Led Zeppelin Rock and Roll in Tribute to Their Heroes2458181
Led Zeppelin IV was a turning point for the band. The year was 1971, along with the group realized that they had been keen on penning a lot more than straight ahead rock and roll songs and lengthy, extended blues jams. For some bands, this would have posed a problem, as you will find often songwriting elements inside a group that are locked into a specific style and are unwilling to move in new directions. Because of these 'creative differences', it was not and continues to be not uncommon for band members to leave and pursue their very own artistic direction. Label pressure to keep on churning out exactly the same old attempted and true hits is also a heavy factor when a crossroads like this really is reached.
Fortunately, Led Zeppelin was far from a normal band. In actual fact, the group discovered that they were comfortable having multi-part rock epics share the identical album side as blistering 12 bar blues rock. For Led Zeppelin Rock and Roll was their way of keeping in touch with their roots whilst at the same time stretching their branches to reach for the stars.
The genesis of the song lies inside the simplicity of its title. Whilst jamming in the studio, drummer John Bonham kept subjecting the band for the introductory cymbal and snare parts in the Small Richard song 'Good Golly Miss Molly'. This prompted guitarist Jimmy Page to retaliate by composing an accompaniment on the spot, and also the riff for 'Rock and Roll' was born. The band liked the song so substantially that they promptly decided to record it and contain it on the album.
The spontaneity on the song can undoubtedly be felt though listening to it. The track breathes using a life of its own, and could be the perfect second half from the one-two punch that opens the album, after the down and dirty blues workout of 'Black Dog'. The basic arrangement in the track belies the power of early rock and roll, and for Led Zeppelin Rock and Roll was a way for them to offer new power to the past creations on the musical pioneers that had brought them to their current career stage.
Recorded in 15 minutes, 'Rock and Roll' proves that sometimes the best music is the fact that which doesn't suffer from agonizing second guessing and endless overdubs. Its position on exactly the same album side as ' Stairway to Heaven ' in no way diminishes the song's stature as 1 of classic rock's shining moments.
