For 12 years Led Zeppelin
ruled supreme as the head of state in
Rock ‘n’ Roll. Dragged, kicking and screaming,
to superstardom by their powerhouse manager
Peter Grant - you didn’t mess with our
Peter, if he put the bad eye on you for
selling, Bootleg Zeppelin T-shirts you
stayed sorted.
Led Zeppelin came up in the age of singles.
However, on the instructions of the manager,
Led Zeppelin did not release one single.
Nevertheless, right from the day that
the New Yardbirds turned into the beast
that was to become Led Zeppelin, the principle
players were superstars. They arrived
to packed out concerts in stretch limoes
with masses of P.A. The albums were riding
at the top of the charts, and they enjoyed
all the excesses of the Rock ‘n’ Roll
life style. One minute you’d never heard
of them, the next they were everywhere.
Listening to this album 33 years later
on, does it live up to the hype? Has it
stood the ravages of time? Is a Dalmation
a beautiful dog? Of course it does, the
brilliance of diamonds does not dim over
a few years.
As soon as the band break into the opening
song, you know that you are listening
to musical magic. Led Zeppelin had only
been together for six weeks when they
were ushered into the studio to record
their inaugural album. Glyn Johns was
the only outsider required to do the engineering
and less than four weeks later they emerged
with this masterpiece. Basically, they
had laid down their stage act on tape,
so no wonder the sound is so vibrant and
alive. Most of these songs stayed in the
live set right to the end and are regularly
brought back again whenever Page and Plant
decide to strut their stuff on the boards.
There are nine songs in all, ranging from
the blitzkrieg heavy metal thrash of “Communication
Breakdown” at 2 minutes 26 seconds to
the control and magnificence of “How Many
More Times”, at 8 minutes 30 seconds.
This closes with an uncredited run through
of “The Hunter”, which is a favorite for
this dog. However, it is the amazing slow
‘Blues’, “You Shook Me” by Willie Dixon
that really shows off the talent of all
the group members. The Jeff Beck Group
(Jimmy Page’s old running mate in the
Yardbirds) had, six months previously,
issued a version of this song on his debut
album “Truth” (August 1968) and it had
Rod Stewart on vocals. Despite this, after
Beck heard Zeppelin’s version, it gave
him an inferiority complex that has lasted
up until today. Please note that the Beck
version is brilliant, it’s just that Zeppelin
took it to another level.
Of course, over the years, “Dazed and
Confused” became Jimmy Page’s “Tour De
Force”. It stretches up to 30 minutes
on stage, with the guitarist using violin
bows, and all sorts to show his virtuosity.
On the album though, you get the original
tune, which is often easier listening,
without having to suffer the over indulgence
from Page.
Zeppelin achieved this magnificent album
without bothering the writing skills of
Robert Plant. All that was still to come
when Page/Plant became as famous, as Lennon/McCartney
or Jagger/Richards.
From here Led Zeppelin went onto conquer
the world, and this was their glorious
start.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
