Led Zeppelin (album)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin's studio album

Publication
(s)

January 12, 1969

Label (s) Atlantic Records

Format (s)

CD, LP

Genre (s)

Hard rock , blues rock

Title (number)

9

running time

44:51

occupation
  • Tabla drums: Viram Jasani

production

Jimmy Page

Studio (s)

Olympic Studios , London

chronology
- Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II
(1969)

Led Zeppelin is the debut album by the British rock band Led Zeppelin and is considered a milestone in the history of rock music . It was recorded in October 1968 at Olympic Studios in London and released on Atlantic Records on January 12, 1969 in the USA and on March 31 in Great Britain . With contributions from each of the four band members, the album started their typical fusion of rock and blues . It gained the band a large following; Led Zeppelin's interpretation of the nascent heavy metal sound made her known to sections of the counterculture on both sides of the Atlantic .

Although the album initially received negative reviews, it was very successful commercially. Soon the critics saw it in a much better light. In 2003, the album was voted # 29 of the Rolling Stone music magazine's 500 best albums of all time (it retained its place when Rolling Stone renewed the list in 2012). In 2004 the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame .

background

In August 1968, the British rock band The Yardbirds broke up. Guitarist Jimmy Page , the only remaining member of the Yardbirds, retained the rights to the band's name and contractual obligations for a concert tour in Scandinavia . Page recruited bassist John Paul Jones , singer Robert Plant and drummer John Bonham for his new band . In September 1968 the band toured Scandinavia as "The New Yardbirds" and performed old songs by the Yardbirds, but also new songs such as Communication Breakdown , I Can't Quit You Baby , You Shook Me , Babe I'm Gonna Leave You and How Many More Times on. In October 1968, a month after the band returned to England, Page changed the band's name to Led Zeppelin and they booked Olympic Studios in London to record their debut album.

Recording and production

Recording sessions

In an interview in 1990, Page stated that the album only took 36 hours of studio time (over a period of several weeks) (including mixing). One of the main reasons for the short studio time was that the material selected for the album had been well rehearsed and pre-arranged on the Scandinavian tour in September 1968. In addition, Page and Peter Grant , the manager of Led Zeppelin, paid for the studio out of their own pocket, as the band had not yet signed a contract with Altantic Records. So there was no budget a record label that could be exploited with excessive studio time. In an interview, Page stated that self-financing ensured artistic freedom:

“I wanted artistic control in a vision grip, because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with these fellows. In fact, I financed and completely recorded the first album before going to Atlantic. It wasn't your typical story where you get an advance to make an album - we arrived at Atlantic with tapes in hand. [...] Atlantic's reaction was very positive - I mean they signed us, didn't they? "

“I wanted absolute artistic control because I knew exactly what I wanted to do with these guys. I funded the first album and recorded it all before we went to Atlantic. It wasn't that typical story where you get a loan to make an album - we came to Altantic with the tapes in hand. Atlantic's reaction has been very positive - I mean, they signed, didn't they? "

- Jimmy Page

The band reportedly recorded their songs for £ 1,782. Led Zeppelin expert Dave Lewis found that with the exception of the 12 hours it took the Beatles to record their first album , studio time was rarely used so economically.

Page played a psychedelically painted Fender Telecaster for the recordings . This was a different guitar than the one he preferred for his later albums (best known is a Gibson Les Paul ). Page played the Telecaster on a Supro amplifier . He also used a Gibson J-200 for the acoustic tracks , which he had borrowed from Big Jim Sullivan . For Your Time Is Gonna Come besides, he played a disgruntled 10-string lap steel guitar from Fender .

production

Led Zeppelin was produced by Jimmy Page. The sound engineer was Glyn Johns, who had previously worked with The Beatles , The Rolling Stones and The Who . Page stated in an interview with Uncut magazine:

“The first album is a live album, it really is, and it's done intentionally in that way. It's got overdubs on it, but the original tracks are live. "

“The first album is really a live album, and it's made that way on purpose. There are overdubs on it, but the original tracks are live. "

- Jimmy Page

Page recorded in a natural room environment to improve the reverb and atmosphere of the recording. He demonstrated an innovation in music recording that he had learned during his days as a session musician . Until the late 1960s, most music producers placed microphones directly in front of the amplifiers and drums . For Led Zeppelin , Page developed the idea of ​​setting up additional microphones some distance from the amplifier (up to six meters) and recording with both of them in a balanced manner. With the introduction of this "distance equals depth" technique, Page became one of the first producers to record the surround sound of a band.

