led zeppelin

[TurdBerglar]

i know it's totally unoriginal and cliche to absolutely love this band. but god damn it i fucking love this band. i grew up with this band. my parents loved this band. i doubt i will never get tired of this band. all the music and bands that i have discovered on my own and helped to define me loved this band just the same.

john bonham is BY FAR my most revered musician. the things he could do can just get into your spine and make you wanna fuck your brains out. the rhythm, that groove. totally intoxicating. increadibly simple and increadibly compicated at the same time. and he kept getting better and better while his band mates were starting to burn out. too bad we couldn't get to see what else he had up is sleeves. i think if he had not died and the band stayed together they would have sucked and ebarrassed themselves during the 80's but would have had a MASSIVE resurgence during the 90's. that would have been great to see.

a lot of people don't like them because of how over the top they were and how much music they "stole". but they are by far the most influencial rock band of all time. wich is good and bad. so many imitators that were corny as shit. but they definetly deserved their place in the upper echelon of music.

[mikizee]

Nothing wrong with liking Led Zeppelin, nothing at all

excellent band

[Yeti]

Zeppelin is rooted in the blues and I love the rock n roll blues style of music. Jimi Hendrix was a blues based musician and I love him. I get my southern blues from the Almond Brothers. Have you ever seen Dred Zeppelin? They are fun to see live and very entertaining. There is also a very good Zeppelin cover band called Zoso that tours all over. In their shows they select a concert set performed by Zeppelin and then perform it. Every show is a different set in the exact order that Led Zeppelin performed it.

[Guy Incognito]

Never a massive fan but their music oozes class. I should really investigate beyond a couple of albums and best of package. Although the best of package is very strong. Sound really tight on records and IV is just a monumental album. They pretty much had everything. Awesome rhythm section, genius guitarist, and great voice.

[Guy Incognito]

a lot of people don't like them because of how over the top they were and how much music they "stole". but they are by far the most influencial rock band of all time. wich is good and bad. so many imitators that were corny as shit. but they definetly deserved their place in the upper echelon of music.

but they have been ripped off so much but no-ones got close really. you know its them instantly but they changed the game and left a blueprint thats been used by lots of bands but i cant think of another band that has that quality of musicians

[MCA4ever]

Yes! I grew up to this band too! To say your a Zepplin fan and to mean your a zeppelin fan are two totally different things, IMO. The genius of each member is monumental. I'm so glad they never replaced John Bonham. They couldnt if they tried. Their music never seems dated to me like a lot of the bands I grew up with. I never had the chance to see a live zepplin show but I did see plant & page in 96. Jimmy page was just memorizing and plant sounded so wonderful.I remember when In thru the out door was released and at the time, it seemed like they were in need of a break. Today, of course it's right up there with all the others.

I'm not sure if they will stand the test of time with this generation though. I remember feeling so cool when I was a kid because my parents loved zepplin too. I've tried to get all 3 of my kids into them and they want nothing to do with it and make fun of me for listening to it :(

[YoungRemy]

I was a massive Zeppelin fan by 5th grade. credit to beastie boys for sampling them and my big brother for weaning me on them early. my dad had the third and fourth albums on vinyl.

one of my first cassettes was In Through The Out Door. I thought Carouselambra was the shit.

saw Page/Plant in '95 and again in '98.

played in a Zeppelin cover band in NYC as the house harmonica player, because I showed up at one of their gigs once and wouldn't stop asking them to let me jam "Bring It On Home" with them...

random songs I fuckin' love include Ten Years Gone, The Rain Song, I'm Gonna Crawl, and Friends

[M|X|Y]

if it has really become uncool to love led zeppelin please shoot me.

[MCA4ever]

I was a massive Zeppelin fan by 5th grade. credit to beastie boys for sampling them and my big brother for weaning me on them early. my dad had the third and fourth albums on vinyl.

one of my first cassettes was In Through The Out Door. I thought Carouselambra was the shit.

saw Page/Plant in '95 and again in '98.

played in a Zeppelin cover band in NYC as the house harmonica player, because I showed up at one of their gigs once and wouldn't stop asking them to let me jam "Bring It On Home" with them...

random songs I fuckin' love include Ten Years Gone, The Rain Song, I'm Gonna Crawl, and Friends

Love to see that- Any video?

[Guy Incognito]

Dont tell me you guys have never gotten the led out?

[yeahwho]

The first 25 seconds of Heartbreaker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvI4ll_59SQ) allows time to turn the volume up to 11 no matter how stoned you are.

[MCA4ever]

The first 25 seconds of Heartbreaker (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvI4ll_59SQ) allows time to turn the volume up to 11 no matter how stoned you are.

:D

[Heather_D]

I'm not sure if they will stand the test of time with this generation though. I remember feeling so cool when I was a kid because my parents loved zepplin too. I've tried to get all 3 of my kids into them and they want nothing to do with it and make fun of me for listening to it :(

Kids aren't normally into parents' music. I never got into them. It's cliche, but every school dance ended with "Stairway to Heaven.". I never stayed for the entire dance (super geek here) & a classmate could not believe I was, like, 15 & never heard that song (or really any song in its entirty from them). I remember talking to him on the phone & pulling out my dad's vinyl & listening to it. It wasn't bad. But I never listened to anything else by them. At that time, I think I was in my Dylan phase.

