The Afterword

Musings on the byways of popular culture

Menu

Navigation

You are here: Home / Nights In / LED ZEPPELIN – The Complete BBC Sessions

LED ZEPPELIN – The Complete BBC Sessions

by 58 Comments

What does it sound like?:

“It isn’t necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice. There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia. Eventually within the next quarter of a century, the nostalgia cycles will be so close together that people will not be able to take a step without being nostalgic for the one they just took. At that point, everything stops. Death by nostalgia”. Frank Zappa (1989).

Slightly more than 25 years have passed since that quote appeared in Frank’s autobiography The Real Frank Zappa Book, but he wasn’t too far off the mark. As the heyday of the Leviathan rock bands of the 60s and 70s recedes ever further into the distance, so their nostalgic value grows exponentially year by year. Barring a couple of one-off re-unions, Led Zeppelin has been defunct since 1980, but they haven’t let a little thing like retirement slow them down. Thanks to Jimmy Page’s diligent and, at times, aggressive curation of the LZ catalogue, the band lives on as strong as ever via a seemingly endless series of reissues, each one more expensive and extravagant than the last. Let’s face it, persuading people to shell out on material most of them have already bought more than once is one of the great retailing tricks of our time.

It’s been nearly two decades since this BBC collection first appeared which in the nostalgic scheme of things means it’s mightily overdue for an expensive facelift. Originally released as a two CD set in 1997, it’s now available again in a variety of wallet-worrying formats, which is of course exactly the way of things these days.

The basic edition comprises the original 24 track double CD, plus a third disc of nine tracks, eight of which are previously unreleased. This includes three tracks from a March 1969 BBC session that were long believed to be lost and/or erased.

Inevitably, as with the two original discs, there is some duplication on the third CD including two versions of Communication Breakdown, bringing the total to five across the complete set. But as the band progressed the songs were expanded, rearranged and generally tinkered with, meaning that no two versions are exactly alike.

White Summer first appeared on the 1990 Led Zeppelin Box Set (as White Summer/Black Mountain Side) and is the only track on the third CD to have previously seen an official release. Page is often castigated for LZ’s cavalier approach to the music they assimilated, but the genesis of this track dates back to his Yardbirds days and broke totally new ground by bringing acoustic folk guitar arrangements by Davey Graham and Bert Jansch into the world of heavy rock. If only he’d credited Bert and Davey It would have been a masterstroke.

Lacking the micro-tonal precision of Jeff Beck or the effortless fluidity of Clapton, Jimmy Page is sometimes criticised for his so-called “sloppy” blues playing. But I don’t agree with that. The performances of I Can’t Quit You Baby and You Shook Me (three versions of each slow blues are found here) are a joy to behold with Page stretching out with a series of wild and jagged solos, each one more intense than the last. This is blues guitar heaven for those who enjoy such things and I’ll take these over the released versions any day. Strangely, though, the final version of You Shook Me fades out early.

We’re now at the stage where historical importance trumps pristine sound quality and some of the tracks on the third disc, while perfectly listenable, would almost certainly not have been considered to be of release quality when the band were still together. Some of this material was thought to be lost forever until a useable copy that a fan had taped off the radio surfaced. It’s not perfect quality, but the odd drop-out and a muddy vocal sound have never deterred die-hard Led Zep fans however.

But along with the acoustic Robert Johnson mash-up Travelling Riverside Blues and Sleepy John Estes’ The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair on the first disc it’s the only known performance of Sunshine Woman which is the main drawcard here. Owing something to Jeff Beck’s take on Let Me Love You, this mid-tempo piano-led blues stomper rattles along in fine style. Ultimately though it was more of an impromptu pastiche than a major work and it’s easy to see why the band never developed it further, although some of the lyrics and the basic arrangement did crop up in later Zeppelin songs.

So, here we have all 33 tracks LZ recorded for Auntie between 1969 and 1971, before they became too big to trouble themselves with the national broadcaster. It’s a fine collection right enough, but it’s hardly the jewel in the Zeppelin crown and certainly doesn’t deserve the huge asking price for the fancy top of the range deluxe editions. In recent years we’ve seen similar important BBC collections from Free, Cream, John Mayall, Hendrix and other Zeppelin peers, none of which received anything like this amount of fanfare. But as Zappa observed, the nostalgic cycles are getting ever closer together and helped by the current vinyl revival, this set will probably sell faster than the original 1997 release.

What does it all *mean*?

Twilight of the Gods? With the great rock bands of the 60s rapidly approaching death or retirement and little or nothing of quality coming up behind them to fill the void, it seems we are destined to keep recycling their music forever.

Goes well with…

You’ll need the rest of the Zeppelin catalogue too. Their final couple of albums aside, LZ enjoyed an almost perfect career trajectory. They arrived fully formed, gave us 6 or possibly 7 (depending on your viewpoint) five star albums, then bowed out gracefully following the death of their drummer.

