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

The great thing about doing these exercises is seeing the vastly different ways we all have experienced the music and the stories that are told along those lines.

I didn't really start getting into Zep until I was around 17, in 1977.  So ITTOD was my first "new" Zep album.

Pretty much the opposite experience of GB @jamny who was likely spitting out his first chiclets and had Zep III on repeat on his little turntable at the age of 4.

All My Love was #17 on my list.  My first song to be listed in the countdown and I have one more from that album. Like most Zep songs, I really liked the opening to the song.
Groovy

 
Robert Plant has a weird relationship with Led Zeppelin. For years, he was the lone holdout that blocked all manner of post-breakup Zep endeavors -- reunions, reissues, soundtrack appearances, merchandise, etc. 

Many fans and critics accused him of acting out of selfishness (to protect his solo career), and I think some of that criticism is valid. But in retrospect, I think that Plant was mostly motivated by his own views of how Zep's legacy should be preserved. He was very sensitive to the possibility of slapping the "Led Zeppelin" name on anything that didn't live up to the ultra-high standards that the band set.
Plant said when Bonham died that Led Zeppelin was over, and he meant it. Plant loved Bonham, and doesn't want to do Led Zeppelin without him. Jason Bonham has also said that Plant told him just that. Here is part of one of the interviews that Jason Bonham talks about it:

“We did six weeks’ rehearsal for one show, so I was thinking we must be doing more,” Bonham notes. But after joining Plant for a soccer game in England, the drummer found out that would not be the case.

“On the way back I said [to Plant], ‘I’ve got to ask you… are we gonna get the band back together?'” Bonham recalls. “And he said, ‘I loved your dad way too much. It’s not disrespect to you; You know the stuff better than all of us, and no one else who is alive can play it like you. But it’s not the same. I can’t go out there and fake it. I can’t be a jukebox. I can’t go out there and try to do it that way.” Bonham adds that Plant also felt strongly about Zep’s declaration shortly after his father’s 1980 death that the band was indeed over.

“He told me, ‘When your father left us, left the world, that was it for Led Zeppelin. We couldn’t do what The Who did. It was too vital.’

“And I got it,” Bonham continues. “I was absolutely fine with that. My dad and Robert, they’d known each other since they were, like, 15. It was a lot deeper for [Plant]. So I was OK with it. It was a great time, and to end it the way it did, with that great concert, was for the best. [Plant] said, ‘We needed to do one more great concert, and then maybe put it to rest.'”

 
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The other thing I was curious about is how the heck did these guys know so many old blues songs, some of which would have been on 78's? There was no Spotify, no CD's, no YouTube, very little in terms of access and media coverage, etc. It's not like these songs were getting played on the radio.

In live shows, interviews, off the cuff remarks, and the like, Plant will throw out mentions of artists and songs from yesteryear out of thin air. Maybe in the 60's he had the world's biggest vinyl blues collection. But man has he got a memory of songs and artists that I can't even keep up with. The few times he played full Honeydrippers shows, most of the songs were complete unknowns to the audience. A real depth of knowledge that few people have.

 
Plant said when Bonham died that Led Zeppelin was over, and he meant it. Plant loved Bonham, and doesn't want to do Led Zeppelin without him. Jason Bonham has also said that Plant told him just that. Here is part of one of the interviews that Jason Bonham talks about it:

“We did six weeks’ rehearsal for one show, so I was thinking we must be doing more,” Bonham notes. But after joining Plant for a soccer game in England, the drummer found out that would not be the case.

“On the way back I said [to Plant], ‘I’ve got to ask you… are we gonna get the band back together?'” Bonham recalls. “And he said, ‘I loved your dad way too much. It’s not disrespect to you; You know the stuff better than all of us, and no one else who is alive can play it like you. But it’s not the same. I can’t go out there and fake it. I can’t be a jukebox. I can’t go out there and try to do it that way.” Bonham adds that Plant also felt strongly about Zep’s declaration shortly after his father’s 1980 death that the band was indeed over.

“He told me, ‘When your father left us, left the world, that was it for Led Zeppelin. We couldn’t do what The Who did. It was too vital.’

“And I got it,” Bonham continues. “I was absolutely fine with that. My dad and Robert, they’d known each other since they were, like, 15. It was a lot deeper for [Plant]. So I was OK with it. It was a great time, and to end it the way it did, with that great concert, was for the best. [Plant] said, ‘We needed to do one more great concert, and then maybe put it to rest.'”
Plant is definitely an enigma. He has often stated that Zeppelin is a thing of the past and he's not interested in being a juke box and rehashing their catalog. I'm fine with that if that's what he wants to do. But then he'll go out as a solo artist and play 6 or 7 Led Zeppelin tunes each night. Personally, I don't have a problem with that either, as in recent years he generally reimagines them with a different arrangement that 55-year-old Anarchy actually enjoys, sometimes even more than the original Zeppelin versions. To me, they clearly aren't "better" than the LZ recordings . . . but they are "different," and that's the appeal to me.

To a certain extent, by not reforming and touring, the LZ mystique will last a little longer. By comparison, look at the Stones. Have they really been relevant the past 30 years? Sure, it would be fun to see a legend live in concert, but it's not like the current band resembles much of the band in their prime.

We'll have to see how things go. I'm guessing at some point Plant will potentially kick himself and realize Zeppelin was a pillar and foundation of rock and roll and iconic. No offense, he's good as a solo act, but he's no Zeppelin. I think he has it in him to orchestrate another full concert. I'm just not sure what the charity / cause would be and how that would materialize.

 
Anarchy99 said:
Or we can just say anything they put out after PG was very meh and mediocre. Based on our voting and point allocation, I can tell you that:

First 6 albums >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Last 3 albums. They are not even in the same solar system.