[LilTreyR]

I don't think the point is about kids listening to their parents music per se. I think what is meant is that Zepplin lasted through two maybe 3 generations- correct me if I'm wrong. It's been my experience that you either like them, or you don't. I have always been a BIG fan of their music & of both RP & JP work after LZ.

Congrats on being the first person i have heard to have a Dylan phase. That's something my parents were a fan of but me not so much.

[MCA4ever]

Kids aren't normally into parents' music. I never got into them. It's cliche, but every school dance ended with "Stairway to Heaven.". I never stayed for the entire dance (super geek here) & a classmate could not believe I was, like, 15 & never heard that song (or really any song in its entirty from them). I remember talking to him on the phone & pulling out my dad's vinyl & listening to it. It wasn't bad. But I never listened to anything else by them. At that time, I think I was in my Dylan phase.

If all your school dances ended with Stairway To Heaven, then someone was getting into their parents music :cool: before the whole iPod thing blew up my kids were always borrowing my CDs. I'm proud to say my kids like a variety of different music- I hope that doesn't mean they are abnormal ;)

[Heather_D]

If all your school dances ended with Stairway To Heaven, then someone was getting into their parents music :cool: before the whole iPod thing blew up my kids were always borrowing my CDs. I'm proud to say my kids like a variety of different music- I hope that doesn't mean they are abnormal ;)

LOL. Probably not abnormal. Maybe just never admit fully to liking it. I didn't particularly like my dad's music, particularly the Rolling Stones. As I got older, around college, I did get into the Stones. So, don't lose musical hope in your kids' tastes.

[MCA4ever]

I thought Carouselambra was the shit.


ahhh- and it still is! Listened to this all day- my house is spotless :)

[Guy Incognito]

I first started to investigate them after comparisons were made in press when Stone Roses finally released Second Coming. Those comparisons were slightly exaggerated and the songs the roses did on that album that did sound like Led Zep were poor really but at least it made me check them out and i imgaine there will be countless bands in the future that get these comparisons and i think some kids will investigate them as i did

[ms.peachy]

I get my southern blues from the Almond Brothers.

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that was some sort of unfortunate auto-correct business right there.

[checkyourprez]

those almond brothers were so nutty!




i was never a huge zeppelin fan. the dudes voice pierces my eardrums at too high of a decibel.

[Guy Incognito]

those almond brothers were so nutty!


.

Bit flaky

[Kid Presentable]

I love Zeppelin. IV is obviously the most consistent album, but everyone has personal favourites. Like Houses of the Holy. Physical Graffiti is incredible for the most part, too.

Bonham is, for me, one of the most entertaining musicians alive or dead to listen to, no doubt. His swing was pretty seamless, and unorthodox. I like how they wrote Black Dog to have an un-danceable rhythm; it just made it even funkier.

Page getting hooked on junk is what started the end of it, though. Credit to Bonzo for bringing the later-era stuff to life, and Jonesy for stepping up, but it was never the same band once Jimmy became a smackhead.

Like Presence. Amazing in parts, but you can tell he spent two days awake doing the overdubs. It was raw but it lacked that methodical approach to production which he brought to earlier albums. By In Through the Out Door he'd plain lost his chops, and the mix on his guitar was pretty rough. Still, it's not like it's a terrible album.

I think also Jimmy Page was a visionary producer, with a few excellent solos, but I never considered him the upper echelon of guitarists. On a similar tip, I love Zeppelin's music but I don't think it transcends in the same way the Beatles (who owned the decade prior), Stones, Hendrix, Kinks, Beach Boys, D12 etc sorta do.

Completely agree with the imagined 80s slump into the 90s renaissance. I always thought Aerosmith's Pump sounded sorta like something you could imagine Zep doing after having a shit decade. Which by all indications, it would have been. Except that it was, anyway.

[Yeti]

I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that was some sort of unfortunate auto-correct business right there.

Ha!! I have to say it was a good old brain fart.

:DThe Allman Brothers Band

[Guy Incognito]

. On a similar tip, I love Zeppelin's music but I don't think it transcends in the same way the Beatles (who owned the decade prior), Stones, Hendrix, Kinks, Beach Boys, D12 etc sorta do.

.

LOL.

I think some of Led Zep's stuff is pretty timeless if thats what you are on about. some bands would kill to put out stuff like they did now and it would still sound current.

[MCA4ever]

Kid you summed that up pretty well. Except for me, Page is at the top of my list for excellent guitarist. Sad that he messed himself up a bit. I'm so glad they never had the opportunity to put out their version of "Pump". I couldn't imagine.

Big kinks, stones (pre start me up), and Aerosmith (pre Pump) fan too :)

[Kid Presentable]

The Pump thing was a (relative) compliment. It's not the worst album as far as a hypothetical comparison, imo.

[WhoMoi?]

It's cliche, but every school dance ended with "Stairway to Heaven."

All of my school dances in junior high did, too. I've always loved Stairway, but it did seem strange to follow up three hours of music from Bell Biv Devoe, En Vogue, NKOTB, SWV, Skid Row, MC Hammer, Tone Loc, etc., with that Zeppelin ballad/anthem. I guess it's just further proof of how epic that song was to have stood the test of time like that; it even endured and stayed cool with us kids who grew up in the era of Hammerpants.

