LED ZEPPELIN - OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY

"I live for my dream and a pocket full of Gold

.......Acapulco Gold"

The light and shade, whisper to a thunderstorm dictum ran deep with Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page's vision of their dynamic. The first four LP's are full of examples of slick, precise and deft arrangements, where both power and sensitivity dovetail together seamlessly.

From Babe I'm Gonna Leave You to Ramble On, What Is And What Should Never Be to Gallows Pole, and of course the ultimate light and shade perfection of Stairway To Heaven, Led Zeppelin showed time and time again they were (and remain to this day) so far ahead of the rest. 

In keeping with the positive vibe of the Houses Of The Holy sessions that began in earnest in early April of '72, Jimmy unveiled a winding, seemingly meandering guitar introduction. A distant cousin of his White Summer phrasing and atmosphere, with ringing open strings and use of chiming Dsus4 variations on firstly one then a second acoustic guitar. You can almost hear the sunshine, feel that late spring warmth on your face. 

Although some of the songs were laid down at Stargroves, most of the songs on the finished LP were recorded at Olympic. Over The Hills was recorded on April 16th, as the 'guitar mix backing track' on the companion disc attests, or at least the backing track and some overdubs were. Like much of the album, further mixing was done from the end of June and well into July at Electric Ladyland Studios, New York. A reel dated July 12th shows mixes from that day with the track still under the working title 'Many, Many Times'.

It was recorded live instrumentally, and Jimmy recalls playing it 'all the way through' on electric, later replacing the intro acoustically. As was Led Zeppelin's way it came together quickly, professionally, wonderfully.

From the assorted if fragmentary demo recordings we have, from both the innocent Bron-Yr-Aur baby steps to the compilation cassettes from Headley Grange and Plumpton, we know Jimmy had many ideas, riffs and phrases.  Indeed, songs covering the entire Zeppelin catalogue have some roots and seeds from those 1970 to 1971 sketches.

Over Jimmy's introduction Robert adds a positive if plaintive lyric, searching for love and the good things. Masterfully overdubbed chiming acoustic guitars build the momentum and stir the soul, then Led Zeppelin crunch down. Over the wonderful taut syncopation Robert rises an octave and takes things into the ether.

Lyrically, there is a Tolkien influence in there, from The Hobbit to a 1915 poem by JRR entitled 'Over Old Hills And Far Away'. It's also an old English saying, and am 18th century song that appears in The Beggars Opera. Robert's usual melting pot of lyrics. Of course, live we get the now famous 'Acapulco Gold' ad lib, a nod to the high grade cannabis that would waft onto the stage from various sections of the crowd nightly....

His lyrics begin with 'Many' for the first verses, echoing the working title 'Many Many Times' as shown on the original 'rough mixes' reel tape box. Once again the solo is perfect and unusual. Starting low and with a virtual symphony of guitars underpinning it, it's lyrical and thoughtful. The coda of the section features a brilliant ascending/descending scale from Jimmy and Jonesy as Bonzo strides through in 4/4 and they all meet on cue, perfectly at the end, just like Black Dog. 

After the final verse it winds down to a fade, Jimmy using the sitar like effect of playing on the 6 string of the double neck while the 12 string neck rings in empathy to create a gentle, winsome sound. A few synth notes from Jonesy pull the song back up to an actual end. In truth it's a brilliant song, one of my favourites and will always remind me of summer, positive things and good times.

And in true Zeppelin fashion, the studio version is only the beginning of the story. The live arrangement was set to be similar to the recorded version, extending as was their way during the solo break. Immigrant Song was reaching the end of it's time as a live number and would cease to open shows at the end of the '72 Summer Tour. 

The extended, winding solo, full of assorted rhythm and 60's references thrown in at Jimmy's whim would soon fit into Over The Hills as he duelled with Bonzo while Jonesy provided that unique, brilliant undercurrent. His work on this live shows his ability to do what few bassists can - be percussive and almost metronomic and lyrical and melodic at the same time. Two roles effortlessly rolled together and played as one.

Led Zeppelin were so enthused by their new songs they couldn't wait for the release of the LP to play them live. Indeed Dancing Days had already made a live appearance back in November '71 at Wembley. From the start of the 1972 North American Tour only teased hints of The Crunge and Walter's Walk in the post bow funk section of Dazed And Confused, but as they neared the west coast it all changed. A remarkable show at Seattle on June 19th featured (at least) 4 songs from the sessions, and Over The Hills, though edited on the audience tape was the 4th encore that night.

Come California, and the two shows used for How The West Was Won feature OTH as 3rd track (and again in Tuscon on the 28th by the way) and the version we have officially released is stunning. Short, taut and with Robert in his high voiced glory. 

