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Tea For One?

zepps_apprentice

By zepps_apprentice
in Led Zeppelin Live

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JRomero

JRomero

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I don't think Led Zeppelin played "Tea For One" live due to its similarities to "Since I've Been Loving You." On the 1977 tour, Jimmy used some of the phrases from "Tea For One" in "Since I've Been Loving You."

Page & Plant, however, did perform the song during their tour of Japan in 1996. Here are some videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP3x-gXg1o8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Xysl53a4PI

Cheers! :D

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georgio

georgio

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Since I've Been Loving You was the better song, and Presence wasn't the greatest Zep release...Tea for One was a little flat for a live show. Ok for a small blues bar I guess. But try doing it in stadiums at the time. It wouldn't have made any sense.

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nellgwen

nellgwen

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I've always wondered about that. I do not agree with the reasons stated here. Tea For One is so much better than Since I've been Loving You. It's heavier, sexier, more adult and sophisticated. They all had to have realized that the second they all had it put together. I place it right next to Tin Pan Alley by Stevie Ray Vaughn in every respect. Someone I met said it is the best white boy blues song yet written. I'll say it's the best British white boy blues song yet written. I'll go even further by saying it's one of Led Zeppelin's top five songs. A far far superior song. It's just more adult, aged like fine wine or good scotch.

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jpp1944q

jpp1944q

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They could have easily swapped out or alternated between SIBLY for "Tea For One" in '77, '79 and '80.

excellent idea,they could even have combined the two somehow.the only thing is that certain sections have two or three overdubs,which can't neccessarily be replaced by keyboards.the jap 1996 version I think has a string section and some other stuff{keyboards}.It sounded good,but I'm not sure zep could easily play it live,one more factor being aslow tempo.
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georgio

georgio

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I think there have been better "white" blues than Tea for One...but great that you like it. Now that I know SIBLY was derived from a Moby Grape song, I tip my hat off to the many blues musicians who paved the path for Zep. That said, there are many nice things about the Presence album that I appreciate and which grow with you over time. It's a pretty melancholy album and it was recorded in a a dark period of the band's career. I think we hear that in Tea for One. But I still think it was a bit minimalist to perform for Zep's generally high octane sets. "No Quarter" was about as moody as they went, along with parts of "Dazed"...

I think it might have worked in 1980 best...if they did perform it at all. I would've ditched Hot Dog!

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huw

huw

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Two possible reasons occur to me:

Firstly, IMHO they didn't seem to put much effort in to updating the set in '77, '79 or '80. Just 2 new songs from Presence, old concert favourites, indulgent jams (I love No Quarter from 73 & 75, but in 77? They went on waaaaay too long). So possibly they just weren't trying very hard at new stuff.

But maybe that's a little harsh..

So the second thing that occurs is that the intro to Tea For One is really difficult to play. I mean a real bastard - the riff turns around over the beat & it's a major headache to count it right. IIRC there was video of P&P stuffing it up at least once when they did it (maybe it weas in one of the links above - I haven't watched them all) and P&P were a lot "healthier" shall we say than Zep in 77. Perhaps it was just too hard for them to consistently nail it?

Edit: went back & listened to Coneyfogle's vid clip - there's a real clunky join between the intro riff & the verse (playing not editing) - maybe that was the one I was thinking of? I'm sure there was an even worse one as well, where it pretty much colapsed...

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DBJ

DBJ

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I think an obvious reason is that Tea For One doesn't have any keyboards on it and Since I've Been Loving you does.

That would like saying Jonesy we're gonna replace a song that prominently feature you on keyboards with one that doesn't.

Personally I prefer Tea for One.

I think it would have been proper if Page/Plant would have played Tea For One instead of SIBLY. Since they didn't have Jones, they should have done the keyboardless blues number. It could have further distinguished them from Zeppelin, and shined a spotlight on a lesser know Zeppelin tune.

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huw

huw

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I think an obvious reason is that Tea For One doesn't have any keyboards on it and Since I've Been Loving you does. That would like saying Jonesy we're gonna replace a song that prominently feature you on keyboards with one that doesn't.

Interesting thought. I think that's possibly a reason as far as the 1977 tour goes.

By Knebworth the set had Jones on keyboards for approx 50% of the gig, so swapping the tunes wouldn't have been so "robbing" of his keyboard moments. However, that was almost a "UK comeback" situation, where I'd guess they'd definitely go for the more well known tune that try to add a number they'd never played live before.

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Dr Death

Dr Death

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While I will never know this to be fact, it is my opinion that they didn't perform Tea For One in 1977, or at all in Zeppelin, because the song is really heavy on the emotional side. You have to remember the circumstances from which this song came to be... Robert's car wreck, the uncertainty if he'd ever properly walk again, his wife lying injured in hospital... to revisit those emotions on a nightly basis may have proven to be a bit much.

