Led Zeppelin- Immigrant Song
Led Zeppelin doesn’t get a whole lotta love or credit for their live shows from many music historians, but here is some evidence, that they probably deserve a bit more. Check out the pretty great solo section, with some real nice understated work from the dynamic duo of Bonham and Jones (there are none heavier a rhythm section). They flip the beat here and there which creates some really cool tension in the song, and are just rock solid all the way through. Thnx to Ketogah for the link, and don’t forget to revisit the Viking Kittens for more Immigrant Song fun…
January 31st, 2008 at 7:52 am
Those that don’t give Led Zeppelin credit for being a phenomenal live band are either ill informed or never saw them in their prime. When Zeppelin were fully focused and firing on all cylinders, no band in the world, before or since, even the magnificent Who at their absolute peak, could even compete with them. Many a future rock star saw Zeppelin live between 1968 and 1972, the early years, and to a man, they rave that to this day they have never seen anything to match those early Zeppelin shows. I’m talking about members of Aersomith, Kiss, REM, The Who, and many many more. Most of the so called critics that slag off Zeppelin have usually heard some of the clips of later shows when the drugs detracted from the brilliance of Zep live.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:58 am
Good point, it could be possibly because there are not many decent recordings (either video or audio) of them live early on? That combined with the fact that the only things they officially released were as you noted, post brilliance. I had not heard this one before, and I’ve always been a pretty big John Paul Jones fan, so it was great to hear him and Bonham really clicking, perhaps stealing a bit of the limelight away from Page in the solo section. Most of the bootlegs of early performances I’ve heard have been pretty bad recordings (maybe some of our readers here can recommend some good ones hint hint).