Led Zeppelin: Classic Or Dud?

xpost Story I heard, from someone who's been fairly close to members of Zeppelin over decades, is that Plant can't bear to be in the same room as Jones.

is he gassy?

yeah JPJ always seemed like a pretty level headed dude, and Plant is supposed to be really nice, that seems so weird

And if it wasn't for the two of them working together so intensely, ITTOD probably wouldn't have happened, what with Page barely functioning/strung out.

Perhaps those two have a long standing, long simmering rivalry over which is the nice and responsible one?

I mean, could happen.

i have heard tell of some quite gobsmacking pettiness between plant and page in the past over reissues projects and so on, so little would surprise me tbh.

on the III remasters there's some weird little hissy ambient thumping that precedes "immigrant song" - has that always been there?? seems weird that you'd remaster an album and leave in this crufty sound

Yep, that's been there since the first release:
http://youtu.be/QCiLIptmpps

lol i think this shows the time that's passed - during my heavy zep phase i only ever heard these songs on LPs or the radio

It's so cool how II iII and IV all start off with a few seconds of weird studio noise

I've heard III a million times, and the remaster was the first time I ever noticed the hiss.

Jones at 6:15 or so. Buuuuurn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpaY5-sgChY

later that evening...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aFqjP1iuzY

JPJ hadn't lost a step.

Kinda silly to see Plant with a guitar next to Page and Young.

The great lost Zep boot is the band jamming with Fairport Convention in LA. According to that book, Peter Grant may have taken and destroyed the tapes.

Man, when Neil turns the Whizzer to 11 around 6:55 ...

Also, reminds me of one of my fave Zep rips from one of my fave Zep rip bands:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oW_XK6C-jk

Hey, Mick picks up guitar now and then next to Keith and Ronnie, so why not Percy?

Only thing I remember about that Fairport jam is that Jimmy picked up Richard Thompson's guitar and panicked a little because RT used such heavier gauge strings than he was used to - he said they were like railroad tracks or railroad ties or something.

"For What It's Worth" at the end wasn't worth it. Was he confused about who wrote that tune?

There is some Random Googler Gold up thread, along with Ye Olde ILX. Must peruse more thoroughly.

In fact, I had read the story about the guitar strings on this very thread.

I've seen quite a few clips of Plant strumming acoustic the last twenty years.

Jagger is by far the more accomplished guitarist at this point though.

I'd be a nice thread if it doesn't exist: singers who pick up guitars

neil blows page away imo

i think plant was trolling neil w/fwiw, but neil ran with it anyway because he's neil

I think they used to throw FWIW into their medleys in the early days?

Young is fantastic.

I've seen quite a few clips of Plant strumming acoustic the last twenty years.

Jagger is by far the more accomplished guitarist at this point though.

I'd be a nice thread if it doesn't exist: singers who pick up guitars

i like how he somehow bends all of led zep to his will. like, this is your song, but you're going to play it my way.

Bowie's always played guitar! Keyboards and sax too.

In a mid-70s interview, Townshend talked about how much he hated the light-gauge/easy-bending sound of Page. He said something like, "You've gotta work for that string bend!" (and Townshend always used the heaviest-gauge strings available).

Roger Daltrey was the Detours' lead guitarist in 1961 when he let Townshend join. Daltrey didn't play guitar in public again until 1982.

Daltrey's hands got messed up in the sheet metal factory so he couldn't play guitar anymore-Tony Iommi had yet to invent the necessary prosthetics and drop tuning.

Bowie's always played guitar! Keyboards and sax too.

But he's always played on his albums (Let's Dance and Tonight are notable for being the only albums on which he doesn't play note), and the best ones -- STS excepted -- show him playing a helluva lot.

*he doesn't play a note

Yeah, you are right, I was probably being too harsh.

Iggy Pop on the Letterman show, 1988 or thereabouts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmxAuAdx8_Q

Some of us play light guage strings because fingers. I suddenly got a lot better, or suddenly some better, when I finally tried a Lady Yamaha. Now I want a Mary Ford; never mind your big ol' Les Paul. Mandolins, ukes are cool too, except the former can be a b to tune.

Good choice. This is 1990, I think.

Gauge, too.

Ha, though it was going to be David playing guitar in that video, not Jim.

Guess maybe I should finally read that Bowie bio I bought last year.

That's the first album on which solo songwriting credits dominate too.

Only thing I remember about that Fairport jam is that Jimmy picked up Richard Thompson's guitar and panicked a little because RT used such heavier gauge strings than he was used to - he said they were like railroad tracks or railroad ties or something.

Tom Verlaine also uses the heaviest gauge obtainable. Most of my favorite guitarists seem to. I should try it sometime; I've always used medium.

Bowie's guitar on the Diamond Dogs record is amazing. Weird and "untutored" but amazing

His best guitar work is on The Idiot.

I don't particularly remember the guitars on that--will have to check out--thanks!

the most vocal "I only play the heaviest gauge strings" guitarist I know is also the guy who knows the least about guitars and just assumes that heavy = harder than you

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

About the extent of Roger on guitar:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV5-DaI5ULg&feature=kp

he just needs the workout imo xp

The ultimate who's-he-fooling?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuObGsB0No&feature=kp

xpost

One of Rodgers’ earliest solo production projects came in 1983, when he helped craft chart-topping David Bowie’s comeback album Let’s Dance. In so doing, Rodgers also introduced Austin, Texas, blues guitar virtuoso Stevie Ray Vaughan to the world by enlisting him to play on the album. Years later, Rodgers produced 1990 Stevie Ray and Jimmie Vaughan album Family Style, which was released shortly after Stevie Ray Vaughan’s untimely death.

“The very first time I met S.R.V. it was the most charming thing ever,” said Rodgers. “He played my guitar and he used to use much heavier-gauge strings. So he was playing my Strat and he broke a string. I didn’t know because I was off in another room doing something else. When I got back to my guitar there was a sweet handwritten note that I still have. It said, ‘Dear Nile, so sorry. I didn’t mean to break no strangs.’ And he spelled it with an A!”