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FBG'S TOP 81 LED ZEPPELIN SONGS: #1 - When The Levee Breaks from Led Zeppelin IV (1971) (3 Viewers)

I don’t remember cassettes being a thing until the Walkman.
Boomboxes and car cassette decks were the first I remember, besides those built into home stereo systems. I never really understood buying a pre-recorded cassette when you could buy the LP and record it.

 
I don’t remember cassettes being a thing until the Walkman.
I got a Nakamichi 600 in 1975. It cost more than my first car. I mowed fairways all summer to save up for it. Myolder brother mowed greens at the same course - he bought Rally Nova that fall. Priorities.

But there were other less expensive decks around. A lot of my friends were also recording albums with Dolby NR (first gen) around then.

 
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QUESTION 3: What will the highest ranked song be that GOT LEFT OFF of 50 ballots or more? (There are 4 in the Top 50.)

Since I've Been Loving You

NFW
Yeah, sometimes it's just best to let some things go. I thought about responding but did not feel compelled to reply.

 
I’m hoping it’s Rock and Roll.
Im in agreement there, I think Rock and Roll is the "worst" song on the album and by worst its still pretty good.

However Rock and Roll with all the airplay just makes me think its going to show up earlier than Four Sticks would. 

Those two are among the 3 from IV I didn't vote for in the top 25

 
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Since I am interested to see what people's guesses will be . . .
 
QUESTION 1: What will be the first song to appear that someone voted #1?

Achilles Last Stand

QUESTION 2: What will the highest ranked song be that DID NOT receive a Top 5 vote? (There are 6 in the Top 50.)

Black Dog

QUESTION 3: What will the highest ranked song be that GOT LEFT OFF of 50 ballots or more? (There are 4 in the Top 50.)

No Quarter

QUESTION 4: How far into the rankings will we get before the last person has their first song to appear?

28

QUESTION 5: We had 25 different songs as people's #1 song. What is the highestranked song that DID NOT receive a #1 vote?

Hey Hey What Can I Do

Edited question 1 on rethinking the situation 

 
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Im in agreement there, I think Rock and Roll is the "worst" song on the album and by worst its still pretty good.

However Rock and Roll with all the airplay just makes me think its going to show up earlier than Four Sticks would. 

Those two are the only songs from IV I didn't vote for in the top 25
I think Four Sticks was my last cut and I didn't pick R&R.

 
At least two of my top 5 picks have shown up as guesses to question 2 (highest ranked song with no top 5 picks). 

I only have 3 songs from IV on my list but most of the rest would have been in “the 40 songs of my top 25” or whatever.

 
Apologies in advance, as this is almost surely a honda…but the 5 point dating plan is timeless.
 

Mike Damone: First of all Rat, you never let on how much you like a girl. Oh, Debbie. Hi.

Two, you always call the shots. Kiss me. You won't regret it.

Now three, act like wherever you are, that's the place to be. Isn't this great?

Four, when ordering food, you find out what she wants, then order for the both of you. It's a classy move. Now, the lady will have the linguini and white clam sauce, and a Coke with no ice.

And five, now this is the most important, Rat. When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV. 


Cut to new scene with Kashmir playing.

 
#54 - You Shook Me from Led Zeppelin I (1969)

Appeared On: 7 ballots (out of 62) . . . 16.1%
Total Points: 75 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  4.84%)
5 Highest Rankers: @Tom Servo@In The Zone@wildwombat@Dwayne Hoover@SteevieG
Highest Ranking: 6

Live Performances:

LZ: 129 (San Francisco - 1969-04-27, London - 1969-10-08Paris - 1969-10-10)
Plant: 8 (Montreux - 1993-07-02) <-- Plant with extended guitar solo!!!!
Page & Plant: 1 (Osaka - 1996-02-15) <-- Completely different arrangement, leads into Break On Through
JP & Black Crowes: 2 (Los Angeles - 1999-10-19)

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 65
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 25
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 41
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): Not Ranked
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 71
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 76
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 38
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 47
I'm on the board! :bowtie:

 
#54 - You Shook Me from Led Zeppelin I (1969)

Appeared On: 7 ballots (out of 62) . . . 16.1%
Total Points: 75 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  4.84%)
5 Highest Rankers: @Tom Servo@In The Zone@wildwombat@Dwayne Hoover@SteevieG
Highest Ranking: 6

