Led Zep-How The West was Won

For anyone who's interested, both Mojo and Classic Rock magazines have big Led Zep features in the current issues...

Kevin

For those desperate to hear some previews there's a dozen or so tracks available on WinMX now. Some sort of sampler seems to have been made available. It sounds mighty fine.

Well, it's bloody amazing, isn't it?

And as for the DVD – well, I guess they might just be the best live act there has ever been?

Kevin

I've only watched the Albert Hall 1970 bit of the DVD so far, and it's pretty good. Quite raw and small scale, Jimmy had not developed this showman tendancies spending much of the time stooped in front of the Drum kit.

Now I'm not a drummer, but I've always liked Bonhams style and sound. To me his drumming on this (Moby Dick solo and beyond) is stupendous. Would anyone who knows more about the technicalities of drumming like to comment on whether Bonham is good/great/average or whatever.

Greeny

I'm not a drummer myself (just a punter), but there's no doubt in my mind that Bonzo, along with Can's Jacki Leibezeit, is probably the best rock drummer ever.

One of my mates who is a professional drummer, says that Bonzo rules - much better than all those fusion types (Gadd, Cobham etc); it's his sheer power (apparently, when his sticks hit the skin, they stop, so most of the energy is transferred downwards - there's very little of the "flex" that many drummers use. Bonham apparently hits the drum, rather than letting the sticks bounce off it).

Steerpike: I don't think it matters that LZ "didn't connect with the fans" in any conventional sense. What matters is their ambition, their confidence, the sheer power and scope of their music. Watching the DVD yesterday, I realised that there are more ideas in one of their songs that many bands manage in an entire career. The Who were a great live act until about '75, but, like the Stones, they blotted their copybook and invalidated many of their past achievements by carrying on way past their sell-by date (and in the Who's case, losing two members).

At least LZ had the decency to split up, and apart from a couple of farcical occasions (ie Live Aid et al), have remained that way.

Kevin

quote:

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Originally posted by greeny:
Would anyone who knows more about the technicalities of drumming like to comment on whether Bonham is good/great/average or whatever.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Kevin-W:
I'm not a drummer myself (just a punter), but there's no doubt in my mind that Bonzo, along with Can's Jacki Leibezeit, is probably the best rock drummer ever.

One of my mates who is a professional drummer, says that Bonzo rules - much better than all those fusion types (Gadd, Cobham etc); it's his sheer power (apparently, when his sticks hit the skin, they stop, so most of the energy is transferred downwards - there's very little of the "flex" that many drummers use. Bonham apparently hits the drum, rather than letting the sticks bounce off it).

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I'm not a drummer, either, but I'm married to one and she would concur, as I do, that Bonham was great.

However, ranking him against other great drummers like Gadd, Cobham, Moon, Mitch Mitchell, et al. is not useful for two reasons:

• Due to differences in style, genre, requirements of the music being served, and personal musical voice, it's comparing apples to aardvarks.
  
  
• When musicians are at a certain level of greatness, there is simply no way, nor any reason, to quantify better or best, aside from personal preference, of course. And only those folks with a surplus of hubris confuse their own taste for universally held standards.

I've just watched the Albert Hall and listened to the cd twice (a long session!). Totally astonished at the quality of sound and picture. Musically though it's all on a different plane. Why on earth wasn't this released umpteen years ago? Wonderful stuff.

Since I had most on vinyl,I seem to buy new Led zep releases almost as an involuntary reflex. First all the CD's then the Box set remasters, the BBC tapes now the DVD.
But, you know what - it's worth it every time.
Every time I think I've played it to death the new releases come round and I listen and they just blow me away.
Was there, will there ever be, a better rock and roll band. I don't think so.

Paul.