When a band has enjoyed a tremendous influence on the music industry, it’s fun to look back at what, in turn, was their influence. For Led Zeppelin, a large portion of their style came from the blues, which the band made heavier with a hard rock infusion. The unique concoction gave them an unstoppable sound that, for many, still hasn’t been topped to this day.
In taking a well-known genre and putting their own unique twist on it, Led Zeppelin developed a style that was instantly accessible, as it represented something new but not so far removed from the recognisable that people couldn’t connect with it. Pair that with the musical ability that each member of the band boated, and it was always going to be a recipe for success.
That being said, having their foundations so deep-rooted in the blues was also a problem. Sure, the band had a recognisable sound, but it came from a genre that relied heavily on live music and improvisation. As such, committing some of their songs to wax and getting music recorded became a struggle, as the band had issues with time signatures and pinning down what variation of their improvisation they wanted to be timeless.
For that reason, one song in particular that Led Zeppelin struggled with recording was the now-classic, ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’. It entered their live set before they ever considered recording it, and when the time eventually came to press the big red button, the band couldn’t get it right.
The minute the song starts, that blues influence is instantly apparent. That string, dragged up, slowly plucked, is reminiscent of a BB King song. Robert Plant scatters his vocals, repeating and emphasising different words like he’s only just reading them for the first time; it’s all intrinsically blues. That unmistakable sound is why people like the song, but getting it right in the recording booth was a nightmare.
When the band played it live, they had the luxury of making mistakes. When performing, they would stretch the song out and experiment with it while trying different times to pull back and go all in with the sound. When committing something to tape, that luxury is gone, and everything needs to be done perfectly. This was less of an issue for songs like ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and ‘Immigrant Song’, which followed a strict structure, but the band struggled with ‘Since I’ve Been Loving You’ thanks to its improvisational feel.
In the end, the solution was to record the whole thing live rather than in separate parts. The only overdubbing you can hear on the recording is for Jimmy Page’s solo, which he tweaked slightly to make it sound better. If you listen carefully, you can hear how squeaky John Bonham’s bass drum pedal is, but the band did not intend to re-record the track once it was done.
Having a blues background and relying so heavily on improvising will have undoubtedly played a massive role in the members of Led Zeppelin becoming such masters of their instruments. This contributed to their success, but it also came with setbacks, given recording a lot of their songs came with huge hurdles that a studio isn’t equipped to overcome.