Live Performances:

LZ: 129 (San Francisco - 1969-04-27, London - 1969-10-08Paris - 1969-10-10)
Plant: 8 (Montreux - 1993-07-02) <-- Plant with extended guitar solo!!!!
Page & Plant: 1 (Osaka - 1996-02-15) <-- Completely different arrangement, leads into Break On Through
JP & Black Crowes: 2 (Los Angeles - 1999-10-19)

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 65
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 25
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 41
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): Not Ranked
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 71
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 76
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 38
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 47
 

Track three of the debut album settles in here. The song was recorded by blues maestro Muddy Waters in 1962, which itself was the instrumental Blue Guitar by Earl Hooker the year before. Willie Dixon and J.B. Lenoir wrote the lyrics for Waters.

This song was one of what would turn into many controversies for LZ involving stealing people’s ideas or material. The Jeff Beck Group (with Rod Stewart) had recorded You Shook Me In 1968 in a similar style and tempo. Beck was more than peeved the LZ recorded the song right after he did. Page denied having heard the arrangement or having any knowledge of Beck recording the song. However, Page’s side of the story doesn’t seem to hold water, as John Paul Jones played organ on Beck’s version.

Guitarist and producer Jimmy Page employed his 'backward echo' technique on the 'call-and-respond' segment between Plant's vocals and Page's 1958 Fender Telecaster guitar. The recording process involved hearing the echo before the main sound instead of after it, achieved by turning the tape over and employing the echo on an unused track, then turning the tape back over again to get the echo preceding the signal. Page had initially conceived the technique when recording the 1967 single 'Ten Little Indians' with the Yardbirds.

"To play slow and groove is one of the hardest things in the world," John Paul Jones explained. "We [he and John Bonham] could both do it, and we both recognized that in each other."

Rehearsal Track (1968)First Take (1968)

AllMusic critic Bill Janovitz describes it as "a heavy, pummeling bit of post-psychedelic blues-rock, with healthy doses of vocal histrionics from Robert Plant and guitar fireworks from Jimmy Page.” Led Zeppelin biographer Keith Shadwick said, "It is very tightly arranged, even down to Bonham's strict limitation of his cymbals to a ride splash in each bar and hi-hat beats in unison with his bass-drum pedal.” Sheldon Pearce of Consequence of Sound called it "a masterpiece with slow-strutting tempo and Plant crooning like he's plunging down a rabbit hole."

You Shook Me was performed regularly throughout the multiple tours in 1969. It migrated from being a standalone song to one of several songs melded together into their medleys. Other than snippets in later concerts, the song was cut from the set list at the end of 1969. It was the 19th most performed song by the band. In case you missed it, I linked a version by Plant where he actually handles the guitar solo in the song. I was shocked the first time I saw it.

Ultimate Classic Rock (65 of 92 songs): This is why critics hated Zeppelin when they first appeared. Overwrought blues that was probably ripped off from Jeff Beck's similar take on a WIllie Dixon-penned song that Beck released nine months earlier. Skip both and go for Muddy Waters' original instead.

Vulture (25 of 74 songs): Zeppelin’s early blues workouts don’t mean much to us today. Almost 50 years ago, they were audacious reinterpretations of a catalog still considered sacred. Even Clapton’s “Crossroads”— a high-octane version of a Robert Johnson classic — seemed tame next to Zeppelin’s unbridled, just-not-all-that respectful takes. This wild and screechy rendition, complete with some call-and-response guitar ‘n’ voice work at the end, was a new high, or low, in hard-rock blues. Upped five notches for documentary value.

Louder (41 of 50 songs): It may never appear on Jeff Beck’s Spotify – he was legendarily peeved on hearing it, having released a similar arrangement a couple of months earlier on 1968 solo album Truth – but Zep’s orgiastic take on Willie Dixon’s standard rightly took the plaudits. Built upon Bonham and John Paul Jones’ titanium-strength slow groove – Jones also supplies scintillating solos on both electric piano and Hammond organ – it finds a fired-up Zeppelin flagging up their blues credentials. With Plant’s squalling harmonica and larynx-busting vocal matched by Page’s grinding guitar, it puts the original through the shredder, building to a feverish finale where Page’s groundbreaking use of backwards echo is matched by Plant’s eye-watering vocal howls. The result? A very different kind of blues.