"When the Levee Breaks" is my personal fave as of late.

[LilTreyR]

The Pump thing was a (relative) compliment. It's not the worst album as far as a hypothetical comparison, imo.

For me the release of Permanet Vacation kind of diminished my intrigue with Aerosmith in general. But, I'm not a fan of the Top 40 stuff to begin with.

[Heather_D]

All of my school dances in junior high did, too. I've always loved Stairway, but it did seem strange to follow up three hours of music from Bell Biv Devoe, En Vogue, NKOTB, SWV, Skid Row, MC Hammer, Tone Loc, etc., with that Zeppelin ballad/anthem. I guess it's just further proof of how epic that song was to have stood the test of time like that; it even endured and stayed cool with us kids who grew up in the era of Hammerpants.

"When the Levee Breaks" is my personal fave as of late.

Hammer pants. Hehe. That must be a regional thing- STH to close dances. We didn't have a lot of Tone Loc/BBD at my school cos it was Catholic. Wild Thing & Poison appently weren't songs the nuns liked.

[WhoMoi?]

We didn't have a lot of Tone Loc/BBD at my school cos it was Catholic. Wild Thing & Poison appently weren't songs the nuns liked.

Well, there was always "Do Me."

[Kid Presentable]

For me the release of Permanet Vacation kind of diminished my intrigue with Aerosmith in general. But, I'm not a fan of the Top 40 stuff to begin with.

Pump is a good rock album. There are worse, anyway. It's not like I'm a superfan, I could just always imagine Zep doing something like it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wU6NN1G2o) around that era.

[LilTreyR]

Pump is a good rock album. There are worse, anyway. It's not like I'm a superfan, I could just always imagine Zep doing something like it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wU6NN1G2o) around that era.

I got what you meant bro about Zeppelin (y) just chiming in with my two cents about my disappointment with the directiion Aerosmith took with their music.

[Kid Presentable]

Oh cool, my bad. I should probably contribute instead of ranting. :o

My favourite Zeppelin tune curently is probably your time is going to come (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aj_vABphAo). My personal favourites are probably The Ocean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REZW10v67bI), the Rover (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JybkqBGrVs) and Out on the Tiles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rp2lnRjNh8). And The Battle of Evermore (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHJH0ETi8D4). But it always changes.

Links for anyone who wanted to check them out, in the off chance I can be of assistance.

[TurdBerglar]

i fing page's excellence not so much in his soloing or live work but rather in his guitar orchestration on the studio albums. he knew how to construct these perfect little guitar parts or all the way to these epic guitar symphanies. he was the master of the overdubb. try to count some of the guitar parts in some of their epic songs. i bet there's upwards as many as 15+ guitars parts in some of them.

when i first really started studying this band i was blown away by their epic songs. now i find myself leaning towards their more concise numbers. hey hey what can i do is such a perfect flawless song. custard pie is so tight and funky. out on the tiles so bombastic and well crafted. the drumming in that song is phenominal. even the goofy ones like hot dog. there's just something in these songs. can't really put my finger on it. i think it's all got to do with bonham. he was the heart and soul.

the more i listen the more i realise that jpj and bonham were the foundation. the most vital part of their performances. page and plant did most of the writing and constructing of the music but they were more about the showmanship and flambouyance. the rhythm sections was just so fucking locked in. i don't think there will ever be a band this talented in popular music ever again. nothing even close. unless some sort of musical resurection happens.

music now is all about the individual. there's no teamwork in music anymore. the people out there making music are just some idiots behind a computer trying to come up with some fucking shit beat to rhyme over. people just aren't interested anymore. all these people trying to make it big with some shit mix tape that goes viral on youtube. and you can't blame them because that's what the audience want. that's what people want now. they want something that looks easy so they can relate to it and be all like... HEY I COULD DO THAT TOO!!!!

[Kid Presentable]

This part (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0EVNeh9dasI#t=137s) of Over the Hills and Far Away is but one example of how important the rhythm section was to the band.

EDIT: I think I recall Drederick Tatum saying it's the only part of any of Zeppelin's output that he liked.

[LilTreyR]

Oh cool, my bad. I should probably contribute instead of ranting. :o

My favourite Zeppelin tune curently is probably your time is going to come (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aj_vABphAo). My personal favourites are probably The Ocean (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REZW10v67bI), the Rover (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JybkqBGrVs) and Out on the Tiles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rp2lnRjNh8). And The Battle of Evermore (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHJH0ETi8D4). But it always changes.

Links for anyone who wanted to check them out, in the off chance I can be of assistance.

No problem (y)

"It's a total disgrace, they set the pace it must be a race
And the best thing I can do is run."

Nice pick :cool:

[TurdBerglar]

there's so many out takes out there. if you search you can find torrents that are MASSIVE. chuck full of out takes and demos. i think most of them come from tapes that were stolen from page's house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRCJLcI2EhI


it's like discovering completely new lz music to obsess over. the rawness is fucking glorious. you can really see how they had to mix down bonham's drums. they're so overpowering.

