I just realized something about Led Zeppelin.

[RABid]

I was watching the below video, one of my favorites, and then a couple other versions of The Rain Song, and then it hit me. 40+ years of listening to Led Zeppelin and watching various videos of their live performances, and I just realized something. Led Zeppelin will frequently hire 20 or more orchestra musicians, but I don't think I have ever seen them use background singers. I cannot think of a single song that they recorded with background vocals. Can you think of a song that they do with backing vocals? Can you think of any other band with this many albums that does not use backing vocals? I wonder what the reasoning is?

 

By the way, does anyone know who the bass player is in this video?

 

[video:youtube]

[KuruPrionz]

First album, no less.

 

[RABid]

Ohhhh, what a way to deflate my bubble and pop my epiphany.

[KuruPrionz]

Ohhhh, what a way to deflate my bubble and pop my epiphany.

 

It popped onto my head immediately and I'm not much of Led Zeppelin fan to be honest.

 

LOVE the bass and drums and Jimmy Page was a great producer. The 2 Johns ruled, no doubt about it.

[Doerfler]

By the way, does anyone know who the bass player is in this video?

 

https://charliejones.net/

[KenElevenShadows]

They don't have tons of backing vocals, but certainly, Sandy Denny contributed some, although that's kinda not really backing vocals, that's more like simply having two lead vocalists. There are some backing vocals in "Whole Lotta Love", but they're simple unison vocals.

[RABid]

I'll restate it to.... "They seem to have less backing vocals than any major band that I know."

[Chip McDonald]

They used reverb and delay throws where a background vocal maybe would go IMO.

[Joe Muscara]

I'll restate it to.... "They seem to have less backing vocals than any major band that I know."

IIRC in their early days they recorded a lot on the road. Jimmy had a four track, so because of that limit they couldn't even have some things at the same time like vocals during the solo or something like that. Maybe that gave them a certain sound that they stuck with despite having more capability in later years.

 

Live, it seems that only Plant ever sung. That could be another reason they didn't do more than have him sing in studio. Whether it was because not having other people sing with him while they developed the songs on tour, or because they knew they couldn't get that sound when they went on the road would just have depended upon how and when they wrote the songs relative to recording them.

[Greg Mein]

One of the things that struck me about Zep way back when were the songs that seemingly had no connection to the title, or in other words, the title did not appear as part of the chorus (if there even was one) or sometimes even within the song at all. Over The Hills And Far Away comes to mind as an example. Then there was Houses Of The Holy where the song didn't even appear on the album of the same title.

[harmonizer]

I would love for our covers band to do this song. We have the lineup (including the lead and backup vocalists) to pull it off, but the rest of our band does not seem as interested in it as I am:

[video:youtube]

[Chip McDonald]

One of the things that struck me about Zep way back when were the songs that seemingly had no connection to the title, or in other words, the title did not appear as part of the chorus (if there even was one) or sometimes even within the song at all. Over The Hills And Far Away comes to mind as an example. Then there was Houses Of The Holy where the song didn't even appear on the album of the same title.

 

That's a great trick, lends personal interpretation to it.

 

But holy frak, I've been listening to them since I was 10 years old, and I still probably can't connect the title of more than 10 LZ songs to the music. It's like they were constructing one long story out of song titles:

 

"The Stairway to Heaven is located Over the Hills and Far Away, just a Misty Mountain Hop away. But I've got to Ramble On now because I'm feeling a bit Dazed and Confused because I've been Trampled Under Foot. I think I'm Going to California, but I'm afraid I'll be treated like and Immigrant from Kashmir singing a song, having crossed the Ocean trying to escape the Gallow's Pole In My Time of Dying. Even though it's been Ten Years Gone Since I've Been Loving You, it's Nobody's Fault But Mine that I only have Four Sticks, and regardless of What Is and Should Never Be, or How Many More Times You Shook Me, I'll just feel like a Black Dog, just a Fool in the Rain"....

 

Ok, that's all I've got.

 

Writing that out, I could probably scratch through playing all of those songs, but I'd need the bass player to yell the first lyric at me in order to not train wreck the beginning.

[RABid]

I'll restate it to.... "They seem to have less backing vocals than any major band that I know."

IIRC in their early days they recorded a lot on the road. Jimmy had a four track, so because of that limit they couldn't even have some things at the same time like vocals during the solo or something like that. Maybe that gave them a certain sound that they stuck with despite having more capability in later years.

 

...

 

I didn't know that, but I can hear it in the music. The productions really grew over time. The Rain Song comes to mind. Orchestra, multi track guitars, piano, etc... Definitely not an early years 4 track production.