WMGK (71 of 92 songs): This cover of Willie Dixon’s “You Shook Me” isn’t bad, but compared to other Zeppelin blues arrangements and interpretations, it just doesn’t measure up.

SPIN (76 of 87 songs): The band’s least-successful early blues reinterpretation, aiming for slow and seductive, but overshooting the mark and ending up just kind of sluggish.

Next, we finally get to a track from the legendary fourth album . . . and the quest to have all the songs on it in the Top 50 falls just short.
Wow. Great underrated tune. I had this one ranked pretty well up there. I may be one of the first to have all 25 songs off the board. 

 
Wow. Great underrated tune. I had this one ranked pretty well up there. I may be one of the first to have all 25 songs off the board. 
SPOILER ALERT: Being the first one to have all 25 songs off the board is WAYYYYY harder than it appears. If you voted for any of the Top 3 songs, you will be out of the running.

 
SPOILER ALERT: Being the first one to have all 25 songs off the board is WAYYYYY harder than it appears. If you voted for any of the Top 3 songs, you will be out of the running.
I don't want to be the first and now that I think about it there will probably be a tie for that anyway. Time will tell. 

 
SPOILER ALERT: Being the first one to have all 25 songs off the board is WAYYYYY harder than it appears. If you voted for any of the Top 3 songs, you will be out of the running.
I'm still in the running for not having a song on my list appear yet.

 
I am good with You Shook Me finishing this low. Never cared much for it.  The harmonica is always an iffy instrument for me, and it annoys me in this song, and Plant's wailing is a bit much for me in this one.  I don't mind it much when doing full listens of an otherwise killer debut, but I never go out of my way to listen to this song. 

 
You Shook Me is a song that I could use missing a lot of top 25 lists which will push it farther down on this composite rankings but would make a lot more top 35-40 lists and ultimately rank a good bit higher if we submitted longer rankings. 

I like the song a good bit, it was on my cutoff list, but didn't have much of a chance to crack my top 25. 

 
You are one of 20 people in this situation.
I didn’t think I was picking the chalk, particularly after hearing The Rain Song was only chosen on 1/3 of lists - maybe that changed over time.

I’m thinking there are a group  of these songs either ranked very high or not at all (looking at you IMToD).

The evolving rankings A99 referred to in the other thread is also interesting to me. I hope we hear details along the way.

 
I didn’t think I was picking the chalk, particularly after hearing The Rain Song was only chosen on 1/3 of lists - maybe that changed over time.

I’m thinking there are a group  of these songs either ranked very high or not at all (looking at you IMToD).

The evolving rankings A99 referred to in the other thread is also interesting to me. I hope we hear details along the way.
There were definitely tiers of songs that the rankings would rotate depending upon the list that just came in. I kind of expected that. What I didn't expect was songs going on runs where everyone was voting for it or no one was voting for it. That caused some wild swings on how songs were getting ranked real time (although things tended to stabilize some by the end).

For example, one song had 6 people pick it Top 5 out of 10 early entries. It was trending Top 5 overall. I thought it was a lock for the Top 10 . . . but when I saw the early results, I thought Top 5 was doable. Then only one person ranked it out of the next 12 people. The same song then had another drought, as it only picked up 13 points in a stretch of 20 lists. End of story, that song didn't even finish in the Top 25.

One song was lapping the field at the top early on, another caught up and actually took the lead, then there was a different #1 after every list, and a third entry took over second for a while. It took the last bunch of lists to determine the Top 3.

 
#53 - Four Sticks from Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

Appeared On: 10 ballots (out of 62) . . . 16.1%
Total Points: 82 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  5.29%)
Top 5 Ranker: @Cowboysfan8
5 Other Highest Rankers: @UncleZen@BroncoFreak_2K3@Rustoleum@Ilov80s@Galileo
Highest Ranking: 4

Live Performances:

LZ: 1 (Copenhagen - 1971-05-03)
Page & Plant: 109 (MTV Unplugged - 1994, 
Plant: 208 (Chicago - 2005-09-06)

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 40
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 51
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): 37
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): Not Ranked
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 43
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 50
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 34
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 32
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 37

Our first visit to Led Zeppelin 4 / ZOSO / Untitled . . . which has sold 24 million copies in the US and 37 million copies worldwide. Led Zeppelin surpassed the 300 million mark for total record units sold back in 2018. The song has a Middle Eastern flair and was called Four Sticks because Bonham’s drumming pattern that runs through the song required use of four drum sticks.