I can listen to any of them and not cringe, but it's like choosing celery to eat over pizza. I'm not going to die from eating celery, but why would you choose that over pizza? Give me any of the first 6 albums . . . don't even care which one, over the material from P, ITTOD, or C.


Totally agree - I had exactly 0 songs from those 3 albums in my list (unless you count bonus tracks from CODA).  24 of my 25 were from the 6 plus one B-side.

 
Plant is definitely an enigma. He has often stated that Zeppelin is a thing of the past and he's not interested in being a juke box and rehashing their catalog. I'm fine with that if that's what he wants to do. But then he'll go out as a solo artist and play 6 or 7 Led Zeppelin tunes each night. Personally, I don't have a problem with that either, as in recent years he generally reimagines them with a different arrangement that 55-year-old Anarchy actually enjoys, sometimes even more than the original Zeppelin versions. To me, they clearly aren't "better" than the LZ recordings . . . but they are "different," and that's the appeal to me.

To a certain extent, by not reforming and touring, the LZ mystique will last a little longer. By comparison, look at the Stones. Have they really been relevant the past 30 years? Sure, it would be fun to see a legend live in concert, but it's not like the current band resembles much of the band in their prime.

We'll have to see how things go. I'm guessing at some point Plant will potentially kick himself and realize Zeppelin was a pillar and foundation of rock and roll and iconic. No offense, he's good as a solo act, but he's no Zeppelin. I think he has it in him to orchestrate another full concert. I'm just not sure what the charity / cause would be and how that would materialize.
Yeah there was rumblings of Zepp headlining Oldchella II and it would be massive:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2021/06/01/five-years-later-could-there-be-a-desert-trip-2-if-so-here-is-the-perfect-lineup-with-springsteen-paul-simon-dolly-and-more/?sh=8ce75811c555

First though, the band that everybody would start with but, to me, is doubtful. Inarguably the biggest band that did not play year one is the mighty Led Zeppelin. And my friend who mentioned the rumors of Desert Trip 2 started with Zeppelin. But having attended the Zeppelin O2 reunion show in 2007, where 20,000,000 people from 50 countries applied for tickets, I can tell you that any event with Led Zeppelin is not a festival anymore, it is Led Zeppelin and openers.

 
I love songs with keyboards, piano, and synthesizers.  It just seems like something different from most rock 'n' roll.

 
How great would it be if somehow, someway there could be one double reunion with Zeppelin and Pink Floyd? All with the surviving members before it’s too late. Have it someplace with room for 100,000 people, charge $10K, and give $1 billion to charity. Have PF start at 6:00 and LZ at 9:00. There would be no shortage of people willing to go. My wife would disown me, but I would try to go. 

 
There are any number of performers that use piano and synthesizers in the rock genre. I don’t think it’s all that unusual. Styx was one of the bands I thought of in a similar time frame. 


I didn't mean it was unusual, I guess I just appreciate it more.  

That doesn't mean I like all bands that use keys. 

 
Yesterday I posted that someone had 22 of the Top 25 IIRC.
I meant for example :

You had 'Hot Dog' ranked #1, you would be the top ranker for that song. 

You had 'Carouselambra' ranked #2 and have the highest ranking for that song. 

You would have two songs where you are the highest ranker. 

Too much , I know. 

 
There are any number of performers that use piano and synthesizers in the rock genre. I don’t think it’s all that unusual. Styx was one of the bands I thought of in a similar time frame. 
I saw the Mr. Roboto tour. Part play, part musical, part concert. It was definitely different.

 
I meant for example :

You had 'Hot Dog' ranked #1, you would be the top ranker for that song. 

You had 'Carouselambra' ranked #2 and have the highest ranking for that song. 

You would have two songs where you are the highest ranker. 

Too much , I know. 
Let's get through all the songs and then I can take specific data requests. I barely have time to get to the writeups right now. IIRC, I was high ranker on 6 songs. Is that good, bad, or indifferent?

 
The other thing I was curious about is how the heck did these guys know so many old blues songs, some of which would have been on 78's? There was no Spotify, no CD's, no YouTube, very little in terms of access and media coverage, etc. It's not like these songs were getting played on the radio.

In live shows, interviews, off the cuff remarks, and the like, Plant will throw out mentions of artists and songs from yesteryear out of thin air. Maybe in the 60's he had the world's biggest vinyl blues collection. But man has he got a memory of songs and artists that I can't even keep up with. The few times he played full Honeydrippers shows, most of the songs were complete unknowns to the audience. A real depth of knowledge that few people have.
U.S. GIs. Many American military ships would dock in England or other parts of Western Europe and many of those soldiers (some of them musicians themselves) brought records with them. Those records got spread through trade.

 
Anarchy99 said:
A case can be made that the Led Zeppelin that most knew and loved ended with Physical Graffiti. Presence and ITTOD were merely "ok." Between Plant's car accident, the death of his son, Jimmy's addiction issues, and Bonham's alcohol problems, things were just not the same. Their 1977 live shows were often hit or miss and the few dates they had in 1980 were really not that inspired (and more than half the duration than previous tours). Somehow, the handful of performances during 1979 were quite good by comparison. Tensions and egos were not great by 1980, and even if Bonham had survived, one has to wonder how much longer they would have stayed together without coming apart at the seams. Like many bands, by the end I am not sure how great friends they actually were by that point.
LZ ended with Houses of the Holy for me, fwiw.

 
Oh Brother......soundtrack song is the only one I know by name.

 
The other thing I was curious about is how the heck did these guys know so many old blues songs, some of which would have been on 78's? There was no Spotify, no CD's, no YouTube, very little in terms of access and media coverage, etc. It's not like these songs were getting played on the radio.

