BBC Sessions

The 1969 sessions on disc 1 are gritty and powerful, sometimes even more so than the studio recordings of the same material. Zeppelin performs originals like the fine folkish "What Is And What Should Never Be", the fiery rave-up "Communication Breakdown", and the psychedelic "Dazed And Confused", but the majority of the 14 songs are blues covers.
The Otis Rush-hit "I Can't Quit You Baby" gets the Zeppelin treatment, along with Sleepy John Estes' "The Girl I Love She's Got Long Black Wavy Hair" (one of the highlights of the album), and Willie Dixon's all-time classic "Whole Lotta Love".
Robert Johnson's "Traveling Riverside Blues" is another highlight; a tremendous electric rendition burning with Jimmy Pages' urgent slide guitar playing. And Zep's piano-driven blusn n' boogie version of Eddie Cochran's "Somethin' Else" is pure rock n' roll fun.

You will note that a couple of songs are here in two different versions...the two renditions of "Communication Breakdown" are quite similar, while the second takes of "I Can't Quit You Baby" is two minutes longer than the first.

Disc 2 is highlighted by a tight, muscular "Immigrant Song", a swaggering "Heartbreaker", and a crushing rendition of the tough blues "Black Dog". Well, I could go on and on, really. A beautiful, evocative "Stairway To Heaven", a great take on the acoustic folk-ballad "That's The Way", and a 14-minute medley of "Whole Lotta Love", John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillun", Bukka White's "Fixin' To Die", Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right", and the wonderful R&B-stomper "A Mess Of Blues" (Pomus/Shuman).

The sound and mixing on both discs is excellent, and the performances are almost uniformly great...rough and tough but by no means sloppy. Robert Plant is in fine form all the way through, and Jimmy Page completely fulfills the listener's expectations, playing crunchy rhythm guitar and creative, bluesy solos.
The ten-to-twenty minute versions of "Dazed And Confused", "You Shook Me", and "How Many More Times" are perhaps something of an acquired taste, and this is not really the place for newcomers to start, but fans will be delighted by these fiery, energetic live-in-the-studio recordings by Led Zeppelin in their prime.
4 1/2 stars - highly recommended.


ThankYou....The best Led Zep recordings !!?? BigSi UK   July 8, 2003
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

These must be as near Perfect Recordings as you can ever hope for, Pump the Volume up, and not a Crackle from 30+ years ago can be heard .... Brilliant.
If you are looking for a Zeppelin C.D this one will Give you Hours of Pleasure, Must have been at least 3 to 4 Hours .
i have most Zep Albums, but this is by Far the most Interesting.
Just imagine being there and hearing this music for the 1st time,
And 30 years later, nothing can touch its Creativity.
Borrow it...Buy it....But Definatly Listern to it .


A Magic Moment in Time from a Magic Band   July 11, 2002
 23 out of 24 found this review helpful

Being too young to experience Led Zeppelin the first time around I had to come at them second-hand, after realising, in about 1995, that guitar-based music was in its death throes and the future rested with dance music. But hey, who needs to listen to second-rate guitar bands doing the same thing for the 1000th time when you can immerse yourself in the most fertile and innovative period in modern music production -- 1968-71. At the forefront of the explosion that happened at this time were the Zep, and this album captures them in their natural habitat: live and alive. If you're new to LZ then the second or fourth album are the best places to start, but as soon as you've caught the bug and realised how astounding their music is, you will want to hear them live. This BBC sessions album is a much better bet than the double live record 'The Song Remains the Same', because the recording quality is superior, and it was recorded 69-71 when these four musicians were at their creative zenith -- a fact that translates to these live performances with shocking clarity. Put your skin-tight flares on, pretend you've got long hair, and immerse yourself in the sound of the most vital band of the most important period in twentieth-century music. The live sound captures LZ's blues obsession more clearly than the studio albums, especially on the blues reworkings of classic tracks like 'You Shook Me' (twice on this album just in case you missed it the first time round) and 'I Can't Quit you Baby'. Although top marks must go to the amazing 'new' blues creation of 'Travelling Riverside Blues' (Robert Johnson isn't given a credit), previously unreleased. Jimmy Page takes us to slide guitar heaven. It is simply amazing. CD two has some classics from Led Zeppelin IV, which were being recorded here 8 months before the album release. Its probably the only time you'll hear LZ live without the opening notes of 'Stairway to Heaven' being greeted with orgasmic woops. And catch the dizzy, heady atmosphere of the times when during 'How Many More Times' Robert Plant cries 'I don't know what I'm saying, but I'm having a good time'! Page, Plant, Jones, and Bonham at their incredible best -- worth 10 times the asking price... but I'm sure the three surviving lads don't really need the royalties.


LED ZEPPELIN AT THEIR BEST   November 18, 2001
 6 out of 19 found this review helpful

THIS CD ALLOWS YOU TO LISTEN TO THE GREATEST ROCK AND ROLL BAND THE WORLD HAS WITNESSED,LIVE JUST HOW IT SHOULD BE.LED ZEPPELIN ALWAYS WERE A LIVE SHOW BAND.AND THIS CD ALLOWS YOU TO ENJOY THEM AT THIR BEST.THE ACTUAL MUSIC HAS SLIGHTY DIFFERENT ARRANGEMENTS TO THEIR STUDIO RECORDINGS.FEATURES THEIR BEST SONG AND WILL APPEAL TO ANY FAN.