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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: jingle.boy on July 18, 2014, 10:53:24 PM
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For starters, I'd be interested to know the level of familiarity of everyone following (hence the poll). So, if you vote, also let others know what bucket you fall into. Naturally, I put myself in the Expert category, but by no means would put my in the same manaical fandom that ytserush and The Letter M and KevShmev are with Rush. I'm sure many of my other fogey's will drop tidbits on me that I didn't even know.
Why am I doing Zeppelin? Why am I qualified to lead this discussion? Well, growing up, neither of my parents were all that in to music, so I just kinda wandered musically, never really finding anything that I could get truly connected to. I had to discover things myself, and ultimately ended up on Top 40 pop stuff like Wham, Madonna, Culture Club, Cindy Lauper etc... Sure, there were some bouts of Supertramp, Yes, and Halen, but only their fluffy songs that made it on to top 40 radio in the early/mid 80s.
November 23, 1985, my parents sat my brother and I down to tell us they were separating, just 4 days after my 14th birthday. It was quite the shock. This kinda shit happened to other kids, not me. Quite the influential thing to happen to a pubescent boy. Just a couple months earlier, they had me start high school at a different school than all my grade 8 class mates attended - nice huh? Send a 14 year old to start high school with 0 friends, then 2.5 months later, split up. Parenting 101 hard at work.
How does this shape me musically? Well, for the next few months, I was really trying to find my place in life. It sounds so cliche, but it really is the case. I really didn't know what to do with my (albeit inconsequential) 14 year old life. No true friends, fucked up family life (relatively speaking). I didn't give 2 shits or care about anything really. So, sometime early in '86, my brother (4 years older) bought a wicked cool stereo with this CD player thing. First disc he throws in after setting up the system starts with this nice little waa-waa guitar thing, then a god-like voice takes over.
Hey hey mama said the way you move
Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove
That moment, and that song gave me wonder, appreciation, awe, inspiration, amazement, desire, drive, determination and probably a whole host of other emotions. It breathed life into me again. Gave me a purpose. Made me a fan of something. Nowadays, I don't do anything without music. I take my iPod to Costco when shopping; it's on in the background right now; when doing household chores, I needs me my tunes. I used to need it to fall asleep (probably would still if not for Mrs Jingle being pretty much the opposite when it comes to music - drives her nuts "take your headphones out and be part of the family!"). For anyone who followed my original Top 50, it was full of glam and classic rock, which was all I listened to until the late 90s, when I discovered Prog. I don't have a lot of diversity ... One of my rules of life is to spend time with music I love, and don't waste time with anything else. So, I love rock, and stick with it. It all started with this song.
Up to that point, I'd really only known Stairway to Heaven... having been the closing song at every elementary school dance since 1971. Like I said, I had no musical direction, and was a Top 40 radio listening guy. So Led Zeppelin was pretty much wide open territory for me, and boy did I explore. I remember the feelings the first time listening to Whole Lotta Love (dat opening riff), Immigrant Song (dat scream), and Kashmir (pretty sure I was higher than a kite for that first listen).
At the age of 18, knowing that Zeppelin would be with my soul forever (thankfully, I was right) I got this, much to the dismay of my mother!
(https://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww265/jingle-boy/DTF%20items/Zeppelintattoo_zps040c922a.jpg)
To understand Led Zeppelin and the their historical impact on the genre of Rock, hell, on the music industry as a whole, we have to start at the very beginning. Here's how this thread will develop. I'll start with how the four of them ended up coming together - it's important. Then we'll hit the discography discussion... going with the 8 true studio albums, and regrettably Coda. In between the discussion of those albums, I intend to offer some insight into the life of Led Zeppelin as a live act, as that is what really made them larger than life. I won't lead a full in-depth discussion on all the post 1982 releases, but will touch on the significance of some of them.
For each of the studio releases, to prevent the posts from being WAY too long, I may split the discussion in two - a primary post on the album itself, and then a follow up secondary post with some comments song-by-song. Otherwise, I think I'm going to have too much to put into a single post. I know how limited our attention spans are, and I know I glaze over when I see a 3 page post.
(https://s2.quickmeme.com/img/bb/bb360634fb28151dcbf284acb1dc71b6839d21d7b039fc17a12a3048179f6a60.jpg)
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I'm with ya, Chad. Went with Advanced, since I have heard every album once, at least, and quite a few of my favourites are some of the lesser known ones, but I wouldn't call myself an expert, and have not watched The Song Remains The Same.
Looking forward to this and to revisiting the discography of one of the greatest rock bands ever! :tup
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I voted "expert" based on the written criteria...but I actually consider myself more in the "advanced" category.
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I voted Expert aswell, though I'm not entirely comfortable with that title.
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Aaaaaaaand following.
I'd put myself somewhere between Intermediate and Advanced. While I've listened to every album at least once, not all have really sunken in with me, mostly due to the very few amount of listens and time I've given to releases such as In Through the Out Door and Coda, and I'm hoping to gain even more knowledge about the Zep here.
This gon be gud.
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Aaaaaaaand following.
I'd put myself somewhere between Intermediate and Advanced. While I've listened to every album at least once, not all have really sunken in with me, mostly due to the very few amount of listens and time I've given to releases such as In Through the Out Door and Coda, and I'm hoping to gain even more knowledge about the Zep here.
This gon be gud.
In spite of my love for Achilles Last Stand, I actually feel the same way about Presence. I actually like most of the actual songs more than some detractors do...but I've probably only sat and listened to the album from start to finish once or twice. Same with the two you mentioned. As a matter of fact, I think I need to re-visit Carouselambra just because it's been easily a decade since I've heard it, and I can't even remember what it sounds like.
I mostly tend to stick to everything up to and including Physical Graffiti...which always fights with Houses of the Holy for my favorite Zep album.
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For starters, I'd be interested to know the level of familiarity of everyone following (hence the poll). So, if you vote, also let others know what bucket you fall into. Naturally, I put myself in the Expert category, but by no means would put my in the same manaical fandom that ytserush and The Letter M and KevShmev are with Rush.
There, that's better. :biggrin:
Anyway, I have all of Zeppelin's stuff on CD, but I don't know a lot of the behind the scenes stuff with them, so this thread could prove to be most informative for me. :coolio
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I'm pretty much intermediate. I know the big hits (Kashmir, Stairway, Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Ramble On). I've listen to all of their albums at least in a 24 hour period (A weaker version of the Zepathon as some may call it). I did spend time on Wikipedia on reading all of their tour pages from their NA 1973 tour all the way to the last Europe tour in 1980 and read all of that lore. That said, I'll be following this thread.
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I went with advanced, though on the intermediate side of that. Don't own many Zeppelin albums, but hey man, we spilled blood in the same mud man, I've done my share of time with them.
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Based on the poll criteria, I would seem to fit in Expert category, but that doesn't feel quite right, so I voted Advanced.
Led Zeppelin was, for many years, my favorite band, and are still on my short, short list.
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I'm coming along for the ride, though I am quite the beginner for Led Zep.
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I'm somewhere in the middle of Intermediate and Advanced. I know the "hits" and the most known album tracks, but also some deeper cuts. Don't know the songs by heart though.
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For starters, I'd be interested to know the level of familiarity of everyone following (hence the poll). So, if you vote, also let others know what bucket you fall into. Naturally, I put myself in the Expert category, but by no means would put my in the same manaical fandom that ytserush and The Letter M and KevShmev are with Rush.
There, that's better. :biggrin:
That's exactly what I said. :biggrin: :biggrin:
I'm coming along for the ride, though I am quite the beginner for Led Zep.
Wow, I'm quite shocked actually. That's cool though. Hope it becomes a meaningful experience for you.
And as for the 'criteria', it was intended to be a little funny quip to classify one's experience and knowledge level. "Expert" might be too much even for me... I mean, I haven't read too many of the countless biography books available on them (I've read a few). It's been fun and enlightening to conduct some additional research on them for this, so I hope it's a fun and enlightening experience for all.
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Led Zep are a band I know exist. I know they did music I probably should like, but I never checked them out for reasons I am not too sure. So thankfully this topic gives me an excuse to actually get their albums into my collection and listen to them.
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Led Zep are a band I know exist. I know they did music I probably should like, but I never checked them out for reasons I am not too sure. So thankfully this topic gives me an excuse to actually get their albums into my collection and listen to them.
I hear ya... there's a handful of classic rock bands that I didn't go all-in with - I'm really only a 'best-of' guy with the Stones, Who and Eagles for instance. :blush
*awaits RJ's disapproval*
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I even own Coda and the DVd of STRTS.
Hell I would album bootlegs from their 70's tours.
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^ I'm in the same boat as King, got 'em all and I frequently watch How the West Was One just to watch Jimmy play White Summer/Black Mountain Side. I'm a big fan but I would hesitate to call myself an expert.
One of the biggest thrills of my life was seeing them live in '77. The performance was memorable but not as much as the overall experience with the crowd ambiance. Someone said, on this forum recently (I forget who), "I really miss the '70's." I couldn't agree more.
Needless to say, I'm with ya mang. Let's rock!
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I'll come along for the ride. Marked myself as Intermediate as I'm not a fan. I have a couple of albums (Presence and 4) but as I've said elsewhere I can't stand Plant. Hate his voice and his posturing on stage. I do play up how much I hate them :biggrin: but don't go out of my way to listen to them.
I can't stand folk music so that side of the band does nothing for me.
I've never done drugs so TSRTS made no sense to me either.
Achilles Last Stand is a great song with some great riffing.
I acknowledge the influence they had on music and rank them as legendary even though I'm no great fan.
that's where I stand coming in. I'll try not to be too negative :biggrin:
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I'll come along for the ride. Marked myself as Intermediate as I'm not a fan. I have a couple of albums (Presence and 4) but as I've said elsewhere I can't stand Plant. Hate his voice and his posturing on stage. I do play up how much I hate them :biggrin: but don't go out of my way to listen to them.
I can't stand folk music so that side of the band does nothing for me.
I've never done drugs so TSRTS made no sense to me either.
Achilles Last Stand is a great song with some great riffing.
I acknowledge the influence they had on music and rank them as legendary even though I'm no great fan.
that's where I stand coming in. I'll try not to be too negative :biggrin:
To appreciate the Plant's antics on stage, one only needs to go to a midnight showing with one's girlfriend and have her spontaneously happen while watching it! Reefer doesn't hurt though.
:lol
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You didn't have a category for "own all the albums, even Coda, taped The Song Remains The Same off MTV back in 1987 or so, and have heard something like 100 Zep bootlegs" so I voted for the last one. :lol
Along for this ride. :metal
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Someone said, on this forum recently (I forget who), "I really miss the '70's." I couldn't agree more.
I believe it was Bob, recounting his Foreigner concert story a couple days ago.
I'll come along for the ride. Marked myself as Intermediate as I'm not a fan. I have a couple of albums (Presence and 4) but as I've said elsewhere I can't stand Plant. Hate his voice and his posturing on stage. I do play up how much I hate them :biggrin: but don't go out of my way to listen to them.
I can't stand folk music so that side of the band does nothing for me.
I've never done drugs so TSRTS made no sense to me either.
Achilles Last Stand is a great song with some great riffing.
I acknowledge the influence they had on music and rank them as legendary even though I'm no great fan.
that's where I stand coming in. I'll try not to be too negative :biggrin:
I'm not much of a folk (or blues) guy either, but the way that they infuse it into rock is stunning. Hopefully your mind is open, though I'll tell you if your expectations are based off of Presence and The Song Remains The Same (concert/movie), you've got nowhere to go but up. :lol Those two are the low points of the band's career imo. If you think Achilles Last Stand is some amazing riffing, you're in for a treat as we go through the albums.
You didn't have a category for "own all the albums, even Coda, taped The Song Remains The Same off MTV back in 1987 or so, and have heard something like 100 Zep bootlegs" so I voted for the last one. :lol
Along for this ride. :metal
Guess I need an Expert: Jaq level. :2metal:
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I can't pretend to be an expert on the backstage and behind the scenes info, but I have heard a fucking ton of Zep over the years. :rollin
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Anybody see the Doc, "It Might Get Loud" with Jimmy Page, The Edge & Jack White talking guitars and music? If not I highly recommend it.
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Why am I doing Zeppelin? Why am I qualified to lead this discussion? Well, growing up, neither of my parents were all that in to music, so I just kinda wandered musically, never really finding anything that I could get truly connected to. I had to discover things myself, and ultimately ended up on Top 40 pop stuff like Wham, Madonna, Culture Club, Cindy Lauper etc...
Chad......Bro....... I have to Red card you right off the bat for the above quote. :lol As far as Zep.... the world has never experienced a better Rock Band..PERIOD!!! As far as the poll, I want an above expert category, like some others here :hat. Although, after a few too many bong rips....I've probably forgotten a few pertinent factoids. This will be a fun filled journey down memory lane, and I look forward to any new folks discovering what I fell in love with 40 years ago.
"As the mighty arms of Atlas...hold the heavens from the Earth...."
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Why am I doing Zeppelin? Why am I qualified to lead this discussion? Well, growing up, neither of my parents were all that in to music, so I just kinda wandered musically, never really finding anything that I could get truly connected to. I had to discover things myself, and ultimately ended up on Top 40 pop stuff like Wham, Madonna, Culture Club, Cindy Lauper etc...
Chad......Bro....... I have to Red card you right off the bat for the above quote. :lol As far as Zep.... the world has never experienced a better Rock Band..PERIOD!!!
Awww... c'mon! Can't you at least give me a yellow card? I don't want to be kicked out of my own thread before I even make the starting posts on the discussion!! :D
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OK...we'll downgrade ya... ;D. This journey will be a blast! :metal
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Criticism of the 80s will not be tolerated. :biggrin:
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This will be a cool thread. I have a box set and listen to Zeppelin on a regular basis.
Plus the radio stations in my area seem to play them once an hour.
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Criticism of the 80s will not be tolerated. :biggrin:
I LOVED the 80's!! Metallica, Queensryche, Dio, Maiden, G&R.... :biggrin: :metal :metal :metal
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I voted Expert aswell, though I'm not entirely comfortable with that title.
This for me. Should be a fun thread!
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This thread is getting me almost as giddy as the Pink Floyd thread :D
I fall somewhere in between the last two categories. I've listened to every album (not including Presence or CODA) over 9k times... And I love love love HTWWW.
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I'll check in from time to time but will return and use this thread as a reference later on - I'm having enough trouble keeping my Top 50 humming at a half decent pace. I also will return to the BOC, PF threads etc....
I'm definitely in the Expert category - my all time most played Zep track is Van Halen doing Rock and Roll on Live Without A Net :neverusethis:
I know the hits and that's about it ::) - and in Australia that means a lot less than it does in the US/Canada. I see songs quoted as "radio hits" in the classic rock thread that I've barely heard of.
I did buy all (or most anyway) of the Zep albums in digital format a few months back - never owned a Zep album before that . The only reason being that I was on a bit of a "classic bands I probably should know a bit about" kick - just 'cos i'm a guy who needs to know stuff. I don't have great expectations of them becoming a big favourite , but I hope I'm pleasantly surprised.
Appreciate the time and effort involved Chad......................and this ("I don't have a lot of diversity ... One of my rules of life is to spend time with music I love, and don't waste time with anything else. So, I love rock, and stick with it.) I can relate to.
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Anybody see the Doc, "It Might Get Loud" with Jimmy Page, The Edge & Jack White talking guitars and music? If not I highly recommend it.
Can't say that I have.
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Anybody see the Doc, "It Might Get Loud" with Jimmy Page, The Edge & Jack White talking guitars and music? If not I highly recommend it.
Indeed I have seen it. Definitely worth watching.
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I'm somewhere in between Advanced and Expert. I have all the studio albums, but I've only really listened to the first four. Outside of that, I know Kashmir and that's pretty much it.
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I'm somewhere in between Advanced and Expert. I have all the studio albums, but I've only really listened to the first four. Outside of that, I know Kashmir and that's pretty much it.
OMG! Dude! Houses of the Holy? Over the Hills and Far Away? The Rain Song? The Ocean? I mean, i know D'yer Maker isa bit of a low point, but come on! No Quarter alone....
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I checked Advanced because speaking of Coda, Wearing And Tearing is a TAC Top 5 Zep tune.
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I checked Advanced because speaking of Coda, Wearing And Tearing is a TAC Top 5 Zep tune.
That is a quality tune, and the one thing that makes Coda bearable. Top 5 is a stretch though.
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Ok, but definitely Top 10. I'll have to go through the list.
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I really hate the bad rap that Coda gets. As a Led Zeppelin "album" it doesn't hold a candle to the others...but that's not really what it was ever meant to be. If you think about it, the title itself is absolutely brilliant, because that's exactly what it is. It's not a proper Led Zeppelin album at all, but more like a soliloquy, or an epitaph. The title "Coda" really says it all.
...and if they HADN'T released it, people would have done nothing but bitch about them not releasing the songs....so there's that too. ::)
For what it is, I really like Coda, and I'm happy it exists.
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I put myself in the Advanced category but I probably err on the side of Intermediate. I've listened to all of their albums (sans Coda, which I've only heard a few songs from and they mostly were not that great) a couple of times, I know a bunch of deeper cuts, I know some bits of lore, but I've never watched TSRTS except for bits and pieces. Also, every time I listen to an album, I gain a new appreciation or I find something new in a song. So maybe Intermediate is better choice.
Anyways, I'll be a followin.'
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also on the intermediate side of advanced as I have only heard I - IV, Houses, and PG. But I have listened to those on the whole a lot.
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:omg:
We're already on Coda?!
Wow, Chad, you're faster than a rabbit on Cialis. I'd better go listen to the other eight albums so I can catch up.
BRB
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Wow, Chad, you're faster than a rabbit on Cialis. I'd better go listen to the other eight albums so I can catch up.
:lol :lol
You're accurate on your first point; not so accurate on the need for the second. Since there are already a lot of people in, I'll likely make the starting post tonight or tomorrow morning. Very pleased with the interest so far.
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Voted expert. Favorite band. I have a small shelf in my den specifically for my Zep CDs, DVDs, vinyls (most if not all of which are 1st pressings), books and *gulp* miniature Jimmy Page figure.
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Oh, god, please tell me that the action-figure is wearing the Dragon Suit!
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Wow, Chad, you're faster than a rabbit on Cialis. I'd better go listen to the other eight albums so I can catch up.
:lol :lol
You're accurate on your first point; not so accurate on the need for the second. Since there are already a lot of people in, I'll likely make the starting post tonight or tomorrow morning. Very pleased with the interest so far.
45 replies before the first write-up? I'd say there's some interest.
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Oh, god, please tell me that the action-figure is wearing the Dragon Suit!
Yup the white suit and he's holding up the violin bow during Dazed and Confused.
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Oh, god, please tell me that the action-figure is wearing the Dragon Suit!
Yup the white suit and he's holding up the violin bow during Dazed and Confused.
Oh god... we need pics of that.
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Oh, god, please tell me that the action-figure is wearing the Dragon Suit!
Yup the white suit and he's holding up the violin bow during Dazed and Confused.
Does he come with kung-fu grip and detachable heroin needle too?
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Advanced bordering on Expert. I started out with the two disk Greatest Hits that came out about 13 years ago, then all the studio albums followed. I have The Song Remains the Same (haven't seen the movie though), How The West Was Won, the BBC Sessions, their live DVD, and I've read their biography The Hammer of the Gods. Most definitely following
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Very into this thread. Long one of my favorite bands, and JPJ was, along with Geddy Lee, my clear co-#1 influence as a bassist when I was in my first few years learning the instrument. Hard to count the number of Zep songs I've covered in bands over the years--somewhere between 20 and 30, I'm guessing.
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So what's after "Expert"? I have all the original albums on vinyl, including Coda, and bootlegs, and most on CD. I have The Song Remains the Same on VHS, DVD and now Blu-ray. I bought the remastered CD of The Song Remains the Same hoping that they'd fixed that one spot in the piano solo during "No Quarter" (you know the one) and was disappointed that they'd decided to just use another take. I don't like the solo as much, and while the album was never a proper soundtrack to the movie anyway, it now had one more track that wasn't the same as in the movie. The remastered CD isn't just remastered, but basically an alternate version of the album, so now I have both on my iPod.
So does that make me an expert? No. But I agree with Jaq; if it's based on how much Zep you own and how long you've been a fan, I'm off the charts. Also, I do know a bit about them, so I'll be watching this thread, making sure it's on the up-and-up. :police:
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So what's after "Expert"? I have all the original albums on vinyl, including Coda, and bootlegs, and most on CD. I have The Song Remains the Same on VHS, DVD and now Blu-ray. I bought the remastered CD of The Song Remains the Same hoping that they'd fixed that one spot in the piano solo during "No Quarter" (you know the one) and was disappointed that they'd decided to just use another take. I don't like the solo as much, and while the album was never a proper soundtrack to the movie anyway, it now had one more track that wasn't the same as in the movie. The remastered CD isn't just remastered, but basically an alternate version of the album, so now I have both on my iPod.
So does that make me an expert? No. But I agree with Jaq; if it's based on how much Zep you own and how long you've been a fan, I'm off the charts. Also, I do know a bit about them, so I'll be watching this thread, making sure it's on the up-and-up. :police:
:ontome:
:lol
That's cool Bob. Clearly there's varying levels of "expert"! Would you accept the title of Grand Poobah? (https://www.buncee.com/clip_art/costumes/Meg_72Misc_01.png) :lol As I said, I'm by no means the be all and end all authority on the band. I'm actually looking forward to finding out more myself, with whatever information and insight others have and will provide. Think of me more like a facilitator of the discussion, not the ultimate guru of all things Led Zeppelin.
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I may need to watch How The West Was Won again. Haven't broken it out in several years.
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I'm not at all surprised at the distribution of knowledge. With an act as legendary as Led Zeppelin, I'm almost (pleasantly) surprised there are more than a few novices following. Hopefully this has the same kind of impact on them as it did all of us 'experts'.
But first, a little history lesson - and to give the background of all four members at once is way too long a post, I'm gonna split it in two so it's a little more digestible.
Jimmy Page's accolades run wide and deep - with the title of "Guitarist of the Year" 5 times in the 70s; claims such as "rock's greatest and most mysterious guitar hero", "the most captivating soloists the rock world has ever known", and "truly a guitar god"; always in the top 10 (usually top 3) rankings of various online and magazine polls of 'greatest guitarist of all time' - Page is responsible for some of the most memorable guitar sounds, riffs, and chords in rock. Guitarists that (according to wiki) were influenced by Page include include some pretty legendary guitarists themselves - Ace Frehley, Joe Satriani, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Perry, Richie Sambora, Angus Young, Slash, Dave Mustaine, and Alex Lifeson. Helluva starter list.
Jimmy Page began playing guitar at the age of 13, and was largely self-taught. By the age of 17, Page caught the interest of Neil Christian playing a warm up gig one night, and was asked to join his band, Neil Christian and the Crusaders. Such was Page's first full-time gig. Making a name for himself, in just one year Page became a session musician at the Decca label, and his first recording with them would go on to be a #1 hit in the UK. Over the years, he would play on hundreds of sessions, contributing to dozens of very well known acts and their hits, including the Kinks' You Really Got Me, supporting Van Morrison completely in the studio (including Gloria), and even sat in on some sessions with The Who, contributing when Townshend couldn't cut playing the lead line (I Can't Explain). Page's time as a session musician greatly affected how he would shape Led Zeppelin, learning countless studio techniques.
By mid 1966, Page was approached by the Yardbirds (a second time ... he'd already been asked in '65 to join as a second guitarist to Clapton, but declined), both needing some new inspiration for their musical creativity. Page accepted (initially as the bassist), but during the ensuing tour, Beck had a sore throat one night and could not go on stage. Page was like a caged animal finally set free. His performance floored the rest of the band, and gave them a new lease on life. The Yardbirds had been fearing Beck's departure (the band would ultimately fire him), but now had nothing to fear with Page on the lead axe. The Yardbirds would officially disband in the spring of 1968, leaving Page (with Peter Grant) on the search to form a new band.
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John Paul Jones was the most reserved and least flamboyant of the band members, though no less influential as a bass player, keyboardist, and arranger. Counting Geddy Lee, Steve Harris, John Deacon and Gene Simmons having been influenced and inspired by Jones, his legacy is no less impressive than his three band mates.
Born as John Baldwin, Jones started playing piano at age six, learning from his father, who was a pianist and arranger for big bands in the 1940s and 1950s, His mother was also in the music business which allowed the family to often perform together touring around England. Jones joined his first band at 15, The Deltas. As early as 1962, Jones would remember people telling him he had to hear this guitarist playing for Neil Christian and the Crusaders, 'they've got this unbelievable guitarist'. And that is how he first heard of Jimmy Page - even before he'd heard of Jeff Beck or Eric Clapton. His career followed a similar path to Page's, also becoming a session musician with Decca, in 1964. It didn't take long for Jones to excel at arranging, along with his bass and keyboard playing. Jones too made contributions to well known acts/songs, notably Donovan's Sunshine Superman, and The Rolling Stones' She's a Rainbow.
In 1967, Jones was invited to play the sessions for The Yardbirds album Little Games, and it was here that he and Page made their lasting connection. They'd worked in sessions together in the past, but this was more of a 'band' setting (as Page was the only member of the Yardbirds allowed to participate in the studio during the recording of the album). In July of 1968, the two reconnected as Page was looking to form his own band. Jones also wanted to step out of the anonymity of being a session musician. Now all they needed was a singer and a drummer.
Plant and Bonham to come later tonight.
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Oh wow, I didn't know Page and Jones met during Yardbirds! (Also don't you mean Plant and Bonham?)
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Oh wow, I didn't know Page and Jones met during Yardbirds! (Also don't you mean Plant and Bonham?)
yes... fix'd
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Regarding the performers who were influenced by Page. I was amazed the first time I heard Alex Lifeson say that he always wanted to think like Page. It was such an interesting statement and I confess that I'm still puzzled by it since I'm not a musician. I consider Lifeson's style as more innovative--less traditional--so I can't say that I've heard him imitate Page.
Then I was floored when I heard Michael Schenker express nearly the same thing. He was talking about constructing lead breaks and said that Page was the master at thinking his way through an improvised lead and that he always wanted to play like that.
There are many folks who bag on Page's playing as...not very precise, but I'm thinking that it was never his ability that was influential but what he chose to play. Do you think that's correct?
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Just now jumping in to this. I voted "Advanced" even though I own Coda, TSRTS (CD and DVD), as well as HTWWW CD set.
I look forward to reading through the journey of this band. I've been a fan for years, but never really read up on them. Will be following! :tup
-Marc.
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I never made the connection that Page and Jonesy both were at Decca at the same time. As far as their first effort together, I'm not 100% when it was. However, they did do Beck's Bolero in May of '66. Jeff Beck, Page, Jones, Kieth Moon on drums and Nicky Hopkins on piano.
Great write up chad! I look forward to the Band of Joy :tup
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Regarding the performers who were influenced by Page. I was amazed the first time I heard Alex Lifeson say that he always wanted to think like Page. It was such an interesting statement and I confess that I'm still puzzled by it since I'm not a musician. I consider Lifeson's style as more innovative--less traditional--so I can't say that I've heard him imitate Page.
Then I was floored when I heard Michael Schenker express nearly the same thing. He was talking about constructing lead breaks and said that Page was the master at thinking his way through an improvised lead and that he always wanted to play like that.
There are many folks who bag on Page's playing as...not very precise, but I'm thinking that it was never his ability that was influential but what he chose to play. Do you think that's correct?
When you listen to Page play live in his prime-and most people I know tend to think that was around 1973 or so, with his best playing being on a tour of Germany in 1973-there is always a sense that his playing is just a split second behind what he's thinking about playing-he knows, instinctively, where he's going next. When he gets in trouble-and it even happened in his prime-is when what he thinks of playing comes out as he thinks it, so occasionally things got tangled up (or as a lot of Zep bootleg listeners like to say, his fingers got stuck in the strings.) When it flowed, when Page followed his instincts and was thinking a few seconds ahead of what he was playing, though, ahhh, it was magical. The only guitarist working in hard rock in the 70s who was better at improvising solos in my opinion was Ritchie Blackmore.
Of course, by 1975 things started getting out of hand, with some ludicrously long solos in No Quarter (which in 75 started breaking the 30 minute mark) and Dazed and Confused (which would crest the 40 minute mark!) but that's to talk about later.
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When Rush first came on the scene in the mid-70's, I heard them referred to as a Canadian Zep-wannabee band. I never heard it, myself, but if you listen to the first album and just the first album, and consider what Led Zeppelin was doing at the time, I guess there's a connection.
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Regarding the performers who were influenced by Page. I was amazed the first time I heard Alex Lifeson say that he always wanted to think like Page. It was such an interesting statement and I confess that I'm still puzzled by it since I'm not a musician. I consider Lifeson's style as more innovative--less traditional--so I can't say that I've heard him imitate Page.
Then I was floored when I heard Michael Schenker express nearly the same thing. He was talking about constructing lead breaks and said that Page was the master at thinking his way through an improvised lead and that he always wanted to play like that.
There are many folks who bag on Page's playing as...not very precise, but I'm thinking that it was never his ability that was influential but what he chose to play. Do you think that's correct?
I'm not a musician either (I can play drums :D), so I'm sure I won't say it correctly, but regarding Lifeson and Schenker, I think of them as chordal players, building lines. I can see that style of playing coming from Page.
When Rush first came on the scene in the mid-70's, I heard them referred to as a Canadian Zep-wannabee band. I never heard it, myself, but if you listen to the first album and just the first album, and consider what Led Zeppelin was doing at the time, I guess there's a connection.
I never thought the comparison was that outrageous. But Rush would soon go into a much different direction once Peart joined.
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Voted expert. Favorite band. I have a small shelf in my den specifically for my Zep CDs, DVDs, vinyls (most if not all of which are 1st pressings), books and *gulp* miniature Jimmy Page figure.
:facepalm:
:lol
I'm glad you found this thread. I was meaning to email you to let you know it was starting.
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I never made the connection that Page and Jonesy both were at Decca at the same time. As far as their first effort together, I'm not 100% when it was. However, they did do Beck's Bolero in May of '66. Jeff Beck, Page, Jones, Kieth Moon on drums and Nicky Hopkins on piano.
Great write up chad! I look forward to the Band of Joy :tup
True. They were both "session" musician's on that song for Beck, and bounced around the idea of forming a band together... which I will make reference to again shortly.
As for the Rush connection, I do believe that when Working Man hit in Cleveland, fans were calling in asking 'what's the name of this new Zeppelin song?' Pretty sure I remember that from Beyond the Lighted Stage.
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I voted Intermediate. You (and plenty of other folks here, evidently) have a lot to teach me about Zeppelin. I look forward to diving in! :corn
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Yes, Lifeson and Schenker occupy a completely different tonal space than Page. They're talking about his ability to construct a solo.
Listening to a Page solo, you get this odd feeling of careful construction AND improvisation all in the same moment. His solo lines blistered and exploded off the fretboard, but were perfectly melded into the context of the rest of the song. I think that's what Lifeson and Schenker were going for(and attained). Page didn't always care about hitting all the right notes, he was more concerned with capturing and maintaining that feeling of combustible spontaneity that just hits you like 'BAM', no other player.
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I have every studio album, love them deeply, but don't listen to them nearly as much as I would like to.
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Great write up chad! I look forward to the Band of Joy :tup
Iseewhatyoudidthere.
I have every studio album, love them deeply, but don't listen to them nearly as much as I would like to.
Well, let's rectify that, shall we?
It's late, I'll post the Plant/Bonham introductions in the morning.
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Robert Plant would ultimately become as important a contributor to Zeppelin as Page, though initially was an obscure 'find' by Page to join the band. Nowadays, it seems unfathomable that Plant nearly abandoned his music career, given that he also routinely at the top of 'best rock vocalist of all time' polls. And when Freddie Mercury cites you as an influence, you know you've just a little bit of vocal credibility.
Page left home at 16, and started his "real education musically, moving from group to group, furthering my knowledge of the blues and of other music". Over his teenage musical career, Plant would play in several small bands, even signing a deal with CBS Records that saw a few singles released, but nothing of any significance.
One of Plant's musical endeavors - Band of Joy - ended with him being fired because their manager thought he couldn't sing. Plant formed his own version of Band of Joy (twice), with no lasting success. The only good thing to come of this, was his timely re-introduction to drummer John Bonham on the third iteration of the band (who he'd initially played with in the band Crawling King Snakes). By 1968, Plant was fronting a band by the name of Hobbstweedle when Jimmy Page and Peter Grant paid a visit to see/hear Plant in action on July 20 of that year at the Birmingham Teacher Training College auditorium. The timing was rather fortuitous, as Plant had committed to his girlfriend that he would quit the music business if he didn't hit it big by his 20th birthday - which was to come just one month after he first met Page.
It was during their subsequent visit to Page's home in Pangbourne, where they ultimately connected over their love of blues and American rock (more specifically, through the album Joan Baez Live in Concert, Part One). It was also at this time that |Plant suggested Page check out a drummer he'd worked with in several bands.
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John Bonham starting playing the drums at 5, making his own kit out of boxes and cans. His mother gave him a snare drum at the age of 10, and he received his first proper drum kit from his father at 15 - never with any formal training. To say he had natural talent would be an understatement. In 1964, Bonham joined his first semi-professional band, Terry Webb and the Spiders, met his future wife Pat Phillips around the same time, played in other Birmingham bands, then ultimately took up drumming full-time.
He was 20 years old, married with a child (Jason) working as a part-time carpenter, and drumming for folk rocker Tim Rose (having just left Band of Joy) when he first met Jimmy Page. Page and manager Peter Grant were instantly convinced that he was the perfect fit for their band. It took quite some convincing to get Bonham to come on board with the other three. Bonham negotiated a £50/week salary plus £25 for driving the van. Clearly, Bonham's motivations for joining the band were almost purely financial, as was Plant's, while Page and Jones were in it for the chance at greater musical creativity and stardom. Despite multiple offers to join other bands (including Joe Cocker), Bonham ultimately chose Page's act not just because of the money, but because he felt the music more suited his interests.
Bonham's accolades and legacy are no less impressive than Page's or Plant's. Widely regarded as one of the (if not the) most important, well-known and influential drummers in rock, he too regularly tops the polls for 'greatest of all time' with his craft. The (in)famous drummers that cite his as their influence include Alex Van Halen, Tommy Lee, Peter Criss, Roger Taylor, and Eric Carr, who stated in 1989 that "at least 85% of all of the rock drummers today have gotten influences from Bonham".
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As their manager, Peter Grant's relevance to the legacy of Led Zeppelin cannot be understated - and at 6'5" and tipping the scales at 300+ pounds, he had an intimidating aura to say the least. It is no less significant than the contributions that the band members made. It started with Grant buying The Yardbirds towards the end of 1966, but it was too late to save the band who, despite being musically successful, were a disaster financially. Having proved himself by making them profitable on the first tour he managed them for (though it was too little, too late), he earned Page's trust. It was Grant's management that made Led Zeppelin the biggest and richest act of the 70s, and perhaps of all time, redefining what it meant to be a touring band, and made Grant himself the most powerful manager in rock.
On the Yardbirds' final US tour, Grant hired a young tour manager, Richard Cole, who would also go on to be a lasting contributor to the Led Zeppelin legacy - both positive and negative. It was allegedly Cole who took the idea of the band name from a dialog between Keith Moon, John Entwistle and Page... in having the idea of forming a supergroup with Steve Winwood, Entwhistle commented it would probably go over like a "lead zeppelin" (although other accounts suggest it was during the recording of Beck's Bolero, that the supergroup was with Jeff Beck, Moon, Jones and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, and it was Moon that made the remark). What is not in question is that Grant later encouraged Page to drop the "a", ensuring it would not be pronounced by US fans as "leed" zeppelin.
Formation of Led Zeppelin
After The Yardbirds played their final gig in July 1968, they were still committed to several concerts in Scandinavia. The band authorized Page to use "The Yardbirds" name to fulfill the band's obligations. Upon the successful recruitment of Plant, Bonham and Jones, Page had his band. The four played together for the first time in a room below a record store on Gerrard Street in London, with Page recounting that he'd "never been so turned on in all my life". The band completed the Scandinavian tour as the New Yardbirds, playing together for the first time in front of a live audience at the Gladsaxe Teen Clubs in Gladsaxe, Denmark, on September 7th, 1968.
When you look back at these four individuals, and how history regards them, it's easy to see how they rose so far so fast, yet also incredible to comprehend that the total was greater than the sum of the individual parts. Greg nailed it:
the world has never experienced a better Rock Band..PERIOD!!!
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I had been exposed to Led Zeppelin for a while before I really took to them. In high school, I was already into Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, bands that we call Prog now, but back then there wasn't really a name for this genre; the closest was probably Art Rock.
Anyway, my one friend Chris (same guy from the Foreigner story for those following the "Song of the Day" thread) and I used to have lengthy conversations about music, and he was always talking about Led Zeppelin. This is the guy who'd turned me on to King Crimson and Frank Zappa. I kept talking them down, out of ignorance mostly, because really, basic guitar-bass-drums-vocals, how amazing could it be? Oh, the bassist plays keyboards, too? Okay, that's kinda cool, but Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Tony Banks.
Chris kept insisting that it was, in a way, so much more impressive how this "basic" four-piece band had achieved such incredible variety in their music. Well, I had the fourth album, and it was cool. "Stairway to Heaven" was great, of course, "The Battle of Evermore" admittedly had some balls to it, and of course the epic closer "When the Levee Breaks". He just shook his head and handed me his copy of Physical Graffiti. Told me to borrow it for a week or two, listen to it, really listen to it, and let him know.
Okay, I was convinced. I was converted. Led Zeppelin is fucking great, and I was ignorant to think otherwise, to think that a standard four-piece rock band (actually three-piece plus singer) could not achieve amazing heights. I returned Physical Graffiti to Chris, confessed my sins, then we smoked some non-tobacco and listened to some Frank Zappa.
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As their manager, Peter Grant's relevance to the legacy of Led Zeppelin cannot be understated - and at 6'5" and tipping the scales at 300+ pounds, he had an intimidating aura to say the least.
That scene in TSRTS where he's ripping into Security is mesmerizing.
You have to admire his skill at funneling money to the musicians! I don't think any other manager ever has cut better deals for a band. If Pink Floyd would have had him for a manager they'd be richer than the Beatles. :)
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:tup
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I really hate the bad rap that Coda gets. As a Led Zeppelin "album" it doesn't hold a candle to the others...but that's not really what it was ever meant to be. If you think about it, the title itself is absolutely brilliant, because that's exactly what it is. It's not a proper Led Zeppelin album at all, but more like a soliloquy, or an epitaph. The title "Coda" really says it all.
...and if they HADN'T released it, people would have done nothing but bitch about them not releasing the songs....so there's that too. ::)
For what it is, I really like Coda, and I'm happy it exists.
I absolutely agree and don't understand all the dislike it gets. There are several great tunes on there and I immensely enjoy the CD.
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I would hope the dislike comes from people thinking it's a "real" Led Zeppelin album, out of ignorance, and trying to evaluate it as such. I'm sure some people didn't even know Bonzo was gone and that this was it, literally the Coda of their career. They just listened to it, found it inconsistent and with a lot of seemlingly unfinished ideas, and thought it was crap. They already had trouble with In Through the Out Door (which is understandable, though I personally think it's great), and this just convinced them that Led Zeppelin was done. Little did they know.
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I'll have much more to say on the topic when we get to the ITTOD and Coda discussion. It is definitely aptly named.
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Robert Plant
One of Plant's musical endeavors - Band of Joy - ended with him being fired because their manager thought he couldn't sing. Plant formed his own version of Band of Joy (twice), with no lasting success.
See Chad, it's not just me :biggrin:
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Robert Plant
One of Plant's musical endeavors - Band of Joy - ended with him being fired because their manager thought he couldn't sing. Plant formed his own version of Band of Joy (twice), with no lasting success.
See Chad, it's not just me :biggrin:
I suppose I should've expected that response. Hard to believe our tastes can be so similar, yet so different.
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Robert Plant
One of Plant's musical endeavors - Band of Joy - ended with him being fired because their manager thought he couldn't sing. Plant formed his own version of Band of Joy (twice), with no lasting success.
See Chad, it's not just me :biggrin:
I suppose I should've expected that response. Hard to believe our tastes can be so similar, yet so different.
Chill matey - I'm fucing wit' ya. :biggrin:
I did say in my 1st post that I do play up how much I hate them. They have several songs I don't mind out of the ones I've heard. A few mates used to rib me for liking KISS and I used to give them stick for liking Zep.
The live stuff though - jeez - get on with it ffs.
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Truly odd that you'd dedicate so much time and effort bagging on the discography thread of a band you openly hate. :lol Like, if there were a discography thread for Nickleback or Blink 182, I wouldn't follow it. I'd kinda just ignore it rather than constantly reminding everyone how much they suck.
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Chill matey - I'm fucing wit' ya. :biggrin:
I did say in my 1st post that I do play up how much I hate them. They have several songs I don't mind out of the ones I've heard. A few mates used to rib me for liking KISS and I used to give them stick for liking Zep.
The live stuff though - jeez - get on with it ffs.
I'm cooler than a cucumber, ole chap. ;) But I am serious about how our tastes can be so similar and different. Just like me and Kade when it comes to the growlies.
Truly odd that you'd dedicate so much time and effort bagging on the discography thread of a band you openly hate. :lol Like, if there were a discography thread for Nickleback or Blink 182, I wouldn't follow it. I'd kinda just ignore it rather than constantly reminding everyone how much they suck.
I don't think he said he hates them, just never 'got' them. My believe is that here to see if there's something he's missed. Everyone's tastes change, so maybe he just wasn't ready for the overwhelming awesomeness of Led Zeppelin in the past, but who knows... he might be now. :lol
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Truly odd that you'd dedicate so much time and effort bagging on the discography thread of a band you openly hate. :lol Like, if there were a discography thread for Nickleback or Blink 182, I wouldn't follow it. I'd kinda just ignore it rather than constantly reminding everyone how much they suck.
I don't think he said he hates them, just never 'got' them. My believe is that here to see if there's something he's missed. Everyone's tastes change, so maybe he just wasn't ready for the overwhelming awesomeness of Led Zeppelin in the past, but who knows... he might be now. :lol
Hopefully so :lol
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I'd kinda just ignore it rather than constantly reminding everyone how much they suck.
Wait till the Winger Discography Thread. I'm gonna insult it like there's no tomorrow! :biggrin:
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I'd kinda just ignore it rather than constantly reminding everyone how much they suck.
Wait till the Winger Discography Thread. I'm gonna insult it like there's no tomorrow! :biggrin:
:lmao:
:TAC:
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:metal
J Boy, are you waiting for this thread to get to 10 pages or something before we actually START discussing the Discography? :lol
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Chill matey - I'm fucing wit' ya. :biggrin:
I did say in my 1st post that I do play up how much I hate them. They have several songs I don't mind out of the ones I've heard. A few mates used to rib me for liking KISS and I used to give them stick for liking Zep.
The live stuff though - jeez - get on with it ffs.
I'm cooler than a cucumber, ole chap. ;) But I am serious about how our tastes can be so similar and different. Just like me and Kade when it comes to the growlies.
Truly odd that you'd dedicate so much time and effort bagging on the discography thread of a band you openly hate. :lol Like, if there were a discography thread for Nickleback or Blink 182, I wouldn't follow it. I'd kinda just ignore it rather than constantly reminding everyone how much they suck.
I don't think he said he hates them, just never 'got' them. My believe is that here to see if there's something he's missed. Everyone's tastes change, so maybe he just wasn't ready for the overwhelming awesomeness of Led Zeppelin in the past, but who knows... he might be now. :lol
I'm here to be persuaded. I've heard the hits, and as I said, I own 2 albums and a best of (ok 2 of them were presents from a mate trying to "convert" me :biggrin:).
I will be a hard nut to crack as I don't go for the 60s sound and I know that's there certainly in the vocals on the first album... I had a sneak peek the other night.
I already had my favourites by the time I heard and Zep and maybe I wasn't ready for it to sound so "old" at the time.
Anyway, we'll see. I wouldn't be here just to bash the thread.
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:metal
J Boy, are you waiting for this thread to get to 10 pages or something before we actually START discussing the Discography? :lol
Nope... just 24 hours in between my posts prompting discussion. Will post tonight or tomorrow morning, and we can really get this sucker underway.
Paul... if someone was trying to get you into Zeppelin by giving you Presence as a present, they didn't know what the hell they were doing. Do me a favour (assuming you still know/see them)... bitch slap him for me.
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I was a young man, I couldn't resist
Started thinkin' it over, just what I had missed.
Got me a girl and I kissed her and then and then...
Whoops, oh Lord, well I did it again.
(https://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/ultimateclassicrock.com/files/2014/01/Led_Zeppelin_-_Led_Zeppelin_1969_front_cover.png) (https://www.mojo4music.com/media/2014/03/1979765_635255363213572_838647122_n.jpg)
Tracklist:
1 "Good Times Bad Times" 2:46
2 "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" 6:42
3 "You Shook Me" 6:28
4 "Dazed and Confused" 6:28
5 "Your Time Is Gonna Come" 4:34
6 "Black Mountain Side" 2:12
7 "Communication Breakdown" 2:30
8 "I Can't Quit You Baby" 4:42
9 "How Many More Times" 8:27
Recorded in somewhere between 30 and 36 hours over a 10 day period, and at a cost of under £1,800, Led Zeppelin I was completed in October of 1968, with Page producing, and built on the heels of their September European live shows as The New Yardbirds. Peter Grant would take the album, skip the UK record labels, and head straight to the US, negotiating a deal that seemed ludicrous at first - an advance somewhere in the range of $150,000-$200,000 along with total artistic control. COMPLETE artistic control - release dates, touring, contents and design of each album, and promotion of each release including which tracks to release as singles. All this for an unproven, unknown, and unsigned group. It was at the time the biggest deal of its kind for a new band. It was also the first rock band that Ahmet Ertegun would sign to the Atlantic Records label, and was for worldwide distribution. Led Zeppelin I was released on January 12, 1969, two weeks into their first US tour (it wasn't until March that it was released in the UK). Though the album would only hit as high as #10 on Billboard (an important success measurement in the 60s an 70s) 2 weeks after its release, it would stay on the 'Hot 100' for 73 weeks.
