Most generations usually have that one band that seems to defy any sense of time. No matter how many times they enter the studio, there’s that X-factor that takes them from being just a bunch of musicians to one of the biggest names in music, whether that’s the way they write the tunes or their ability to take them to another level behind the production board. Led Zeppelin certainly had the potential to go into unchartered waters whenever they made a record, but Jimmy Page thought that their greatest asset could never be found on their studio albums.
Because as much as Zeppelin were innovators behind the board, Page was proud to have cut his teeth as a live group as well. For all of the great music that any group can make, the performance is a living, breathing entity, and most don’t really pick up on that until they enter. They get onstage and have to work through their best moments in real time.
It’s probably the most evident for Zeppelin when they decide to stretch things out. Some songs could already get a little lengthy on their studio albums, but hearing tracks like ‘Dazed and Confused’ spread out across one side of vinyl for The Song Remains the Same was more than just a song. It was a rock and roll spiritual awakening happening onstage, and Page was willing to use his theremin at will if it meant getting in contact with the other side of reality.
But there’s more to Zeppelin than just being Page’s baby. Much has been said about Robert Plant being one of the greatest frontmen to ever walk the Earth, but Page’s interaction with John Bonham is probably one of the most neglected parts of their sound. No matter how fast Page seemed to play, hearing ‘Bonzo’ trailing slightly behind the beat gave a certain uneasiness that made every show sound fantastic.
Especially when they started incorporating their blues covers into their repertoire, Zeppelin sounded like a freight train going 90 miles an hour down a track with no room to stop. Listening to those first shows, it feels like everyone’s waiting for the whole thing to fall apart and it never does.
That kind of telepathic way of communicating onstage was the main reason why Page thought they worked so well, saying, “Led Zeppelin’s live performance was so important as to the sum of the parts and how we would go onstage. If all four of us were really on top of it, it would take on this fifth dimension. That fifth dimension could go in any direction. Sometimes you’d do one number, and it would be really quite slow and dirgey, and the next day it would be quite fast.”
While it was hard to get a read on which version of Zeppelin fans would be getting every night, there’s a certain level of excitement in there as well. There’s no telling where the group would go, but there was a good chance that fans would like what they were playing even if they decided to tear through ‘Achilles Last Stand’ for nearly 15 minutes.
In fact, that’s probably why Bonham’s death led the rest of the group to go their separate ways. When the live show is important to the band’s sound, there is no point in trying to find someone who attempts to match the chemistry that all four of them developed naturally.