Another notable feature of the album is the “leakage” of Plant's vocals. In an interview with Guitar World in 1998, Page stated:

“Robert's voice was extremely powerful and, as a result, would get on some of the other tracks. But oddly, the leakage sounds intentional. "

“Robert's voice was extremely powerful and consequently came across some of the other tracks. But strangely enough, the leakage sounds intentional. "

- Jimmy Page

The album is one of the first albums to be released entirely in stereo ; At that time, it was common to release a mono and a stereo version.

Cover design

On the Led Zeppelin - Cover is the burning zeppelin Hindenburg to see

Led Zeppelin's front cover , selected by Page, shows a black and white image of the burning Zeppelin Hindenburg . The picture relates to the origin of the band name: When Page, Jeff Beck , Keith Moon and John Entwistle discussed the idea of ​​starting a band, Moon is said to have joked that it would likely crash like a leaden balloon. Entwistle allegedly added: "... a lead zeppelin!" ("... a lead zeppelin!").

The back of the cover shows a photograph of the band taken by former Yardbird Chris Dreja. The complete design of the album cover was coordinated by George Hardie, with whom the band also collaborated on other covers.

Hardie recalled originally proposing a design for the band based on an old San Francisco club sign (a multi-part image of a phallic zeppelin in the clouds). Page declined, but it was used as the logo for the back of the first two Led Zeppelin albums and for some of the early advertisements. During the first few weeks the album was released in the UK, the band name and the Atlantic logo were displayed in turquoise . After this was later changed to the orange that is common today , the turquoise printed covers became a collector's item.

The album cover received a lot of attention when the band called themselves "The Nobs" during a performance in Copenhagen in February 1970 . This was the result of a threat from Eva von Zeppelin (a relative of the builder of the Zeppelin airships) who, when she saw the logo with the burning Hindenburg , tried to prevent the appearance in order to protect the honor of her family name.

In 2001 Greg Kot wrote in Rolling Stone :

“The cover of Led Zeppelin ... shows the Hindenburg airship, in all its phallic glory, going down in flames. The image did a pretty good job of encapsulating the music inside: sex, catastrophe and things blowing up. "

“The cover of Led Zeppelin shows the Hindenburg , in all its phallic splendor, falling on fire. The picture was really good to encapsulate the music in it: sex, disasters and things that explode. "

- Greg Kot

composition

Titles like “ Good Times Bad Times ”, “ Dazed and Confused ” and “ Communication Breakdown ” reveal a pronounced heavy sound that was unusual for the late 1960s. On the other hand, Led Zeppelin also includes a steel string guitar by Page on " Black Mountain Side " as well as a combination of acoustic and electric guitar on their rendition of " Babe I'm Gonna Leave You ". The fact that Page was the author of “Black Mountain Side” caused some controversy, as the song is very similar to Bert Jansch's version of the folk song “Black Water Side”.

"Dazed and Confused," based on the 1967 song of the same name by Jake Holmes , is often considered to be the centerpiece of the album; the arrangement features a descending bass line from Jones, heavy drums from Bonham, and distorted guitar riffs and solos from Page. The song also features Page, who plays the guitar with a violin bow. This technique was also used on " How Many More Times, " a song that contains a bolero riff.

Many of Led Zeppelin's earlier songs are based on blues standards. The album contains three songs by other composers: " You Shook Me " and " I Can't Quit You Baby ", both by blues musician Willie Dixon , and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". Page held the latter for a traditional folk song and adapted it after the recording by Joan Baez . When he noticed that the song had been composed by Anne Bredon in the 1950s, this was corrected on subsequent publications. On “You Shook Me” Plant Pages imitates guitar effects, another version of the “ call and response ” technique used in the blues .

Jeff Beck had previously recorded "You Shook Me" for his album Truth and sued Page for stealing his idea. Page had written, played and arranged Beck's Bolero, an instrumental based on Truth , with John Paul Jones and Keith Moon . Parts of Led Zeppelin's “How Many More Times” are reminiscent of this song. These arguments created a rift between Beck and Page, who had played together at the Yardbirds and had been friends since childhood.