Several songs on the album had previously been performed live by the Yardbirds, and with Page's skill and experience in the studio, this album was more Page's than any other in the Zeppelin catalog. Plant was so naive and inexperienced, it was the first time he'd ever donned a pair of headphones. He would later say that he thought he'd be leaving the band anyway, so was rather nervous and tentative in the studio. Imagine that... Led Zeppelin I is represented by a nervous Robert Plant. Plant would receive no songwriting credits, allegedly because he was still under contract to CBS Records at the time.
Despite their youth and naivety, Bonham and Plant proved themselves quickly. Though Led Zeppelin I would ultimately make stars of the entire band, it's often felt that Bonham was the one that transformed the album, and was the one that was transformed the most by it. Being the most unknown, he stood the most to gain from it, and gain he did. Following a near confrontation between Page and Bonham, Page quickly learned how to harness Bonham's talent, and it was that talent that transformed blues and folk songs into (at the time) metal anthems. "He was beyond the realms of anything I could have imagined" Page would remark on his memories of Bonham during the sessions.
Initial press reviews were mixed, low-lighted by Rolling Stone (surprise surprise). They were particularly scathing towards Plant, calling him a "pretty soul belter who can do a good spade imitation", asserting it was nothing new that hadn't been done already. And thus begun the hate-hate relationship between Zeppelin and Rolling Stone, and the media in general.
I like to think of this album as like the first season of Seinfeld... it has a lot of great moments, but there's also some mediocrity here. Page needed to start somewhere, and this was it. The best is still yet to come.
I'll post my song-by-song comments later.
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Yeah, a lot of mediocrity, but it's a start. Right? I never go to the first album. Never, but I do like How many More Times a lot and Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You might be a TAC Top 10 Zep tune.
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:metal
J Boy, are you waiting for this thread to get to 10 pages or something before we actually START discussing the Discography? :lol
Nope... just 24 hours in between my posts prompting discussion. Will post tonight or tomorrow morning, and we can really get this sucker underway.
Paul... if someone was trying to get you into Zeppelin by giving you Presence as a present, they didn't know what the hell they were doing. Do me a favour (assuming you still know/see them)... bitch slap him for me.
I can't. He's now a she. I shit you not.
He was a huge fan of LZ and tried his best. Maybe he thought Presence was the way to go because he knew I loved DT's version of Achilles'. I had as much success persuading him of DT's brilliance too. He hated Portnoy's drumming, said it lacked rhythm.
Anyway, he's a she now. Dude don't look like a lady though...
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As their manager, Peter Grant's relevance to the legacy of Led Zeppelin cannot be understated - and at 6'5" and tipping the scales at 300+ pounds, he had an intimidating aura to say the least.
That scene in TSRTS where he's ripping into Security is mesmerizing.
You have to admire his skill at funneling money to the musicians! I don't think any other manager ever has cut better deals for a band. If Pink Floyd would have had him for a manager they'd be richer than the Beatles. :)
Kinda late, but I read somewhere in a wiki page that Peter Grant used his imposing powers to ask the concert promoters to give the band 90% of the revenue of the shows they drew. In today's age, that's kinda insane to fathom with so many variables that goes into touring.
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While I love the debut-and good god was the band on fire during the touring for this in 1969-I'm gonna have to be the dick and say I always have to approach this album, kind of amused at how much of it Jimmy Page took credit for when someone else actually wrote it. At one time or another, nearly half of this album has been part of a lawsuit because of the songwriting credits, the most notorious being Dazed and Confused, which Page flat out stole from Jake Holmes, though it took him 40 years to finally sue Page and end up with the wonky credit "Jimmy Page, Inspired By Jake Holmes." I have never really been sure just why Page would do this, nor is it my place to judge him, but I've seen a lot of Zep fans online develop the most curious blind spot for it.
To this day, the credits are a bit of a moving target-the 2014 release has the (likely) legally agreed to credit for Dazed and Confused, properly credits Anne Bredon for Babe I'm Gonna Leave You alongside Plant and Page, and then inexplicably drops the credit that had been on previous releases for The Hunter section of How Many More Times. The struggle continues.
I will say I am amused by Jeff Beck's anger that Zeppelin did You Shook Me at around the same time he did it on his debut solo album. Zep's is so much better-and a total monster live-that it pretty much rendered the Beck version to immediate irrelevance. :lol
The credit issues aside, this is a pretty amazing debut album, and must have sounded unearthly in 1969 when it came out. And if you want to hear how unearthly the band sounded live, I suggest you dig up some of the 1969 boots-particularly any of their shows from Boston or San Francisco, where Page and Bonham are utter monsters and Plant wails like a banshee. Fantastic stuff.
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As their manager, Peter Grant's relevance to the legacy of Led Zeppelin cannot be understated - and at 6'5" and tipping the scales at 300+ pounds, he had an intimidating aura to say the least.
That scene in TSRTS where he's ripping into Security is mesmerizing.
You have to admire his skill at funneling money to the musicians! I don't think any other manager ever has cut better deals for a band. If Pink Floyd would have had him for a manager they'd be richer than the Beatles. :)
Kinda late, but I read somewhere in a wiki page that Peter Grant used his imposing powers to ask the concert promoters to give the band 90% of the revenue of the shows they drew. In today's age, that's kinda insane to fathom with so many variables that goes into touring.
You be right. More on that to come.
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I gave this one a spin yesterday. Only a hint of the greatness to come, and overall I'm not a huge fan of the "heavy R&B" style which this basically is, but there's no denying how awesome it is.
I do like most of the songs, especially "How Many More Times", "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You", and "Dazed and Confused", but I usually need a little more variety when I listen to an album straight through, so this one doesn't get much play from me. Still, a killer debut album.
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I'm not buying that there is mediocrity on this. Okay, I have never been a big fan of You Shook Me or I Can't Quit You Baby (not usually a fan of those slow bluesy burners), and I think Communication Breakdown is overrated, but nothing on here is bad or mediocre. And the majority of it is fantastic, most notably How Many More Times, Dazed and Confused and Good Times Bad Times. This is a top 4 or 5 LZ album.
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This is a top 4 or 5 LZ album.
Out of what, 9 albums? doesn't that by definition make it middle of the pack? To me it comes in at #8.
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Sure, but a middle of the pack album by one of the best rock bands ever is still pretty damn great.
To me, II and Houses of the Holy are 1a and 1b, and then I could easily argue for I, IV or PG as being 3rd. So on a good day, I is top three for me. :biggrin:
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More on the song-writing credits to come. But here's the thing... they only became a target because of their success. "Borrowing" in the blues and R&B genre was a pretty common thing - especially back in the 60s. Everybody was inspired by someone else. Only because Zeppelin had money did people sue. As I said, I have more to say on this later (during Led Zeppelin II discussion), as that's when the issues really started to creep up.
This is a top 4 or 5 LZ album.
Out of what, 9 albums? doesn't that by definition make it middle of the pack?
Exactly... Personally, I'd put it at #6.
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I'm not buying that there is mediocrity on this.
I agree, and I may place it higher than you do.
Nothing mediocre about this album. It's one of the most titanic debuts in music history, IMHO.
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Well, them's tastes for ya. I agree it's a spectacle overall, but there are a couple of tracks I'd be just as likely to press 'skip' on. They're not cringe (or Crunge) worthy, but still in meh territory.
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The rockers on this debut are awesome but like others, I stayed away from the blues side of LZ. Lower of the pack album like Tim said.
That's not saying it's a bad album. Far from it at all! I just love so many other albums by them.
This is a very good 1st album for a band.
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Sure, but a middle of the pack album by one of the best rock bands ever is still pretty damn great.
I hear ya.
To me, II and Houses of the Holy are 1a and 1b, and then I could easily argue for I, IV or PG as being 3rd. So on a good day, I is top three for me. :biggrin:
Ooh Rankings!
Zeppelin isn't really a go to band for me at this point, but I did bust out Houses and IV a couple of weeks ago. I guess they'd be my #2 & #3. But for me Physical Graffiti is where it's at.
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You guys would lose it over my ranking. I'll do that after Coda.
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You guys would lose it over my ranking. I'll do that after Coda.
Yeah, full rankings of songs and albums at the end!!
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Ok, I was able to listen all the way through without switching it off. My kids loved it and their dancing and rock faces were awesome :biggrin:
My problem with it is mainly the vocals. Just don't like that high wail all the time. The vocals have that 60s vibe to them that I don't like. I would prefer a straight up blues voice really. The music is excellent and several times I had the urge to plug the Yngwie strat in and wail away. Didn't like the hipy beatles-y song (YTIGC) and didn't like the folk instrumental.
As long as we can leave the 60s vocals behind I'm on board.
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For me, LZ would be an extremely difficult band for whom to rank songs.
Albums would be easier.
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I can't rank Zep albums. I & IV would be near the top if I did though.
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For me, LZ would be an extremely difficult band for whom to rank songs.
Albums would be easier.
I'm gonna provide my personal song rankings for each album with my song-by-song discussion post, and will do the albums at the conclusion of Coda. But I too would find it difficult to rank all 80 studio songs.
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Yeah, but surely everyone can come up with a Top 10 or 20. I'm assuming songs 20-60 would be all fairly close, like most bands.
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I love this album! All of it. I realise that has a lot to do with emotional nostalgia, but from the first "da-da" of the guitar in "Good Times Bad Times" to the falling off the stage ending of "How Many More Times" I'm in rock-n-roll heaven.
The sound of this record is still incredible to me and I find myself often spacing out while following JPJ bass as it weaves itself through the riffs. There are very few records where you can hear every note that a bass player hits but this is one of them. The clarity and power of snare and bass drum are the blueprint for heavy rock, in my opinion, and are only surpassed by Zeps later recordings.
My sister is five years older than me. I remember hearing a lot of Beatles, Beach Boys, and softer rock coming through the, paper thin, adjacent walls of our bedrooms until one day when her boy-friend lent her LZ II. It was a revelation for me and I'd sit on my bed and listen with rapt attention. It was exciting and I wanted more.
Not long after, while waiting for my mother to make a selection at Grand Central, I started browsing through the record rack and ran into Led Zeppelin. Being a stupid nine year old I hadn't realised, previously, that LZ II meant that there had to be a "I" so when I saw it was like finding buried treasure. I begged my Mom for the money to buy it and when we got home with it she put it on her huge Magnavox console stereo in the front room. I can still feel the soft, short-pile, green carpet under my elbows as I lay in front of the speakers while staring at the faces on the back cover.
I wonder what my Mom thought of it? She never complained, but I'm sure it was a shock to her as she put away the Andy Williams record that was on the turntable prior to us getting home. Marvelous poker player, my Mom. She just sat there on the couch with some paperback she was reading and never flinched.
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Cool story bro. Seriously... not in the sarcastic internet meme way.
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Good Times Bad Times is a pretty good tune, although a bit short and it just seems to really.. go away quite randomly. I had to check if everything was okay! But it's not a special tune, really, I don't think. Just seems to be a tune they did. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, however, is an incredible tune. I love Plant's vocal peformance as well as Bonham's drumming on it, but I think the real highlight of the song is Page's guitar work. It's pretty incredible to hear, and I'm impressed with how.. I don't know, how despairing that song really sounds with this performance.
The third track, You Shook Me seems like exactly what it is. A Blues Cover. Unlike Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, I feel like Led Zeppelin don't really try their hardest to make this song their own. I mean, the band performances on it is pretty good, but it doesn't sound.. I don't know. It just sounds like a blues cover. I can say I find the wails surprised me a bit, and it got a bit strange at the end there. The bass line on Dazed and Confused is fantastic. I really enjoy that slow plodding beat it starts. It's a pretty neat song that the band does quite well. Page really makes that guitar work under Plant's voice and over Jones' Bass Guitar.
THAT ORGAN. Your Time Is Gonna Come starting with that real church organ sound is amazing, and it works so very well with Plant's voice. I think that this is the most comfortable Plant performance on this album. Seems like a song he really had practiced for. That ending with the guitar over the top of it to lead into Black Mountain Side really seemed to catch me off guard, but it's some neat acoustic guitar work, with a cool drum pattern to go with it. Nothing special as an instrumental, although it was interesting for the first minute or so, before I was waiting for Plant to come in with vocals and got a bit impatient.
Communication Breakdown is amazing. Simply put, it's the band working at full power to make a rockingly good short song. Not my favourite I've heard on this first spin, though. I have the same problem I had forYou Shook Me I have for I Can't Quit You Baby. It very much just sounds like a blues cover. It's still good, just, I don't know. It's just good. Nothing too special. I might be pissing people off with repeating that, but that's just how I feel! The Page solo is godly, though. I'll give it that. The notes just flowing from those fingers, I love it.
For the last track, How Many More Times, yet again, praise for the bass. John Paul Jones does yet another one of those walking style bass lines, and I love it. It's a really good drumming performance, actually Bonham steals this song and makes it awesome, especially during the spacey section. It's an amazing song to end this album, really. It went from simply good to great with this song alone, I feel. It's a strong debut album, certainly. If I was ranking it with number, I'd say it's a 8/10.
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LZI kind of reminds me of Rush's debut. It's a nice rock album with some awesome songs (Good Times, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, and Communication Breakdown). The rest are rather forgettable though. This is a great blueprint for what LZ would become.
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Good Times, Bad Times is one of my favorite rock songs ever.
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I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, but I just gave the album a couple listens. The more bluesy stuff is really enjoyable when I'm in the mood for it (as I am now) and the back to back of You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused was my favorite part of the album. I think my reaction to those two songs can best be summarized by this: :hat
I have high hopes moving forward
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Kinda late, but I read somewhere in a wiki page that Peter Grant used his imposing powers to ask the concert promoters to give the band 90% of the revenue of the shows they drew. In today's age, that's kinda insane to fathom with so many variables that goes into touring.
He did... and that was absolutely unheard of. Normally bands got like 50-60% of the revenues back then.
Anyone who saw my top 50 knows my #1 was LZ 1. Anyone who uses the word mediocrity in the same sentence with Led Zeppelin 1 should be flayed and dipped in a pool of lemon juice! Oh wait...lemons..that's the next album! :biggrin: LZ 1 is an absolute masterpiece. Yes some of the material was rehashed YB's tunes, but played by Page,Plant, Jones, and Bonham took those tunes straight into legendary status. Remember in Wayne's World where they're rocking out in the car to Bohemian Rhapsody? That was me and my Buddies...except with Dazed and Confused. When they shift into high gear on that song...HOLY SHITBALLS!! THAT is early LZ at their absolute best, the definitive. THAT's what differentiates them from anyone else around at the time and shoved the world back on it's heels. Babe I'm gonna leave you...absolutely brilliant. Like everyone else I'll hold album and song rankings till the end.
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Kinda late, but I read somewhere in a wiki page that Peter Grant used his imposing powers to ask the concert promoters to give the band 90% of the revenue of the shows they drew. In today's age, that's kinda insane to fathom with so many variables that goes into touring.
He did... and that was absolutely unheard of. Normally bands got like 50-60% of the revenues back then.
Actually, it wasn't even as high as that... more like 10%-20%. Promoters screwed bands, and Grant/Zeppelin were probably the first to start and change that.
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Kinda late, but I read somewhere in a wiki page that Peter Grant used his imposing powers to ask the concert promoters to give the band 90% of the revenue of the shows they drew. In today's age, that's kinda insane to fathom with so many variables that goes into touring.
He did... and that was absolutely unheard of. Normally bands got like 50-60% of the revenues back then.
Actually, it wasn't even as high as that... more like 10%-20%. Promoters screwed bands, and Grant/Zeppelin were probably the first to start and change that.
And he took it in CASH, right?
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Man, do I love Babe, I'm Going to Leave You. I don't have a lot of keepers on this album stored on my iPod, just that, Good Times Bad Times, Communication Breakdown, and Dazed and Confused
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I'm with KevShmev, I don't detect any mediocrity on LZI. Yes a lot of the blues numbers are basically covers, but they're absolutely transformed into something else entirely by the playing and the sound the band gets. There's no underestimating the impact of this rhythm section. Having JPJ and Bonham playing for your band is like cheating. I get sentimental when I listen to this album.
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I'm with KevShmev, I don't detect any mediocrity on LZI. Yes a lot of the blues numbers are basically covers, but they're absolutely transformed into something else entirely by the playing and the sound the band gets. There's no underestimating the impact of this rhythm section. Having JPJ and Bonham playing for your band is like cheating. I get sentimental when I listen to this album.
I used the term "mediocrity". Maybe it's not the right word, but for me, there's 7 other Zeppelin albums that I'd go to before this one. It's young and unabashed and all, but for the most part, a lot of it gets a big yawn from me, especially compared to the many songs in their catalog that really appeal to me much more.
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I'll clarify my use of mediocre as well... it's in direct relation to what I enjoy. So, I'm with Gord AND Tim... As far as talent, relevance, impact, and performance goes - there's no mediocrity here. As far as how I perceive these songs in relation to other Zeppelin songs/albums... towards the back of the bus for me.
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That's it...you're both outta the will!! :censored
:biggrin:
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I'm with KevShmev, I don't detect any mediocrity on LZI. Yes a lot of the blues numbers are basically covers, but they're absolutely transformed into something else entirely by the playing and the sound the band gets. There's no underestimating the impact of this rhythm section. Having JPJ and Bonham playing for your band is like cheating. I get sentimental when I listen to this album.
I used the term "mediocrity". Maybe it's not the right word, but for me, there's 7 other Zeppelin albums that I'd go to before this one. It's young and unabashed and all, but for the most part, a lot of it gets a big yawn from me, especially compared to the many songs in their catalog that really appeal to me much more.
If you compare I with what came after, then yeah, maybe you can call it that. I still think it stands on its own as an excellent Zeppelin album. Again, maybe it's just the sentimental in me that let's me think it's better than it really is? All I know is I get this fantastically warm fuzzy feeling whenever I listen to this album. It's like coming home again after a long journey.
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I'm with KevShmev, I don't detect any mediocrity on LZI. Yes a lot of the blues numbers are basically covers, but they're absolutely transformed into something else entirely by the playing and the sound the band gets. There's no underestimating the impact of this rhythm section. Having JPJ and Bonham playing for your band is like cheating. I get sentimental when I listen to this album.
I used the term "mediocrity". Maybe it's not the right word, but for me, there's 7 other Zeppelin albums that I'd go to before this one. It's young and unabashed and all, but for the most part, a lot of it gets a big yawn from me, especially compared to the many songs in their catalog that really appeal to me much more.
If you compare I with what came after, then yeah, maybe you can call it that. I still think it stands on its own as an excellent Zeppelin album. Again, maybe it's just the sentimental in me that let's me think it's better than it really is?
I believe you were the one that once called me a sentimental old soul. haha
I think if you're a Zeppelin fan, there's tons to jump into here. When it comes to Bonham and Jones, you really cannot get enough. It has a rawness that once you get into Zeppelin's later years, all but disappears.
I don't think there's anything wrong with anyone thinking this is a great album.
That's it...you're both outta the will!! :censored
Considering all I was getting was LZ I, I'm fine with that! :lol
And we haven't even gotten to the most overrated rock album ever LZ II.
:biggrin:
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And we haven't even gotten to the most overrated rock album ever LZ II.
:biggrin:
HERESY!!!!!!! :omg:
:biggrin:
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I was just kidding...kind of. I will take it over the first album, though.
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My favorite album will not be any one on this thread.
I forgot to tell the story of my buds band playing in a Battle of the Bands in out high school.
I helped roadie for them and my buddy asked me to work his pedals from behind and they opened up with Good Times....
They killed it. Right after that they went into Steal Away The Night by Ozzy and he forgot to change his battery for his Flanger pedal and I had to be the fast roadie and change it mid song. This roadie killed it. :lol
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(https://app.heliumnetwork.com/heliumnetwork/viewFileImageController.sc?imageFilename=9fb3_roadie1980MOVIE.jpg)
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Well Gord and Greg, you're a couple of the few around here that might have actually bought/listened/heard Zeppelin I on as it happened in '69. :lol It was probably the 4th or 5th album I got into from them... I think it went IV, III, Houses, II, then I for me. In Through The Out Door might have been before I, but I'm not sure. Then PG... Presence and Coda were (fortunately) last.
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Well Gord and Greg, you're a couple of the few around here that might have actually bought/listened/heard Zeppelin I on as it happened in '69. :lol
You can say that again! :lol
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(https://app.heliumnetwork.com/heliumnetwork/viewFileImageController.sc?imageFilename=9fb3_roadie1980MOVIE.jpg)
:lol
Thanks to my AOR lovin' cousin I got into Zep, Kiss, Kansas Areosmith ect. I still kid him that he buys nothing but remasters and never ventures into new music territory.
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Naw Chad, I'm about with you, think it was about 75, first exposure was to IV, then 1-3 in order, then houses, and by that time PG came out. I was only 5 1/2 when LZ 1 came out...I'm diehard, but not that diehard... :lol
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Am I already late to this? :lol
Like many, there's really nothing on the debut I would label as "bad" or "mediocre". The only somewhat-skippable tracks for me would be "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby", but tracks like "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", "Dazed and Confused", and "How Many More Times" are absolutely fantastic and make this record totally worth checking out. Yeah "Communication Breakdown" might be a tad overplayed, but on the flip-side, I feel like "Your Time Is Gonna Come" is quite underplayed. I guess there's not much I can say that hasn't already said about this album. It's not their best, but definitely a good starter for what's to come.
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Wow. I'm just amazed by the mehlin going on for this album.
The only songs I find to be just OK (but they are so short that they don't overstay their welcome, so I don't skip them) are Communication Breakdown and Good Times, Bad Times. I guess that Your Time is Gonna Come doesn't really do that much for me either...but it's worth it to hear Black Mountain Side.
The call/response section at the end of You Shook Me (as well as that harmonica solo!!! :omg: ) may be my favorite moment of the entire album. But the ending of How Many More Times is right up there as well.
So I guess (for me) both "sides" begin with a sortof "very good...but only just that" and then just hit it out of the park. The one-two-three punch of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused is one of the most amazing three song runs on any LZ album period.
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Naw Chad, I'm about with you, think it was about 75, first exposure was to IV, then 1-3 in order, then houses, and by that time PG came out. I was only 5 1/2 when LZ 1 came out...I'm diehard, but not that diehard... :lol
I wasn't even a glimmer in my daddy's eye when Zeppelin I came out, bud. :lol
So I guess (for me) both "sides" begin with a sortof "very good...but only just that" and then just hit it out of the park. The one-two-three punch of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused is one of the most amazing three song runs on any LZ album period.
That's something I'm amazed to hear. There are a whole lot more 3-song runs I'd put above those.
Might post my song-by-song commentary later tonight.
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Just a fun bit of trivia:
"Most LP editions of the album also incorrectly list the running time of "How Many More Times" as 3:30, which is what Page did in order to trick radio stations back then to play the song."
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Just a fun bit of trivia:
"Most LP editions of the album also incorrectly list the running time of "How Many More Times" as 3:30, which is what Page did in order to trick radio stations back then to play the song."
Awww.... you're stealing my thunder!!! :getoffmylawn: Guess I can strike that from my writeup. :lol
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So I guess (for me) both "sides" begin with a sortof "very good...but only just that" and then just hit it out of the park. The one-two-three punch of Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, You Shook Me and Dazed and Confused is one of the most amazing three song runs on any LZ album period.
That's something I'm amazed to hear. There are a whole lot more 3-song runs I'd put above those.
I did say, "ONE of..." ;D
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Wow...Four pages in and I finally hop on-board. I feel like the guys who showed up at Normandy on June 7th! Be that as it may, I too chose expert. Hopefully I can add something to the discussion.
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You're an expert....we're discussing the first album....and your first comment is about planning to comment....
;) :angel: :lol
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The most stunning thing about Good Times Bad Times (and it's subtle if you're not listening for it - and obvious if you are), is Bonzo's amazing kick drum. It's superhuman when you realize he was not playing with double kick. That's one kick drum! Bonham's repeated use of a series of two sixteenth-note triplets on a single bass drum, is an effect many subsequent rock drummers have imitated, and as well as keeping the hi-hat playing eighth notes throughout almost the entire song with his left foot. Bonham had reportedly developed this technique after listening to Vanilla Fudge, yet he was unaware that drummer Carmine Appice was actually playing on a double bass set! And of course, this is the original song with MORE COWBELL!
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You is where we hear Plant take front and center stage for Zeppelin. Plant ad-libbed and creatively expanded on many of the lyrics of this cover (though they did not immediately give the credit - and hence the start of their legal troubles Greg referenced). Rather than "never leave", he will "never never never never gonna leave you babe". In fact, he sings 'babe' or 'baby' 34 times, as opposed to the Joan Baez version, where it's repeated just 4 times. Plant doesn't as much sing, as he weaves a tale with his voice, often forsaking words for a series of screams, wails and yelps - and it all works. In fact, references to babe, girl, woman etc... show up over 60 times on the album (over half on this track) - pointing out the central theme... da bitches. :lol
You Shook Me is actually a 1962 blues song recorded by Chicago blues artist Muddy Waters. Jeff Beck recorded "You Shook Me" with the first Jeff Beck Group line-up during the sessions for the Truth album in May 1968 (with John Paul Jones contributing the organ). At nearly six and a half minutes, it is considerably longer than the Muddy Waters or Jeff Beck recordings. This is a slow, plodding, trodding blues track, and my least favorite track on the album. I find Plant's vocals and Page's slides to sound like they are both whining, and not in a nice way. Jones' organ solo picks it up a little, but not enough for me to really enjoy this one.
Dazed and Confused is without a doubt the centerpiece of the album. It was a song originally written and performed by Jake Holmes, and also covered by the Yardbirds. For the release on Zeppelin I, Page used the title, penned a new set of lyrics, and modified the melody, and as such they hold a separate copyright on the song. It was a staple of The Yardbirds' live performance during the last year of their act, although the song was never officially recorded by the band. With an unmistakable base line, it garners your attention instantly. Although for me, it is the instrumental chorus that is the most provoking and fully displays Zeppelin's initial grandeur. The first of many instrumental wankfests, and the outro from it gives me chills. Every. Single. Time. This is where Plant opens the flood gates and truly wails and you get the sense that he has a voice that is in another league from other rock vocalists in 1968. What Bonham can do with and 8 piece drum kit is truly astounding. It's amazing that it only clocks in at 6:26 - there are three songs on the album longer than it!
Jones' musical talent is on display in the keyboard heavy track, Your Time Is Gonna Come, where he only uses the pedal for the bass line. This sounds more like the rock music of the late 60s. Incredibly, Page said he only learned how to play the steel guitar during the sessions for the first album. The lyric "One of these days and it won't be long / You'll look for me but baby I'll be gone" is lifted from the Ray Charles song "I Believe to My Soul", reinforcing Plant's affinity for rhythm and blues.
Black Mountain Side was inspired by a traditional Irish folk music, the unique part about this is that Page would tune his guitar in a very unique D-A-D-G-A-D (not like that means anything to me). Yet outside of a few English folk acts, this was a tuning very seldomly used - though Page would claim he tuned it in C-I-A ... Celtic, Indian and Arabian. To enhance that eastern sound, Page hired drummer and sitarist Viram Jasani to play tabla (an Indian percussion instrument) on the track.
In my opinion, Communication Breakdown is to 1969 Led Zeppelin what black Paranoid (the track) was to 1970 Black Sabbath. This was frantic rock/metal like had seldom been made or heard before, and wow'd the fuck out of you from a debut album. And also clocking in at under 3 minutes like Paranoid, it's over and done with in a flash. This is one of the few songs that Page sang background vocals on.
I Can't Quit You Baby, along with the final track, really showed how much influence the blues played with Page. The first of many heavily inspired blues songs in the Zeppelin catalogue, it was originally written by Willie Dixon and first recorded by Otis Rush in 1956 . The recent remaster really cleans up the guitar solo magnificently.
How Many More Times. Magnificent. Simply magnificent, with what's categorized as a 'bolero' (Latin) beat from Bonham and Jones pushing the rest of the song along. Though not originally given credit, it was a loose cover (in arrangement) of a 1951 track by Chester Burnett called "How Many More Years". And that's all I got, since Gord stole my thunder about the time listed on the album sleeve. :biggrin:
Jingle.boy's ranking:
How Many More Times
Dazed And Confused
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Good Times Bad Times
Communication Breakdown
I Can't Quit You Baby
Your Time Is Gonna Come/Black Mountain Side (with the cross-fade, it's hard to separate these two)
You Shook Me
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Hard to argue with that ranking.
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I chose advanced...although, I'm not as 'into them' (obsessive is really the right word) as I am most of my other favorite bands, I've been listening to them my entire life and still listen to them pretty consistently today; first band I can remember listening to, and while they may not be my favorite, they're my most appreciated and my longest band I've held as a favorite that I also listen to regularly. I'd like to give massive amounts of love to Gallows Pole, Tangerine, The Rover, In My Time of Dying and Ten Years Gone.
Course I love the classics but these songs really resonated with me. TYG especially, and was the first song that made me realize how powerful music is...also the first song that made me tear up. Tangerine was the first song that gave me a spiritual boner; it's impossible for the song to not lift my spirits and make me wanna *pardon the cliche* light one up. Either way I don't think there's a song by the band that I don't like, but TYG is by far my favorite. I tend to enjoy the first half of their discography more than the latter considering it just so happens that's what my parents constantly blasted, but I can also see why it's where their classics lie.
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Your rankings are pretty spot on Chad, I'd make one change to look like this....
*** The top two are interchangeable depending on my mood.
Dazed And Confused
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Good Times Bad Times
Communication Breakdown
How Many More Times
I Can't Quit You Baby
Your Time Is Gonna Come/Black Mountain Side (with the cross-fade, it's hard to separate these two)
You Shook Me
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God, I love this album.
And this album is probably the last time that Dazed & Confused was performed in 6:26.
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God, I love this album.
And this album is probably the last time that Dazed & Confused was performed in 6:26.
You can strike "probably" from that sentence. Unless, it was one of the many covers that have been done of it. Zeppelin probably never played it in less than 10 minutes - and likely topped it out over 40 minutes on occasion.
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Communication Breakdown would be my favorite from this disc. Good comparison to Paranoid.
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Jumping into this thread late, but better late than never! I placed myself somewhere in between intermediate and advanced, probably more toward intermediate so I went with that.
Anyways I just listened to LZI and was reminded how much I love this album, it had been a while since I listened to it. I'd pretty much agree with Jingle's song rankings, maybe Dazed and Confused would edge out How Many More Times for the top spot though. Overall, great debut album from a great band, I'll be following this thread! :tup
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I could never stand any of the live versions of Dazed and Confused. Just too damn long
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God, I love this album.
And this album is probably the last time that Dazed & Confused was performed in 6:26.
You can strike "probably" from that sentence. Unless, it was one of the many covers that have been done of it. Zeppelin probably never played it in less than 10 minutes - and likely topped it out over 40 minutes on occasion.
Actually, there is a version of D&C on the BBC Sessions that is a mere 6:39. The next two shortest I can find are the bonus videos from TV performances on DVD that went 7:30 and just under 10 minutes. It started going over 10 minutes practically as soon as the band started touring, and by 1975 had ballooned to generally around 35 minutes, with several going over 40 and the longest going 46 minutes (3/27/75, Los Angeles Forum, the show where the band was introduced by Deep Throat star Linda Lovelace, which gave the names "Deep Throat 1-3" for that three show run for the Mike Millard audience recordings.) The version on the BBC Sessions release is the closest to the studio run time I can find.
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Leave it to Jaq to give us the information about Linda Lovelace.
Jaq found that out in a back of a car no doubt.
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Just a couple of personal observations on I:
- Good Times Bad Times is a killer tune. That swinging opening riff and drum intro is the perfect clarion call. It's like a little teaser/appetizer for what is to come, both album-wise and career-wise. Page's guitar solos literally explode with energy. Listen to Kirk Hammett's solos on Hit The Lights, the opening track off Metallica's debut Kill 'Em All. I honestly believe Hammett was going for the exact same feeling of frenetic energy and melody that Page achieves with his playing on GTBT.
- Even at this early stage, there's quite a bit of exoticism (which later morphed into mysticism) on Zep's debut album. Yes there were a handful of bands doing the hard and heavy blues thing at this time, most notably Cream, Hendrix and Fleetwood Mac, but none of these bands approached the ethereality of Your Time is Gonna Come, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Dazed and Confused and Black Mountain Side. This was part of what separated Zeppelin from the rest of the pack. Zeppelin wanted to do more than the heavy blues...a LOT more.
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Leave it to Jaq to give us the information about Linda Lovelace.
Jaq found that out in a back of a car no doubt.
Actually downloading bootlegs back in 2007. :lol
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I could never stand any of the live versions of Dazed and Confused. Just too damn long
I don't think I've ever actually listened to any live version of that song. And I have zero desire to.
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God, I love this album.
And this album is probably the last time that Dazed & Confused was performed in 6:26.
You can strike "probably" from that sentence. Unless, it was one of the many covers that have been done of it. Zeppelin probably never played it in less than 10 minutes - and likely topped it out over 40 minutes on occasion.
Actually, there is a version of D&C on the BBC Sessions that is a mere 6:39.
Yep, I remember that one.
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Love this album. First LZ album I ever heard in its entirety. I was 10, and my uncle and his friend were working on my uncles car one day. They set a stereo speaker up in the window, and cranked his friends LP while they worked. I was tossing a baseball with my best friend next door, and when "Good Times, Bad Times" came on, it blew me away. My Mom sang opera with the NY Met before I was even born, and my Dad was a total redneck bluegreass/country guy; so my musical tastes were all over the place. But my Mom really pushed the limits for me musically. She exposed me to music and genres from all over the world. When I was six, she bought me my own steel drum. :lol By the time I was 10, I was already really heavily into Motown, and really, really into the Beatles, and was in mad love with my favorite then- the Blues. I had more than a dozen blues albums then. After that first song, I put down my baseball glove to the chagrin of my friend, sat down on our front stoop, and settled in for the ride.
By the time we got to "How Many More Times" and I heard that Booker T. hook and reference from "The Hunter", that was it for me. Add those elements from Bolero (which I'd heard my mom play on our stereo dozens of times, practically since it came out as my mom at that time loved Jeff Beck and the Yardbirds) and I was gonna be a fan for life. :lol
I went in the house and told my mom that Uncle Stanley's friend had this awesome album, and could we go buy one. So the next day, she drove me to the department store and we bought I-IV.
I got HotH for my 11th birthday that next year.
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LZ1 is a great album, although there are a couple weak spots. GTBT was one of the first Zep songs I ever heard, and Communication Breakdown was one of my favorite songs for a while. My parents didn't let me listen to How Many More Times for a while ( I was only 8 and the lyrics are pretty darn suggestive), but once I did it quickly became my favorite on the album.
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My ranking:
You Shook Me
How Many More Times
Dazed and Confused
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
I Can't Quit You Baby
Black Mountain Side
Your Time Is Gonna Come
Communication Breakdown
Good Times, Bad Times
But there's seriously not a bad song in the bunch. I love this entire album, and I don't see the bottom songs as being "worst" or "bad"...just "least best".
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I could never stand any of the live versions of Dazed and Confused. Just too damn long
I don't think I've ever actually listened to any live version of that song. And I have zero desire to.
I can recall when I watched Celebration Day for the 1st time where I watched Dazed and Confused and I was like "Where/When does this song end? Did they transition into another song? I lost track." and that version was around 10-15 min. long. I think The Song Remains the Same version was around close to 30 min, but we'll get to that when we can properly talk about that movie.
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I feel sorry for anyone who hasn't heard the live versions of Dazed and Confused...dat, tone! Jimmy's live tone, and the way he hangs on those descending notes until the very last microsecond and then attacks the next one. Oh, mercy, it's acid rock at it's finest and oh so sexy.
Something I don't think we've talked much about is chicks dig it. Sure Zep's music is very muscular and testosterone fueled, for the most part, but women were all over this music too. Summers in the park were just as likely to find a group of daisy duke stretching, tube top jiggling, tanned girls playing Frisbee while the car stereo busted out "Whole 'Lotta Love", as it was to find guys doing the same (just without the tube tops). Not once has any woman I've ever lived with, wife or otherwise, asked me to turn off Zeppelin. Never. In fact, they've all loved the music as much as me. That's a rare and beautiful thing in my experience and also adds to awesome factor.
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I can see how it can be a chore to listen to D&C live-to me once it started going over 30 minutes it became over the top-but oh, those ones in the 12-25 minute range are glorious. :metal
The one on Celebration Day is a mere baby at 13 minutes, and the one on Song Remains The Same is 27 minutes, which is actually edited down a few minutes from the live performance used for it.
...I may have listened to a lot of versions of Dazed And Confused in my time. :lol
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I've heard a few. I think the live performances are mostly very good, I love the extended live versions.
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Some of my favorite Zep boots are from the 1975 tour, just because, if you're a fan of extended jamming, D&C and No Quarter could give you at least 60 minutes and as many as 75 minutes a night. :biggrin:
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Yeah, those were two of their highlight songs for sure. You do have to like extended jams, though. I can see why it's not for everyone, but in general, I'm in favor of it.
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The rerelease of The Song Remains the Same contains the longer (supposedly complete) performance frm one of the nights. Its just a few seconds short of 30 min.
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The rerelease of The Song Remains the Same contains the longer (supposedly complete) performance frm one of the nights. Its just a few seconds short of 30 min.
Both versions of D&C are made up of edited together bits of the three performances of the song over the MSG stand the movie was (largely) filmed at.
https://www.thegardentapes.co.uk/tgt10.html
Hang on to your hat :lol
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Both versions of D&C are made up of edited together bits of the three performances of the song over the MSG stand the movie was (largely) filmed at.
https://www.thegardentapes.co.uk/tgt10.html
Hang on to your hat :lol
:lol Holy shit! That's devotion, brother.
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Yeah, I love my Zep bootlegs, but that guy takes the cake and the icing :lol
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Yeah, I love my Zep bootlegs, but that guy takes the cake and the icing :lol
Wonder what category he'd classify himself in? :lol
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Just reading the history of the album TSRTS is quite fascinating. But we'll save it.
I do honestly hope that you will cover it in detail when it comes time to...it has the potential to be the most interesting write up of them all... (also has the potential to be as long to read as D&C is to listen to. :rollin )
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Just reading the history of the album TSRTS is quite fascinating. But we'll save it.
I do honestly hope that you will cover it in detail when it comes time to...it has the potential to be the most interesting write up of them all... (also has the potential to be as long to read as D&C is to listen to. :rollin )
I didn't intend to give it any more (or less) attention than the studio releases.
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Joining late, but love the idea of this thread.
Put myself down for 'advanced'. I've watched TSRTS a lot, had Coda on vinyl (but lost it in a recent house fire, along with all my other collection :( ) but am in no way an expert.
Anyways, LZ1 rankings:
Good Times, Bad Times
Dazed and Confused
Communication Breakdown
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
How Many More Times
I Can't Quit You Baby
Black Mountain Side
Your Time Is Gonna Come
You Shook Me
This album is a weird one - it has high highs and dismal lows for me. But you just can't go past GTBT, especially that opening. That song pretty much lets the listener know that they're in for some insanely good drumming, much in the same way Where Eagles Dare opens Maiden's Piece of Mind.
Dazed and Confused is certainly classic Zeppelin, JPJ's bass line is still the first thing I think to play whenever I pick up my jazz bass. Or any bass for that matter.
Communication Breakdown is of course another classic. So energy. Not much else to say about that.
Babe I'm Gonna Leave you is just epic, one of the first Zeppelin songs I learnt to play on guitar. Mesmerising guitar work from Page.
The rest of the album is quite ho-hum IMO.
The black and white bonus footage on 'DVD' of the live TV special the guys did in (I think) '69 really helped cement Zeppelin as one of my favourite bands. I'd recommend anyone who hasn't seen it to check it out, its so nice to see the band young and fresh faced - but totally dominating. The live version of Dazed and Confused is infinitely more palatable than the clusterfuck it turned into in later years. And of course, seeing/hearing Bonzo play in that small room, you can really feel how he just absolutely destroys those skins.
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As I noted in my Top50 album write-ups, one of my favorite and most important features in a band in music is that they aren't stagnant. They have to be themselves but for me to not get bored of their sound they need to move it all around the spectrum of music while still maintaining who they are. Zeppelin are the MASTERS of that IMO. I'll go ahead and say I'm a pretty big fan-boy of everything Zeppelin did. There's maybe a handful of songs that I wasn't a fan of but even those I wouldn't say were horrible (in Zeppelin scale maybe they weren't good).
Led Zeppelin I is such a statement album for me that it raises it's ranking personally quite high. I mean, when I think of where this album took music and the sound it still has compared to the time period is quite astounding. I also happen to be a fairly big fan of R&B and Blues so that particular aspect of Zep's sound has always been a draw for me along with the growth the band will make from album to album going forward.
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Led Zeppelin is one of my favorite bands of all time (#4 probably), but I wish I could say that I like every album of theirs. Their debut, unfortunately, is the only one I'm not really digging. The heavier stuff like Communication breakdown or Good times bad times is good, but the bluesy tracks really aren't my cup of tea, which has to do with me not enjoying too much blues in general. I think their blues songs got much better with time, especially on the albums where there's one song of the king per record. But here, it's a bit too much and I get bored quite easily with most of them. I don't have a favorite or a single song I would call great on Led Zeppelin 1. Oh well...
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I'm intermediate, with a hint of advanced. My first Zep cd was Houses of The Holy, I love the album.
I then bought Zep 1. Loved it all, although I never really cared for Communication Breakdown, too overplayed.
Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You
Your Time Is Gonna Come/Black Mountain Side
I Can't Quit You Baby
Good Times, Bad Times
Dazed and Confused
How Many More Times
You Shook Me
Communication Breakdown
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Might as well join the trend.
Dazed and Confused
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
How Many More Times
Your Time Is Gonna Come
Black Mountain Side
Good Times Bad Times
Communication Breakdown
You Shook Me
I Can't Quit You Baby
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My order for LZ I would be:
How Many More Times
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Dazed and Confused
Communication Breakdown
You Shook Me
Good Times Bad Times
Your Time Is Gonna Come
Black Mountain Side
I Can't Quit You Baby
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Tough to rank for me.
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I go:
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
How Many More Times
Dazed And Confised
Everything else..
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As I hinted at earlier, Led Zeppelin's larger than life, legendary reputation and status in the history of rock music is largely attributed to their legacy as a live act - it certainly isn't for the quantity of their studio music. Because of the hate-hate relationship with the music press, in their earlier years, their main (only) form of promotion was through word of mouth, and that meant playing a lot of gigs, and putting forth an unforgettable show. They were pioneers in creativity, experimentation, jamming, and insistent on making every show unique, with Page once commenting that their "spontaneity was on the level of ESP"
After recording and mixing Zeppelin I, the band played a few gigs in London to get their feet wet. On the same day that Plant would marry is heavily pregnant girlfriend, Maureen, they played their first gig at The Roadhouse in London. The band then promptly fled the UK, deciding to attack the US market first. Their first tour began December 26th, 1968, and wrapped up with sparsely attended shows at the end of January. It wasn't until FM radio started to embrace the band that the audiences grew. They would tour for 18 months, and it didn't take long for them to establish a reputation as the most excessive and debauched rock group at the time, a title that would last with them their entire career, and perhaps brand them as the most debauched of all time. Upon their arrival in LA, they were instantly adopted by the legendary groupie contingent The GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously) - the worlds most famous groupies of the 60s. They would also later run in circles with Chicago's Plaster Casters (known for taking plaster moulds of band members' "instrument"). Not only did they fulfill the hype with "sex, drugs and rock 'n roll" - hell, they may have been the originators of the term, but there were stories that would go well beyond that - but, we'll leave some of those stories (except for the most infamous one) for another time.
Though Zeppelin was technically playing as the support act for a few other bands, mid-way through the tour, the "headlining" acts weren't even showing up. On the final date of their first US tour, in support of Iron Butterfly, they might as well have been the headliners. Living off the fame of their single In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Iron Butterfly refused to go on after Zeppelin's 2-hour set. They would tour UK/Scandanavia in March and April, relegated to the pub scene, as they had not gotten any radio exposure in their homeland. Returning to the US for tour #2, the band was like caged dogs finally let loose. With their initial taste of fame, it started to go to another level... reportedly bankrupting one bar by not paying their tab, and living they typical rock 'n' roll lifestyle, They would return to UK for a more successful tour, then back to the US for Summer festivals, with Bonham starting his outlandish behaviour - at the Singer Bowl, the wasted drummer (as was par for the course with Bonzo) started stripping on stage, prompting police to rush the stage to remove him - but not before Peter Grant ushered him into the dressing room, telling Bonham he was fired if his clothes weren't on by the time the police broke down the door. The pinnacle of their legendary debauchery from these early tours was at the Edgewater Inn in Seattle - a hotel famous for allowing guests to fish from their hotel window. As legend has it, Plant, Bonham and Richard Cole were messing around with a groupie - well... more than just 'messing around'. Bonham had caught a red snapper from his room, and the groupie, being red-headed, had a matching red snapper. Cole later proclaimed "It was nothing malicious.. no one was ever hurt. She might have been hit by a shark a couple of times for disobeying orders, but she didn't get hurt'. The legend grew to such proportions (with the aid of a Super-8 video filmed by Vanilla Fudge members that never surfaced), Frank Zappa even took inspiration from the event to write the song "Mudshark" about it, though Bonham would remain adamant it was a red snapper. It's quite likely the 'legend' of the event is exaggerated far beyond the actual events that occurred that night - likely to be the case with many of the band's road stories
The band would return to Europe, then back to the US once more (for their fourth stint in 10 months) just prior to the release of Led Zeppelin II. All told, they played 139 shows, with more than 100 of them being in the US. By the end of the tour, they were headlining usually with no support act (though they opened for The Who in May - the only time the two bands performed together) and had increased their nightly fee from a few hundred quid to a rumoured $25,000+
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Zep's 1969 bootlegs are only surpassed in my mind for sheer quality of performance by their 1973 German tour and their two tours of Japan in 1971 and 1972, and unmatched for sheer raw energy by any tour. They were that way from the start-their earliest known bootleg, their 12/30/68 performance at Spokane, is sheer energy and telepathic interplay, which was their fifth US date. Mere months after they came into being, Led Zeppelin was already a formidable live band, at their best the best live performers I've ever heard.