In live shows, interviews, off the cuff remarks, and the like, Plant will throw out mentions of artists and songs from yesteryear out of thin air. Maybe in the 60's he had the world's biggest vinyl blues collection. But man has he got a memory of songs and artists that I can't even keep up with. The few times he played full Honeydrippers shows, most of the songs were complete unknowns to the audience. A real depth of knowledge that few people have.
Time travel

 
Nathaniel Ratliff is really good. Plus he's another of @shuke 's twins.

 
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He’s always loved folk, soul and hippie music, so this doesn’t surprise me. Some of his pre-Zep bands played those styles. He wasn’t a 100% blues guy like Page.

 
I have all of the studio albums except Coda. However, all of the studio music I have is from original CDs ripped to MP3. Is it worthwhile to buy the remasters/deluxe editions? Is it actually worthwhile to buy Coda?
Anyone have opinions on these two questions?

 
For a lot of bands ITTOD would have been a very good album. But I think even Presence was a cut above it,  along of course with the first 6 albums. 

 
We'll have to see how things go. I'm guessing at some point Plant will potentially kick himself and realize Zeppelin was a pillar and foundation of rock and roll and iconic. No offense, he's good as a solo act, but he's no Zeppelin. I think he has it in him to orchestrate another full concert. I'm just not sure what the charity / cause would be and how that would materialize.
Plant does know how big Led Zeppelin was and that they are legendary, but that kid in his 20s that was the lead singer for Led Zeppelin grew up.  He still loves music, but he likes exploring other styles, and moving forward not backwards.  Anyway, I've found him to be very humble in interviews, and he is a likeable guy. 

I like this interview of Robert Plant with Dan Rather from 2018. It is almost an hour long.

I like this one too where Plant is with JPJ and Page being interviewed by Charlie Rose. It was around the time of the Kennedy Honors, and about 20 minutes long.  Charlie presses a bit much at one point, and kinda puts Plant on the spot about not wanting to tour after the show they did in 2007, but I like the interview with the three of them other than that.

 
The other thing I was curious about is how the heck did these guys know so many old blues songs, some of which would have been on 78's? There was no Spotify, no CD's, no YouTube, very little in terms of access and media coverage, etc. It's not like these songs were getting played on the radio.

In live shows, interviews, off the cuff remarks, and the like, Plant will throw out mentions of artists and songs from yesteryear out of thin air. Maybe in the 60's he had the world's biggest vinyl blues collection. But man has he got a memory of songs and artists that I can't even keep up with. The few times he played full Honeydrippers shows, most of the songs were complete unknowns to the audience. A real depth of knowledge that few people have.
These guys lived and breathed music more than we could ever dream of. 

 
#43 - Travelling Riverside Blues from Led Zeppelin Box Set (1969 by way of 1990)

Appeared On: 13 ballots (out of 62) . . . 21%
Total Points: 165 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  10.6%)
Top 5 Rankers: Deadhead @Galileo
5 Highest Other Rankers: @cap'n grunge@BroncoFreak_2K3@[scooter]@timschochet@ConstruxBoy
Highest Ranking: 2

Live Performances: None

Other Versions: Greta Van FleetEric Clapton, Myles Kennedy

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 35
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): Not Ranked
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): 38
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 46
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 49
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 41
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 38
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 52
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): Not Ranked

Travelling Riverside Blues was recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. Led Zeppelin played the song 32 years later, but only one time, a recording to be aired on the BBC for the show Top Gear. The LZ version was initially called Travelling Riverside Blues '69.

The song sat in the vault for another 21 years before the band opted to release it as a single and on their 1990 box set. The single reached #7 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart. Since then, it has been included on the newer versions of Coda, The Complete Studio Recordings, the BBC Sessions, and  the Definitive Collection. There has been some speculation that the track was under consideration to be included on the Led Zeppelin II album, which Page has debunked.

Page explained about that recording session, “We played two or three Zep things and the producers wanted one more track. So we recorded that cover in one go, one single take, just like that. And we forgot all about the song until the bootleggers came out with it. And at that point the speculation started . . . was it a forgotten track from the second album? It was quite touching, so we decided to include it on the boxed set.” Page was unhappy about the quality of the recording and added extra guitar overdubs onto the track, before it was broadcast four days later. The band recorded Thank You the day after their performance for the BBC. Since the BBC held the rights to Travelling Riverside Blues, the band had to negotiate with them to release the song.

Maybe someone else can help me on this one, as I remember hearing the song in the 80’s just after Coda came out. I remember it making the rounds on FM radio earlier than 1990. I could swear I recorded it on cassette and played it when I was in high school, yet I don’t see any timeline showing it as having come out before 1990.

To the best of my knowledge, the only other performance of Travelling Riverside Blues was part of the How Many More Times medley at Hamburg - 1970-03-10. That is a completely different arrangement of the song (slowed down and not as raucous), as is the segment from The Lemon Song in the next segment.

Ultimate Classic Rock (35 of 92 songs): Zeppelin's reworking of a Robert Johnson blues song first showed up on the 1990 box as one of the set's few previously unreleased tracks. It later appeared on 1997's BBC Sessions, since it was first broadcast on John Peel's show in 1969. A searing performance by the entire band.

Rolling Stone (38 of 40 songs): Recorded at a BBC Radio session, this improvised take on a Robert Johnson song is one of their loosest moments. Page showcases his manic acoustic-slide jangle, and Plant workshops the "squeeze my lemon" soliloquy he'd make famous on Led Zeppelin II.

Louder (46 of 50 songs): Page and Plant might have been the priapic pin-ups, but it was Bonzo and John Paul Jones’ rhythm method which provided Zep with their sexual heat. Proof comes in this sublime reimagining of Robert Johnson’s blues classic. Originally recorded specially for John Peel's Top Gear radio show in 1969, it remains one of the band’s most integrated performances, Page’s liquid slide and Plant’s cryptic ad libs ('Why doncha come in my kitchen?') hot-wired to a sizzling funk groove. It may have been overlooked at the time, but Page never forgot its magnetic allure, the song re-emerging form the Delta swamps as a bonus track on 1990's box set of the Complete Studio Recordings.