Four Sticks was almost abandoned and never finished. Despite multiple recording attempts, Page did not like the outcome and the sound didn’t match his vision. Page said, “On numerous occasions, it didn’t come off . . . until the day Bonzo, who was just playing with two sticks, picked up two sets and went for it. It was magic. It was done in two takes because it was physically impossible for him to do another.”

The track was difficult to record and required numerous takes. A lot of work had to be done in the studio, where overdubs were added. The vocals were heavily processed and given an electronic sound, and a synthesizer solo was added to the middle section. Engineer Andy Johns put a compressor on the drums when he recorded them, which made mixing the track very difficult . "It was a ******* to mix. I tried five or six times. I couldn’t make it work," he said.

While the band was developing the song, John Bonham got so frustrated that he started playing a drum riff out of the blue, the intro to Little Richard's 1957 song Keep a Knockin'. Jimmy Page quickly came up with a guitar riff, and they had a completely different song on their hands. They postponed work on Four Sticks and instead started work on the new song, which turned out to be Rock And Roll. (Four Sticks ended up as the B-side to Rock And Roll.) The song is the only track on the fourth album that was left off the 1990 box set.

Four Hands (Four Sticks) (Bombay Orchestra)Alternate Mix

The band only gave a live performance of the song one time, six months before the album was released, and then put it in mothballs. They determined it was too difficult to pull off and play successfully. Four Sticks was reworked for Page and Plant's return on MTV Unplugged in 1994. The tandem would go on to perform the song 109 times across 1995-96. Plant then took the mantle, as he’s performed the song 208 times from 2001-18.

Ultimate Classic Rock (40 of 92 songs): More of a musical novelty than song, "Four Sticks" takes its name from its concept: Bonham plays the song with four drumsticks instead of the usual two. Its tricky time signatures guaranteed very few live performances.

Vulture (51 of 74 songs): Probably the least interesting song on Zoso. It grinds along, and we never find out why the owls are crying in the night.

Rolling Stone (37 of 40 songs): Page built this exotic song around a series of needle-stick guitar salvos, but because the meter shifts from 5/8 to 6/8, Zeppelin found it difficult to record and almost ditched it. Then Bonham came into the studio after spending some time in a pub and nailed it, holding two drumsticks in each hand (hence the song's title).

Uproxx (43 of 50 songs): The worst song from the best Zeppelin album, Untitled, also known as “Led Zeppelin IV.” There are people who will argue that Physical Graffiti (aka “the double-album career summation”) is their best, or maybe Led Zeppelin II (“the horniest and hardest rocking one”) or Led Zeppelin III (“the one about Vikings and sunsets”). But the worst songs from those albums aren’t on the list. However, every single track from Untitled is here. Like Leo says in The Wolf Of Wall Street, Led Zeppelin asks that you judge them not by their winners but by their (relative) losers, because they have so few of them.

WMGK (50 of 92 songs): Known for its unusual time signatures and John Bonham’s use of two sets of drum sticks (hence its title), “Four Sticks” is truly a showcase for Bonzo and yet another example of his brilliance. 

SPIN (34 of 87 songs): Not the proper invention of “math rock” per se, but one of the first songs where you can actually hear the band members counting along in their heads as the song goes on. Considering the time-signature trickery on display, it’s a little amazing that “Four Sticks” remains as enjoyable as it does — likely a tribute to the supernatural time-keeping ability of Bonham, who keeps the song pulsing along at a tense, almost suspenseful clip, long enough for the band to get to the song’s foreboding-synth climax. It peters out a little at the end, likely due to understandable exhaustion.

Tomorrow, we celebrate a selection from 1970.

 
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Four Sticks never had a chance to make my top 25 but I'm surprised to see it in the 50's. 
Before I started my list I wouldn’t have expected it in my top 25 but the more I listened and did A/B comparisons it kept making the cut and eventually moved up to #23 for me.  It may have made the biggest move up from the start to the end of my list making.