The 1969 tour gave birth to a legendary concert at a venue known as the Tea Party in Boston, namely "that show where Zeppelin played a four hour set full of covers!", but finding it, ahh, finding it, that's tricky. The legend suggests it was the band's 1/26/69 Boston show, since the bootleg is full of cuts and incomplete songs, but the likelier origin of the legend is a later date in May 1969 at the same venue which still didn't see the band play for four hours but saw them playing covers as encores for an audience that was dying to hear more. The four hour Boston Tea Party show that never happened pops up a lot in Zep bootleg circles, and even popped up in Steven Tyler's biography, and as a result the band's Boston gigs tend to be considered holy grail type shows for collectors. I have two (the 1/26 show that started this mess, and recordings from the 5/27 show that are the likely origin of it) and the band was really, really good those nights. Boston and San Francisco tended to get some epic shows on the 1969 tour.
I feel I should mention the 10/10/69 L'Olympia gig that turned up as one of the bonuses in the recent re-issue of the debut. But mainly because it was the day I turned three years old :lol
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That Olympia show with the new Zeppelin I remaster is fantastic. I've never been much into bootlegging. And since Peter Grant was so opposed, I'm sure there's a lot fewer copies out there than there were attempts to record - or perhaps more likely, attempts to leave the gig with a recording!
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At this particular time, How Many More Times was their 'medley jam' number, where they mashed up several blues and oldies standards into the middle of the song. Whole Lotta Love later became the vehicle for this after II was released.
For Zeppelin, a lot of the on-stage improv and live experimentation led to riffs and song ideas that found themselves used in subsequent albums. Listening to their bootlegs, you'd hear snippets of riffs, solos and verses that would make you go: Hey! That's one of the riffs in Achilles Last Stand! That's the solo that was used for The Lemon Song! They would take a verse or riff from an old blues and start tooling with it, flipping it around on its head or throwing in a little twist until they came up with something cool and different. That's one of the things I love about live Zeppelin; you could literally hear the songwriting/creative process in progress just by listening to their live jams. Granted, there are some people that DON'T enjoy the long and meandering improvs, much preferring to hear a fully realized song. Those are the fans that will stick to the studio albums. Nothing wrong with that either.
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That Olympia show with the new Zeppelin I remaster is fantastic. I've never been much into bootlegging. And since Peter Grant was so opposed, I'm sure there's a lot fewer copies out there than there were attempts to record - or perhaps more likely, attempts to leave the gig with a recording!
During their life time as a band, there were bootlegs that made it into release-pretty sure the 1971 era boot known as Blueberry Hill got a release on vinyl, as did the 1977 Cleveland show that was released as Destroyer, notable for being the first soundboard released-but Zep bootlegs exploded far, far more after the band broke up. While I imagine Grant hated them, Page loves them-around the time of the 2007 O2 gig, Page went to a store in Japan that sells boots and came out with an armload of them, and when he was putting together DVD he put out a call for bootlegs for potential use. Page loves to tinker with the sound on live albums-How The West Was Won is a hilarious instance of having two recorded dates and swapping things around from one night to the other, sometimes as little as a line or two-and bootlegs fill in lines for him.
As for the early days, when the band did long blues and pop song medleys in How Many More Times (which hung around as the medley number until Fall 1970, though it had been usurped on occasion by Whole Lotta Love), Whole Lotta Love (oh those 30 minute plus ones from their Japanese tours) and even the not so well known medleys built around a song called As Long As I Have You, a staple of their earliest tours, especially on nights when they played two sets at the same venue-oh, how I loved those. How they'd effortlessly move from hard blues to pure pop in seconds, sounding almost as if they had no idea what song was going to come next in the medleys. Sheer gold.
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10 days, 6 pages, and we are still only on the first album... I am getting the feeling that this thread is gonna take a year to complete. :lol :lol :biggrin:
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10 days, 6 pages, and we are still only on the first album... I am getting the feeling that this thread is gonna take a year to complete. :lol :lol :biggrin:
Nah, Zep II coming today. My plan is an update every couple of days, but each album has 3 updates - the album; song-by-song; and touring. So, that's an album/week.
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Sweet!
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Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear.
How years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air.
(https://assets-s3.rollingstone.com/assets/images/album_review/led-zeppelin-ii-1400175028.jpg)(https://www.mojo4music.com/media/2014/03/Led-Zep-II-403.jpg)
Tracklikst:
1 Whole Lotta Love 5:35
2 What Is and What Should Never Be 4:44
3 The Lemon Song 6:20
4 Thank You 4:47
5 Heartbreaker 4:14
6 Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman) 2:39
7 Ramble On 4:24
8 Moby Dick 4:21
9 Bring It On Home 4:21
Released a mere 10 months after the debut on October 22, 1969 on Atlantic Records, Led Zeppelin II came to the market with 400,000 advanced orders. The recording sessions for Led Zeppelin II took place at several locations in the United Kingdom and North America between January and August of that year. Continuing with elements of blues infused rock, and now folk music, Led Zeppelin II continues where Led Zeppelin I left off, with the band primarily marrying blues influences with their guitar and riff-based sound. This is arguably the band's heaviest album, with Thank You as the only complete song to provide a softer break. Like its predecessor, it was an immediate hit, topping the American charts two months after its release and spending seven weeks at number one (displacing Abbey Road), and even reaching #1 in the UK (again displacing Abbey Road).
Consider this a "Frankenstein" album - recorded in nine different studios, pieced together masterfully by (mad scientist) Page, and rising to be their first monster album. The album was written and recorded during the 8 different tours they were on in '68 and '69, often times during periods of a couple of hours in between concerts, then a studio was booked and the recording process begun. Jones recalled that "Jimmy's riffs were coming fast and furious. A lot of them came from onstage especially during the long improvised section of 'Dazed and Confused'. We'd remember the good stuff and dart into a studio along the way." "Thank You", "The Lemon Song" and "Moby Dick" were overdubbed during the tour, while the mixing of "Whole Lotta Love" and "Heartbreaker" was also done on tour. Despite the writing and recording method, Led Zeppelin II is miles ahead of Led Zeppelin I in terms of cohesion, vision, production, maturity and songwriting - it truly features the band as a whole, not Page + 3 guys he hired to put his own album together with. Touring non-stop for a year and a half had honed their sound immensely.
If Zeppelin I stirred up some controversy relating to writing credits, Zeppelin II brought about a shit-storm - predominantly with their blues-inspired songs, most notably with The Lemon Song. Originally credited solely to themselves, the song took a lot of "inspiration" from the Howlin Wolf song "The Killing Floor", Zeppelin actually had to change their pressings of the album to title the song "The Killing Floor" until matters were settled financially with Howlin Wolf. "Reinterpreting" music in the blues genre was very common, but rarely was followed with a lawsuit for lack of credit given. However, with Zeppelin's financial success, economics won out, and their music became a bigger target than anything exclusively from the blues genre. As the old saying goes, you can't get blood from a stone. Selling 3 million copies in it's first 6 months, and 12 million overall, there was blood to be extracted here.
Rolling Stone again took great pleasure in slagging the band and album, mockingly stating "This is one heavyweight of an album... one especially heavy song extended over the space of two whole sides.", claiming Page was the "absolute number one heaviest white blues guitarist between 5'4" and 5'8" in the world".
Led Zeppelin II finished #16 on my Top albums list of all time. It's an absolute gem of an album, filled with so many amazing moments. I'll never forget getting baked out of my mind for the first time that I listened to it, and hearing that opening riff absolutely blew me away - one of my most favorite guitar riffs in all of music.
Track-by-track thoughts to come later.
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Start to finish, this is arguably the best Led Zeppelin album. It is consistent as hell and an effortless listen from start to finish. Enough good things cannot be said about it. :coolio
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Great write up Jingle, and what a fantastic album! I agree with Kev that it certainly should at least be in the conversation to be considered the best LZ album.
Overall LZ II seems much more focus to me and really begins to show off the band's signature sound to a much greater degree than the debut managed to.
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Great album. Solid, and for me personally, much more listenable than the first album.
I've never seen that "alternate color" cover before. Whoa.
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Glorious album. Power and wonder everywhere.
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Great album. Solid, and for me personally, much more listenable than the first album.
I've never seen that "alternate color" cover before. Whoa.
The 'negative' album covers are from the remastered I, II, and III that just came out last month. The companion discs that come with them are REALLY cool. All nine studio albums will get this remaster treatment. Not sure on release timing though.
the band will launch an extensive reissue program of all nine of its studio albums in chronological order, each remastered by guitarist and producer Jimmy Page. Led Zeppelin will also open its vaults to share dozens of unheard studio and live recordings, with each album featuring a second disc of companion audio comprised entirely of unreleased music related to that album.
"The material on the companion discs presents a portal to the time of the recording of Led Zeppelin," says Page. "It is a selection of work in progress with rough mixes, backing tracks, alternate versions, and new material recorded at the time."
The companion disc for II contains some alternative vocal mixes, and instrumental/backing versions.
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My favorite LZ album.
Bring It On Home is awesome.
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Definitely my favorite LZ album. Just about everything is pitch perfect, although I don't really listen to The Lemon Song that much.
Ranking: best to last
Ramble On
Whole Lotta Love
What Is...
Heartbreaker
Bring It On Home
Thank You
Living Loving Maid
The Lemon Song
Moby Dick
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I am not a huge LZ II guy. When I was a kid, I traded my copy for Rainbow's On Stage, and have never looked back.
I get it and appreciate it for all its worth, but I never have a hunkering for early Zep.
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The Lemon Song feels a little directionless to me and is probably my least favorite of the bunch. Good album though overall, and definitely more enjoyable for me than the first.
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I effin love that guitar break in Bring It On Home. I had it as my ringtone 5 or 6 years ago. That surge of energy from Page's guitar is incredible.
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This album also contains one of "our songs" as is "my wife and mine". You know how at weddings, people often get their friends to sing or play a song or two? Well, since my best man was also lead singer for the band, and one of the groomsmen was our guitarist, I thought it would be cool to play a couple of songs at my own wedding.
I whipped up arrangements for "Thank You" from this album and "I'd Be So Happy" from Three Dog Night's Hard Labor. At the meeting with the pastor prior to the wedding, he asked about music, and we told him that we'd be doing a song by Led Zeppelin and a song by Three Dog Night. The pastor turned white (and he was pretty white before). Cautiously, he asked about the songs themselves. We told him the the first song is about finding the love of your life, and the song is merely saying "Thank You" for being that person. The second is about looking back after 20 years, and knowing that you'd made the right decision way back when. He was sold.
The organist wasn't so sure. She wanted to hear the songs first. So we played them for her, and she loved them. I wrote up charts for her to play, literally the organ part for "Thank You", and she basically filled in the strings and stuff on "I'd Be So Happy". John sang lead, Chris and I did background vocals, Chris played acoustic guitar, and I got to play the grand piano in the sanctuary. I'd always wanted to play that beast, and while the whole thing was very romantic and my wife loved the idea, that was actually my main motivation. To play the grand.
(https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/964554_4834779389291_2113427138_o.jpg)
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That's awesome man!
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I remember always thinking how HEAVY the drums sound on this album. But when I put it in the context of its time??? MIND...BLOWN. I defy you to find an album with a heavier drum sound before this album came out. Even to this day, it just sounds like he's beating the living crap out of those drums. I'm surprised he didn't break every head in the process of recording. Bonzo's drums just sound *that huge* to me.
There's no doubt this is a landmark album. Thank You, Ramble On and Living Loving Maid have worn a bit thin on me over the years...but everything else is a home run.
My ranking:
What Is And What Should Never Be
Whole Lotta Love
Moby Dick
Bring It On Home
Heartbreaker
The Lemon Song
Living Loving Maid
Ramble On
Thank You
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That Led Zeppelin II is good at all is amazing given how it was written and recorded in basically spare time during the band's early tours. That it's as good and consistent an album sonically, with all the different studios used, is amazing. It's not perfect-Killing Floor was awesome live, but translated less so as The Lemon Song, and Moby Dick's kind of pointless since it seemed to only exist to serve to frame a drum solo, and Bonham was already taking a solo (called Pat's Delight) before Moby Dick came around, but the rest of the album is amazingly good. I actually waffle fairly regularly on what my favorite Zep album is, but II is easily their most consistent album from track to track.
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II is easily their most consistent album from track to track.
On this, I will agree wholeheartedly. There aren't as many stellar highs as there are on other subsequent albums, but there aren't any clunkers either. Hell, I'd be hard pressed to give any song on this album a lower grade than A-. Every album after has at least a song (or four) that is better than the best song here; but they also have a song (or four) that is worse than the worst here. Song for song, it's their best album in my books.
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Maybe you posted it already and I missed it, but why did Rolling Stone hate Led Zeppelin?
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Maybe you posted it already and I missed it, but why did Rolling Stone hate Led Zeppelin?
Because they weren't Bob Dylan...
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Maybe you posted it already and I missed it, but why did Rolling Stone hate Led Zeppelin?
They were really different from what Rolling Stone magazine was reviewing and was scared of the sounds this band was making? I probably think the similar reasons that reviewers hated Rush in their early days (the unique vocals?).
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Quite possibly my favorite Zep album. Thank You and WIAWSNB are both in my top 5 LZ songs.
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Maybe you posted it already and I missed it, but why did Rolling Stone hate Led Zeppelin?
Didn't really post a specific reason, but I think it's because Rolling Stone just didn't know what to make of it. What the first two albums gave the music industry were so radical and groundbreaking, I suspect that it was just as easy to shit all over it as it would've been to praise it. Might've been the tastes of the individual reviewer as well.
We might have to defer to an ultra-fogey like Ludwig or CrimsonSunrise who may have known from first hand experience why Rolling Stone gave bad reviews - they weren't the only musical publication to do so. More on that in upcoming discussions.
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Ramble On
Whole Lotta Love
What Is...
Heartbreaker
Bring It On Home
Thank You
Living Loving Maid
The Lemon Song
Moby Dick
My list exactly. And an excellent, excellent album.
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I never have a hunkering for early Zep.
Man oh man
*post*
You're the coolest guy I know.
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Thanks!
:yarr
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Just had a play through whilst doing some chores and enjoyed it well enough. Better than the first as that slight 60s vibe is less present. Plant wasn't too annoying either. Even songs I know, and that's most of the album tbh, sounded good.
I really love that riff in Living Loving Maid. Firrst heard it on the Great White tribute album. Lots of cool riffs on this album and seeral instances where I recognised where other bands have stolen the odd riff or melody. Returning the favour I guess! :biggrin:
Yeah, enjoyable. Sounds too dated to get regular play chez Lowdz, but certainly worth a go now and then
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We're winning you over .... one album at a time. III will throw you for a loop.
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We're winning you over .... one album at a time. III will throw you for a loop.
Oh yeah it will big time.
As teens we tried to cover songs from II. We thought we were the bomb. The cassettes said otherwise... :lol
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Maybe you posted it already and I missed it, but why did Rolling Stone hate Led Zeppelin?
Because they weren't Bob Dylan...
This is not far from the truth, in a nutshell. To this day, Rolling Stone is a liberal rag that revels in its own politicism. Looking at that time period of the late sixties/early seventies, Zeppelin just didnt do the message/protest music that is epitomized by Dylan. They just weren't politically correct, so to speak. Zep played distorted over-the-top orgiastic bombastic virtuosic songs full of posturing, bravado and self-indulgence that were anathema to the Rolling Stone credo. There's nothing intellectual about Zep's music...it's 110% visceral.
As DT fans, we've seen this sort of 'reverse snobbery' before. In order to get the great reviews from the music intelligentsia, you had to suck at singing and playing your instrument.
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What Dazed and Confused delivered in an unmistakable base line, Page lays out in a riff to open Whole Lotta Love that still gives me shivers every time I hear it - and then Jones takes it to another level when he adds the bass unison. The little sigh that precedes it is a nice touch, as if to say 'ok, let's get this fucker under way'. This too brings about an instrumental wank-fest which takes years upon years of listening to truly appreciate. Sound Engineer Eddie Kramer said they produced the song by "twiddling every knob known to man". Though they contractually had complete creative control, in 1969 an edited version of "Whole Lotta Love", was released as a single in the US against the band's wishes. It reached number four in the Billboard chart in January 1970, selling over one million copies helping to cement the their popularity. It was the highest charting single the band ever had.
What Is and What Should Never Be represents a complete change of pace from the frantic feel of the opening track. This song meanders along with Jones leading the way through the verses. This song produced a lot of 'what the fuck' moments when I first tried to interpret the lyrics. I have no idea what this one is about, but it doesn't matter really. I finally came to realize that this song just 'is', and that's the point. Page delivers a soulful solo, that is also greatly improved with the recent remaster.
The Lemon Song comes out with an overt sexual theme that is about as subtle as a crowbar to the face. I absolutely love the frantic instrumental sections - moreso here than on the opening track. I think I already said everything else that needs to be said in the intro to the album. The only other thing I'll say is DAT BASS! JPJ owns this bitch.
Thank You was the first set of lyrics entirely credited to Plant (in a dedication to his wife Maureen), and the song that Page realized he could turn over principal lyric writing to Plant. It's a simple ballad, and the first from the band. Nothing too special here, but it just goes to show the diversity the band had, and would continue to exude for their entire career. Plant used this as an intro to Crazy Little Thing Called Love at Wembley Stadium for Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992.
Some argue that Whole Lotta Love is the showcase of the album, but a case can certainly be made that it is actually Heartbreaker that is the flagship song from Zeppelin II. Though Page's contributions were not nearly as front and centre as they were for the debut album, Zeppelin II marked the introduction of his soon-to-be-legendary use of a 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar, this being the first song he used it on. This and Communication Breakdown were the only two songs that Zeppelin performed every year the band toured. Page claims that he laid down the legendary solo without so much as a second thought - the solo having been recorded in a totally different studio than the rest of the guitar mix. To hear that this solo, one of the most famous from the 70s and an influence on countless axemen to follow, was an 'afterthought' once the song was tracked is either amazing or shocking - I'm not sure which.
Reportedly Page's least favorite song from their catalog, Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman) is driven by a very simple up and down melody that was the B-side to the Whole Lotta Love single edit. No one is really sure how this became 'act 2' of Heartbreaker, but you rarely hear the two songs without the other - and you never heard this at a Zeppelin concert/bootleg (save for a single show in Düsseldorf in 1970 which a short segment of the song was played right after Heartbreaker). It was originally published in the UK as "Livin' Lovin' Wreck (She's a Woman)".
Plant's love affair with fantasy lyrics, and Lord of the Rings in particular are first displayed on Ramble On. The opening lyric is also paraphrased from a Tolkein poem. One of my favorite Zeppelin tunes of all time, it's a simple acoustic melody with a dancing bass line that leads into a fantastic chorus. How the percussion sounds are produced is up for much debate, ranging from speculation they were even made with a small plastic waste bin.
Moby Dick - Often imitated, never duplicated. The origins of Moby Dick come from the live 30+ minute solos Bonzo would deliver from their previous tour, under the moniker "Pat's Delight" (as Jaq spoiled) . It is these solo's that made Bonham the legend he is/was, establishing the roots of arguably the best rock drummer in history. In the late 60s, there weren't too many individual studio release tracks that were drum solos. This goe to show the confidence the band had in Bonzo's capable hands and feet.
With musical contributions from Plant on the harmonica, Bring it on Home teases a blues theme from the intro, then abruptly turns into a very simple, straight forward rock tune. Page gives us yet another blazing, multi-layered guitar riff, and Bonzo's lays down some fantastic drum fills. There's even a muted trumpet effect thrown in there for the hell of it. For such a basic tune, there's a lot of complex subtleties going on.
Jingle.boy's ranking:
Ramble On
Whole Lotta Love
Hertbreaker/Living Loving Maid
The Lemon Song
Bring it on Home
What Is and What Should Never Be
Moby Dick
Thank You
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My favorite part of Ramble On was that brief instrumental bit before the 2nd chorus around the 1:45 mark or so. My one gripe with the studio version of it is the fade out ending. I don't like fade out endings, in general, and this is no exception. I loved how the song ended during their Celebration Day concert or when Page and JPJ played it with Foo Fighters at Wembley.
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For me I really like:
Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid
What Is And What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Thank You
..and everything else.
I find Whole Lotta Love an annoying song though. As great as that guiter solo is, it's really not worth having to slog through the rest of the it.
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I find Whole Lotta Love an annoying song though. As great as that guiter solo is, it's really not worth having to slog through the rest of the it.
Well, this little baby begs to differ:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qaRmg77Ud48
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I've always thought that was more the cutoff of a laugh at the beginning of Whole Lotta Love
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It is, I'm pretty sure.
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Well, this little baby begs to differ:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qaRmg77Ud48
The only possible response - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDRrjFjJ9fI
Laugh? Sigh? Whatever it is, I always thought it was neat that it started that way instead of right into the riff.
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"What Is And Never Should Never Be" is one of my all time favorite Zep tracks. I agree with Jingle about the solo. Incredibly soulful.
My rankings for this album would go
What Is and What Should Never Be
Bring It On Home
Whole Lotta Love
Ramble On
Living Loving Maid
Moby Dick
The Lemon Song
Heartbreaker
Thank You
There is really no bad song on this album
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I find Whole Lotta Love an annoying song though. As great as that guiter solo is, it's really not worth having to slog through the rest of the it.
Well, this little baby begs to differ:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qaRmg77Ud48
That's funny, but
1. Who's driving?
2. I didn't know Hef was Italian
But THIS is the kid that I love!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK__uM_ArlE
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Heartbreaker
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Thank You
Whole Lotta Love
Moby Dick
Bring It On Home
Living Loving Maid
The Lemon Song
Never was a huge fan of this album, but I gotta say its pretty dang solid. Riffs :hefdaddy
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I was reading about the next set of remasters today.
I have a question. How come no live stuff has never been released from the band? This whole remasters thing seems like such a cash grab by Page. But I figure there's endless streams of tape of Live Zeppelin in the vaults.
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Live DVD & How the West Was Won? Or do you mean besides those?
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What Is And What Should Never Be, legend has it, was about Robert Plant thinking his wife's sister was hot.
Whether or not it actually is now, I don't know, but that's the story I've heard at a few Zep forums. :lol
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Live DVD & How the West Was Won? Or do you mean besides those?
Well, I'm aware of How The West Was Won. I actually don't have it. BTW, when/ where was that actually recorded?
I guess I'm thinking that there should be more out there, especially if they want to make extra cash, which to me, is what this remasters series is all about.
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2003, I think? Its pretty awesome.
I agree there should be more live stuff, never been a fan of the whole 'remastering' thing. Most of the time its a fancy way of saying "We're re-releasing your favourite albums, sans dynamic range."
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I was reading about the next set of remasters today.
I have a question. How come no live stuff has never been released from the band? This whole remasters thing seems like such a cash grab by Page. But I figure there's endless streams of tape of Live Zeppelin in the vaults.
Actually there are FOUR official Live albums:
The Song Remains the Same
The BBC Sessions
How the West Was Won
Celebration Day
Ok...you could make the claim that BBC was "live in studio" and Celebration Day was just the reunion...but still. That's two live albums PLUS the Led Zeppelin DVD boxed set which has MORE officially released live footage from over 10 different shows, totaling about 2 and a half hours.
Considering the band only really released 8 actual albums, I'd say that's not half bad.
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Live DVD & How the West Was Won? Or do you mean besides those?
Well, I'm aware of How The West Was Won. I actually don't have it. BTW, when/ where was that actually recorded?
I guess I'm thinking that there should be more out there, especially if they want to make extra cash, which to me, is what this remasters series is all about.
How The West Was Won was recorded on July 25 and July 27, 1972, at Long Beach and Los Angeles, CA and released alongside DVD in 2003. Zeppelin is actually already very well represented live between the recent LZ 1 live disc and existing releases: between The BBC Sessions, The Song Remains The Same, How The West Was Won, and DVD, the only years of touring that aren't represented in some fashion for Zep are the 1977 tour and the 1980 European tour. I am assuming that since the 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975 tours and the Knebworth shows in 1979 are already out there in some form on official releases, that's why Page isn't releasing more bonus live stuff.
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Yeah, Celebration Day is a reunion show, so I don't count that. I've never bothered to get HTWWW. I may if that's when/where it was recorded. I assumed it was a big mashup of live material, not from a singular show (or 2).
I have pro shot footage of Knebworth and the Seattle '77 show, as most people have. Honestly, I'd much rather get a cleaned up official version of one of those more than a Remaster of a studio album. I think that's my point.
Also, I love the Song Remains The Same live footage, but I guess we'll get to that in due time.
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Oh I'd rather have those, or the Southampton gig that was recorded for a live album and never released, myself. Just suggesting why Page isn't putting it out.
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They actually tried recording more than a few shows for official live releases, but Page kiboshed them, often stating the recording quality wasn't good enough to put together an official release. Gonna save some more comments for my 'touring' posts.
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I didn't buy Led Zeppelin II until I was old enough to drive. I'd heard the album so much at my buddies house, and from my siblings, that every time I went to the record store there was always something new that caught my eye more. When I did buy it, I remember I was driving through the desert late one night, on my way home from a party, and had II playing pretty loud in my menopause-red 1975 Mustang II liftback. I was digging on The Lemon Song but because of the late hour, and the beer, I was getting a little sleepy...then Heartbreaker started playing and it just hit me like a liter of coffee. The effect Jonesy has on his bass just roared in the enclosed space was simply chill inducing. When the famous solo came in it was near impossible to stay within the speed limit. Because of the vividness of this memory, Heartbreaker has always been my favorite from this album.
Of course when the cassette flipped, the first song was Thank You so I had to prop my eyelids open with toothpicks again. :biggrin:
I see that most people don't rate Moby Dick very highly, and that's understandable since very few people dig drum solos anymore, but that riff! Holy shit! I always wished they'd made a more complete song out of it since everything around the "drumb" solo is completely awesome.
I think a close second place on this album is Bring It On Home again due to the main riff. It's just so explosively energetic. The riff under the verses is spectacular too.
This is a fantastic album with so many hooks, without relying on choruses, that it was truly unique for the time. And the sound of it is still fantastic--remarkably so since, as it has been pointed out, it was recorded in so many different places. Not my favorite Zep, but I won't hesitate to put it on or stop what I'm doing to give it my attention when I hear it played.
:tup
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It still amuses me how Whole Lotta Love is basically one giant orgasm set to music. :lol :lol
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The second Led Zeppelin album is an improvement over their slower, bluesy debut, which mostly has to do with the heavier edge. Hearbreaker is my favorite early heavy Zeppelin song, and Living loving mad is a lot of fun. Out of the softer songs, I've always really enjoyed Ramble on.
But overall I think the best stuff was yet to come. There are some songs that I've never liked as much as most fans. Whole lotta love is good, but honestly, it loses me in the middle. If I'm on my feet going crazy with some buddies, it's great, but whenever I sit down to listen through it, I just kinda forget I'm listening to anything. The Lemon song is still a rather dull blues song, apart from the faster bit - the next album will truly deliver in the blues department, though.
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JPJ's work on the bass alone is enough to make The Lemon Song highly enjoyable every time I listen to it.
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JPJ's work on the bass alone is enough to make The Lemon Song highly enjoyable every time I listen to it.
No shit! :tup Also, the tone on Page's guitar is killer.
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JPJ's work on the bass alone is enough to make The Lemon Song highly enjoyable every time I listen to it.
inorite!?!? I dunno if last month's remaster pumped it up even more, but when I listened to it on the weekend it hit me like a ton of bricks. And it's not just the instrumental sections, it's the whole freakin song. Like I said, JPJ owns that bitch.
I understand the dislike for the mid-section of Whole Lotta Love, but it's only 1:40 long, so it's not like it overstays its welcome or purpose.
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Whole Lotta Love is glorious from start to finish.
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Anyone ever see the original video for "Whole Lotta Love"? This was way back before videos were common, but some songs back in the 70's did have videos. There was a show on regular TV (I don't remember the name) back before MTV, that played videos, and they showed the video for "Whole Lotta Love". Either someone didn't bother watching the whole thing, or they just didn't care, but there are a couple shots of bare boobs in there. Hey, this was regular TV back in the 70's and I was a schoolboy. This was exciting stuff. Boobs on TV!
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Led Zeppelin II is just an outstanding album. Especially when you think about how it was hashed together on the road using multiple studios. It just shows how masterful in the studio JP is. Highlights for me on this one are Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid, which I've always thought of as a song duo. Of all the radio plays I listened to in the '70-90's they were played back to back 99% of the time. In my book, they just go together... kinda like peas and carrots. :biggrin: "Thank You" was me and my high school sweethearts "Song", so like Orbert, it holds a special place in my heart and memories. The Lemon song, Bring it on Home, Ramble on.... all classics!! Whole Lotta Love, while good, I think the studio version is just OK. My wife, who's a great sport when it comes to indulging me while I rock out in the house or car, will actually change the song if it comes on...she HATES it.... :lol Yet she loves every other Zep song I've played for her to some degree or another. As far as the love loss between the band and Rolling Stone ragazine, I think Ludwig covered it very well. I really dislike RS... they're a bunch of serious fucking wankers...always have been in my book.
Heartbreaker/Living Loving Maid
Bring It On Home
Ramble On
Thank You
What Is and What Should Never Be
The Lemon Song
Whole Lotta Love
Moby Dick
Anyone ever see the original video for "Whole Lotta Love"? This was way back before videos were common, but some songs back in the 70's did have videos. There was a show on regular TV (I don't remember the name) back before MTV, that played videos, and they showed the video for "Whole Lotta Love". Either someone didn't bother watching the whole thing, or they just didn't care, but there are a couple shots of bare boobs in there. Hey, this was regular TV back in the 70's and I was a schoolboy. This was exciting stuff. Boobs on TV!
Don't think I ever had the pleasure of seeing that!! :omg: Was it like "Don Kirshner's rock concert" show or something similiar?
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Yeah, it was one of those type things. Before MTV, we had "Friday Night Videos" and stuff like that on network TV. It may even have been a local or regional show; I really don't remember. But I remember seeing boobs on TV. Black and white, low res, but unexpected and always welcome.
And even then, I remember thinking that if any band would do it, it would be Led Zeppelin. A few minutes into the song, after the censors have stopped paying attention, ha ha, sneak some in there.
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It still amuses me how Whole Lotta Love is basically one giant orgasm set to music. :lol :lol
I think it could be argued about 3/4 of their catalouge is like that :lol
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Boobs on TV is still cause for celebration!
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A day of celebration indeed (how's that for a nifty segue to the next album? :D )
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The group increasingly shunned television appearances (a popular promotional outlet in the 60s and 70s), citing their preference that their fans hear and see them in live concerts... also propelling them forward as concert legends. Maybe not the band's preference, but definitely Peter Grant's. His theory was that if the only way you could see Zeppelin live was in concert, he could not only make more money from the resulting larger gates, but he could command more money from promoters. And he was right. Combining their tight understanding and musical chemistry together with a shared willingness to try new things on-stage, they delivered an unparalleled stage presence. Ultimately, the combination of the band's performance along with Grant's management would fundamentally change the concert industry.
Just prior to the release of Zeppelin II, the band returned to the US for their fourth US tour in 10 months. Grant and the band had been at the forefront of changing the economics of touring - shifting from clubs and theaters, to stadiums and arenas... bringing them financial rewards beyond compare. By 1970, they starting touring in the UK without a support act, something reserved for only the biggest acts in the world. The reason being they were constantly running into curfew issues (largely due to 30 minute drum solos, and 20+ minute renditions of Dazed and Confused, and Whole Lotta Love). Rather than feeling constrained with their time slots, they dropped their opening acts, often putting on shows of 4+ hours - with only two albums worth of material! They would be the first pop/rock act to play Carnegie Hall since the Stones did five years earlier. They would also play Royal Albert Hall, filming it professionally with intentions of the performance to be released for a proposed documentary project. However, the footage was reportedly filmed at the wrong speed, and though a 40 feature was prepared, the band declared it to be of unsatisfactory quality. (More to come on this show later, as it spawned the 2003 release, Led Zeppelin DVD)
Their European tour in early 1970 would see them test some of their material from the forthcoming Zeppelin III album. It would also see them touring in Copenhagen, where a show was nearly cancelled when Frau Eva von Zeppelin - a descendant of the airship inventor - threatened to sue over what she felt was infringement upon the family name. In response, the band played that show under the moniker "The Nobs". Not to be appeased, von Zeppelin barged into a television appearance in a a near fit of rage. She was appeased by the bands charms only until she saw the cover of the debut album, which resulted in another explosion (pun fully intended). The controversy in Copenhagen was considered advantageous to Led Zeppelin early in their career, as the incident gained them worldwide publicity.
In March of 1970, Zeppelin were featured in an article in the Financial Times, noting the group would make $800,000 from a 21-date one-month tour. The article would bring further mainstream relevance to the band. Their performance at the Bath Festival of Blues in the UK in front of an audience of 150,000 people is widely considered by music critics, and members of Led Zeppelin itself, as representing a turning point in terms of the amount of recognition they received in Britain. And it was a good thing too, as Peter Grant had turned down $250,000 in shows in the US for the same weekend. Though it almost didn't happen - The Flock (playing ahead of them) were running long, and the sun was setting. Richard Cole literally pulled the plug on them so Zeppelin could get that brilliant lighting moment. Naturally, a fight between the bands ensued, but Zeppelin would put on the show of their (short) career to that point. They would set attendance records in Canada (though Page would have his Gibson Les Paul guitar stolen from the Vancouver airport), be made honorary citizens of Memphis (of all places), and ultimately start taking in over $1M for their repetitive month-long stints.
The tours however, were rather onerous on the band. They had no problems selling out their shows, but the situation behind the scene was turning a tad grim. 1970 was a turbulent time in US society, and with the band was receiving death threats, armed guards and police escorts became the norm. Peter Grant and Richard Cole began to build a gangster image for themselves to protect the bands interests. As a result, the band no longer enjoyed the wild freedom their tours of 1969 afforded them. Every minute detail of their itineraries was dictated to them, which (understandably) drove them nuts - often confined to their hotel rooms between shows - which they often trashed to pass time.
After a brief break in the spring, the band returned to the US for a late summer tour, which would see them regularly rake in $25k per show, topping the tour with a $100k haul for two shows at Madison Square Gardens. They had also just been voted the 'best band' by the fans of the most influential UK music publication at the time, taking the title away from the Beatles for the first time in eight years.
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Yeah, it was one of those type things. Before MTV, we had "Friday Night Videos" and stuff like that on network TV. It may even have been a local or regional show; I really don't remember. But I remember seeing boobs on TV. Black and white, low res, but unexpected and always welcome.
And even then, I remember thinking that if any band would do it, it would be Led Zeppelin. A few minutes into the song, after the censors have stopped paying attention, ha ha, sneak some in there.
And Don Kirshner's Rock Concert!
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And Don Kirshner's Rock Concert!
(https://cliffviewpilot.com/images/stories/january2011/kirshner2.jpg)
:metal :metal
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:metal
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1970 is one of the more under represented years in my collection of Zep boots, not because the performances aren't available-they are, naturally-but really, the Royal Albert Hall show is so good and exists in professional release worthy quality that you can have that and some of the shows later in the year where LZ III material starts getting played and be good. I have the Copenhagen show mentioned here in an incomplete audience recording, and a few other ones here and there. The band remains on fire live, but moving up from smaller to larger venues, the energy is different. The 1969 boots, you can feel the riotous joy of this huge band playing in smaller venues and wrecking the place. The 1970 shows have a different type of energy entirely. Royal Albert Hall needs to be at least heard, though it's amazing on DVD, as I'll discuss when we get there.
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The reason being they were constantly running into curfew issues (largely due to 30 minute drum solos, and 20+ minute renditions of Dazed and Confused, and Whole Lotta Love)
Well, maybe if they cut those down a bit, they wouldn't have curfew issues. Did the concert-goers really enjoy these friken long versions of songs? I don't think I could have bear a 30 min. drum solo. A 5 min. solo would be nice as a breather, but 30? (even if it is John Bonham). That was pretty much my gripe with Zeppelin when reading about them and these long ass renditions. Improvisations and calling things on the fly is great, but, sometimes, overdoinging it could be overwhleming to handle, imo. Sorry about that brief rant, but I'm always in the house of more songs > long pointless solos.
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Clearly you've never watched a Bonham solo live or a lot of their extended jams, they were things of beauty. Generally speaking, I agree with you, most bands can't pull that kinda stuff off and hold my attention. LZ is the exception to that rule, at least for me. The extensions of songs, extended solos, etc were so magical I could watch them all day.
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I wasn't around to bear witness first hand, but since Zeppelin was redefining the concert going experience, everything I've read suggests those in attendance were lapping it up. The fact they could command $25k per venue in 1970 dollars seems to reinforce that. They were doing things that had never been done before, so while it may seem like overdoing it by today's standards, 45 years ago it was groundbreaking.
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It was a different time. Audiences were pretty mellow (chemically induced) and jams, improvs and such were way more common and sought after. Deep Purple, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Chicago, King Crimson, Jefferson Airplane, Fleetwood Mac, etc. etc. were all doing this and fans really dug it. I dare say, it was even expected.
Of course, Zep brought a whole new level of firepower to the jams. It was cool at the time.
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Yeah...I have a cousin who was in his late teens during this period, and I recall that he and his friends came from a particular concert (don't remember who it was now...sorry), and they were all giddy that the band they went to see played four songs. It was like they were in awe that a band could play an entire concert and drag the whole thing out with only four songs played. I'm not talking about a short set. I'm talking about a 90 (at least) minute show. Back then, if a band could find a groove and sustain it for an extended period, people were really into ''feeling the vibe" of the music. This particular wave of sound is especially important if you are let's say "blazed out of your gourd". :biggrin:
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It was truly a different time. Back then, bands rarely if ever played straight versions of their hits: live was where they stretched out and explored boundaries and occasionally (as happened with Zep a lot) developed songs from bits that came out of live jams. It had worn out its welcome by the late 1970s, for a wide variety of reasons: the arena rock explosion in particular tempered that sort of habit, and a lot of the best practitioners of it either broke up or moved away from it (even Zep, by 1980, had scaled back the jamming, and Rainbow, which had continued Deep Purple's penchant for jamming, had moved towards a more commercial sound) but the early 70s were the glory days of bands stretching songs out to insane lengths, and the audiences loved it.
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That's cause they were all stoned out of their minds. :lol :lol :lol
Nowadays, with distractions like cell phones and people never shutting up during concerts, those kinds of long jams wouldn't go over too well, especially on that much of a regular basis.
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Not to mention the advent of punk rock in the late seventies, with their 2-minute songs and no solos. It became fashionable at the time to lambast the 'dinosaur' rock bands like Zep and Floyd for putting on bloated, self-indulgent performances.
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Yeah, extended jamming used to be more of a norm. Now there is a niche genre for that, the "jam bands."
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Society's attention span just isn't what it....
Squirrel!
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BTW, many of the current jam bands are fantastic. But obviously, some of you probably won't like many of them very much.
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The thing about jams is that you will have stretches of tedium mixed with musical brilliance that will bring a song to another level. It takes a modicum of patience to get to those moments of transcendence, which a lot of people (understandably) just don't have.
Even on some of the Zep boots I own, I can sense the crowd losing it during the 30-45 minute versions of Dazed. I have one boot where one disgruntled fan yells out "play some f*cking music!" Lol.
IMO the best Zep improvs are when they inject a new riff pattern in the middle of the song, or when Page throws in a few extra licks on his solo. One of my favorite things is when they stretch out No Quarter. I have one boot where JPJ plays this fantastically spaced-out piano solo.
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Society's attention span just isn't what it....
Squirrel!
That's a really interesting topic. Recently the local paper ran a story about concert etiquette, and the fact that the crowds at more and more shows that appeal to a younger audience just aren't really there to hear the bands anymore. Apparently at two recent concerts (ZZ Top, and a Toad the Wet Sprocket/Counting Crowes show) the crowd was so noisy that the bands were drowned out. The guy who wrote the article said that Billy Gibbons says that's becoming the rule and not the exception anymore. He said younger audiences are there to socialize, and will actually be surfing their phones and playing games, and talking/laughing so much that the band becomes a backdrop to the event. They also quoted one of the guys from the Counting Crows who said at a recent concert someone in a very loud group of fans near the stage yelled at them that they (the band) were too loud. :lol
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Boy, if you want to pay $25-$50 bucks just to surf on phones and play games like that, I think the band doesn't mind that at all. They'll just be glad to take your money if you want to spend it on a concert ticket and do that.
That said, it would be infuriating, as a band, as a performer, where your main goal is to entertain and give people their money's worth in giving them a show and some people don't let the band give them that chance in the 1st place.
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Listening to Physical Graffiti .
Kashmir sounds incredible for 1975. Unless my copy is a remastered / remixed version.
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Could be. Most (all?) of the releases since the first box-set have had some tweaking done to them.
Speaking of which IV and Houses get the 2014 remaster treatment, release date October 28th. Just announced a couple days ago.
:fistpump:
I, II, and III from June are incredible, especially with the bonus material.
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I just ordered the I-III remasters. Not that I need the remasters themselves since I've got all the vinyls and a box set of the CDs, but when I sampled some of the bonus material, I just couldn't do without.
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Debating double-dipping for the remasters. If they're going to keep going, maybe they'll do a new box set for all the albums once they've all been released. I might hold out for something like that. Unless Page is only going up to a certain point?
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I can't believe he wouldn't want to do all of them. I would imagine he is spacing them out for marketing reasons.
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I read that all 9 studio releases will get this remaster treatment, all with a bonus/companion disc of previously unreleased material. For any hardcore (or even medium core) fan, I think it's worth it. From the first three, the Olympia gig is phenomenal, and the alternative vocal mixes are really, REALLY cool. The backing tracks (ie, no vocals) are ok, but not nearly as exciting as new live material or alternative mixes/vocals
And as I hinted at with my song-by-song commentary, the remaster of the albums themselves cleans up a few things. The guitar solos in I Can't Quit You Baby and What Is And What Should Never Be, sound absolutely magnificent... way better than I remember them on my original CD, or the 1990 box set.
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:tup
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And yesterday I saw you kissing tiny flowers,
But all that lives is born to die.
And so I say to you that nothing really matters,
And all you do is stand and cry.
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-exT5y6L7rpo/UH33xF2xgeI/AAAAAAAAAdE/vKg_oahxOAw/s1600/LedZepIIICvr.jpg) (https://www.mojo4music.com/media/2014/03/Led-Zeppelin-III-403.jpg)
1 Immigrant Song 2:25
2 Friends 3:53
3 Celebration Day 3:29
4 Since I've Been Loving You 7:23
5 Out on the Tiles 4:06
6 Gallows Pole 4:55
7 Tangerine 3:10
8 That's the Way 5:37
9 Bron-Y-Aur Stomp 4:19
10 Hats off to (Roy) Harper 3:39
In 1970 Page and Plant retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote cottage in Wales without any running water or electricity, to commence work on their third album, aptly titled Led Zeppelin III. Contrasting from the first two albums in a very significant and noticeable way (the opening track notwithstanding), III was more acoustic with a style that was quite clearly influenced by Folk and Celtic music, showcasing the band's immense versatility. The month-long retreat would prove to be the most productive and inspirational period for the band - bringing Plant and Page closer together as a writing duo - "It was the first time I really came to know Robert" Page would declare. The songs took the band in directions they had never gone before, and the trip established their penchant for using travel as a form of writing inspiration. Bron-Yr-Aur also produced more than just inspiration... it also produced a pregnant Charlotte Martin, bearing their first and only child together (though Page had subsequent children), Scarlet.
It can never be said that a Zeppelin album sounds "samey", and this is one of the more diverse albums from their catalog. Released on October 5, 1970, it debuted at #1 in both the UK and US charts, though its stay would be the shortest of their first five albums (just 15 weeks in the US). Once again, the label went against the bands wishes, releasing Immigrant Song as a single that would only chart as high as 16 in the US. The album was recorded through the Rolling Stones' portable studio, which allowed them to record in a relaxed atmosphere, as they didn't have a fixed block of studio time by which they had to adhere to. They ended up recording most tracks quickly in the mobile studio after much rehearsal, and Page used leftover moments to add layers upon layers of acoustic guitar riffs. Even before the release, Plant warned that a different direction was coming, proclaiming in on interview "Led Zeppelin go soft".
Critics compared the release (and not in a kind way) to Crosby, Stills, and Nash - which seems ludicrous. Sure, there were 5 acoustic songs (the same number on I and II combined), but they are all incredible songs - all showcasing a different element of acoustic bliss. And when the band got heavy on this album, they got HEAVY. Immigrant Song and Out on the Tiles are arguably two of their heaviest tracks from the entire catalog - furious riffs, soaring and powerful vocals, and a pounding rhythm section led by Bonhams lead foot... I mean, to compare this to CSN is a joke - and it infuriated the band, especially Page.
Equally confounding, for as many critics that called it soft or 'acoustic-Zeppelin', there were those that called it too loud and aggressive. Page and Bonham were rather sensitive to the derision, but kept it behind closed doors for the most part. However, Page stopped giving interviews for over a year and a half. The negative reception from the critics would play a large part in the release of their next album.
It was at this time that Page's fascination with occultism started to take hold. In this day and age of the interwebz, it would have been analyzed to death, but 45 years ago, information did not flow as freely. So, the inscriptions on the outro of the vinyl - "Do what thou wilt" and "So mote be it" - remnants of quotes from occult priest, and "the wickedest man alive", Aleister Crowley, went largely unnoticed. When Page bought Crowley's former residence, and an entire bookstore dedicated to the Occult, not much notice was taken. The band still had more of a reputation for thrashing hotel rooms, and misadventures with groupies, drugs and alcohol - not that their leader was an occultist.
Track-by-track thoughts to come later.
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The opening song is my second favorite Zep song of all time and I can't tell you how many times I've been caught in my car singing, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh AH!" :lol
This album is one to play multiple times to soak in. Not accessible as the other albums.
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There are some amazing songs on this record; housing three of my top five favorite Zeppelin tunes. The band surely expanded their horizons from the straight out hard rock they'd offered up on the first two efforts. Probably my favorite LZ song of them all is "Since I Been Loving You". I love absolutely everything about this song; and I had my own personal experience with this song (sort of) that was quickly added to, and simultaneously scratched off my "bucket list" in one fell swoop.
