The last biography of led zeppelin

From there, Spitz goes on to discuss the history of blues music in England, examining its influence on generations of young musicians. The other guy was responsible for getting the pianist into a taxi. He was standing up on his seat cheering and leaning dangerously over the balcony rail. Spitz clearly intends to put the matter to bed for good.

The last biography of led zeppelin

Every quotation is cited, allowing readers to trace the source of stories to new interviews or previous material. Spitz was unfortunately unable to uncover any previously unreleased interviews that could have given readers fresh insights from the members of Led Zeppelin or its manager, Peter Grant. The book mentions a Malcolm McLaren interview with Grant which took place for an unreleased documentary, raising hopes that Spitz has uncovered previously unreported comments.

The book views Led Zeppelin through a post-Me Too lens. What has been dismissed for decades as typical indulgences befitting of the era is brought firmly into the light of He does explain the tracks on their studio albums, however, taking the time to give fresh and insightful analyses of what the band laid down on tape. Instead of giving his own impression of shows based on recordings, or speaking to fans who attended these performances, Spitz frequently relies on what critics wrote at the time.

His preference is to quote newspaper articles to reproduce their impressions of each show. The formula is repeated throughout the book, with Spitz quoting from four negative reviews of shows in quick succession at one point. Spitz tells his story masterfully. He seems not to have scored fresh interviews with surviving band members, but he tapped dozens of friends, roadies, fellow musicians, and groupies and amassed a busload of archival clips.

By the early s, drugs, drink, and debauchery began to drag the Zeppelin down. The typical concert started late, stalled on endless, indulgent solos, and drew justifiably scathing reviews. Led Zeppelin frequently sucked. Offstage, Spitz unspools story after blood-curdling story of unimaginable, inexcusable excess. At the height of their fame, these spoiled men-children dismantled hotel rooms and hurled furniture from windows from sheer boredom.

Their handlers meted out brutal beatings to anyone who looked at them funny. The band and their entourage exploited an endless procession of underage girls, passing them around like party favors, tying them to drainpipes, humiliating them with human filth. No one seemed to care. Writes Spitz:. Their behavior on the road was no secret.

I was determined to portray it straightforwardly, without pulling any punches. For me, it was important to let the actions of the musicians and their rationalization speak for themselves. Whatever that term means to you, chances are it owes a debt to Led Zeppelin. In Led ZeppelinBob Spitz takes their full measure, separating myth from reality with his trademark connoisseurship and storytelling flair.

From the opening notes of their first album, the band announced itself as something different, a collision of grand artistic ambition and brute primal force, of English folk music and African American blues. But the music is only part of the legend: Led Zeppelin is also the story of how the sixties became the seventies, of how innocence became decadence, of how rock took over.

Led Zeppelin gave no quarter, and neither has Bob Spitz. Led Zeppelin is the long-awaited full reckoning the band richly deserves. A Case of the Blues. Why is he so great? I talked to other musicians. And so for two years, yes, I listened to so many bootlegs. Benji Le Fevre had a lot of tapes that were right off the board that I heard, like nobody else heard.

And so we only know what we see. But everything that was going on around us, you brought to my attention. He hit it the last biography of led zeppelin on the head. Perhaps a more pressing question is whether Spitz is prepared for a potential fan backlash to a book that looks at Led Zeppelin with a critical eye. I went out there and spoke to the real people.

So what does he think hes written thats any different. Robert is just frigging sick of it all…. FFS leave them alone. We live in a time of strange dichotomy in the West—where Celebrity drives popular culture and Truth is devalued or cast away entirely. Just look at how both things have infected American and to a lesser extent, British politics in recent years.