From then on it was in the set. From the first show in Japan on October 2nd it followed the opening salvo (except Kyoto on October 10th where it was inexplicably played between Stairway and Whole Lotta Love!), and stayed there right through the following UK and European dates.

Come the 9th North American Tour it was always after the 3 song start and was beginning to stretch and groove all the more. Even if Robert couldn't hit the high register of the Houses sessions, the band were more than able to power and groove the song into something special. 

1975 and it was still in place and getting longer. Even on off nights it shone. In Montreal on Feb 6th Robert's voice was in poor shape and Jimmy had a guitar malfunction leaving the rhythm section to rearrange the piece with aplomb, improvising some mighty funk grooves until Jimmy roars back. The essence of live music. 

In 1977 it disappeared for the first leg of the tour, only to pop up again on Broadway at the 3rd Madison Square Garden show on June 10th, replacing In My Time Of Dying. 

They alternated from that point on, played 9 more times we have on tape against 4 more for In My Time. Again, it was longer and a solo showcase now. Check out the Listen To This Eddie night for that Page-Bonham duel! 

Finally, 1979 was it's finale, and once again Jimmy centrepiece with tortured solo's bathed in echo and staccato figures. the last live Led Zeppelin performance was at the 2nd Knebworth show on August 11th and ended with a broken string and flawed coda!

In 1980 it was gone, part of the cull of longer more indulgent live songs, a beautiful and pastoral Rain Song replacing it as the first major mood change in the set.

Aside from the two studio versions on the Houses box set, we have official live versions from the Song Remains The Same remastered version - plus the great footage on the extra disc - and on How The West Was Won. 

As far as filmed versions, we have a brief clip of 8mm cine film from Lyons on March 26th '73. On the North American Tour it appears on the Bonzo's Birthday Party 8mm clips and the home movie outtakes from the first two Madison Square Garden shows.

In 1975 there were more people filming from the audience, so we have clips from Madison Square on Feb 7th (this is from the photographer's pit in front of the stage and has been attributed to a few different shows), Philadelphia Feb 8th, Dallas March 4th and at least two of the LA Forum shows. All the Earls' Court shows were captured professionally and we have near perfect film of the 24th & 25th performances.

1977 sees two of the LA shows - June 22nd & 27th - plus the pro shot Seattle July 17th. In 1979 we of course have the two Knebworth pro shot recordings.

Post zeppelin there have been a few live attempts, but Jimmy's Outrider shows stand out, giving him the chance to loosen his fingers and create that cloud of dissonance.

And it was (very) occasionally played live by Page & Plant too...

And the last version was at the Cafe De Paris on December 7th 1997, which we also have film of to enjoy!

It was a single across many countries, coupled with Dancing Days and The Ocean on at least one occasion. In 1990 it was a promo CD for the Box Set and a promo video was made, featuring Earls Court and Seattle footage over the studio version.

A fantastic song, truly the essence of Led Zeppelin. A mixture of influences and styles and live a different animal again. Wonderful.

LED ZEPPELIN - NO QUARTER

"They choose the path where no one goes..."

If ever there was a song that confirmed the ever onward, no boundaries evolution of Led Zeppelin, that song is No Quarter. Simply put, there's nothing like it. It's a unique animal, and the bridge between the seismic Rock and 'live' sounding splendour of much of the first albums and the searching progressive intoxications of future compositions, from In The Light to Kashmir, Fool In The Rain to Carouselambra. 

Although it fits perfectly as the penultimate track on Houses Of The Holy, taken in isolation it's the one song on the album that veers away from the positive, summer vibe of the sessions. And it's not just the mood of the song that does that. Jimmy's production is unique, almost revolutionary. Unlike the live, open crunch of The Ocean and the widescreen guitar army fanfare celebration of The Song Remains The Same, No Quarter is closed, tight and even sinister. 

It feels very much in your face, in your mind. The shimmering, underwater keyboard motif starts the mood, and when Bonzo and Jimmy enter in becomes even more claustrophobic. Heavily compressed, Bonzo punctuates right on the money and Jimmy is minimalist with mantric fuzztones underlying the riff.

When Robert enters it's even more startling. He's whispering into our ear, it's compressed, phased and sped up. Unsettling and unnerving, JUST what Jimmy was looking for. And the lyrics, just like the music, stick out against the positivity of the album. Devils mocking, side by side with death, steel that's bright and true. One of Robert's best set of lyrics for me. 

It's really mesmeric, out there. The solo mid section shocks again, with light, jazzy touches from Jimmy with a pure, clean tone as layered harmony fuzztones complement from afar. The return to the main theme and the long, swirling coda open the song and band up, after the subtle Theremin punctuation and confusing, almost cluttered vocal nuances and moans. 