Here's the story. When the RR HoF inducted LZ, of course a ton of their memorabilia was sent to the museum for display. I was in Cleveland and went to the Hall early one day. On the third floor in it's own room, hidden from general view was an exhibit of all of the actual instruments that were used to record this particular record. There was JPJ's Hammond C3, Pages '58 Les Paul, and then there it was...that Ludwig Speed King model #201 pedal. The "Squeak King"! The same pedal JHB used his entire career. Now this pedal can be heard sqeaking away on several LZ songs, but the one that stands out the most for me is of course "Since I Been Loving You" . The same pedal squeak that has caused Page to cringe every time he hears it for the last 40-odd years, is the same pedal that adds soooo much character to this song in my opinion. At any rate, I was alone in the room, and could NOT resist! Carefully I edged up to the barrier and shoving my arm through the cables surrounding the display, I used my hand to push the pedal, and IT SQEAKED when I manipulated it! I thought I was gonna smile my shorts! I then got carried away thinking I hadn't actually played with it enough until I actually could make it hit the drum, so now I'm on all fours reaching through the cables so I could get a good angle. During this time a few more people ambled into the room, but I didn't care. I pushed the pedal, it sqeaked, and I hit the bass several times in rapid succession, with increasing intensity. I quickly stood up, and a guy in the room looked at me and we both smiled that smile you share with a stranger when you both think something is really cool; but this large black female security guard came flying around the corner, and she was rightfully pissed. "Who was playing around with the drum set?" she demanded. Everyone played dumb, but she admonished each of us anyway with "If you're caught touching the displays, you will be asked to leave, and may be permanently barred from here!" I sheepishly feigned shock like the actual witnesses in the room, and glad they didn't sell me out, I left the room and went on my way; but I was on cloud nine the rest of the day. And every time I think about it, it makes me smile. I'm such a criminal!! :biggrin:
My order of these songs would be:
1) Since I Been Loving You. Very multi-layered, deep blues track. And one of the Top 5 guitar solos of all-time.
2) Immigrant Song. Comes on like a super-nova driven by that Banshee-like wail! Damn, what a great tune. You can "feel" the vikings coming on that one.
3) Gallows Pole. Very menacing flair, but done with a traditional vibe. This rounds out 3 of my top 5 all-time.
4) Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
5) Friends
6) That's the Way
7) Hats Off to Roy Harper
8) Celebration Day
9) Out On the Tiles
10) Tangerine
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Jingle I love that you preface each album post with a Zep lyric. It's a reminder to me of just how underrated Plant was as a lyricist. For good or bad, the media preferred to focus on his vocals, looks and strutting stage presence, instead of his prowess as a writer. Plant's hippie-dippy sensibilities were a perfect counterbalance to Page's dark mystery. These lyrics are ingrained in my heart, body and soul.
As a pimply-face tweener back in the early 70s, I was all agog over the heavy aggressive riffage of Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker and Immigrant Song. So when I bought II and III expecting more of the same throughout each album, I was somewhat baffled and disappointed when I heard tunes like Thank You, Tangerine and That's the Way. Obviously I was just a stupid kid.
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Since I've Been Loving You
Tangerine
Tiles
Gallows Pole
Immigrant Song
(and then everything else)
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Mr Crowley :2metal: ;D
Another album I need to check out post Top 50.
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Awesome story Tempus! :metal I don't think I've ever really noticed the "Squeak" but I'll be listening for it now. In the 70's, the thing that drew me to bands like Zep, Sabbath and Deep Purple, was the power. So when I first heard LZ3 I was a lil...put off by it. I wouldn't actually embrace this album till I was well into my 20's and was able to really appreciate it. Sure, songs like Immigrant and SIBLY were awesome, but that was it for me initially. I did always love Hey, Hey, what can I do. Hands down the best single (non-album) song the band ever did IMHO. It made for an awesome 45, Immigrant Song/HHWCID.
Immigrant Song
Since I Been Loving You
Gallows Pole
Celebration Day
Out On the Tiles
That's the Way
Tangerine
Friends
Hats Off to Roy Harper
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
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I don't like III quite as much as II, but That's the Way is probably my favorite LZ song, and immigrant song is up there too.
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The one thing for bands like Led Zeppelin and other in the 70's was that they were not restrained into one style of music. Sure there were bad reviews but the bands themselves did not let those influences stop them to play multiple styles of music. Sure it still happens today but not like a band like led Zep. Look at III for example. Hell, look at their whole catalog and each album is so different from the one before.
Bands today are less experimental when it comes to changing their sound.
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Bands today are less experimental when it comes to changing their sound.
No shit. Zeppelin would change their sound during an album, not even album-to-album. As I said, "samey" could never be used to describe them.
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Look at even Sabbath. Diversity in albums are a thing of the past. Wait to we get to my 3 favorite album run for Zep, HOYT ----PG. Heaven man, heaven.
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Oddly, I didn't own LZIII on CD until a few years ago. I didn't buy it back when I went through my LZ discovery phase because several friends advised me that it was Immigrant Song and a bunch of average tunes. Boy, were they wrong! I am not gonna overrate this and say it's as good as many of their other albums, but it's a lot better than I thought it was gonna be. Aside from the beastly Immigrant Song, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, That's The Way and Since I've Been Loving You are all great as well. There are definitely some average songs on here, and it's too bad that they didn't include Hey Hey What Can I Do on this record; it would have made it better.
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Its funny... I've heard Hey Hey What Can I Do so many times in the past few years but I never realized it wasn't on an album until I went hunting for it specifically on my phone. I was disappoint.
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This record is tremendous, it has such an amazing vibe and the softer songs never get boring one bit. Immigrant song, Celebration day and Since I've been loving you (this is some good bluesy Zep) are my favorites, along with the extremely underrated and fun Hats off to Roy Harper. Probably top 3 Zeppelin album for me.
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It's a great album, no question, and I love the variety. But I prefer both of the first two to this one.
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Zeppelin III was actually my second album in my discovery. After IV, there was a vinyl of III lying around the house, so I spun that pretty regularly before getting into the other albums. Given the diversity of IV that I knew already, III's diversity didn't put me off at all. However, I can't stand Hats of to (Roy) Harper. If they had replaced that with Hey Hey, this would be my #1 Zeppelin album. Alas, it's relegated to second place solely because of the closing track.
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III took a while to grow on me, and honestly I have to be in the mood for it to pull it out. I mainly bought it for Immigrant Song and Since I've Been Loving You (the latter of which flirts with the top of my Zep song list on occasion depending on mood) and while I have no problem with the diversity of the album compared to the first two, I have to be in the proper mindset to listen to it.
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Not enough love for Friends.... When I bought the album, I started with the one that everyone has heard. But it was the second song that made me go :hefdaddy and really sold me that this album was something special. But the latter half does fall off the table a bit.
My ranking:
Since I've Been Loving You (well, of course)
Friends
Gallows Pole
Out on the Tiles
Immigrant Song
Celebration Day
That's the Way
Tangerine
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Hats Off to (Roy) Harper
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I just never got into this album. "The Immigrant Song" is great, but I knew the musical South Pacific before I knew this album, and the main hook (Plant's scream) always sounds like "Bali Hai" from South Pacific. Celebration Day is fine, but I prefer the live version from The Song Remains the Same. The rest, wow, a bit too much twangy stuff going on, I guess.
But I do have the original vinyl, with the cutout wheel and all. Maybe that counts for something.
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Probably my second or third favourite Zep record. Love it.
Since I've Been Loving You
Immigrant Song
Celebration Day
Friends
Out on the Tiles
That's the Way
Gallows Pole
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Tangerine
Hats Off to (Roy) Harper
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From the opening thunderous guitar riff, and what is arguably Plants most soaring vocal moment, Immigrant Song gives us another sub 3-minute track grabs you by the short and curlies, and never let's go. And of course, the source of the subsequent reference to the band and their sounds as the "Hammer of the Gods", and the title of one of their better biographies. With the heaviness of the music, and the mystical Norse mythological lyrics (inspired by their recent shows in Iceland, and Plant's love of Celtic history), this album opens just like the previous two albums, but then ...
Wait ... Where did the metal go? Completely acoustic led, with bongos for the beat, and string accompaniment, Friends is the first of the many 'not like anything else we've ever done' songs on Zeppelin III. On display here is the band's influence from the far east, and an attempt by Page at psychedelia. The Moog outro provides a link to ....
Originally, one of John Bonham's drum tracks was to be used in the intro of Celebration Day, but an engineer accidentally erased the recording (and apparently fled the studio in fear of his life). Unable or unwilling to re-record it, the synthesizer drone outro from the end of "Friends" was used to fill up the gap. The song is a very harsh and abrupt transition from the mellow-ness of Friends. It's like the band got a little schizophrenic, retreating back to a rock/metal sound, though this one still throws in a few new and creative sounds with a monotonic drone created by Jones on a Moog synthesizer, with Plant's lyrical inspiration coming from his impressions of New York City.
In my opinion, Since I've Been Loving You is the band's flagship blues song. It's not influenced by the blues, this IS the blues. Page makes the guitar absolutely cry and wail, and I dare say there is more emotion coming out of Page on the guitar than there is from Plant on the mic. To steal a line from my good pal RJ, the solo that Page lays down could stop a bar fight. I personally think it's the 2nd best solo in their entire catalog. Jones provides some wonderful mood music on the organ and the bass throughout, while Bonham shows us he's capable of absolutely anything.
Possibly the most obscure track on the album (I think I could count on one hand the number of times I've heard it on the radio), Out on the Tiles definitely the most metal. I really adore ping pong, back-and-forth, up-and-down rhythm of the main riff, which is dominated by Jones. In Japan this was mistakenly placed on the B-side of the Immigrant Song single, rather than Hey Hey What Can I Do. Those copies are now rare collector's items. This intro was frequently used as an introduction to live performances of Black Dog.
With Gallows Pole, Page brings out all the axes here... 12-string, 6-string, banjo, and electric. You can feel the protagonist's desparation during the buildup, then the outright fear and panic during climactic conclusion as the hangman shows no quarter (ooooh... nugget!). Page would create the foundation of the song pretty much spontaneously when he started experimenting with Jones' mandolin, an instrument he had never before played.
Page had been playing a version of Tangerine all the way back in his Yardbirds days, but never got it to the point of recording. Now, combined with the vocal melodies from Plant, it breathed new life into the track. Page added a pedal-steel guitar accompaniment having not included anything of the sort before. Structurally, some thought that it points the way to the future ... the acoustic guitar intro can easily be seen as an early template for 'Stairway to Heaven'".
That's the Way is one of my all time favorite Zeppelin songs. The simple nature, charming and heart-warming lyrics pontificating childhood innocence (though some lyrics reflect the band's treatment during their early American tours), and enveloping guitar tone all come beautifully together.
Plant's dog, Strider (reportedly named after Aragorn from LOTR), who refuses to do anything, is some of the message behind Bron-Y-Aur Stomp - the song's title having been misspelled on the album cover during initial printing. Bonham adds castanets and spoons to the recording, giving it a feel like no other song in the Zeppelin catalog. I remember a friend once referring to it as "Country-Zeppelin". Seems about right.
What do I love about Hats of to (Roy) Harper? Pretty much nothing. There are two songs in the Zeppelin catalog that I actively dislike, this being one of them. As I mentioned, had it been replaced with the B-side from Immigrant Song (Hey Hey, What Can I Do), this would be my number 1 Zeppelin album. But I sadly have nothing good to say about this song. Page's slide work, and Plant's echo-y vocals just aren't a good combination in my opinion. And this year's remaster made it even more difficult to listen to - with Page burrowing exclusively into my left ear, and Plant's hollow vocals echoing in my right.
Jingle.boy ranking:
That's The Way
Gallow's Pole
Immigrant Song
Since I've Been Loving You
Out On The Tiles
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Friends
Celebration Day
Tangerine
Hats of to (Roy) Harper (A VERY distant 10th)
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I love Gallows Pole especially the instrumental parts when Plant said "Hangman" in the middle of it.
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I'm at the Umphrey's McGee show right now and they just tore up a cover version of "The Song Remains The Same". Unreal!!
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I'd forgotten that I actually have almost a 3rd LZ album - the Unledded thing they did in the 90s, so I knew some of these songs. IS obviously is classic. I remember seeing an internet video with Viking cats in it that was funny, but its a great riff. So great they play it all the way through the song, but yeah, great song.
Friends was on the unplugged album and I like the vibe. I do like Eastern sounding music (the Blackmore influence) so that helps.
Cd was ok, nothing special.
SIBLY is a great bit of blues - great playing.
OOTT is ok too. Decent rock song. Getting a bit Planted-out now though...
GP I loved from the No Quarter album with the extra eastern-isms. Ok here but not as cool as the NQ version for me. A bit too much banjo...
Tangerine- worst song so far. Not a fan.
TTW - pretty average.
B-Y-AS - ok sat around a campfire with a few friends but not for me.
HOTR - I've had enough now. A mate of mine at school wasa big Led Zep fan and had a Roy Harper album. It was shit.
So, started off pretty good but faded off badly.
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:corn
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:corn
I did enjoy it.
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Let's get to IV already. That's when I really start getting into Zep.
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Touring update tomorrow morning. Untitled in a couple of days.
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Their initial month-long tour in support of Led Zeppelin III saw them in the UK, performing at the smaller clubs that they had originally played earlier in their career - rewarding fans who had been loyal to them from the very start. These shows (and resulting smaller gate receipts), were proof that Led Zeppelin wasn't preoccupied with making money but rather in a connection with their audiences when performing on-stage. On the flipside, they ultimately would have to mitigate this desire with larger shows, as thousands of fans who wished to see the band were shut out because of the scarce availability of concert tickets. It would actually be on this tour - in Belfast - that they would debut what would become Stairway to Heaven, which would be played on nearly every subsequent concert for the rest of their career. This show gave the world the debut of Page's famous double-neck guitar... custom built for him by Gibson. It was also at this point in their career that they were a big enough act, the truly could do whatever they wanted, and began to experiment with their look on stage attire dressing in some very exotic styles.
Their second tour that year (in mainland Europe) is probably most noted for an extremely violent crowd disturbance during their planned show in Milan. This festival appearance in front of an audience of 15,000 people was abandoned when hundreds of tear-gas wielding riot police charged into the crowd. The group were forced to leave the stage escaping down an access route as the riot gear pumped canisters at the band as they ran. Plant recalls "We managed to get in a dressing room and I barricaded the door with the medicine cabinet and got everybody to put wet towels around their heads. Then they broke the windows and popped a couple of canisters in from the street." Unsurprisingly, this was one of the low points of Led Zeppelin's career, and the band never again returned to Italy.
Their US tour was intended to be in support of their next release (IV), but various delays prevented the album from dropping before the tour. They did play more than a few of the songs from the upcoming album, which invariably had something to do with it's success. It had been almost a year since they'd toured in the US (how rude!), so fans were rabid for their shows.
Because of the negative reception from the press around Zeppelin III, Bonham often tossed unfavorable music reviewers out of the backstage area - aggressively and unceremoniously. Along with continued stories (whether true, embellished or outright fabricated) of bestiality, gang bangs and (once with intentions once of stuffing a pair of ugly groupies with cream filled doughnuts; girls immersed in tubs of warm baked beans), Page's skill with whips, their reputation as one of the most hedonistic and indulgent of all rock bands would continue to follow them. That reputation was enhanced by Bonham's boozing, and resulting violence - usually directed towards the hotel - they were banned (sometimes with a 'lifetime' ban) from more than one establishment - including the Tokyo Hilton, resulting from some "play" from Bonham and Cole with some samurai swords. On that tour of Japan, supposedly he and Plant got into it, over 70 pounds that Plant owed Bonzo for gas money. That tour featured the only known live performance of Friends by Led Zeppelin in September in Osaka. If listened to closely, Page can be heard asking Plant if he wanted to perform the song when John Bonham had returned from unknown activities backstage.
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*snip*
So, started off pretty good but faded off badly.
Paul... I'm not at all surprised on your summation, given your tastes. Good on ya for sticking through the entire album. :tup We'll get to the UnLedded album in due time.
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Bestiality?
Come on. That sheep was asking for it.
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It was a Great Dane actually. And octupi.
*shivers*
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I have that Osaka boot, and that's a pretty fun show, with a gigantic medley in Whole Lotta Love, topping out at 31 minutes. One of my favorite Zep shows.
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It was a Great Dane actually. And octupi.
*shivers*
Yeah, I read about those.
And the red snapper/mud shark story.
Holy crap.
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Wait, why did the riot police came during that Milan show? Sound being too loud for the police's standards?
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Not exactly. There were a host of contributing factors. First, it was a festival, and a lot of relatively unknown local acts were playing support, but the fans were really there to see Zeppelin. Second, some fans (gangs and 'hooligans') tried to get in without paying. Third, a festival with headliner like Zeppelin provided a great forum for political agitators. Lastly, in preparation for all of that, the promoter had a lot of militia (2000) already in force to provide security. All those ingredients provided a great recipe for chaos, and unsurprisingly, chaos ensued.
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Italy in the 70s was something of a hotbed of socialism/communism and political unrest. There were lots of problems in the country at that time.
And it's octopodes - the word comes from the Greek, not Latin. And this gives a whole new meaning to "Jumping the Shark..."
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luykurLdvL1qg8i80o1_1280.jpg)
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hey, it is shark week, after all.
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Damn right.
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And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our soul.
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
<love them or hate them, there are no better lyrics on this album>
(https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kDnYyMt4rgk/TmuCCipUwkI/AAAAAAAABbc/I9reWab6qhQ/s1600/ledzeppiv.jpg)
For what I consider the apex of the band's discography, and the conclusion of Act 1 of their career, Led Zeppelin's fourth and untitled album was essentially finished in February of '71, but not released on November 8, 1971. Problems in mixing the album (the first mix in the US was supposedly disastrous, and they re-started essentially from scratch in the UK months later), combined with their tour commitments resulted in the 9 month delay. I can't believe there is a rock music fan in the history of the world that doesn't know this album, and some of the history behind it, but I'll give it anyway. After the lukewarm reception of Zeppelin III, Page wanted the music to stand on its own. As such, he led the decision to release the album without any written information on the album sleeve (contrary to strong advice given to him by several, suggesting that after their absence from recording - a whole year! - the move would be akin to "professional suicide"). Not only does the album have no title, but there is no printing anywhere on the front or back cover, or even a catalogue number on the spine.
However, Page proved them all wrong. The album was a massive instant seller. It entered the UK chart at No. 10, rising to No.1 the following week and stayed on the chart for 77 weeks. In the US it stayed on the charts longer than any other Led Zeppelin album and became the biggest selling album in the US not to top the charts (peaking only at #2). Led Zeppelin IV, as it's most commonly known, (though some refer to it as "Four Symbols, "Zoso", or "Runes") received overwhelming praise from critics. In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Lenny Kaye called it the band's "most consistently good" album yet and praised the diversity of the songs. Other acclaims of "genre masterpiece"; "the definitive Led Zeppelin and hence heavy metal album."; "monolithic cornerstone"
The writing process for IV was remarkably similar to III - with Page and Plant heading back to Bron-Yr-Aur (which it turns out I've always mis-pronounced... it's 'brawny rawr') to pen their ideas over an acoustic guitar, and Strider at their side. Recording took place at Headley Grange, a big Victorian mansion in Hampshire that the band had hired for rehearsal, along with the Rolling Stones mobile studio. The combination of the two gave the band a relaxed, atmospheric environment. It also resulted in many of the tracks being made up on the spot and committed to tape almost there and then.
Proving they were truly an "album" act, the single released for Black Dog would ultimately be the second worst selling single the band ever had. Fans didn't want singles, they wanted the whole damn album; the whole damn experience.
According to wikipedia, there are over 130 known and officially recorded covers of songs from this album (+ the 25 times When The Levee Breaks has been sampled - mostly for the drum beat by rap artists). Claiming worldwide sales of 37 million since it's release, it is the 9th best selling album of all time - 5th best in Rock, behind only Dark Side of the Moon, The Eagles Greatest Hits, Rumours and Back in Black. Certified sales of 29 million place it 4th all time (behind Thriller, Eagles Greatest, and Shania Twain's Come On Over (excellent album imo))
The Four Symbols:
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Zoso-square-layout.svg/200px-Zoso-square-layout.svg.png)
Page stated that he designed his own symbol, and has never publicly disclosed any reasoning behind it (though he would publicly deny that they were Iclandic runes). However, it has been argued that his symbol appeared as early as 1557 in the alphabet of the Magi, closely representing Saturn. The symbol is sometimes referred to as "ZoSo", though Page has explained that it was not in fact intended to be a word at all.
John Paul Jones' symbol, which he chose from Rudolf Koch's Book of Signs, It is intended to symbolise a person who possesses both confidence and competence. Jones jokingly told Page that they represented an exorcism.
John Bonham's symbol was picked by the drummer from the same book. It represents the triad of mother, father and child - but, inverted, it also happens to be the logo for Ballantine beer.
Singer Robert Plant's symbol was his own design, being based on the sign of the supposed Mu civilization. Plant also insinuated meanings of truth and justice.
There is also a fifth, smaller symbol chosen by guest vocalist Sandy Denny representing her contribution to the track "The Battle of Evermore"; it appears in the credits list on the inner sleeve of the LP
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Threefold-Symbol.png/120px-Threefold-Symbol.png)
During Led Zeppelin's tour of the United Kingdom in winter 1971, the band visually projected the four symbols on their stage equipment. Page's symbol was put onto one of his Marshall amplifiers, Bonham's adorned the outer skin of his bass drum, Jones had his symbol stencilled onto material which was draped across his keyboard, and Plant's feather symbol was painted onto a side speaker PA cabinet. Only Page's and Bonham's symbols were retained for subsequent Led Zeppelin concert tours.
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What's to say about this album that's not already been said? It's as damn near perfect as a rock album will ever be.
Yes, most people will be sick to death of it. Yes, we've heard these songs sooooo many times we've become numb to them. Yes, we can all agree that Physical Graffitti is the band's best album, actually...
But there's a reason why things become cliched. It's becasue they work. There's a reson why this album has been played to death over the years. It's because it's F*CKING BRILLIANT.
Seriously, every song nails it. What's the weakest song on this album? Answer - there isn't one. This is the album that every other rock album ever aspires to be.
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I've always considered the symbols themselves to be the "title" of this album. They appear on the record label in the position normally occupied by the album title, with Led Zeppelin of course in the position occupied by the band name. There is no writing on the jacket at all, but on the cover of first-run pressings (and probably most subsequent ones), there is a decal. This decal also proudly announces the "title" of the album along with the band name. For simplicity, I never refer to this album by title. Yeah, I could call it IV (pronounced "Four" of course), but I just call it "the fourth album".
The album itself is brilliant. I generally put it on and let it play, start to finish. (Then I do the same with Houses of the Holy.)
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This is the apex, the perihelion, of classic heavy music. IMHO, the greatest album of rock music ever recorded.
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Absolutely fantastic album, it represents all the diverse greatness of Zep. Also, great write-up Jingle!
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Led Zeppelin IV is an album I've always been ambivalent about for the simple, obvious reason, which I feel deserves some discussion.
If you were growing up in the early 1980s, when classic rock was becoming a format, Led Zeppelin was, of course, one of the foundation acts in that format. But if there was an album that could be said to be the bedrock of classic rock, it was this one. Five songs off of it-Rock And Roll, Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, and When The Levee Breaks-were in near constant airplay. The two acoustic numbers cropped up occasionally, with only poor Four Sticks being the neglected child of the album. Back in the early 80s, you didn't need to own Led Zeppelin IV. The songs were everywhere and that damn Zoso symbol was on patches on the backs of denim jackets and drawn on the backs of notebooks and on book covers and seemingly everywhere. Overplayed doesn't do this album justice. It was overly familiar. Whether you wanted to hear it or not, you heard Led Zeppelin IV. Some dude would be blasting it from his van out in the parking lot of the high school at lunch time. Stairway to Heaven almost always won the yearly Best 500 songs thing a local radio station did. It was omnipresent. You could know nearly every note and not own it.
Which, of course, obscures the obvious: how damn good it is. Led Zeppelin's fourth album is where the band figured out how to properly be the band that went from crushingly heavy on one track to light and gentle on the next. (They came close on LZ III, but didn't quite hit it.) It's the album in their discography where their intent was matched by the results. Every song has a purpose and every song hits its mark. You know why 5/8ths of this album was getting nonstop airplay back in the day, when few other Zep albums managed more than a couple of songs?
Because they're really fucking good songs, that's why.
So yes, there are occasions where I will look at Led Zeppelin IV and be overwhelmed by how familiar it is. And there will be occasions when I overlook that and listen to it and realize what it is: the quintessential Led Zeppelin album. The one that is the most Led Zeppelin of them all.
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Well ten pages in and he´s aboard! (FINALLY!) :biggrin:
The Great Zep. Almlost forgotten how awesome this band was and what a soundtrack to my early life.
More or less stole the lp´s from my older brother (who was a real hippie). I went from LZ I straight to III (didn´t get to hear II until WAY later). Loved them both, especially the heavier shorter songs, but I LOVED Since I´ve been loving you. That song is still very special to me.
IV, off course is the all time classic LZ album, carved in stone. What´s not to love? Black Dog, Rock ´n´ Roll, Stairway to Heaven. Just gotten the three reissues and lovin´em to bits. Love those write-ups! Keep em coming, very informative! :tup
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Well ten pages in and he´s aboard! (FINALLY!) :biggrin:
You've got a lot of catching up to do!
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Yeah, this album is just great. It contains one of the best songs ever written, Stairway to heaven, which is a rare example of a band's most famous work being my favorite song by the band. Other songs that are awesome beyond words are Misty mountain hop, Black dog, The Battle of evermore and Rock and roll. I'm kinda on the fence with Four sticks - sometimes I love it, sometimes I... just like it. ;D
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Yep. This, for me, is probably my favorite Led Zeppelin album. Nothing more that needs to be said that's already been said before. Rock and Roll, Black Dog, Misty Mountain Hop, Stairway to Heaven, of course. Any one of these tracks on anyone's albums would be the main standout for sure. The fact that those tracks are on one album, in addition to songs like Four Sticks and Going to California, makes it a phenomenal, iconic album, and rightfully so.
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Led Zeppelin IV is an album I've always been ambivalent about for the simple, obvious reason, which I feel deserves some discussion.
If you were growing up in the early 1980s, when classic rock was becoming a format, Led Zeppelin was, of course, one of the foundation acts in that format. But if there was an album that could be said to be the bedrock of classic rock, it was this one. Five songs off of it-Rock And Roll, Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, and When The Levee Breaks-were in near constant airplay. The two acoustic numbers cropped up occasionally, with only poor Four Sticks being the neglected child of the album. Back in the early 80s, you didn't need to own Led Zeppelin IV. The songs were everywhere and that damn Zoso symbol was on patches on the backs of denim jackets and drawn on the backs of notebooks and on book covers and seemingly everywhere. Overplayed doesn't do this album justice. It was overly familiar. Whether you wanted to hear it or not, you heard Led Zeppelin IV. Some dude would be blasting it from his van out in the parking lot of the high school at lunch time. Stairway to Heaven almost always won the yearly Best 500 songs thing a local radio station did. It was omnipresent. You could know nearly every note and not own it.
Which, of course, obscures the obvious: how damn good it is. Led Zeppelin's fourth album is where the band figured out how to properly be the band that went from crushingly heavy on one track to light and gentle on the next. (They came close on LZ III, but didn't quite hit it.) It's the album in their discography where their intent was matched by the results. Every song has a purpose and every song hits its mark. You know why 5/8ths of this album was getting nonstop airplay back in the day, when few other Zep albums managed more than a couple of songs?
Because they're really fucking good songs, that's why.
So yes, there are occasions where I will look at Led Zeppelin IV and be overwhelmed by how familiar it is. And there will be occasions when I overlook that and listen to it and realize what it is: the quintessential Led Zeppelin album. The one that is the most Led Zeppelin of them all.
Amen, Brother. This is where I officially get on the Led Zeppelin train.
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Amen, Brother. This is where I officially get on the Led Zeppelin train.
Dammit Tim, make a u-turn, and hit the last couple of stops.
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Well, you know like Jaq said, seemed like growing up in the early 80's all you ever heard was Zeppelin. So I'm familiar with all the early stuff., Have II and III on CD and have owned I before as well. But here is where they start to crystallize as a hard rock band, and that's what appeals to me.
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This started a 4 album tear for me. Zofo to Presence is all masterpieces. At least to me.
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This started a 4 album tear for me. Zofo to Presence is all masterpieces. At least to me.
And me as well.
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It's right in the middle of an 8 album tear for me. :D
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I liked the 1st 3 albums but I tend to shy away from the bluesier stuff. Not my cup of tea.
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From George Case, author of Led Zeppelin FAQ: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Led Zeppelin ‘IV’:
1. They had a good reason for not including their name or faces on the cover.
“The cover wasn’t meant to antagonize the record company,” Jimmy Page told reporter Brad Tolinksi in 2001. ‘It was designed as our response to the music critics who maintained that the success of our first three albums was driven by hype and not talent… So we stripped everything away, and let the music do the talking.”
2. The opening sounds of ‘Black Dog’ are a byproduct of studio technology.
As Case explains, “Page did a lot of overdubbing, so when you’ve got three separate tracks of guitars to be played together, they have to get synched. It’s the sound of the tape rolling. He could have cut it out, it’s just them getting lined up from the separate takes and all.” Instead, the guitarist left them in, thinking it sounded like “the massing of the guitar armies.”
3. Robert Plant’s the only one moving at normal speed on ‘When the Levee Breaks.’
Much has been made of the Headley Grange stairwell that helped capture that massive ‘Levee’ drum sound: “People wonder how that sounds so planetary, but there was a natural echo there, and then they put more on it. They also slowed it down in the mix so it sounded really booming, had this huge reverb to it, it’s almost physical when you listen to it.” In fact, “The only sound on ‘When the Levee Breaks’ that’s recorded in natural time is Plant’s voice, everything else is slowed down just a little bit to make it really heavy.”
4. If you had to pick the least popular song on the album, it would probably be ‘Four Sticks.’
Although he’s quick to label it “a very tough call,” Case mentions in the book that the rhythmically tricky ‘Four Sticks’ is probably the least essential of all the songs on ‘IV.’ “I don’t think it’s bad at all, but I think of all the songs on the record it’s the least listenable.” Perhaps the band agrees: “Seven of the eight songs from that album are on their 1990 box set, and ‘Four Sticks’ was the one that didn’t make it. Compared to the other tracks on there, it just doesn’t stand out as much.”
5. The album was recorded in several different places.
When discussing the recording of ‘IV,’ the reportedly haunted house known as Headley Grange comes up, but big parts of the record were recorded at places like Island Studios and Sunset Sound. “Headley Grange is the one that gets known, because it’s a spooky house and that’s really cool, that’s where ‘When the Levee Breaks’ was recorded, in that echoey stairwell, but they did use a lot of other studios too. Headley was not professional enough. They had Ronnie Lane’s mobile outside, but Page was saying they had to go into a real studio for what they were doing.”
6. The band realized they needed to start crediting their lyrical inspirations.
Zeppelin has taken much grief from blues fans for heavily relying on lyrics from other artists in their earlier work, and it seems the degree of this “borrowing” is still being realized. “One thing I didn’t even mention in the book, that I heard just recently, I was listening to Count Basie, and he has a song called ‘Going to Chicago’ — “Sorry that I can’t take you,” so obviously Plant was getting into that at the end of ‘Levee.’ So all the lyrics were taken from Memphis Minnie, except for that little bit of Basie at the end. By that point, by ‘IV,’ I think they knew it was too obvious, that they couldn’t take someone else’s song and all the credit for it, so they snuck her name on it at the end.”
7. Contrary to rumors, there are no backwards messages on ‘Stairway to Heaven.’
“It sounds cool, it’s a great legend, but all that is just something that’s been thrown at it from long after the record was done. It wasn’t until the ’80s, after Zeppelin broke up, that these ideas started getting aired in public. It had to do with the religious backlash that happened in those days, people were reading satanic messages into ‘Dungeons and Dragons,’ this was just one more target for them. The band did use backwards sounds, for the aural effect, but they weren’t trying to put any messages on there.”
8. They weren’t the first to name a song ‘Stairway to Heaven.’
They were beaten to that title, if not by others before him, by none other than pop crooner Neil Sedaka, who included his own song by that exact same name on his 1960 album ‘Neil Sedaka Sings Little Devil and His Other Hits,’ taking it all the way to No. 9 on the charts.
9. There could have been more than eight songs on ‘IV.’
Zeppelin had a habit of holding onto material until they deemed it ready, for years sometimes. Many of the songs from 1975′s ‘Physical Graffiti’ were actually recorded as far back as the ‘III’ sessions. ‘Boogie with Stu’ from ‘Graffiti’ originally came from the ‘IV’ sessions, as did ‘Black Country Woman.’
10. The symbols the band chose for themselves on the album art don’t mean as much as you might think.
“They were put together pretty hastily, people have read so much into them over the years. When you get down to it, it sounds like John Paul Jones and John Bonham just said, ‘Oh, we’ll pick these, you know, sure, whatever,’ they weren’t that interested. Robert Plant picked the feather in the circle from some mystical account of some lost civilization that probably never existed. It was one of those hippie things that they thought was out there. Page’s “Zoso,” goes way back to the renaissance, really, but basically it’s a representation of Capricorn from a document dating back the 1500s. In those days, the way people drew astrological symbols was a lot more elaborate than just scales or fish, but it does derive from a symbol for Saturn, or for Capricorn. It’s nothing satanic or anything like that.”
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As good as IV is, I rarely listen to most of it. And honestly, while they are all good songs, I find Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Misty Mountain Hop and Going to California to be a bit overrated in the sense that I can think of dozens Zeppelin songs I like better, but that's just my subjective personal opinion. ;)
Also, IV is similar to The Who's Who Next in that it is filled with classics, but both albums are where both bands starting sound better from a sound quality standpoint, but the flip side of that is both albums sound like the bands lost a bit of edge and aggression that was more prevalent on those "dirty" sounding early albums, if that makes sense.
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Led Zeppelin IV is an album I've always been ambivalent about for the simple, obvious reason, which I feel deserves some discussion.
If you were growing up in the early 1980s, when classic rock was becoming a format, Led Zeppelin was, of course, one of the foundation acts in that format. But if there was an album that could be said to be the bedrock of classic rock, it was this one. Five songs off of it-Rock And Roll, Black Dog, Stairway to Heaven, Misty Mountain Hop, and When The Levee Breaks-were in near constant airplay. The two acoustic numbers cropped up occasionally, with only poor Four Sticks being the neglected child of the album. Back in the early 80s, you didn't need to own Led Zeppelin IV. The songs were everywhere and that damn Zoso symbol was on patches on the backs of denim jackets and drawn on the backs of notebooks and on book covers and seemingly everywhere. Overplayed doesn't do this album justice. It was overly familiar. Whether you wanted to hear it or not, you heard Led Zeppelin IV. Some dude would be blasting it from his van out in the parking lot of the high school at lunch time. Stairway to Heaven almost always won the yearly Best 500 songs thing a local radio station did. It was omnipresent. You could know nearly every note and not own it.
Which, of course, obscures the obvious: how damn good it is. Led Zeppelin's fourth album is where the band figured out how to properly be the band that went from crushingly heavy on one track to light and gentle on the next. (They came close on LZ III, but didn't quite hit it.) It's the album in their discography where their intent was matched by the results. Every song has a purpose and every song hits its mark. You know why 5/8ths of this album was getting nonstop airplay back in the day, when few other Zep albums managed more than a couple of songs?
Because they're really fucking good songs, that's why.
So yes, there are occasions where I will look at Led Zeppelin IV and be overwhelmed by how familiar it is. And there will be occasions when I overlook that and listen to it and realize what it is: the quintessential Led Zeppelin album. The one that is the most Led Zeppelin of them all.
I totally get where you're coming from with regard to the album being overly familiar, but I think at some point I had heard this album so many times and became so familiar with it that it became like an old friend. Always reliable. Always there to flawlessly deliver on epic music. There is never a time where I can listen to any of these eight songs and NOT really get into them. I know every beat, every note, every word. Listening along to this album has become as much of a second nature thing to me as breathing. Yes, there are times where when I'm randomly playing Zep while working (as I often do) where I may skip past "Stairway", or ''Rock and Roll"; but like breathing, when I listen to any part of it, it refreshes me somehow. And it contains the other two of my top 5 Zep songs of all time.
My order of preference:
1. When the Levee Breaks. I cannot tell you what that drum beat does to me. I think I have probably restarted this song just to hear that opening beat more than 2,000 times. It has never failed to blow my mind. Love this song. Hard driving blues at it's finest.
2. Going to California- Folksy mysticism. Excellent, captivating and driven melody.
3. Stairway- It's not constantly chosen as the greatest rock song of all time for nothing.
4. Black Dog- Kick ass, in your face, and unapologetic. "Hey, Hey momma, said the way you move...." Holy shit! What a song! And who can resist singing the line as "Eskimo Pussy" every time you hear it now? Anybody? No, you cannot! :metal :biggrin:
5. Battle of Evermore- Who knew pure genius could come from just messing around with a mandolin?? Great song about good and evil, Scottish folklore, LOTR. Who needs anything else? Epic.
6. Misty Mountain Hop- Great song. Hippy dippy rock at its best. Great understated use of the keys to drive this along. And the solo that begins at about 2:40 is ended with that repeating Page riff that is perfect to lead into the transition.
7. Four Sticks- That driving rhythm by JHB, and that riff by Page keep the pedal to the floor on this song; then you're hit with that synth transition by JPJ which goes to show they were in rare form by not being predictable. Great tune.
8. Rock and Roll- I love this song, I really do. Reminds me of something that Chuck Berry would have done. Excellent blues rhythm,and everybody in top form. But if there is one song that has suffered due to overplay for me, it's this one. If not for that, this song would be in the top 4 for sure.
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We interrupt the regularly scheduled show to bring you this important news........ :biggrin:
This Day in Music
12th Aug 1968, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham played together for the first time when they rehearsed at a studio in Gerrard Street in London's West End. The first song they played was a version of 'The Train Kept A-Rollin.' They also played 'Smokestack Lightning' and a version of 'I'm Confused' (soon to become 'Dazed And Confused'). The first live dates they played were as The Yardbirds, and it was not until the following month when they started to use the name Led Zeppelin.
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Is there a better opening vocal delivery in the history of music than Black Dog? I think not - though I'm biased (see the OP). Musically, the song takes inspiration from Little Richard's "Keep a-Knockin", with the start and stop a cappella verses coming from Fleetwood Mac's 1969 song "Oh Well." The song's title is a reference to a nameless, black Labrador Retriever that wandered around the Headley Grange studios during recording. The retriever, despite his advanced age, was still sexually adventuresome just like the song's protagonist. Plant's vocals were recorded in two takes.
Jones wrote the main riff, with the song's complex, shifting time signature was intended to thwart cover bands from playing the song. Jones originally wanted the song recorded in 6/8 time but realized it was too complex to reproduce live. In live performances, John Bonham eliminated the 5/4 variation so that Plant could perform his a cappella vocal interludes and then have the instruments return together synchronized. Bonham can be heard tapping his sticks together before each riff. He did that to keep time and to signal the band. In mixing, they tried to eliminate most of them, but muting was much more difficult in those days than it is now.
Rock 'n' Roll came to be written as a spontaneous jam session, whilst the band were trying (and failing) to finish the track "Four Sticks". They started jamming out with Little Richard's "Good Golly Miss Molly", and Rock 'n' Roll emerged. This is one of the few Led Zeppelin songs where all four members share the composer credit. Touring member of the Rolling Stones, Ian Stewart plays piano - a rare occasion when the two bands would co-mingle.
The most medieval of all Zeppelin songs, Battle of Evermore was made up on the spot by Plant and Page. Page states that he "just picked up John Paul Jones's mandolin, never having played a mandolin before, and just wrote up the chords and the whole thing in one sitting". Plant felt he needed another voice to tell the story, and for the recording of the song, folk singer Sandy Denny was invited to duet with Plant. Denny was a former member of British folk group Fairport Convention, with whom Led Zeppelin had shared a bill in 1970 at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. Some would say Plant plays the role of the narrator and Denny represents the town crier; some say it's the Prince of Peace and the Queen of Life. For years, I never even knew there was a second vocalist, simply assuming that Plant was singing both lines - his range probably would've allowed for it. This is the only song Led Zeppelin ever recorded with a guest vocalist.
For anyone who didn't discover Zeppelin in the 70s, Stairway to Heaven is more than likely the first Zeppelin song you ever heard - it was for me. Love it or hate it, there's just too much to discuss to put it with the rest of the album. So.... I'm gonna dedicate an entire post to this song later. Though, I think Bob had a brilliant and brief dissertation of it, summing it as follows:
This song is sex set to music.
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=35513.msg1778212#msg1778212
Stay tuned for more.
The most common interpretation of the title for Misty Mountain Hop seems to be a reference to the Misty Mountains in The Hobbit, though the lyrics refer to the events of the a 1968 "Legalise Pot Rally" in Hyde Park, London, in which police made arrests for marijuana possession. It's a medium tempo rocker which begins with bassist John Paul Jones playing the electric piano. It is notable for the presence of layered guitar and keyboard parts, making it solidly melodic.
The title for Four Sticks came from the fact that drummer John Bonham played with two sets of two drumsticks. His decision to play the song with four sticks was a result of him being very frustrated with not being able to get the track down right during recording sessions at Island Studios. After he grabbed the second pair of sticks and beat the drums as hard as he could, he recorded the perfect take and that was the one they kept. However, the song was particularly difficult for the rest of the band to record (with riffs in a mixture of 5/8 and 6/8 time signatures), and required more takes than usual. The band is only known to have played this song live once, at Copenhagen on their 1971 European tour, as has been preserved on some bootleg recordings
Going to California is a tribute to Canadian singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell (in reference to Mitchell's 1967 song "I Had a King"), with whom Plant and Page were both infatuated. In live performances of the song, Plant would often say the name "Joni" (in case there was any question who the song was in reference to) after the stanza To find a queen without a king / They say she plays guitar and cries and sings. Plant stated that the song was about "Me reflecting on the first years of the group, when I was only about... 20, and was struggling to find myself in the midst of all the craziness of California and the band and the groupies". It initially starting out as "Guide to California", the song made references to earthquakes, and in a twist of irony, while mixing the album in LA, the band experienced a minor earthquake.
It took me years to appreciate and enjoy When the Levee Breaks. Because the drum beat was being repeatedly sampled/reproduced by rap acts in the mid-80s, it always reminded me of a rap song. Written and first recorded by husband and wife Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929, the song is in reaction to the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. As Tempus siad, the famous drum performance was recorded by placing Bonham and a new Ludwig drumkit at the bottom of a stairwell at Headley Grange. And the rest of the song was recorded at a different tempo, then slowed down, explaining the "sludgy" sound, particularly on the harmonica and guitar solos. Because this song was heavily produced in the studio, it was difficult to recreate live; the band only played it a few times This was the only song on the album that was not re-mixed.
Jingle.boy's ranking:
Battle of Evermore
Stairway to Heaven
Rock 'n' Roll
Four Sticks
Black Dog
Going To California
When the Levee Breaks
Misty Mountain Hop
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Wow, I forgot I even wrote that. I was gonna chime in here about "Stairway to Heaven" and say pretty much the same thing. Seems I did that already. :p
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Wow, I forgot I even wrote that. I was gonna chime in here about "Stairway to Heaven" and say pretty much the same thing. Seems I did that already. :p
One of the joys of getting old, we get to do and say cool things over...and..over...and over, each time being the first! :tup
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Like T-Vox said, the drum intro the Levee has NEVER failed to blow my mind. Absolutely stallar.
Obviously Stairway is one of those songs that I can never skip. If i am shuffling through radio stations , and it is on, I have to stop.
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I know the original ending of Stairway... has been lost to time, and as a result the CD remasters fade off too soon - does anyone know if they've managed to restore this for the new remaster, or does it still cut off?
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Very, very, very late to the party. As for my excuse I was on vacation in the middle of nowhere, Sweden. Almost three weeks without internet :omg:
I've put myself in the expert category but solely because I really own Coda (even had it on vinyl) and have seen (and own) The Song Remains the Same. I know the music by heart but am not so knowledgeable with the behind the scenes stuff.
Led Zeppelin is one of my alltime favorite band. I've known the band through the 80s but I really came to appreciate them in 1990. I was doing my time in the army when I got ill and had to stay a week at the army hospital. There was nothing to do and it was boooooring. They didn't even have nurses, because women weren't allowed in the army back then. The only thing I had brought with me was my walkman and some cassettes. For some unknown reason I had all the LZ albums from I to Physical Graffiti. Because I had to lay in bed and there was really nothing to do I listened to Led Zeppelin for five days straight. Beside the hits I came to know all the deep cuts, I noticed all the little details, I experienced the magic and LZ went from good band to alltime classic.
Led Zeppelin I: What a great debut. Good Times, Bad Times, Communication Breakdown, Babe I'm Gonna Leave You, Dazed And Confused are all stellar songs and performances. The rest is good, the only song I can't really connect with is How Many More Times. Was surprised to see it ranked so high by most of you.
Led Zeppelin II: Even better than I. Heartbreaker, Ramble On, What Is ..., Thank You are my top picks. Whole Lotta Love is part great and part wtf? But that solo is absolutely killer! Moby Dick has nice riffs but is otherwise boring. I don't like drum solos. I don't like them in songs, I don't like them on records, I don't like them in concerts. There, I said it. Btw the same goes for almost all solo spots outside the context of a song.
Much was already said about the recording process so I will only mention this little fact(?) that I read in a guitar magazine some years ago. Apparently they were recording on an 8-track recording device and on some songs (mainly Whole Lotta Love) they had to use the same track for vocals and the guitar solos and fills because all other tracks were already used. So Page had to make sure he wasn't playing lead when Plant was supposed to be singing and the other way round.
Led Zeppelin III: Immigrant Song, Gallows Pole, Since I've Been Loving You (the ultimate LZ blues tune) are killer, the rest is great with the exception of Hats of to (Roy) Harper which (for me) is crap
IV: Simply put, this is the essence of rock. If you look up the words "rock album" at google or wikipedia this album should start playing automatically. This is so diverse, it has the rock, the heavy, the ballad, the acoustic, the weirder stuff and everything is executed with perfection. I absolutely adore every song on this record, ranking them would result in Four Sticks at 1b and the rest at 1a.
