Thanks Rock, I didn't know about 'Steal Away'. Have you heard these songs?

The name of the band wasn't Hobbstweedle, let alone Hebbstweedle, but Obbstweedle - as I found out a long time ago when a friend admonished me for using the H. Many books have this wrong, but Robert has corrected it in interviews. I don't think Obbstweedle ever made any recordings, and the few recordings he made before Led Zeppelin are with other bands, as follows: Listen, 'You Better Run'/'Everybody's Gonna Say' (October 1966) RP, 'Our Song'/'Laughin', Cryin', Laughin'' (March 1967) RP, 'Long Time Coming'/'I've Got a Secret' (September 1967) Robert also recorded a song with Alexis Korner, the main figure on the early British blues scene, in 1968. The Band of Joy, featuring Bonzo, also made some recordings but they weren't released.

Hellhound on my Trail isn't one of them. I for one certainly wouldn't call The Ocean a blues at all - the ending bit is more of a rockabilly type of thing to my ears.

Not arguing with you either, JP1977 - not at all. Just a discussion, that's all. I don't really think I ever heard him sing 'hellhound' - but I did think it sounded quite like that earlier, yep. The reason I find it convincing that he's actually singing 'hailla high hopes ball' is because it's not a stretch from the official lyrics, and think about it, if you hit those notes while singing 'hailla' it'll sound quite a bit similar to 'hellhound', won't it? Just not as pronounced.

Wonderful news indeed. I also hope they release that MSG show from 1978 (or something like that) - films of the whole show exists somewhere. Parts of 'Thick as a Brick' on the 25th anniversary DVD come from there, I think.

Well, when Knebby posted that it convinced me right away - and it always sounded to me like he said 'ball' at the end of that line. Just nice to know Robert actually says this. Here's the earlier thread we had about this topic: Old Thread Basically, the problem I always had with the insertion of a 'hellhound' reference was not only that it seemed hard to figure out a sentence that made any sense in the context, but mainly this: Robert Plant KNEW his blues quite well, and certainly was very familiar with Robert Johnson's work. But that also means he wouldn't ever quote THAT one lightly. It's the darkest, most melancholic, most lyrical blues you'll ever find - and Johnson's delivery is haunting by itself. A very special moment, definitely, and an intensely personal statement. Here again are the actual lyrics: HELLHOUND ON MY TRAIL I got to keep movin' I've got to keep movin' blues falling down like hail blues falling down like hail Umm mmm mmm mmm blues falling down like hail blues falling down like hail And the days keeps on worryin' me there a hellhound on my trail hellhound on my trail hellhound on my trail If today was Christmas eve If today was Christmas eve and tomorrow was Christmas day If today was Christmas eve and tomorrow was Christmas day - aow, wouldn't we have a time, baby? All I would need my little sweet rider just to pass the time away, huh huh to pass the time away You sprinkled hot foot powder, mmm mmm, around my door all around my door You sprinkled hot foot powder all around your daddy's door, hmm hmm hmm It keep me with ramblin' mind, rider every old place I go every old place I go I can tell the wind is risin' the leaves tremblin' on the tree tremblin' on the tree hmmm hmmm hmm All I need's my little sweet woman and to keep my company, hey hey hey hey my company. I just don't (and actually never could) see how a reference to THIS could ever make sense within the context of 'The Ocean' - which is a very happy song, 'the ocean' being a metaphor for LZ's audiences, etc. I can't see anything in the rest of the song's lyrics that could possibly make sense of such a quote. By the way, JP1977 - no reason at all for Robert to deny 'the lift', if there indeed was one. It's no crime to make a simple reference.

Thanks Knebby! Did you ask him where the 'hailla' comes from? Is it actually supposed to be Old Norse (if so then I believe it's not spelled right)? Old Norse is practically just Icelandic. And the word 'heill' or 'heilla' can mean either a charm or happiness. We had a discussion about this not very long ago, and I never could get that supposed reference to Robert Johnson's 'hellhound' to make any sense in the context of the song's lyrics.

First time I ever heard Jethro Tull was a short 45rpm version of Thick as a Brick, which will have been in about 1978 - I liked it, and almost nobody else did in my circle of mates. Maybe a year later a gig was shown on Icelandic TV, I think it was a then recent Madison Square Garden show, and it was amazing. Wish they would release that on DVD - I have Nothing Is Easy from the 25th anniversary and Isle of Wight, and don't think any others with stuff from the 70's are available (or are there?). Didn't have much money as a kid, of course, so it was only in about 1980, at fifteen, that I started to buy more records. I got most of the old Tull records in a few years, and Aqualung, War Child and Too Old were some of the studio albums I liked best - but the double live album Bursting Out was my single favorite Tull album. I still favor the mid-70's line-ups of the band, Jeffrey and then John Glascock on bass, Barriemore Barlow on drums, John Evan, etc. and of course Martin and Ian. I think Barlow is one of the best drummers in the history of rock & roll - and certainly very different to Clive from the early days. I thought it was pretty strange when most of the members of the band suddenly disappeared around 1980, later heard Broadsword and didn't like it, and years then went by before I got interested in any new stuff from them. I finally bought Crest of a Knave and Rock Island when they came, of which I still like the first one a lot. They finally played in this country in 1992, which I will always remember, because I wanted to go so much, but alas, was lying in a hospital at the time of the gig, so I missed it. I saw them last September, in a small venue, and got a great seat. It wasn't terrible, of course, and Ian's banter was funny. But Martin Barre wasn't there! There was a young German guitarist playing with them, not a bad player, but totally lacking the sense of style Martin has (more of a metal-style player), so that part of it destroyed much of the fun for me. No disrespect to Mick Abrahams, but Martin for me is just essential to the Tull sound.