It proves more than any song up to this point that any barriers, restrictions were smashed and Led Zeppelin could do whatever they felt. The World was indeed theirs. What misery with No Quarter?! To see how they came to this brilliant musical statement, this unique hybrid, you have to go back to the end of the 'II' tour dates and the preparation of 'III' and new music.

In October 1970 Led Zeppelin reconvened to begin working on new songs. They chose to return to Headley Grange, where some 6 months previously they'd crafted and readied the wonderful wide ranging material for 'III'.

Some of the new material came quickly, easily. Four Sticks was recorded in Island Studios in early November, Black Dog and Stairway a month later along with an early arrangement of Levee. The remarkable rehearsal recordings that came from Jimmy's own aural sketchbook archive highlight the positive vibe - you can see it so clearly on the fantastic cine film clips too - and let us hear a confident and refreshed Led Zeppelin. 

Among the recordings is a startling new direction. After initially embellishing and adding texture on You Shook Me and Your Time Is Gonna Come, Jonesy spread his influence further on Thank You, to the point that when it was added to the live set in January 1970 when he was afforded a solo introduction. This evolved from brief and pastoral to something of a Hammond Organ extravaganza by the time the 6th US Tour climaxed in New York on September 19th.

You can hear Jonesy's keyboard beautifully interacting with Jimmy's lyrical themes on the rehearsal arranging of Stairway and it sounds as if Jonesy siezed the moment to bring the shimmering, jazzy motif of No Quarter to the table. 

This embryonic kernel is faster than it would later evolve, with rimshot punctuation from Bonzo and a lyric free melody cue from Robert. Jimmy is busy throughout, mirroring Jonesy's Fender Rhodes riff, far from the minimalistic fuzztones on the recorded version, and the riff is not quite complete, the band pausing for Bonzo to syncopate and punctuate. We even get a clear as glass solo from Jimmy before the recording and adventure falls away.

The 1971 Led Zeppelin was a confident and brash animal. Their live show had never been better, stronger or more diverse. John Paul's keyboard contribution onstage was still confined to Since I've Been Loving You, Stairway and Thank You, now an encore with an even more elongated and delightful solo introduction by 'The man from Casablanca' as Robert later quipped. 

As 1971 moved into December they were nearing the conclusion of an intense and outstanding UK Tour. On the 2nd they played a remarkable show at Starkers Ballroom, Bournemouth on the south coast. The next day they were in Island Studios (no. 2) where at least 3 takes of No Quarter were recorded. All are instrumental, and include the version that would finally appear on Houses Of The Holy.

We have these 3 outtakes because a box full of master tapes were discovered in the loft of Plumpton Place, years after Jimmy had moved, and found their way into the hands of the man behind Bootleg CD 'label' Scorpio. there were four 2" master reels and four 1/4" tapes, that formed the backbone of Boot CD's Studio Daze, Jennings Farm Blues and One More Daze.  

Further mixing was done the following summer of those three takes, at Electric Ladyland Studios in New York.

In 1972 their adventure continued, Jonesy's influence growing all the time. The new material for Houses Of The Holy added more keyboard textures and harmonies than before as Led Zeppelin began to realize there were no boundaries, no limits, no pigeonholes, no quarter. 

The 2nd Japanese Tour in October 1972 added The Rain Song to the live set, giving Jonesy a chance to shine, even if the dreaded Mellotron wasn't always the perfect tool for the job. His solo and Thank You were becoming less frequent now, and the last live performance we have is at Southampton University on January 22nd 1973. But by the time Led Zeppelin began rehearsing and planning their 9th North American Tour in April 1973, No Quarter seemed an obvious live number, a brilliant mutation and platform for mood and colour.

From the start of that tour No Quarter would become a set staple. It began tentatively, nervously. Performed at all 34 shows, the earliest we have is the 2nd gig, the record breaking Tampa Stadium show. Some nights it seems a bit out of place, almost as if they're not sure, but within a few shows the new direction and the balance of the set become more and more comfortable. By the time the July dates head for New York and the 'film sharks' are around it's a revelation.

The version featured in the movie and soundtrack, despite the editing, is nigh on perfect. It's the July 28th show at Madison Square Garden, and highlights the confidence and musical interaction and brilliance of Led Zeppelin at this point. Jonesy's 'fantasy sequence' from the movie is perfect. Understated, dark and tongue in cheek. And the music is phenomenal.

1975, and Led Zeppelin were itching to start again. To reconquer the musical World they'd blitzed over 5 years. 18 months off the road was too long, and the new set was heavily focused on the riff based, groinal charge of the new material from Physical Graffiti. Jonesy was more than ever in the spotlight. for the 2nd part of the tour he had a grand piano as part of his live set up, and No Quarter would be introduced at the end of the first hour of the set as a showcase to him and a different, more thoughtful and possibly more inspirational piece than Dazed And Confused, now almost struggling to cope under its' own weight. 

