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dpat

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Posts posted by dpat

  1. Interesting question! 

    I would hazard a guess that Bonham did not know of Peart's playing, due to Rush's lack of popularity in England in the 1970s.

    Rush didn't get really famous in England (Bonham's home) until their 1980 album release, "Permanent Waves," (Spirt of Radio, Freewill) as the album charted in the U.K. charts to the #3 position.  [Previously, I believe, only 1977's "A Farewell to Kings" charted in the U.K. to #22, probably because of the "Closer to the Heart" track.]  Rush's 1981 "Moving Pictures" (Tom Sawyer, Limelight) help them to become even more famous, but by then, sadly Bonham had departed us.

    Was Bonham a fan of (what we now call) "classic rock" back in late 1970s, 1980?  It was somewhat uncool to be during that period in England -- and maybe one of the reasons why Zeppelin steered "In Through the Out Door" to a more "pop," less hard rock sound overall.

    If John did hear Peart's playing, it may have been on the 1977 tour in the U.S.? I don't know.  Like other posters here have commented, probably the only person who might know is his son, Jason.

  2. One of my all-time favorite Zep tunes, but always wondered a few things about this song:

    1)  "Try it fryin' " refers to free-basing cocaine, correct?  If so, Zep (in late 1975) possibly was on the forefront to know about this practice before it became common public knowledge of how to do that, I believe, in the later 1970s/early 1980s.  Free-basing wasn't invented until 1970.  [And, for you newbies, crack was not even invented yet].  And I only know this by what I read on The Internets -- 'cuz it never lies, correct?

    2) Was this song referencing (in part) a death that occurred at Page's house while they were on tour in 1975?  Or was this just a rumor (the death)?  If so, not much more is know regarding the tragic circumstances, is there?

    Thanks.

  3. I always wondered why HE didn't bring out HIS own definitive song book just for HIS personal clarity then HE wouldn't have had to rely on someone else's interpretation of HIS pronunciations. And where are the original scripts or the songs themselves? I would have thought He would have cherished them as much as HIS children as we all know how the years play havoc with the memory don't we.

    Yes, this has been my complaint for many a-year ... Plant should realize the musically historical significance of the Led Zeppelin catalog (being that it hovers very close to that of the Beatles and Rolling Stones in the rareified air of REALLY "classic rock") and set the record straight for once and all ... he says he's forgotten some of the lyrics, but if he sat down and took to the task seriously, I'm sure he could remember most --if not all-- of what he wrote. Otherwise, he's gonna end up with lunkheads like myself trying to guess at what he was singing ... :blink:

  4. Robertt Plant around 1975 has said this song was about a rememberance of a woman whom he ended a relationship with (in 1964 or '65 as a sixteen-year-old making it 10 years?) who made him choose between her or his music, wondering if they could relate to each other anymore, and that she would probably be more concerned with her washing machine, and he, his latest sports car (or something like that) ... I'm gonna try to decipher his (many times) obtuse lyrics:

    Then, as it was, then again it will be

    and though the course may change sometimes

    rivers always reach the sea

    What will be, will be ... que sera, sera?

    Blind skies of fortune, each have separate ways

    He had to take the chance for fame & fortune; she took the safe/comfortable way out.

    On the wings of maybe, downing birds of prey

    Taking chances, but are 'birds' --English for 'chicks' slang for women-- of prey those who want to shoot him down?

    Kinda makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to go

    but as the eagle leaves the nest, he's got so far to go

    Wishes he didn't have to leave her, but he had to take his chance at the life of a singer.

    Changes fill my time

    Baby, that's alright with me

    In the midst, I think of you and how it used to be

    Pretty straight-forward here; he found his fame & fortune, and is currently reminiscing about her.

    Did you ever really need somebody and really need 'em bad

    Did you ever really want somebody, the best love you ever had

    "First loves" can be pretty intense; is Plant saying she was the woman he loved most?? Or are these just some lyrics he had laying around in his notebook that he thought would fit in nice with the musical bridge? I really dont' know...(sorry, but the pun is totally unintended).

    Do you ever remember me, baby, did it feel so good

    'cause it was just the first time, and you knew you would

    First love for the both of them? ... and is the 'you knew you would' part about (a) she would have to dump him eventually, or (b ) she knew she would fall in love? and/or have sex? I'm at a loss here ...

    Do the eyes not sparkle, senses growing keen

    Questioning if her life is utterly boring now.

    Taste the love along the way, see your feathers preen

    Whole lotta chicks for Percy, fixing up his looks before the concerts, or to 'pick up chicks.'

    Kinda makes me feel sometimes, didn't have to go

    We are eagles of one lair, the nest is in our soul

    Lair is a resting place for an animal; we all want the same things? A happy home? This seems a contradiction to what Percy's been saying in most of the song. Is he having second thoughts?

    Vixen in my dreams, with great surprise to me

    Never thought I'd see your face the way it used to be

    Hey, hey mama, said the way you move...; pretty straight-forward here.

