| How the West Was Won | |
| Type: | live |
| Artist: | Led Zeppelin |
| Cover: | Led Zeppelin - How the West Was Won.jpg |
| Alt: | Mixed-media stencil portrait of Led Zeppelin |
| Recorded: |
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| Genre: |
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| Label: | Atlantic |
| Producer: | Jimmy Page |
| Compiler: | Jimmy Page |
| Prev Title: | Led Zeppelin DVD |
| Prev Year: | 2003 |
| Next Title: | Mothership |
| Next Year: | 2007 |
How the West Was Won is a live triple album by the English rock group Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on compact disc on 27 May 2003, DVD-Audio on 7 October 2003 and Blu-ray audio in 2018. The recordings are taken from two 1972 performances in California during their tour of North America: L.A. Forum (25 June 1972) and Long Beach Arena (27 June 1972).
Guitarist Jimmy Page considers Led Zeppelin at this point to have been at their artistic peak, as is mentioned in the album's liner notes and in an interview he gave to The Times newspaper in 2010.[1]
For many years, recordings of these two shows circulated only in the form of bootlegs, such as Burn Like a Candle. Though soundboard recordings of Led Zeppelin concerts were circulated among fans after being stolen from Page's personal archive in the mid-1980s, no such versions of the 1972 Long Beach or LA Forum shows were taken, meaning How the West Was Won was the first chance fans had of hearing the soundboard versions of these concerts.[2] The songs from the two shows underwent extensive editing and audio engineering by Page at Island Studios in London before being released on the album.
"It wasn't in our thoughts to try and outdo The Song Remains the Same…" remarked engineer Kevin Shirley. "The reason those performances still stand up now is because Jimmy really was a genius. He could create tempests, summon storms. He really was the master of light and shade. And the musicians around him allowed him to flesh out that vision. Especially John Bonham, without whom Jimmy and Zeppelin would never have been able to do what he did."[3]
The album was remastered and reissued on 23 March 2018 in many formats, including 3CD, 4LP, Blu-Ray Audio and a Super Deluxe Edition box set.[4]
The album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart for the week ending 14 June 2003 at number 1, with sales of 154,000 copies. It remained on the chart for 16 weeks.[5] It was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA on 30 June 2003.[6] How the West Was Won received an overall score of 97 by review site Metacritic.
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Rock | UK | "The 50 Greatest Live Albums Ever"[7] | 2003 | 4 | |
| Les Inrockuptibles | France | "2003 Best Reissues"[8] | 2003 | 4 | |
| Record Collector | UK | "New Albums: Readers Top 10" (2003)[9] | 2004 | 4 | |
| The Village Voice | US | "Albums of the Year"[10] | 2004 | 37 | |
| Q | UK | "10 Live Albums You Must Own"[11] | 2005 | ||
| Q | UK | "The 20 Greatest Live Albums"[12] | 2006 | 11 | |
| Rock Hard | Germany | "The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time[13] | 2005 | 342 | |
| Rolling Stone | USA | "The 50 Greatest Live Albums of All Time[14] | 2015 | 23 | |
| Guitar World | USA | "The 10 Best Live Albums You Must Hear[15] | 2019 | 7 | |
| Planet Rock magazine | UK | "The 100 Greatest Live Albums Ever" | 2020 |
Notes:
Led Zeppelin
Additional personnel
| Peak position | |
| Japanese Albums Chart[16] | 3 |
|---|---|
| Position | ||
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17] | 51 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[18] | 136 | |
| US Billboard 200[19] | 140 |
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog # | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 27 May 2003 | Atlantic Records | Compact Disc (×3) | 83587-2 | |
| 7 October 2003 | DVD-Audio (×2) | 83587-9 | |||
| Japan | 27 May 2003 | WEA Japan | Compact Disc (×3) | 11585-7 | |
| Worldwide | 23 March 2018 | Warner | Blu-ray (×1) | ||
| Worldwide | 23 March 2018 | Warner | Vinyl (×4) |