Once again, it was played at all of the shows, even if we only have 31 recordings of the 34 played featuring it. The arrangement was now more sophisticated. Theremin blats and sirens filled the halls as Jonesy moved from electric to grand piano (from the start of the 2nd leg), and from there he set the tone of the song, the improvisation, the journey. 

Early shows pegged it at 15 minutes, but by the time we reached the tour climax in LA it was double the length and inspiration. 

Nassau on Feb 14 is stunning, St Louis 2 nights later too. As the tour rolls into march and towards the West Coast it extends and twists, with so many magic moments and interludes. The Earls' Court performances are a watershed, especially for UK fans. The May 24th performance stands up as on of THE great improvisations in Led Zeppelin's history. Jimmy once commented, when pressed about the fabled 'chronological live LP' that there was a version of this from EC that was a 'winning version'. I remember it so well from the 'Earls Court I' boot LP and decades later the footage...

Thanks to Jimmy's expanded reissue series we have the remarkable and bizarrely named '10 Ribs & All/Carrot Pod Pod'. Even more strikingly different to the rest of the Presence sessions than No Quarter was to Houses. It's a beautiful piece, a direct cousin of the live No Quarter mood and structure from the previous tour, but more relaxed and thoughtful, almost a film soundscape.

The 1977 shows leaned heavily on it for the improvisational aspect of the band. Jimmy wasn't Dazed And Confused any more. Again, of the 44 performed shows it was a constant except the aborted Chicago and Tampa gigs. An extra improvisation was added before the normal band entrance, and it could be boogie, strident rock or jazz. As with all improvisations, some nights it was perfunctory and others inspired. It was finally the main source of inspiration and diversity during the show. 

As short as 15 minutes, up to nearly 40 during the most indulgent shows. Jonesy was spreading his musical wings, quoting everything from Mary Poppins to Maurice Ravel via B Bumble and The Stingers on any given night. The famous 'Battle Scene' Destroyer 4LP set from Cleveland on April 28th was the first time we heard Nutrocker obliterated by Bonzo's sheer power.

 The level of sophistication was high, the 3 instrumentalists almost telepathically knowing what to do, how to weave, to ebb and flow, when to lead and when to augment. The perfect group. Free from any constraints, it truly was a blank canvas. The legendary 'For Badgeholders Only II' bootleg features possibly the finest version of all, a fantastic open audience recording and a unique, startling 3 way improvisation. 

It became the highlight of the show for me, the 'go to' track. Even when not inspired, there was - as with Dazed And Confused in the past - always something to inspire and surprise. 

When Led Zeppelin returned two years later they were wiser and slightly leaner. The excess of the final US Tour had been curbed a little, yet solo spots remained. No Quarter was cut back, the opening riffs cut so the vocals started almost immediately, and the 4 versions performed in 1979 are somewhat shy and nervous. Only at the 3rd of those - the August 4th Knebworth comeback - does the coda extend and threaten to revive those telepathic moments of yore. 

After the August 11th show it was gone as Led Zeppelin attempted renewal with a hard, stripped down set. Laura Ashley blouses were now Brazil football shirts, suits were off the peg and hair was shorter. No Quarter had been the source of live inspiration for Led Zeppelin from certainly 1975, but now it was time to move on. Who could foretell what would have been next?

On film, we have those pro shot shows - The Movie, 2 Earls' Court nights, Seattle '77 and the 2 Knebworth shows. Audience cine film is harder, the length of reels leaving us with some edits, moments. It is included in the LA Forum May 31st '73 Black & White clips and at Kezar two days later. 

There's a brief but close edit from the Chicago January 22nd '75 cine bootleg, similarly Dallas March 4th, Seattle on the 17th & 21st and at least 2 of the 3 LA Forum shows that closed the tour. Short clips continue in 1977 with the final 2 shows in Chicago on April 9th & 10th, New York June 10th and the final LA June 27th show.

Post Zeppelin, the most contentious reworking was for the Unledded project. Politics and the rest aside, Jimmy's shimmering, razor edged 12 string treatment worked for me, and there were some stunning live versions throughout the tour for sure. 

In 1998 it reverted to the 1973 arrangement, and a perfect excuse for Jimmy to solo, show he still had it. Robert has dabbled with arrangements over the years, and Jonesy too performed it.

And of course we have the ultimate tribute with the O2 (and rehearsal) versions, again based on the '73 succinct arrangement. 

However good, different and fine the post Zeppelin versions are, they lack the telepathy, the nuances and the unbelievable musical understanding that made the song and indeed made Led Zeppelin unique. Have a listen to any of the versions here, and you'll know....