"Gonna give you every inch of my love...."
THE moment when Led Zeppelin overwhelmed everybody and everything. Completely on the money, as perfect yet unique as could be. When the 'New Yardbirds' burst onto the scene in that hazy late summer of 1968, they took everyone by surprise. The two relatively unknown members brought into the spotlight by Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones helped create the thunderstorm that was Led Zeppelin. Onstage their reputation grew fast, the freedom and improvisations satisfying, rewarding and within months the stuff of legend.
The debut album set out their stall, a wonderful hybrid of light and shade, defying the critics and delighting the growing legions of fans. Onstage, cover versions and improvisations shifted towards a darker, thicker sound. Groinal, filtering and renewing the salacious blues grind of their early heroes - Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf et al - with the lust and hysteria of youth and adrenaline. The early live arrangement of Garnet Mimms 'As Long As I Have You', with it's myriad of directions and moods and cover tunes, pivoted on a stun gun rhythm, an irresistible strut. 'Killing Floor' was another sexually charged monster, mixing Howlin' Wolf's dangerously predatory growl with the guitar flash of Hendrix, aided by a rhythm section that was so potent, fluid and telepathically syncopated.
But Led Zeppelin needed a song of their own, a clarion call to make venue's shake, to frighten and delight in equal measure. Buoyed by their meteoric rise on the first North American trek, work on II began throughout the spring as they fulfilled small UK dates, a return to Scandinavia and assorted media dalliances.
Having rehearsed and routined at Jimmy's Thames side house in Pangbourne, the first serious studio time spent on the second elpee began on April 19th 1969 at Olympic Studios, when they would have a couple of days to record in earnest.
The remarkable mixdown sessions 'released' on the 'Studio Magick' bootleg box set give us an amazing insight into the recording and performing process.
And the result is spectacular, revolutionary. Apart from kicking off the elpee in such fashion, Whole Lotta Love ushered in a thicker, darker, heavier sound and groove.
From Robert's nervous cough to Jimmy's deceptively deft riff it immediately swings and struts. Once Jonesy adds unison bass figures it now has a throbbing undercurrent, a grind. Robert's voice - he once opined he got it 'in one take, I was right on the money there' - is frightening. Just about in control but on the edge of hysteria every second, it's incredible to think this is the voice of a 20 year old from West Bromwich. And just when the tension, the charge, gets too much in roars Bonzo. Solid, powerful, and once again right on the money.
Lyrically Robert has lifted much from Willie Dixon's 'You Need Love', in particular Muddy Waters version. For many years a bone of contention over composition, it took an out of court settlement in 1985 to resolve the issue, leading to Dixon's name being added to the songwriting credits from that day forward. Steve Marriott also recorded a version 'You Need Loving' in '66 with the Small Faces which is very similar to Robert's vocal delivery. Strangely, the lawyers haven't been as vociferous in chasing a credit and royalties as with Zeppelin...
So by the time we hit the chorus Jimmy adds another sprinkle of magic - backward echo. Adding a backward slide crunch that swoops across the speakers and elevates the sound, the groove and the mood. And instead of a bridge, a different riff or a change of pace we get the now famous 'white noise' section. Beginning quietly with Bonzo's understated yet insistent counter rhythms, the sound opens up to a maelstrom of psychedelic wonder. Theremin blats, swoops and sirens meet orgasmic moans in a stereo panning frenzy that ebbs and flows always, always on the edge of madness but always, always under control. Genius.
After the final sonic roar Bonzo underpins the storm and clears the air with a classic, powerful figure that introduces Jimmy's solo. And it's THE classic Rock solo - '58 Les Paul through a cranked Marshall with the extra cutting edge of the wah wah pedal set as a tone control. 6 licks, 6 figures, including that outrageous bend on the fourth. Then Bonzo steadies the troops back to that swaggering riff and everyone's dancing again. Then, the last cherry on the cake. Robert's 'way down inside' sketch. The primal sexuality, aided with other vocal takes and echoed nuances floating ghost like in the background, hits you right between the eyes as his lustful 'Looooooovvveeeeeee...' fanfares in the coda. You get the feeling it went on forever, the riff, the shuffle, the groove. Bonzo flexes his muscles, Robert pleads that he wants to be your 'back door man' and Jimmy and Jonesy plunder that groove.
And rest. It's the most remarkable song. Everything is right. The arrangement, the idea, hell the audacity of it is nothing short of revolutionary. To give some kind of context, Hendrix may well have changed the rules two years before but the accepted giants of rock weren't in place then. While Led Zeppelin were changing the face of music in Barnes radios in the UK were playing current #1 'The Israelites', and whilst 'Pinball Wizard' and 'Heard It Through The Grapevine' were high in the top 10, easy listening and pop was overwhelmingly the soundtrack for the nation. And Cream may have been #1 LP, but Zeppelin's debut was at #12 amid soundtracks and pop. Rock was coming, no doubt about it, but this was something else.
