LED ZEPPELIN - DAZED AND CONFUSED

'Lots of people talkin', few of them know, soul of a woman was created below'

In July 1968 Jimmy Page had a dilemma, a problem. What road to go on, what to follow. The Yardbirds were a band of the 60's, slowly decaying as the might of Hendrix, The Beatles and Cream ushered in a new brave contemporary Psychedelic era. Honed from the era of R & B and Blues, they were the 'Blueswailing' Yardbirds. Jeff Beck had pushed their sound towards Psychedelia with some of the Roger The Engineer singles and elpee tracks. Jimmy wanted to take it further, but with all due respect it wasn't gonna happen with the Yardbirds line-up.

From June 1966 Jimmy had been a Yardbird, and by the time they hit North America the following summer he was steering them into more and more progressive and experimental waters. On August 25th they played at the Village Theater in Greenwich Village, New York. Supporting them was Folk singer/songwriter Jake Holmes. He'd just released his debut album 'The Above Ground Sounds Of' on Tower, which included a 3 and a bit minute doomy blues dirge 'Dazed And Confused'. Jimmy liked the mood, and the fret by fret descending scale. Before long, he'd created and presented 'I'm Confused' and cranked it up for the Yardbirds. It became a set highlight and the centre piece for Jimmy's visual and musical tour de force violin bow episode.

They took it as far as they could, but for Jimmy this was just the beginning. He wanted musicians that could stretch the material, stretch him and move into unchartered ground. The Yardbirds always were a fine group, and have never gotten the credit they deserve for their part in the 60's Rock Revolution, but circumstances were against them. Jimmy was fresh, relishing the freedom and adrenaline of live performances after too many sessions but it came too late for the rest of the band. Even the much improved financial and tour schedule situation with Peter Grant at the helm couldn't prevent the inevitable.  

From the off, Dazed And Confused was the centrepiece. Rehearsed in Gerrard Street and Pangbourne, it was in the live set from the off. The studio version (take 2 I believe) that appeared on the Led Zeppelin elpee was not only a landmark recording for them but for the era. Almost half a century later it's hard to comprehend the impact, the disbelief that it could be, especially when it was recorded on 1" 8 track tape by 2 former session musicians and two green unknowns.

(As an aside, a Radio 1 DJ told me in 1992 he had a 1" reel master tape of this from when a lot of stuff was cleared out of the storage area of Olympic Studios, which he remembered as 'in a blue tin box. Think it says take 1'..... )

The recorded version of Dazed And Confused does indeed defy belief. Moody, almost sullen, it has the sound of a band creating a mood and waiting for the moment to break free and explode. Jimmy's harmonic splashes chime against Jonesy's precise doom-laden bass lines as Robert weaves his (uncredited due to complications with his CBS solo contract) yelps of delight and expectation from the woman/women in his life. Underneath it all Bonzo is immense, holding back until the time is right to explode and punctuate. Robert's vocal delivery is perfectly in keeping with all of this, even if it's tinged with a nervous, hesitant edge. Many times he's said he was in awe of the music he was creating, and the maelstrom around him. 

Jimmy manages to produce an almost unbearable tension that bursts free when the band power into the bridge. The call and response bow section is dreamlike and brings the edge back and right up to the point of no return when a snare depth charge from Bonzo signals lift off. While the rhythm section powers along and Robert scats and wails, Jimmy revisits Think About It for the million notes a second solo and all hell breaks loose.

The return to the main theme is now augmented with wave upon wave of guitar figures, swooping around the bass riff and the final climax. it's magnificent. Already twice the length of this live with the final days of the Yardbirds, the 6 and a half minutes that close the first side of 'Led Zeppelin' are full of so much compressed energy, power and intent.  

As a contrast the BBC session recorded on March 3rd 1969 is a fantastic short sharp take, basic but still retaining the power of the song if not the brooding menace of the finished studio version.

From the moment Led Zeppelin hit the USA, white label copies of the elpee were sent to radio stations to build the momentum. From their first live performance on September 7th 1968 up until the final Earls' Court show on May 25th 1975, Led Zeppelin played nigh on 450 shows - double headers not withstanding - and we have aural evidence that Dazed was NOT played only 11 times. We have over 210 live versions of what was without doubt THE live song. The twists, turns, improvisations and more have made it a show in itself, a complete picture taking that 6 and a half minute studio moment into as much as 47 minutes of unique, wonderful music. Fearless, bold and uncompromising. So many directions within the tight but loose structure. Only in 1975 did the structure threaten to overshadow the spark and it leant towards repetition and that edge was dulled. 

