Led Zeppelin - Since I've Been Loving You (July 1973) Madison Square Garden

I know, I know. I hear you saying "are you going mad you’ve just posted this track?". Well forgive me, that was a studio re-mastered version.

Before you pass on this, please just indulge me. Watch and listen to this masterful LIVE performance from 1973.

I won’t say anymore than just LEGENDARY!

Since I've Been Loving You (1990 Remaster)

From the Led Zeppelin III album, this one’s definitely got its feet dipped in the blues. I love the nice long lead-in employing the Hammond Organ until Robert Plant’s amazing voice kicks in. We are also then treated to the effortless backing combo of John Paul Jones’ bass line (produced simultaneously with his organ part throughout via bass pedals instead of bass guitar) And last but not least John Bonham’s unique runs on drums. If that’s not enough, in comes an amazing guitar solo by Jimmy Page who also, throughout, demonstrates a fantastic ability to change his sound in harmony with Robert Plant’s delivery. A truly wonderous performance with elements of rock mixed in.

By the end, can we honestly say which of these is the better musician? As said in an earlier post, people often think of Led Zeppelin just for their 3 or 4 signature songs such as the pumping “Whole Lotta Love”, “Stairway to Heaven”, etc. This performance exemplifies their maybe less well known music and again demonstrates a wide ranging ability from each band member.

Nick Drake - River Man

I believe it was my son that first introduced me to Nick Drake. He had a significant influence on so many artists during his short life, he died aged 26 in strange circumstances in 1974.

He left behind a fairly small but exquisite body of work, the tragedy being that he came to fame after he died.

Someone once said you never forget the first time you listened to Nick Drake. Mine was the first of hundreds. See what you think…

Led Zeppelin - How Many More Times (Danmarks Radio 1969)

The studio recording of this track was done in 1968 for their first album “Led Zeppelin”, however this introductory performance is a shockingly good, Live exposé of their individual artistry.

"I’d like to introduce Led Zeppelin to you" and rock ‘n roll was changed forever. This audience were typical of the day, very reserved, and you wonder if they understood what they were witnessing. This was 1969 for goodness sake! The drummer, John Bonham and Robert Plant the singer were just 20 years old, Jimmy Page lead guitar is 25 and John Paul Jones on base is 24. Already each one is a master of his art.

I personally feel incredibly lucky to be born when I was. At this point I had just turned 18 and starting out as a mature student. We had just lived our teenage years through the most incredible decade with The Beatles influence and here we were poised for the next Rock, Folk and Hippy revolution. For me, this started with a bang as in the early Summer of 1970 at Shepton Mallett, I attended one of the forerunners of Glastonbury, the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music

The Music Gods of the future were assembled in what seems now like an incredible set list that included Fairport Convention, Johnny Winter, Steppenwolf, John Mayall, Canned Heat, Pink Floyd, Santana, The Byrds, Moody Blues, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Led Zeppelin, Donovan(Guest) and Jefferson Airplane.

It rained apart from when Zeppelin came on and then the sun came out. They were late because Robert Plant got stuck in a Bath traffic jam, so the Hell’s Angels went to get him. Meanwhile, Donovan was in the crowd and to our rapturous astonishment went on stage and played a set!

Here is a silent clip of this ground breaking Festival

In closing, many of us will know and recognise Led Zeppelin's top, commercially successful tracks… “Whole Lotta Love” and “Stairway to Heaven” (I will post these at some point), but I wanted to lay down some of the early beginnings of Led Zeppelin first and also cover some of their lesser known work.

Nightwish Got Me!

What’s the connection between Phantom of the Opera and Symphonic Metal? I would suggest the Dutch singing sensation Floor Jansen.

I was browsing through my usual YouTube channels and stumbled across this little show, very popular in Holland, called “Beste Zangers” (Best Singers). The performer’s names meant nothing to me, however I love this particular Opera and am always reminded of duets between Sarah Brightman and various others going way back. This clip seemed to be getting a lot of attention and so I listened and was immediately struck by Floor’s high octane voice. Watch it through and you’ll see what I mean.

The actual performance for the show was in April 2019 at resort Atzaró on Ibiza Island. Hosted by Jan Smit. Not only Jansen & Poort ( and the other 5) sang live, also the Marcel Fisser band performed live! They also deserve credit.

Well that got me curious and I discovered that, apart from being super popular on this current Dutch TV series, Floor was a long-standing member of the Finnish ‘Symphonic Metal’ group called Nightwish since around 2013. A quick search on YouTube and I fell right into a Nightwish number called Ghost Love Score performed in 2013 at Wacken Open Air which is an open-air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in summer in the village of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany.

If you thought the above was good, fight any aversions you might have to the ‘Metal’ genre and watch this next clip of that performance to the end. You might gain a new respect for Floor Jansen and may even, like me, become hooked on multiple plays of this and  other Nightwish performances out there in YouTube land!