For me not only is the song and the arrangement perfect, but Jimmy's production is nothing short of incredible. The sound on II is right on the edge of overload. That crunch, that punch and the way he captures the balance of light and shade. Pressed to the highest standard possible at the time, it's LOUD. And the uncanny knack of bringing the power to the fore while still maintaining the subtle nuances is wonderful.
Five days after laying down the foundations of Whole Lotta Love Led Zeppelin were in San Francisco for a 4 night stint to open their second North American Tour. II was still 6 months away from release and the live set was still based around the 1st LP and various covers and improvisations. The earliest live sighting of Whole Lotta Love we have is the 3rd night in 'Frisco at Winterland Arena, where it's played as a solid, steady encore with more guitar white noise than Theremin in the middle of a compact arrangement. It's obviously not settled as a live song yet as the next captured live version - at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 25th - shows clearly.
On their return to the UK they feature it on their June 24th John Peel Top Gear session. And what a version. More hysterical and rushed, the subtleties of Jimmy's riff are ignored as they charge ahead. The mid section is nothing short of madness with Robert adding hints of 'Mystery Train' before a longer (8 licks) solo that threatens to go right over the edge with some outrageous wah wah figures. The coda has Robert noting he's 'got those West Bromwich blues', something John Peel remarked on during the original broadcast!
As for live, it - alongside most of II - was absent for much of 1969. Touring meant promoting and playing the record that was out, that the fans could buy and enjoy. Whole Lotta Love was the (near) future. The only other sighting is in the remarkable Ecole Centrale Paris show on December 6th where it's jammed as part of the How Many More Times finale. From the opening 1970 shows it's an encore - of course we all know the Royal Albert Hall version on 'DVD' - up to and including another breakthrough performance at Bath on June 28th. From then on it displaced How Many More Times as the conduit for the now legendary medley that closed the show.
And that's how it stayed until the final show on the 1973 European Tour in Paris on April 2nd. During that time the mid section would change night after night but was almost always a frenzy of Theremin hysteria, clouds of guitar and vocal gymnastics over that faultless, flexible rhythm section. During the summer of '72 there was the germ of a powerful riff section that blossomed in Japan to include Everybody Needs Somebody To Love that stayed until that Paris show. Some of the most remarkable live versions are from those European dates.
In May '73 the 9th US Tour saw a change in dynamics within the set. Visual effects were added and the set was more regimental - set list wise anyway - than before. Whole Lotta Love still closed the show, intro'd by Bonzo with a syncopated drum link that replaced the final verse of Heartbreaker to cue straight into the opening riff - but the medley was generally honed down to just the initial 'Boogie Chillun' sketch. Of course, Zeppelin being Zeppelin there were several nights when things got extended on those (numerous) great nights when they just soared.
1975 saw it almost put out to grass, with just the initial riff and a few throwaway vocal lines as an introduction to the main encore Black Dog. As the tour progressed some funk came in - Nassau Feb 13th is the first bootlegged night if I recall - and before long The Crunge, some James Brown and the trusty, lusty Theremin too. In 1977 it was even more brief, thrown in as a tease before Rock And Roll from the 2nd leg on.
The renewal in Copenhagen and Stevenage saw a brand new Whole Lotta Love. No Theremin or funk episodes, but a solid hard rock muscular set of riffs that Robert ad libbed over. Again the final 1980 shows saw 7 appearances as final encore, and indeed the last ever gig in Berlin features a brilliant experimental jam, and one of the longest versions ever. If earlier shows on the tour had some nostalgic Boogie, this was white noise, counter rhythms and a definite look to the future.
Played at all 3 reunions, it has remained part of Robert's solo shows in various guises and was part of both Page & Plant tours with nigh on 160 performances by the duo. My favourite was St Austell in '95 when it was a devastating stand alone set opener....
Of course it was a US single, in edited form and very much against the group's wishes. It hit #4 and was a big hit across Europe, particularly in Germany and Holland. In the UK Atlantic exec Phil Carson defied Peter and went ahead with preparing a UK release. It got as far as promo copies being pressed - and even a few stock copies escaped too - before it was unceremoniously stopped. Those copies - 500 is the legendary figure oft quoted - are now among THE top collectable Zeppelin items.
There are dozens of Worldwide pressings on singles, EP's and promo's. It appears on several compilation albums too. And there are countless cover versions. But all that's another story....
This is about the song, the recording and the history of performance by Led Zeppelin. One of not only their finest moments, but one of THE finest moments in popular music. Ageless, timeless, revolutionary, perfect. Now go and play II and tell me it's 51 years old...!!