[TurdBerglar]

some out takes

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=led+zeppelin+out+take&oq=led+zeppelin+out+take&gs_l=youtube-reduced.3...206310.207094.0.207459.8.7.0.1.1.0.109 .474.6j1.7.0...0.0...1ac.3VnW38PU5u4

[Kid Presentable]

The Custard Pie demo thumps. It's pretty much just missing the guitar solo and has a different harmonica part if I recall correctly. Just hearing the riff go on in lieu of the solo is pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2WzZ1gZjj4

[Kid Presentable]

Full credit should go to Beastie Boys for getting me on to Zeppelin, by the way.

[Kid Presentable]

Adding this fucking song. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOuk8aeTVmo) There's been a pile of Zeppelin threads over the years, but they're always welcome. (y)

[MC Moot]

Caught this recently...Night Flight: Inside Led Zeppelin’s private jet on NBC Nightly News, 1973... ( http://dangerousminds.net/comments/inside_led_zeppelins_private_jet_on_nbc_nightly_ne ws_1973)rock n' roll madness and excess at it's grandest...

[MCA4ever]

Caught this recently...Night Flight: Inside Led Zeppelin’s private jet on NBC Nightly News, 1973... ( http://dangerousminds.net/comments/inside_led_zeppelins_private_jet_on_nbc_nightly_ne ws_1973)rock n' roll madness and excess at it's grandest...

Loved reading that-thanks!

I loved the one comment about the plane being "one of the unsung heroes of the classic rock era."

[Guy Incognito]

I sat next to Peter Grant once at a music industry seminar, i was bit intimidated but he was really nice if a little pissed(drunk) and he got a bit angry when he discussed some stuff with the panel but it was good

[YoungRemy]

thanks for all the links.

I love the live DVD, as well as How The West Was Won and the BBC sessions...
(check out some of the early B&W extra features on the live DVD)

Robert Plant was an underrated harmonica player

[yeahwho]

yep, led zeppelin did it. anyone of their first 6 albums on their own kill, but to put out 6 excellent albums of incredible music in a row is just amazing.

Led Zeppelin (1969) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKgatd4VX4I)
Led Zeppelin II (1969) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCwCp5DRr8Y&feature=related)
Led Zeppelin III (1970) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpIa9GbAPTI&feature=related)
Led Zeppelin IV (1971) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO1jv3Y6lOM&feature=related)
Houses of the Holy (1973) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AEykR9AeeM&feature=related)
Physical Graffiti (1975) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF29HWFrRF4&feature=relmfu)

House of the Holy Fuck those albums ROCK

[yeahwho]

I was just checking out the LZ website, it's awesome. I was checking out all of the times they came to Seattle, and they came once in 1969 and played at the lake I just walked around earlier today.

I must have some good synchronicity, a few hours ago I was drinking a cup of coffee sitting here (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/59261567) and then I read this thread and find out LZ played there 43 years ago (http://www.ledzeppelin.com/venue/greenlake-aquatheater).

lol, they opened for Three Dog Night. The details of Zeps tours is amazing.

[YoungRemy]

Love to see that- Any video?

i dug up some audio but don't know if it's worth sharing in a thread about the legend that is Led Zeppelin- it was a fun project to be a part of though- a bunch of musicians as passionate about Zep as I was. they made fun of the concept of LZ cover bands dressing up and assuming the role of each band member. they were fat old friends from college paying tribute to some of the best rock music ever made. one night they played LZII in its entirety and that was the first time they pulled me up...

I'll try and get it out

where is that confounded bridge?

[MCA4ever]

i dug up some audio but don't know if it's worth sharing in a thread about the legend that is Led Zeppelin- it was a fun project to be a part of though- a bunch of musicians as passionate about Zep as I was. they made fun of the concept of LZ cover bands dressing up and assuming the role of each band member. they were fat old friends from college paying tribute to some of the best rock music ever made. one night they played LZII in its entirety and that was the first time they pulled me up...

I'll try and get it out

where is that confounded bridge?

You just don't worry about that bridge right now- your getting married!!! Very excited for you :D

[MCA4ever]

I was just checking out the LZ website, it's awesome. I was checking out all of the times they came to Seattle, and they came once in 1969 and played at the lake I just walked around earlier today.

I must have some good synchronicity, a few hours ago I was drinking a cup of coffee sitting here (http://www.panoramio.com/photo/59261567) and then I read this thread and find out LZ played there 43 years ago (http://www.ledzeppelin.com/venue/greenlake-aquatheater).

lol, they opened for Three Dog Night. The details of Zeps tours is amazing.

Ok- now I'm getting really jealous of your summer :cool:

[WhoMoi?]

lol, they opened for Three Dog Night. The details of Zeps tours is amazing.

I actually love a couple of Three Dog Night songs. :o

[Splashleigh]

I grew up on Led Zeppelin too. My brother and sister are ten years older than me so on Saturday nights when they went out I would stay at home and play cards with my parents listening to LZ, Creedence, the Beatles, the Animals etc etc.
Beastie Boys are possibly the closest I've come to loving a band quite as much. When I first heard the samples when I was getting into Beasties it kind of felt like 'ohh of course I like this band, we have a Zeppelin connection'.

I got the symbols tattooed on my back :)

[yeahwho]

Ok- now I'm getting really jealous of your summer :cool:

You shouldn't.

Today it hit 95 degrees in Seattle and I hid in my basement because I'm a heat wimp.