 
Before I started my list I wouldn’t have expected it in my top 25 but the more I listened and did A/B comparisons it kept making the cut and eventually moved up to #23 for me.  It may have made the biggest move up from the start to the end of my list making.
Although it was my last cut, this is exactly how it trended for me. Great tune.

 
#53 - Four Sticks from Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

Appeared On: 10 ballots (out of 62) . . . 16.1%
Total Points: 82 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  5.29%)
Top 5 Ranker: @Cowboysfan8
5 Other Highest Rankers: @UncleZen@BroncoFreak_2K3@Rustoleum@Ilov80s@Galileo
Highest Ranking: 4

Live Performances:

LZ: 1 (Copenhagen - 1971-05-03)
Page & Plant: 109 (MTV Unplugged - 1994, 
Plant: 208 (Chicago - 2005-09-06)

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 40
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 51
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): 37
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): Not Ranked
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 43
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 50
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 34
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 32
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 37

Our first visit to Led Zeppelin 4 / ZOSO / Untitled . . . which has sold 24 million copies in the US and 37 million copies worldwide. Led Zeppelin surpassed the 300 million mark for total record units sold back in 2018. The song has a Middle Eastern flair and was called Four Sticks because Bonham’s drumming pattern that runs through the song required use of four drum sticks.

Four Sticks was almost abandoned and never finished. Despite multiple recording attempts, Page did not like the outcome and the sound didn’t match his vision. Page said, “On numerous occasions, it didn’t come off . . . until the day Bonzo, who was just playing with two sticks, picked up two sets and went for it. It was magic. It was done in two takes because it was physically impossible for him to do another.”

The track was difficult to record and required numerous takes. A lot of work had to be done in the studio, where overdubs were added. The vocals were heavily processed and given an electronic sound, and a synthesizer solo was added to the middle section. Engineer Andy Johns put a compressor on the drums when he recorded them, which made mixing the track very difficult . "It was a ******* to mix. I tried five or six times. I couldn’t make it work," he said.

While the band was developing the song, John Bonham got so frustrated that he started playing a drum riff out of the blue, the intro to Little Richard's 1957 song Keep a Knockin'. Jimmy Page quickly came up with a guitar riff, and they had a completely different song on their hands. They postponed work on Four Sticks and instead started work on the new song, which turned out to be Rock And Roll. (Four Sticks ended up as the B-side to Rock And Roll.)

Four Hands (Four Sticks) (Bombay Orchestra)Alternate Mix

The band only gave a live performance of the song one time, six months before the album was released, and then put it in mothballs. They determined it was too difficult to pull off and play successfully. Four Sticks was reworked for Page and Plant's return on MTV Unplugged in 1994. The tandem would go on to perform the song 109 times across 1995-96. Plant then took the mantle, as he’s performed the song 208 times from 2001-18.

Ultimate Classic Rock (40 of 92 songs): More of a musical novelty than song, "Four Sticks" takes its name from its concept: Bonham plays the song with four drumsticks instead of the usual two. Its tricky time signatures guaranteed very few live performances.

Vulture (51 of 74 songs): Probably the least interesting song on Zoso. It grinds along, and we never find out why the owls are crying in the night.

Rolling Stone (37 of 40 songs): Page built this exotic song around a series of needle-stick guitar salvos, but because the meter shifts from 5/8 to 6/8, Zeppelin found it difficult to record and almost ditched it. Then Bonham came into the studio after spending some time in a pub and nailed it, holding two drumsticks in each hand (hence the song's title).

Uproxx (43 of 50 songs): The worst song from the best Zeppelin album, Untitled, also known as “Led Zeppelin IV.” There are people who will argue that Physical Graffiti (aka “the double-album career summation”) is their best, or maybe Led Zeppelin II (“the horniest and hardest rocking one”) or Led Zeppelin III (“the one about Vikings and sunsets”). But the worst songs from those albums aren’t on the list. However, every single track from Untitled is here. Like Leo says in The Wolf Of Wall Street, Led Zeppelin asks that you judge them not by their winners but by their (relative) losers, because they have so few of them.

