Thursday, January 9, 2014
70 Years YOUNG!
Led Zeppelin did not suck. They did not become and remain larger than life because they sucked. Many artists did, so it is possible. Led Zeppelin is not one of them.
I'm hoping, at least for today on Jimmy Page's birthday, we can refrain from pointing out his shortcomings. Jake Holmes, Davy Graham, and Bert Jansch fans, please understand. Today, please take ten and get lost in this relentlessly badass groove from 1975, a prime example of Led Zeppelin at their live peak.
Funny, it's Page's birthday and I found myself completely oblivious to any guitar in this video, as I could not focus on anything else but Jonesy and Bonham. I had to play it twice to be sure Jimmy was on fire. I think I made the right choice. (But jeez, what a rhythm section!)
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8 comments:
"Jake Holmes, Davy Graham, and Bert Jansch fans, please understand".
Hey! I resemble that remark!
Jimmy has a tremendous ear.
The rhythm section killed. Jonesy has class.
I learned to tolerate Percy.
Great clip! I saw them on that tour at MSG, good seats too, they were excellent, what a time. It's amazing how our rock heroes are getting older(such as we all are) and are still chuggin' along, I'm pleased to see that. My top three favorite guitarists are Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. I guess Clapton is in there also, certainly in my top ten. Happy birthday Jimmy, you've given me much listening pleasure, and still do.
I think some might believe Jimmy was sloppy on stage, but it was only because he was trying to emulate the performances from the records. Which was impossible, of course, with all the over-dubbing of guitat tracks in the studio. That can work if you hire another musician, ala the Rolling Stones, to play on your tours. But Zep chose to keep the band "pure"(in this way at least!)and that made some of the live performances suffer.
He was still a phenomenal guitarist, no two ways about it. And that rhythm section really was the heart and soul of that band. It's what set them apart.
Here's some Jimmy you might not know.
It's "Male Chauvinist Pig Blues", by Roy Harper (1974). He plays guitar with Keith Moon on drums and Ronnie Lane on bass.
http://alanwalkerart.com/audio/male_chauvinist_pig_blues.mp3
Really great clip. Happy Birthday Jimmy. Yes a great ear, and extraordinarily sensitive. You won't hearing me say they weren't great, thievery or no thievery. ;)
Thanks so much for the Everly songs of the day you've been posting. Just a lovely tribute.
Page did tend to be sloppy (or high) at times when he took flight but the stuff he did on record was masterful and I don;t know of any lead guitarist during that time that didn't use those first 2 albums as the standard to which they aspired. Some of the most inventive and unique playing ever put to vinyl.
Nice!
Coincidentally, I just finished putting the Zep catalog in chronological order that meant I played all eight studio albums back to back x 4.
Led Zeppelin has been part of my narrative since day one. Their first LP was played on every turntable I came across and that year it spent 73 weeks on Billboard. I was listening to II when I found out that my draft lottery was #362-the year after I was drafted.
While the later music became as bloated as the band members, the run from I to Physical Graffiti may be only topped by the Beatles as far as impact on an audience.
Like the Beatles, the Led Zeppelin sound is as fresh today as it was 40+ years ago.
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