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No arguments from me. Bona fide classic and I enjoyed listening to it last night. Liked all the tracks. I do own this album but haven't played it in 15 years before last night. I did remember most of the tracks but i wouldn't say I'm that familiar with much of it beyond the obvious tracks (which is most of it thinking about it!).
I noticed that Gary Hughes' Against the Wind on Bob Catley's Middle Earth album is ripped from Battle Of Evermore.
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I know, I shouldn't be spamming pictures in a discography thread, but this is relevant.
Playing "Stairway to Heaven" last weekend at the jam. Just for shits and giggles, I did the intro and first verse with an acoustic flute, and switched to piano at the appropriate time.
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/10479362_10202659317666035_7636027653705915933_o.jpg)
Orbert, Chris on guitar, Jim on vocals, Danny (hidden) on drums, Tracy (in the kitchen) making a sandwich, Ruben on bass.
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Obviously a Spam sandwich. ;D
Awesome shot, O!
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Just slightly echoing what everyone else has said. Even though it's not my favorite Led Zeppelin album, that would only be because of overplay. But the airwaves are saturated with it for a reason. Every song on this album is amazing (Four Sticks can sometimes get lost among the classics, but it's still really good).
It is not my favorite LZ album...but it is *the best* LZ album. If anyone at all were to wonder where to start with Led Zeppelin, it would have to start here. This is everything the band is about in 8 songs.
Someone said earlier that LZII is *the* Led Zeppelin album, but it's hard to say that definitively while LZIV is in existence.
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I just had a listen to my first full LZ album ;D I have no real attachment to the band and was never a huge fan of Plant, so wasn't necessarily expecting to be into it.
Although my #1 album of all time - Van Halen I - was from the 70's ( it really doesn't sound 70's though )- in general I find that the further I go back into the 70's the less I like. Having said that I found IV a nice listen . The tracks I was semi familiar with via radio ( Stairway, Rock And Roll and Black Dog) I really liked and those I wasn't familiar with , aside from Misty Mountain Hop , I found a decent listen but have no need to hear them again on a regular basis. The rock was fine, the more laid back and/or folksy stuff isn't really my thing for the most part ......I'd actually prefer to hear the Doobies do "folksy".
So I enjoyed it more than I expected and favoured the four tracks mentioned. My version had a 30+ minute version of Dazed and Confused tagged onto the end - I lasted all of 3 minutes .
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I don't even
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Then don't...
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I'm not.
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IV is good value. I would put Evermore at the top of my list as well, absolutely love that. I also actually kinda dig the version on Page and Plant Unledded.
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I played this album so much that I stopped listening to it for decades. Finally went back to it and love it but sometimes you've got to put a great album like this away to feel fresh again. It's fresh again to me now.
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I played this album so much that I stopped listening to it for decades. Finally went back to it and love it but sometimes you've got to put a great album like this away to feel fresh again. It's fresh again to me now.
I know how you feel. I busted it out a few weeks ago and it was very enjoyable.
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It's just not Led Zep but this was such an iconic album and as a 12 year old through my teems I played way too much of it.
Funny story now. My cousin and I as 12 and 13 year old thought we'd write our own songs and record them on cassette. Well of course my cousin wanted me to wail like Plant so imagine a 12 year old, not yet hitting puberty, singing like plant.
I cringe every time I hear it. :lol
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I played this album so much that I stopped listening to it for decades. Finally went back to it and love it but sometimes you've got to put a great album like this away to feel fresh again. It's fresh again to me now.
I know how you feel. I busted it out a few weeks ago and it was very enjoyable.
Word. It had been a couple years since I last spun it. So incredible. #3 all time album for me.
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Are we ranking yet? Seems almost a shame since part of me wants to say...
1. Black Dog/Rock and Roll/The Battle of Evermore/Stairway to Heaven/Misty Mountain Hop/Going to California/When the Levee Breaks
2. Four Sticks
But that's kindof a cop out. So, I'll force myself to do better.
1. Misty Mountain Hop
2. Black Dog
3. The Battle of Evermore
4. Rock and Roll
5. When the Levee Breaks
6. Stairway to Heaven
7. Going to California
8. Four Sticks
BTW...Ann Wilson singing any of these songs (to me) is easily on par with the originals. (In fact, while the backing band may not be as good, the voice might be even BETTER than Plant...and I *love* Plant. But Ann Wilson has the greatest voice of anyone, anywhere, any time, in any genre. That woman could sing the freakin phone book and my heart would melt)
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Proving they were truly an "album" act, the single released for Black Dog would ultimately be the second worst selling single the band ever had. Fans didn't want singles, they wanted the whole damn album; the whole damn experience.
This is one of the things I love about the Led Zeppelin experience. I tend to view a Zep album as one contiguous work or 'opus', rather than just a collection of songs. As corny as it might sound, I approach Zep's 8 studio albums the exact same way I do the 9 symphonies of Beethoven. I think that's why it's so difficult for me to rank the songs on each album. Everyone knows the 1st movement from Beethoven's Fifth, but you are cheating yourself as a listener and music lover if you ignore the other 3 movements. I can assure you that Beethoven wrote his symphonies to be heard in their entirety, rather than just having an orchestra pick out a single movement here and there.
Beethoven was famous for taking a musical idea and building on it from movement to movement, developing that motif to its glorious conclusion. If you were to listen to just one particular movement ad nauseum, you'd be missing out on an awesome journey.
I believe Page's intent for Zep albums follows suit. More than any other band, you can see the progression of ideas from album to album. Page takes an idea and builds on it layer upon layer, almost as if he's constructing a mansion from a single red brick in the dirt.
As for Zoso, is this the band's equivalent of Beethoven's Fifth? Probably. But to fully appreciate that accomplishment, I think anyone would be well-served by digging into the building blocks that are Led Zeppelin I, II and III.
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Has there been any discussion about the artwork yet? I´ve always found it one of the most intriguing album covers I´ve seen. Yet so simple. I always loved the one for ´Houses of the holy´ as well. Definetely trippy!
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I haven't made any comments about the artwork, but much was made at the time if it's release about the hermit on this cover, connecting it back to Page's fascination with occultism.
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Funny story now. My cousin and I as 12 and 13 year old thought we'd write our own songs and record them on cassette. Well of course my cousin wanted me to wail like Plant so imagine a 12 year old, not yet hitting puberty, singing like plant.
I cringe every time I hear it. :lol
I think I'd have put it to the torch by now, if I were you...
..I'd be heavier. :)
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It's funny reading all the commentary on LZ IV here. Back in the day we really had very little to go by in the way of information. There was no wikipedia, no internet. Only the occasional radio DJ or magazine dropping a tidbit of info from the band. I was raised calling this Led Zeppelin IV. Never ever heard of the album referred to as..."Runes" , or "Zoso" or "Four Symbols" Me and my friends did occasionally call it the "Hermit" album, but that was just us. The amount of info out there in the ether now regarding this album, and the band in general, is something we lacked as kids while growing up with it. I mention that lil factoid because I've probably learned more through the sharing of info on this thread, than I actually knew back then. Gotta love the internet! :lol
This album, changed my life more than any other piece of music. It was my first exposure to what would become "THE" band of my childhood/young adulthood. To my parents dismay, I lived and breathed Zeppelin as a teenager. They listened to Barbara Streisand and Richard Harris. So needless to say we had quite the gap in our musical preferences. I remember making a blockbuster trade with a kid down my street. I got 2 HUGE LZ posters, and he got the fifth of vodka I swiped from my dads stash under the kitchen sink. Those 2 posters stayed on my bedroom walls for at least 5 years! In my recent top 50, my #1 was LZ I. As I stated there, it could easily have been LZ IV or PG. I chose 1 because it was the beginning of it all. But like many here, I think IV has to be honestly regarded as the quintessential Led Zeppelin album. As well as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.
Stairway to Heaven is simply the greatest rock song ever written, IMHO. This album also illustrates more than any other that JP wanted LZ to be an album rock oriented band. The album is an all inclusive adventure. Each song adding to the dynamic, unlike some disjointed hodge podge of songs thrown together. The swagger of Black Dog to kick off the adventure, and working your way to the Levee, epic....simply epic. I can't rank the songs on this album, to do so would diminish the value and impact of whatever songs end up towards the bottom. No song on this album belongs at the bottom of any list.
One sidebar for me... The Subliminal message hype. Personaly, knowing JP's abilities in the studio, his fancy with the occult, and the fact that he has no qualms borrowing ideas from other bands, I don't doubt it was done, and done intentionally. I used to spend hours wearing out my albums ( IV and TSRTS) turning the turntable by hand backwards listening with keen intent. I could of course be wrong, but I could hear it pretty clearly. Guess it could be coincidence or subjective to our perception.....I don't buy it though. Bottom line...I could give a rats ass...just think it's an interesting part of the album's history. :lol
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Funny story now. My cousin and I as 12 and 13 year old thought we'd write our own songs and record them on cassette. Well of course my cousin wanted me to wail like Plant so imagine a 12 year old, not yet hitting puberty, singing like plant.
I cringe every time I hear it. :lol
I think I'd have put it to the torch by now, if I were you...
..I'd be heavier. :)
I'm like a musician, I sold my rights to my cousin in a bad contract! :lol Ring Dings I think. :lol
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It's funny reading all the commentary on LZ IV here. Back in the day we really had very little to go by in the way of information. There was no wikipedia, no internet. Only the occasional radio DJ or magazine dropping a tidbit of info from the band. I was raised calling this Led Zeppelin IV. Never ever heard of the album referred to as..."Runes" , or "Zoso" or "Four Symbols" Me and my friends did occasionally call it the "Hermit" album, but that was just us. The amount of info out there in the ether now regarding this album, and the band in general, is something we lacked as kids while growing up with it. I mention that lil factoid because I've probably learned more through the sharing of info on this thread, than I actually knew back then. Gotta love the internet! :lol
It makes perfect sense for people to call this album Led Zeppelin IV. I've seen it catalogued as such, and I'm sure there are CDs and even LPs out there with Led Zeppelin IV on the spine. Also, there was the eponymous debut, then Led Zeppelin II, then Led Zeppelin III; so in the absence of evidence to the contrary, obviously this one is Led Zeppelin IV.
Except that it doesn't actually say that anywhere. Not on the jacket, the sleeve, or the label. There's nothing on the jacket except the sticker, but there and on the sleeve and label in exactly the place where you'd normally find the title of the album, are the four symbols.
Hey, people can call it whatever they want. If you call it Led Zeppelin IV, everyone knows which album you mean. I just avoid calling it that as though it were the actual title, since officially, I'm pretty sure it's not. Yep, pretty anal of me, but there it is.
A friend of mine has a sheet music book that he bought long, long ago, when there were only five Led Zeppelin albums. It's called Led Zeppelin Complete. All songs from the first five albums are included, and it's organized chronologically, each section starting with a picture of the album cover. There's a picture of the first album with "Led Zeppelin" written under it. "Led Zeppelin II" and "Led Zeppelin III" are similar. Then there's the fourth album with "Led Zeppelin IV" written under it (ah-ha!), and the fifth album, commonly known as Houses of the Holy, with "Led Zeppelin V" written under it (what?!).
Seeing that made me double-check something. Yep. It's getting ahead of the discography a little bit, but the original jacket for the fifth album also does not have any writing on it. It was only identified as Houses of the Holy by the paper band around it, under the shrink wrap.
Led Zeppelin. Those wacky guys!
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Regarding posters... I had this as a door poster (it was 5x2 or so... a pretty narrow poster) on the back of my bedroom door for most of entire teenage (and University) years
(https://www.teesforall.com/images/Led_Zeppelin_Death_Lantern_Black_Shirt.jpg)
I also had quite a few Zeppelin tee shirts that are (sadly) long faded and gone.
As for the title, I read somewhere in doing some research through this (as we all know) it is officially untitled, but Page has subsequently said that Led Zeppelin IV is the correct way to refer to it.
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Yeah, I saw something Plant said too, calling it LZ IV. I think we should just call it Led Zeppelin Epicness :hat
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Page had been working on the guitar parts that would become Stairway to Heaven for years - the basic premise being that he would create a perfect blend of acoustic with electric; soft with heavy; light with shade; cold with hot; married together into one piece of pure sonic joy that builds to a huge crescendo. In usual Zeppelin fashion, their magnum opus draws influence from folk, blues, Celtic traditional music, and hard rock among other genres. The softer first half of the song makes Bonham's entrance at the 4:20 mark all the more powerful and impactful.
Stairway To Heaven first took shape in December 1970, as Zeppelin were limbering up for their fourth album. Jimmy Page was tinkering with the riff by the fire at Headley Grange, when Robert Plant spontaneously plucked the lyrics out of the air. I would have to surmise that this is Plant's most significant lyrical achievement with Led Zeppelin (though I personally feel there is a better set of lyrics still to come). Plant often struggled to pen his lyrics, but not this time. "I was holding a pencil and paper," Plant would tell in interviews, "all of a sudden my hand was writing out the words… I just sat there and looked at them, and almost lept out of my seat!" What could easily be considered the greatest guitar solo in the history of rock (it is for my tastes - despite the fact I've heard likely it over a thousand times), Page only did three takes (as he usually did with most solos), and it was the first that ended up on the record!
Like it or not, the most popular rock song of the past forty years (at least as measured by radio airplay). The song's very popularity has caused critics and fans to slag it off mercilessly. It's overrated and overplayed they'll say. Generally agreed by every/anyone to be the most requested and most played song ever on American radio - but really, how do you quantify that? One website estimated that as of 2000, it had been over 3 million times - 46 years if you ran it continuously. The sheet music itself has sold over a million copies - the most of any rock song ever.
However, the song was not an immediate hit. Crowd reaction at the Mar/'71 Belfast show where it was first played was mixed at best. It actually took the song a couple of years to be the gargantuan anthem that it would be known as. It was included at every subsequent Zeppelin show after it's release, and soon after it started gaining it's immense popularity (not until 1973 or so), guitar shops in the UK started to fine customers £5 if they played the "Stairway" opening. Ironically, Plant reportedly detested the song right from the outset. Speaking more liberally after the band broke up, he would even use the term "loathe" when speaking of Stairway to Heaven (right up until five minutes before going on stage at the '87 Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show, he was balking at performing it).
Discuss.
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I often see it that bands despise the songs that are the ones that public knows the best, often because they only become known because of the fact that they are often the only things that people know by them, and also the only thing associated by them ("You know, they are the band that played that song with that satanic message in reverse about the woman who buys strange things!"), but given LZ's popularity before IV came out, this seems to be something different. I dunno. Though I get that you start hating a song when everyone expects you to play it at every show ever, from your explanation that doesn't really sound like the case either.
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I used to have a LA Forum bootleg vinyl. I can't remember the exact date, but I'm pretty damn sure it was before IV was released. When they played Stairway there was complete un-acknowledgement from the crowd. At the end, they went crazy! I don't remember a lot about the bootleg, but I remember the show kicked off with the Immigrant Song, so I'm assuming it's like a second leg US tour for LZ III ? I just found it super cool to hear no reaction initially from the crowd, for what would arguably go on to become the greatest rock song of all time.
This was the cover for the bootleg... Looking for a tracklist and date now...
edit - heres the show, it also had pre-release "Black Dog", "Rock and Roll" and "Going to California" :) (I don't remember Rock and Roll being on it...)
August 21, 1971
Inglewood, CA US
The Forum
Setlist:
Immigrant Song,
Heartbreaker
Since I've Been Loving You
Black Dog
Dazed and Confused
Stairway to Heaven
Celebration Day
That's the Way
Going to California
What Is and What Should Never Be,
Whole Lotta Love (medley incl. Let That Boy Boogie, I'm Moving On, That's Alright Mama, Mess of Blues, Got a Lot of Living to Do, Honey Bee), Weekend, Rock and Roll
Communication Breakdown,
Organ solo / Thank You.
(https://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn85/sideways777777/lzboot_zps807f1b99.jpeg) (https://s302.photobucket.com/user/sideways777777/media/lzboot_zps807f1b99.jpeg.html)
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I have that vinyl bootleg, too. And yeah, it's weird hearing them play "Stairway to Heaven" here, because they just start playing the song and no one knows it, so it's just another song. The crowd doesn't react at all.
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Plant reportedly detested the song right from the outset. Speaking more liberally after the band broke up, he would even use the term "loathe" when speaking of Stairway to Heaven (right up until five minutes before going on stage at the '87 Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show, he was balking at performing it).
Discuss.
And yet, when watching Ann and Nancy Wilson perform the song, with a huge band and orchestra, at the Kennedy Center honors, Plant has tears well up into his eyes at the "...and as we wind on down the road" moment. Maybe it took him that long to acquire the feeling I always get when hearing the song, or maybe it took him being in the audience and not on the stage but the look on his face was priceless. I think if you could have asked him in that moment 'loathe' wouldn't be a word he would use.
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Just saw this on Page's website, found it quite appropriate for our latest discussion.....
HOME PAGE from Jimmy's website for August 21, 2014 ~
(Previously posted)
ON THIS DAY AUGUST 21, 1971
I PLAYED THE LOS ANGELES FORUM WITH LED ZEPPELIN
Led Zeppelin began their North American tour in Vancouver, Canada on 19th August 1971 but started in the US at the LA Forum on this day - this being the first of two nights. I remember a standing ovation from a good percentage of the audience after Stairway to Heaven – this was quite remarkable as we were touring this material from an album not to be released until three months later in November 1971.
(https://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn85/sideways777777/zep10_zpsc98dd736.jpg) (https://s302.photobucket.com/user/sideways777777/media/zep10_zpsc98dd736.jpg.html)
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:metal
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Apologies for my lack of attention to this. Update (touring) post will come tomorrow morning.
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Touring:
Perhaps the most outlandish of all rumors surrounding the band was that “Led Zeppelin sold their souls to the Devil in exchange for their instant success, their addictive charisma, their unbelievable wealth. With the success afforded them by Zeppelin IV, maybe it wasn't so outlandish.
On tour, the band continued to put on three and for hour sets, letting the music speak for itself, such was the ultimate goal of IV. Page considers Led Zeppelin the North American tour in '71 to be the point the band was at their artistic peak. However, despite selling out their concerts (20 gigs at venues holding no less than 12,000 and grossing over $1M), the tour had the lowest profile of all of the band's eleven North American concert tours, being vastly overshadowed by the Rolling Stones' tour of the same period - despite outselling the Stones 3:1. It was at around this period in time that Grant began to implement the unprecedented policy of asking (demanding) concert promoters for 90% of all gate receipts. The group's stature was such that he was able to pull off this major swing with little resistance from the agents and promoters - well, they resisted, but never with any success. Any deal with Led Zeppelin was better than no deal at all was Grant's message to them (along with his physical stature) ... 10% of a Zeppelin gate was better than 50% of nothing. As a consequence Led Zeppelin's fortune began to pile up at an even faster rate. It is this tour that forms a good chunk of the 2003 DVD and accompanying release How He West Was Won.
It has been suggested that the tour of the UK in the winter of '71 confirmed the status of Led Zeppelin's supremacy in the United Kingdom rock marketplace. Taking place immediately after the release of Led Zeppelin IV, all tickets sold out despite going on sale less than a week before the commencement of the tour. Second shows at Wembley and at Manchester needed to be added after fans lined up for up to eighteen hours in order to secure a ticket.
Their first tour of '72 was meant to start in Singapore, but because of their long hair, the band was refused entry to the country. They did tour New Zealand and Australia however, and took a brief respite afterwards, allowing Page and Plant to visit India together. The impact on them would be felt in every subsequent release in some manner, with Page fusing eastern and western styles and genres brilliantly. Their second (and final) stint through Japan, would treat fans to John Paul Jones on the mellotron for the first time.
Some observers have noted that it was during these tours that the vocals of singer Robert Plant began to show signs of damage, as he arguably started to lose the extremely high-pitched wail which was evident on previous concert tours and album releases. In particular, Plant strained to sing the song "Rock and Roll", leading him to change the melody of the song to a lower register on all future tours.
The band returned to the United Kingdom at the end of '72, and sadly it would be the last full UK tour Led Zeppelin would ever undertake. This was Led Zeppelin's longest ever tour of the UK, and the original 110,000 tickets for the 25 dates sold out within four hours of box offices opening simultaneously on November 10th. Tickets were priced at £1 for all the concerts, except for the shows at Manchester, which gouged fans for £1.25!
Some shows during this tour were at small theater-size venues, attended by a 'black-tie' crowds showing little of the raging enthusiasm Zeppelin was used to. One show in particular in Southampton was professionally recorded and intended for an official release, but the performance quality was not deemed adequate enough.
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Yeah, I´m reading ´Hammer of the gods´ right now and boy those touring stories..... :biggrin:
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Their first tour of '72 was meant to start in Singapore, but because of their long hair, the band was refused entry to the country.
Ah, the 70's. What a great time.
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Speaking of Robert Plant's vocals. I probably need to go back and listen to some older stuff...because I've always just credited the changing of the melody to him having a full understanding of what was a "studio note" and what could actually be done live. Any singer knows that there are things you can do when you're relaxed and rested in a studio, that you cannot do 6-7 nights a week whilst underneath the hot lights of a concert stage.
Black Dog in particular. I don't think I've *ever* heard that one done live in the original studio melody....but what he did with it live still worked! I think he was pretty smart to come up with something that still sounded good...and yet had the foresight to know that he could probably still sing it as he continued to get older.
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Walking side by side with death, The devil mocks their every step
The snow drives back the foot that's slow, The dogs of doom are howling more
They carry news that must get through, To build a dream for me and you
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Led_Zeppelin_-_Houses_of_the_Holy.jpg)
Being on their way to the peak of their popularity, the title Houses of the Holy pays homage to the massive venues they played full of their adoring fans. Intended for release in January of 1973, delays in producing the cover pushed it back, and Houses of the Holy was released by Atlantic Records on March 28, 1973. It would be the final album on the Atlantic label, having completed their 5 album deal, and the first album with an actual title (thank you Captain Obvious). It is their first album composed of entirely original material, and represents a musical turning point for the band, who had begun to record songs with more layering and production techniques. Though it took two months to reach #1 on the Billboard charts, and fell out of that #1 spot after just two weeks, it would ultimately go on to be a huge success, being certified eleven times platinum by the RIAA.
A good chunk of the album was recorded in the Spring 1972, again using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio this time at a Berkshire country estate owned by Mick Jagger - Stargroves. Some of the songs from the album had initially been developed in earlier writing sessions that didn't make the cut on III or IV. The balance of recording was done during the band's 1972 North American tour. Page and Jones brought some of the more recognizable songs (The Rain Song and No Quarter) to the writing sessions as fully developed demos they'd laid down at their own personal studios. There was absolutely no shortage of material to chose from for this album. The band would take months obsessing and debating which songs to include - so much so, that the title track didn't even make the cut. For this album, Jones was given a lot more leeway to experiment and contribute with some very unique tones and ambient sounds, as is quite evidenced by No Quarter.
A very obvious shift away from the blues and Celtic inspired themes of the first four albums, this album gives us a trio of songs that are about as "rock 'n' roll" as there is in the Zeppelin catalogue. After that, you've got reggae, funk, atmospheric, and a poppy doo-wap section to close the album. Put all that together, and you have what is (in my opinion) their most diverse album.
Coming off the heels of the phenomenal success of IV, the writing and recording sessions were incredibly relaxed. However, also due to the fact it was following IV, Houses is like the younger sibling of an incredibly famous/talented individual - like Eli Manning - pretty fucking amazing in its own right, but still pales in comparison to its 'older brother'.
The album was promoted heavily before the start of Led Zeppelin's subsequent North American Tour, ensuring that it had ascended the top of the American chart by the beginning of the tour - though many songs had been repeatedly played on their 72-73 would tours, as the recordings had been complete for quite some time.
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I love that album. My favorite from them.
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Another great one. The fourth album and this one are the two I can listen to all the way through, over and over, and never feel the urge to skip any song. Both are solid, cover to cover, and I think I might like this one a little bit more.
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Amazing that this album was recorded in 1972. A lot of people give Boston's debut some major props for its 1976 production, but Houses might even be more impressive.
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A gorgeous sounding album full of incredible songs. Masters working at the peak of their ability. Virtually flawless.
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Amazing that this album was recorded in 1972. A lot of people give Boston's debut some major props for its 1976 production, but Houses might even be more impressive.
So well said.
Like Bob said, not a song to skip on this album and the replay value to this day is still there.
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This is such a great record. Trying out new things while maintaining the Led Zeppelin trademark sound. John Paul Jones is a huge integral part of this record, not onyl because of his stellar bass playing but also because of his keyboard work, most notably in The Quarter and The Rain Song.
The Song Remains The Same has such great guitar work with so many layers flowing together.
The Rain song is one of the most deep, emotional and moving ballads ever. Everything here is perfect, the guitar, the piano and mellotron, the time when the drums come in and on top of that one of Plant's best vocal performances.
No Quarter creates a dark and brooding atmosphere. It took me some time to appreciate this song, but once it clicked, it clicked hard.
The Ocean has one of Page's trademark riffs and the cool doo-wop part.
Over The Hills And Far Away is a cool rocker with the folky acoustic intro and outro.
Dancing Days is the most "conventional" track on the record but still very good.
The Crunge is a funny funky jam. Have you seen the bridge?
D'yer Mak'er is a song not to be taken too seriously and then it is a fun listen.
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Amazing that this album was recorded in 1972. A lot of people give Boston's debut some major props for its 1976 production, but Houses might even be more impressive.
So well said.
Like Bob said, not a song to skip on this album and the replay value to this day is still there.
I always skip The Crunge. ;D
And while I like The Rain Song a lot. I really have to be in the mood for it. It doesn't stop me in my tracks the way Stairway or In The Light does.
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´Where´s that confounded Bridge?!´
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New reissues coming, this time Led Zeppelin IV and Houses Of The Holy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UandfyNZxb4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UandfyNZxb4)
https://www.ledzeppelin.com/buy (https://www.ledzeppelin.com/buy)
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Yup... already pre-ordered by this guy.
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My favorite Zeppelin album and one of my all time favorite albums, top 5 for sure. Every song is fantastic.
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We've done four already but now we're steady, and then they went 1, 2, 3, 4....
BUM BUM BUMBUMBUM
BUMBUMUM BUMBUMBUM BUM BUMBUM
....
and then
DAT DOOWOP!
Sorry... I love love love The Ocean.
And the whole album.
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Yeah, this album is all killer, no filler.
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The Song Remains the Same was originally an instrumental which was given the working title "The Overture", that would simply lead in to The Rain Song. Ultimately, Plant added lyrics to it, after which it temporarily came to be known as "The Campaign" before the band settled on the title "The Song Remains the Same". It quickly became the opening track for many of their concerts hereafter. Interestingly, Plant's vocal track was slightly sped up for the album release.
The Rain Song is considered by Plant to be his best overall vocal performance. George Harrison was reportedly the inspiration for this track when he made a comment to Bonham, about the fact that the group never wrote any ballads. The working title for this track was "Slush," a reference to its easy listening mock orchestral arrangement. It's another structurally soft/heavy song, that builds slowly then explodes in organized chaos at the 5 minute mark where all four band members reach a simultaneous climax, then let us down slowly like a post coitus cuddle.
Originally written during the time that Page and Plant were at Bron-Yr-Aur writing for Zeppelin III, Over the Hills and Far Away is almost like a mini-Stairway. Acoustic intro, followed by an an explosive intro by Bonzo, leading to soaring vocals by Plant. Really not much to say here, it's just a straightforward awesome rock song
The Crunge evolved out of a jam session in the studio. John Bonham started the beat, John Paul Jones came in on bass, Jimmy Page played a funk guitar riff (and a chord sequence that he'd been experimenting with since 1970), and Robert Plant started singing - just the way the song actually is. This song is a play on James Brown's style of funk, and its constantly changing time signatures make it one of the the most unique songs in the catalog
Dancing Days was introduced by the band in concert well ahead of its commercial release, being played in concerts for months leading up to the delayed release of the album. After the album dropped, it was the first track to be released to the radio industry by Atlantic. However, it was largely dropped from concerts after that. One of my least liked songs for the longest time, it's starting to grow on me of late. I'm really starting to appreciate the guitar melodies - both lead and backing lines.
D'yer Mak'er was the second song on the album after The Crunge which was a quite obvious 'don't take us too seriously' track. The only other Led Zeppelin song I dislike more than this is Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. More than likely because by some weird fucking reason, this is one of the songs that (at least here in Canada) is the Classic Rock staple on the radio. Drives me nuts! I've heard this song way more times than I would've liked. I suspect that in moderation I could have enjoyed this. The title (based on an old English joke) was chosen because it reflects the reggae feel of the song (though Plant would comment that "reggae only works when the Jamaicans do it, not the whiteys"). Jones has expressed his distaste for the song, suggesting that it started off as a joke and wasn't thought through carefully enough. Thankfully, This song was never performed live in its entirety.
No Quarter quickly became a centerpiece at all Led Zeppelin concerts thereafter, until their final tour, and inspired the title of Page/Plant's UnLedded reunion show in 1994. The version that made it onto the album evolved out of a faster version Led Zeppelin had recorded earlier during the IV sessions - in production, Page dropped the whole song a semi-tone, and compressed the shit out of his guitar track, in order to give it a thicker and more intense mood that is very unique in the Zeppelin discography.
When you listen to the lyrics, and having (hopefully) read the posts on their touring escapades, it's quite obvious that The Ocean refers to the sea of fans seen from the stage at Led Zeppelin concerts, to whom this song is/was dedicated. I always thought that Bonzo's introductory call was related to the first four albums, but it in fact is because of the four unsuccessful takes of the song they'd already tried. "The "Girl who won my heart" is Plant's daughter Carmen, who was three years old at the time of recording, and naturally in concert Plant would always update the lyric to reflect her actual age.
jingle.boy's rankings:
The Song Remains the Same
The Rain Song
No Quarter
Over the Hills and Far Away
The Ocean
The Crunge
Dancing Days
D'yer Mak'er
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The Rain Song is one of my favorite songs by anyone ever.
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Controversial opinion time?
The Crunge is my favorite song on the album and one of my favorite Zeppelin songs overall. It's just awesomely crazy, bizarre, complicated but brief. The Rain song and Dancing days are close behind. The Ocean and The Song remains the same are tremendous rockers - and now that I know Plant's vocals were sped up on the latter, is that why his voice sounds higher than on other songs?
D'yer Mak'er would probably be my least favorite track on here if I had to choose, but I still love it - it always reminds me of a girl I met in high school who won me over in a club when I saw her singing along to this tune, while nobody else knew the song. Unfortunately, being a shy clumsy kid back in the day, I never managed to win her over, but I still smile when I listen to the song and remember the awkward yet beautiful high school days.
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Took me a while to warm up to D'yer Mak'er, but I got there eventually. Though right now I'm thinking The Crunge is my least favourite from this album - but I still like it. For me, this is easily their most consistent album.
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The Song Remains The Same as an instrumental?
That makes perfect fucking sense to me. It's always sounded like it woulda made a cool instrumental.
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I love all the changes it goes through. It's my favorite song on the album.
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And it flows so well into The Rain Song
(Listening as we speak... errr... type)
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Love this record.
Over the Hills and Far Away, The Rain Song and No Quarter are three of my favorite LZ songs.
I like D'yer Mak'er a lot, probably cause it was one of the first LZ songs I really got into when hearing it on the radio.
The Crunge is pretty forgettable.
The Ocean freaking RAWKS. :metal :metal
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Over the Hills and Far Away is the first song I can remember being my favorite song of all time. The whole album is pretty amazing.
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I agree with all of the thoughts of Over the Hills and Far Away. Great stuff, especially the part of the song that starts with Plant going "Many have I loved - Many times been bitten," and the solo around 2:20.
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I just had a guy pull through my gate at work blasting The Rain Song in a 59 Caddy.
:metal
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I used to love HOTH, but for me it's not stood the test of time. It's the sound of a band who really don't know where to go next, have neglected their muse and are trying to capitalise on their success by reaching out to a more commercial crowd.
The Rain Song and No Quarter are excellent. Stunningly brilliant. The rest of the album is pretty good, but nothing quite reaches the heights of their previous album, or their next.
D'Yer Mak'er and The Crunge are both horrible, truly horrible.
For me, this album was a bit of a mis-step. So glad they turned it around with Physical Graffitti...
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Coming out of 1972s tours, which sold out immediately without any advertising (one series of shows on the British Isles would sell out all 120,000 tickets in one day!), Led Zeppelin - and Peter Grant in particular - still felt they were the biggest band in the world, but nobody knew that. The American press was actually afraid of Zeppelin, given their hedonistic reputation as homicidal maniacs.
The band hired PR consultant Danny Goldberg (who also represented Frank Sinatra) to further promote the tour, and booked a number of large stadium venues. On May 4th, they broke Three Dog Night's record in Atlanta with a 49,000 crowd at Braves Stadium; the following night at Tampa Stadium, they played to 56,800 fans (breaking the single band record set by The Beatles at Shea Stadium in 1965), and grossed $309,000. From Danny's efforts, when this tour broke box office records across America, it was splashed all over the media. Danny also produced some embellished quotes from people such as the Mayor of Atlanta. In total, this tour grossed over $4,000,000. Goldberg continued to do his job exquisitely, and got them the chance to be on the cover of Rolling Stone - the very outlet that had slagged them for so many years. Naturally, the band turned the offer down.
On-stage, Led Zeppelin's shows were developed further from those performed on previous tours, with the introduction of dry ice, laser effects, backdrop mirrors, hanging mirror balls and Catherine wheel pyrotechnics. Their dress attire also took on a more flamboyant nature - in particular by Page's hummingbird jacket and Jones' Spanish matador jacket.
It was also during this tour that Led Zeppelin hired for the first time The Starship - a former United Airlines Boeing passenger jet. Flying on their own plane, Led Zeppelin were now no longer required to change hotels so often. They could base themselves in large cities and travel to and from concerts within flying distance. After each show, the band members would be transported direct by limousine from the concert venue to the airport, as depicted in the concert film, The Song Remains the Same.
This tour changed the role for Jones on stage. During live performances of No Quarter, Jones would showcase his skills as a pianist, frequently improvising on keyboards and playing parts of classical music. Performances of the song easily lasted twice the length of the studio version. Jones would also stretch his wings, playing electric piano, organ, Mellotron... contributing to the sounds coming from the stage as equally as Page and Bonham.
Bonham's split personality was becoming more pronounced and noticeable. Mild-mannered, charming and lovable while sober, "The Beast" would emerge with just the start of alcohol, and the start often led to 20 Black Russians. On one occasion, he did exactly that, and pounded back 10 instantaneously to start his binge, normally finishing his binge with some sort of fist-fight.
The two legs of their 1973 US tour continued with crazy events such as a brawl in Boston against a Teamsters union goon squad, continued death threats on Page (who had also badly injured his hand before the 2nd leg of the tour), and picking up drag queens on Bourbon St. But the big story of this tour came from the series of shows at Madison Square Gardens, but we'll save that for the The Song Remains The Same discussion.
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My favorite Zeppelin record. That being said, and talk about controversial, I am not a big fan of No Quarter, at all
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Alrighty then... since the touring notes don't seem to be generating much discussion, I'll wind those down. If anyone wants to know anymore of that history, you should definitely pickup Hammer of the Gods. Great read.
Physical Graffiti update coming tomorrow or Sunday
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I'm not discussing them because I can't relate to them and have nothing to add, but reading them is mucho de awesome.
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Anyone else? I'll happily keep doing it if ya'll dig the info. I'm quite enjoying it myself, but don't want this to be a self-indulgent activity.
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Keep up with the touring notes. I'm familiar with a lot of it, but I'd read about it here than read a book about it. :p
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Another vote to keep the touring notes. I may not comment as much as others, but I'm enjoying reading!
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I like all of your write ups including the touring notes. It was such a big part of their mystique that I'd miss them if the weren't in the thread!
Thanks jingle.
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TOURING NOTES!
TOURING NOTES!
TOURING NOTES!
COME ON, WHO'S WITH ME?
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I've liked reading the touring notes, just haven't felt it was necessary to respond to them.
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The touring notes are interesting.
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I'm a fucking sponge. I want to absorb any info you have. I can take all you have to give me....
...wait....
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Yes, like the touring notes!
Really enjoying reading folks' thoughts as we move through the discography. I hadn't much listened to IV in years, because of how familiar it all is, but pulling that out again has been a real reminder of what an achievement it is. I wouldn't call it my favorite Zep album--that's probably HotH or Presence--but I agree it's their best.
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Keep em coming!
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Alright, alright! The masses have spoken. Physical Graffiti tomorrow... decided to sleep in today.
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The 1973 tours have generally been lauded as being a high point for Page's playing, in particular a series of dates in Germany where he was on fire. Plant was starting to learn the new limits of his voice, and Jones and Bonham remained their trusty selves. Alas, after 1973 things were never quite this good again, though I have a massive soft spot for the 1975 tour. I have all the available boots for the three shows that made up The Song Remains The Same, and when we get there remind me to re-link that Garden Tapes site, because that guy covers the hell out of how Page cut and pasted things together to make the movie AND the album.
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Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, whose sounds caress my ear
But not a word I heard could I relate, the story was quite clear
Physical Graffiti (1975)
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The biggest album of Zeppelin's career in terms of number of songs, running time, range of styles and complexity of album art, Physical Graffiti was released on February 24th 1975 - nearly almost a year and a half from when they first started. It was their first release on their own label, that they formed a year earlier after completing their 5 album deal with Atlantic Records. Original writing/recording sessions started in November '73, but John Paul Jones wasn't well and they had to cancel the time (ultimately giving the studio to Bad Company for their self titled debut on Swan Song). It took three months to sort the situation out. In reality though, Jones was actually disillusioned with the band and touring, and had given notice to Peter Grant that he was quitting to become a church Choirmaster. Fortunately, Grant's powers of persuasion convinced Jones to return to the band. Page had considered Swan Song for the title, but this would hardly be intended as the band's last hurrah - they were at the apex of their creativity. So Swan Song became the name of their label instead, though it would never reach the success that the band had hoped for.
The band wrote and recorded eight songs at Headley Grange which, stretched the album beyond the typical 40 minute length of an LP. With more than enough material to deliver one album, it prompted the band to make Physical Graffiti a double album - though Page states *he* had always intended for this record to be an epic double LP. The epic and anthemic new songs for Physical Grafitti would be interspersed with unreleased tracks from earlier recording sessions: one outtake from Led Zeppelin III; three from Led Zeppelin IV; and three from Houses of the Holy - tracks that normally wouldn't (and hadn't) cut it for a single album release. Of all the albums in their discography, this is the one whose whole is definitely greater than the sum of the individual parts.
Page's skills and creativity as a producer were also at their peak. In their earlier albums, his philosophy was that if they couldn't reproduce the sound live, it shouldn't be recorded in the studio. As such, the recordings had very few layers to them, and were completely relatively quickly. With Physical Graffiti, though the recordings were done live in the studio, he tinkered and tweaked with it for over a year, and on Ten Years Gone alone, has fourteen different guitar layers!
With the release of the album, all five of Zeppelin's previous albums also re-entered the Billboard Top 200 (I at 83; II at 104; III at 124; IV at 106; and Houses at 92). No other band/artist had ever had 6 albums on the chart simultaneously. Combined with three other Swan Song albums on the charts, Zeppelin had 9 albums in total on the charts. Especially remarkable about Physical Graffiti's opening week chart at #3, and then #1 the following week, was it's outrageous $11.98 price tag!
According to Plant, of all the albums Led Zeppelin released, Physical Graffiti represented the band at its most creative and most expressive. He has commented that it is his favourite Led Zeppelin album. Similarly, Page considers this album to be a "high watermark" for Led Zeppelin.
The two five-story buildings photographed for the album cover are located at 96 and 98 St. Mark's Place in New York City, and would become a popular tourist location for music fans - perhaps only surpassed by the Abbey Road crossing.
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I don't know if this is controversial or what (never really known any big Zepp fans), but this album on the whole has never done much for me. Don't get me wrong, it has some great tracks - Ten Years Gone is a top-tier Zeppelin track for me, Kashmir is an undisputed classic, In My Time of Dying is pretty good, as are a few other tracks. But I find that this album has only a few gems among the rough, and songs that otherwise could have been good are repetitious and bloated. As much as I like the aforementioned Kashmir, I think it drags quite a bit, and I'd say the exact same of In My Time of Dying. Even some of the shorter tracks overystay their welcome, such as Trampled Underfoot, which as much as I like what is going on is just too repetitous and feels too long - enough so that I struggle to listen to it in its entirety, and it's only five and a half minutes in length. Then I take into consideration that the other half of the songs on this double album do absolutely nothing for me (including the entire 4th side), and I just can't hold this album up to any of the albums that came before. Especially Houses of the Holy, which as I mentioned previously, I consider to be their most consistent effort.
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Hey, everyone's entitled to their opinions, though I never thought I'd hear that HOTH is their most 'consistent' effort. I would've agreed with you on PG when I first started listening to it, but the highs are absolutely out of this world (Kashmir, In My Time, 10 Years, Night Flight, In the Light). In re-listening to this now, I'm finding more appreciation with the tracks I used to consider mediocre (Sick Again, Bron Yr Aur, Black Country Woman, Down By the Seaside). PG just missed being in my Top 50 album list, and I'm pretty sure I'd put it there now.
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My second favorite album from Zep. So many songs that catch you right away. I can't tell you how many times my cousin and I hung out jamming to this album.
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PG is not my favourite Zep album... but it is still a great album. In The Light has to be one of my top 5 Zeppelin songs though.
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Physical Graffiti,. To me, this is the Holy Grail for Zeppelin.
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PG is my favorite Zep album and I would say "the rover" is my personal favorite song from the band.
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The Wanton Song is freaking badass! :metal
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I'll be honest. I liked Custard Pie, just for how Plant sang it, and for all of that kooky innuendo stuff. That funky organ-like (?) sound from JPJ was also awesome.
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This is the album that converted me from casual fan to serious fan. The amazing variety, the production, the songwriting, even the packaging, are all top-notch. Someone told me years later that this album is all out-takes from previous albums, and we now know that that isn't true, but I suppose that it does explain the range of both styles and, well, quality. There are some weak tracks, and some which don't thrill me the way they used to. Millions of teenagers in the 70's would get stoned and listen to "Kashmir" and just think it the most incredible song ever. Today I can barely stand it, and find that it overstays its welcome. But back then, the "feel" was so important.
Anyway, with so many highs, it's easy enough for me to forgive the lows, and overall I consider this a great album.
Also, if you haven't experienced the original LP package, you haven't fully experienced the album. It's awesome. (Yes, that's a brag.)
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This is one of those double albums that you can't help but think they would have been better trimmed down. As much as it is cliche to say it, this could be my 2nd favorite Zeppelin release if it were a single album. Some of the songs are very likely top 10 Zeppelin material, such as Kashmir, In my time of dying, Trampled underfoot and Sick again. But then there are songs like Night flight, Boogie with Stu and Black country woman that are so very, very uninteresting. They're some of the few Zeppelin songs I would call... well, bad. And then, there's some decent to solid material as well, including one fan favorite that I never grew to truly adore - Ten years gone. It's a good album overall, but still such an unbelievable mixed bag.
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The Wanton Song is freaking badass! :metal
One of their very best :tup
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Missed commenting on the last album - I really didn't rate Houses of The Holy at all. The opening track was ok until the vocals started. A very poor follow up to 4 on the whole.
Physical Graffitti though... really enjoying this one. Might even be more enjoyable than 4. Colour me impressed. I may even buy this one when the remaster comes along.
Oh and just one thing. Is Trampled Underfoot meant to be Stevie Wonder's Superstition?
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I knew PG would be the album closest to being right up your alley Paul. HotH... too whacky. Stick with the 'big 3' rockin tunes there (Song Remains the Same, Over the Hills, and The Ocean) and you've got all you need.
I think PG will benefit tremendously from a remaster. As good as the production is, Plant sounds a tad thin on some tracks, as do the multiple guitar layers. I sometimes think it needs an extra ooomp to be a really rich album.
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This album is amazing, but it isn't my favorite from LZ. But it is certainly a worthy choice. Truly epic.
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Oh and just one thing. Is Trampled Underfoot meant to be Stevie Wonder's Superstition?
Yes - it's influenced by both Superstition and Robert Johnson's Terraplane Blues.
My favourite Zep album. The best, and heaviest thing they ever did. This is a huge, concrete slab of a record. It takes some listening to get into - it almost overpowers the senses on first listen.
I almost can't believe how good this is, from Custard Pie and it's innuendo, the blistering The Rover, surely the most under-rated song in the LZ catalogue, the blues-rock of In My Time of Dying, the sublime wonder of In The Light, the fun bootleg feel of Boogie with Stu, and the closing twist of Sick Again, this is a thing of wonder.
And then there is that song - the one that elevates it further. Kashmir - totally unlike anything else.
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This is easily my favorite Zep album. The variety of tunes, all excellent, make it a very enjoyable, complete listen. I always liked that they truly laid claim to being a heavy rock act with The Rover, Trampled Under Foot, The Wanton Song, and Sick Again: Yet the band made plenty of room for JPJ to really make an impact on keyboards during the softer numbers. The double album format allowed them space for well crafted, memorable, folk and blues tunes with the famous Zep twist.
This, forever will be the go to Zep album for me.
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Never, ever understood the love for PG. Its so chock full of filler IMO.
Ten Years Gone
In My Time of Dying--
-- Both of which have superior live versions.
Trampled Underfoot--
Kashmir
Night Flight
The rest.
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Kashmir, In My Time, In The Light, Ten Years Gone are godly. Houses of the Holy and Trampled are a whole lot of fun. I need to listen to the rest of the songs to give a full rundown. Oh, and Kashmir is my favorite Zep tune bar none
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Never, ever understood the love for PG. Its so chock full of filler IMO.
I wouldn't call anything filler, but I will say that while this album has some great songs, it does have quite a few songs I would merely classify as good. It could have been a great single disc, IMO, instead of being a very good double disc.
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Never, ever understood the love for PG. Its so chock full of filler IMO.
I wouldn't call anything filler, but I will say that while this album has some great songs, it does have quite a few songs I would merely classify as good. It could have been a great single disc, IMO, instead of being a very good double disc.