In an interview in 1975, Page stated his own perspective on the album's music:

“For material, we obviously went right down to our blues roots. I still had plenty of Yardbirds riffs left over. [...] On the first LP I was still heavily influenced by the earlier days. I think it tells a bit, too. The album was made in three weeks. It was obvious that somebody had to take the lead, otherwise we'd have all sat around jamming and doing nothing for six months. But after that, on the second LP, you can hear the real group identity coming together. "

“Obviously, to get material, we went back to our blues roots. I still had a lot of yardbird reefs left. On the first LP I was still heavily influenced by the earlier days. I think that counts a little too. The album was made in three weeks. It was clear that someone had to take the lead or we would all have sat jamming and doing nothing for six months. But after that, on the second LP, you can really hear a band identity coming together. "

- Jimmy Page

Reviews

source rating
Allmusic 5 of 5
Entertainment Weekly A-
Oz positive
Rolling Stone (1969) negative
Rolling Stone (2001) 5 of 5
The Rolling Stone Album Guide 4 of 5
Sputnik Music 3 of 5

The album was advertised in selected music magazines with the slogan "Led Zeppelin - the only way to fly" (German: "Led Zeppelin - the only way to fly"). It initially received poor reviews. In one biting assessment, Rolling Stone magazine claimed :

"[Led Zeppelin] offers little that its twin, the Jeff Beck Group, didn't say as well or better three months ago. [...] [Robert Plant] may be as foppish as Rod Stewart, but he's nowhere near so exciting. [...] It would seem that, if they're to help fill the void created by the demise of Cream, they will have to find a producer (and editor) and some material worthy of their collective attention. "

“Led Zeppelin offers little that its twin, the Jeff Beck Group , would not have done the same or better three months ago. [...] Robert Plant may be as stupid as Rod Stewart , but he's never nearly as exciting. [...] It seems that if they want to help fill the void created by the departure of Cream , they have to find a producer (and editor) and material that will get all of their attention. "

- John Mendelsohn : Rolling Stone (1969)

John Paul Jones later recalled:

“We had appalling press at the time. Nobody seemed to want to know us for one reason or another. We got to America and read the Rolling Stone review of the very first album, which was going on about us as another hyped British band. We couldn't believe it. In our naivety we thought we'd done a good album and were doing all right, and then this venom comes flying out. We couldn't understand why or what we'd done to them. After that we were very wary of the press, which became a chicken-and-egg situation. We avoided them and so they avoided us. It was only because we did a lot of shows that our reputation got around as a good live band. "

“We had dire press at the time. For one reason or another, no one seemed to want to know about us. We arrived in America and read the review in Rolling Stone of our very first album, which made us look like another over-the-top British band. We couldn't believe it. In our naivety we thought we made a good album and everything was done right, and then this malice comes. We couldn't understand why or what we'd done them. After that we were very suspicious of the press, which developed into a vicious circle. We avoided them, and so they avoided us. Just because we gave a lot of concerts, we had the reputation of a good live band. "

- John Paul Jones

Rock journalist Cameron Crowe noted years later:

“It was a time of 'super-groups', of furiously hyped bands who could barely cut it, and Led Zeppelin initially found themselves fighting upstream to prove their authenticity”

"It was a time of 'super groups', excessively highly acclaimed bands who could barely make it, and Led Zeppelin had to go against the tide to prove their authenticity."

- Cameron Crowe

The press reactions, however, were not entirely negative. In the UK, the album received a rave review in Melody Maker . Chris Welch praised Led Zeppelin in a review entitled “ Jimmy Page triumphs - Led Zeppelin is a gas! "(Eng .:" Jimmy Page triumphs - Led Zeppelin is a force! ") Clearly differs from so-called British blues bands.

The album was very successful commercially. It was first released in the United States on January 12, 1969 to capitalize on the band's first North American tour. Atlantic Records had previously distributed several hundred copies to major radio stations and critics. A positive response to its content, coupled with a good response to the band's first concerts, resulted in 50,000 pre-orders for the album. Within two months of its release, the album had hit the Billboard Top 10. It stayed on the Billboard charts for 73 weeks and on the UK charts for 79 weeks. By 1975 it had raised $ 7,000,000.

legacy

The album's success and influence is widely recognized today, including by critics, who were initially skeptical. In 2006, for example, Rolling Stone wrote :

“[The album] was pretty much unlike anything else. The arrangements were more sculpted than those of Cream or Jimi Hendrix, and the musicianship wasn't cumbersome like Iron Butterfly's or bombastic like Vanilla Fudge's. The closest comparisons might be to MC5 or the Stooges — both from Michigan — yet neither had the polish or prowess of Led Zeppelin, nor did Led Zeppelin have the political, social or die-hard sensibility of those landmark bands. What they did have, though, was the potential for a mass audience. "

“The album was very different from everything else. The arrangements were more strongly shaped than those of Cream or Jimi Hendrix and the musical ability was not arduous like with Iron Butterfly or bombastic like with Vanilla Fudge . The greatest resemblance is probably to MC5 or the Stooges  - both from Michigan  -, which however neither had the glamor nor the skill of Led Zeppelin, whereas Led Zeppelin did not have the political, social or reactionary sensitivity that these characteristic bands do. What they did have, however, was the potential for a mass audience. "

