7 for a club performance at the Palms' Rain in the Desert. Tickets are $49.50 and $99.50 and are available now at the Palms box office, online at cc.com and through TicketMaster.
Parrot king Jimmy Buffett will be back at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sept. 20. Tickets are $65, $100 and $200 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the MGM box office, online at mgmgrand.com and through TicketMaster.
Rapper Lil' Kim plays a late show at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Aug. 2. Tickets are $25, $35 and $45 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the HOB box office, by phone at 632-7600, online at hob.com and through TicketMaster.
Tickets for Better Than Ezra's Aug. 8 House of Blues concert are $20 and go on sale Saturday at noon.
Tickets are on sale now for three other recent House of Blues calendar additions: Raphael Saadiq on July 4 ($20, $25), the Exies on July 21 ($12) and Les Nubians on July 24 ($10, $12).
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