    Oh, darlin', oh, darlin', oh, oh darlin', hey-yeah, oh darlin'

    I'm never gonna leave ya

    Wh-wh-what??? In fact, he DID leave her! Or is he trying to justify things in his mind that he has indeed found his resting place with his wife at the time?

    Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone

    Holding on to what? I know 'to hold on' means the same as 'to hang in there' against the odds, but is he pining for his first love, too? Seems to be.

    I'm never gonna leave ya

    Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone

    Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone

    Ten years gone, holdin' on, yeah, yeah

    I said

    Ten years gone, holdin' on, ten years gone

    I said, I'm never, I'm never, I'm never, oh, woo, yeah, yeah

  5. This is difficult, as I don't dislike many Zep tracks ...

    I: BLACK MOUNTAIN SIDE

    II: THANK YOU (I know I'm in the minority here, but if it helps, Living Loving Maid was a very close 2nd)

    III: THAT'S THE WAY (yep, I think Hats Off (to that Harper dude) is pretty cool)

    IV: GOING TO CALIFORNIA

    Houses: D'YER MAK'ER

    Graffiti: BOOGIE WITH STU (with Ten Years Gone a close 2nd)

    Presence: NOBODY'S FAULT BUT MINE

    Song Remains: RAIN SONG (live version sounds WAY too similar to studio release 'cept for Jonesy solo)

    THE OUT DOOR: FOOL IN THE RAIN (Hot Dog rocks)

    CODA: I CAN'T QUIT YOU BABY

  6. I like most of it. I think WE ALL were expecting something much more majestic, or timeless. Those days will never return, mainly because of Bonham's passing ...

    BEST SONGS: Most High, Upon a Golden Horse, Burning Up, House of Love, Walking Into Clarksdale

    OKAY SONGS: Blue Train (could have been shortened up), Shining In The Light, Please Read the Letter, Sons of Freedom

    WEAK SONGS: When the World Was Young, Heart in Your Hand, When I Was a Child

    But, that's like, just my opinion, maaaan.

  7. Yeah, I'm not really disputing the medical accuracy of the statement, it's more a. the bland phrasing and b. claiming that Rock'n'Roll died on that day? It's just a completely meaningless quote!

    I wouldn't say that rock 'n' roll has ever died, but certainly by 1978 rolled around (I know John Henry passed in 1980), it all seemed to have climaxed, as the creative peak that began in the mid-1950s with guys like Ike Turner & Little Richard, as well as the relatively unknown country singers AMPED to the tits on amphetamines doing fast versions of their music that would morph into what is known today as "rockabilly." Rock music would become more creative each and every year (with maybe the early 1960s being a dry period). Otherwise, rock music got better each year. Up until the end of 1977 did rock start to sputter and repeat itself. Even punk rock had its apex by then. Oh sure, there are still rock masterpieces still being created, but the past 30 years or so, they've seem few and far between. But that's just my opinion, man.

  8. Didn't Richard Cole (ugh) say that the members of the band in the early daze would refer to Jimmy as "the old lady," because he (not Robert) spent so much time in the mirror trying to get his hair 'just right'?

  9. From the point of view of a Briton:

    * Robbie Williams is a male singer. You couldn't gather that he was an artist, and not a band, from his name? Whilst relevant, he was hugely popular and successful. Both as a solo artist and as part of one of our biggest bands from the '90's.

    * Oasis are massive over here, so whilst they aren't to the same degree in the US, that was never the point of the list, was it? And they don't fight each other.

    * Simply Red, whilst not my cup of tea, were well-known and popular. They still are to their followers.

    * Cliff Richard has had number one's in every decade since the 1950's. He's on par with Elvis.

    * Westlife is an Irish boyband that pretty much took every number one spot with every single they did.

    * The Shadows were an instrumental rock and roll band that, I dare say, influenced many later rock outfits (you're on their forum). Not only popular during the 1950's, '60's and '70's, their lead singer was also one of our most successful male singers - Cliff Richard.

    You make me laugh. You're disputing a UK chart listing from an American point of view. Of course it's gonna go over your head. And what's with all the 'WTF is a...?' That's like me asking 'WTF is a Led Zeppelin?'

    Hi LongDistanceWinner,

    My apologies; I was just trying to have a bit o' fun that evidently wasn't so evident! (I did write I was PLAYING the Ugly American; thought that was a hint).

    But I'm like that sometimes ... I probably have should just wrote that Robbie Williams is almost completely unknown over here, etc., Cliff Richard only had one charted song (I knew he was a legend across the pond), and Westlife I heard a girl mention to me once in the 1990s.

    It's just interesting how different the charts from one country to the next; how certain acts are HUGE in one place and unknown in another. I was just trying to point that out.

    I meant no offense ...

