{"product_id":"led-zeppelin_iii_2014_war","title":"III","description":"In addition to their talent as composers and instrumentalists, one of Led Zeppelin's strengths is always taking an unexpected direction. This is evident in their third album, with its predominantly acoustic tone, which was widely misunderstood at the time but has since earned its classic status.In early 1970, just before embarking on a mini-tour of England that included a stop at London's Royal Albert Hall, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, along with their respective partners (Maureen Plant and Charlotte Martin), traveled to Wales, to a village where the singer had spent childhood holidays: Bron-Yr-Aur. They stayed in a small farm without running water or electricity, having simply chosen to retreat. They were almost obsessed with Fairport Convention's \"Liege and Lief,\" an audacious blend of English folk and rock that they had discovered with delight. During a walk, they settled by a ravine and, armed with an acoustic guitar and a tape recorder, wrote a gentle ballad with introspective lyrics, \"The Boy Next Door,\" which would become \"That's The Way,\" as well as the foundations of several other songs, which would be among their most inspired.A few weeks later, after a remarkable series of concerts in the United States and continental Europe, they moved into Headley Grange in Hampshire, a disused former workhouse. They rented the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, parking it outside the property after setting up microphones throughout a large room. There they worked on their new compositions.One of these, \"Immigrant Song,\" inspired Plant and Page by a recent trip to Iceland and first tested live at the Bath festival, is a frontal assault, a killer track, with an uncompromising rhythm, just like \"Celebration Day,\" featuring a unleashed Bonham – a few months later, the song's intro was accidentally erased during mixing, much to Jimmy Page's anger. On \"Friends,\" they wink at Crosby, Stills, Nash \u0026 Young with a few chords while venturing into very Indian-influenced scales – a version of this song would even be recorded two years later in Bombay by Jimmy and Robert with a local orchestra.A heartbreaking ballad written by Jimmy Page during the Yardbirds era then resurfaced, \"Knowing That I'm Losing You,\" which the guitarist renamed \"Tangerine,\" on which he laid down a beautiful solo and even left a false start on the tape. Not to be outdone, John Paul Jones pulled out a mandolin, and a folk song previously recorded by Leadbelly was given an extraordinary reinterpretation, \"Gallows Pole,\" the story of a condemned man trying to bribe his executioner – their musical culture allowed them this kind of borrowing, especially since they always masterfully developed the potential of the repertoire they tackled. Then, they recycled an unexploited electric instrumental of their own, \"Jennings Farm Blues\" (inspired by an English traditional), and turned it into \"Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp,\" which Plant dedicated... to his dog Strider. His talents being less in demand, John Bonham then played any percussive instrument that wasn't a drum kit, such as the drum, tambourine, or even castanets!To complete the album, two other English studios were used, Olympic and Island: at Olympic, they recorded the relentless \"Out on the Tiles,\" vaguely based on a drinking song that John Bonham had constantly on his lips at the time and whose pachydermic rhythm was absolutely effective. Spontaneously, a tribute was paid in passing to singer Roy Harper (whom they met at the Bath festival and for whom Jimmy Page put in overtime) with \"Hats off to (Roy) Harper,\" in fact a medley of several blues tracks (including Bukka White's \"Shake 'em on Down\") which, for once, they did not sign themselves. Note that there is another version of this track, with a completely different medley.Finally, at Island, where Page did the final mix, they put \"That's the Way\" on tape, and especially the absolute masterpiece \"Since I've Been Lovin' You,\" which they had honed every night in concert since January and recorded live, with John Paul Jones simultaneously playing the melodic line and bass on his organ. Everything here is divine, from Plant's voice, maddening with passion and sensuality, to Jimmy Page's guitar solo, one of the most stunning ever, not to mention Bonham's drumming (with his bass drum pedal squeaking throughout), which forms an unparalleled rhythmic carpet for over seven minutes.While \"Led Zeppelin III\" received a negative critical reception upon its release and caused a slight dip in the band's sales curve, it first had the merit of proving that these men could write more thoughtful and sensitive songs than those their audience had been accustomed to until then. A few decades later, no one escapes this album, and that's the main thing.Remastered, \"Led Zeppelin III\" was reissued in June 2014 in a double volume including alternative takes and studio outtakes.Frédéric Régent - Copyright 2017 Music Story","brand":"Led Zeppelin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55431038796120,"sku":null,"price":20140602.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0898\/4943\/0360\/files\/0081227965761.jpg?v=1774294761","url":"https:\/\/vinyles.com\/en\/products\/led-zeppelin_iii_2014_war","provider":"Vinyles.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}