Ok...Airing my appreciation!

 Might not be up on all the facts and figures but I Love Led Zeppelin!

 Nicely done, Floyd. 

GG

From a drumming perspective Bonhan was probably one of the most under-rated drummr ever.

Some of his "fills" are still being studied to this day.

Unfortunately with the equipement used then , the finer points were lost in the "meelay"of sound  that was Zep, and it's only with todays gear that the fills can be isolated and heard in their full glory.

Rock On

Nice thread Floyd.

Have to say that over the years Zeppelin were probably my favourite of the lot. I've an eclectic taste,always had... ( Remember picking up an Echo and The Bunnymen album in Sound Cellar with hair half way down my back and attracting several comments from staff and customers alike.)...but for me there was never and will never be a band with the range of talents and the ability to squeeze every last riff,note and beat out of a classic rock or folk song like Zeppelin.

Just think that the raw sound Zeppelin produced has never and will never be bettered. Never seemed to write a song to a " formula ", just seemed to kick it off and when it was finished,it was finished.

For me, Page is the best of the lot where the guitar is concerned.As Floyd mentioned,his versatility and his desire and willingness to record the soft folk tunes as well as the legendary riffs which have become part of rock folklore, How Many More Times, Communication Breakdown, Kashmir, What is and What Shall Never Be and of course, Whole Lotta Love covince me that he is a musician in total control of his art.

Having said all that,if you ask me to name my five favourite albums and you won't find a Zeppelin album in there.Just that from their first to their last album there is a constant level of performance that no other band has been able to match.

Was at the Page / Plant gig in the Point and also saw Plant in the Olympia couple of years ago and he still has it.

Still not sure if I'd be on for a " reformation " tour though.

Led Zep were the business alright. A few thoughts to add the above:

1. I was always led to believe they did not release singles (in the UK at any rate), so Cecil must have got some imports to play Zeppelin at the Grove - anyone know if this is correct?
2. Zeppelin had more than their fair share of bad luck and the tragic - Plants car crash in Greece in 1975 which still gives him ankle trouble today, the death of Plants son in 1977 and finally John Bonhams death in 1980. The tabloids used to blame this on Page's occult leanings that brought bad karma....
3. I saw Page and Plant play together twice in 1995 and 1998, both in the old point. First was 'unledded' which was great and second was for 'Walking into Clarksdale' & yielded live versons of Black Dog and Rock & Roll.
4. Zeppelin went from the late 60s to 1980 covering blues, punk, rock, reggae and more. It was the variety that kept them alive and only for Bonham's death, could have go on well into the 80's.
5. And yes, they did play the original live aid in 1985. But they are not on the DVD I hear you cry - yes, but they played Philadephia with Phil Collins on drums and were under rehearsed, so Page asked that it be left out of the official DVD. I remember seeing the performance at the time and it was quite poor.

There were a few " Japanese Import " Zeppelin singles I remember Peter.

Think I have a few of them at home. Our resident expert,Mel should be able to tell us more.

Stay away from those mushrooms Floyd

Do ya hear me !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zep were on thre Biography Channel last night

A whistlestop history but interesting all the same

Floyd wrote: What are your views on the Song Remains The Same movie concert???

Love it Martin.

In the old days when there wasn't the opportunity to see every band produce a " Bells and Whistles " DVD this was perfection.Saturday night down the Fairview Cinema a couple of times a year to see it was a treat and a half. 

From Jimmy's little skip at the start of Rock and Roll to the violin bit in Dazed and Confused,to the haunting melodies of No Quarter to the raw power of the end of Whole Lotta Love to finish the show,this was magnificent from start to finish when I first saw it and for still is today.

Don't have an issue with the fantasy sequences as it's really all about the music. 

I remember my older sister playing Stairway in the kitchen years ago and she delighted in saying the name in a slightly show off manner.

'Led Zeppelin?' I said. 'He's dead,isn't he???' was my response,which was probably the rationale of most newbie rockers.

All the same time that stairway to heaven played backward nonsense started too. It seemed back then that something that great and fantastic couldn't be 'natural' and had to have some darker connotations. (OK,Jimmy Page had an interest in the occult,he bought Aleister Crowleys house and read his books,an interest passingly shared by Plant,and lamented in the song 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' as an expression of sorrow for getting into it in the first place) but everyone believed there was 'something more' to the song,probably because it was so good.

Did anyone ever hear any 'messages' playing this song backwards?

(apart from those from your dad for ruining his stylus...)