    All the best,

    dpat

    P.S.: The WTF bit was a take on how a certain ethnic group here in the States talks. That's what's a downer about writing: You don't hear the inflection in a person's voice to tell when he is serious or not. Of course, if I was a better writer we wouldn't have that problem...

  10. From a view from the United States (I'll play The Ugly American):

    • WTF is a Robbie Williams?!!
    • Oasis has a so-so following over here; their biggest hit was "Wonderwall" or whatever it was called. All we hear is that the Gallagher brothers fight each other.
    • Simply Red had a couple of hits (Holding Back the Years; If You Don't Blow Me Right Now)
    • Only one hit (and a good 'un) for Cliff Richard: "(She's Just a) Evil Woman (with evil on her mind)"
    • WTF is a Westlife?!!
    • Weren't The Shadows a band from the 1950s? They were surf rockers or something similar. If so, kudos to them for selling a gazillion albums!

  11. This is the 'UK Top Selling Album Artists' list (to end of 2006)

    7.Robbie Williams - 15.760m

    11.Oasis - 13.033m

    12.Simply Red - 12.466m

    18.Cliff Richard - 11.096m

    24.Westlife - 9.271m

    27.The Shadows - 9.088m

    From a view from the United States (I'll play The Ugly American):

    • WTF is a Robbie Williams?!!
    • Oasis has a so-so following over here; their biggest hit was "Wonderwall" or whatever it was called. All we hear is that the Gallagher brothers fight each other.
    • Simply Red had a couple of hits (Holding Back the Years; If You Don't Blow Me Right Now)
    • Only one hit (and a good 'un) for Cliff Richard: "(She's Just a) Evil Woman (with evil on her mind)"
    • WTF is a Westlife?!!
    • WTF is a Shadows? Weren't they a band from the 1950s? The band name sounds like they were surf rockers or something similar. If so, kudos to them.

  12. By the way, Jeff Beck looks alike like (in my opinion) Ronnie Wood. Same hairstyle.

    Yes, they do. I think Jeff had that hairstyle before Ronnie Wood. Even then, they might have got the style from Rod Stewart. Difficult to tell.

    JeffBeckGroup.jpg

    beckgroup.jpg

    Here's a link to Jeff & Ronnie playing Beck's hit at an ARMS concert,

    Ronnie isn't shown until about 5:00 into song.
  13. Steve do you have an anecdote as to why the tensions were so high that day ...enough to get Plant to take desperate measures to try to elevate the spirits?

    You know you are getting a little jaded when the photogs have to bring strippers to keep you amused!!

    I never heard there were tensions for the photo shoot. If there were, my guesses are:

    --Bonzo mad as he did not know everyone else was going to show up as a fashionista.

    --Percy had to wear a tie (I don't think I've ever seen him wear one before or since).

    --Funny thing about Jimmy & His Hair, riding in a convertible to the shoot. What was it that Grant used to call him behind his back when Pagey used to primp his hair in the mirror??

    --Jonesy was worried the strippers might be from New Orleans and/or were transvestites.

    :D

  14. Road crew

    Joe Jammer - guitars.

    I think Joe "Jammer" Wright only was with the band for the 1969 tours, and left to start his own career. I've met him before, and he is an incredible guitarist himself. He started out as an in-house guy for the Kinetic Circus in Chicago, and got to work with Jimi Hendrix and the The Who among others. He's out-dueled Joe Perry of Aerosmith in a cutting contest. He's done session work for countless stars.

    He was managed by Peter Grant for a while and can recall many stories of "G" (Peter Grant), as well as the four lads.

    He never hit the "big time," but he continues to this day seems to be at his happiest jamming on his guitar.

    Joe Jammer info

  15. Jay Leno during the monologue beginning his Tonight Show (on Monday, Feb. 9th) evidently caught the Grammys and asked the audience (paraphrasing), "When did Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin turn into the Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz?"

    They then showed on the screen a side by side comparion of the two (Percy and Cowardly Lion).

    I took a couple of tries myself at their comparison:

    http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=3379777

    http://mine.icanhascheezburger.com/view.aspx?ciid=3379572

    Robert again was confronted with the inevitable question Sunday in the post-Grammy interview tent about his future involvement in any Zeppelin tour.

    "How old are you, man?" Plant responded. "Because you look older than me. You try to do 'Communication Breakdown' in these pants."

    BDE39EDF-9615-AD22-B5792DB4102FF49F.jpg

  16. Who are these guys?

    RPwithothersshirtlesshipbone.jpg

    And is Robert playing a Thunderbird in that pic? Wow.

    That's Bill Graham on the left ... BUT WHO IS THE DUDE ON THE RIGHT??

    He is seen a lot backstage in The Song Remains the Same movie.

  17. Great shot! I had always wondered if Elton John crossed paths with any of the Zeppers. They never mention each other but they were both HUGE around the same time. I always thought maybe there was some sort of bad blood(no pun intended)

    I remember a EJ quote saying, even when he was at his height of fame, he couldn't draw audiences as big as Zeppelin's.

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