Girl from the North Country - Bob Dylan

I remember being laid up in bed ill, probably 1967/8 and well after Bob Dylan’s album “The Free Wheelin’ Bob Dylan” was released. My mate lent me a stack of his albums to listen to and that turned me into a Dylan junkie. Besides being big into the usual Beatles, R&B and Progressive Rock bands of the era, we were also enjoying the hippy, protest and folk movement culture and this guy became the mouthpiece for a generation.

I selected this track from the album, a love song aching with nostalgia, because it is one of my absolute favourites from him. I have discovered this live, set-piece performance, which is obviously not quite the studio quality of the album track, but in B&W takes on mood of the lyrics.

Adele – When We Were Young (Live)

I could listen to this lady untiringly. Now waiting for her to burst forth with her next heart stopping album, “30”, slated for release in Dec 2019.

Her last studio album “25” was released nearly 4 years ago. I have selected this track from the album to shine a light on her vocal attributes. “When We Were Young” amply demonstrates Adele’s power, low and high range capability, the clever shading and textures and changes of register she uniquely employs. She’s also not afraid to use voice breaks to render emotion, although apparently she had a cold in this session which maybe helped.

Peter Gabriel - Don't Give Up (ft. Kate Bush)

Peter Gabriel has a very fitting surname. He has a voice like an angel. One of the greatest male voices of all time in my opinion….and he gives a fine lesson in how to hug your woman!

On a darker note however, his wife allegedly said "I saw an article in a newspaper about a woman who jumped out of a huge block of flats with her child and killed herself. I gave it to Peter and it was the original inspiration and he was heartbroken to read it. However his lyrics are always multi-layered with many different influences."

I first remember him from his days with early Genesis and after leaving he went on to produce a lot of fine music. I have always loved Kate Bush and this is a favourite of mine from his 1986 Album “So” which demonstrates both of their singing talents.

Jeff Lynne’s ELO – Turn to Stone (Live)

Carrying on with our ELO appreciation, "Turn to Stone" is a 1977 song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). The song is the opening track to the double album “Out of the Blue”. It was the first song released as a single from the LP.

Not the original, I have selected a near perfect live rendition from the ELO line-up of 2017. Jeff is still a very present and relevant music genius. John Lennon once said if The Beatles had kept going they would have sounded like ELO… what a complement to Jeff Lynne.

ELO – Rockaria!

The Electric Light Orchestra came to prominence during the 1970’s, being originally formed, in tandem with members of Birmingham group The Move, Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan. Appropriate genres are combinations of Progressive Rock, Pop and Classical. In their use of electric strings you can hear Beatlesque influences. They certainly don't behave like normal string players. A few years before, the idea of cellos and violins playing together with guitars, bass and drums was often heard as backing to Beatles classics. ELO brought strings to the fore to make it look and sound like they always belonged together.

“Rockaria!” was the third track on the band's successful 1976 album, A New World Record and was the second single from the album.

Kate Rusby–Underneath the Stars

I fell under Kate’s spell many years ago now and have literally lost count of the number of times we have been to see her. We avidly book her local appearances as well as being regular weekend residents at her annual Folk Festival, Underneath the Stars at Cawthorne near Barnsley.

Known as the ‘Barnsley Nightingale’, Kate is for us the quintessential, leading light of English Folk music. Her voice has that Northern lilt and this song became a foundation of the festivals, also title tune of this album of yet more spellbinding trad and self-penned tunes. I will certainly be returning to Kate at a later date.

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd - 1994

Arguably one of the best performances of one of the best guitar solos ever. Pink Floyd, cerebral poets of rock, put on a live performance of this classic track from their Album, Dark Side of the Moon. It took place at Earl’s Court, London as part of the 1994 Division Bell tour.

The singing, lyrics, audio and harmony are all laid before us with a stupendous light show. This performance had it all and literally takes you on a trip! Surely David Gilmour must rank as one of the top 5 exponents of the electric guitar in a very crowded field.

Not only that, the vocal skill with which he bridges across the ascending stages of this epic are perfect for the haunting lyrics and mood of the piece.

I intend to revisit all the tracks from the album in future posts. Meanwhile, just sit back and let this one sink in!

Welcome!

So what’s this about!

First and foremost it’s a personal blog about my favourite music.

Secondly, an aide memoire to the best sources for celebrating the artists and tracks that have impressed me the most, usually a YouTube or other video.

Thirdly, to share it with other music lovers (aren’t we all), to take in their views, expertise and personal knowledge.

Lastly, discover new music that I have missed. I will take suggestions for further posts from you in the comments section (this would need a web link, usually to a video and a short message with why the artist/track impressed you). I will feature the best and most requested ones in a subsequent post.