The airport incident was in '73, the train was before the '75 tour. Two separate occasions. I think if you go back to some of the earlier posts it will be clearer.

Yeah, well, thanks mate, as it turns out I just hadn't looked thoroughly enough earlier - it's in this book, which I've found is often very useful to have, as it has extensive quotes from interviews, news items, etc. It's more than 500 pages, two columns on each one, so there's a lot there.

You mean the quotes above are confusing, Helen? I forgot to put in the year for the first one, but they both concern the 1975 incident.

Well, I have found a couple of quotes from interviews with Jimmy at the time. First, on the question why they didn't just postpone the tour - this is from an interview by Chris Charlesworth for Melody Maker, seemingly conducted in Chicago (hence around January 20-22, 1975): 'I can't play any blues at all, can't bend notes either. It's the most important finger for a guitarist, so I'm having to modify my playing to suit the situation. A shame but it can't be helped. We've had to cut Dazed & Confused from the set and substitute How Many More Times, which we haven't played in four years. I'm still doing the violin bow routine but we've had to alter even that and I can't do it as well as I'd like to. I can tell it's not as good as it usually is, but the audiences don't seem to notice. We almost canceled the tour, but we couldn't as we'd sold all the tickets and a postponement would have meant chaos. It couldn't have happened at a worse time either.' The band was, of course, huge by this time. In conversation with Lisa Robinson on January 22, 1975 (the last of three Chicago shows was that night) he did say something about how it happened, and how it's affecting his playing: 'I'm having to develop a three-finger technique. But it's a drag. It happened when I was on a train in England - on my way to rehearsal. I was at the front of the train planning to rush off and grab a taxi, when the train stopped abruptly. I must have grabbed at something, and the finger got caught in the hinge of the door. I was just totally numb - numb with shock. I just looked at it and said 'oh no' .... I mean it's the most important finger for a guitarist: third finger, left hand. The wedding ring finger.... It's the one that does all the leverage, and most of the work and it really came as a blow because I just couldn't play with it, I'm still not rally playing with it. Last night I used it on a couple of chord changes but it still hurts. I'm starting to master a three-fingered technique though. I may to work at this at home - work out three- and two-finger techniques so that whenever there's another accident - which I'm bound to have, at the beginning of an important tour! - I'll be ready for it.'

Oh, and MSG, thanks, but while I have scanned literally hundreds of LZ photos, there's no need to give me credit for these photos - I was only reposting most of them. It's just that I'm a little more systematic than most about how I save my LZ photos, so I usually have photos relevant to the discussions. And well.... I have about 12,000 pics of the band.

As for the '73 incident - first of all: Hi Ev! Am I glad to see you back here, mate! What you are saying about that injury is really interesting - and very convincing when you look at the pics where you can see the bandages, as they cover his hand, and not any of his fingers at all. It would be great if we could find out for sure, because as Steve says, it doesn't seem to have been very serious - but all the books, without exception, say that it was a sprained finger. As for the stories about how it happened, I must say I found it disappointing that Robert Godwin doesn't include anything about either of these two incidents in his Press Reports book. But Lewis and Pallett do include this quote about the LA mishap in '73: 'How did Page sprain his finger? Incredible rumors about that were rampant around the Sunset Strip including that the boys were busy throwing beer bottles and finally a table - out of the windows of the ninth floor of the Continental Hyatt House Hotel [e.g. 'Riot House' - OM] into a Lincoln convertible in the parking lot - just for fun, you know. Page's finger got in the way and you know the rest. Led Zeppelin has stayed at the Continental several times before and their frolicking has resulted in repair expenses being tacked on the bill, but they are always contrite afterwards and seemingly are always welcome guests at this hostelry of the rock kingdom.' The boys certainly had fun after the 'Bonzo's Birthday Party' gig on May 31. George Harrison and Patti thrown into the pool, and then everybody else except of course Bonzo (who did it) and Peter Grant. Apart from finger injuries, it's also interesting to read Charles Shaar Murray's article about the May 31 and Kezar shows - printed in full in Howard Mylett's On Tour With Led Zeppelin (not the same book as the one I mentioned earlier by him). Murray's article is called 'Zeppin' Out', and he was very impressed. He is a guitarist himself, and a respected rock journalist (wrote a great book on Hendrix called Crosstown Traffic).