Uproxx (49 out of 50 songs): Led Zeppelin is also the most complicated classic rock band, in that if you know anything at all about them, you are aware of some pretty despicable aspects of their career and legacy. Let’s begin with their long and undistinguished history of pilfering Black music and making millions off of it. Blues history of course is ultimately a tale about artists drawing from the same well, re-using the same raw musical and lyrical materials in novel ways. The obvious difference with Zeppelin is how much wealthier they became from drawing on this tradition. But any attempt to dismiss them in retrospect as mere rip-off artists breaks down once you hear “Traveling Riverside Blues.” Originally written by Robert Johnson, it didn’t appear on a proper Zeppelin album until the 1990 Led Zeppelin box set. It also doesn’t sound much at all like Robert Johnson, a man whose every utterance on record is laced with a profound sense of doom. Zeppelin’s “Traveling Riverside Blues” however is positively ebullient. Think of the most charismatic person you’ve ever encountered, and remember how their incredible sense of confidence lifted you up like a wave. That’s what this song feels like. That magnetic swaggering arrogance is Zeppelinesque through and through.

WMGK (41 of 92 songs): One of the few true gems released after their breakup, Zeppelin’s take on this Robert Johnson song was originally recorded in 1969, but upon its official 1990 release, it made its way up the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart peaking at number seven.

SPIN (38 of 87 songs): Inspired by the same Robert Johnson original, among the group’s best blues reinterpretations. “Riverside” is all about that slide-guitar riff, one of the lithest, slipperiest, and generally arresting in Page’s oeuvre — if it didn’t directly inspire the similar intro riff to Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye,” it had to have at least indirectly informed it.

The next song brings us to the #42 spot in the countdown, which finds its home on the Led Zeppelin II album.

 
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#43 - Travelling Riverside Blues from Led Zeppelin Box Set (1969 by way of 1990)

Appeared On: 13 ballots (out of 62) . . . 21%
Total Points: 102 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  6.58%)
Top 5 Rankers: Deadhead @Galileo
5 Highest Other Rankers: @cap'n grunge@BroncoFreak_2K3@[scooter]@timschochet@ConstruxBoy
Highest Ranking: 2

Live Performances: None

Other Versions: Greta Van FleetEric Clapton, Myles Kennedy

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 35
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): Not Ranked
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): 38
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 46
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 49
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 41
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 38
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 52
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): Not Ranked

Travelling Riverside Blues was recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. Led Zeppelin played the song 32 years later, but only one time, a recording to be aired on the BBC for the show Top Gear. The LZ version was initially called Travelling Riverside Blues '69.

The song sat in the vault for another 21 years before the band opted to release it as a single and on their 1990 box set. The single reached #7 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart. Since then, it has been included on the newer versions of Coda, The Complete Studio Recordings, the BBC Sessions, and  the Definitive Collection. There has been some speculation that the track was under consideration to be included on the Led Zeppelin II album, which Page has debunked.

Page explained about that recording session, “We played two or three Zep things and the producers wanted one more track. So we recorded that cover in one go, one single take, just like that. And we forgot all about the song until the bootleggers came out with it. And at that point the speculation started . . . was it a forgotten track from the second album? It was quite touching, so we decided to include it on the boxed set.” Page was unhappy about the quality of the recording and added extra guitar overdubs onto the track, before it was broadcast four days later. The band recorded Thank You the day after their performance for the BBC. Since the BBC held the rights to Travelling Riverside Blues, the band had to negotiate with them to release the song.

Maybe someone else can help me on this one, as I remember hearing the song in the 80’s just after Coda came out. I remember it making the rounds on FM radio earlier than 1990. I could swear I recorded it on cassette and played it when I was in high school, yet I don’t see any timeline showing it as having come out before 1990.

To the best of my knowledge, the only other performance of Travelling Riverside Blues was part of the How Many More Times medley at Hamburg - 1970-03-10. That is a completely different arrangement of the song (slowed down and not as raucous), as is the segment from The Lemon Song in the next segment.

Ultimate Classic Rock (35 of 92 songs): Zeppelin's reworking of a Robert Johnson blues song first showed up on the 1990 box as one of the set's few previously unreleased tracks. It later appeared on 1997's BBC Sessions, since it was first broadcast on John Peel's show in 1969. A searing performance by the entire band.

Rolling Stone (38 of 40 songs): Recorded at a BBC Radio session, this improvised take on a Robert Johnson song is one of their loosest moments. Page showcases his manic acoustic-slide jangle, and Plant workshops the "squeeze my lemon" soliloquy he'd make famous on Led Zeppelin II.

Louder (46 of 50 songs): Page and Plant might have been the priapic pin-ups, but it was Bonzo and John Paul Jones’ rhythm method which provided Zep with their sexual heat. Proof comes in this sublime reimagining of Robert Johnson’s blues classic. Originally recorded specially for John Peel's Top Gear radio show in 1969, it remains one of the band’s most integrated performances, Page’s liquid slide and Plant’s cryptic ad libs ('Why doncha come in my kitchen?') hot-wired to a sizzling funk groove. It may have been overlooked at the time, but Page never forgot its magnetic allure, the song re-emerging form the Delta swamps as a bonus track on 1990's box set of the Complete Studio Recordings.

