And the influence of Low left a fantastic avenue to explore…. Silver Rider…. sublime
Robert Plant
I’ve been a Zeppelin fan since I was a little kid. Was obsessed with them in high school. I always thought Plant was one of the best singers in rock and roll. A lot of people still do. I never saw Zep but did see Plant in concert several times in the 80s/90s.
Over the decades I find that I don’t listen to Zep all that much for whatever reason.
This Christmas Eve morning I stayed home from church because of a nasty cold and dug out some of my old LPs. One of them was a bootleg (at the time) of Zeppelin's live BBC performances. I bought it used in 1984 for $20 which was a ton of money for me back then. (You can get this on Qobuz etc now.)
About 4 minutes into Whole Lotta Love the band lapses into a blues/Elvis medley of songs that is simply epic. The entire band is right on point and amazing as always but in this medley Plant really shows you his stuff. The range, the control, the timing, the soul. All there. Is he the best rock and roll singer ever? I can think of a lot of challengers to that idea but he’s certainly up around the top.
Give this song a listen. The initial part of Whole Lotta Love is not my favorite. But this medley and the ending are Zeppelin at its best.
Merry Christmas all.
75 responses Add your response
@jmalen123 Agree! I’ve long been a fan of this version of Black Dog (arranged by T Bone Burnett, who can be seen lurking on rhythm guitar in the video):
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I love Led Zeppelin. They were a serious part of my "becoming of age" era. As their albums came out, I was advancing through high school. At 16 years of age and Led Zeppelin II is playing at high school parties. Memories, for sure! I finally got to see them at The Forum, in 1971 (as a Junior in high school). What memories... |
A lot of the available footage and recorded stuff from Zeppelin's live stuff is sloppy. Often off tempo too. But like the "Minnesota Blues" (mess of the blues) medley on this BBC album, even amongst the sloppy stuff there are jewels to be found. By the way, I am assuming this double album I have is bootleg. It does have the record company info on it but the album cover is basically a cartoonish picture of a cassette tape recorder. I'm also assuming it was recorded on cassette from the BBC broadcast and then cut onto vinyl. The sound quality isn't great.
Both times that I saw Plant the shows were incredible. What struck me more than anything else was that he seemed to be having the time of his life....playing for a crowd in Columbia, SC. I could not, and still don't understand how the god of rock and roll was having fun playing yet another show on the road in my humble home town. I came to the conclusion that he is either an incredible actor/showman or he was actually enjoying himself. I suspect it was probably both. Either way, when the performer is performing well AND having a good time, well, that makes for a great show. The second time I saw him he played several Zep songs. Brought the house down. |
larsman-- agreed on the Page and Plant tour (I saw only 1). Saw Zep live at the Garden in July of 73 and other than being in awe of the Plant and Page charisma, the show was a minor disappointment-- it was only good, not great . Sloppy for sure. I don't listen to Zep a lot anymore but still occasionally use my RL version of Zep ll to impress guests. as it is one of the 2 or 3 best sounding albums I have. Needless to say, it always works and is indeed a fabulous album through and through. Having said that, I will have to put l and lV on the table in the next few days. |
@asvjerry indeed you are the Bard of Agon on Avon…. :-) Smoke em if ya got em in the giant tube stash in the sky…. or that very unorganized drawer…… Best to you now and in the year alight … |
Ah, @tomic601 .....SOTA ought to extend to the tubes as well as the SSDs’, but...*sigh*...’twill by and by come to your shores in the newness of the dawning of the year anew and anon... *slaps self* Ev is watching the ’96 version of Romeo & Juliet, which I can’t bring self to sit thru.....read and have heard the original and Wayyy too many parodies, and view it as the latter.... Time has been too much with me of late.... ;) Yes, hoard thy tubes, for The Tubes....*L* And a Ripper ought to be named Jacque, Thee....and Server: That Doth Duex.... I depart anew, wishing a Merri Yule upon us both... *G* |
I've seen Led Zep about 3 times between 1969 and 1977, and while they were always good shows, the playing could get a big 'sloppy'. I also saw a couple of Page and Plant tours, and those were awesome; I liked those better than the LZ ones; the playing sounded tighter... There are some great recordings from these shows... |
Now that I have some excellent gear in dialed in rooms, I am listening to a lot of known music and realizing I have never really heard these songs before. I was also quick to realize about 35 years ago that Classic Rock radio is the death of rock music so I never overdosed on Classic Rock since I listened to other options. These days I go on some mega Zep benders while I work many long hours. Zep sounds so fresh and new to me still. I think it was 3 days ago when I listened to every album except PRESENCE (ran out of time). A few years ago I bought the RAAL VM-1a tube headphone amp and paired it with the extremely dynamic RAAL CA-1a headphones. I listened to a few hours of music and came to Zep's When the Levee Breaks. I was so blown away I had to call the manufacturer and tell him that they had something special in this new gear. That was the first time I really heard that song. Kind of a scary song. I played it 10 times in a row and only stopped to get some sleep. A shame I sold the VM-1a amp to buy speakers but the it was the right call. Since I do not listen to Classic Rock radio and like to give new music a chance. Check out this song on your best hi-fi system. It is not When the Levee Breaks brilliant but a brand new song I heard on the radio that I am playing everyday. Island in the Storm - Mia Doi Todd
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@decooney thanks - always looking for new versions of music ….but i just have 14 tubes i can throw at it…however, i think the Liquid cooling in the hybrid monoblocks will tide me over…. Guess i need a tube CD ripper and Server….. |
+1 @soix for sure, thanks for the reminder. Steely Dan, some of the very best! 👍 @n80 totally agree. Some of the less popular stuff can be more enjoyable. @tomic601 if you don't already have it - the 2007 concert BluRay & CD Audio set with the No Quarter performance at 02 Arena is one of my absolute all time favorites. Along with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page (omg, wicked grunge guitar sounds) and John Paul Jones (wow, hauntingly-beautiful keyboard and piano) simply brings the music to a different level of sound and performance. Playing this track on a good all tube system is absolutely hair raising if you like Zepplin!.🤩 Video clip: No Quarter 2007 O2 Arena Live
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@tomic601 Thanks. Merry Christmas. |
No Quarter was my 787 theme song… Good to hear from you @n80 - get well soon ! |
@decooney Don’t forget to fire up some Steely Dan while you’ve got the tubes all warm n fuzzy! |
Love me some Zeppelin and still listen to the first 5 albums every now and then as I am now in my 70s, just not as loud. I have really liked what he has done With Alison Krauss on the Raising Sand album and the follow up that T Bone Burnett produced, as well as other people over the last few decades including his Band of Joy group, they seem to have a bit of a cajun tap to them, might be because I heard them do some Fats Domino songs. WTS, my favorite voice from that time would have to be Steve Marriott, but lets face it, Plant ain't no slouch. Enjoy the music |
I got burned out on Led Zeppelin a long time ago, as with many other bands, if I hear them on the radio I’ll tune to another station. Likely because they played their music so much. My favorite songs from them were Kashmir and Dazed and Confused. Maybe I’ll revisit them in a few years again. I have only owned one album from Robert Plant. I can’t remember the name (I don’t think it had one) but it was the one with Ship of Fools. My favorite rock singer of all time was Ronnie James Dio. I even attended his funeral. May he rest in peace. Merry Christmas! |