Release Date:

Might suit people who like…

Grizzled blues boomers and heavy rock fans of all ages will enjoy this in equal measure. Call them magpies if you must, but Zeppelin did it better and louder than anyone else.

8

Comments

    • Cheers JW. I counted six acoustic tracks in all. Although *White Summer may have been played on Page’s Danelectro electric tuned to DADGAD it qualifies as an acoustic track. This is the only acoustic track on disc 3. And it has been previously released.

      Travelling Riverside Blues
      Stairway to Heaven
      Going to California
      That’s the Way
      Thank You
      White Summer*

    • I was sent an advance stream of the album to play online (seems to be the way of things these days) so I can’t yet tell if the sound on the CD will be better than the 1997 release. Some of the new tracks were taken from a home recording however and even as a stream are noticeably lo fi. Although I must stress, everything is perfectly listenable.

  3. Excellent review. Makes me want to get it…

    I am of the “Pagey is only an average blues player” persuasion, though his slightly chaotic and sloppy solos are fun. What he’s brilliant at, though, better than Beck and Clappo, is arranging electric and acoustic guitars in magnificent layers which ebb and flow through a song. “Physical Graffiti” has loads of examples particularly. In fact the first thing he did which I thought was brilliant was the solo on “Whole lotta love” which still sounds amazing every time I hear it. I came into the Zep at 2 and only caught 1 a bit later.

    • Thanks Twang. Yes, LZII was the point where everything just came together to create magic. As you say the solo in Whole Lotta Love was like nothing we had heard before. The compressed guitar sound Page gets on that track was simply the best thing I had ever heard. And probably still is. It’s still breathtaking.

      • My LZII is seriously knackered and this discussion has led (☺) me to check the price of a new vinyl copy on Dodgers. £12. No brainer of the day.

        • I saw a really nice copy at a car boot recently (green and orange label IIRC). The record looked mint, but one corner of the sleeve was badly creased* and although it was only a tenner the skinflint in me couldn’t bear to pull the trigger, knowing a new modern reissue wasn’t much more. I kind of wish I’d got it now, of course. Had it been the plum label I wouldn’t have hesitated.

          *”badly creased” originally changed by autocorrect to “actresses” 🙂

      • A good review indeed. Mine on its way. Slightly behind Twang – I came in at III and worked back. It is still my favourite especially Gallows Pole and / Sinc e I’ve been loving you which I understand there is a version of on this. Looking forward to it.

    • He does sometimes sound like he plays with a broken right hand, and he, like me, is probably bored shiteless with the sort of bog standard 12-bar blues that Clapton autopilots over, but the guy has a sense of melody and phrasing in his soloing that the others can’t come near. Achilles Last Stand has probably the most beautiful guitar solo I’ve heard. Celebration Day has a majestic 8 bar interlude that makes the song.
      Listening to the Stairway solo with fresh ears, you realise how masterful and concise it is. I’ve always loved the way the first phrase in that solo finishes on the F, to harmonically match the F chord. Most of those 60s blues sloggers would have ended that run on the E, because that’s in the pentatonic box and they tend not to follow the underlying chords. But it’s that F that sounds so sweet.
      Page also was a great acoustic player (Bron y Aur being my favourite) and a human riff factory, not ignoring his production and arrangement skills.
      Anyway, a long post to say that yes, if you want anodyne blues soloing he’s not your man.

      • I think you put that very well. Page constantly tries to step outside the expected tropes and it’s the Fs in the Stairway solo that elevate it. I learnt solo guitar to LZ II and only now do I find that his Heartbreaker solo – which I struggled to keep up with when it got frenetic – was apparently sped up. The lead lines for Moby Dick and What is and What Should Never Be, the Whole Lotta Love solo, the gorgeously nimble Living Loving Maid solo and then the awesome Heartbreaker laid down an arresting, inventive, concise and melodic blueprint for soloing that has rarely been beaten for these ears (and fingers) at least.

        • Yes, some interesting points from fellow guitarists.

          I should have added that my favourite Jimmy Page blues of all is the majestic Since I’ve Been Loving You. More than any other, it was this track which introduced me to the concept of minor key blues and the turnaround is simply genius.

            • Since I’ve Been Loving You is my absolute favourite Zep track. From the bent wooziness of its opening notes to the plexus thump of the drums’ entrance and the sinewy tremor of the keyboard. Percy’s honeyed rasp. Its waves, its endings, its quiet death.

              I remember playing it to a girl, this girl, the girl – through headphones. Other than the headphones, she wasn’t wearing much else.

              Someone else’s. She will be someone else’s. As she once
              belonged to my kisses.
              Her voice, her light body. Her infinite eyes.
              Pablo Neruda

          • I appreciate that the main thrust of this thread is the BBC sessions and, therefore, focuses on toons pre-1971. However, can I direct you all to the Presence album – Tea for One is surely the definitive Page slow blues, the glory of SIBLY notwithstanding?