Uproxx (49 out of 50 songs): Led Zeppelin is also the most complicated classic rock band, in that if you know anything at all about them, you are aware of some pretty despicable aspects of their career and legacy. Let’s begin with their long and undistinguished history of pilfering Black music and making millions off of it. Blues history of course is ultimately a tale about artists drawing from the same well, re-using the same raw musical and lyrical materials in novel ways. The obvious difference with Zeppelin is how much wealthier they became from drawing on this tradition. But any attempt to dismiss them in retrospect as mere rip-off artists breaks down once you hear “Traveling Riverside Blues.” Originally written by Robert Johnson, it didn’t appear on a proper Zeppelin album until the 1990 Led Zeppelin box set. It also doesn’t sound much at all like Robert Johnson, a man whose every utterance on record is laced with a profound sense of doom. Zeppelin’s “Traveling Riverside Blues” however is positively ebullient. Think of the most charismatic person you’ve ever encountered, and remember how their incredible sense of confidence lifted you up like a wave. That’s what this song feels like. That magnetic swaggering arrogance is Zeppelinesque through and through.

WMGK (41 of 92 songs): One of the few true gems released after their breakup, Zeppelin’s take on this Robert Johnson song was originally recorded in 1969, but upon its official 1990 release, it made its way up the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart peaking at number seven.

SPIN (38 of 87 songs): Inspired by the same Robert Johnson original, among the group’s best blues reinterpretations. “Riverside” is all about that slide-guitar riff, one of the lithest, slipperiest, and generally arresting in Page’s oeuvre — if it didn’t directly inspire the similar intro riff to Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye,” it had to have at least indirectly informed it.

The next song brings us to the #42 spot in the countdown, which finds its home on the Led Zeppelin II album.
My #8 song which in retrospect might be a little high. I guess I misunderstood your rankings when you said my top 10 all fell into the group consensus top 10. Maybe you mean I was in the top 10 of people whose songs fell within the top 10, if that makes sense?

 
My #8 song which in retrospect might be a little high. I guess I misunderstood your rankings when you said my top 10 all fell into the group consensus top 10. Maybe you mean I was in the top 10 of people whose songs fell within the top 10, if that makes sense?
Of your 25 songs, 10 of them were ranked in the overall Top 10. Are you trying to say how many of your Top 10 ended up in the Top 10?

 
Of your 25 songs, 10 of them were ranked in the overall Top 10. Are you trying to say how many of your Top 10 ended up in the Top 10?
Ah I see now. Yeah I thought you had meant the second way which would be REALLY chalky. That my top 5 all fell within consensus top 5..Same with my top 10. And at one point I think 20 of my songs were in top 25. I see the difference of what you are saying now.

 
Ah I see now. Yeah I thought you had meant the second way which would be REALLY chalky. That my top 5 all fell within consensus top 5..Same with my top 10. And at one point I think 20 of my songs were in top 25. I see the difference of what you are saying now.
Your Top 5 had two of the Top 5. Your Top 10 had four of the Top 10.

 
Here's a funny side story . . .

One of Led Zeppelin’s most famous songs, ‘Stairway To Heaven’, became a little overplayed in the decades following its release. By it's 20th anniversary, it had been played close to three million times on the air. Even Robert Plant had became rather sick of the song.

in 2019, Plant spoke about how ‘Stairway’ was a track that he could no longer relate to, but he did admit that he could admire the song, even if only from afar. In an on-air radio interview, Plant said: “The construction of the song, the actual musical construction, is very good. It’s one of those moments that really can stand without a vocal and, in fact, it will stand again without a vocal, I’m sure, because it’s a fine piece of music. But lyrically, now, I can’t relate to it, because it was so long ago. I would have no intention ever to write along those abstract lines any more.”

Plant’s disparaging comments about ‘Stairway’ were met with surprise, but in 2002, he made a more significant revelation. Plant was driving to a show in Lincoln City and stumbled upon KBOO, a listener funded, non-profit radio channel in Portland. He instantly fell in love with the weird blends of alternative music they were playing.

“KBOO had this amazing music. It was kind of a mixture of sad outtakes of doo-*** and a very droll DJ, who sounded like somebody from Marin County in 1967. It was playing some amazing flip sides of Jive Five tracks. I thought, ‘This is great. I gotta pull over and listen to this.' The guy came on saying they were looking for sponsorships. You know ‘Please send in $10’ (or $15 or whatever), and if people did that and raised $10,000, KBOO would promise never to play ‘Stairway to Heaven’ again. So I called him up and pledged my money. I was one of the KBOO sponsors.”

Plant heard their plea and decided to use a credit card that belonged to Atlantic Records to give the station its much-needed funds . . .all $10,000 of it, and guaranteed he’d never have to listen to his legendary song on their airwaves ever again. He went on to say, "It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that I’ve heard it before.”

 
#43 - Travelling Riverside Blues from Led Zeppelin Box Set (1969 by way of 1990)

Appeared On: 13 ballots (out of 62) . . . 21%
Total Points: 165 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  10.6%)
Top 5 Rankers: Deadhead @Galileo
5 Highest Other Rankers: @cap'n grunge@BroncoFreak_2K3@[scooter]@timschochet@ConstruxBoy
Highest Ranking: 2

Live Performances: None

Other Versions: Greta Van FleetEric Clapton, Myles Kennedy

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 35
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): Not Ranked
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): 38
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 46
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 49
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 41
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 38
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 52
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): Not Ranked

Travelling Riverside Blues was recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. Led Zeppelin played the song 32 years later, but only one time, a recording to be aired on the BBC for the show Top Gear. The LZ version was initially called Travelling Riverside Blues '69.

The song sat in the vault for another 21 years before the band opted to release it as a single and on their 1990 box set. The single reached #7 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart. Since then, it has been included on the newer versions of Coda, The Complete Studio Recordings, the BBC Sessions, and  the Definitive Collection. There has been some speculation that the track was under consideration to be included on the Led Zeppelin II album, which Page has debunked.

Page explained about that recording session, “We played two or three Zep things and the producers wanted one more track. So we recorded that cover in one go, one single take, just like that. And we forgot all about the song until the bootleggers came out with it. And at that point the speculation started . . . was it a forgotten track from the second album? It was quite touching, so we decided to include it on the boxed set.” Page was unhappy about the quality of the recording and added extra guitar overdubs onto the track, before it was broadcast four days later. The band recorded Thank You the day after their performance for the BBC. Since the BBC held the rights to Travelling Riverside Blues, the band had to negotiate with them to release the song.