^ This I would agree with, but still love it as we would've never gotten half these songs otherwise on their own. Some stellar highs on this album, but no real lows ... Just average - by Zeppelin standards. Which is still above average by most standards.
Hope to get my song-by-song thoughts up Friday, Saturday at the latest. Traveling on business this week, and I caught up to all my "pre-work" writeuos, so I'm doing this live and in the fly now.
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Side 1A and 1B:
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Custard Pie is the way you start a rock album. The second best guitar riff off of Page's fingers, followed by a beautiful run by Jones, then perfect entrances by Plant and Bonham. IMO, this is Zeppelin's best pure rock song. Lyrically, it's all over the place, but like The Lemon Song, the sexual innuendo is hard to miss. Sadly, this song was never performed in full at a Zeppelin concert.
The opening elements from the medley that most DTF fans will know, The Rover was originally meant to be an acoustic piece, having been written at Bron-Yr-Aur during the Zeppelin II sessions, then recorded at Stargroves during the Houses of the Holy sessions in 1972. By the time mixing came, several overdubs and tweaks made it the rhythm heavy rock song that it is. This too was never performed live in it's entirety, only occasionally used as the opener to Sick Again.
Epic #1. And Epic it is. Closing side A of the first record, In My Time of Dying is the longest song of any studio album in the catalog. Probably most recognizable for the slide effects that Page uses to dominate the feel of the song. Jones used a fretless bass, and when you listen specifically to him, you can hear him dancing all over the place, constantly shifting gears. Just before the 4 minute mark, the song takes an abrupt turn, and turns into a brilliant jam. Commenting years after its release, Page would say "... it just takes off and we're just doing what Led Zeppelin do. We're jamming. We're having a ball. We. Are. Playing." Bonham's performance is particularly brilliant. Because of its improvisational nature the band never had a rehearsed ending for the song.
Houses of the Holy was quite obviously recorded and intended as the title track to the previous release, but didn't make the final cut. Another riff heavy tune, it's understandable why the band felt it didn't fit on Houses, and was better suited here. Lyrically, the song is an ode to Led Zeppelin concerts, with the "Houses of the Holy" referring to the arenas and auditoriums in which the band performed. The "are you dizzy when you're stoned' lyric was a bit of a calling of my teenage years. Yet another PG track never performed live, though it does have the distinction of being the only Zeppelin song to use a cowbell.
I never really thought about it, but as Lowdz pointed out, there's a distinct Stevie Wonder/Superstitious feel going on with Trampled Under Foot - though the lyrics were largely inspired by blues musician Robert Johnson's 1936 Terraplane Blues. The song evolved out of a jam session in 1972, and much effort went into perfecting the relentless semi-funk riff that dominates the feel. There were several pressings made as a single in 1975 in time for the band's Earl's Court concerts, but they were all shelved before being released, and are today highly sought-after collectors items.
Written over a period of three years with lyrics dating back to 1973, Kashmir is in my opinion is Plant's lyrical crowning achievement. There isn't a single wasted stanza or word here. Everything flows absolutely perfectly - and all four members have agreed that it is one of their best musical achievements, showcasing all of the elements that make up the Led Zeppelin sound. Plant would say that it "possessed all the latent energy and power that wasn't heavy metal. It was the pride of Led Zeppelin."
Page's passion for diverse musical experiences influenced Plant to explore Africa, specifically Marrakesh in Morocco where he encountered Umm Kulthum. Plant would comment that “I was intrigued by the scales, initially, and obviously the vocal work. The way she sang, the way she could hold a note, you could feel the tension, you could tell that everybody, the whole orchestra, would hold a note until she wanted to change.” That musical inspiration eventually culminated in "Kashmir". Both he and Page revisited these influences during their reunion album No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded in 1994.
The lyrics were written by Plant immediately after their 1973 US Tour, in an area he called "the waste lands" of Southern Morocco, while driving across the Sahara Desert. "Kashmir is my last resort ... it should be a haven, my Shangri-La" Plant would recount in interviews. There was a certain irony that the song was named after the plush, wet, mountainous region of the Himalayas. The irony was somewhat poetic in fact, as Plant felt that the song musically was not grandiose, but powerful... requiring "some kind of epithet, or abstract lyrical setting about the whole idea of life being an adventure and being a series of illuminated moments. But everything is not what you see."
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The first LP consists only of truly amazing songs. I really like all of these. Maybe they should have just added Sick again and maybe another track from the second LP and released it that way. ;D
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Re: the Trampled Underfoot/Superstition etc comparisons, it always reminded me of Long Train Running when I was a kid, I guess its the 'talkin' bout love' refrain. I always used to get it mixed up. Funnily enough, my brother and always cheekily start playing the Trampled riff on guitar/bass at the end of Long Train Running in our covers band, which is a cool little nugget that noone has ever picked up on. :P
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Continuing the hijack just a little bit: I've always liked the song "Long Train Running", since I've always liked trains, ever since I was a little kid. Going down to the yard, half a mile from here, to watch the trains sounds pretty cool to me. Without love, where would you be now? What in the heck does that have to do with trains? The pistons keep on turnin', the wheels go round and round. Without love, where would you be now? What?
In "Trampled Underfoot" he's talking about this sweet ride, all the features, the suped-up engine, the suspension, but he's "talkin' bout love". He can't stop talkin' about love. Now, the suspension, the lines and curves... metaphors between women and cars have been made for years. But train-watching down at the yard? I never got that one.
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Maybe that was the calibre of groupies the bands were pulling. Zep = Sweet rides, Doobies = big ol trains.
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Physical Graffitti is a mixed bag for me. It has some really great tracks but there's also some stuff that waters it down a fair bit. From Custard Pie to In The Light it is sheer brilliance, the rest is sometimes nice, sometimes just okay. The problem for me is, that as a whole the album doesn't flow well and drags on side three and four. The qualitiy and the sound is incoherent. I know that they had problems with too many songs to put on a conventional album and instead of puttting songs on the shelf, as was done previously, they decided to go for a double album and pull out some leftovers from previous sessions.
But in my opinion Physical Graffitti would be much better as a single album. There is a reason why songs are leftovers. Not meaning that they are necessarily bad, but if they are the best thing you've ever written, you wouldn't put them in the closet.
If CDs were already invented at that time they should have put the seven songs from Custard Pie to In The Light on the disc and maybe put the rest on a bonus disc. Putting it on a double album means that every song is supposed to be there and is equal to all the others. Putting it on a bonus disc would mean that you get the songs, but you also get the message that they are not necessarily on par with everything else. But anyway, that's just me. It's still a great record.
Favorite songs:
Trampled Underfoot, which, beside its funky feeling, for me is one of the heaviest songs LZ have done
Kashmir, dat riff, so simple and yet so effective
In The Light, another song where JPJ really shines on the keyboards.
Custard Pie, The Rover, In My Time Of Dying, Houses Of The Holy are all great songs too.
Bron-y-Aur and Down By The Seaside are nice though the latter gets a little cheesy sometimes.
Boogie With Stu is an okay jam and the rest of the songs don't really get me, never understood the appeal for The Wanton Song.
Fun fact: The song Mickey's Monkey on the live album by Mother's Finest sounds very reminiscent to Custard Pie with different lyrics, but is not credited to Page or Plant. I think there's some kind of irony in there ;D
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If CDs were already invented at that time they should have put the seven songs from Custard Pie to In The Light on the disc
But then you wouldn't have Ten Years Gone on it.
I agree the first disc is stronger than the second, but the second is still pretty sweet. Down By the Seaside is the only thing on it I'd consider filler. I do tend to listen to the second disc first, and save the first disc for last, the album does flow better that way.
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I love "Down by the Seaside".
That's the beauty of a double album like this. So many songs. Some people love 'em all, but some have favorites and others they just tolerate and they're never the same ones.
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I love "Down by the Seaside".
So do I.
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I love "Down by the Seaside".
So do I.
Thirded
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Album 2:
The opening of In The Light is one of the most unique, having been developed by Page's use of a violin bow on an acoustic guitar. Jones' synthesizer use dominates the rest of the song, with some absolutely beautiful guitar wails and licks accompanying the outro.
Bron-Yr-Aur is another lost piece from the Zeppelin III sessions, there isn't much to say here. A great little acoustic piece that provides a nice interlude between the 'real' songs of the album
Influenced by Neil Young, Down by the Seaside is a tale of two songs, alternating between soft sections (that were part of the original recording during the Zeppelin III sessions), and a harder electric-guitar led section (that was recorded during the Zeppelin IV sessions). The former having a number of production techniques to give it an ambient, or under-water sound/feel.
Ten Years Gone was originally intended to be an instrumental piece, Plant later added lyrics, which are dedicated to an old girlfriend who, ten years earlier, had made him choose either her or his music.Plant gives a very emotional delivery.
Night Flight is just an absolutely beautiful vocal performance delivered by Plant here. I never really thought about it, but when you listen, you notice there's no guitar solo! One of the few in their catalog not featuring one. This was first slated for Zeppelin IV, but failed to make the cut. Yet another PG track never performed live.
The Wanton Song features some more stellar riffage from the duo of Page and Jones, a pounding and great crashes from Bonham, toped off with Plant Another meat-and-potatoes rock song. Nothing fancy, nothing flashy, just a fantabulous rock song.
Boogie With Stu was the result of a 1971 jam session during the Zeppelin IV Sessions, where Ian Stewart ("Stu") showed up and played piano with them. It's rumoured that Plant played guitar, while Page played the Mandolin. Bonham's drum part was later improvised in the Studio
Black Country Woman is from the Houses of the Holy writing sessions, recorded in the garden of Jagger's home, Stargroves. Not much going on... just a bluesy tune, whose original title was Never Ending Doubting Woman Blues.
Sick Again is all about how Plant felt sorry for the hoards of groupies that would flock to the band. The very last sound of the very last song on Physical Graffiti is that of Page's backward echo-processed slide guitar, a sound technique he used quite often throughout the bands catalog.
jingle.boy's rankings:
In My Time of Dying
Kashmir
Ten Years Gone
Custard Pie
Houses of the Holy
Night Flight
The Wanton Song
In the Light
Trampled Under Foot
The Rover
Down By The Seaside
Bron-Yr-Aur
Black Country Woman
Sick Again
Boogie With Stu
I'm really surprised by those that have slagged this album as being weak, or filled with filler. Are some songs stronger than the others, sure. But other than maybe the last two in my rankings, I really wouldn't call any song 'filler'. These are all good tunes, and of course the top 4 are God-tier in my books.
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Ten Years Gone was originally intended to be an instrumental piece, Plant later added lyrics, which are dedicated to an old girlfriend who, ten years earlier, had made him choose either her or his music.Plant gives a very emotional delivery.
Wow. Imagine what would have happened if he had picked the ex-girlfriend. So many lore wouldn't have existed.
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See, that's strange. Sick again is easily my favorite on the second record, a tremendous song. :metal
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oooohhh... post 14,000 saves this from page 2.
As mentioned, during the recording of Physical Graffiti, the band launched Swan Song Records. Before heading to the US to launch the label, Danny Goldberg (who'd been hired as VP of the record company) was ordered to prepare fake itineraries, duping the band's wives into thinking that they were launching the Swan Song label with launch parties in Denver and Atlanta - when in fact the launch was taking place on their hedonistic home turf, LA. Around the time of the launch, the band finally got the opportunity to meet one of their chief musical idols, The King himself, Elvis Presley. Plant got the chance to sing a little with Elvis, though Elvis admitted he didn't know much of their music, save Stairway to Heaven. Perhaps the highlight for the band members was Elvis asking for their autographs for Lisa Marie.
Touring in support of Physical Graffiti took place nearly 18 months after the conclusion of their previous concert tour, which was the longest break between concerts yet taken by the band. During performances of 'In My Time' on this tour, Plant sarcastically dedicated the song to the British Labour Party's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Denis Healey, for the tax exile issues the band (and frankly almost all British bands) was facing. They had spent much of 1974 and 1975 in either the US or France to avoid having to pay as much as 95% in taxation of their royalties, forgoing their families for the sake of not just their own finances, but everyone associated with the band. Because of this, as they were rehearsing for the tour, Page commented that "1974 didn't really happen; 1975 will be a better year". Little did he know.
Arguably, this tour was the beginning of the bad karma that would surround the band for the rest of the decade. Page suffered a broken ring finger after slamming its tip in a train door prior to leaving England for this tour, forcing him to take pain killers and to develop a three finger playing technique during the first portion of the tour. Plant contracted a bad case of influenza early in the tour, stepping off the plane in Chicago's wintry climate with nothing more than a thin leather jacket. This caused the cancellation of one show and negatively affecting his singing ability for much of the rest of the tour, leading to some unfavourable reviews. Page was starting to develop phobias such as vertigo and claustrophobia. Bonham was having repeated intestinal issues, forcing Grant to hire a doctor to travel on tour with them - Bonham often traveled to gigs in a red camper equipped with a toilet. Page had actually ordered the lighting company on tour to not put a spotlight on either Jones or Bonham, causing the beginning rifts within the band. Heroin had infiltrated the band, specifically Page. While in LA, the band didn't even stay together at the 'Riot House' - Jones off on his own as usual, and Plant staying in Malibu Canyon. Page would spend days in his suite with the shades drawn. Bonham's drinking was so out of control by now, the rest of the band and crew would often actively avoid telling him their plans.
However, toward the end of the tour it was noted that the group seemed to be recovering, leading to some memorable performances (*awaits Jaq input*). Their shows weren't entirely without incident - fans at the Boston Garden, who waited in the freezing cold for the tickets, were taken pity on by the stadium owners and were let in inside but rioted and trashed the stadium. The Mayor then canceled the show. Aside from such minor acts of random rebellion, all 700,000 tickets sold out in one day.
The band hired The Starship again but it would be the final time the band used this plane. The second leg of the band's US Tour concluded in March, and was followed by a series of shows at London's Earl's Court in May 1975 - initially only 3 nights, then expanded to 5 when the £1 and £1.25 priced tickets sold out instantaneously - making the total attendance 85,000. No other band had attracted such an audience in Britain before. The lighting production alone used an equivalent amount of power that could light the entire city. Over five nights of May '75, Zeppelin delivered perhaps the most impressive series of shows of their entire career - much of which is captured for the 2003 DVD release.
The band had planned to continue touring after a break, with a further round of US shows in August and September, starting with two sold out dates at Oakland Coliseum and including a show to occur at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. A European Tour was also scheduled in the fall.
However, after the Earls Court shows, Page and Plant took their families to vacation in Morocco while the rest of the band setup their exile base in Montreux. Plant would take a quick detour and tour the Greek Island of Rhodes. The band would never be the same again.
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It's sad to read about a great band like this self-destructing. Makes you wonder whether it due to the huge success coming on too quickly for them to adjust, something that was bound to happen anyway because of egos and pressures from outside and inside the group, or just the normal life-cycle of a band. Back in the 70's, rock and roll as we know it today still hadn't really been around for that long. Bands typically stayed together for a couple of albums, a handful if they were lucky, then broke up when their next album didn't have a big hit and people stopped coming to their shows. The idea of staying together for 30 or 40 years was completely unheard-of when the bands were teenagers or twentysomethings in the first place.
They had spent much of 1974 and 1975 in either the US or France to avoid having to pay as much as 95% in taxation of their royalties
I always think of the line from The Beatles' song "Taxman", "There's one for you, nineteen for me." When I was younger, I was certain that this line was hyperbole. Sometimes it seems like the Taxman takes pretty much everything, leaving you just a tiny fraction of what you had earned yourself. I had no idea that it was literally true. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and other British bands have written and talked about it, and George Harrison went ahead and wrote about it. Whoa. And Americans think they have it bad.
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The 1975 tour is a favorite of mine simply because there are so many damn soundboards for it out there, and once you get past the early going, where Page was hurt and Plant was sick, you get some truly epic performances. It's the height of their excesses-if you consider their extended jamming excessive, this is not the tour for you, since you could have a modern set list length just out of No Quarter, Moby Dick, and Dazed And Confused. D&C in particular grew monstrous, going over 35 most nights and climaxing at the 46 minute monster that was on the show where the band was introduced by Linda Lovelace, leading the boot of that show to become known, naturally, as Deep Throat. The west coast leg of that tour, particularly the Seattle, Vancouver, and Los Angeles shows, are some of the best the band ever did.
As for Earl's Court-the last night is the best of the lot, though the worst you can say about any of them is that the band is occasionally uneven. Given what's coming over the next two tours, I'd go out on a limb and say the May 25, 1975 show is the best the band does from that date on until the 2007 reunion. There are moments of brilliance in 1977, the two Knebworth shows are okay, and the 1980 European tour is a train wreck. It's also worth noting that 5/25/75 was the last time the band played Dazed And Confused until the 2007 show, with Page moving the bow section and laser show to a largely noisy guitar solo spot on the 1977 tour. I have all of the Earl's Court shows, of course, but if I had to pick out one to sum up the 75 tour, it'd be 5/25. If you're curious about which show has the longest D&C, that'd be the 3/27/75 show, but I will admit it tries even my patience, and I think the band was right to drop it. A decent tour, with the real gems in the West Coast leg and of course Earl's Court.
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Wow, 40 minute long Dazed and confused! Even the original six minute long version bores me sometimes, the live version would literally kill me.
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Wow, 40 minute long Dazed and confused! Even the original six minute long version bores me sometimes, the live version would literally kill me.
Literally!
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£1 and £1.25 priced tickets to see Led Zeppelin in 1975. Holy f***. If that was the price to see the biggest band, I can only imagine how much it would cost to see smaller bands. Also, why did Page ordered the lighting company on tour to not put a spotlight on JPJ or Bonham? It's also interesting that despite this English tax-exile that they were going through, they were still given the green-light to go ahead with these five shows in Earl's Court. Was there ever a full show version of one of these of any kind?
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The tax exile limited the number of days they could stay in Britain, it didn't 100% eliminate them from being in England. As for the lighting issues, not sure... an enhanced ego and sense of self importance from drug addiction is the most likely reason.
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Tax in the UK is paid in bands. You pay nothing on the first £x of your income, then a higher rate on the next £y, and so on.
The first £4,000 was tax-free, then you were taxed on the next slice at 33%, the next slice at 38%, and so on. The highest tax band in the UK was 83%, and this was on earnings of over £20,000 - only an issue for the super-rich. There was also a 15% charge on "unearned income", which could push the tax on some income to 98%.
This tax band was short-lived, from 1973-1976. This was a difficult time for Britain - the world ecconomy was in crisis, hyperinflation was rife, and oil prices had quintupled. The policy helped Britain out of debt and led to real increases in the standard of living for the majority of people who were not millionaire rock stars or property speculators.
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I have no doubts that it benefitted the government. Taking 98% of someone's income will tend to do that. And since this is Britain we're talking about, I can also believe that the people actually benefitted as well, as opposed to the United States where taxes, even on rich people, somehow end up benefitting rich people more than anyone else.
Don't get me wrong; I believe that the more money you make, the more you should pay in taxes. My problem is the concept that you should pay a higher percentage of your income. This is what has led to the ridiculous tax structure we have in the U.S. and the entire industry of lawyers who specialize in figuring out ways around it in order to minimize taxes for their clients and of course maximize their own incomes accordingly.
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As a public sector worker in the UK, I haven't had a pay rise in 5 years - 5 years in which the cost of living in the UK has gone astronomical. yet our politicians are telling us Britain is richer than it's ever been. Yes, but this is because of the huge number of bankers, Arab sheikhs and Russian oligarchs snapping up property in London - none of whom pay tax here. Millions of working people in the UK now NEED a pay rise. If the cost of that is squeezing a few rich bastards till the pips squeak, then so be it. Less than 1% of people in the UK earn over £100K, and less than 0.1% earn over £375K.
One good thing about the US tax system is that people living in the US pay tax in the US. Over here in the UK, the rich just funnel all their earnings into off-shore trust funds and don't pay a penny. They reckon there's some £500BN in legally-avoided taxes going unpaid every year. And yet our government still refuses to close these tax loopholes.
Anyway, let's get back on track - Presence[/b] next, I believe?
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Also, UK's oft quoted tax rate in the '70's is a progressive tax rate and is misleading. No one was paying 98% tax on their entire income. They may have been paying 98% on income above, say, £1 Million (I don't know the actual figures). It used to be the same way in the U.S.
Anyway, let's get back on track - Presence next, I believe?
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It was an April morning when they told us we should go
As I turn to you, you smiled at me - how could we say no?
With all the fun to have, to live the dreams we always had
Oh, the songs to sing, when we at last return again
Presence (1976)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Led_Zeppelin_-_Presence.jpg)
While in Rhodes on August 4th, 1975, Maureen Plant lost control of a rented Austin Mini, and crashed over a precipice into a tree, crumpling the vehicle. When Robert opened his eyes, he was certain that his wife was dead. Maureen survived, but suffered a fractured skull and broken pelvis; Robert with several compound fractures, most prominently in his right ankle that would take several months to heal. The children in the back (including Page's daughter Scarlet) were mostly uninjured. The Greek medical facilities were ill prepared to treat Maureen's condition, and she likely could've have died if not for the significant resources available from Grant and Cole to get the family back to England. There's a great account of the ordeal provided by Richard Cole in Hammer of the Gods, concluding with Robert having to leave England with only a few hours to spare to avoid a multi-million dollar tax charge, as they had nearly depleted all of the available time they were allowed to be in England during the Earls Court shows. Plant was rushed from the hospital in an ambulance with so much plaster on him holding his broken body in place, that a forklift was used to get him on the plane. Maureen spent several weeks in intensive care, and Plant would not walk for four months after the accident. At the time, there were real concerns that Plant might never walk again.
Before the accident, everything the band touched had turned to gold. Now, coming up to the release of Presence, the band seemed to be faltering. This accident, the heroin problems were worsening for Page, Jones had suffered a broken hand just after Robert's accident and was becoming even more of a recluse, and Bonham was drinking even more while on his tax exile (if that was even possible), mourning the time away from his family.
Presence evolved out of Plant's long rehabilitation, when he was joined by Page in Malibu, not unlike their retreats to Bron-Yr-Aur. However, this time there seemed to be an air of desperation. "It was an album of circumstances ... It was really like a cry of survival" Plant would say. There were no acoustic elements, no keyboards, no mellow moments, no light/dark or loud/soft anthems. It would prove to be their heaviest and darkest album. Page wrote all of the music; Plant the lyrics. Contributions from Bonham and Jones were non-existent, as they didn't even arrive until rehearsals for recording. Plant's lyrics represented the constant travel and solitary life they were leading from the tax exile, and were filled with anguish and pain, also reflected in his vocal delivery... almost a sort of repentance.
After a month of rehearsals, the album was recorded in just eighteen days at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, with Plant in a wheelchair. This was the fastest recording turnaround time achieved by the band since their debut album. The rushed recording sessions were in part a result of Led Zeppelin having booked the studio immediately prior to The Rolling Stones, who were shortly to record songs for their upcoming album, Black and Blue. Upon their arrival, the Stones were amazed that Zeppelin's album had indeed been completed (both recorded and mixed) in a mere eighteen days. Page had simply stayed awake for two days straight to perform all of the final guitar recordings and overdubs.
The band considered Thanksgiving (as it was finished on the day before Thanksgiving) and Obelisk as the title for the album. But Swan Song wanted a more powerful title, more representative of the presence that the band held in the industry. Both Page and Plant had planned this album's recording session as a return to hard rock, much like their debut album, except at a new level of complexity. It marked a change in the Led Zeppelin sound towards more straightforward, guitar-based jams.
Advanced orders for the album were huge - over a million. Yet the album fell out of #1 after just two weeks, and rapidly disappeared from the charts entirely. Ironically, it would receive good reviews initially, under the pretense that its brilliance was derived from the panic'd conditions under which it was written/recorded/produced. Yet history regards it as their weakest album.
The album was released on March 31 1976, having been delayed by the completion of the album sleeve - boy, they sure did have problems getting their album covers produced!
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I love Presence!!
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They didn't back this album up with the big tour and publicity that they had rolled out for earlier albums - that stuff was far more important back in the 70s than it is now, and that's probably the reason it didn't sell as well, or get the radio airplay.
But it is one hell of an album, a thundering statement of intent, and the only thing that stops it being LZ's best album is the fact that the competition is so strong. Tea for One is hauntingly beautiful.
Gotta love this album.
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My favorite led Zep album. Dense, lush. I love the fact that they recorded and mixed this album in 18 days. There's that story of Page asking the Stones for a few more days to use their studio time and Mick asked to finish the tracks and Page said, "No to finish the mixing of the album." Mick was floored.
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Achilles Last Stand :metal
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I've never been a big fan of this album either. :lol Achilles Last Stand is one of my absolute favourite Led Zeppelin songs, and a couple of other tracks are okay (For Your Life ranks second, though it's pretty far below Achilles Last Stand, Nobody's Fault But Mine is alright, Hots On For Nowhere too I suppose), but I think the rest of the album is pretty average.
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I'm not crazy about this one either. Achilles Last Stand is amazing (one of my favorite LZ songs), and Nobody's Fault But Mine is really good, but the rest of the album is just OK for me.
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I've always liked this album. It went from good to great the moment Nobody's fault but mine went from average to awesome, being that it took me years to finally get it (it was probably the Celebration day version that did it for me). Achilles is one of their best songs as well, and there's a handful of groovier dance tunes like Candy store rock, Royal Orleans and Hots on for nowhere, really fun songs. The only one I don't like at all is For your life - every time I listen to it, it's like six minutes of blank tape. Nothing grabs me about it.
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Speaking of Celebration Day, that version of For Your Life is killer!
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I love Presence!!
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I used to listen to "Achilles Last Stand" over and over. It's a long tune, but it amazed me how it could keep up that driving intensity for over ten minutes. Nowadays, it gets a bit repetitive. I guess I didn't mind it so much back then. Also, having heard it so many times now, repetition is a bit harder to take. But it's still a great song, still one of my all-time favorites by Led Zeppelin or anyone else.
The rest of the album is hit-or-miss for me. The dark, brooding feel of some of it has never worked for me. I was entering a much more positive phase in my life when this album came out, and didn't want or need the dark shit. Nowadays, pretty much the same deal, I guess. I associate dark mopiness with teenage angst, and it still doesn't work. The lighter, uptempo stuff is fun, though, so it's up and down for me. La-la-la-la-la-la, yeah.
I never realized until it was mentioned here that this is the one album without any acoustic stuff or any keyboards. Maybe that's partly why it doesn't work quite so well. I prefer variety.
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I listened to Presence all the way through today at work. Only Achilles and Nobody's Fault stand out at all. The rest are completely forgettable.
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Jay and Orbert nailed it for me. Achilles Last Stand is probably my favourite Zep tune of all time. Love that guitar intro.
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Achilles Last Stand is awesome, I like Nobody's Fault But Mine and Tea For One, the rest is just...there. Appreciate For Your Life a bit more because of the 2007 show, but honestly would have to play the CD to remember how the other songs even go. Kind of a matched set with In Through The Out Door, in that it focuses on one particular side of the band-Page/Plant here, Plant/Jones on ITTOD. Rarely reach for it since I have so many damn boots with Achilles on it. Admittedly live that song had massive trainwreck potential...
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Nothing sums up Presence better than the fact that Plant recorded almost all of his vocals from the confines of a wheelchair, still rehabilitating his injured ankle - with the ultimate twist of irony coming from Achilles Last Stand, about the legendary Greek Warrior that had been dipped into the river Styx - a river of immortality - except for his heel. Plant had penned the lyrics shortly before that fateful August day. This is up there with Kashmir as perhaps Bonham's greatest performance.
Page (who readily acknowledges this as his favorite Led Zeppelin song) overdubbed 6 guitar tracks in one evening to create the huge sound, also pushing the bass and drums a little down in the mix, along with Plant's vocals. The latter is understandable, as Plant - because he was confined to a wheelchair - was having a lot of trouble getting the air necessary to deliver the powerful vocals he was known for. He did try to stand at one point, but couldn't bear any weight, fell, and almost seriously re-injured his ankle.
The venom in For Your Life was due in part to Plant's observations of the excessive amount of cocaine which had now pervaded and ruined the music scene in Los Angeles, during his stay on the West Coast prior to recording. It's also, arguably, directed to Page on some levels, due to his addictions at the time.
Royal Orleans is about an experience Jones once had on tour, when he mistakenly took a drag queen up to his hotel room, fell asleep (reportedly with a joint of marijuana in hand), lighting the room on fire - though Jones would repeatedly state afterward he knew full well that "Stefanie" was a transvestite. "Royal Orleans" was the name of a hotel where the members of Led Zeppelin would stay when they visited New Orleans, because not as many people asked for autographs there. The song features a frantic rhythm section, faster than most other songs from the catalog. To me, this is just a weird song, and doesn't fit any style that resembles anything like Led Zeppelin. Not their worst song ever, and I don't dislike it, but it doesn't have much lasting appeal.
Mixing lyrical elements from Blind Willie Johnson and Robert Johnson, Nobody's Fault But Mine weaves a tale of a man trying to stay ahead of the evil which is pursuing him, but is ignoring the root causes of his predicament. There is an ultimate admission that he is to blame, but with a sense of despair, Plant shifts the focus from religion to one "relevant to the Zeppelin lifestyle of the day", alluding to problems associated with their hedonistic lifestyle of the early 70s. Plant concludes "gonna change my ways tonight". It was suggested that for Plant, and perhaps the others, it was a sort of exorcism. Fans concluded that Robert was repenting for actually having sold his soul to the devil, and now wanted out of the deal.
Released as a single (yet never charting), Candy Store Rock is one of Plant's favorite songs from their catalog. But honestly, what the fuck were they thinking here beyond a self indulgent tribute to the 50s? Rock-a-billy? It's a fun enough tune, but c'mom - it may have been a good idea, but it just didn't translate well from the studio, imo. Led Zeppelin was not a band that fans wanted to dance and bee-bop to. It's the only song on the album with an acoustic guitar, but it's buried so far down on the mix, I defy you to find it.
Plant said that the lyrics to Hots On For Nowhere reflected not only his trapped situation at the time, but his general frustrations with Jimmy Page and their manager Peter Grant, whom Plant was convinced weren't sensitive to his point of view regarding their tax exile, and Plant's injuries. Page's solo was one of the final pieces of the album's recording, done during the marathon, virtually sleepless final 3 days Page spent completing the album before they lost their studio time to The Stones.
I feel Tea For One is an attempt to recreate the magic of Since I've Been Loving You, but fails miserably. This (and the preceding track) are lyrically quite nice, representing a melancholic recount of the loneliness of being on the road as much as the band was, and recently out of Britain for their tax exile. The hurt and pain on this song in particular represents an existential on, not just simple heartache. Combined with the physical pain that Plant was in during the recording, I adore the lyrics here, but musically it's just not up to snuff.
jingle.boy's rankings:
Achilles Last Stand
.
.
Nobody's Fault But Mine
.
.
.
.
.
.
Hots on for Nowhere
For Your Life
Tea For One
Candy Store Rock
Royal Orleans
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Pretty much the same for me.
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We edge closer and closer to the depressing end to Zeppelin's career.
The untimely death of Bonzo sort of freezes Zeppelin in that sub-par Presence/ITTOD era. I wonder if they had it in them to come back strong after those albums, had Bonzo not passed.
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It couldn't last forever, and, at least for me, the more mediocre songs from Physical Graffitti hinted at the decline that was to come. But why did it have to come so fast?
I'm surprised that some people here call it their favorite LZ album because for me it's very sub-par, but that's tastes for you. I wonder how do they work? ;)
Achilles Last Stand is stellar, Nobody's Fault is great and the rest is a bunch of uninspired and very mediocre songs. I've listened to this album countless times but I still have a hard time remembering how the songs go. Nothing sticks out, nothing sounds interesting.
I wonder if the album would have been better if not for the circumstances. And I still wonder why they didn't take their time, for instance to wait for Plant to recover, or book more studio time, or whatever else was necessary. I mean they were the mighty Led Zeppelin, everybody did as they (or their management) commanded, surely they could have taken all the time in the world?
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Can't believe there's not more love for Presence out there.
Now, I've re-listened to each Zep album as we've discussed them in this thread, but Presence has been the first one I've listened to twice, just to make sure I'm right about it. And I am.
Achillies Last Stand and Nobody's Fault are the two big songs everyone knows off this album, mainly because they're the 2 that are represented on compilations, etc. The rest of the album suffers because the songs aren't as well known as the stuff on earlier albums, Zeppelin didn't do the big tour/publicity thing for this album, and those songs weren't played on the radio the way every track on LZ 4 was. Plus music was changing, of course...
For Your Life is fantastic, as is Tea For One. They both stand up alongside anything in the LZ catalogue. Hots on For Nowhere and Royal Orleans are never going to be top tier LZ songs, but they're both built around solid riffs and are solid efforts, even if they show a certain lack of originality. Candy Store Rock is... well, I can only assume it was on there because Atlantic wanted something to release as a single.
It's a true classic LZ album, and one of the most under-rated in music history. Just goes to show the effect that lack of contemporary radio play can have on the legacy of an album nearly 40 years later...
Oh, and I have to note the cover. That object is really freaky, especially the schoolteacher photo. What is it? Why is it so ubiquitous? What does it do? Where did it come from? I love this album cover, it's enough to give you sleepless nights.
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Achillies Last Stand and Nobody's Fault are the two big songs everyone knows off this album, mainly because they're the 2 that are represented on compilations, etc. The rest of the album suffers because the songs aren't as well known as the stuff on earlier albums, Zeppelin didn't do the big tour/publicity thing for this album, and those songs weren't played on the radio the way every track on LZ 4 was. Plus music was changing, of course...
It's a true classic LZ album, and one of the most under-rated in music history. Just goes to show the effect that lack of contemporary radio play can have on the legacy of an album nearly 40 years later...
Well, I can honestly say that none of these factor in to why I rate this album so low. First of all I didn't start with a compilation, my dad had a few of their albums on vinyl and cassette and when I was old enough to be owning my own stuff, I just outright bought the albums. And any lack of publicity/touring and radio play had no effect on me either, because I wasn't even alive when the album came out and I've never been all that big on radio. Infact I am pretty sure that the only Led Zeppelin songs I've ever heard on the radio are Stairway To Heaven and Kashmir. (https://i1337.photobucket.com/albums/o669/bolsters/shrug-1.gif~original)
I can appreciate that you clearly like the album more than the rest of us who have posted our thoughts on it, but I think it's a bit short-sighted to blame the times for that. There are a lot of things going on with the songwriting and production on this album that differentiate it from their earlier material, that could potentially cause people to rate it as subpar.
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I'm with Bolsters on this one. For me, not liking Presence as much as the rest of their previous work has nothing to do with compilations or touring or publicity. I wasn't old enough when LZ was touring, so I never saw them live. And radio, when I grew up, didn't play LZ apart from the occasional Stairway to Heaven.
Would be interesting to know, were some of you actually LZ fans when they were around and famous, or did you become a fan later?
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I was proabaly about 15 when I got into LZ, which must have been 1985 or so. It just strikes me that In Through the Out Door is so weak that anyone having listened to that album must surely put Presence on a par with Physical Graffiti or HOTH. I just can see how anyone could knock it off that perch and stick it next to ITTOD as a sub-par LZ album. Then again, I'm also amazed at the number of people who think there's a lot of filler on PG.
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Can't believe there's not more love for Presence out there.
Now, I've re-listened to each Zep album as we've discussed them in this thread, but Presence has been the first one I've listened to twice, just to make sure I'm right about it. And I am.
Achillies Last Stand and Nobody's Fault are the two big songs everyone knows off this album, mainly because they're the 2 that are represented on compilations, etc. The rest of the album suffers because the songs aren't as well known as the stuff on earlier albums, Zeppelin didn't do the big tour/publicity thing for this album, and those songs weren't played on the radio the way every track on LZ 4 was. Plus music was changing, of course...
For Your Life is fantastic, as is Tea For One. They both stand up alongside anything in the LZ catalogue. Hots on For Nowhere and Royal Orleans are never going to be top tier LZ songs, but they're both built around solid riffs and are solid efforts, even if they show a certain lack of originality. Candy Store Rock is... well, I can only assume it was on there because Atlantic wanted something to release as a single.
It's a true classic LZ album, and one of the most under-rated in music history. Just goes to show the effect that lack of contemporary radio play can have on the legacy of an album nearly 40 years later...
Oh, and I have to note the cover. That object is really freaky, especially the schoolteacher photo. What is it? Why is it so ubiquitous? What does it do? Where did it come from? I love this album cover, it's enough to give you sleepless nights.
Recently, I tried to look up some info on it for verification...and I couldn't find anything at all. But I do remember that it was once held from several sources, that it is a sort of witchcraft tool which somehow has the mystical qualities of allowing a spirit medium to help a person have another spirit enter their bodies. Essentially, it's tool for instilling "spirit possession" with the aid of spirit medium.
This was a story I personally heard from several different unrelated sources way back in the 80's but I can find absolutely no claims of any kind one way or the other to back that up....so it may just be another urban legend that was invented to demonize the band...there was a lot of that back then.
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As someone who was around when this album came out, I can tell you that there was not a lot of promotion, but since it was Led Zeppelin, there didn't really have to be. I remember going into the record stores and there in the New Releases section was the new Led Zeppelin album, and everyone knew who they were, and everyone knew Physical Graffiti, so everyone was waiting for this one. I bought it, my friends all bought it, we all dug into it, and we all agreed that "Achilles Last Stand" kicked ass, but reviews were mixed for everything else. We listened to it a lot, as high school kids do with a new album.
It definitely got a fair chance. It just did really ring with me. The darkness of it was kinda creepy-cool, but as I mentioned above, I really wasn't into that.
But yeah, the cover, and the pictures with "The Object" are cool. I always thought it symbolized the presence of darkness in our everyday lives. Pictures of everyday stuff, with the black object just there. People interacting with it, but we have no idea what's going on. Neat concept.
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That's a great interpretation of the artwork, Orbert. I've always liked it, but wasn't too sure about what it represents.
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According to Wikipedia: in the liner notes to the box set, Page had this to say about the "Object".
There was no working title for the album. The record-jacket designer said 'When I think of the group, I always think of power and force. There's a definite presence there.' That was it. He wanted to call it Obelisk. To me, it was more important what was behind the obelisk. The cover is very tongue-in-cheek, to be quite honest. Sort of a joke on [the film] 2001. I think it's quite amusing.
Sounds about right to me. I remember thinking it was creepy and often wondered if it had something to do with the 2001 obelisk.
I've always liked the album, warts and all but I definitely remember most of my friends (especially the one who named his pet Cockatiel "Zep") as being disappointed with it. I don't think it's up there with HotH, IV or PG, but I still enjoy listening to it.
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Regarding the object, Hammer of the Gods had this to say about it
“The object was meant to be a puzzle, another Zeppelin enigma. Reporters called the Swan Song office in London to inquire as to the nature of the object. Richard Cole would take the calls and reply that the musicians didn't even know what it was. The concept had come intact from Hipgnosis, the design firm that did most of Led Zeppelin's covers.”
Regarding the album being a Zeppelin "classic", this (well, Coda) too is the only Zeppelin album I ever bought from a 'bargain bin'. The bar was set so high with previous releases, this definitely fell short of their standard.
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I'm gonna quickly divert to The Song Remains the Same, and then go back to the events of the Presence tour, as chronologically that's how things happened.
(https://www.memphisflyer.com/imager/led-zeppelin-the-song-remains-the-s/b/original/3721280/f489/LEDZEPSONGREMAINSthesame1976bq300.jpg)
At the end of the 1973 North American tour, the Led Zeppelin entourage was joined by a film crew assembled on 3 days notice by Joe Massot, whom Peter Grant had called with only the three shows at Madison Square Garden remaining. Grant had a revelation that a film of the tour might be valuable. Page was by then something of a basket case. His wounded hand was still bothering him, and it took a concerted effort of pure will to get it to play the guitar every night for three hours. Also, the past two weeks had been deadened by death-threat paranoia. Jimmy hadn't slept for a fortnight, sustaining himself on dope, booze, and room service hamburgers.
Filmed over the three remaining shows at MSG, the film crew had to keep shooting over and over again. They were, for some reason, unable to film a whole sequence of "Whole Lotta Love," and couldn't persuade the band (particularly John Paul Jones) to wear the same outfits for three nights for the sake of continuity. The shows in New York got got worse, though, when Led Zeppelin was robbed of approximately $200,000 on its last night - which is highlighted during the film. Later in the year, when Led Zeppelin had screened some of the footage and realized how mediocre their filmed, end-of-tour concerts had been, they decided to scrap the whole project.
At the beginning of 1976 however, the main order of business was the completion of Led Zeppelin's movie, now in its third incarnation and titled The Song Remains the Same. Joe Massot had been fired from the project; he was accused of mixing up the group's priorities with his so-called "fantasy sequences" and of having missed too much when filming on the road. His greatest sin appears to have been that he didn't shoot a complete "Whole Lotta Love." Later, when the film was resurrected by necessity, Massot would be replaced with an Australian named Peter Clifton, who had assembled Massot's concert footage and fantasy sequences into a ragged occult documentary.
Using makeup and special effects, Jimmy aged a hundred years as the Hermit of the tarot; Robert's damsel-in-distress, rescued after a pathetic struggle, vanishes before his eyes; Bonzo is shown dragging formula race cars; Jones is depicted leading some dark mission in a medieval cemetery; Peter Grant and Richard Cole are laughing gangsters tommy-gunning houses. With its less-than-magic sound track, the movie was musically handicapped from the start. But it was all they had, and they were determined to release it that year. Given how quick they put Presence together, they probably could have done without this.
Promotional materials stated that the film was "the band's special way of giving their millions of friends what they had been clamoring for – a personal and private tour of Led Zeppelin. For the first time the world has a front row seat on Led Zeppelin." The reality was that it was a crypto-mystical mashup of outdated concert footage (which even the band found dull) and the Dark Ages dream sequences cooked up around the band, the critical reaction was predictable. The Song Remains the Same was routinely panned for its violent nightmares and relentless narcissism. The press hated it, and even the band had trouble positively promoting it. Had it come out just as a concert, it may have been more palatable. The additional sequences made it feel like "the most expensive home movie in history" as would be commented by Page.
The soundtrack album was reissued on CD on in 2007, with the all surviving band members having overseen the remixing and remastering of the original release. This coincided with the re-issue of the film, released on HD-DVD, Blu-ray and DVD (though for legal reasons, the video was unchanged). The new version of the soundtrack included six songs that were not on the original album release: Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You, The Ocean and Heartbreaker.
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I'm just going to properly link the website of a guy who has taken being a fan to perhaps unheard of levels as my comment on this one:
https://www.thegardentapes.co.uk/
Reading about all the editing Page does to make live releases is, if nothing else, a fascinating look into Page's mind. There are times when he replaces as little as a single note, and having heard the boots of these shows that are available, you almost have to wonder why he went to that much trouble.
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Achillies Last Stand and Nobody's Fault are the two big songs everyone knows off this album, mainly because they're the 2 that are represented on compilations, etc. The rest of the album suffers because the songs aren't as well known as the stuff on earlier albums, Zeppelin didn't do the big tour/publicity thing for this album, and those songs weren't played on the radio the way every track on LZ 4 was.
The rest of the album suffers because the other songs aren't all that good.
I'm glad you like it, but it just doesn't resonate with most of the rest of the fanbase nearly as much as the rest of their material. There's nothing wrong with anyone else, you just like something a lot that most people don't.
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I was always a bit luke warm on the original release of TSRTS....but the 2007 re-release IMO is pure gold.
The film is just weird. It really doesn't work on its own very well. I was told by many a friend back in the day that it did work VERY well, and was quite popular as a "midnight movie", but I'm sure there was lots of "non-tobacco" being smoked. I heard of many a person who would go to the theater after dropping acid to watch the film, claiming that was a "spiritual experience".. And there are other reasons too why midnight movies often just don't work outside the theater. Rocky Horror Picture Show is an example of a movie I simply cannot picture ever watching without the crazy audience around me.
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Yes, TSRTS was a definite midnight movie. I saw it one week and then The Wall the next week. Fun experience, but you probably could have arrested most of the people there for SOME reason (I was drunk off my ass in both cases) :lol
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The soundtrack album was reissued on CD on in 2007, with the all surviving band members having overseen the remixing and remastering of the original release. The new version of the soundtrack included six songs that were not on the original album release: Black Dog, Over the Hills and Far Away, Misty Mountain Hop, Since I've Been Loving You, The Ocean and Heartbreaker.
I didn't know that, especially the inclusion of the other tracks. Might just have to pick that up.
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I have mixed feelings about this one. The album is fine. Yeah, it's been doctored a bit. Actually, we now know that it was doctored quite a lot, but what counts (mostly) is the final result, which is an album that sounds very much like an authentic document of a live performance. The editing is so well done that you don't even realize it's there. We all knew that somewhere, somehow, several minutes of "Dazed and Confused" disappeared and magically fit onto one LP side, but we could never keep track well enough to figure out where the cuts were. The crowd noise is always a nice way to segue between live tracks and hide the fact that they weren't originally played in that order, etc. You listen to the live album, it's sounds like a great live album. It sounds like a complete concert, which of course it is meant to represent.
The movie, on the other hand, is a bit less interesting to me. For years, it was the only live video we had of Led Zeppelin, and I'm glad that Peter Grant at least realized that it should exist. And it's not horrible. I kinda like the fantasy sequences, and it's interesting that the film opens with Peter's sequence. It sets the tone. The concert footage is mostly pretty good, and again, when it's all you have, you dig into it. Today, other video has surfaced. In the 70's, this was it. I remember watching it at the midnight showing at the local theater, but I don't remember a lot of details about the movie itself, not from those viewings. I do remember finding it all pretty awesome. It was only years later, first on VHS and now on Blu-ray, that I watched the film sober and realized that it's just not that great, and worthy of both the scorn and praise it has received over the years.
Unlike many, I like the concept of the film itself. Why not try to do something more than just a concert film, especially when you don't really have the raw footage to make a decent concert film? It was the 70's, a time of experimentation. Yes had the film Yessongs which was also mostly concert footage, but also augmented with... other stuff. The Grateful Dead movie was the same. People can be too uptight about what they think a concert film "should" be.
No, my only problem with the movie itself is that, while I like Led Zeppelin, I'm not a total fanboy and I don't just eat up everything that produce. If I had been at the concert, stoned out of my mind, a 30-minute "Dazed and Confused" would've been awesome. A 12-minute "No Quarter" would've kicked ass. But sitting in my living room watching it, even in glorious high-definition video and surround sound, I find myself wondering when it's gonna end.