But I obsessed on the LZ website, next extra $100 I get I'm buying this poster (http://ledzeppelin.fanfire.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/product?sourceCode=LZEWEBWWUSD&sku=LZE53569)!

I actually love a couple of Three Dog Night songs. :o

I imagine in 1969 they were all the rage. Here's pics of LZ at the Aqua Follies circa 1969 (http://greenlake.wetpaint.com/page/Led+Zeppelin?zone=addthis), no three dog night pics :confused:

I grew up on Led Zeppelin too. My brother and sister are ten years older than me so on Saturday nights when they went out I would stay at home and play cards with my parents listening to LZ, Creedence, the Beatles, the Animals etc etc.
Beastie Boys are possibly the closest I've come to loving a band quite as much. When I first heard the samples when I was getting into Beasties it kind of felt like 'ohh of course I like this band, we have a Zeppelin connection'.

I got the symbols tattooed on my back :)

Can't top that!

[WhoMoi?]

I imagine in 1969 they were all the rage. Here's pics of LZ at the Aqua Follies circa 1969 (http://greenlake.wetpaint.com/page/Led+Zeppelin?zone=addthis), no three dog night pics :confused:


Hmmm...
I saw Chuck Negron (3DN lead singer) on Intervention a few years ago, because his son was an addict (he may still be...he had relapsed and ended up in prison at the end of the episode). It was sad to watch, especially since Chuck Jr. was born addicted in the first place.
I really like "Never Been to Spain," though I'm not sure exactly why. I think Negron had a great singing voice, I guess. I always appreciate singers who sound like they could sing almost any genre and still sound great (i.e. Ann Wilson, Freddie Mercury) and he was one of those people, I think, though maybe underrated in that respect...probably because his vocal talent wasn't necessarily highlighted in their biggest hit, in which he was basically yelling about a frog. :)

Anyway...enough with my weird and random Three Dog Night moment! :o (I love that about this board...never know what you'll end up talking about by the end of any given thread.)

Back to LZ: Great poster. (y)

[Yeti]

Are you going to see the concert film playing at the theater? I think the only show times are tonight and tomorrow night?

[TurdBerglar]

nah. i might buy the blu ray though. i already have the concert dvd. it's a must own.

[YoungRemy]

you have the dvd that is released in november or a bootleg?

[TurdBerglar]

oh, no. im talking about the dvd that was released a few years ago.

[MCA4ever]

From what I understand its only showing today and tomorrow.

http://m.fathomevents.com/details.aspx?eventid=1138

[YoungRemy]

ah yes.

the early black and white performance footage in front of the small crowd on the extras section is my favorite part of that.

and Plant wails on his harmonica throughout... especially Bring It On Home

[Yeti]

It is called Celebration Day. It is just coming out for 2 days and then it will be available on DVD. I might go tonight at 10 pm.

[LilTreyR]

Excellent!!! See it on the big screen while you can(y)

[TurdBerglar]

The recently deceased Andy Johns shares his Led Zeppelin experience.

Andy Johns
(engineer on Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, Houses Of The Holy, Coda, Physical Graffiti)

I was 20 years old when I worked on Led Zeppelin IV. I think I finished the mixing just before my 21st birthday.

Led Zeppelin IV was recorded at two studios, Island (Studios) and Headley Grange. I’d been working with the Rolling Stones mobile. They were the first people in Europe to have a proper recording truck.

I’d done a couple of projects at Mick Jagger’s house. Mick had a house where we’d roll the truck up to, and it worked very well there. I’d done the Stones and some other acts. So, when Jimmy asked me to do another record with them, I said, “Why don’t we try the Stones truck and Mick’s house, because it has so many intriguing different spaces as opposed to being confined to one room in the studio.” Jimmy said, “That sounds great, how much does it cost?” I told him that Mick’s house would cost a thousand pounds a week. He said, “I bet I can find something just as good that doesn’t cost a thousand a week. Good lord, I’m not giving Mick Jagger that kind of money.” (laughs)

So, Jimmy had his people find this place called Headley Grange, which worked great, and it even had furniture, which was something that Mick’s house lacked.
Headley Grange was an old mansion, some sort of successful farmer type of a mansion. It was a little run-down, but it was great for our purposes. In actual fact, we were very lucky to record there. That’s where I got the sound for “When The Levee Breaks.”

When you walked in the front door, there was a little ante room, like a cloak room, and then you opened up the nest double doors, and it was a large lobby with staircases going up to landings; it was three or four floors. It had a very high ceiling. After we’d done a few songs, I had them all in this one room on the righthand side, and those guys played pretty loud. That meant there would [be] a lot of sound pressure built up in the room.

I’d been dabbling with trying to record things on two mics already like the song, “Can’t Find My Way Back Home” by Blind Faith. I did that with them — the vocals, the acoustic guitars, the drums and everything just on two mics. And I like the way that sounded.

Bonzo was never completely happy with his drum sound. So, on a break one evening — I think we’d been there for two or three days — and they were all going to the pub, I said, “Bonzo, I want you to stay behind; you can’t go for your refreshments. Just hang out with me for an hour.”