Maybe someone else can help me on this one, as I remember hearing the song in the 80’s just after Coda came out. I remember it making the rounds on FM radio earlier than 1990. I could swear I recorded it on cassette and played it when I was in high school, yet I don’t see any timeline showing it as having come out before 1990.

To the best of my knowledge, the only other performance of Travelling Riverside Blues was part of the How Many More Times medley at Hamburg - 1970-03-10. That is a completely different arrangement of the song (slowed down and not as raucous), as is the segment from The Lemon Song in the next segment.

Ultimate Classic Rock (35 of 92 songs): Zeppelin's reworking of a Robert Johnson blues song first showed up on the 1990 box as one of the set's few previously unreleased tracks. It later appeared on 1997's BBC Sessions, since it was first broadcast on John Peel's show in 1969. A searing performance by the entire band.

Rolling Stone (38 of 40 songs): Recorded at a BBC Radio session, this improvised take on a Robert Johnson song is one of their loosest moments. Page showcases his manic acoustic-slide jangle, and Plant workshops the "squeeze my lemon" soliloquy he'd make famous on Led Zeppelin II.

Louder (46 of 50 songs): Page and Plant might have been the priapic pin-ups, but it was Bonzo and John Paul Jones’ rhythm method which provided Zep with their sexual heat. Proof comes in this sublime reimagining of Robert Johnson’s blues classic. Originally recorded specially for John Peel's Top Gear radio show in 1969, it remains one of the band’s most integrated performances, Page’s liquid slide and Plant’s cryptic ad libs ('Why doncha come in my kitchen?') hot-wired to a sizzling funk groove. It may have been overlooked at the time, but Page never forgot its magnetic allure, the song re-emerging form the Delta swamps as a bonus track on 1990's box set of the Complete Studio Recordings.

Uproxx (49 out of 50 songs): Led Zeppelin is also the most complicated classic rock band, in that if you know anything at all about them, you are aware of some pretty despicable aspects of their career and legacy. Let’s begin with their long and undistinguished history of pilfering Black music and making millions off of it. Blues history of course is ultimately a tale about artists drawing from the same well, re-using the same raw musical and lyrical materials in novel ways. The obvious difference with Zeppelin is how much wealthier they became from drawing on this tradition. But any attempt to dismiss them in retrospect as mere rip-off artists breaks down once you hear “Traveling Riverside Blues.” Originally written by Robert Johnson, it didn’t appear on a proper Zeppelin album until the 1990 Led Zeppelin box set. It also doesn’t sound much at all like Robert Johnson, a man whose every utterance on record is laced with a profound sense of doom. Zeppelin’s “Traveling Riverside Blues” however is positively ebullient. Think of the most charismatic person you’ve ever encountered, and remember how their incredible sense of confidence lifted you up like a wave. That’s what this song feels like. That magnetic swaggering arrogance is Zeppelinesque through and through.

WMGK (41 of 92 songs): One of the few true gems released after their breakup, Zeppelin’s take on this Robert Johnson song was originally recorded in 1969, but upon its official 1990 release, it made its way up the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart peaking at number seven.

SPIN (38 of 87 songs): Inspired by the same Robert Johnson original, among the group’s best blues reinterpretations. “Riverside” is all about that slide-guitar riff, one of the lithest, slipperiest, and generally arresting in Page’s oeuvre — if it didn’t directly inspire the similar intro riff to Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye,” it had to have at least indirectly informed it.

The next song brings us to the #42 spot in the countdown, which finds its home on the Led Zeppelin II album.
This was close to making my list and is my highest-ranked song not on one of the 8 albums released in Bonzo’s lifetime. Unlike much of their early blues work, the playing is very fluid, almost slinky, and the band sounds like they’re having a lot of fun. It’s a joy to listen to.

And to your question, no, I do not recall hearing this song before 1990.

 
If I had to do it again, and listening to my list on a playlist I made, this would definitely be higher in my list. Was my #10. Most definitely bump it up a couple places now. Love it

 
Last edited by a moderator:
#43 - Travelling Riverside Blues from Led Zeppelin Box Set (1969 by way of 1990)

Appeared On: 13 ballots (out of 62) . . . 21%
Total Points: 165 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  10.6%)
Top 5 Rankers: Deadhead @Galileo
5 Highest Other Rankers: @cap'n grunge@BroncoFreak_2K3@[scooter]@timschochet@ConstruxBoy
Highest Ranking: 2

Live Performances: None

Other Versions: Greta Van FleetEric Clapton, Myles Kennedy

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 35
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): Not Ranked
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): 38
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 46
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 49
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 41
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 38
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): 52
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): Not Ranked

Travelling Riverside Blues was recorded by Robert Johnson in 1937. Led Zeppelin played the song 32 years later, but only one time, a recording to be aired on the BBC for the show Top Gear. The LZ version was initially called Travelling Riverside Blues '69.

The song sat in the vault for another 21 years before the band opted to release it as a single and on their 1990 box set. The single reached #7 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Chart. Since then, it has been included on the newer versions of Coda, The Complete Studio Recordings, the BBC Sessions, and  the Definitive Collection. There has been some speculation that the track was under consideration to be included on the Led Zeppelin II album, which Page has debunked.

Page explained about that recording session, “We played two or three Zep things and the producers wanted one more track. So we recorded that cover in one go, one single take, just like that. And we forgot all about the song until the bootleggers came out with it. And at that point the speculation started . . . was it a forgotten track from the second album? It was quite touching, so we decided to include it on the boxed set.” Page was unhappy about the quality of the recording and added extra guitar overdubs onto the track, before it was broadcast four days later. The band recorded Thank You the day after their performance for the BBC. Since the BBC held the rights to Travelling Riverside Blues, the band had to negotiate with them to release the song.