The remasters. I like that we have the "lost" video footage. It's too bad that they couldn't recut it into the concert somehow, but I completely understand it. It's not just a concert, it's a concert film, and copyrighted as such. Figuring out how and where to add the other songs would've been a challenge, and by time you add the legal hassles involved in altering a movie, it just wasn't worth it. So they're "extras".
As for the remastered album, I again have mixed feelings. I like the original, and I know it all pretty well, having played it many, many times. The remastered album is not just remastered, but remixed and re-edited as well, and sometimes alternate takes are used. I like the original "No Quarter" and was looking to hearing that piano solo cleaned up and without that "sigh" in the tape. You know the one I'm talking about. Instead, Jimmy just used a take from a different night. Different solo, not as interesting to me. Most people couldn't tell you the difference, but I can tell, so it bugs me.
So again, I appreciate what they've done, understand the need for such things, and most people are fine with it. I'm just not one of them. Too damned picky, I guess.
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I never really cared much for TSRTS. The album was OK, the film was less so. It just didn't do anything for me.
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Bob's post = :getoffmylawn:
:lol
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I was aware that the re-issue used different/edited versions from the original vinyl album, but I wasn't aware that the fantasy sequences were there because they didn't have the footage!
TSRTS is... interesting. It's not that good watched today, but I imagine back in the 70s, with enough waccy-baccy being smoked, it was probably far out, man (or somesuch expression). It does make you glad the BBC Sessions, How The West Was Won and Celebration Day live albums exist, though.
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It does make you glad the BBC Sessions, How The West Was Won and Celebration Day live albums exist, though.
Word
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I concur. I adore the BBC Sessions.
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Ah, TSRTS, summer nights, a mellow buzz, my buds to the left and a blonde in cutoff jeans and a halter top to the right. Those were some fun times. I must have seen this film four or five times per summer from '77 through '81 or so at the midnight showing at the Century theaters. The parking lot prior to the show more closely resembled a tailgate party for a college football team than a movie theater.
I knew a girl back then, Betsy (I kid you not), who claimed that she once spontaneously 'happened' while watching Robert gyrate on stage during this film. She blamed it on the camera angle :lol
I'm a little hazy about the details of watching the show from then, as you might imagine, but we always considered it more of an event than 'going to the movies'. Years later, when I bought the blu-ray, I was surprised that the reality of the film wasn't as great as my memory, and I just had to laugh. Does anybody remember laughter?
I remember the album much more than the movie and still like the original vinyl quite a bit. Every note of that record is ingrained in my consciousness. Like Orbert, I'm not a fan of the new CD's. It just all sounds wrong to me. I find myself anticipating a favorite lick, or riff and then it all turns wrong.
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Their 11th tour of North America in 1977 was the first tour embarked on by the band following their enforced layoff caused by Plant's car accident. Grant had conceived what would be Led Zeppelin's biggest ever tour - an effort that would reassert Led Zeppelin as the dominant band of the decade with concerts over a three-leg period in front of 1.3 million ticket holders. Tickets sold at a rate of 72,000 a day. The tour was supposed to start at the end of February, but Plant contracted laryngitis and the schedule was postponed for a month, eventually starting off on April 1st in Dallas.
In contrast to earlier albums that contained several tracks that the band chose to play live at Led Zeppelin concerts, only two tracks from Presence were played in full on stage while the band was active. "Achilles Last Stand" and "Nobody's Fault but Mine" were added to the setlist for the 1977 tour of the United States and stayed through the band's final concerts in 1980. Some of the guitar solo from "Tea for One" was also incorporated into "Since I've Been Loving You" in these shows, but the actual song was never performed live.
There would be highs - record attendance and gate at the Pontiac Silverdome, four sold out nights in Chicago, six at MSG, six at the LA Forum - one of which had Keith Moon joining them on stage for a rendition of Whole Lotta Love.
However, the lows overshadowed the highs by an exquisite order of magnitude:
- Grant's wife had just left him, and he (previously the jolly one of the bunch) was constantly angry, and a damper on everyone's spirits
- there was the Tampa Riot when the band walked off for fear of electrocution during a tremendous downpour, enraging 70,000 fans
- Cole, Grant, Bonham, and hired security thug John Bindon were charged with assault for beating a stadium security guard within an inch of his life in Oakland
Then there was Jimmy. Page was so strung out on heroin, had lost so much weight, he could barely perform some nights. He had to cancel a show mid-way due to stomach cramps, and came dressed as a Nazi Stormtrooper on another occasion. He was either on heroin, tranquilizers, or Bonham-level wasted. Bonham was so despondent having come off of their years of tax-exile, and the separation from his family was killing him - literally. Page was not the performer he was, still somewhat hobbled by his ankle.
Then, on July 24th, Karac Plant contracted a rare stomach virus, and died the next day en route to the hospital.
At the beginning of the ill-fated tour, whose remaining dates had been canceled, Richard Cole had felt that something was going to happen. "The fucking whole thing was wrong," he says ruefully. "There was something wrong. It should never have happened. The whole thing just went then. That was it. It never was the same again. Never. The whole thing just erupted. It was like somebody said, 'Here, you fuckers, have this (https://www.utahby5.com/admin/smilies/finger.gif)"
Led Zeppelin never played in America again.
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Now, we are really entering into the dark ages. Just one thing after another going horribly wrong where Karac Plant's death was really just the tip of the iceburg in that period in '77 that makes people really evaluate their life and purpose. Sure, everything in terms of a touring stance is going really well. Selling out huge stadiums, having week-long arena residency in big cities like LA and NYC, but at the end of it all, the band's internal problems have started taking a toll on them and a darker turn which lead to what looks to be a negative aura which can be very damaging to a band.
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Where there were plenty of shows you could find in the 1975 tour where the band was as brilliant as ever, there were only a few occasions on the 1977 tour-notably the LA stand-where Led Zeppelin managed to be Led Zeppelin. Jimmy in particular was awful for most of the tour, and worse, got as much as half an hour of solo spot time when he could barely play, and Bonham's solo (now re-dubbed "Over The Top") reached ludicrous plus 30 minute lengths. While even on the worst nights they could find magic (No Quarter was usually pretty epic, especially the nights when the band would break into a blues jam in the middle), it was just harder and harder to find the magic anymore.
Interestingly, the 1977 soundboards, which were some of if not the earliest soundboards to make it to bootlegs, were my earliest exposure to live Zep past the official releases. (The Cleveland show released as Destroyer, though that's one of the lesser shows on the tour.) Needless to say, working backwards through the tours was an eye opening experience.
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First off, apologies for doing one post for 4 albums. What a slacker I've been!
Houses of the Holy - Not my favorite Zep album. While there are some highlights, No Quarter, Over the Hills, the Ocean, and Dancing Days, the remaining tracks are just "OK" and nothing really to write home about.
Physical Graffiti - NOW we're talking! I really feel this was Zep at their best (post LZ4). While some of it was vault material earlier written, it just resonates with me as a whole. I actually held off on this post because I wanted to spend some time re-visiting the album. I've spent the last week or so doing just that, and while I knew how good it was, I realized it's been way to long since I really spent time with this whole album. This was really my first album as a fan, meaning the first one I remember being new when it was released. Page's writing on this album is just incredible. Are there any demos or recordings of Down by the Seaside or Night Flight? I wonder how those songs sounded back when they were written comparatively to PG versions.
Highlights...
Kashmir - Yeah it's popular, but hell...what a great sounding and well written song!
Ten years gone
In My Time of Dying - Epic song....Oh, Saint Peter, at the gates of heaven... Won't you let me in
I never did no harm. I never did no wrong
The Rover - Not one most peeps talk about much, but I just love the melody and lyrics.
In the Light - wonderfully composed with some really nice twists and turns in it.
The Wanton Song - what a great groove such a recognizable song. It gives me that same vibe as Black Dog did.
Down by the Seaside - love the guitar work and again composition with this one.
Trampled under Foot - love JPJ in this one.
Presence - I think every one's pretty much summed it up as I see it. Achilles last stand is absolutely epic. The overlayed guitar tracks just show Page's genius. I do like Tea for One seemingly more than most who have posted. Always loved the feel of it. Like Orbert, or someone else mentioned. In school we listened to it religiously and loved it. Over time though, I think some of the tracks don't stick with me as much.
The Song Remains the Same. Well..... I'm gonna break the trend in the thread here a bit. I FUCKING LOVE TSRTS!!!!!!! I think it's a great 70's concert film. It was a HUGE part of my growing up. Midnight movies...Ahhhhh.... those were some AWESOME times and great memories with my friends! Even to this day, I can throw on the DVD and remember back to those days. Yeah....some of the sequences are a bit cheesy by modern standards, but remember, this was made in the 70's!! This was also my pinnacle with Zep. Not long after we get ITTOD and the death of JB. I wasn't a fan of ITTOD, so this was it for me, along with Presence.
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The Song Remains the Same. Well..... I'm gonna break the trend in the thread here a bit. I FUCKING LOVE TSRTS!!!!!!! I think it's a great 70's concert film. It was a HUGE part of my growing up. Midnight movies...Ahhhhh.... those were some AWESOME times and great memories with my friends! Even to this day, I can throw on the DVD and remember back to those days. Yeah....some of the sequences are a bit cheesy by modern standards, but remember, this was made in the 70's!! This was also my pinnacle with Zep. Not long after we get ITTOD and the death of JB. I wasn't a fan of ITTOD, so this was it for me, along with Presence.
A complete echo of my experience and attitude toward late '70s Zep. Presence was the end for me too.
As for the '77 tour. I was living in Phoenix in '77 and tried desperately to get tickets to the Tempe show at Sun Devil stadium. It was sold out and I was never able to go. The people who did go told me that other than the hot girls in the audience I didn't miss anything. They complained that Page sucked and someone accidentally triggered some pyrotechnics during The Rain Song. I don't know if any of that's true since I wasn't there and it's been a very long time now so I may be misremembering what they said. Is there a bootleg of that show Jaq?
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There is an incomplete audience recording, a review of which is here:
https://www.theyearofledzeppelin.com/2008/11/day-246-7201977-tempe-az.html
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Not a very flattering review.... :lol
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:lol
...and, no The Rain Song in the set list! Either I don't remember what I was told very well, or the kid who went couldn't recognize what song was being played! :biggrin:
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:lol
...and, no The Rain Song in the set list! Either I don't remember what I was told very well, or the kid who went couldn't recognize what song was being played! :biggrin:
Well, in his defense... The review opens with the quote: "The tape begins with a barrage of firecracker blasts as the band prepares for the acoustic set." So apparently there is some validity to it. But the tape opens with The Battle of Evermore...
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Having had my coffee and consulted my boots...they didn't play The Rain Song on the 1977 tour. :rollin
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Right... :huh:
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On a side note.... Here's a nice interview of JP, while he sits down listening to Stairway on vinyl, explaining part of the writing process.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29550639
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God, his smile at the end is mega-charming!
/mancrush
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Sisters of the way-side bide their time in quiet peace,
Await their place within the ring of calm
Still stand to turn in seconds of release,
Await the call they know may never come
(https://www.softshoe-slim.com/covers2/l/led09.jpg)
With 1977 being such a dark year, 1978 was virtually non-existent in the Led Zeppelin history books. Word on the street had it that Plant blamed Page's occult dabbling for the disasters that had landed on the Plant family, with additional rumors that Plant was through with Page, and Led Zeppelin was disbanding. In August, Elvis Presley died of a barbiturate overdose in his home in Memphis. This was a real blow to Led Zeppelin, who had drawn songs and inspiration from The King. Bad luck would continue to follow the band as Bonzo's had his own car accident, sustaining three broken ribs and a taste of his own mortality. Plant spent the winter of 1978 with his family, and by late spring Maureen Plant was pregnant and their healing process had begun.
In November the whole band moved to London to rehearse for In Through the Out Door, that would be recorded the following month in a Stockholm studio owned by ABBA. Musically, John Paul Jones had taken over the band. Most of the new songs would be built around keyboard themes and ideas he brought with him, for which Robert wrote lyrics reflecting the emotional roller coaster he was riding. For the first time John Paul Jones would receive primary composing credit on a Led Zeppelin album. In fact, the album is almost entirely from the creative minds of Jones and Plant - the almost non-existent input by Page and Bonham due to the two of them often not showing up on time at the recording studio, chasing their own demons of alcohol and heroin. Many of the songs were consequently put together by Plant and Jones during the day, with Page and Bonham adding their parts late at night. As such, the contrast between Presence and In Through the Out Door is like no other back-to-back album in the catalog. In my opinion, In Through the Out Door displays a certain maturity, resulting from the adversities the band had to overcome to get to this point.
Although a punk and new-wave movement had taken hold of the industry, with many a shot being flung toward Zeppelin with a visceral hate - as aging dinosaurs of an era and genre of rock that was long gone, the release of In Though the Out Door proved all the doubters wrong. These bands that record companies had gone out and signed barely knew how to play their instruments. Only a few of these bands—the Sex Pistols and the Clash, for example—had enough rebellious attitude and animal magnetism to overcome the fact they couldn't really play. In Through the Out Door came out in the late summer and promptly saved the American record industry from pandemic bankruptcy.
In Through the Out Door was released by Swan Song Records on August 15, 1979, the album was so named to describe Zeppelin's recent struggles amidst the death of Karac, their years of tax exile that resulted in the band being unable to tour on British soil for over two years, and the hysteria over punk, disco, and new wave in the American and UK music scene. Thus, trying to get back into the public mind was therefore like "trying to get in through the 'out' door."
Similar to the events around the release of Physical Graffiti, with the release of In Through the Out Door, the entire back catalogue made the Billboard 200 during October/November. Along with Zeppelin II, it spent the most weeks (6) at the top of the charts of any Zeppelin album. The albums was another quick one, made in 3 weeks, “With the no-nonsense Jones in charge, recording went quickly” and finished just a few days before Xmas. At least three other tracks were recorded in Stockholm. Two of them, later titled Ozone Baby, and Wearing and Tearing.
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Interesting about the name. Is that speculation on someones part or is it confirmed, Chad? Also, didn't they make multiple album covers for this album? I thought it was like 9 different covers. I also didn't realize that this was primarily a Jones album, that...explains a LOT. Definitely my least favorite Zep album, yet the one I anticipated most.
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There were six different covers, six different perspectives of the exact same shot.
My least favorite Zep album as well, but I'm still glad it's out there. I like In the Evening and Carouselambra, the rest is not that great. :-\
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Interesting about the name. Is that speculation on someones part or is it confirmed, Chad?
It was mentioned in interviews at the time, and in subsequent years.
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Interesting, never heard that lil factoid about the name. That's right JD...6. Don't know why I was thinking 9. Also, from wiki (and I forgot about this too)
the inner sleeve featured black and white line artwork which, if washed with water, would become permanently fully coloured
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This album doesn't do much for me on the whole, but it has a couple of good tracks. Not really much to say about it.
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I like All My Love. The 1st time, I've heard it, its intro was used as background music during the station identification of a LA Kings game I was listening to on radio. The moment I listened to that song, when listening to In Through the Out Door, I recognized it as that. It's a good song. It had an awesome John Paul Jones keyboard solo. However, I can understand Jimmy Page not wanting the band to go in that direction for whatever future Zeppelin might have if Bonham was still alive.
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What always amazes me about this album is that they recorded Wearing and Tearing and then thought "No, let's not put it on the album, let's put Hot Dog on there instead..."
It's not a bad album. It has a certain charm. But it's not a good Led Zeppelin album, and it's by far their weakest. I know this was a time of "adapt or change" for the big 70s rock bands, but this one always sounds like the sound of a band self-destructing while trying (and failing) to find a new identity. You can almost hear the record company exec from Have a Cigar saying "Guitar Bands are Dead! What the kids want is keyboards!" File alongside Emotional Rescue and Face Dances.
In The Evening is a solid opener, All My Love is a great ballad and a different side to the band, I'm Gonna Crawl is the best thing here, even if it doesn't belong on the same album, but the rest - I sometimes find myself tapping my foot to Carouselambra, but then I think - is this really the same band that made Stairway to Heaven??
This probably represents the direction Zep would have taken for the next few albums had Bonzo not died. Then in about 1985 they'd have had a renaissance with some soft-rock power ballad getting to number one on the strength of a video with Plant miming in a hotel room wearing a pastel linen suit with the sleeves rolled up while a neon sign flashes through a venetian blind and Tawny Kitaen crawls across the bed on all fours in her underwear.
And a leopard.
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I had already quoted myself from my own ''top 50 albums'' thread in the discussion about Permanent waves, but here's another opportunity to do so:
Some people don’t enjoy this record that much because the keyboards play quite a prominent role. However, I for one really like the style of the album, because it sounds like John Paul Jones was having so much fun laying down the keyboard parts. The odd sounds are all over the place, which makes it very interesting. However, it’s not like the album is a complete departure from the band’s classic style. The riffs are still there, as well as some of their early bluesy influences and Plant’s powerful singing, although his voice does sound like it aged a bit, but that gives the album another touch of originality.
Favorite songs: I’m gonna crawl, Carouselambra, All my love
I placed it at number 23 on my list of all time favorite albums, so that's saying something. It's only behind Houses of the holy. And speaking of Rush, is it possible that they were influenced at least a bit by In through the out door during their synth years?
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Some really good songs, but not a very consistent album for me. I don't mind the direction, but it didn't result in a high average quality for me.
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And speaking of Rush, is it possible that they were influenced at least a bit by In through the out door during their synth years?
Possible, but I doubt it. I don't hear anything from 80s Rush that reminds me of IITOD.
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This probably represents the direction Zep would have taken for the next few albums had Bonzo not died. Then in about 1985 they'd have had a renaissance with some soft-rock power ballad getting to number one on the strength of a video with Plant miming in a hotel room wearing a pastel linen suit with the sleeves rolled up while a neon sign flashes through a venetian blind and Tawny Kitaen crawls across the bed on all fours in her underwear.
I don't know. Page thought otherwise according to the wiki page of the album, ::).
In a 1998 Guitar World magazine interview, Page was asked about the paradigm shift of the album's composition and style:
GW: I thought maybe you were losing your enthusiasm for the band.
Page: Never. Never. In fact, Bonzo [i.e. drummer John Bonham] and I had already started discussing plans for a hard-driving rock album after that. We both felt that In Through the Outdoor was a little soft. I was not really very keen on "All My Love". I was a little worried about the chorus. I could just imagine people doing the wave and all of that. And I thought, 'That is not us. That is not us.' In its place it was fine, but I would not have wanted to pursue that direction in the future.[12]
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While I acknowledge that most of their albums are better, I like ITTOD more than most seem to.
Fool in the Rain is still one of my favorite LZ songs ever. It was the gateway song that jump-started my LZ fandom.
Carouselambra is an underrated tune. Maybe the prog fan in me likes it because it is long, but I liked the song before I was deep into prog.
Hot Dog is kinda corny, but it's a lot of fun. Cool bass line, too.
In the Evening is a really good opener.
All My Love is a bit too pretty at times, but has some cool things going on.
I'm Gonna Crawl and South Bound Saurez are both solid, if not overly memorable.
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I am firmly in the ITTOD > Presence camp myself. An album that met the two extremes of those two albums in the middle-the guitar driven Presence and the keyboard driven ITTOD-would've been fantastic. In The Evening, Fool In The Rain, Carouselambra, All My Love, and I'm Gonna Crawl are pretty fantastic songs, and nothing is really BAD on the album. A definite underrated album by the band.
I have often wondered what was next for the band. Page always said he and Bonham wanted to make a heavier album, but I think Plant was growing tired of being the rock god-the directions he went in in the 1980s suggest that-and I have often thought that Led Zeppelin was on borrowed time already. Had Bonham not died, Page was very likely on his way, had Zep continued, to a heroin overdose, and I honestly saw the band breaking up in the early 1980s without another album coming out, at best putting out one more album and a "farewell" tour. Boots of the 1980 German tour definitely had a feel of the clock ticking down for the band. But I'll get to that in the tour post.
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Very solid album in my opinion. Light years better than Presence. In The Evening is an incredible opener. I will always have a soft spot for Fool In The Rain, such a fun song. All Of My Love is a great ballad (though I didn't learn until a few years ago it was the 70's equivalent of Tears In Heaven) and Carouselambra is a solid epic (even though it's my least favorite of the 10 minute plus juggernauts)
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Carouselambra is a solid epic (even though it's my least favorite of the 10 minute plus juggernauts)
Well, they only had 3 of them! lol
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With In the Evening, I hear in Plant a certain edge to his voice that wasn't there before - almost like he's coming back to the band and fans after his son's death on a mission of determination. This would be the song where Page contributed the most, with his trusty violin bow opening the track, and a memorable riff for the chorus.
South Bound Saurez is the first of two songs in Zeppelin's catalog where Page had zero writing credits (the second being All of My Love). Apparently, Page made a few minor mistakes in his guitar part, but opted to leave them in. This song would probably be more at home on an Elton John album as opposed to a Zeppelin album.
Fool in the Rain started as pure steady Zeppelin, but under John Paul Jones the song went to Brazil for the bridge as the band mutated into a samba street band complete with whistles and shouts. The surreal time-skips and wounded imagery of the lyric set a mood of wistful melancholy that dominated the whole record when it came out Paul Jones and Plant developed the idea for the samba beat from watching the 1978 FIFA World Cup tournament in Argentina. Lyrically, the song is about a man who's supposed to meet a woman on a certain street corner. When the woman does not appear, he is filled with sorrow at being stood up. By the final verse, he realizes that he has not gone to the right place, making him "just a fool waiting on the wrong block," as Plant sings.
Hot Dog is as much a wtf moment as Candy Store Rock. Country-Zeppelin, but for my tastes, it's 10x more fun. Plus, it's got the same melody from the Almond Joy commercials from the 80s (I'll just leave this in everyone's heads for a moment - nostalgia time for my fellow fogey's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MOJAxformw - holy jezuz, why do I remember this shit!) It's done in the style of a country hoe-down, it features some Elvis Presley-like vocals from singer Robert Plant. It's a good thing it's fun, because this is another totally out of place Zeppelin tune.
John Paul Jones at his finest with Carouselambra ladies and gentlemen. Page doesn't come in until almost just after the 4 minute mark. It always was my favorite from the album, but damned if I ever knew the lyrics for the longest time - thank god for the internet. Plant's vocals, particularly in the first section of the song, are somewhat buried in the mix and the words are difficult to discern. I remember the lyrics for this song was one of the first things I ever Altavista'd. The combined keys and base lines in this are second to none in the discography. The lyrics had the cadences of a funeral oration for a Norse chieftain. Though it was never played live by the band at Led Zeppelin concerts. John Paul Jones once stated that his original idea for the song was for it to be used as a "centrepiece" of their live shows, using it as a medium between songs as they moved from one to the other.
Karac's death would later inspired Plant to write All My Love as a tribute. For years, I wasn't aware of this, and this ballad (which used to be really overplayed on the radio) didn't really appeal to me. Knowing it was in memory of the sudden and tragic death of his son changed that in an instant for me, and hearing it from a new perspective made it such a better song for me. Plant stated that this song was one of Led Zeppelin's "finest moments", countered by Page's distaste for it. The almost dueling play between Page and Jones works wonderfully, even though Page would receive no writing credit, his solo may have been a key element to the track's enduring success as one of the pure ballad's in the bands discography.
Until listening for this discussion, I'm Gonna Crawl always verged on the edge of being a song that I simply didn't like. Ambivalent was about as nice a thing I can say about it. It's not horrible, but slower paced songs back-to-back to close out their discography is a bit of let down. In the last two weeks, it's improved substantially for me, but still close to the bottom of the heap if I had to rank all 80 of their songs. Bonham noted this as one of Plant's best vocal performances, telling a tale of a woman he'd crawl on his knees for.
jingle.boy's rankings:
Carouselambra
In The Evening
Fool in the Rain
All of My Love
I'm Gonna Crawl
Hot Dog
South Bound Suarez
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That keyboard solo by John Paul Jones really made "All My Love" a great song, for me. Heck, anything he did in that song was just superb.
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John Paul Jones at his finest with Carouselambra ladies and gentlemen. Page doesn't come in until almost just after the 4 minute mark. It always was my favorite from the album, but damned if I ever knew the lyrics for the longest time - thank god for the internet. Plant's vocals, particularly in the first section of the song, are somewhat buried in the mix and the words are difficult to discern. I remember the lyrics for this song was one of the first things I ever Altavista'd. The combined keys and base lines in this are second to none in the discography. The lyrics had the cadences of a funeral oration for a Norse chieftain. Though it was never played live by the band at Led Zeppelin concerts. John Paul Jones once stated that his original idea for the song was for it to be used as a "centrepiece" of their live shows, using it as a medium between songs as they moved from one to the other.
Wait, what? There is plenty of guitar in the first four minutes, but it is just not up front and actually does a good job of bouncing around that repetitive keyboard line and added some great atmosphere. Just wanted to say that. :biggrin:
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^ True... Page doesn't take the lead melody until the 4 minute mark. He provides a nice arpeggio duet during some of the opening 4 minutes, but that's about it - and it's mixed behind JPJ's keys and bass.
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It's no wonder Page doesn't draw attention during the first four minutes of Carouselambra, JPJ is going crazy throughout, especially at the end of the first section. What a great song! And yeah, I agree I'm gonna crawl features some of the best Plant's vocals. I'd even say it's my favorite blues Zeppelin song, and one of their very best overall.
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Been a bit behind recenty after oding a bit in the early part :biggrin:
Presence is an album I own. A mate bought it for me trying to convert me to the chur h of Zep - he knew I loved DT's version of Achilles'. I don't know if I ever played it all the way though before today. It's ok. 2 greatg songs as others have said. A couple of ok Zep-style tracks, and I really liked the closing track. Not a bad album but nothing much to keep me coming back other than Achilles and NFBM.
TSRTS - a mate at school played this over and over trying to convert me back in my school days. He and it may have been responsible for putting me off the band for 30 years :biggrin: Mind numbing tedium is my recollection of the album and it would need A Clockwork Orange style restraints to get me to watch the film. Haven't felt inclined to revisit the album as it might set me back from this new-found appreciation.
ITTOD. Hmm. I like the sound of the album, the keys are a welcome addition. The songs on the whole are fairly bland and I find the vocals just don't suit alot of these songs. A strange album but still has a couple of enjoyable songs (ITE, C, AML). The fact that it's written by JPJ explains alot, but Page's contributions actually elevate the songs an extra notch from where they would otherwise be for me. Don't think I'll be coming back to this one.
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In Through The Out Door has got to be my favourite Led Zeppelin album.
I actually kind of have a story for Fool In The Rain. When I was 16.. my girlfriend at the time and I were living in separate cities... 2 cities away from each other. We were in a Romeo and Juliet type situation... and were seeing each other in secret. Luckily... My best friend lived a few blocks away from her. Very convenient. Well... My stepfather also worked in that town... from 6am - 10pm.
Well one summer morning I rode with him to work, with plans to meet up with her later that morning. We were supposed to meet at a corner a few blocks from her. It was lightly raining. She never showed up (nor did she answer her phone / texts...) I spent several hours standing there... in the rain.. listening to ITTOD (Fool In The Rain more specifically) over and over on my little MP3 player. I stood there until my buddy's dad drove by, noticed me, and insisted I go to their house. Which I did, and I stayed there waiting for a call / text. It never came. I learned a few days later that her RAZR got wet and she was phoneless. Damn.
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^ :rollin :rollin + :ironic:
In May of 1979 it was announced that Led Zeppelin would re-form to play two massive outdoor shows in the natural amphitheater at Knebworth Park. In preparation, late in July, they played two nights of live rehearsals at the Falkonerteatret in Copenhagen, using the Danish audience as litmus test for its English comeback The first Knebworth show was on August 4 - it was their first English show since 1975, and the band was terrified, with Plant claiming later his voice was all "clammed up with nerves". In Through the Out Door was supposed to have been released prior to the shows, but the usual delays prevented this. The concerts received decidedly mixed reviews. The band would even admit to being a bit rusty. The two concerts were professionally recorded; part of the footage would be remastered, and appear as part of the 2003 DVD package.
In April 1980 Led Zeppelin began to rehearse again for a short tour of Europe. The plan was to play fourteen concerts during June in Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland. It would be their first European series since 1973. During this time, Richard Cole fell out of favour with Peter Grant. Grant decided that Cole was too wasted to do his job. He later ended up getting arrested in Italy and jailed for 6 months in Italy.
The first date of the first tour since the death of Plant's son was in Germany, on June 17, 1980. The whole tour was scaled way down, with no video screen or much in the way of visual effects. Page appeared painfully thin and frail in a floppy suit and skinny punk tie, and played with a new, spartan economy. JPJ had short, swept-back hair and was clearly the music director of the band, playing electric clavinet and organ in addition to grand piano and his bass. Bonzo was at his heaviest, fully bearded, and played in top form when he was feeling well. Plant was subdued when compared to the raving swordsman of a now bygone era, but he still danced and moved with his own peculiar graceful gestures.
The shows were highly erratic as the tour moved on through Europe. On some nights, Jimmy looked "weary, unshaven, unsteady and sweaty,". On other nights he jumped in the air, used extravagant wizard moves to finish songs, and actually spoke to the audience. Offstage, the scene was as subdued as some of the shows. Without Richard Cole to goad Led Zeppelin or the rest of the crew, there were few of the usual outrages. Though during one show, Bonham fell off his drum chair and collapsed after the third song of the night.
The (final) tour ended in Berlin on July 7, 1980, after Jimmy cancelled a series of concerts in France - the third consecutive tour that was ended early. A little more than two months later, they reconvened to rehearse for the upcoming American tour. Hopes for the group's complete revival were very high. By then Bonzo had stopped using heroin, but he had been drinking heavily and was taking a drug called Motival, which reduced anxiety and kept his spirits up. A friend later said that Bonzo had seemed very wound up and anxious about going back to America because the last tour there had been such a disaster and lawsuits were still hanging over him in California.
On September 24, 1980. Bonham was on his way to rehearsals in the early morning, and had the band assistant stop for breakfast - downing four quadruple vodka's and a ham role. After continuing to drink heavily during rehearsals, for the first time in his career he was too drunk to play. Rehearsals ended early, and Bonzo continued his binge at a band party at Page's house. He downed two or three large double vodkas an hour before midnight, when he passed out on a sofa. Having been dragged upstairs to bed, when he was late for rehearsals the next morning, he was found dead in his bedroom; having drunk forty measures of vodka during a twelve-hour period, and then choked on his own vomit while asleep, his death was ruled an accidental suicide.
On December 4th, the band released the following:
We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were -- Led Zeppelin
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:(
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What a sad ending to a once-amazing band.
Some of the shows on the American tour were already booked, and I had friends with tickets to see them in Detroit. They were stoked, finally getting to see the great Led Zeppelin. Needless to say, it was a huge blow to find out that Bonham was gone, the band was gone, and of course the show would never happen. Like, damn.
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I heard that they had rehearsed Carouselambra for the tour that never happened? Is that true? Are there bootlegs of those rehearsals?
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Considering they were planning on the song being the centrepiece of the show, surely they rehearsed it. Never heard a recording of it though.
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:(
My thoughts exactly. (https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/Smileys/default/agree2.gif)
That period hasn't been kind to them and it looked like they were starting to get, sadly, out-dated and fast. One could only wonder how things would have gone if Bonham didn't literally drink himself to death.
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What a sad ending to a once-amazing band.
Yep. Such a sad, sad ending... :'(
But then, thirty something years later, Celebration day happened. :metal
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I tend to think of the Knebworth shows as being the end, because the 1980 German tour was just awful compared to what they did as a live band throughout their history. There were occasional moments even up to the end-there's a fantastic version of Whole Lotta Love from the very last show, for example-where the band was still brilliant, but there were also canceled shows and Page was awful most nights and you kind of get the sense that had Bonham lived, the upcoming US tour could very well have been it.
One of the joys of Celebration Day-even allowing that Jason Bonham is playing drums, so it isn't the full line up-is that Zeppelin finally got a last show that was worthy of their reputation. The last date in Berlin of the German tour in 1980 and all the reunions before 2007 simply didn't manage that.
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There were occasional moments even up to the end-there's a fantastic version of Whole Lotta Love from the very last show, for example-where the band was still brilliant, but there were also canceled shows and Page was awful most nights and you kind of get the sense that had Bonham lived, the upcoming US tour could very well have been it.
That was the last song of the set iirc, so the very last song the original lineup ever played.
One of the joys of Celebration Day-even allowing that Jason Bonham is playing drums, so it isn't the full line up-is that Zeppelin finally got a last show that was worthy of their reputation. The last date in Berlin of the German tour in 1980 and all the reunions before 2007 simply didn't manage that.
Agreed. Live Aid and the 40th Atlantic were barely even mediocre. Were there any other reunions with all three?
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Did they do something regarding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
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Did they do something regarding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Yes, along with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, with Jason Bonham on drums, and a few other guests, for their induction in 1995. Mostly covers, with a kind of jam on When the Levee Breaks.
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Just saw this on FB. Paul McCartney digs out the Wings track "Beware My Love" with Bonzo on Drums :tup
https://twitter.com/PaulMcCartney/status/524269016907804672
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Sorry for the lag here folks. Flying home today, and will get Coda up on the weekend. The rest of this will flow pretty quick, as there won't be three posts per album anymore - just straight to the album/song discussion. Still to come:
Breakup/Coda
80s reunions
Box Sets
UnLedded
BBC Sessions
How The West Was Won + DVD
Celebration Day
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Coda (1982)
Try to hold it steady
Wait until you're ready
Any second now will do
Throw the door wide open
(https://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/ultimateclassicrock.com/files/2012/11/ledzeppelincoda.jpg)
Released in November of 1982 (shortly after Plant's debut solo album), the reasoning for the Coda's release related to the popularity of unofficial Led Zeppelin recordings which continued to be circulated by fans. Page claimed "Coda was released, basically, because there was so much bootleg stuff out. We thought, "Well, if there's that much interest, then we may as well put the rest of our studio stuff out". However, reality is that the band owed Atlantic Records one more album from the five-album deal that created Swan Song Records in 1974. As such, rather than trying to recruit a drummer to make a record, this album of outtakes can be seen as a contractual fulfillment.
According to the album notes, We're Gonna Groove recorded at Morgan Studios in June 1969. It was later acknowledged to have come from a January 1970 concert at the Royal Albert Hall, with the guitar parts overdubbed and the original guitar part removed—this can be heard in the original Royal Albert Hall show on 9 January 1970. This song was used to open a number of concerts on their 1969 tours and was originally intended to be recorded for inclusion in Led Zeppelin II.
Poor Tom comes from the Zeppelin III sessions, and I'd gladly have taken this over Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. Funky little tune.
I Can't Quit You Baby was taken from the same concert as "We're Gonna Groove" but was listed as a rehearsal in the original liner notes. The recording was edited to remove the overall "live" feel: the crowd noise as well as the beginning and ending of the song were deleted. Crowd tracks were muted on the multitrack mixdown on this recording as with "We're Gonna Groove".
Officially credited to the Houses of the Holy sessions, some have suggested that Plant's vocals on Walter's Walk may have been recorded at Jimmy Page's Sol Studios in 1982. It is quite likely that the song existed only as a basic backing track until Coda was assembled. You can hear similarities in the guitar riff with Royal Orleans.
Recorded at Polar Studios in Stockholm during the sessions for the band's final studio album In Through the Out Door, it was decided to leave Ozone Baby off the resultant album.
Darlene is a little upbeat number, and the only song from the In Through the Out Door sessions which was credited to all four members of the band.
Bonzo's Montreaux was recorded in September 1976 at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland. Jimmy Page added electronic effects afterwards
Wearing and Tearing shows the direction the band would've been on had it not all come to a crashing halt. This is the one and only gem on this album, and is one of the band's hardest rockers - intended as a statement that Led Zeppelin could compete against the popular punk bands of the time. The band had hoped to release the song as a special commemorative single in time for their performance at the 1979 Knebworth Festival, but this plan was abandoned because of time constraints. This provides a tantalizing thought of "what if"
Baby Come on Home
Not released on the original 1982 album, bud added on the 1993 CD release, it was recorded during sessions for the band's debut album. The track stems from an old master reel labeled 'Yardbirds. October 10, 1968' The master tape went missing for a number of years and allegedly turned up in a refuse bin outside Olympic Studios in 1991. It was mixed for a much belated release in 1993, with a single to promote the Boxed Set 2.
jingle.boy's ranking
Wearing and Tearing
Darlene
Poor Tom
Baby Come on Home
We're Gonna Groove
Walter's Walk
Ozone Baby
Bonzo's Montreaux
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For the 31 people who claimed they own Coda, nothing to say? No one else listen to it?
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Wearing And Tearing is EASILY one of my favorite Zeppelin tunes. :metal
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I haven't listened to Coda in a while. I was planning to re-listen to it after I re-listened to Power Windows by Rush. I'm about halfway through that. Trying to keep up on two discographies at the same time is tough when you don't have a lot of listening time.
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Same. It's just been too long since I've spun the disc...and I've sadly been too busy to even listen to music lately. I need a vacation...
I remember that I LOVE Wearing and Tearing, and Poor Tom. Darlene was the single on the radio...it's OK. I kinda like that my version from "The Complete Studio Recordings" also contains Baby Come On Home, Travelling Riverside Blues, White Summer/Black Mountain Side and Hey Hey What Can I Do. The bonus tracks actually really make the album listening experience more enjoyable. I should give it a spin.
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For the 31 people who claimed they own Coda, nothing to say? No one else listen to it?
I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but I likely will do so today.
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I kinda like that my version from "The Complete Studio Recordings" also contains Baby Come On Home, Travelling Riverside Blues, White Summer/Black Mountain Side and Hey Hey What Can I Do. The bonus tracks actually really make the album listening experience more enjoyable. I should give it a spin.
Those tracks would make it a much better experience. Fortunately, the latter three are all on 1990's Boxed Set
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Well, the album is still such a chore to listen to. Not surprising given that it's a bunch of outtakes, but it's almost as sad a way for the band to have gone out as it was for it to be happening because Bonzo died.
I'm not even sure what the highlight of the album is for me. Maybe I Can't Quit You Baby, but it's still far from being a great song.
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Ok, you asked for it so here goes:
Coda is just uninspired boring shit!
I never understood why they put it out. I know it's not a regular studio album, I know it's just outtakes, but to put it out as the last album with "new" material in their career, that for me leaves a bad taste. There is not a single song I can enjoy and trust me I've tried hard to like it at least a little bit.
There is a reason why outtakes are left off the original release. Very rarely there are hidden gems but more often than not it's just that the songs are sub-par, and releasing them later doesn't make them better.
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I never understood why they put it out.
reality is that the band owed Atlantic Records one more album from the five-album deal that created Swan Song Records in 1974. As such, rather than trying to recruit a drummer to make a record, this album of outtakes can be seen as a contractual fulfillment.
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I never understood why they put it out.
reality is that the band owed Atlantic Records one more album from the five-album deal that created Swan Song Records in 1974. As such, rather than trying to recruit a drummer to make a record, this album of outtakes can be seen as a contractual fulfillment.
Yeah, I read that and have heard it before. What I mean is, I can't understand why they put out this album. Why not a live record, a compilation or try to find a replacement for Bonzo? Imo everything would have been better.
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They made it clear when John Bonham died, Led Zeppelin was over. One of them was gone, therefore the band could not continue. And they stuck to that for a long, long time. Sure, Page and Plant have gotten together and done things like "Un-Led-Ed" which obviously pays tribute to their Zeppelin background, but they never called the band Led Zeppelin. Even the "Led Zeppelin reunion" shows and one-offs, I would bet large amounts of money (someone else's) that they're not the ones who wanted to call it Led Zeppelin. Anyway, finding a replacement drummer just wasn't in the picture.
Also, it's possible that the contract called for a one more studio album, so a live album wouldn't have fulfilled it.
And finally, no one knows what constitutes a "hidden gem" until it's out there and we get people's reactions. So they put it all out there, whatever they had left. Hey, some people just wanted more Led Zeppelin, and even subpar Led Zeppelin is better than nothing. For all we know, there are people who love this album. Maybe it was the one they happened to grab after their friends had been talking about Led Zeppelin for years, and they had no idea, but they got into it.
You could argue that it tarnished their legacy or whatever, but it was recorded, it was Led Zeppelin, and it would have seen the light of day at some point anyway. So why not put it out there?
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I'm glad they put it out, I suppose. But I have never, ever had the urge to listen to it, after my first time through.
But for the sake of the thread, I will do so.
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Not sure why, but pretty much everything I've listened throughout this process, that I once may have dismissed has aged well.
Hats Off and D'yer Mak'er notwithstanding.
Coda was actually a good listen. Still the bottom of the Led Zeppelin stack ranking by far, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered. Even beyond W&T, there were some enjoyable moments.
Bob... excellent post. Hindsight is 20/20, so in the fall of 1982, who knew how this REALLY would be received until it was put out. Of course we know what we know now, but Page et al didn't have the benefit of hindsight.
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You could argue that it tarnished their legacy or whatever, but it was recorded, it was Led Zeppelin, and it would have seen the light of day at some point anyway. So why not put it out there?
All of what you've written and especially the above part is true. But jingle asked for feedback and I gave it ;D
I hope I made it clear that this was solely my opinion, but yes, for me the legacy is kinda tarnished because of Coda.
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You could argue that it tarnished their legacy or whatever, but it was recorded, it was Led Zeppelin, and it would have seen the light of day at some point anyway. So why not put it out there?
All of what you've written and especially the above part is true. But jingle asked for feedback and I gave it ;D
I hope I made it clear that this was solely my opinion, but yes, for me the legacy is kinda tarnished because of Coda.
:itsallgood:
Just got my Zeppelin IV and HOTH remasters yesterday. Will save my thoughts for the end of this journey. No news on the remaining three (four?) albums.
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You could argue that it tarnished their legacy or whatever, but it was recorded, it was Led Zeppelin, and it would have seen the light of day at some point anyway. So why not put it out there?
All of what you've written and especially the above part is true. But jingle asked for feedback and I gave it ;D
I hope I made it clear that this was solely my opinion, but yes, for me the legacy is kinda tarnished because of Coda.
Fair enough.
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I think Zeppelin were so great, you would've thought stuff that didn't make their albums would still be better than most bands' output, and it really wasn't.
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I don't listen to Coda very often, but I always liked Ozone Baby.
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I went to listen to Coda yesterday, and discovered that I'd only put "Ozone Baby", "Wearing and Tearing", and "White Summer / Black Mountain Side" on my iPod. Apparently, back in 2007 (when I loaded it), I had made a decision that those were the only tracks worth putting on. They were fine, though I would consider all three of them less than essential Led Zeppelin. So I didn't re-listen to the others, and I guess I'm okay with that. :p
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Yeah....as a, what I consider a die hard fan, I thought Coda sucked. I was soooo excited when I heard of the impending release, only to be massively disappointed. In hindsight, I guess I shouldn't have set myself up for that kind of response. I mean, bottom line is these were tracks that didn't make the cut for one reason or another.
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Aren't some of them unfinished and/or demo tracks as well?
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Besides the live tracks, I think they were all material that didn't make their respective albums. Most from ITTOD. Not sure if they were completed works or not prior to Coda.
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Ozone Baby, Darlene, and Wearing And Tearing were recorded during the ITTOD sessions. Poor Tom is an outtake from the LZ III sessions. Walter's Walk is an outtake from Houses of the Holy, probably with later overdubs. Bonzo's Montreux was recorded in 1976 and Page added the electronics later, though I am not sure when.
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Confession... I actually really like the Moby Dick/Bonzo mashup from the boxed set.
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I listened to Coda a long time ago and didn't find any of it being good enough to where I remember it at all.
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Interesting comments from Phil Collins regarding Live Aid.
https://bravewords.com/news/phil-collins-on-performing-at-1985s-live-aid-with-led-zeppelin-it-was-a-disaster-really
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I remember watching that set live on TV and thinking the same thing. It wasn't really a Led Zeppelin reunion, of course, just Page and Plant, and they already had Tony Thompson on drums and some guy on bass (I don't remember, and apparently he wasn't important enough to even be mentioned in the article) so Phil Collins was literally a fifth wheel. But he was so freakin' popular at the time, I guess they thought he would add something to it. There was already the huge hooplah about Phil being the one artist to play Live Aid on both sides of the Atlantic, but they had Tony Thompson on board just in case something went wrong and Phil couldn't make it. So they'd rehearsed a bit, the four of them, and then Phil showed up, at that point for no particular reason.
I wouldn't call the set a "disaster" but I can see how Phil wouldn't exactly remember it fondly.
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Always assumed they brought Phil on because he'd worked with Robert Plant and even toured with him for his first solo album...which would have made sense if Plant had, ya know, played Zeppelin songs on that tour :lol
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Ah yes, I'd forgotten that Phil played on Plant's first album. So there was that connection. That also explains why Plant was happy to see him and all, while Jimmy couldn't care less.
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Ah yes, I'd forgotten that Phil played on Plant's first album. So there was that connection. That also explains why Plant was happy to see him and all, while Jimmy couldn't care less.
Pictures At Eleven is a freaking awesome album. Cozy Powell also plays on two tracks.
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Funny enough, I was just doing my writeups on the 80s earlier today. Will post shortly.
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After the death of Bonham, Plant essentially distanced himself from everything Led Zeppelin for years, pushing his solo career in a completely different direction. Page continued with a variety of outlets, including benefit shows with Eric Clayton and Jeff Beck where he stole the show. Jones all but disappeared.
The three surviving members of Led Zeppelin gathered backstage at the Live Aid show in Philadelphia on July 14, 1985. It was the first time in five years they had met for the purpose of making music. Phil Collins, who was flying over on the Concorde from having just performed at the London live Aid show, would sit in on the drums. John Paul Jones was now on keyboards, and Robert's bassist Paul Martinez would take Jones's place on bass. In the afternoon, they held a ninety-minute rehearsal with Tony Thompson, the young black power house who was then working with a Duran Duran offshoot called The Power Station. The six members had 20 minutes just like every other act, and fired thru Rock And Roll, Whole Lotta Love, and Stairway To Heaven ... All to a thunderous ovation, despite the questionable, yet decent performance from both Plant and Page. Plant would call the set "a fucking atrocity". Due to their "sub-standard" performance, the band have blocked all possible broadcasts of it since and they withheld permission for it to be included on the official DVD release of the concerts. Rumors of a reunion would explode, despite all three members scoffing at the idea.
