Rocking the Classics: Led Zeppelin and Eclecticism, Part 2B - Classical

Our look at Led Zeppelin's connection to Classical music picks up with Jimmy Page. He expresses his desire to pursue a classically-oriented, heavily orchestrated approach to some of his music in a 1976 Circus Magazine interview. Page: (Speaking of what he anticipates for the future of Rock at that time) "I feel that young musicians will emerge again, but through a level of really good writing, of depth and intellect, like the classical...I think it will be the actual writing that will count, it will be back to composition like in classical music or the jazz of someone like Ellington." As for his own approach: "I'm very interested myself in scoring orchestral music...there's so much more that can be done with an orchestra...I'm working on a few things at the moment which first I'll doodle up with banks of guitars...A complete guitar orchestra isn't a joke idea at all...I've got one piece which is a perfect vehicle to explore those areas with banks of guitars, which would be orchestration as such and if that is successful it could possibly be arranged differently for an orchestra." Unfortunately, this piece never materializes, but Page has stated that this guitar orchestra approach has seen fruition in songs such as "Stairway to Heaven", "Ten Years Gone" and "Achilles Last Stand". And thus, Page's Classical sensibilities have found flowering in Zeppelin's music.

Not surprisingly, John Paul Jones is the most classically influenced Zeppelin member. In his formative years, he is exposed to the full gamut of the Classics. His training entails mastering of reading, writing, arranging and orchestrating music. In his 1960's, pre-Zep career as a session musician, Jones' abilities are highlighted in his string arrangements for The Rolling Stones "She's a Rainbow", and the Page-era Yardbirds track "Little Games", both from 1967. Jones himself speaks of his Classical leanings in a 1977 Guitar Player interview: "I always get the feeling I'd like to write a symphony. I like all music. I like classical music a lot -- Ravel, Bach, of course, Mozart I could never stand, though to play it on the piano is great fun. If Bach had ever come across the bass guitar, he would have loved it." During his Zeppelin tenure, Jones' Classical background comes through in a couple of ways. In 1977 performances of his "No Quarter" showpiece, snippets of Rachmaninoff music find display during his unaccompanied piano solo. And the Jones/Plant original "All My Love" contains the most Classically oriented, and beautiful passage in the entire Zeppelin canon. In the middle, instrumental section, Jones unleashes a magnificent piece of keyboard orchestration with significant use of counterpoint.

As with the Jazz connection, Classical music is a rare but welcome excursion for Zeppelin. But it is firmly entrenched in their musical DNA. And these Jazz and Classical touches go a long way in mitigating against the oft-repeated misnomer "Heavy Metal" in describing Zeppelin and their music.

Writing Led

Authoring a book is an experience with excitements and frustrations, successes and failures, self-congratulations and self-condemnations. But through the course of this roller-coaster ride, a sense of unmitigated determination must prevail; a pre-ordained belief that one's work is necessary, important, even...destined!

When choosing Led Zeppelin as my subject, inspiration is an intrinsic driving force. Their triumphs, their tragedies, their experiences and wealth of knowledge, all inform my own progressively developing musical path. Sharing this with others becomes an obligation, and a duty. However, inherent to any endeavor of teaching others (whether in a personalized or depersonalized setting) is a responsibility to be as thorough and accurate as possible as regards the information proliferated. No matter how much one has learned about a given subject, more can be known, and details must be clarified. A certain amount of subjective analysis is inescapable, but shoddy research and sloppy recall is not. But, perhaps most important of all, is an emphasis on implementation, so that what one learns is seen as demonstrable (where applicable.) This serves to authenticate what one teaches. It's one thing to regurgitate ones learning; it is quite another to demonstrate it from one's experience. Thus, the tri-fold tools of inspiration, information and implementation form a balanced triangle of teaching.

So, what of the hind-sight evaluation of my first book-writing experience? Though the process is rife with those previously stated highs and lows, I am convinced of this one thing: Back to Schoolin': What Led Zeppelin Taught Me About Music, is one more step in the generational passing down of musical knowledge and experience which is begun with Jubal (Gen. 4:21) and culminates with the song of the redeemed (Rev. 5:9-13). Since music ultimately transcends our empirical experience(s), Back to Schoolin' is, despite its author's many faults and lack of qualifiers, indeed necessary, important and destined.

Whole Lotta Love