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DBJ

DBJ

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They sang "All of My Love" though, which I think would be more emotionally charged.

IMHO though, I think what you said was what caused Bonham's death.

I think the band was really apprehensive about coming back to America. If we look at how the last U.S. tour ended.

Tour had a bad vibe to begin with.

Bonham and associates arrested.

Led Zeppelin Banned from Tampa

Plant's son dies.

Concert promoter vows they will never play in America again

as well as other bad things that happened.

When your in a bad stressful environment, and then your removed from that environment, having to then go back to that where that stress took place can be scary.

I think that is why Bonham drank so much on the eve of his death, the thought of having to return to America for another tour.

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tom kid

tom kid

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I think that it wasn't played because of the emotional factor in the song. Also, by '77 the band were playing stadiums and I don't know if Tea For One would have gone down well.

In regards to the band not changing their set much in '77 or '79 I think they did this because, in my opinion they went from playing what they wanted to play to playing what they think the fans would have wanted/expected. Although, I bet the acoustic set would have been a surprise for many!

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  • 1 month later...
jpp1944q

jpp1944q

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I think there have been better "white" blues than Tea for One...but great that you like it. Now that I know SIBLY was derived from a Moby Grape song, I tip my hat off to the many blues musicians who paved the path for Zep. That said, there are many nice things about the Presence album that I appreciate and which grow with you over time. It's a pretty melancholy album and it was recorded in a a dark period of the band's career. I think we hear that in Tea for One. But I still think it was a bit minimalist to perform for Zep's generally high octane sets. "No Quarter" was about as moody as they went, along with parts of "Dazed"...

I think it might have worked in 1980 best...if they did perform it at all. I would've ditched Hot Dog!

I am a guitarist,and page's solos for live hot dog were terrible.the studio version was good,but any country guitarist knows that as a rule you can't substitute blues licks over country changes.
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Nutrocker

Nutrocker

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I think that it wasn't played because of the emotional factor in the song. Also, by '77 the band were playing stadiums and I don't know if Tea For One would have gone down well.

In regards to the band not changing their set much in '77 or '79 I think they did this because, in my opinion they went from playing what they wanted to play to playing what they think the fans would have wanted/expected. Although, I bet the acoustic set would have been a surprise for many!

(emphasis on the bolded section...)

I've sort of felt the opposite took hold, actually. Why else would they take one of their signature songs, "Whole Lotta Love", and reduce it to two minutes from twenty, yet replace that 18 minutes of performance with Jimmy making wierd noises with his guitar? Or an old Yardbirds piece that came across now more as a clumsy DADGAD tuning exercise? The 1977 tour is the epitome of self indulgent rock and roll, man! Not exactly a setlist full of 'hits' and 'warhorses'. I think they went out there and played for themselves in those days, I really do. The fact is Led Zeppelin had become so self-contained by that point I reckon they had a hard time relating to their audience at all. That said, I don't think ,the odd shoddy performance aside, that they ever fucked their audience over (intentionally). And let's face it, gang, Zep delivered the goods on stage a hell of lot more often then a lotta other bands...for example I've heard a lot more crap Stones performances.

Back to the topic, though...I've always preferred "Tea For One" over "SIBLY"...it just occurred to me that I don't think I would have wanted to see/hear a 1980 Jimmy Page mangle that tune like he did a few of the Europe '80 "SIBLY"'s... :o

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Bill

Bill

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Think about the audience for their shows in the late 70's. Don't you think they would have been a little restless during such a long slow song they probably weren't all that familiar with? SIBLY is more dynamic and was more well known. Remember Presence has never sold well and TFO was rarely played on the radio. Adding TFO to a show that already had White Summer would have bogged it down too much for such a rowdy drunk crowd. Playing it in the 90's to an older more sedate audience that knew the song was much more appropriate.

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jpp1944q

jpp1944q

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I think it might have worked in 1980 best...if they did perform it at all. I would've ditched Hot Dog!

I think in 80' bonzo's furious thrashing would have sunk TFO.page on the other hand I don't think could manage the various overdubs.
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tom kid

tom kid

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I think in 80' bonzo's furious thrashing would have sunk TFO.page on the other hand I don't think could manage the various overdubs.

Page's drug addled playing would have sunk it more like.

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jpp1944q

jpp1944q

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They could have easily swapped out or alternated between SIBLY for "Tea For One" in '77, '79 and '80.

Ithink tea for one was half the speed of SIBLY.To me it resembles I'm gonna crawl,a real slow burner.to tell you the truth,when page played the TFI licks in SIBLY,I thought the song totally lost it's momentum.
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