The evolution over the tours and years is frightening. 

A centrepiece of the set and the showcase Jimmy was looking for, Dazed And Confused drove audiences wild. From the off, the live arrangement added a section between the initial bombast and the soon to be alone Bow extravaganza. By the time of Tous en Scene and the BBC Playhouse recordings in June '69 Jimmy was making the mid section a showcase in itself.  

Placed in the live set after the initial burst, Dazed And Confused evolved quickly into a 15 minute show in itself, featuring Jimmy's Bow sketch and initial vocal and instrumental jousting. The sexual buzz between Jimmy and Robert was undeniable, feeding off each other and pushing the mood and moment further than any had before. Like a whole band of Jimi Hendrix's, if you could imagine that!

Even on that first US Tour, the do what thou wilt onstage dictum with Robert adding mantra style lyrics from Shapes Of Things at the Tea Party and lines from pop hit Sugartime in Miami! The 2nd US jaunt saw it extended by Jimmy's many faceted solo cascades, and the first recorded version we have from Winterland even includes Theremin sirens as it reaches its climax. Sadly we have very little from this tour, but by the time they returned home and then onto the 35 date summer shows Dazed was over 15 minutes long pushing towards 20 and a showstopper. It was the first climax of the show, and Led Zeppelin would then hold back with some lighter moments before the set came to the boil with How Many More Times

The late 69 shows are fascinating and unique, the officially released Paris version a good example of Jimmy just playing to see what would happen, and adding more to the bow sketch with drone passages of Mars, The Bringer of War while Bonzo's gong and Robert's minaret calls lead us into the fast instrumental chase. Through the early dates in 1970 it settles into this new longer framework which works most of the time and absolute chaos when it doesn't. Still early in the now 2 hour set, Robert's ad libs are usually centred around Rock 'n' Roll Is Here To Stay on the 5th North American tour.  By the time they return to for the 6th time the post fast chase mood is augmented by some eastern riffs and even White Summer at the Tulsa show. Love the Blueberry Hill version too.

By 1971 it reached 20/25 minute time frame with ease. These are some of my favourite versions, and the interaction between Robert and Jimmy, the incredible call and response is frightening. Although some of the sections were more settled and disciplined, there was still an air, a feeling of freedom for the four of them. Dazed was now a bit further back in the set, after the first 30 minutes and even swapped with new live showstopper Stairway To Heaven. It still was placed to bring the first half of the show to a staggering climax. 

It's during this period that you really hear how confident they are onstage, and with such a rhythm section Jimmy can, and does, play absolutely anything. Bonzo responds with some wonderful accented cross rhythms and fills and Jonesy bridges that gap between rhythm and melody with ease, knitting it all together perfectly. The US shows in '71 see Dazed causing bedlam night after night, standing ovations and waves of audience frenzy at different times during the song. The bow solo now includes all sorts of influences from Bouree to Fiddler On The Roof. The link between the opening improvisation and the bow saga is different every night, and Jimmy's beginning to experiment with a slow rolling mantra that would evolve into an Francisco within a few months. It's also a link, albeit slight, to the future Achilles Last Stand. 

Japan is where things really opened up. Their immediate love of long instrumental jams push Dazed to the half hour mark and Jimmy pushes his band with some wonderful intricate and challenging cascades at every turn. The first night in Osaka sees some wild Hendrix guitar flash and on the second Robert changes the mood completely with a hilarious Pennies From Heaven!

Returning to the UK a new post chase 'funky' interlude adds to the mood again, with the first seeds of The Crunge tentatively sewn. The last 3 recordings we have from the tour - Manchester, Leicester and Bournemouth - bow to the current hit movie and theme song of the time 'Shaft'. Jonesy even does a very impressive impression of the strings and brass from the record, all on 4 strings!

In 1972 the improvisations continued unabated, changing every night. Dazed is now post acoustic set, the early climax turning to Stairway to Heaven. Australasia sees a playful, experimental and musically devastating Led Zeppelin pushing each other and giving exciting little previews of their new music with a snippet of The Song Remains the Same in Auckland. We even get a muscular clip of The Rover in the medley at the next show in Sydney!

And the daring musicality continues. I Wish You Would, probably the last piece of Yardbirds memorabilia Robert would throw into a live Zeppelin performance is among the ad libs in Amsterdam. From the opening of the 8th North American Tour The Crunge is joined by an out of control Walter's Walk, sometimes instrumental and sometimes accompanied by Robert scat singing. As the shows roll on so does the improvisation, and not only does the 'San Francisco' interlude gradually take shape but also the post chase an coda parts slip into whatever's in Jimmy's mind (and fingers), be it Route 66 or West Side Story. It's breathtaking, pure and simple. The HTWWW is a brilliant if 'standard' for the the time example.

