Tuesday, December 11, 2007
LED ZEPPO
As you probably heard, Led Zeppelin reunited last night for their first full concert in nearly 19 years. They've reunited for several causes and played a song or two in the interim, but last night in London was their first big show, played in tribute to Ahmet Ertegun (founder of Atlantic Records, who died a year ago; he was responsible for signing Led Zep to their first record contract. (Oh, and he also discovered Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and countless others -- Frank Zappa respected Ertegun so much he named his second SON after him.)
Anyway, there were like 18,000 seats available for this one-off concert last night in London, and more than (I'm told) FIVE MILLION PEOPLE put their name on the waiting list for those 18.000 tickets.
Now, I grew up in the 70s, and you can call me a heretic or whatever, but: I'VE NEVER THOUGHT LED ZEPPELIN WAS THAT GOOD.
I grew up in the Chicago area as a kid. You couldn't NOT hear blues music on the radio if you were curious about those odd "FM" stations back then. I knew who Willie Dixon was. I knew who Muddy Waters was. I didn't listen to the blues station all that much, but I knew it was there. I had friends and cousins with blues records.
So the first time I heard Led Zeppelin was "Whole Lotta Love." Something told me I'd heard it before. Sure 'nuff: I found out later that Led Zep had pretty much purloined Dixon's "You Need Love," which Muddy recorded, changed the tune and gave themselves writing credits.
Mr. Dixon was not amused. The band had to give him a lot of money.
Anyway, as I got older, I didn't really buy any of the bands you all were buying when we were teenagers. As rock and roll went, my interests were pretty much limited to the Beatles, Stones, Leon Russell (BIG TIME Leon fan here) and Frank Zappa.
(Come to think of it, that's still pretty much all the rock and roll I listen to. )
I never thought about buying a Led Zeppelin album as a kid 'cause EVERYBODY ELSE had them.
Oh, and I HATE Led Zeppelin 4, the so-called "ZOSO" album with Black Dog and Rock and Roll and Stairway to Heaven, etc.
Talk about a one-sided album. The whole thing has been played into the ground to the point that I can't imagine there's a person on earth, in the darkest depths of some as-yet-undiscovered island, where the entire population can't hum "Stairway to Heaven." And side 2 of that album REALLY, REALLY SUCKS.
Finally, around 1975 or so, Led Zep finally put out an album with two song that I like: Physical Graffiti. This album has Kashmir and Trampled Under Foot on it. That's all I know. And I didn't buy that because it was a double album and I didn't want three sides that I probably wouldn't like.
My point is, I'm glad the guys (the three of them still standing, that is) still have it. I'm glad they can still get on stage and rock the house. I'm glad they got over the fact that deep down they hate each other's guts.
But if this one-off becomes a tour, I ain't goin'.
Oh -- and speaking of bands that I absolutely CAN'T STAND except for one or two songs: Pink Floyd. If THEY were able to put their differences behind them and tour once more, experts say that could easily ask $300 a ticket and sell out stadiums. But I wouldn't be there. The only two songs by them I really like at "Us and Them" (which gets played too much) and "Free Four" which never gets played anymore because it's not the 70s, and the DJs on KDKB aren't stoned all the time.
TT
As you probably heard, Led Zeppelin reunited last night for their first full concert in nearly 19 years. They've reunited for several causes and played a song or two in the interim, but last night in London was their first big show, played in tribute to Ahmet Ertegun (founder of Atlantic Records, who died a year ago; he was responsible for signing Led Zep to their first record contract. (Oh, and he also discovered Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and countless others -- Frank Zappa respected Ertegun so much he named his second SON after him.)
Anyway, there were like 18,000 seats available for this one-off concert last night in London, and more than (I'm told) FIVE MILLION PEOPLE put their name on the waiting list for those 18.000 tickets.
Now, I grew up in the 70s, and you can call me a heretic or whatever, but: I'VE NEVER THOUGHT LED ZEPPELIN WAS THAT GOOD.
I grew up in the Chicago area as a kid. You couldn't NOT hear blues music on the radio if you were curious about those odd "FM" stations back then. I knew who Willie Dixon was. I knew who Muddy Waters was. I didn't listen to the blues station all that much, but I knew it was there. I had friends and cousins with blues records.
So the first time I heard Led Zeppelin was "Whole Lotta Love." Something told me I'd heard it before. Sure 'nuff: I found out later that Led Zep had pretty much purloined Dixon's "You Need Love," which Muddy recorded, changed the tune and gave themselves writing credits.
Mr. Dixon was not amused. The band had to give him a lot of money.
Anyway, as I got older, I didn't really buy any of the bands you all were buying when we were teenagers. As rock and roll went, my interests were pretty much limited to the Beatles, Stones, Leon Russell (BIG TIME Leon fan here) and Frank Zappa.
(Come to think of it, that's still pretty much all the rock and roll I listen to. )
I never thought about buying a Led Zeppelin album as a kid 'cause EVERYBODY ELSE had them.
Oh, and I HATE Led Zeppelin 4, the so-called "ZOSO" album with Black Dog and Rock and Roll and Stairway to Heaven, etc.
Talk about a one-sided album. The whole thing has been played into the ground to the point that I can't imagine there's a person on earth, in the darkest depths of some as-yet-undiscovered island, where the entire population can't hum "Stairway to Heaven." And side 2 of that album REALLY, REALLY SUCKS.
Finally, around 1975 or so, Led Zep finally put out an album with two song that I like: Physical Graffiti. This album has Kashmir and Trampled Under Foot on it. That's all I know. And I didn't buy that because it was a double album and I didn't want three sides that I probably wouldn't like.
My point is, I'm glad the guys (the three of them still standing, that is) still have it. I'm glad they can still get on stage and rock the house. I'm glad they got over the fact that deep down they hate each other's guts.
But if this one-off becomes a tour, I ain't goin'.
Oh -- and speaking of bands that I absolutely CAN'T STAND except for one or two songs: Pink Floyd. If THEY were able to put their differences behind them and tour once more, experts say that could easily ask $300 a ticket and sell out stadiums. But I wouldn't be there. The only two songs by them I really like at "Us and Them" (which gets played too much) and "Free Four" which never gets played anymore because it's not the 70s, and the DJs on KDKB aren't stoned all the time.
TT
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