![]() He came up with an incredible, plaintive vocal." A song with a classical nature that also packs an almighty punch, half-a-century from the ‘Led Zeppelin I’ recording sessions, the song still sounds as vital as ever.Ī track that flaunts Jimmy Page’s musical genius, ‘Ten Years Gone’ boasts layers of hypnotic, interweaving guitars and a simply sublime solo – in fact, Page reportedly used 14 guitar acks to overdub the harmony section. I set the mood with the acoustic guitar and that flamenco-like section. In fact, it would be fair to say that no one sings “baby” quite like Percy.Ĭomplimenting Plant in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Page said: "I knew exactly how (‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You’) was going to shape up. Led Zeppelin’s take on the Anne Bredon penned folk song, first popularised by Joan Baez on her 1962 live album ‘Joan Baez in Concert Part 1’, truly showcases Robert Plant’s imperious vocal prowess.Įmbracing the quiet/loud dynamic, Jimmy Page dextrously plucks his guitar as Plant howls lines about absconding a loved one before it ups the tempo and transcends into flamenco-esque bursts with Plant’s vocals getting more and more emotionally wrought by the second. Characters Aragorn ( “The Prince of Peace embraced the gloom”), Eowyn ( “Queen of Light took her bow”), the evil Sauron (“ The dark Lord rides in force tonight”) and his bloodcurdling Ringwraiths (“ The ring wraiths ride in black, ride on”) are all referenced, however, in something of a curveball, Plant also sings about the angels of Avalon, from Arthurian legend. ![]() Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ with some fans surmising it’s essentially about the Battle of Pelennor from Return Of The King. Just like ‘Ramble On’ and ‘Misty Mountain Hop’, ‘The Battle of Evermore’ is highly influenced by J. I just picked up John Paul Jones's mandolin, never having played a mandolin before, and just wrote up the chords and the whole thing in one sitting.” Incredibly, Page and Plant wrote ‘The Battle of Evermore’ music on the fly, with the guitarist telling Trouser Press in 1977: “(It) was made up on the spot by Robert and myself. Just like fellow ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ offshoot ‘Going to California’, the song centres an acoustic guitar and a mandolin alongside Denny and Plant’s sublime vocals. Speaking about the song to Spin Magazine in 2002, Plant said the song "might be a bit embarrassing at times lyrically, but it did sum up a period of my life when I was 22."įeaturing the ethereal vocals of late Fairport Convention singer Sandy Denny, beguiling and mythical Celtic folk tune ‘The Battle of Evermore’ is the only Led Zeppelin track to feature a guest singer. ![]() Originally entitled ‘Guide To California’ and thematically about earthquakes (hence lines like “The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake / As the children of the sun began to awake / Seems that the wrath of the Gods / Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow / I think I might be sinking”), the song soon evolved to incorporate wide-eyed and almost hippie-ish lyrics about seeking a woman “with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.” Palpably influenced by Joni Mitchell, who Jimmy Page and Robert Plant both greatly admired, Page’s delicate acoustic guitars and John Paul Jones’ mandolin nicely compliment Plant’s Americanised drawl and soothe the listeners’ senses. Preceding and starkly juxtaposing colossal ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ closer ‘When The Levee Breaks’, gorgeous folk ballad ‘Going To California’ is very possibly the prettiest song Led Zeppelin ever committed to plastic.
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