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Are there 2 or 3 songs that best exemplify and showcase the greatness of John Bonham?


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On 6/24/2017 at 0:46 AM, TheMadIrishman said:

Live:

Moby Dick RAH 

Dazed and Confused TSRTS

Album:

Out on the Tiles 

How Many More Times 

Rock N' Roll

 

I definitely agree that a live version of Dazed should be on there, but I would definitely go with one from Europe '73, probably March 21 in Hamburg as someone already suggested.  TSRTS has a great version of Dazed, but Bonham does much crazier stuff earlier in the year in Europe.

"Over The Hills And Far Away" and "The Song Remains The Same" from 3/3/75 Ft. Worth would also be great choices.

And "No Quarter" from 6/21/77 L.A.

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Almost every drum track he played would qualify for one thing or another. The 5 1/2 songs John Bonham played on the 4th album are all unique and incredible. I'll add 3 others. 

Sick Again - 

For Your Life - 

The Wanton Song -

 

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  • 2 months later...
On ‎6‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 4:12 AM, Mook said:

If I had to pick one track, I would probably go for Good Times Bad Times, it changed rock drumming overnight & still sounds absolutely mental nearly 50 years on.

After that I would probably go for Kashmir, which is an monument of groove & restraint & Achilles Last Stand, which again is just nuts.

I might be on my own here but if I had to pick an album to showcase Bonham, it would maybe be Presence, he really was on fire throughout that recording & some of it is his most inventive playing. 

Of all the tracks on the first album, I would love to hear an isolated drum track for Good Times Bad Times. Or even another studio take of the song for comparison.

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On ‎9‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 2:47 AM, babysquid said:

Nobody's mentioning Stairway? I thought it was fabulous the first time I heard it when the drums came in.

Yep.

And just listen to Bonham on the 5/24/75 STH.  He gets overlooked because it's one of Jimmy's best ever solos, but Bonham was spectacular on it.

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  • 4 years later...
On 6/17/2017 at 12:45 AM, Strider said:

Studio tracks:

1. Good Times Bad Times and Dazed and Confused from the first album.

2. When the Levee Breaks from Led Zep IV.

3. Achilles Last Stand and Royal Orleans from Presence.

Live tracks:

 

Great list. I’d add IMTOD, but once I start adding I find myself wanting to keep adding. New to the board and impressed w your contribution. Been going through all 146? pgs one at a time & yer obviously Sir  OG status, I dig it, great site & you Sir stand out. 

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Lots of great answers here, and I agree it's a rabbit hole. He was so integral to their sound, you could list any song he played on really. I definitely second "Cashmere".  Such a cozy and warm song .. feels good on the skin .. makes me wanna sit in an old leather chair and drink hot chocolate.  😛

The thing with Bonham was he played just like Page - in that his playing came from "somewhere else". I wish I had a better way of describing it. For instance, you could get a guy to study his playing and recordings for 10 years, have the exact same gear, play the tracks exactly the same way ... and still not sound even remotely the same. Because he just isn't John Bonham. That's the coolest thing to me, where musicians are concerned - you can mimic but never truly replicate what they create.

A lot of first gut answers I'd give for this question have already been listed so instead I think I'll add "Candy Store Rock", a fav of mine off Presence. The drumming on that just brings the whole thing to life. I'm listening to it right now with headphones ... absolutely incredible. (And Plant and Pagey sound amazing also.) 

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  1. When the Levee Breaks
  2. Achilles Last Stand
  3. In My Time of Dying

Those are the first three that come to mind. Watch him doing Achilles at Knebworth in '79. I don't know how his arms didn't fall off by the time he was done.

 

 

Edited by Electrophile
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  • 1 month later...

Well what really blew my mind regarding BONZO’s Playing was :

 

watching him during the rehearsal for the Paris footage, it was part of a movie or something!!

Up untill that youtube video many yrs ago I Always knew he was great but I just didn’t know really ANYTHING  compared  to after that moment!!! Then I really started watching him in all the past videos,  Danish  Good times bad times ,RAH omg! etc.

amazing how intense he was AND it was just a rehearsal!! Lol

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  • 8 months later...

I would say the live versions of since I’ve been loving you, rain song, and no quarter. My reasoning is his approach to those songs are so amazing considering the tempo. Also a fan of live versions of Kashmir, and earlier on the live version of I can’t quit you and killing floor.  I’m particularly a fan of his drumming at the Albert Hall concert that was released in 03.  

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12 hours ago, DallasTexan said:

I’m particularly a fan of his drumming at the Albert Hall concert that was released in 03.

It doesn't get better than that.

Live, I reckon NQ - especially the '75 ones, for how he comes in when JPJ is laying down his crazy groove. Bonzo took so many different "feels" into that. It is just genius. Also Kashmir and obviously Achilles when they were cooking.

Studio: The Rover has to be up there and I'd say the Wanton Song also showcases the mans brilliance perfectly. I also think of Wearing and Tearing as a stand out from Bonzo. That song gets way too little love.

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