He moved his kit out of the room into this big lobby area. I got a couple of mics and put them halfway up the first staircase and used some compression. Jimmy had this Italian repeat echo device. It was fairly popular back then. It used a steel drum instead of tape, so it had a very unique sound. Jimmy had brought that along because he wanted me to try it out. We hooked it up to the mixer like any old outboard echo device. I put some of that in there. With that half-time tempo, there’s plenty of room in between the drum hits for the room sound to be apparent and for you to hear that repeat, which is why the bass drum does that kind of triplet thing (imitates sound). So that’s how that happened. If we’d not been at Headley Grange, I would never have gotten that sound.

Recording at Headley Grange was cold and miserable, but musically, it worked great. It was fairly inspirational recording at Headley Grange. We wouldn’t have wanted to stay there for six months, but it worked for us.

When we were recording at Headley Grange, I remember Jimmy telling us, “I saw a
ghost on the stairs last night.” I was like, “Oh yeah, sure you did.” (laughs) I mean, who knows? Jimmy was into all that sort of stuff. I was too busy making out with the cook in the attic. (laughs) I had an attic bedroom, and the cook was quite nice. She came up to see me one evening. I think that’s the night Jimmy saw the ghost. Maybe it was some sort of weird vibe exuding out of my bedroom. (laughs)
“Black Dog” is a very powerful track; I’m still very fond of that one. It’s proto-typical Zeppelin. They were really terrific with dynamics; as opposed to a beginning, middle and an end, they’d take you all over the place. I was very proud of the guitar sound. It was something no one had ever done, and I don’t think it’s been done since, actually.

I came up with the triple tracking idea for the electric guitars on “Black Dog.” I’d been trying to get a guitar sound that they’d gotten with Buffalo Springfield. On the Buffalo Springfield Again album there was this amazing sound.

I met Bill Halverson, who did those records about a month before I worked with Zeppelin on the fourth album. I asked him, “How did you do that?” And he explained it to me. You just run the guitar direct and use a couple of compressors, and you use them as amplifiers so they distort each other. So, I suggested to Jimmy that we try that on “Black Dog.” It’s very difficult to achieve, but after much ditzing about, I got it to work and it sounded great. And we double tracked it.

Then I said, “Hell, why don’t we triple track this, it sounds so good.” So, we had one more guitar up the middle as well. The apparent level on these guitars was so spectacular, when I was mixing it, normally you’d have all the guitars in the same plane on the faders as the bass and the other instruments. But, the apparent level on these things was so hot, they were two-thirds of the way down on the faders but still loud, which was great, because it means they’re not taking up more space, and it leaves room for everything else. It worked rather well.

The band was very quick in the studio. I remember when the tricky time-signature thing came up on that song. I think it was John Paul who said, “How about this?”
And bam, off they went. If you listen to it, Bonzo plays straight through it, and the other guys missed the beat every now and again themselves. I got into this huge argument with the Van Halen brothers once when I was producing them. They said, “No, they’re all playing in 4/4 and Bonzo makes a mistake.” I said, “No, it isn’t Bonzo making a mistake!”

“Misty Mountain Hop” was fun and good to do.

“Goin’ To California” mentions an earthquake in it. There had been a severe earthquake in L.A. the week before we showed up to mix it. I remember that Peter Grant was very nervous about that. He was really frightened of earthquakes (laughs), which was a bit strange because he was a big wrestler-type guy.
The day that we went to mix “Goin’ To California,” Jimmy said, “Oh, we can’t mix that; there’ll be another earthquake. Let’s save that for later.” I was like, “Oh, come on, man!” I didn’t think Led Zeppelin was that big of a deal to cause an earthquake. But, we mixed it anyway and there was a f**king tremor right in the middle of the damn mix (laughs).

“Rock & Roll” happened really quick. One minute there was no music, and then, all of sudden, they were doing that song. That song was difficult to record, because Bonzo was leaning on his hi-hat so hard. I remember there was trouble mixing the guitar on the out section; Jimmy kept calling me up and going, “You’ve gotta mix the end again.” And I ended up mixing the end of that, the final one he accepted in a totally different studio, Olympic. A different room altogether from where we mixed it. I thought, well, this idea is not gonna work; it’s a different building. But, I edited it together, and Jimmy couldn’t hear it was an edit at all, so then he was happy.

There’s unique drum pattern on “Four Sticks.” It’s called “Four Sticks” because Bonzo was using four sticks when he played on it. It had a flammy sound on it.
That song was very difficult to mix. I must admit I might have recorded that one inappropriately because I compressed the drums before that got to tape. Of course, once you’ve done that, you can’t undo it. It made it hard to mix. I didn’t record it right. I must have mixed that song four or five times until I got the version that’s on the record, and it still doesn’t sound quite right. I wouldn’t mind another go at it. I might be able to do it a little better with some of the gizmos we’ve got these days.

I remember “Battle Of Evermore” was sort of a “sitting around the fireplace” thing. I still have a fond spot in my heart for that song. It’s so minimalistic, and yet it had such a gorgeous sound to it. I’m also very proud of the way the fade happens at the beginning. That was my idea. Sandy Denny came in and sang on that later. That was done at Island. She was just a treat.

There was a certain amount of disappointment among the fans with Led Zeppelin III, because there was a lot of acoustic stuff on there, which is what Pagey and Robert were into. They were very into all that Celtic stuff. On Led Zeppelin IV, they struck a very nice balance. I don’t know whether that was conception or just the way it turned out.

