In The Studio with Redbeard

Tag: “Ramble On”

  • Led Zeppelin II – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant

    Led Zeppelin II – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant

    Though barely ten months had passed between the  releases of their debut and follow up in 1969, so much had transpired in that brief time with the band- and the world- that by the time Led Zeppelin II erupted in late October 1969, the largest music event in history had occurred at the Woodstock Festival barely six weeks after two Americans walked on the Moon. And then “Whole Lotta Love” blew up my car radio that Autumn and changed everything.

    The first Led Zeppelin album in  1969 was released, like the vast majority of unknown untested “baby bands”, in January that year. It was unhyped, particularly in America, as three of the four members of the British band had no reputations Stateside whatsoever, and only band founder/lead guitarist Jimmy Page had some fame in the dying embers of the Yardbirds. Fast-forward ten months to Led Zeppelin II, and by then all of that had changed. Led Zeppelin II  was released the same year 1969 in October, when record companies put out their blockbusters guaranteed to rack up holiday sales. And unlike the first album, Led Zeppelin II  hit American Top 40 radio  fifty-five years ago like a thunderclap. When I heard both Chicago radio powerhouses WLS and WCFL play “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin in Fall 1969, it changed my life and the lives of millions worldwide by forging the template for hard rock/heavy metal for half a century. In classic rock interviews, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant join me here In the Studio for Led Zeppelin II to document what had ensued in the ten months between the first two releases, and to reveal the songs you know by heart including “What Is and What Should Never Be”, “Thank You”, “Heartbreaker/ Living Loving Maid(She’s Just a Woman)”, and “Ramble On”. –Redbeard

  • Led Zeppelin- Ramble On- London O2 Arena 11-2007

    Led Zeppelin- Ramble On- London O2 Arena 11-2007

    Three of the four surviving members of Led Zeppelin plus John Bonham’s son Jason on drums decided to “Ramble On”to the stage at London’s O2 Arena back in November 2007 in order to raise money for a scholarship to honor the Turkish-American immigrant head of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, who had first signed them to a record deal in 1969. Here’s a delicate yet thunderous performance that night of “Ramble On” which appeared originally on Led Zeppelin II. -Redbeard

  • Led Zeppelin 1 – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant

    Led Zeppelin 1 – Jimmy Page, Robert Plant

    This classic rock In the Studio episode  features what turned out to be my first of many subsequent in-depth conversations about the Led Zeppelin legacy with band mastermind Jimmy Page and singer/lyricist Robert Plant.  One of the most significant debut albums in rock history, Led Zeppelin 1 was released in January 1969 but, not surprisingly, its arrival was unheralded. Only two of the quartet, guitarist/songwriter Jimmy Page and bass player John Paul Jones, had any musical calling cards, Page in the last days of The Yardbirds and Jonesy as an arranger, but even those reps were restricted pretty much to the late Sixties London recording studio scene. But the dramatic high-contrast photo of the actual German airship “The Hindenburg” erupting in flames on the cover of Led Zeppelin 1 served as both an invitation and a warning concerning the explosive sonic contents within.

    There was considerable buzz in the rock music world recently when Jimmy Page, the brilliantly gifted architect of the Led Zeppelin I sound since it was unleashed  January 1969, announced that he was personally overseeing a comprehensive updating of the entire Led Zeppelin catalog as deluxe editions with remastered sound, new twenty-first century artwork and graphics, previously unreleased demos, alternate mixes, and those notoriously bootlegged live Led Zeppelin concert performances.  Both Led Zeppelin I   and II  came out in 1969 barely ten months apart,  and then  the transitional, often under-appreciated Led Zeppelin III,  which together comprised the initial deluxe reissues. To explore each, we arranged for Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones to go “under the hood” to reveal the thoughtful approach to the Led Zeppelin sound, echoes of which are apparent to this very day.- Redbeard