The debut album set out their stall, a wonderful hybrid of light and shade, defying the critics and delighting the growing legions of fans. Onstage, cover versions and improvisations shifted towards a darker, thicker sound. Groinal, filtering and renewing the salacious blues grind of their early heroes - Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf et al - with the lust and hysteria of youth and adrenaline. The early live arrangement of Garnet Mimms 'As Long As I Have You', with it's myriad of directions and moods and cover tunes, pivoted on a stun gun rhythm, an irresistible strut. 'Killing Floor' was another sexually charged monster, mixing Howlin' Wolf's dangerously predatory growl with the guitar flash of Hendrix, aided by a rhythm section that was so potent, fluid and telepathically syncopated.
But Led Zeppelin needed a song of their own, a clarion call to make venue's shake, to frighten and delight in equal measure. Buoyed by their meteoric rise on the first North American trek, work on II began throughout the spring as they fulfilled small UK dates, a return to Scandinavia and assorted media dalliances.
Having rehearsed and routined at Jimmy's Thames side house in Pangbourne, the first serious studio time spent on the second elpee began on April 19th 1969 at Olympic Studios, when they would have a couple of days to record in earnest.
The remarkable mixdown sessions 'released' on the 'Studio Magick' bootleg box set give us an amazing insight into the recording and performing process.
And the result is spectacular, revolutionary. Apart from kicking off the elpee in such fashion, Whole Lotta Love ushered in a thicker, darker, heavier sound and groove.
From Robert's nervous cough to Jimmy's deceptively deft riff it immediately swings and struts. Once Jonesy adds unison bass figures it now has a throbbing undercurrent, a grind. Robert's voice - he once opined he got it 'in one take, I was right on the money there' - is frightening. Just about in control but on the edge of hysteria every second, it's incredible to think this is the voice of a 20 year old from West Bromwich. And just when the tension, the charge, gets too much in roars Bonzo. Solid, powerful, and once again right on the money.
Lyrically Robert has lifted much from Willie Dixon's 'You Need Love', in particular Muddy Waters version. For many years a bone of contention over composition, it took an out of court settlement in 1985 to resolve the issue, leading to Dixon's name being added to the songwriting credits from that day forward. Steve Marriott also recorded a version 'You Need Loving' in '66 with the Small Faces which is very similar to Robert's vocal delivery. Strangely, the lawyers haven't been as vociferous in chasing a credit and royalties as with Zeppelin...
So by the time we hit the chorus Jimmy adds another sprinkle of magic - backward echo. Adding a backward slide crunch that swoops across the speakers and elevates the sound, the groove and the mood. And instead of a bridge, a different riff or a change of pace we get the now famous 'white noise' section. Beginning quietly with Bonzo's understated yet insistent counter rhythms, the sound opens up to a maelstrom of psychedelic wonder. Theremin blats, swoops and sirens meet orgasmic moans in a stereo panning frenzy that ebbs and flows always, always on the edge of madness but always, always under control. Genius.
After the final sonic roar Bonzo underpins the storm and clears the air with a classic, powerful figure that introduces Jimmy's solo. And it's THE classic Rock solo - '58 Les Paul through a cranked Marshall with the extra cutting edge of the wah wah pedal set as a tone control. 6 licks, 6 figures, including that outrageous bend on the fourth. Then Bonzo steadies the troops back to that swaggering riff and everyone's dancing again. Then, the last cherry on the cake. Robert's 'way down inside' sketch. The primal sexuality, aided with other vocal takes and echoed nuances floating ghost like in the background, hits you right between the eyes as his lustful 'Looooooovvveeeeeee...' fanfares in the coda. You get the feeling it went on forever, the riff, the shuffle, the groove. Bonzo flexes his muscles, Robert pleads that he wants to be your 'back door man' and Jimmy and Jonesy plunder that groove.
And rest. It's the most remarkable song. Everything is right. The arrangement, the idea, hell the audacity of it is nothing short of revolutionary. To give some kind of context, Hendrix may well have changed the rules two years before but the accepted giants of rock weren't in place then. While Led Zeppelin were changing the face of music in Barnes radios in the UK were playing current #1 'The Israelites', and whilst 'Pinball Wizard' and 'Heard It Through The Grapevine' were high in the top 10, easy listening and pop was overwhelmingly the soundtrack for the nation. And Cream may have been #1 LP, but Zeppelin's debut was at #12 amid soundtracks and pop. Rock was coming, no doubt about it, but this was something else.
For me not only is the song and the arrangement perfect, but Jimmy's production is nothing short of incredible. The sound on II is right on the edge of overload. That crunch, that punch and the way he captures the balance of light and shade. Pressed to the highest standard possible at the time, it's LOUD. And the uncanny knack of bringing the power to the fore while still maintaining the subtle nuances is wonderful.
