"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.
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.
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.
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