- Mikal Gilmore : Rolling Stone

Led Zeppelin expert Dave Lewis writes:

“Time has done nothing to diminish the quality of one of the finest debut albums ever recorded. There's an urgency and enthusiasm about their performance that retains timeless charm. The nine cuts offer a tour de force of powerful yet often subtle dynamics. [...] And let's not forget the fact that with this album, Page virtually invents the guitar riff as a key songwriting component. "

“The quality of the most glorious debut album ever recorded has not deteriorated over time. There is this pressure and enthusiasm in her appearance, which has retained timeless charm. The nine pieces offer a tour de force with powerful yet often subtle dynamics. And don't forget the fact that with this album, Page practically invented the guitar riff as a key component of songwriting. "

- Dave Lewis

In 2003, the TV channel VH1 named Led Zeppelin “The 44th greatest album of all time” and Rolling Stone awarded him 29th place in its list “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time ". The album is widely viewed as a major turning point in the development of hard rock and heavy metal .

Awards

publication country Award year rank
The Times Great Britain The 100 Best Albums of All Time 1993 41
Rolling Stone United States The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2012 29
Grammy Awards United States Grammy Hall of Fame Award 2004 *
Q Great Britain The Music That Changed the World 2004 7th
Robert Dimery United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 2006 *
Classic rock Great Britain 100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever 2006 81
Uncut Great Britain 100 Greatest Debut Albums 2006 7th
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States The Definitive 200 2007 165
Q Great Britain 21 Albums That Changed Music 2007 6th

* denotes an unordered list

Track list

page 1
  1. Good Times Bad Times ( Bonham / Jones / Page ) 2:46
  2. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Bredon / Page) 6:41
  3. You Shook Me ( Dixon / Lenoir) 6:28
  4. Dazed and Confused (Page) 6:26
Page 2
  1. Your Time Is Gonna Come (Jones / Page) 4:34
  2. Black Mountain Side ( Jansch / Page) 2:12 [instrumental]
  3. Communication Breakdown (Bonham / Jones / Page) 2:27
  4. I Can't Quit You Baby (Dixon) 4:42
  5. How Many More Times (Bonham / Jones / Page) 8:28

Many LPs on the album give the length of "How Many More Times" as 3:30.

Plant was probably involved in writing the songs, but was not named due to unfulfilled contractual obligations with Columbia Records . This claim is denied by Mick Wall , author of the Led Zeppelin biography When Giants Walked the Earth . Jake Holmes , the author of Dazed and Confused, is also not mentioned.

With some cassette versions the sides of the album were swapped. So page one begins with "Your Time Is Gonna Come" and page two with "Good Times Bad Times".

Chart positions

Chart (1969) Top position
Canadian RPM Top 100 Chart 11
UK albums chart 6th
US Billboard The 200 Albums Chart 10
French album chart 19th
Japanese album chart 36
Chart (1970) Top position
Norwegian album chart 16
Spanish album chart 1
German album chart 32
Australian Go-Set Top 20 Albums Chart 9

Sales figures

country Sales Award
Canada (Music Canada) 1,000,000+ diamond
France (SNEP) 100,000+ gold
Switzerland (IFPI) 15,000+ gold
Argentina (CAPIF) 20,000+ gold
Australia (ARIA) 140,000+ 2 × platinum
USA ( RIAA ) 10,000,000+ diamond
Spain (PROMUSICAE) 100,000+ platinum
Great Britain (BPI) 600,000+ 2 × platinum *
Netherlands (NVPI) 25,000+ Gold*

Note: (*) Remastered version sales only

Contributors

Led Zeppelin
Additional musicians
  • Viram Jasani - tabla drums (in Black Mountain Side )
production
  • Barry Diament - original CD mastering from 1986
  • Chris Dreja - photography
  • Peter Grant - executive producer
  • George Hardie - cover design
  • Glyn Johns - sound engineering, sound mixing
  • George Marino - CD remastering