Five days after laying down the foundations of Whole Lotta Love Led Zeppelin were in San Francisco for a 4 night stint to open their second North American Tour. II was still 6 months away from release and the live set was still based around the 1st LP and various covers and improvisations. The earliest live sighting of Whole Lotta Love we have is the 3rd night in 'Frisco at Winterland Arena, where it's played as a solid, steady encore with more guitar white noise than Theremin in the middle of a compact arrangement. It's obviously not settled as a live song yet as the next captured live version - at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 25th - shows clearly.
On their return to the UK they feature it on their June 24th John Peel Top Gear session. And what a version. More hysterical and rushed, the subtleties of Jimmy's riff are ignored as they charge ahead. The mid section is nothing short of madness with Robert adding hints of 'Mystery Train' before a longer (8 licks) solo that threatens to go right over the edge with some outrageous wah wah figures. The coda has Robert noting he's 'got those West Bromwich blues', something John Peel remarked on during the original broadcast!
As for live, it - alongside most of II - was absent for much of 1969. Touring meant promoting and playing the record that was out, that the fans could buy and enjoy. Whole Lotta Love was the (near) future. The only other sighting is in the remarkable Ecole Centrale Paris show on December 6th where it's jammed as part of the How Many More Times finale. From the opening 1970 shows it's an encore - of course we all know the Royal Albert Hall version on 'DVD' - up to and including another breakthrough performance at Bath on June 28th. From then on it displaced How Many More Times as the conduit for the now legendary medley that closed the show.
And that's how it stayed until the final show on the 1973 European Tour in Paris on April 2nd. During that time the mid section would change night after night but was almost always a frenzy of Theremin hysteria, clouds of guitar and vocal gymnastics over that faultless, flexible rhythm section. During the summer of '72 there was the germ of a powerful riff section that blossomed in Japan to include Everybody Needs Somebody To Love that stayed until that Paris show. Some of the most remarkable live versions are from those European dates.
In May '73 the 9th US Tour saw a change in dynamics within the set. Visual effects were added and the set was more regimental - set list wise anyway - than before. Whole Lotta Love still closed the show, intro'd by Bonzo with a syncopated drum link that replaced the final verse of Heartbreaker to cue straight into the opening riff - but the medley was generally honed down to just the initial 'Boogie Chillun' sketch. Of course, Zeppelin being Zeppelin there were several nights when things got extended on those (numerous) great nights when they just soared.
1975 saw it almost put out to grass, with just the initial riff and a few throwaway vocal lines as an introduction to the main encore Black Dog. As the tour progressed some funk came in - Nassau Feb 13th is the first bootlegged night if I recall - and before long The Crunge, some James Brown and the trusty, lusty Theremin too. In 1977 it was even more brief, thrown in as a tease before Rock And Roll from the 2nd leg on.
The renewal in Copenhagen and Stevenage saw a brand new Whole Lotta Love. No Theremin or funk episodes, but a solid hard rock muscular set of riffs that Robert ad libbed over. Again the final 1980 shows saw 7 appearances as final encore, and indeed the last ever gig in Berlin features a brilliant experimental jam, and one of the longest versions ever. If earlier shows on the tour had some nostalgic Boogie, this was white noise, counter rhythms and a definite look to the future.
Played at all 3 reunions, it has remained part of Robert's solo shows in various guises and was part of both Page & Plant tours with nigh on 160 performances by the duo. My favourite was St Austell in '95 when it was a devastating stand alone set opener....
Of course it was a US single, in edited form and very much against the group's wishes. It hit #4 and was a big hit across Europe, particularly in Germany and Holland. In the UK Atlantic exec Phil Carson defied Peter and went ahead with preparing a UK release. It got as far as promo copies being pressed - and even a few stock copies escaped too - before it was unceremoniously stopped. Those copies - 500 is the legendary figure oft quoted - are now among THE top collectable Zeppelin items.
There are dozens of Worldwide pressings on singles, EP's and promo's. It appears on several compilation albums too. And there are countless cover versions. But all that's another story....
This is about the song, the recording and the history of performance by Led Zeppelin. One of not only their finest moments, but one of THE finest moments in popular music. Ageless, timeless, revolutionary, perfect. Now go and play II and tell me it's 51 years old...!!
The opening riff makes your hear beat faster because you know whats coming .It is absolutely primal,sex in all its glory.There was never a more sexual band.Robert left nothing to the imagination,while Jimmy hid behind his guitar,his sensuality was there to see in the way he handled his guitar.Soft and seductive or hard fast and urgent the Zeppelin catalogue was eye and ear opening and absolutely mind blowing
ReplyDeleteThis is the best song ever
ReplyDeleteWhole lotta love for this blog piece Thank you, Andy
ReplyDelete