'75 was a train door by all accounts, yep. The remaining question is, when did it happen? I've looked it up in a few of my books, and nearly all of them support what Steve has said, e.g. that it happened when he was coming to London for rehearsals, after Rotterdam and Brussels on January 11 and 12, and prior to the U.S. Tour. That's what you find in Ritchie Yorke's book, in Howard Mylett's 1976 book on the band, in Chris Welch's Led Zeppelin: The Book, etc. The reason why I'm thinking it happened earlier is some interesting information in Led Zeppelin: The Concert File. While I've never heard a bootleg recording from the Brussels show, and I don't think there is one for the gig in Rotterdam, this is what they have to say about those concerts. First, the set list is missing for Rotterdam - but the show was shorter than two hours. That means no 'Dazed and Confused'. If you look at the set list for Brussels, you'll see that it wasn't performed there either. In fact, it wasn't put back into the set list until February 3, in MSG, NYC. Secondly, Robert is quoted as saying that the Rotterdam gig wasn't good, but that he expects Brussels to be better and America to be good. Thirdly, here is how Lewis and Pallett describe the Brussels gig: 'Under-rehearsed and experiencing problems with Page's damaged fingers, this show was rough, chaotic and less than two hours in length. A minimal show, with no space for improvisation - 'Dazed and Confused' and 'Moby Dick' were both absent from the set list.' Here's a picture of Jimmy from Rotterdam - the file name says it's Brussels, but it isn't - and then a couple from Brussels: Even if these two gigs obviously were warm-ups for America (they also didn't use the full lights rig), and even if, as Jimmy put it, '1974 never happened', this still makes me think the injury may have happened prior to Rotterdam. The TV interview for Old Grey Whistle Test was conducted in Brussels on January 12, and aired five days later, on January 17 - by which time the band was already rehearsing in Minneapolis.... as we know from the many fabulous pictures Neal Preston took of them there. Jimmy certainly doesn't look like he's had a serious injury to his fingers just a few days earlier - although, of course, that isn't conclusive at all. (I think Ev made that great scan from the old Led Zeppelin Portraits book). The first date of the U. S. Tour was on January 18, in Bloomington, Minnesota. Here's Jimmy playing that night: Silver Vishnu: I haven't heard the February 8 gig, so couldn't have mentioned it... Bitch.

Oh, I didn't notice you had already made a reply, Steve. I believe you are a few days off for the '75 incident.

Jimmy injured his fingers twice in the 70's. The first time it happened was in LA, on May 29 apparently. He played a couple of gigs in LA with a sprained finger, and his hand was still bandaged when he arrived in San Francisco for the famed Kezar stadium show on June 2 - simply took it off for the show and used painkillers. He developed a three finger technique for the ensuing shows, but as the tour progressed his playing improved and gradually went back to his normal way of doing things. Here's Jimmy arriving at San Francisco airport. Here he has just arrived at the venue, looking a bit worried: The second time it was two fingers, just as the group was departing from England to play a couple of gigs in Rotterdam and Brussels, on January 11 and 12, 1975; and then the U.S. Tour immediately afterwards. His playing again obviously suffered most in the first gigs after it happened. Robert had health problems at a similar time, and as far as I know, the February 12 performance was the first really strong one on the tour. By Earl's Court in May the band were giving great performances by all accounts (and I'll second that, going from what I've heard of those shows).

Can't recall having seen that. Interesting that he would say that. I couldn't really say, but I'm a little inclined to think the person may have gotten the wrong impression. John Philipps of The Mamas & The Papas was one of the main organizers of the event, and was of course always extremely proud of it - and of the fact that the musicians played for free. Philipps thought Monterey Pop was THE real hippy festival, and that by contrast Woodstock was already very much about money. Don't know, perhaps so. But anyway, John and Michelle Philipps were both so busy with the organization work that, as he put it, 'we almost forgot that we had to perform there as well'..... So The Mamas and The Papas rehearsed very little, and their performance wasn't up to their usual standards. (Not bad at all in my book though; I've always liked them, in fact). Damn, it's so funny to see Cass Elliott's jaw just drop to the floor while Janis is singing. Jesus, there were so many great performances there. Otis Redding was amazing. And Ravi Shankar!

Another Janis fan here, folks. Have the Box of Pearls, and especially love her Pearl album. I've always thought Big Brother & the Holding Company was a bit too raw and primitive a band to accompany such a masterly singer, but I guess people's opinions are divided on that. Still, my fave is watching her at Monterey Pop in '67. She actually wasn't well known then. Shivers down the spine.

Thanks, Jahfin. I'm thinking I might not want to miss it.

^ That's good indeed. I have also bought some tickets for a few upcoming gigs. May 24: Wayne Shorter May 26: Bob Dylan August 8: Eric Clapton Am wondering whether I should get tickets for a Paul Simon show....?

He really made that song his own, didn't he? This is taken from the Does Humor Belong in Music DVD - some great stuff on there.

A new scan, from a French magazine.

Thanks!

Hi there Steve! I've actually just posted the whole thing right here in the Master Forum.