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Track by Track Day 4: Dazed and Confused


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I didn't even do prior research for this one. Didn't feel like it because I already know so much. What I don't know is who made the original. The original was covered by The Yardbirds in their live acts while Jimmy Page was in the band. I believe it was called "I'm So Confused" at some point. Page used the bow on it and took the song to be used with his new band. Live versions of the song can last a very long time (20 minutes +). I think it's a great song, maybe my second favorite after Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. Feels good to play it when I have frustrations with women. I think I liked it more when I was a bit younger though. Still love it but it doesn't do the same for me now as it did then.

Opinions? Anything to add?

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jake holmes was the songs composer

he's not too happy about the fact that he's never received a credit for it either. i read an artice with him recently (i think it was in record collector magazine) where he said that he'd written to jimmy several times asking to have his name included in the credits but has never received any reply. he also said he felt the reason for this was that jimmy was now so associated with the song through the visual image of him using the violin bow that to admit to "borrowing" it would look bad for him

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I love the studio version, I can live without the half hour live versions. I love on the studio version the high pitched screaming riff that Page didn't play on the live versions. It's also one of Pages best solo's, just pure energy. Great drumming from Bonzo on this song, especially after the solo.

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It seems like the Yardbirds' version is waaay closer to Jake Holmes version, if anything, he should blame the Yardbirds for stealing it. At any rate, Zeppelin basically took it and made it completely their own. I love the 30 minute TSRTS and HTWWW versions more than the studio versions because I love all different sections and riffs that come out of it, riffs that could (and were) used in songs later on. The '75 versions with Joni Mitchell's 'Woodstock' in the place of 'San Francisco' are great too, but the bow sections in those are IMO a little too discordant and screachy!

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Another Guitar and singing song that take's you for a nice ride! The studio cut is tight and on the mark while the live cut is sorta lose around the edges.

From the start of both version's you think it's the same but as soon as Robert Plant start's singing the opening line's it apparent witch one your hearing.

This is also the song for Jimmy Page's little movie sequence in the film "The Song Remains The Same". The shot of him climbing up the hill to get to the old guy (turns out to be himself) with the lamp then showing a pictorial history of him getting young and then old again it's quite off the wall! But I think I get the point.

Anyways, a good song from the first album too! B)

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More bow history, according to Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch:

Eddie Phillips used the bow for the British band Creation in the mid 60s.

Page is rumored to have been inspired by Phillips, but this is actually not the case.

The idea was suggested by a musician Page was associated with through his session work: the father of actor David McCallum--a session violinist.

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More bow history, according to Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch:

Eddie Phillips used the bow for the British band Creation in the mid 60s.

Page is rumored to have been inspired by Phillips, but this is actually not the case.

The idea was suggested by a musician Page was associated with through his session work: the father of actor David McCallum--a session violinist.

Eddie Phillips didnt use the bow anything like Page. He used it like a chainsaw where Page actually used it like a violin bow. You can hear Phillips use it on "Making Time" by the Creation. It's on the Rushmore soundtrack & I'm sure on youtube.

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Dazed and Confused is without doubt my favorite rock song of all time. The following piece, written as a young college student, was published by Zoso magazine (#63) in 1992. I still get a kick out of it so I thought I would share...

Led Zeppelin, the only way to fly. When I need to blast off into the realm of fantasy, I book all my flights with Led Zeppelin. Each song carries me off to its own fantastic destination and is sure to bring me back home safely.

For a trip into madness, there is nothing quite like "Dazed and Confused." This song is the epitome of a mental orgasm. The journey begins when my heartbeat starts to reflect the eerieness of the opening bass line. Suddenly, the echoing guitar slices through me with its otherworldly sound. As the singer bursts out with the tortured cry, "I've been dazed and confused for so long it's not true!," I immediately wonder if I am prepared for what is to come. The thunderous beat of the drums kick in and my body finds itself in spasm, moving like a jackhammer. I realize there is no turning back.

These four musical elements begin to work together, intricately weaving emotions into a pattern of fluctuating intensity. The final and most devestating musical drive blooms into the melancholy of infinite silence. It is to this unfathomable depth that the invocation is directed. After the guitarist ritualistically introduces his magic wand, a violin bow, he proceeds to use it on his guitar. The sounds conjured up are at once terrifying and blissful. As the haunting music builds to its climax, my conception of reality liquefies and slips away from grip. All that remains is the presence of the infinite in which I am completely immersed. Mental orgasm.

When the peak ends and the wand is put away, reality is given a chance to solidify. But wait! Before I can get a sure gripping, the band takes off into a frenzy of utter chaos. I find myself caught between worlds, bouncing off the cosmic riffs that are spewing out from the guitar. Flashing from reality to reality I can't stop thinking of my helplessness as the singer's primal cries vibrate through to the very core of my existence.

Relief comes when I find my body moving in that jackhammer groove once again. This is a sure sign that the trip is almost over. A wicked smile comes over my face when I realize where the music has taken me. As the song comes to an end, I give a sigh of satisfaction. Led Zeppelin, the only way to fly.

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For me, one of what I would call a signature song. You automatically think "Led Zeppelin" when Dazed and Confused is mentioned. The live versions were probably longer than needed but, it was opportunities for the band to expand, experiment and develop.

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