Worth mentioning

The title How Many More Times was covered in a shortened form by Gdansk . The track Good Times Bad Times was covered by the New York thrash metal band Nuclear Assault on their album Survive .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2012). Retrieved March 1, 2014 .
  2. ^ A b Grammy Hall of Fame Award. Retrieved March 1, 2014 .
  3. ↑ a b Led Zeppelin biography on rollingstone.com. Retrieved March 1, 2014 .
  4. ^ Concert in Gladsaxe, Denmark, September 7, 1968. Led Zeppelin official website, accessed March 1, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine: Led Zeppelin biography on allmusic.com. allmusic.com, accessed March 1, 2014 .
  6. ↑ a b Chris Welch: Led Zeppelin . Orion Books, 1994, ISBN 1-85797-930-3 , pp. 28, 37 .
  7. ↑ Dave Schulps: Interview with Jimmy Page. Trouser Press, accessed March 1, 2014 .
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Dave Lewis: The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin . Omnibus Press, 1994, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9 .
  9. ↑ Brad Tolinski: Interview with Jimmy Page. Guitar World, accessed March 1, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Mick Wall: When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography Of Led Zeppelin . Orion, London 2008, ISBN 978-0-312-59039-0 .
  11. ↑ Article on "Your Time Is Gonna Come". Retrieved March 1, 2014 .
  12. ^ "I first met Jimmy on Tolworth Broadway, holding a bag of exotic fish ..." In: Uncut . No. 1 , 2009.
  13. ↑ a b Brad Tolinski; Greg Di Bendetto: Light and Shade . In: Guitar World . No. 1 , 1998.
  14. ^ Keith Shadwick: Led Zeppelin 1968–1980: The Story Of A Band And Their Music. billboard.com, archived from the original on October 9, 2006 ; accessed on March 1, 2014 .
  15. ^ Greg Kot: Album Review. (No longer available online.) Rollingstone.com, August 20, 2001, formerly original ; accessed on March 1, 2014 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / origin-www.rollingstone.com  
  16. ^ Jon Bream: Whole Lotta Led Zeppelin: The Illustrated History of the Heaviest Band of all time . Voyageur Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-7603-3955-8 ( google.com [accessed March 2, 2014]).
  17. ↑ Stephen Davis: Hammer of the Gods . 1995, ISBN 0-330-43859-X .
  18. ↑ Cameron Crowe: Interview with Led Zeppelin. Retrieved March 1, 2014 .
  19. ↑ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine: album review. allmusic.com, accessed March 2, 2014 .
  20. ↑ Tom Sinclair: Album Review. ew.com, accessed March 2, 2014 .
  21. ^ Felix Dennis: album review. Retrieved March 2, 2014 .
  22. ^ A b John Mendelsohn: Album review. rollingstone.com, March 15, 1969, accessed March 2, 2014 .
  23. ^ Greg Kot: Album Review. rollingstone.com, August 20, 2001, accessed March 2, 2014 .
  24. ^ Rolling Stone Artists - Led Zeppelin. rollingstone.com, accessed March 2, 2014 .
  25. ↑ Album review. sputnikmusic.com, July 12, 2006, accessed March 2, 2014 .
  26. ^ Mat Snow: Apocalypse Then . In: Q . No. 12 , 1990, pp. 74-82 .
  27. ↑ Booklet text by Cameron Crowe for The Complete Studio Recordings
  28. ↑ Led Zeppelin I Analyzed. Retrieved March 3, 2014 .
  29. ↑ The Times: The 100 Best Albums of All Time. 1993, accessed March 3, 2014 .
  30. ^ The Music That Changed The World (Part One: 1954-1969) . In: Q Magazine special edition . 2004.
  31. ↑ Robert Dimery: 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . Universe, 2006, ISBN 0-7893-1371-5 .
  32. ↑ 100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever. Classic Rock, April 2006, accessed March 3, 2014 .
  33. ↑ "100 Greatest Debut Albums" . In: Uncut . August 2006.
  34. ^ The Definitive 200. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007 ; Retrieved March 3, 2014 .
  35. ↑ 21 Albums That Changed Music . In: Q Magazine 21st anniversary issue . November 2007.
  36. ↑ RPM Albums Chart - April 21, 1969. (No longer available online.) RPM, archived from the original on September 18, 2009 ; Retrieved March 3, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
  37. ↑ 1969 Top 40 Official Albums Chart UK. May 10, 1969, accessed March 3, 2014 .
  38. ↑ Top 20 Albums - February 8, 1970. norwegiancharts.com, accessed March 3, 2014 .
  39. ↑ Top 20 Albums - May 23, 1970. norwegiancharts.com, accessed March 3, 2014 .
  40. ^ Gold Platinum Database. musiccanada.com, accessed March 3, 2014 .
  41. ↑ Awards 1991. Retrieved March 3, 2014 .
  42. ↑ ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1999 Albums. Retrieved March 3, 2014 .
  43. ↑ RIAA database. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 25, 2013 ; Retrieved March 3, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.riaa.org
  44. ↑ Spanish Certifications for 2000–2002. (PDF) Retrieved March 3, 2014 .