I do remember talking to Jimmy about a week or 10 days before we tracked “Stairway To Heaven,” and at the time, I was very much into doing songs that built, and you would add extra layers to the song, and it reached a crescendo at the end. I mentioned that to him. “I’ve got a song that does that. It’s quite a long piece, and you’ll see. It’s got a lot of dynamics. I know what you’re talking about. Wait ’til you hear it.”

We recorded “Stairway To Heaven” at Island (Studios), and I remember the tracking quite well. In those days it was unusual in as much as we tracked the song without a bass. It was drums, Jimmy playing an acoustic and John Paul was playing an upright Hohner piano. I put a lot of bottom end on that so there’d be some bottom end to work with.

It was a beautiful track, and I could see it had dynamics. I thought, boy, this is gonna be fun. Then, John Paul put the bass on. Then we put on the electric rhythm. When we went to do the electric 12-string, the song really started to come alive.

Jimmy would use 12-string quite often through his Vox AC30 amp, which has a very electric, distorted kind of sound. I said to Jimmy, “Why don’t we record this direct?” So that’s why the 12-string has that bell-like quality. It’s much cleaner and that really worked. So, I was quite proud of that.

It wasn’t difficult to get a good guitar sound out of Jimmy. These days when you’re doing guitar overdubs, I can spend the first week or two searching around to find the three or four basic sounds one needs. But, Jimmy would just show up, plug in, I’d stick a mic on it, and it always sounded pretty good.

I remember Jimmy had a little bit of trouble with the solo on “Stairway To Heaven.” As for the solo, he hadn’t completely figured it out. Nowadays you spend a whole day sometimes doing one thing. Back then, of course, we never did that.
They were a very quick band. We never spent a very long time recording anything. I remember sitting in the control room with Jimmy; he’s standing there next to me, and he’d done quite a few passes, and it wasn’t going anywhere. I could see he was getting a bit paranoid, and so I was getting paranoid. I turned around and said, “You’re making me paranoid!” And he said, “No, you’re making me paranoid!” It was a silly circle of paranoia. Then bang! On the next take or two he ripped it out. Of course, it’s a really wonderful solo. Pagey was just unbelievable.

Zeppelin were very, very good musicians. John Paul and Jimmy were some of the best musicians around. Bonzo could play just about anything you asked him to. He hadn’t done all the sessions they had done. Jimmy and John Paul were top session guys, and they were used to playing anything that was asked of them.

And Robert was a great singer. On “Stairway To Heaven,” I remember this quite well. I said, “Hey Percy, it’s your turn to sing.” And he goes, “Oh God, really? Hang on for a sec. Play me the track again.” He’s sitting in the back of the control room scribbling away. He hasn’t finished his lyrics yet. “Okay, I’m ready!” He went out there and did it. I think there was one run through to warm up and two takes and he was done.

Robert has some tremendous range and passion; he hits the notes right on, and he’s got fantastic phrasing. Those are all the things you need from a singer. Robert, Paul Rodgers and Joe Cocker were the three singers from that time that really ruled. Totally different singers, but they never missed a note. They were always right on, had great tonality and you could hear the passion in their voice.
Bonzo was such a solid drummer, and he made a fantastic sound. The way he had his kit set up, no one else sounded like that. The funny thing about Bonzo was if the singer goes out to bang on their kit when there’s a bit of down time, it normally sounds quite different. The sound just goes out the window if someone else is playing their kit. But, the way Bonham had his kit tuned anybody could go and sit down and play poorly, but it would still have this sound to it.

That’s why I was struggling so hard to achieve a great drum sound with him, because it was very difficult to catch. That’s why I came up with the “When The Levee Breaks” theory of miking, which I guess we should have used again. They remembered what it was and used it again for “Kashmir.”

I knew John Paul before he was in Zeppelin. When I was 17 or 18, I had a little deal with him when he was doing sessions. I’d polish his bass, and he’d show me the new lick from the Fontella Bass record, ’cause I’m a bass player. So, I would talk to him being a bass player, and I’m 17, and I thought he was wonderful.

We were coming back from the Red Lion pub after a musician’s union break one day, and he was groaning and moaning, “Oh this bloody session work; I don’t make enough money. I’m gonna make a million pounds in the next two or three years, you’ll see.” And I went, “Yeah, right. Okay, John, sure you will.” Six months later, Zeppelin had formed, and two or three years later he had made a million pounds. (laughs)

At that time, I didn’t work with very many producers. I would just work with the band. And it would say engineered by Andy John or sometimes co-producer. I’d already produced some albums. Jimmy was one of the few people as a musician that could take an objective overview. Most musicians get too involved, and they get lost.

That’s why you have such things as producers. It took me a few years to figure out why geniuses like The Stones or Jimi Hendrix would need someone there to tell them where it was at. But Jimmy didn’t need anybody. He had a vision for what the songs should be. He had his tricks that he’d worked out over the years. He was also a brilliant arranger. He was always looking for new sounds, but it was mostly his talent as an arranger.