Maybe someone else can help me on this one, as I remember hearing the song in the 80’s just after Coda came out. I remember it making the rounds on FM radio earlier than 1990. I could swear I recorded it on cassette and played it when I was in high school, yet I don’t see any timeline showing it as having come out before 1990.

To the best of my knowledge, the only other performance of Travelling Riverside Blues was part of the How Many More Times medley at Hamburg - 1970-03-10. That is a completely different arrangement of the song (slowed down and not as raucous), as is the segment from The Lemon Song in the next segment.

Ultimate Classic Rock (35 of 92 songs): Zeppelin's reworking of a Robert Johnson blues song first showed up on the 1990 box as one of the set's few previously unreleased tracks. It later appeared on 1997's BBC Sessions, since it was first broadcast on John Peel's show in 1969. A searing performance by the entire band.

Rolling Stone (38 of 40 songs): Recorded at a BBC Radio session, this improvised take on a Robert Johnson song is one of their loosest moments. Page showcases his manic acoustic-slide jangle, and Plant workshops the "squeeze my lemon" soliloquy he'd make famous on Led Zeppelin II.

Louder (46 of 50 songs): Page and Plant might have been the priapic pin-ups, but it was Bonzo and John Paul Jones’ rhythm method which provided Zep with their sexual heat. Proof comes in this sublime reimagining of Robert Johnson’s blues classic. Originally recorded specially for John Peel's Top Gear radio show in 1969, it remains one of the band’s most integrated performances, Page’s liquid slide and Plant’s cryptic ad libs ('Why doncha come in my kitchen?') hot-wired to a sizzling funk groove. It may have been overlooked at the time, but Page never forgot its magnetic allure, the song re-emerging form the Delta swamps as a bonus track on 1990's box set of the Complete Studio Recordings.

Uproxx (49 out of 50 songs): Led Zeppelin is also the most complicated classic rock band, in that if you know anything at all about them, you are aware of some pretty despicable aspects of their career and legacy. Let’s begin with their long and undistinguished history of pilfering Black music and making millions off of it. Blues history of course is ultimately a tale about artists drawing from the same well, re-using the same raw musical and lyrical materials in novel ways. The obvious difference with Zeppelin is how much wealthier they became from drawing on this tradition. But any attempt to dismiss them in retrospect as mere rip-off artists breaks down once you hear “Traveling Riverside Blues.” Originally written by Robert Johnson, it didn’t appear on a proper Zeppelin album until the 1990 Led Zeppelin box set. It also doesn’t sound much at all like Robert Johnson, a man whose every utterance on record is laced with a profound sense of doom. Zeppelin’s “Traveling Riverside Blues” however is positively ebullient. Think of the most charismatic person you’ve ever encountered, and remember how their incredible sense of confidence lifted you up like a wave. That’s what this song feels like. That magnetic swaggering arrogance is Zeppelinesque through and through.

WMGK (41 of 92 songs): One of the few true gems released after their breakup, Zeppelin’s take on this Robert Johnson song was originally recorded in 1969, but upon its official 1990 release, it made its way up the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart peaking at number seven.

SPIN (38 of 87 songs): Inspired by the same Robert Johnson original, among the group’s best blues reinterpretations. “Riverside” is all about that slide-guitar riff, one of the lithest, slipperiest, and generally arresting in Page’s oeuvre — if it didn’t directly inspire the similar intro riff to Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye,” it had to have at least indirectly informed it.

The next song brings us to the #42 spot in the countdown, which finds its home on the Led Zeppelin II album.
Sublime is the correct descriptor

 
Anyone have opinions on these two questions?
It's hard to say really. I think the music sounds better on the remastered versions, as you'd expect. But how much is that worth? Maybe start with the Coda remastered edition and see what you think in general sound quality. 

 
We'll have to see how things go. I'm guessing at some point Plant will potentially kick himself and realize Zeppelin was a pillar and foundation of rock and roll and iconic. No offense, he's good as a solo act, but he's no Zeppelin. I think he has it in him to orchestrate another full concert. I'm just not sure what the charity / cause would be and how that would materialize.
Yea I don't know. If they haven't by now, I don't get the feeling they are going to do a big, send off type concert. I think they are happy doing their own thing and occasionally getting together for the super special event (Ahmet Ertegun tribute). Their skills are diminished and as professional as they have always been & cognizant of their reputation, a concert now would probably be so far below their standards they wouldn't do it. My  :2cents:

 
#42 - Bring It On Home from Led Zeppelin II (1969)

Appeared On: 14 ballots (out of 62) . . . 22.6%
Total Points: 173 points (out of 1,550 possible points . . .  11.2%)
Top 5 Rankers: @Mookie Gizzy@In The Zone
5 Highest Other Rankers: @jamnyDeadhead @BroncoFreak_2K3 Friend @Todem@Zeppelin@raidergil
Highest Ranking: 2

Live Performances: 
LZ: 58 (San Francisco - 1969-11-07 (First Performance), London - 1970-01-09, Long Beach - 1972-06-25New York - 1995-01-12)
Honeydrippers: 6 (Bradford - 1981-05-27)
Page & Plant: 177 (Irvine Meadows - 1995-10-02
Plant: 52 (2018)
JP & Black Crowes: 11 (Wantagh - 2000-07-10)

Other Versions: Ace Frehley, TrainWillie Dixon, Joan Osbourne, Tom Jones

Ultimate Classic Rock Ranking (out of 92 songs): 72
Vulture Ranking (out of 74 songs): 31
Rolling Stone Ranking (out of 40 songs): Not Ranked
Louder Ranking (out of 50 songs): 42
Uproxx Ranking (out of 50 songs): 8
WMGK Ranking (out of 92 songs): 66
SPIN Ranking (out of 87 songs): 55
Ranker Ranking (out of 87 songs): Not Ranked
Anachronarchy Ranking (out of 80 songs): 17

We say a hearty HELLLLLLOOOOOOOO!!!! to @joker who is the second to last person to have a song show up. As runner up, joker would assume all the duties and responsibilities as the person that ranks #1 in this obscure category should anything happen to that person. Joker had this as his #24 song on his list.

