Product Description
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MOTHERSHIP (The Very Best of Led Zeppelin)
· 2 CD comprehensive collection
· 24 tracks chosen and sequenced by the band members
· Remastered with the band members' over
· Liner notes by David Fricke
Review
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Where's the sense of reviewing an album filled with material
that every right-thinking human being must already own? Well,
let's not forget those over 80s and under 20s out there who may
have yet to experience the full majesty of the band who set the
benchmark for stadium-packing epic blues/folk rock. And, on the
eve of the most hyped reunion gig of all time, Mothership lays it
all out in chronological form.
Born from the ashes of the Yardbirds in 1968, Jimmy Page joined
with fellow session monkey, John Paul Jones, and hotly-tipped
West Midland youngsters Robert and John Bonham This was
alchemy of the highest order. and Page's love of West Coast
psychedelia, folk and primal blues was bolstered by Jones'
arranging acumen and Bonham's powerhouse skinsmanship. Within
weeks the first album was spawned. Already it contained the
of their greatest moments: The stinging bite of "Communication
Breakdown", the doomy blues of ''Dazed And Confused'' and the
widescreen pastorality of "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You".
An ability to turn every live event into an extemporised trip
through rock's back catalogue meant that the USA fell within
months of hard touring. Missive number two contained more
pilfered blues, but combined it with Page's now fully-matured Les
Paul attack. 's wailing on "Whole Lotta Love" highlights the
sexual nature of their cross gender appeal while "Ramble On"
ushered in their ability to wrap nuance around and sorcery
nonsense.
Now asssured of their place as rock gods, the band used the
freedom to explore their gentler side on III. They drew on their
love of SF tricksters like Kaleido as well as English
pioneers, Fairport Convention. Unfortunately this is where
Mothership falls way short; opting to include the harder numbers
rather than gems like ''Gallows Pole'' or ''That's The Way''.
Shame...
By Four the band were unstoppable. "Black Dog" (tricky time
signature yet hypnotic as hell), or the multi-part epic of
"Stairway To Heaven": It all seemed so easy. To cap it all, "When
The Levee Breaks" showed that their mastery of the blues was now
a genre in itself. A juggernaut of ambient darkness, it's no
wonder that people began to mutter about pacts with the devil.
On Houses Of The Holy the experimentation went a little awry. "No
Quarter" is another dark classic but it's a mystery as to why
compilers still include the dreadful cod-reggae of "D'yer Maker"
(though Bonham's drums are jaw-droppingly amazing).
No matter, Physical Graffiti showed the band still had it in
spades. "Kashmir" is eastern mysticism for the masses while
"Trampled Underfoot" now added funk to their arsenal, and it
worked.
Well-documented tragedy followed, yet Presence was still awesome.
A true fan's favourite, the multi-tracked epic, "Achilles Last
Stand" is a one-stop primer as to why Page is rightly regarded as
a guitar master.
Last album, In Through The Out Door, saw the godlike status
falter. Time was catching up. Truth be told, we were probably
lucky not to experience Zeppelin through the 80s; a decade when
nearly every contemporary went off the rails in search of new
directions. This is why their legacy still stands proud. Of
course to get the true picture you shouldn't bother with this
album, just get the LOT. But Mothership still shows why the
three-remaining English legends are just that. Peerless, in every
sense of the word. --Chris Jones
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