If you listen to those Zeppelin records, there’s not a lot of overdubs. Even on “Stairway To Heaven,” there aren’t that many overdubs. It’s just bass, drums, a little bit of piano, an acoustic guitar, electric rhythm now and again and bits coming in and out. It’s not like we do now with four rhythm guitars and double-tracking everything else, and you’ve got this bloody great wall of sound.
When recording those albums, Jimmy would be in the control room with me, and we’d be doing all kinds of things. The other guys either weren’t there, or they’d be milling around in the studio. They knew that he was the producer. He was in charge.

John Paul would come up with a lot of great bits and pieces like the recorders on “Stairway To Heaven.” He’d always have wonderful ideas. The guy was an arranger. He was one of the first people to start using synths. He had a funny little monophonic synthesizer, which we used on a couple of songs. That was kind of new stuff at the time.

We ended up only getting one mix at Sunset Sound Studios, which was my fault. I wanted to go to Sunset Sound to mix, because so much neat stuff came out of there, and we went at my suggestion. We did a bunch of work there, and we took it back to England, and it sounded dreadful. Jimmy and I were both very embarrassed and ended up mixing it all again at Island. We only used the mix of “When The Levee Breaks” from Sunset Sound.

There was such variety on Led Zeppelin IV. People tended to do that a little more back then. Albums would have a lot of variety on them. Even good artists today think, “This is what our fans want; we’re good at that.”

So, they make three or four albums in a row that are almost interchangeable. Back then, the artists that I was working with like Led Zeppelin and The Stones — their albums were very eclectic in a way — there’d be a really nice variety. It’s like writing a set list. The running order of an album was really quite important; you could really affect the way the album felt by the running order.

I’d always been aware since we finished that album that it was a really great piece of work. I never imagined “Stairway To Heaven” becoming this anthem thing and the most-played song on the radio. There was so much great stuff coming on then. It wasn’t like now, where every two or three years something really cool will come out.

There was fantastic stuff happening every year. Lots of it. You had Led Zeppelin. You had Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. You had the Stones. You had The Beatles’ albums. You had George Harrison’s album, All Things Must Pass. The funny thing is, after I finished working on Zeppelin IV, I went on to do Exile On Main Street, which is also viewed as a quintessential rock and roll album. I was having a grand old time; it couldn’t have been better.

Led Zeppelin IV is just terrific work. The band were very hard workers in the studio. But, we wouldn’t work tremendously long hours. We’d start about 12 or 1 and finish about 10 or 11 o’clock. They were quick; they were very quick. To come up with stuff that good and just blow it out the way they did, quite often you’d get two or three basic tracks done in an evening. They were inspired and were having a great old time. By this time, they were very aware of who they were. And they’d done enough work together over where they were very sure of themselves. They knew what their capabilities were, and it all just fell together.

[taquitos]

they are good but i still mentally scoffed a the guy who reached in front of me to get a copy of III at the record store tonight. what a tool

Edit: good lord terdburgler that post is huge

[rirv]

I dunno anymore.

I remember being 17/18 and thinking they were absolutely it and all that there ever could be but as I've got older (10 yrs ltr lol) they seem somewhat gauche and over the top. However, the other day I listened to III and IV and Physical Graffiti in one go, and it was fun. Some of their stuff is badly produced, some of it lacks focus but, when they get it all on point, they really kick like no other.

[YoungRemy]

Some of their stuff is badly produced...

lol what?

they were groundbreaking in terms of production, as evidenced by the above post by the late engineer...

[rirv]

lol what?

they were groundbreaking in terms of production, as evidenced by the above post by the late engineer...

I stand by what I said. Considering their first albums came out after records like Sgt. Pepper's and Beggar's Banquet, which to my ear have a balance and quality to them and a fulness of tone, a lot of their first two albums are muddy, unbalanced and inconsistent. IV, however, is spot on. But listen again to II. It sounds like a cut and paste job in parts. There's no excuse by that time. It sounds like it was recorded ten years earlier.

[TurdBerglar]

i think they were trying to make their albums sound raw and live and not something from a sterile studio

[TurdBerglar]

Songs and ideas that never made it onto a real album:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYsJajRhQCY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqs3hw0rgpc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmV5lYnBKqE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAiifpkWZfA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnL_usrjBoE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuBl-7ti39U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUd64EWipSA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-pdOg2xMeM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZgoTtIZl58

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se-PK5eIz_A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=II0eIUsNELY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbOM-TnqU-g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl9HPRnsGBM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5PzpPXVBmU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YphrID-YJ0Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG-XAmo0pBY


even the shit they didn't feel was good enough to be put onto an album is class and excellence.


check this guy's channel out:

https://www.youtube.com/user/MrMojoRisin1967/videos

john Bonham resurrected

[TurdBerglar]

I stand by what I said. Considering their first albums came out after records like Sgt. Pepper's and Beggar's Banquet, which to my ear have a balance and quality to them and a fulness of tone, a lot of their first two albums are muddy, unbalanced and inconsistent. IV, however, is spot on. But listen again to II. It sounds like a cut and paste job in parts. There's no excuse by that time. It sounds like it was recorded ten years earlier.

I had to revisit this response. they were doing so many studio tricks it was bound to sound a bit shabby in parts considering the basic technology at the time. what they were doing in the studio was so dense and layered it must have been chaos to engineer all that before anyone else had even attempted something so immense.

they made a three piece instrumental band sound like a fucking rock orchestra with machinery that wasn't designed for it.