Eventually, Robert Plant finally announced the death of Percy, his old lemon-squeezing persona, and perhaps the final death of Led Zeppelin. After Jimmy and Robert disbanded their respective orchestras in 1985, they rarely appeared in public for a couple of years
On May 14, 1988 Atlantic Records held its 40th Anniversary Celebration by staging a non-stop concert lasting almost 13 hours at Madison Square Garden. The event was dubbed "It's Only Rock And Roll". Led Zeppelin was brought in as the closing act to the 1/2 day show. Jimmy had rehearsed for all of six minutes, playing a reportedly magnificent sound check the night before, but only performed indifferently at the event when they went onstage at one in the morning to play "Kashmir," "Whole Lotta Love," "Misty Mountain Hop" and "Stairway to Heaven," whose climactic guitar solo Page fumbled disastrously. After this show, the band would revert back into hibernation.
By the end of 1988, Plant finally loosened up and played some rabidly requested Zeppelin faves ("No Quarter," "Immigrant Song," "Wearing and Tearing" and an invariably stage-storming '"Misty Mountain Hop'' as an encore). In April of 1990, Led Zeppelin jammed at Jason Bonham's wedding.
A 4-CD boxed set Led Zeppelin, released in November 1990, cobbled together dozens of re-mastered classic grooves and unveiled three collector's items: "Travelling Riverside Blues," "White Sunmier/Black Mountain Side" (both recorded for BBC radio in 1969) and "Hey Hey What Can I Do," a 1970 out-take from Led Zeppelin III - previously only available as the B-side to Immigrant Song. It quickly went platinum and became the best-selling CD boxed set in history. The other memorable aspect of the box set was the coupling of Heartbreaker with Communication Breakdown. Though a good combination, it just felt odd, and to some extent wrong, to not hear Living Loving Maid after that final "Heartbreaker".
Another vaulted Zeppelin studio track was released three years later on both Led Zeppelin/Box Set 2 and the deluxe remastered 10-CD Led Zeppelin: The Complete Studio Recordings. This was the superb "Baby Come on Home," an outtake from the seminal October 1968 Led Zeppelin sessions, which would be included on the re-release of Coda. Sources close to the band insist this is absolutely the last remaining unreleased song in Zeppelin's vault.
There was a flurry of Led Zeppelin reunion rumors in 1992. Robert's band was on hold, and he was admittedly restless. Jimmy was reportedly keen to do a project with him, but Robert demurred for reasons he didn't enjoy explaining.
Until 1994, and MTV's Unplugged series came calling.
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I took a listen to that Live Aid performance on youtube. It is totally reasonable that those guys did not want it released on a DVD or any other outlet. Rock and Roll was an absolute shambles with a lot of muddy guitar sound and Plant working his voice in a tone that's just not competent enough to their liking. Page also looked so high out of his mind during the Stairway to Heaven solo and the fact that it was a "slight" extended solo did not make it better.
Also, what's up with Plant's pants in the Live Aid performance?
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After the death of Bonham, Plant essentially distanced himself from everything Led Zeppelin for years, pushing his solo career in a completely different direction. Page continued with a variety of outlets, including benefit shows with Eric Clayton and Jeff Beck where he stole the show. Jones all but disappeared.
I played with Eric Clayton once too and I blew him off the stage :neverusethis:
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I get that the Live Aid performance was dodgy, but that show was part of history, and that performance should be on the DVD as an historical record, if nothing else.
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Again, loads of interesting stuff I didn't know about. :tup
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As I said, Pictures At Eleven was excellent, but I didn't care for anything else Plant ever did.
Didn't Page play a benefit show in the mid 80's where he played an instrumental version of Stairway To Heaven, and Simon Phillips played drums?
Oh here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFik1D1zPhQ
Also, any thoughts on The Firm? I thought they were terribly underwhelming.
There was a flurry of Led Zeppelin reunion rumors in 1992. Robert's band was on hold, and he was admittedly restless. Jimmy was reportedly keen to do a project with him, but Robert demurred for reasons he didn't enjoy explaining.
Jimmy ended up working with David Coverdale and made a really solid album.
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Didn't Page play a benefit show in the mid 80's where he played an instrumental version of Stairway To Heaven, and Simon Phillips played drums?
Oh here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFik1D1zPhQ
Thanks for that. Never saw it before. Will look later.
Jimmy ended up working with David Coverdale and made a really solid album.
Oh, I very well know. It made my original Top 50. Fantastic album. I could make a whole writeup on that too, but was limiting this discussion to stuff outside their solo careers, or individual projects/collaborations.
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Yeah, that Coverdale/Page album was fantastic.
And I remember watching that Live Aid performance and thinking "WTF is this shit?"
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Oh, I very well know. It made my original Top 50. Fantastic album. I could make a whole writeup on that too, but was limiting this discussion to stuff outside their solo careers, or individual projects/collaborations.
I don't know if this is even fair or not, but somehow I can't help but feel that for me at least, Zeppelin's legacy is ultimately tarnished by the lack of quality stuff released by their members in this eternity since Zeppelin disbanded. It's been almost 35 years.
I will say that while I am not at all interested in anything Plant has done he has at least been productive. But Page? Jones?
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Oh, I very well know. It made my original Top 50. Fantastic album. I could make a whole writeup on that too, but was limiting this discussion to stuff outside their solo careers, or individual projects/collaborations.
I don't know if this is even fair or not, but somehow I can't help but feel that for me at least, Zeppelin's legacy is ultimately tarnished by the lack of quality stuff released by their members in this eternity since Zeppelin disbanded. It's been almost 35 years.
I will say that while I am not at all interested in anything Plant has done he has at least been productive. But Page? Jones?
I actually think the opposite. I think if all three had done what Plant did (go and explore their own musical path in a direction totally opposite from Led Zeppelin), that may have tarnished it as well. The fact that their career musical contributions are still defined by what Zeppelin was for their 11 year period makes it all that much more magical. That's my opinion.
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Jones has been extremely busy, just not with mass-market stuff. He has guested on a ton of albums playing a ton of instruments. He has also done arranging and producing, and played live with anyone who is anyone. He also formed a group with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme called Them Crooked Vultures (although they have only released one album).
I think Page has been less active. He did The Firm and The Honeydrippers, and then Coverdale/Page, but he has been less active through the years, if I'm not mistaken.
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Jones has been extremely busy, just not with mass-market stuff. He has guested on a ton of albums playing a ton of instruments. He has also done arranging and producing, and played live with anyone who is anyone. He also formed a group with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme called Them Crooked Vultures (although they have only released one album).
I think Page has been less active. He did The Firm and The Honeydrippers, and then Coverdale/Page, but he has been less active through the years, if I'm not mistaken.
Yes, that is all true, although Honeydrippers was Plant, no? I know Jones has done a lot, scoring films and such.
I actually think the opposite. I think if all three had done what Plant did (go and explore their own musical path in a direction totally opposite from Led Zeppelin), that may have tarnished it as well. The fact that their career musical contributions are still defined by what Zeppelin was for their 11 year period makes it all that much more magical. That's my opinion.
That's totally legit.
I just feel like they have all really disappered. I want MORE!!
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Honeydrippers was Page & Plant.
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Honeydrippers was Page & Plant.
Oh wow, I definitly didn't think Page was on that. Oh well, that's what I get for ignoring that release completely!
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Honeydrippers was Page & Plant.
Oh wow, I definitly didn't think Page was on that. Oh well, that's what I get for ignoring that release completely!
It was predominantly Plant. Page contributed on the album in '84, but wasn't part of the original formation.
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Page continued with a variety of outlets, including benefit shows with Eric Clayton and Jeff Beck where he stole the show.
A friend of mine scored tickets for us at the Los Angeles A.R.M.S show. I believe they did only 4 US Locations, LA, NYC, Dallas and Frisco. Anyways...I was so excited to finally get to see Page live, I never got to see Zep. The show was just fantastic, the sheer number of big names was just crazy! Things that I still remember from that show....
1. Jeff Beck - Without a doubt, Beck (Who I really didn't listen to much at the time) stole the show. Him and his band just tore it up. Clapton was a close 2nd, and Page was just...OK. I was quite dissappointed overall with Page's set. He wasn't very tight, and I think the instrumental Stairway was seriously lacking, teetering on downright boring. Simon Phillips, Jan Hammer and Beck were just ...WOW.
2. Ray Cooper sticks out in my mind as one of the most dynamic and fun performers from the show. He played percussion on Clapton's set and the final group numbers. He was just a blast to watch!
3. Not a huge fan of Joe Cocker, but man did he get into it...LOL
Couldn't find anything on YT from the LA show, but here's Beck from the NYC show.
Star Cycle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoZUYrQFvkc
Becks full NYC set...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMH5bF-KsyY
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Yeah, my memory of the reviews of that tour-and I believe highlights of it were played as a MTV concert, and I saw it-was that it was Beck that was the showstealer, not Page. Page in particular was at a low point of his sticky fingered period from my memory of it. Might have just been the reviews I read and the show they used for MTV though.
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I'll take your words for it then. Hammer of the Gods suggested Page tore it up.
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Sorry to derail, but I just wanted to say that I listened to How the West was Won, and it is amazing. I've heard some boots, and between them and The Song Remains the Same (which I apparently hold in much higher regard than some), I was expecting "meh, more of the same".
What I heard instead was a very dynamic, very live set by a band pretty much on fire. Wow! I'm sure it helped that the sound quality was also very good, but man, the playing was tight, and yet they loosened up and jammed quite a bit as well. I was impressed.
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HTWWW is the best them.
Seriously
Love it
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Robert Plant WTF?
:facepalm:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/led-zeppelins-robert-plant-turns-4595788
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Clearly he's not hurting for coin.
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Smart guy. Something tells me people wouldn't know to appreciate a Led Zeppelin tour these days, and they don't need to do it. That's why we have Celebration day.
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I think he did the right thing. Some people just want to see the remaining 3/4 of Led Zeppelin on stage again, and somehow completely overlook that there's no way in hell it will be any good.
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Celebration Day should be the end. It was about 1000% better than I expected it to be and it allows Led Zeppelin to ride into the sunset with one last amazing moment. If there had BEEN a moment to tour, it was back in 2008-and I'm not saying it was right to, but they had momentum and had proved they could be reasonably competent as Led Zeppelin. Six years later, the moment is WAY past. Just let it go, people who want a reunion.
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The O2 gig was way better than I thought it would be, and I'd actually forgotten that. I mean, with that in mind, it's entirely possible that a reunion gig/tour at this point might not be horrible. But that's moot now anyway, since it's not happening.
But yeah, Celebration Day is really a great way to cap the Led Zeppelin legacy. Finish on a high note. Plant is probably thinking the same thing. The cynic in me wants to say that the other guys are just thinking about the money, but that's not fair to them. It's entirely possible that they just want to go out and play the old Zep songs one last time, and of course the money is a really nice plus to that. But again, that's neither here nor there at this point.
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But yeah, Celebration Day is really a great way to cap the Led Zeppelin legacy. Finish on a high note.
This. So. Fucking. Much.
They go on tour, and it can only taint the Zeppelin legacy. I don't see any way possible to consistently perform at the Celebration Day level, so only bad things can happen if they did what Branson was proposing.
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....and that's how much he hates those guys. :lol
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What's insane is that the guy has so much money that he'd put up half a billion pounds just to see them tour again. That's actually pretty cool, come to think of it. You think of all those times people supposedly offered The Beatles a million each just to play together one more time, and they wouldn't do it. But that was when they supposedly were "feuding".
I admire Plant's integrity. It ain't about the money.
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That's just so tough to comprehend how someone can turn down that kind of money. I get it that he's already filthy rich and wants to move on, but still tough to wrap your head around. I think that should clearly end any talks of a reunion permanently!
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Show me your eyes, oh, light of the son
Touch me with fire, my mind is undone
All life conspire, my freedom has come
I drift through desire, my wonderful one
Page/Plant - No Quarter (1994)
(https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41HHDXA4BNL.jpg)
Plant's 1993 Fate of Nations album inspired a world tour that saw further experimentation with Arabic-style singing and deployment of such Zeppelin masterpieces as "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" (which opened the shows), "Thank You," "What Is and What Should Never Be," "Whole Lotta Love" and "Going to California," which usually moved Plant's audiences to rapturous sing-alongs. So when MTV offered an Unplugged show to Plant, he expressed interest in working with Page, but only Page ... This would not be a Led Zeppelin reunion - Plant wanted to do something other than just re-hashing old Zeppelin material. MTV's original plan had been for Robert to perform with special guests, hopefully including Jimmy Page, at its studio in Queens. Instead Plant's management set it up such that Plant/Page would film segments in Morocco and Wales as well as in a London TV studio with a string orchestra and an Egyptian orchestra. MTV swallowed hard and said yes. The project was given a title: "Unledded." Work began in the spring of 1994.
The two traveled to Marrakesh, the at the edge of the Sahara in southern Morocco. There they hooked up with a respected local Gnawa musician to jam with and write new music. One session with three extremely dread-looking Gnawa on Berber carpets in a sandy courtyard produced an improvisation that was broadcast as "Wah Wah" and later evolved into the album track "City Don't Cry." Another evening. Plant and Page set up their amps under some lights on the edge of the Jma al Fna, the "Square of the Dead," an ancient camel market in the middle of Marrakesh that fills at night with troupes of jugglers and acrobats, juice vendors, Gnawa and musicians from other mystical brotherhoods, outdoor grills, and traditional griots who enthrall crowds of jellaba-wearing country people from the nearby Atlas mountains. Such an African crowd now gathered around the two tall English white hippies and their Gnawa friends as they blasted out a new song called "Yallah" (Moroccan Arabic for "Let's Go!") over their loudspeakers as video cameras rolled. Gradually, the big speakers were melting deeper into the crowd as someone tried to steal them.
Next Page and Plant got themselves to a slate mine in Snowdonia, Wales, where they filmed new versions of "No Quarter" and "Nobody's Fault but Mine" with Robert's band, augmented by a hurdy-gurdy, the main axe of the Provenal troubadors who founded European popular music in medieval France. The hurdy-gurdy turned the old blues into a haunting, time-skipping Middle Earth bluegrass.
The material Unledded recorded in the studio/concert setting leaned heavily (and tellingly) on material from Led Zeppelin III. "Friends", "Since I've Been Loving You", "That's the Way" and "Gallows Pole" were recorded by various combinations of the thirty-five musicians present, including the strings of the ad hoc London Metropolitan Orchestra and a Cairo-style Egyption ensemble.
Recorded in August of 1994, and released on CD in November of 1994, my initial experience with the No Quarter: Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Unledded started when I was in 3rd year Uni, and just happened to see an ad on MuchMusic (our version of MTV) advertising for the broadcast of this show. WTF??!?!?! I was over the moon, and set the VCR to record that sucker. That VHS got a shit load of play over the years, until the 10th anniversary, when along came a DVD release in 2004. Accompanying Page and Plant in the band were Charlie Jones (bass/percussion), Michael Lee (drums), and Porl Thompson (banjo/guitar). Some very memorable moments are provided by Nigel Eaton and a Hurdy Gurdy. It was instantly the highest rated show of the Unplugged series.
From Plant's writing in the liner notes of the DVD:
This provided a perfect opportunity for us <he and Page> to develop fresh ideas and an alternative approach to some of our previous work. We both owed a great deal to our shared experiences away from the traditional routine of touring and recording.... Morocco and Snowdonia were just two inspirational locations for music and lyric. What fortune to return there years later and record this music
The 2004 DVD re-release, also included the band's performance of "Black Dog" (during the sound check) for Dick Clark's American Music Awards and the music video for "Most High" from the subsequently released Walking into Clarksdale album. Also, songs included on the DVD release not included on either CD release were What Is and What Should Never Be and When the Levee Breaks. To compensate for their absence from the Live Aid DVD release, Plant and Page donated a portion of their proceeds to the Band Aid Trust
For the "Unplugged" concert, most tracks were re-arranged - to the extent that the crowd at times had no idea what was about to be played - and come across with an Egyptian feel. Gallows Pole and Four Sticks are the highlight for me, whereas Battle of Evermore (one of my favorite Zeppelin songs of all time) is a lowlight, due to Najma Akhtar's butchering of the lyrics as the "Queen of Light". There's no denying her talent, but sing all the fuckin lyrics ffs! Not only does she just wail away randomly, but totally misses complete passages. Musically, it's fantastic, but she renders basically unlistenable for me. Plant clearly loved it, as he would later marry Akhtar.
The one original track from the concert, "Wonderful One" is just that... wonderful. One of my favorite moments from the album. I also love how a few of the members from the London Metropolitan Orchestra just absolutely rockin out as they play their parts - particularly during Since I've Been Loving You, and Kashmir.
The album would spawn a 95 date world tour beginning in February of 1995, and closing out (fittingly) with two nights at Madison Square Gardens.
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Regarding the half a billion pounds offer, there are a lot of reports out there, that claim that the original article by the Daily Mirror is rubbish. Maybe there were just rumors, maybe there was more to it?
But I agree with you, leave it like it is. Celebration Day was good, but to me, Page on some songs played kinda sloppy and Plant doesn't have the voice he had back then. Now seven years later all of that could or would be worse.
Page/Plant - No Quarter: I love that one to death. The rearrangents are mostly great. Kashmir sounds even more middle eastern and mystic with the addition of the orchestra. Nobody's Fault But Mine is like a whole new tune. Wonderful One is just wonderful and the other more jam-oriented tracks are nice to see (and hear).
Sadly, The Battle Of Evermore is not up to par, mainly because of the reasons jingle has already stated. And for me Najma Akhtar's vocals get on my nerves the longer I listen to her, she just don't fit the mood of the song.
And, dear Jimmy Page, try tuning your guitar before playing Thank You, thank you. ;D
I think this is the best LZ-related release since Physical Graffiti. And therefore my disappointment of Walking Into Clarksdale was that much bigger, because I had very high hopes.
For a long time I thought that mainly Jimmy Page had just lost it. The last two LZ records weren't that great and that's not counting Coda, his playing was sometimes (drugs?!?) very sloppy, his solo record "The Outrider" was extremely underwhelming, but this and Coverdale/Page kinda redeemed himself in my perception.
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I was at a friend's house in 1995, and he was playing the No Quarter CD. I thought it was amazing. What they'd done with the arrangements was so cool, and of course just hearing Page and Plant together again was a treat. I decided then and there to pick up the CD at my next opportunity. I kept that in mind for weeks... "Remember to get No Quarter... Remember to get No Quarter..." And somehow, I never did. I was broke again, three mouths to feed, wife unemployed again, crappy new job, it just wasn't the time to indulge in buying new music.
And now, the idea of hearing a bunch of Led Zeppelin songs recast with Eastern flavor just doesn't sound that appealing to me, since I've never really liked that side of their sound. "The Battle of Evermore" is one of my favorite Zep songs as well, and I don't want to hear someone butcher it, so there's that, and Led Zeppelin III is one of my least favorite of their albums. So now, I'm only mildly curious to hear it again. Funny how that works.
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I was at a friend's house in 1995, and he was playing the No Quarter CD. I thought it was amazing. What they'd done with the arrangements was so cool, and of course just hearing Page and Plant together again was a treat. I decided then and there to pick up the CD at my next opportunity. I kept that in mind for weeks... "Remember to get No Quarter... Remember to get No Quarter..." And somehow, I never did. I was broke again, three mouths to feed, wife unemployed again, crappy new job, it just wasn't the time to indulge in buying new music.
My story was similar. I loved what I heard on MTV and the radio, and always intended to get it, and never did. I love this version of Gallows Pole, especially.
Need to get it.
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I've never heard a lick of No Quarter. But I did see two Page/Plant shows on that tour. One in the spring in the soon to be closed Boston Garden and one in the fall in the newly opened Fleetcenter.
Those shows were INCREDIBLE!! Seriously.
What's insane is that the guy has so much money that he'd put up half a billion pounds just to see them tour again.
Yeah no kidding! Space tourism too!
I think that should clearly end any talks of a reunion permanently!
Without directly referencing this particular incident, I thought Jimmy Page was quaoted as saying pretty much this about a month ago.
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And now, the idea of hearing a bunch of Led Zeppelin songs recast with Eastern flavor just doesn't sound that appealing to me, since I've never really liked that side of their sound. "The Battle of Evermore" is one of my favorite Zep songs as well, and I don't want to hear someone butcher it, so there's that, and Led Zeppelin III is one of my least favorite of their albums. So now, I'm only mildly curious to hear it again. Funny how that works.
I hear ya. The arrangements on some of the tunes is a little .... eclectic, and self-indulgent for the two of them, as well as the original music. But (imo), they work. They keep to a traditional arrangement on most of them, and they are awesome - Gallows Pole, Four Sticks, Since I've Been Loving You, Thank You, That's The Way. Then again, if you were never a fan of III, I can see the ambivalence. III is top shelf material for me.
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Oooohhh... just saved the thread from the depths of page 2!
BBC Sessions (1997)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/76/Led_Zeppelin_-_BBC_Sessions.jpg)
After being inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll hall of fame in 1995 (where Jones quipped on the mic "thank you my friends.... for finally remembering my phone number") next stop was the long overdue release of some official live material that didn't suck. Released on November 11, 1997, this was the first release of new Led Zeppelin material in seven years. Disc one consists of material from four different 1969 BBC sessions, where disc two contains most of the April 1st, 1971 concert from the Paris Theatre in London. A third disc three was only included in a limited run of album releases and features rare interviews from 1969, 1976/1977, and 1990
Zeppelin fans were arguably the pioneers of the bootleg - as evidenced by Jaq's numerous pieces of input. The BBC sessions were among the most popular bootleg items of the rock & roll era, appearing on a myriad of illegal records and CDs. They were all the more popular because of the lack of official Led Zeppelin live albums, especially since The Song Remains the Same was such a dud. For anyone who hadn't heard the recordings, the mystique of Zeppelin's BBC sessions was somewhat mystifying, but the official release of the double-disc BBC Sessions offered revelations for any fan who hadn't yet heard this music. Some collectors were dismayed by the slight trimming on the "Whole Lotta Love Medley," but overall, the release proved why live Zeppelin was the stuff of legend. The sessions, recorded shortly after the release of the first album, are fiery and dynamic, outstripping the studio record for sheer power. Early versions of "You Shook Me," "Communication Breakdown," "What Is and What Should Never Be," and "Whole Lotta Love" are arguably more memorable than the studio counterparts, while the covers were welcome additions to the official Zeppelin catalog, revealing the roots of their folk, blues, and rockabilly influences. Zeppelin's grand vision comes into sharper relief on the second disc. They still have their primal energy, but they're more adventurous, branching out into folk, twisted psychedelia, and a weird blues infused funk.
Finally, a live release worthy of the legend of Led Zeppelin. At least for a few years.
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Here's one I haven't heard. I need to fix this.
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Yeah, I've heard good things about this one, too, but have never checked it out.
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Here's one I haven't heard. I need to fix this.
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Naturally I have heard the boots of the material on this-because it isn't an official Led Zeppelin live release without tinkering with the tracks by Jimmy Page. As always, I defer to someone who makes my love of Zep bootlegs seem tiny in comparison:
https://www.thegardentapes.co.uk/bbc.html
I need to buy the proper release of this, but it keeps slipping through the cracks. Great album, blows The Song Remains The Same out of the water, though How The West Was Won is my favorite bit of official live Zep.
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I need to buy the proper release of this, but it keeps slipping through the cracks. Great album, blows The Song Remains The Same out of the water, though How The West Was Won is my favorite bit of official live Zep.
I'm looking forward to listening to HTWWW this weekend, and watching the DVDs next week. It'll be a good point of comparison against the BBC sessions, as it's been a while since I listened to/watched the 2003 releases.
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Pretty sure I haven't listened to or watched any of that stuff since 2003 or maybe 2004. :lol
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Pretty sure I haven't listened to or watched any of that stuff since 2003 or maybe 2004. :lol
Same. I've watched bits and pieces here and there, but I'm taking time off next week, so gonna spend some quality time with some DVDs
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I remember when The BBC Sessions was released. I absolutely love it, possibly my favorite LZ release.
So far in the the discography, I mean.
Just glorious, glorious, glorious. I will listen to it again this weekend.
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I remember when The BBC Sessions was released. I absolutely love it, possibly my favorite LZ release.
So far in the the discography, I mean.
Just glorious, glorious, glorious. I will listen to it again this weekend.
yeah, 17 years ago, it was pretty damned important, unique, and a first for most Zeppelin fans. Not so much nowadays with HTWWW and Celebration Day as live options + video.
Still a great listen though. On That's The Way at the moment.
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That's The Way is so good on that release.
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I loved BBC sessions. I need to listen to No Quarter like yesterday
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Led Zeppelin DVD (2003)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Led_Zeppelin_-_Led_Zeppelin_(video).jpg)
First new official visual material in 25 years, and really, the first good material. The DVD contains over 5 hours of material, and How The West Was Won is a triple disc with 2.5 hours of sonic bliss. This was many fans' first opportunity to see and hear what Zeppelin was really all about in a true concert setting (the mediocrity of The Song Remains The Same, notwithstanding).
Released on May 26, 2003, Page spent years collecting material, and combing through the Led Zeppelin vaults. He started with 132 cans of film negatives, 2 sets of 2" video tape, a small amount of bootleg material, and some of the earliest TV footage to painstakingly piece this masterpiece together. The Albert Hall footage was shot using two 16mm cameras! The restoration is really quite remarkable. The bootleg material interwoven with the professional footage really give the view a feel for what it was really like to be at these shows. The process was akin to building "a cathedral out of matchsticks". The DVD covers footage from four different eras, and four spectacular venues, perhaps four of the most legendary performances of all their shows - Albert Hall (1970), Madison Square Garden (1973), Earl's court (1975), and Knebworth (1979), During interviews around the release, Plant commented "The idea of creating a Led Zeppelin collage has been in the works for ... fifteen years. We just didn't really have the time to put it together as a project because there was so much concentrated work that was required. So, as we all finished our individual projects, Jimmy Page took the helm along with some technical guys and this is what we've got." The final product had mixing help from one Kevin Shirley.
How The West Was Won (2003)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Led_Zeppelin_-_How_the_West_Was_Won.jpg)
Released the following day, the triple disc gave everything the audio enthusiast could ever want... the best of a two-set show from the LA Forum and Long Beach Arena from June of 1972. Page often considered this to be the creative peak of the band, and upon listening to the album, it's hard to argue with that. Of all the many bootlegs and soundboard recordings in circulation (many resulting from a theft from Page's personal archives), these two shows not taken, so this is the first time a high quality recording would be available to the masses. The songs from the two shows underwent some extensive editing and audio engineering by Page before being released on the album. Some songs which were played at the concerts, such as "Communication Breakdown", "Tangerine", "Thank You" ended up omitted from the release.
Disc 1 gives us 9 fantastic tracks, while the other two discs only provide a combined 8 tracks ... but 20 + minute jams in Dazed And Confused, and Whole Lotta Love; and of course, Bonzo with almost a 20 minute solo in Moby Dick.
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I bought both of these on the same day on a whim, and the DVD was the one that occupied my time the most for a while. But when I finally got around to giving HTWWW my undivided attention, it was the impetus that launched me into collecting Zep bootlegs and finally coming to appreciate the band. HTWWW is the definitive Zeppelin live album, and DVD is bloody amazing, especially the Albert Hall show.
Of course Page couldn't resist meddling: the audio on the DVD for Earl's Court and Knebworth features fixes taken from other nights at those venues. and HTWWW has fixes taken from each show and put to the other, and most impressively, the organ parts that Jones played on Stairway to Heaven during that time period were replaced by the later recorded mellotron parts from the Southhampton gig that was supposed to be a live album. Page does like to tinker with the live stuff.
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I always have mixed feelings about tinkering with live recordings like that. The purist in me wants to hear nothing but the actual performance, as it happened. If there was something really great about that particular song on that particular night, I'm sure that's why that version was picked. But if someone blew a note here or there, or came in early or late or whatever, I want to hear that, too. Not because I enjoy hearing bad notes, but because then I know that I'm getting the actual performance.
Many people, however, view a "live" recording as more a concept; what you hear on the album is representative of a live performance, because that's a different context for the song and the music and everything. And as such, it's perfectly acceptable to produce it, using different takes, editing and tweaking things, until you have the perfect live performance, just as you would want the studio recording to be as perfect as you can get. I get that. Most people never got to see Led Zeppelin, and now of course no one else will. If you want to "imagine that you were there" and experience it, this is the way to do it.
I think How The West Was Won is incredible, and it blew me away when I listened to it for the first time recently. I should have realized that Jimmy, being Jimmy, would have "tinkered" with it, and knowing that he did will somehow lessen my enjoyment of it from now on ("This didn't actually happen, not like this"). But it does sound great. If you're gonna put something out there that represents your band at its peak, this is it.
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The DVD is hands down one of my favorite concert DVDs. The album is also amazing. Just incredible, incredible stuff.
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Moby Dick in particular on the DVD is brilliant. Gonna watch disc 2 later today.
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The Led Zeppelin DVD was my introduction to this incredible band, it came out when I was in high school and I remember a couple guys I hung out with freaking out over this concert DVD with sand and a blue sky on the front. I soon was exposed to the DVD and realized the greatness of Led Zep causing me to dive into their great catalog and discover their wonderful music. Great memories and this is still probably one of my most watched concert DVDs, if not the most watched concert DVD I own.
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I always have mixed feelings about tinkering with live recordings like that. The purist in me wants to hear nothing but the actual performance, as it happened. If there was something really great about that particular song on that particular night, I'm sure that's why that version was picked. But if someone blew a note here or there, or came in early or late or whatever, I want to hear that, too. Not because I enjoy hearing bad notes, but because then I know that I'm getting the actual performance.
Many people, however, view a "live" recording as more a concept; what you hear on the album is representative of a live performance, because that's a different context for the song and the music and everything. And as such, it's perfectly acceptable to produce it, using different takes, editing and tweaking things, until you have the perfect live performance, just as you would want the studio recording to be as perfect as you can get. I get that. Most people never got to see Led Zeppelin, and now of course no one else will. If you want to "imagine that you were there" and experience it, this is the way to do it.
I think How The West Was Won is incredible, and it blew me away when I listened to it for the first time recently. I should have realized that Jimmy, being Jimmy, would have "tinkered" with it, and knowing that he did will somehow lessen my enjoyment of it from now on ("This didn't actually happen, not like this"). But it does sound great. If you're gonna put something out there that represents your band at its peak, this is it.
Well unlike The Song Remains The Same, which has a few overdubs, HTWWW is all live, but it's Page taking things from the LA show to fix problems in the Long Beach show, and vice versa. The biggest glaring change was the keyboards on Stairway to Heaven, since that's not how it sounded that night, but at least it's all live material. Just not from when they did it. Having heard the boots of the two shows, though, I honestly don't know why he bothered.
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Most of HTWWW is from one show or the other, only six songs were taken from both nights. 1/2 of disc one is 'mixed'.
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Yes, but Page fixed as little as a single line or a single note with the version of the song played on a different night. The man's obsession with sounding perfect is hysterical sometimes.
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The man's obsession with sounding perfect is hysterical sometimes.
I've read through a few pages of The Garden Tapes (https://www.thegardentapes.co.uk/) (that's all I could handle because of the color scheme), and I completely agree with this.
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Just watched disc 2 of the DVD for the first time in ages. Man that's god-tier. Earl's Court set is brilliant, although they could've chosen anything from PG other than Sick Again. One of my least liked tunes. And Knebworth was amazing, even though Plant was spotty with a few spots in Achilles.
I think I need a smoke.
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The DVD is hands down one of my favorite concert DVDs.
This. I thrashed this when it came out, while I was in high school. Everything about it is so amazing, I especially love the TV special on the Disc 1 bonus features - imo the only time you're able to see just how much power Bonzo played with. <3
Sadly, I lost my copy of this in a house fire :( definitely something I'd re-buy.
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Was just listening to the 2014 remaster of Stairway to Heaven and got chills during the heavy section.
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I'm not bothered with the tinkering and I'm 100% sure that 99,9% of all official live releases are tampered with.
Best LZ live release by miles, although I will never in my life understand what's so great about 20+ minutes of Drum Solos.
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Celebration Day (and final) post coming later today. What a fun ride this has been!
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Looking forward to it. You have done a great job with this!
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Celebration Day (2012)
(https://k31.kn3.net/07E64C57D.jpg)
On September 12, 2007, it was confirmed during a press conference by promoter Harvey Goldsmith that the surviving members of Led Zeppelin would reunite for a one-time show, with Jason Bonham filling in on drums. The concert was originally scheduled to take place on November 26, 2007, but was delayed to December 10th, with Page having fractured a finger early in November. It was to help raise money for the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund.
Tickets were made available via a lottery system with all proceeds going to Ahmet's charity. The website exceeded its bandwidth allowance and crashed almost immediately following the announcement, with the promoter predicting that the gig would cause the "largest demand for one show in history". Indeed it did, holding an official Guinness World Record for "Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert", with over a million people registering for fewer than 20,000 available tickets. Page would comment "The tidal wave of euphoria that preceded the gig—the anticipation—went beyond what I could possibly have imagined. We'd had a few shambolic appearances in the past, like Live Aid, so if we were ever going to come back together, we were going to do it properly and stand up and be counted."
The concert was given a limited theatrical run in October 2012, and was released formally on November 19, 2012 (happy fucking birthday to me!!). The film grossed $2 million in one night, and the live album peaked at number 4 and 9 in the UK and US, respectively. Celebration Day was the 13th-best-selling album globally of 2012, with sales of 1.8 million copies, and it won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album of 2012. Deservedly so.
The three original members were completely on point, thanks to nearly six months of rehearsals. Staying true to the original arrangements, with a few creative liberties by all here and there, it's virtually flawless for a foursome that had never done a full concert together, and all of their previous attempts to play were mediocre at best. Bonham was the only choice to replace his father, and likely knew the catalogue better than the other three! You can just feel the emotion coming through him, and in his inscription in the album booklet. JPJ's piano solo in No Quarter is stellar. Page was like the clock rewound 40 years for his rendition of Since I've Been Loving You. Plant delivered everything brilliantly - knowing his vocal limit, and staying within it... though still flashing some moments of brilliance with a handful of youthful screams.
I'd like to say it's flawless, but there are just a few things that irk me (but only ever-so-slightly). First thing I'd change would be For Your Life. Lose it. If they wanted to perform a tune that they'd never performed before, this would not be the one I'd chose. Personally, if they had dropped this, along with Misty Mountain Hop (which is a B or C-list song in their catalogue, and we have a great live rendition already from the 2003 DVD), and replaced it with Carouselambra, that would've been about as perfect a setlist as I could imagine. Second, though I can appreciate the slight changes Plant had to make with the vocal melodies to fit his capabilities at nearly 60 years old, I wish he would sing all the lyrics. Particularly annoying is the chorus of Ramble On. However, these are minor nits to an otherwise fantabulous show and DVD. And if I recall correctly, they completely clustered the outro from the instrumental section of Dazed and Confused, with everyone completely out of sync, and Page running his riff a little longer to try and compensate. The managed to pull it together, and even with the re-work in the mixing of the formal release to make it sound even remotely cohesive, it still sounds a little clugey
So, it all started here in 1969:
(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZnfgRfhdpeQ/hqdefault.jpg)
And finished some 45 years later here:
(https://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/led-zeppelin-celebration-day.jpg)
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kjLv7BEkz5c/UKgJs68l0XI/AAAAAAAAH5M/2pDwQ7hEwzE/s1600/Led+Zeppelin+-+Celebration+Day+3.jpg)
I was wrong though, this isn't the final post. I may have a another for Celebration Day once I watch the bonus DVD, but will also have some commentary on the recent re-released remasters.
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Yep. For the most part, I think those guys played as well as they can and should at their age during that concert. Their performance of Kashmir was very very epic. Of course, when watching it, I had that usual feeling during a song where they extended it so much, I was like, "They did transition songs yet or am I still listening to the same one?"
A blemish was, of course, Plant omitting some of the chorus of Ramble On, which did irk me. If he didn't feel like singing that part, why not just have Jason sing it? He was doing all right with Good Times Bad Times and Misty Mountain Hop on the backup vocals, I think.
Overall, still a pretty good showing from these guys that can be interpret in two ways. A. Oh what could have been if they felt like doing one more world tour, because they looked really good there, but Plant did not feel it. B. A good way to have that closure they were looking for since John Bonham's death and wanted to rectify themselves from their failed reunion attempts.
Good way to close the final chapter of this band.
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The announcement of this show coincided with the start of my investigation of Zep bootlegs, which meant that, of course, I was in a very good position to hear the entire show the next day, some five years before it was officially released. And after hearing dozens of boots of the band in their prime, my main reaction to it was "that's the best way to end they can possibly manage. Call it there." Given the limitations of age, of Page's recent injury, of the lack of time playing together, or even playing a song period-they hadn't touched Dazed and Confused since 1975, and Page, Jones, and Bonham all lost track of each other going back into the last verse as a result-there was no way a full tour would have matched the moments of occasional magic they hit on this night.
But I have to give Jason Bonham a hand for his performance that night. Anyone replacing John Bonham at this show had mighty big shoes to fill. Filling your father's shoes? Talk about pressure. And while, let's face it, there's only one John Bonham, on this night Jason did his father proud. The version of Kashmir on Celebration Day is far and away my favorite live version of it. That one they killed.
Nice journey we went on. Great thread :tup
Oops, we're not quite done. Sentiment still holds though!
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I never quite understood why they waited so long to officially release this recording. I'd acquired the bootleg "Led Zeppelin Live at the O2" less than a week after it happened, and I've had it ever since. Since I prefer my live recordings "untampered-with", this is the version that I've always listened to, and I have no desire now to get the official one.
The performances are great. Yeah, there are a few rough spots, and there are a few things I would rather they had done differently, but they didn't ask me. Actually, I haven't listened to it in a while. I should remedy that.
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I still haven't listened to or watched Celebration Day.
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Chad, I can't argue with wanting to hear Carouselambra, but I thought For Your Life was killer here. And Jason Bonham was INCREDIBLE on this.Yare also riht about feeling and seeing the emotion pour out of him. It was also nice to see how affectionate the other guys were with him. What a special moment for him.
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Chad, I can't argue with wanting to hear Carouselambra, but I thought For Your Life was killer here. And Jason Bonham was INCREDIBLE on this.Yare also riht about feeling and seeing the emotion pour out of him. It was also nice to see how affectionate the other guys were with him. What a special moment for him.
With that spelling, I was sure Joe hacked your account! :jets:
I agree they did a great job on For Your Life, and it was way more enjoyable than the studio version, but that doesn't mean that it's still not a crappy song. Like I said... minor nits, and I'm surely in a minority of fans wanting to hear Carouselambra. It's just one of my personal fav's.
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I'd acquired the bootleg "Led Zeppelin Live at the O2" less than a week after it happened, and I've had it ever since. Since I prefer my live recordings "untampered-with", this is the version that I've always listened to, and I have no desire now to get the official one.
Actually, I haven't listened to it in a while. I should remedy that.
Update: Whoa, I'd forgotten about a rather important issue, the sound quality. I listened to the first half hour or so on my commute this morning, and was reminded about that. It sounds like it was recorded with a heavy blanket over the microphone, from somewhere on the main floor nowhere near the sound board, because the mix isn't great, either.
It's funny how if what you have is all there is, you embrace it. I dug into it when I got it, gave copies to my buddies back home, and they dug it, too. But it sounds like crap.
I guess I do want to hear Celebration Day now.
I never quite understood why they waited so long to officially release this recording.
Maybe because it took Jimmy this long to make it sound any good?
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Chad, I can't argue with wanting to hear Carouselambra, but I thought For Your Life was killer here. And Jason Bonham was INCREDIBLE on this.Yare also riht about feeling and seeing the emotion pour out of him. It was also nice to see how affectionate the other guys were with him. What a special moment for him.
With that spelling, I was sure Joe hacked your account! :jets:
:yarr
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Could be your version of the bootleg. Mine sounds pretty good. Forget where I originally got it from - off Dimedozen no doubt, but I didn't keep the info file.
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I think there were MANY versions of that show. It was heavily bootlegged.
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I'm sure. But in '07, when I got it, I was just so thrilled to have it, I could easily overlook the sound quality issue. It was a bootleg, after all. I'm sure there are better boots, and of course we now have the official release. In my memory, it sounded great, so there was no need. Until this morning, that is.
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I'm sure. But in '07, when I got it, I was just so thrilled to have it, I could easily overlook the sound quality issue. It was a bootleg, after all.
Oh absolutely.
I'm an extremely casual Zep fan and I love Celebration Day.
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I really like this record. It could have been better at some points, you can hear that Plant isn't 20 anymore and Page sometimes plays a little sloppy but overall that are minor complaints. But if they would have played Carouselambra, that would have been the icing on the cake.
Celebration Day is a great ending to a great career.
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If memory serves, I had two copies of the 02 show. The earliest release was a low quality audience source recorded from high up in the arena, and I kept it for only long enough for a high quality, taped on the floor boot to drop. The initial wave of boots were awful, so it doesn't surprise me that you got a bad one, Orbert.
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Led Zeppelin I, II, III, IV, Houses of the Holy Remasters (2014)
(https://theseconddisc.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/lz-2014.jpg)
(https://cdn.pitchfork.com/news/56075/c7bdcad4.jpg)
I picked these up on release day - the first set of three back in the summer, and the latter two a month ago. Well worth it for any Zeppelin "expert" fan. The Olympia show that accompanies Led Zeppelin I is the best of the companion discs. I wish they gave more live material, as the companion discs for the other four are made up of raw cuts, instrumental versions, or some kind of minor re-mix. Interesting stuff to listen to once, but nothing to write home about. The remastered version of the original songs however are fantastic. As I said earlier in the thread, it's like the difference between a 1970s Corvette, and a 2014 Stingray. The originals were great for the time and technology that produced them, and really, production can only enhance or detract from music so much. The real value is in the writing and performance. When you (Page) clean up the sound, it just enhances the overall experience that much more. The songs sound fresh, renewed, current.... it's like rediscovering them. When Atlantic released the first digital versions of the Zep catalogue, they were not off the original tape masters but off poor-quality dubs. So anyone listening from the original CDs released in the mid 80s in AAD format ... we had shit. The first remasters in 1990 started to fix that, but 20 years of technology evolution have allowed Page to improve on that.
There's things that you hear that may have been buried before; nuances that pop out, and certain performances (like JPJ's No Quarter solo, or Page's I Can't Quit You Babe solo) that hit the sense in a whole new way. I can't imagine going back to the original pressings now. I think that Physical Grafitti will benefit from the remaster the most. Presence ought to be pretty damned good too. Can't wait for those to be finished. No release date yet, but sometime next year we'll be blessed with the remaining three.
The thread title is fitting, as the albums hit the Billboard Top 10, were the top selling albums upon their release on Amazon, and for a few days, Led Zeppelin IV was out-selling Taylor Swift's new album.
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Well, time to wrap this thing up. How to do so? Well, I guess with some thoughts on Zeppelin's legacy as (arguably) the greatest and most influential rock and roll band of all time. I'm sure almost all great modern-day bands would cite Zeppelin as an influence - either musically, or performance-wise. From their catalog of 80 songs, there are hundreds of officially recorded cover versions, by all sorts of acts from Tony Levin, to Stone Temple Pilots, to Lady Gaga, to Queen, to Zakk Wylde. Their influence spreads deep and far.
Throughout their career, Led Zeppelin have collected many honors and awards - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, four of their recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, five Diamond albums, as well as fourteen Multi-Platinum, four Platinum and one Gold album in the United States; five Multi-Platinum, six Platinum, one Gold and four Silver albums in the UK. In addition to listing five of their albums among "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", Rolling Stone named Led Zeppelin the 14th-greatest artist of all time in 2004 - with only The Rolling Stones, Hendrix and The Beatles as the "rock" acts ahead of them (the others include the likes of Bob Dylan (surprise!), Buddy Holly, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Little Richard).
It's been a helluva fun ride, re-listening, and reliving the Zeppelin catalog. According to my last.fm profile, I've listened to Zeppelin almost 600 times in the last six months + the handful of videos that I've watched. This was a blast hosting this, and loved all the stories and memories from everyone.
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Nice job J Boy!
Your efforts are appreciated.
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Excellent job Chad! It's been a fun filled ride, thanks to your well thought out narrations and insights. Also, all the thread participants input, and fond memories of their own experiences regarding Zeppelin, The Greatest Rock and Roll Band of all time. :hefdaddy :hefdaddy :hefdaddy
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It's been great. Thanks for hosting a great thread about a band I like a lot and listen to a lot, but didn't actually know much about. So this was a learning experience for me, and I like learning about bands and music, so thanks! ♫♫♫
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Many many thanks for this great thread. Thanks to all the participants who voiced their opinions and shared their feelings. Thanks to all the ones who gave insights into one of the greatest bands of all time and a special thank you to jingle.boy for running this thread with great write-ups.
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Thanks jingle.Chad for this thread. I learned a lot of new stuff about Zep :tup
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Great job!
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perfect job!
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Nice to know it was enjoyed. I was wondering if I was rambling on too much at times, spending too much time on stuff beyond the discography, and offering too much commentary to digest. Glad it was more than just self-serving.
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The mere discography data can be looked up at wikipedia. Therefore it is the stuff beyond the discography that makes a thread worthwhile imo. And the opinions offered by you and the others here.
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I was wondering if I was rambling on
I see what you did there!! :hat
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Great job, jingle.boy, this was amazing. :tup
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I was wondering if I was rambling on
I see what you did there!! :hat
Glad you did, because I didn't! haha, totally unintentional.
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When Atlantic released the first digital versions of the Zep catalogue, they were not off the original tape masters but off poor-quality dubs. So anyone listening from the original CDs released in the mid 80s in AAD format ... we had shit.
The original 1980s CD of Physical Graffiti had the last minute or so of In My Time Of Dying missed off it. Apparantly the tech mistook that musical pause for the end of the song, and hit stop.
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Yep, great job, jingle.boy! I didn't contribute once you got past In Through..., but it was always a good read. :tup :tup