In Japan it's the set high point for sure, with the best night in Osaka featuring a unique and wonderful Down By The River from Jimmy with the bow. There's even Cowgirl In The Sand in the 'SF' part in Newcastle! By Ally Pally we finally get the first (recorded) San Francisco lyric as once again it stretches. The different sections are by now schizophrenic and pretty well ordered at the same time, but still walking a tightrope that could soar or fall to ground at any moment. 

But we're now coming to the summit of Dazed And Confused as a live experience. Across Europe it dazzles and shines night after night, with the instrumental might of Led Zeppelin unsurpassed by them or ANYONE else at any time. Just grab any of the shows  - Berlin, Hamburg, Essen - and be amazed. Frightening. With over 350 shows under their collective belts in 4 1/2 years, they had achieved a level beyond anything comparable. 

As wonderful as those versions are, the upcoming 9th North American tour remains a big favourite to me. The 30 minute plus extravaganza hits the spot almost all of the time, and the telepathic time changes and challenges add to the danger and delight. Mobile, New Orleans, Houston....they ALL fall. The Californian versions are brutal and brilliant. Even the second leg, marred by Robert's voice for the first few shows grow and grow, causing bedlam and wonder. Baltimore sees a spaced out mixed up arrangement as Jimmy gets lost and leads them around the World!

The New York shows are the real climax of the tour and the song. The first night is 90% of what was on the film soundtrack. Know and love this by heart. Despite the edits and flaws, it's magic. Can't quite get the remastered version, mainly because I'm so used to the original one!

In 1975 it could be overlong and flat. Early shows missed it after Jimmy sprained a finger on the way to rehearsal and it was briefly replaced with a perfunctory How Many More Times, possibly as an excuse to either include something from the first elpee or give a framework for his bow solo sketch. It took a while for the shows (an band!) to catch fire n 1975 but there are some 'far out' versions, especially in the second leg. Madison Square on Feb 3rd was the first performance on the tour, but it's not until the show there 9 days later it really comes back. The coda is fantastic, and the next 3 shows keep that chaos and maelstrom as it edged nearer 35 minutes and more. 

The final burst of live versions are extraordinary. Woodstock sneaks into the 'SF' section on more than one occasion, Some of the versions are hit and miss, depending on Jimmy's mood and performance, but LSU, Long Beach, both Seattle and Vancouver shows and the LA blow outs are well worth seeking out. We get bits of For What It's Worth, I Shot The Sherriff, Old Man and even Spanish Harlem as Led Zeppelin take Dazed And Confused as far as they can and beyond.

At Earls' Court it takes 3 nights to settle in, and the final two have their moments for sure. we can also enjoy those on film with the liberation of the 24th & 25th shows. And that was it. The last live journey. 1975 was the first time it seemed fallable, when it failed. But even then, it could be still magical, and still a 'far out trip'...

After that Jimmy's solo was played outside a framework, losing momentum and drive all the while. When quizzed by journalists as Zeppelin strode across the US in 1977 about the omission of their live centerpiece he simply responded 'I'm not dazed and confused any more'.

Post Zeppelin Jimmy would perform the 'bow sequence' and on the Outrider Tour play some of the later jam sequences of the live Dazed And Confused. Always a pleasure to hear, outside of Led Zeppelin it will always to my ears be a tribute, a look back over the shoulder. Was great at the Hummingbird and Manchester tho! Page & Plant gave us a snippet in their revamped WLL medley too, and Robert continues to drop it in. And there's the version Jimmy played at the RAH in 2002....

On Film we have several early versions - Supershow, Danish TV, clips from Dallas Pop Festival, Royal Albert Hall plus the oft bootlegged Earls Court May 24th & 25th. And there are some cine film clips too - Houston '71 and Berdu '72 spring to mind - in varying conditions of quality and length. 

Not a commercial track, we have a US promo EP, a Greek single and at least 2 different Polish postcards of the studio version as collectable vinyl.

On their day Led Zeppelin performing Dazed And Confused was and always will be a thing of wonder. Regardless of provenance or anything else, Jimmy made it his own, a Rock Symphony unrivaled by any of his peers and a testament to many of the finest (live) moments in the history of the greatest live band many of us were so lucky to have seen do what they did better than any othe