WMGK (50 of 92 songs): Known for its unusual time signatures and John Bonham’s use of two sets of drum sticks (hence its title), “Four Sticks” is truly a showcase for Bonzo and yet another example of his brilliance. 

SPIN (34 of 87 songs): Not the proper invention of “math rock” per se, but one of the first songs where you can actually hear the band members counting along in their heads as the song goes on. Considering the time-signature trickery on display, it’s a little amazing that “Four Sticks” remains as enjoyable as it does — likely a tribute to the supernatural time-keeping ability of Bonham, who keeps the song pulsing along at a tense, almost suspenseful clip, long enough for the band to get to the song’s foreboding-synth climax. It peters out a little at the end, likely due to understandable exhaustion.

Tomorrow, we celebrate a selection from 1970.
It is my least favorite from IV but still fantastic. It's more a performance than a song, but what a performance, especially by Bonzo. 

 
As iconic as IV is, I always found Four Sticks to be just okay.  It's not bad, but it's not noteworthy in any real way.  

 
While the band was developing the song, John Bonham got so frustrated that he started playing a drum riff out of the blue, the intro to Little Richard's 1957 song Keep a Knockin'. Jimmy Page quickly came up with a guitar riff, and they had a completely different song on their hands. They postponed work on Four Sticks and instead started work on the new song, which turned out to be Rock And Roll. (Four Sticks ended up as the B-side to Rock And Roll.)


Never realized this.

 
I haven't listened to IV in a long time.  Does Four Stick lead right into Going to California or is there a pause between songs?  The two are almost inseparable in my mind, although I only voted for one.

 
Apologies in advance, as this is almost surely a honda…but the 5 point dating plan is timeless.
 

Mike Damone: First of all Rat, you never let on how much you like a girl. Oh, Debbie. Hi.

Two, you always call the shots. Kiss me. You won't regret it.

Now three, act like wherever you are, that's the place to be. Isn't this great?

Four, when ordering food, you find out what she wants, then order for the both of you. It's a classy move. Now, the lady will have the linguini and white clam sauce, and a Coke with no ice.

And five, now this is the most important, Rat. When it comes down to making out, whenever possible, put on side one of Led Zeppelin IV. 
Ratner: proceeds to play Kashmir from side two of Disc 1 of Physical Graffiti

 
#52 - Celebration Day from Led Zeppelin III (1970)

Appeared On: 9 ballots (out of 62) . . . 14.5%
Total Points: 87 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  5.61%)
Top 5 Rankers: @Pip's Invitation friend @FairWarning
Other Top Ranker: @jamny
Highest Ranking: 2

LZ: 83 (Montreux - 1971-08-07 - First ever performance, Osaka - 1971-09-29,  New York - 1973-07-28, Knebworth - 1979-08-04
Page & Plant: (Nagoya - 1996-02-17, Orlando - 1995-03-07 No Plant, Instrumental)
Plant: Plant Version
JP & Black Crowes: 17 (Los Angeles - 1999-10-18)

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 46
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 56
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): Not Ranked
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): Not Ranked
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 36
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 41
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 60
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 64

The third song out of the last five write ups to come from the third album. Like other Zeppelin album releases, LZIII was delayed, as its shipping date was held up by the intricate inner gatefold sleeve design, complex packaging, and the innovative cover and artwork.

Plant was inspired to write lyrics to describe his feelings when arriving in America for the first time, especially the city of New York. The working title for the song was 'The New York Song,' and called it that in several live performances.

This song was almost left off the album. The beginning of the master tape was kinked and wouldn't play in the tape machine. The rhythm track at the beginning was completely wiped by an engineer. It was cut out and the ending synthesizer of "Friends" was composited over the edit to disguise it. Rumor has it that after the flub, the assistant sound engineer fled the studio and never came back.

Alternate MixInstrumental Version

Page commented on the song: "There's about three or four riffs going down on that one, isn't there? Half was done with a guitar in standard tuning and the other half was done on slide guitar tuned to an open A, I think. We put that together at Headley Grange. Because we rented the Rolling Stones' mobile recording studio, we could relax and take our time and develop the songs in rehearsals. We didn't have to worry about wasting studio time. I do not remember too much about that song other than that and what I told you earlier about the opening being erased. I used to play the whole thing live on my electric 12-string.

