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Contest: Favorite Zeppelin tune

Rupe

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Back during my first year of college I would come home pretty much every night drunk and/or stoned, put Zeppelin IV (Zoso) on the turntable, and lay down and mellow out with my Koss headphones on. When the Levee breaks, black dog, Rock and Roll were awesome but the battle of evermore was Over the top. I had never heard guitar like that before and it just blew me away.

Ever since then I have been a HUGE Zeppelin freak and have pretty much everything that they have put out. Zeppelin moments that have stuck out for me over the years:

- Getting a chill watching the string players get totally into it when Page and Plant did Cashmere on MTV Unplugged
- When Caddilac used Rock and Roll for a TV commercial. I always thought Cadillacs were for grandpas but that commercial made me rethink it for sure.
- introducing my son to Zeppelin and then having him do me proud. When he was 11 he was wearing a Zeppelin shirt at a family gathering when my wife's cousin asked him what his favorite Zeppelin song was in an attempt to make him look like a poser. His reply?.....Moby Dick! My wife's cousin just sat there with his mouth open not knowing what to say. Dad was very proud.
- A couple of years ago I put together a playlist of music that I gave to my brother to be played at my funeral in the event that I should suffer an untimely death. In My Time of Dying is at the top of that list.
- The Headley Grange is my favorite cigar but loving it all the more after finding out that it was based on the opening drum riff from When The Levee Breaks.
 
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redneck_toy

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Bron-Y-Aur means golden breast in welsh. It's the name of an old farmhouse they retreated to to write numerous songs, and most of Zep III.
Headly Grange is the name of an ancient poorhouse used by numerous bands to record in because of the acoustics ,specifically the stairwell, where they stuck Bonhams drum kit in to record the ever popular "When The Levee Breaks"

One more tidbit. On Zeppelin III, the song "Hats off to (Roy) Harper", is about a popular folk singer from that era that was hanging around the studios during mixing of the album. Always wondered what he sang, and last year, I watched a Pink Floyd Documentary. On the album "wish you were here", Roger Waters was having trouble laying down the vocals for "Have a Cigar" the way the band wanted for the right sound. Roy Harper was hanging around the studio, and told them he knew exactly how the lyrics should sound.
He layed down the vocals to "have a cigar" for them to hear. The band liked his version so much that they used his vocals. Roy didn't even want credit for the song.
So, in short, if you ever so wondered how he sounds, listen to "have a cigar" cause that's Roy Harper singing.
 

redneck_toy

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Alright, after reading through these again, I think @SeaGarr had the response I related to the most. It was really harder than I thought to pick a winner. Thanks for humoring me, and playing along guys! I appreciate it. I may post up another contest before long. Working on some other ideas.
SeaGarr, pm me an addy please sir
 
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Man, so many songs to choose from.

When I was in to power lifting Immigrant Song was my favorite. That opening vocal falling into the first verse would get me hopping up and down in the squat rack. Then when Plant sings, " Valhalla, I am coming!" I would come up with the weight. That verse drove me to my first 340lb squat at 190lbs.

As a teenager Ramble On was my favorite for a while. I had a messed up family life to go on top of the usual pubescent bullshit. So, to me that song was like a fantasy. "For now I smell the rain And with it pain, and it's headed my way Sometimes I grow so tired But I know I've got one thing I got to do. . ." and then my best friend moved half way across the country. So, another verse became very emotional for me.
Got no time to for spreading roots
The time has come to be gone
And to our health we drank a thousand times
It's time to ramble on

I just wanted to escape my life and that song encapsulated my ultimate dream when I was fifteen.

Moby Dick was also a big favorite of mine. I had never heard drumming like that until I got my hands on a copy of Led Zeppelin II. It was explosive, brutal, refined, and complex.

Out On The Tiles was a favorite because it didn't sound like a love song, but it was. The arrangement makes it sound like the guy might actually be a stalker, but if you don't think of it as having an unreliable narrator, it was a great change from the 80s and 90s power ballads I grew up hearing on the radio.

Oh, and Nobody's Fault But Mine. The way Plant's vocal riffing quotes that futuristic scifi guitar sound, then there is the false ending to build tension, and bam it the rhythm section falls on you like a ton of bricks. Then they keep playing with the tension and release through out the whole using variations on it to keep things uncertain and build a sense of excitement. It was definitely arranged and produced by somebody with a great vision and understanding of musical dynamics.

ETA:
This was not meant as an entry. I just wanted to keep the thread alive. lol
 

8ball

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Alright, after reading through these again, I think @SeaGarr had the response I related to the most. It was really harder than I thought to pick a winner. Thanks for humoring me, and playing along guys! I appreciate it. I may post up another contest before long. Working on some other ideas.
SeaGarr, pm me an addy please sir
Congrats on the win @SeaGarr. @redneck_toy, thank you for the contest, very cool idea.
 
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Holly Cow! I never win! WOOT - That's awesome! Thanks!

Ok so as I was writing my response, I got carried away with the memories and forgot to mention that I was playing for the pleasure of playing! I mean, I just wanted to play because your question inspired a mindset that was so fun to recall, but my wife (best wife ever) has that set. Hence, "I" have that set and someone else who doesn't really should get it as it's - awesome. :).

That is to say - you'll need to expose the "runner-up." :)

Again, thank you. You have no idea how happy it is that you related to my post @redneck_toy - sometimes you throw stuff out on the net and... well, you leave yourself open.

Great contest!!
 
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Wish I would have seen this thread sooner!! I'm loving it though and have Zeppelin going in the background for the day now. Most all Zeppelin tunes just straight kick ass... When the Levee Breaks is probably at the top of the list because the beat, harmonica, and flow of the song just stirs shit up inside of me. Houses of the Holy, Whole Lotta Love, way too many to list that always get me going. It's the music I'm always cranking while I brew. Great contest!!
 

redneck_toy

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Alright @SeaGarr, I didn't read the posts before I replied to your pm, disregard that. If, in true BOTL fashion, want to PIF, here is what I propose. You sift through all the posts, and this time you declare a winner. That'd be an interesting twist on this, right?

Edit: include all the "late" entries,too.
 
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Alright @SeaGarr, I didn't read the posts before I replied to your pm, disregard that. If, in true BOTL fashion, want to PIF, here is what I propose. You sift through all the posts, and this time you declare a winner. That'd be an interesting twist on this, right?

Edit: include all the "late" entries,too.
Ok!! Sounds like fun! I'll pick a winner tonight somewhere between 8 and 10pm Central Time!
 
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I'll go back and read the posts after....I didn't want to be influenced. It is a difficult question, and like favorite cigars, I'd probably answer differently in a week or a month....but, at the moment (and most weeks), I think I must answer: Rain Song. And I HATE rock ballads. The concept should have been banned after Houses of the Holy was released. The orchestration was masterful; Plant was at his absolute best; Page's work on this literally gives me a lump in my throat every time I hear it.
"It is to You I give this tune...."
 
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