Re: Speculation +

[Ana Madani <madania@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>I'm curious where most people would say WLL was ripped off from. It hasn't
>dawned on me 
>yet.

This has probably already been covered by the time my post makes it to the
list, but I get the digest and can't avoid posts I don't like either, so:

It's commonly said that the lyrics to WLL were ripped off from a Willie
Dixon song called "You Need Love."  One of the people who said so was
Willie Dixon:  he sued Zep in 1985 after hearing WLL on the radio, and the
case was settled out of court.  (What no one ever seems to point out is
that Dixon himself probably stole the lyric from Robert Johnson or one of
his contemporaries--I did read an article by a  blues columnist proving
this once, but I'm afraid I no longer recall where or when.)  I've never
heard anyone accusing Page of stealing the riff from somewhere else.   And
even if the whole thing was stolen (which it wasn't), why would that stop
LZ from developing it onstage?  One of the principles of good musicianship
is (just my point of view) the ability to improvise, to see what you can do
with a song or idea.  IMO it makes concerts a lot more interesting and
rewarding than just paying your mega-bucks to hear a song reproduced live
exactly like it was on the CD. (Not meant as a flame, BTW, just an
observation.)

>> I'd like to say we'd hear a few numbers
>> from the respective solo years as well, but for some reason, I rather doubt
>> it.  
>You're probably right about this one as well. <sigh> I'd love to hear 'Ship
>Of Fools' or 'In The Mood' or 'If I Were A Carpenter' sung in person and my
>daughter would love to hear 'Emerald Eyes' played in person.

As far as Zep numbers go,  my vote is for "Ten Years Gone."  Probably won't
happen, but idle speculation can include a bit of wishful thinking, can't
it?  Anyway, it isn't really just ten years gone, is it?  (Yes, that is a
rhetorical question.)  Any of the above would be quite nice from the solo
years, but I got a good number of shows from the FoN tour in  '93 and I'm
still  burned out on "In The Mood"  ("You know what <insert name of city
here>? I'm in the mood!") 

Did anyone besides me ever notice quite a few similarities between "Emerald
Eyes" and "Stairway?"  Or that "The Greatest Gift" sounds a lot like
"Stairway" slowed way down?  Now *there's* a song I'd love to hear--can you
imagine how great it would be if Robert sounds half as emotional doing that
song live as he did on record, combined with Page's guitar?  Or "Come Into
My Life?"  No complaints about Richard Thompson's work on the latter, but
live, and with Page, well....

(That's right, I have nothing better to do at 9 pm on a Friday night except
to sit around swilling Guinness and thinking about stuff like this. )

Hmm, nobody's asking for "Shake My Tree" or "Feelin' Hot?" ;-) 

I also think it'd be magic to hear what Page would do with a song like "Big
Log."  And what Plant would do with something like "Midnight Moonlight."
(Then again, did you notice the similarities between "Midnight Moonlight"
and the opening to "Wonderful One?")  

And what about "The Only One?" That number would be ten years gone, after
all. 

Something tells me we'll get a healthy amount of the numbers that were
included on the officially released BBC sessions CD.

>- -With all the talk of what P/P should play on thier next tour, and the
>passing of Rainer has given me a thought. I think it would be a wonderful
>gesture for the boys to play a Ptacek cover (Rude World or something else)
>on the next tour. Exposure to his work, albeit posthumously, would be the
>greatest tribute.

Good idea.  I'm thinking this one will definitely get played.  [Glad you
enjoyed the article too.]

>StH will be in there somewhere...this is their last tour...

Why?!?!

>A brief blurb about the latest Radiohead album in the current issue of
>Mediaweek begins with the question, "Is Radiohead picking up where Led
>Zeppelin left off?" The paragraph then makes mention of the old English
>mansion where the album was recorded, and how the band used different rooms
>to get different sounds for each song. 

Well, a lot of groups record in old English mansions, actually.  The one
where Radiohead recorded "OK Computer" is the same place where The Cure
recorded "Wild Mood Swings."

>In particular, one song was recorded
>in a large front hall for a big, echoey sound. It then concludes, "What
>would Jimmy Page have to say?"

Since he called Radiohead's "The Bends" one of the best albums he heard
last year (source:  Mojo magazine), I'd expect he'd be quite pleased.  At
least they're not stealing his music and shouting at him.

Cheers,
Ana





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