Record producer Rick Rubin has said of the song: "It feels like a freight train, even though it's not one of their heavier songs. There's tremendous momentum in the way they play together. The bass playing is beyond incredible and the guitars interact really well - there's a heavy-riffing guitar, which is answered by a funky guitar.”

Even though their 2007 live concert film, album, and were each called Celebration Day, the song was not performed. The film played in 15,000 cinemas worldwide only on Wednesday, October 17, 2012.

Celebration Day was performed regularly from 1971-73, dropped for the 1975 and 1977 tours, and brought back for their 1979 shows.

Ultimate Classic Rock (46 of 92 songs): Led Zeppelin III is best known as the band's acoustic album. This stuttering electric surge defiantly kicks against all that. They liked the song so much they named their 2012 live album after it.

Vulture (56 of 74 songs): An unmemorable grinder. At this point on the first side of the band’s third album, after the promising leadoff “Immigrant Song,” it was starting to sink in that III was not the band’s best work. It has a rep as Zeppelin’s soft album — the quiet numbers were there deliberately to show off the band’s varied musical interests. But too many of the songs are subpar. The lyrics here are a wan mixture of hippie posturing and vague stabs at social import. The backing track is boring.

WMGK (36 of 92 songs): Not just a classic song, but the title of the band’s one and only full-length reunion concert from November 19, 2012 (and the subsequent live album). Although oddly enough, they didn’t actually perform “Celebration Day” at the show. “My, my, my, I'm so happy… I'm gonna join the band” was how thousands of budding musicians reacted to hearing Zeppelin’s music in 1969 and 1970… and in the decades since. 

SPIN (41 of 87 songs): Responsible for one of the most exhilarating moments on a Zeppelin record, when the Moog echoes that end “Friends” give way to this song’s galloping opening riff. The rest of the New York-inspired song is fine, if mostly unextraordinary, but it does contain a fairly blistering eight-bar Page solo and a solid chorus hook: “My my my I’m so happy / I’m gonna join the band!” Sounds like fun.

Coming up, a song that was started called Pat’s Delight . . . and ended up called Over The Top.

 
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Love the thread and the work you are doing in here, @Anarchy99.  However, I think there has been a mistake.  Although a pretty good song, I did not include Celebration Day on my list of 25.  Perhaps it was someone on either side of me listed in your spreadsheet...

 
Love the thread and the work you are doing in here, @Anarchy99.  However, I think there has been a mistake.  Although a pretty good song, I did not include Celebration Day on my list of 25.  Perhaps it was someone on either side of me listed in your spreadsheet...
He cut and paste from the last entry and the rankers for the last 2 songs are in there.

 
Yeah, I think the ranking is probably right, but the @‘s are from the previous song.

Celebration Day was in my “next” 7 and didn’t quite make my list.

 
Since I am interested to see what people's guesses will be . . .

QUESTION 1: What will be the first song to appear that someone voted #1?
QUESTION 2: What will the highest ranked song be that DID NOT receive a Top 5 vote? (There are 6 in the Top 50.)
QUESTION 3: What will the highest ranked song be that GOT LEFT OFF of 50 ballots or more? (There are 4 in the Top 50.)
QUESTION 4: How far into the rankings will we get before the last person has their first song to appear?
QUESTION 5: We had 25 different songs as people's #1 song. What is the highest ranked song that DID NOT receive a #1 vote?
I don't know if these were answered but I'll take a stab at it. 

Question 1:  Misty Mountain Hop 

Question 2:  Ten Years Gone 

Question 3:  Thank You 

Question 4:  33

Question 5:  The Rain Song 

 
#52 - Celebration Day from Led Zeppelin III (1970)

Appeared On: 9 ballots (out of 62) . . . 14.5%
Total Points: 87 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  5.61%)
Top 5 Rankers: @Pip's Invitation friend @FairWarning
Other Top Ranker: @jamny
Highest Ranking: 4

LZ: 83 (Montreux - 1971-08-07 - First ever performance, Osaka - 1971-09-29,  New York - 1973-07-28, Knebworth - 1979-08-04
Page & Plant: (Nagoya - 1996-02-17, Orlando - 1995-03-07 No Plant, Instrumental)
Plant: Plant Version
JP & Black Crowes: 17 (Los Angeles - 1999-10-18)

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 46
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 56
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): Not Ranked
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): Not Ranked
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 36
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 41
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 60
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 64

The third song out of the last five write ups to come from the third album. Like other Zeppelin album releases, LZIII was delayed, as its shipping date was held up by the intricate inner gatefold sleeve design, complex packaging, and the innovative cover and artwork.