The year 1969 saw the mighty Zeppelin released their first album, and they hit the road pretty much non-stop. Because of that, they had little time to take a break, regroup, and take their time to record a follow up album. Bring It On Home was recorded and mixed in 4 locations . . . Vancouver, Los Angeles, and two locations in New York. Given that there were no hard drives, no cloud storage, and no collaboration and editing tools, one would guess they took to the road and brought their master tapes with them. The song closes out the second album. The group often referred to the song as Bring It On Back. Rough Mix

BOH was another song written by Willie Dixon, but the band initially did not give any writing credit to him. That changed when Dixon sued the band and a court ruled that all future pressings of the album had to list him as a co-writer (and they had to pay him royalties). The intro and outro sections were deliberate homages to the Sonny Boy Williamson song, whereas the rest of the track was an original composition by Page and Plant. The Zeppelin version drew from Sonny Boy Williamson’s version and Back Home To Mama by Big Walter Horton from 1954. 

Over time, song writing credit shifted from Led Zeppelin, to LZ and Dixon, to just Dixon (depending upon the album the song appeared on). Page refuted any accusations of plagiarism, “Christ, there’s a tiny bit of Sonny Williamson’s version, and we threw that in as a tribute to him. People say ‘Bring It on Home’ is stolen. Well, there’s only one little bit in the song that relates to anything that had gone on be before it.”

The guitarist utilized his Les Paul and a Marshall amp. Bonham used double bass drums. Recording engineer Douglas Gyseman tricked Plant by giving him a disconnected microphone to sing into while recording his vocals on a live mic a fair distance away to help minimize distortion and give some of the vocals a slightly different effect.

Bring It On Home was performed across their tours in 1970 and a few times in 1972. The 1970 shows had the song early in the set, while the 1972 shows featured it as an encore. A segment of Bring It On Home was played as the bridge between Celebration Day and Black Dog on the 1973 North American tour. It was played in full at Jason Bonham's wedding reception in May 1990. The song was included on the How The West Was Won live CD. The album topped the Billboard album charts (over 30 years since the songs were performed).

The song was one of the first Zeppelin songs to make an appearance after the band broke up. Plant rolled it out with The Honeydrippers a half dozen times in 1981 (just without the guitar solo), a little more than 6 months after the death of John Bonham. Page and Plant played the song a ton (third most frequent song performed) on their 1995 to 1998 tours, but mostly as an abridged version as a lead-in to other songs. Plant used the song in a similar fashion during his 2018 tour. Page later revived the song for his live concerts with the Black Crowes.

Ultimate Classic Rock (72 of 92 songs): Zeppelin were sued for stealing parts of this Willie Dixon song from Sonny Boy Williamson's version. It wasn't the first or last time. Hardly worth the effort.

Vulture (31 of 74 songs): The closer to the second album starts out all folksy and bluesy, and then erupts. The riffs are fine, but second-tier. Knocked up ten notches for one of Bonham and Jones’s most rockin’ rhythm tracks. 

Louder (42 of 50 songs): Recorded at Mystic Studio in LA in May 1969, this deceptively arranged final cut on Led Zeppelin II appears, for almost two minutes, to be nothing more than a narcoleptic homage to Sonny Boy Williamson’s blues of the same name before exploding into life. What follows is a blueprint for the globe-dominating decade to come, Page’s intricately woven guitar parts and Bonham’s funk-infused drums offset by Jones’ melodic bass-runs and Plant’s primal invocations to be recognised as ’70s pop's premier Rock God-in-waiting: 'I’ve got my ticket, I’ve got that load.' Not exactly Led Zep's most famous case of questionable copyright, but because there was no case to answer, composer Willie Dixon has been listed on the writing credits to this song since 1972.

Uproxx (8 of 50 songs): The best example of them taking a familiar, John Lee Hooker-style blues shuffle and taking it to an entirely new Zeppelin zone. The whole point of this band was to not bring it on home, as Zeppelin was about as far from the home of the blues as you could possibly get. Instead, they had the audacity to take the blues and use it to make themselves seem larger than life, carrying them as far from their own homes as their own power of will could take them. You hear that explosion take place at about the 1:45 mark in this song, and what follows is about as electrifying as blues-based rock gets.

WMGK (66 of 92 songs): Zeppelin would sample from the well of Willie Dixon multiple times, but sometimes they got a bit too close to that well, and didn’t give credit, resulting in legal battles. And like many times in their history, they would settle out of court and rectify the song credit omission. Regardless, “Bring It On Home” still brings ‘Led Zeppelin II’ to a solid close. 

SPIN (55 of 87 songs): Maybe the only song on LZII that never gets played on classic rock radio — a little too slow-and-low for the majority of its runtime — but a fine album closer nonetheless. Gotta love the restraint the band shows with the song’s nearly two-minute whisper of an intro, before ripping into a double-tracked guitar lick that Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls never would have dreamed of.

Our next song brings us to the halfway point of the countdown. When we set out, many people wondered about the inclusion of P.J. Proby. Is that the way it should start?

 
Bring It On Home was ranked 12th on my list. 

I love this song. Just a gritty blues tune with such a great riff. Page blasts from the speakers with this tune as well as the entire band. A perfect album closer. Probably one their best album closers actually.

This is some quisessential Led Zep here folks. A sizzling tune.

 

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