    • I think Page is a better producer/arranger than he is a guitarist. Some of the great Zeppelin tracks are beautifully balanced. One of my favourites is Candy Store Rock – sounds so ‘live’ and yet so polished. A great simple rocker that would sound plodding in anyone else’s hands. He’s actually not that showy a guitarist – I love how he allows John Paul Jones to shine and brings Bonham’s drums way up in the mix.

  6. May I contribute even though I’m not much of a Zep person? 🙂 Sadly, I got bitten by a strange taste for jazz rock courtesy of Soft Machine initially and then Weather Report and especially Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew which led to more Jazz than Rock. As a result, I lost the ability to converse with my school mates who were all mad Zep, Purple, Sabbath and/or Free, Faces, Stones, Who fans 

    However, I do like Jimmy Page’s guitar playing. Mainly because it’s a bit odd 🙂  A good example is on the live version of Stairway on the original BBC Sessions which I heard courtesy of a great friend who remains a committed Zep head. I like the way it seems a bit weird and meandering. Another good example is Heartbreaker.

    Mind you, my real faves are Bill Frisell, Mike Stern amd Grant Green. 🙂 Anwyay, many apologies for bringing all this jazz talk to a a Zep thread. As you were 🙂

      • Sorry not at all intended as a snobby remark 🙂 Perfectly possible to like Jazz and Rock as well as other forms such as Folk, Country etc. To be honest, it’s my loss that I don’t take in much other than mainly Jazz type things.

        For what it’s worth, I think Page has quite a “jazz” approach to the guitar being impressionistic rather than figurative if that makes any sense which it probably doesn’t.

        As for John Mclaughlin, I admire him and have loads of stuff on which he figures but I rarely seek out his work in it’s own right – if that makes any sense – which it probably doesn’t. But then I rarely do 🙂

        Great shout on Sonny Sharrock by the way 🙂

  7. Twang, the vinyl LZ reissues from the last couple of years are wonderful. Physical Graffiti on LP is even better than a first pressing. LZ II ain’t no slouch either.

    I seem to remember Page admitting that his solo on Heart Breaker is sped up. No harm in that of course. Fripp’s solo on Pictures Of A City is similarly enhanced. I agree that Page was a master of sonic enhancement. It’s such a shame that he has recorded little of real worth in a studio since 1979.

  8. It has always been my understanding that the drum solo on “Moby Dick” was played with Bonzo’s hands, but listening to it this aft on a long drive (I had a Zep fest) I realised in fact he swaps to sticks half way through. Who knew. Probably everyone. But me. These things matter. From 2.53 onwards he’s clearly using sticks…

    https://youtu.be/mRJ9_yHiNmg

    • As I mentioned in the review of the LZ 1968 Sheffield show elsewhere on the blog, Bonzo was playing at least part his solo spot with his hands right from the very start when it was known as Pat’s Delight.

      The Moby Dick guitar riff originally grew out of another BBC track The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Curly Hair and seems to have been, er, inspired by Bobby Parker’s 1961 single, Watch Your Step.

      Parker’s song also influenced the Fabs’ I Feel Fine, Deep Purple’s Rat Bat Blue and The Allman Bros One Way Out.

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

      • To be fair if you learned the blues scale and had never heard any of those tracks you’d probably come up with that riff at some point. It just falls nicely under the fingers. Great Bobby Parker track BTW. Don’t know him but like it.

        • From Wiki:

          (Bobby Parker) recorded the single “Watch Your Step” for the V-Tone label in 1961. The song was written by Parker, inspired by Dizzy Gillespie’s “Manteca” and Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say”. It reached no.51 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961, although it did not make the national R&B chart.
          It was later covered by the Spencer Davis Group, Dr. Feelgood, Steve Marriott, Adam Faith, and Carlos Santana, and was performed by the Beatles in concerts during 1961 and 1962. The song’s guitar riff inspired the introduction to the Beatles’ 1964 hit single “I Feel Fine”, and, according to John Lennon, also provided the basis for “Day Tripper”.
          In relation to the Beatles’ use of the riff, Parker said: “I was flattered, I thought it was a cool idea. But I still had, (in the) back of my mind, (the idea) that I should have gotten a little more recognition for that.”

  14. So, I listened to the first half dozen tracks on Apple Music and don’t really feel compelled to listen to any more. Like someone further up this thread, I came in at LZ3, and I like the folky stuff and the structured stuff (like Kashmir from a later album) rather than the straight heavy bluesy stuff on the first two albums.

    BUT – fuck they were amazing, in 1969, for a bunch of twenty something kids playing together. Superb musicians and they did have that magic togetherness that makes a great band.

  15. Nice review and excellent thread.
    Here’s Since I’ve Been Loving You from 29th Sept 1971 – possibly the finest Zeppelin concert, 3+ hours of amazingness – and rumour has it that there are soundboard multi-tracks of this gig about to be ‘released’.

Leave a Reply