Plant was inspired to write lyrics to describe his feelings when arriving in America for the first time, especially the city of New York. The working title for the song was 'The New York Song,' and called it that in several live performances.

This song was almost left off the album. The beginning of the master tape was kinked and wouldn't play in the tape machine. The rhythm track at the beginning was completely wiped by an engineer. It was cut out and the ending synthesizer of "Friends" was composited over the edit to disguise it. Rumor has it that after the flub, the assistant sound engineer fled the studio and never came back.

Alternate MixInstrumental Version

Page commented on the song: "There's about three or four riffs going down on that one, isn't there? Half was done with a guitar in standard tuning and the other half was done on slide guitar tuned to an open A, I think. We put that together at Headley Grange. Because we rented the Rolling Stones' mobile recording studio, we could relax and take our time and develop the songs in rehearsals. We didn't have to worry about wasting studio time. I do not remember too much about that song other than that and what I told you earlier about the opening being erased. I used to play the whole thing live on my electric 12-string.

Record producer Rick Rubin has said of the song: "It feels like a freight train, even though it's not one of their heavier songs. There's tremendous momentum in the way they play together. The bass playing is beyond incredible and the guitars interact really well - there's a heavy-riffing guitar, which is answered by a funky guitar.”

Even though their 2007 live concert film, album, and were each called Celebration Day, the song was not performed. The film played in 15,000 cinemas worldwide only on Wednesday, October 17, 2012.

Celebration Day was performed regularly from 1971-73, dropped for the 1975 and 1977 tours, and brought back for their 1979 shows.

Ultimate Classic Rock (46 of 92 songs): Led Zeppelin III is best known as the band's acoustic album. This stuttering electric surge defiantly kicks against all that. They liked the song so much they named their 2012 live album after it.

Vulture (56 of 74 songs): An unmemorable grinder. At this point on the first side of the band’s third album, after the promising leadoff “Immigrant Song,” it was starting to sink in that III was not the band’s best work. It has a rep as Zeppelin’s soft album — the quiet numbers were there deliberately to show off the band’s varied musical interests. But too many of the songs are subpar. The lyrics here are a wan mixture of hippie posturing and vague stabs at social import. The backing track is boring.

WMGK (36 of 92 songs): Not just a classic song, but the title of the band’s one and only full-length reunion concert from November 19, 2012 (and the subsequent live album). Although oddly enough, they didn’t actually perform “Celebration Day” at the show. “My, my, my, I'm so happy… I'm gonna join the band” was how thousands of budding musicians reacted to hearing Zeppelin’s music in 1969 and 1970… and in the decades since. 

SPIN (41 of 87 songs): Responsible for one of the most exhilarating moments on a Zeppelin record, when the Moog echoes that end “Friends” give way to this song’s galloping opening riff. The rest of the New York-inspired song is fine, if mostly unextraordinary, but it does contain a fairly blistering eight-bar Page solo and a solid chorus hook: “My my my I’m so happy / I’m gonna join the band!” Sounds like fun.

Coming up, a song that was started called Pat’s Delight . . . and ended up called Over The Top.
My rank: None

My friend’s rank: 2 — @Anarchy99 this means the highest ranking is 2, not 4

As I said before, my friend’s favorite Zep album is III — and this is his favorite song from it. I would guess because he’s always loved songs that are positive and burst with exuberance. And he’s a musician, so “my my my I’m so happy, I’m gonna join the band” probably pushes a lot of buttons for him.

Rick Rubin’s description is exactly why I love the song, which might be in my top 40 Zep. I had two songs from III on my list and this may have been the next one to show up if we’d ranked everything. I also love the transition from Friends to it. I had no idea that was the result of a studio mishap.

 
I haven’t done the math but it seems like there are more than 51 songs left that I would have expected to get some votes.  Is it obvious what the top 51 are yet?  Somebody figure that out.

 

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