Led Zeppelin made nine studio albums – that’s a lotta influential, legendary rock ‘n’ roll. Now, for the first time, get the lowdown on each song on each album, plus much more, in the new book, Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs (Voyageur Press, October 1, 2017) by music journalist Martin Popoff.
Formed by the unlikely alliance of two ace London studio musicians and two bar-band bumpkins, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones formed Led Zeppelin and created the template for a marauding modern rock ‘n’ roll band. Often described as “heavy,” any true fan will tell you that the band’s 9 studio albums, totaling 81 tracks in all, are a complex amalgam of blues, psychedelia, rock, folk, and country that reveal the influences of Led Zeppelin’s four members.
Veteran music journalist Martin Popoff picks apart each of these 81 songs in exquisite detail, and for the first time ever, you can come along for the ride. Popoff analyzes the circumstances that led to their creation, the recording processes, the historical contexts, and more. Included as a special bonus, he also offers an introductory essay on each of the band’s nine studio albums, and sidebar features that explore influences on the band as well as song details, such as running time, instruments played, engineers, and studios.
Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs is incredibly in-depth with info on how each song was written and recorded and details on the actual studio performances, often down to the number of takes different songs took to capture on tape. There’s analysis and insight on lyrics as well as the band’s writing influences. Each album/chapter is prefaced with the track listing, recording dates, studio, producer and engineer information, release dates, RIAA sales certifications and the album’s peak Billboard position. In addition, this hardcover book features 200 stunning photos featuring rare performance and offstage photography and memorabilia.
From “Good Times Bad Times” to “Wearing and Tearing,” the recorded output of the most influential rock band of all-time is examined like never before in Led Zeppelin: All the Albums, All the Songs.
At approximately 7,900 (with over 7,000 appearing in his books), Martin Popoff has unofficially written more record reviews than anybody in the history of music writing across all genres. Additionally, Martin has penned 57 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock, and record collecting, including 2004’s Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away, Rush: The Illustrated History, and Rush: Album by Album. He was Editor-In-Chief of the now retired Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Canada’s foremost heavy metal publication in print for 14 years, and has also contributed to Revolver, GuitarWorld, Goldmine, RecordCollector, bravewords.com, lollipop.com and hardradio.com. Martin has been a regular contractor to Banger Films, having worked on the award-wining documentary Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, the 11-episode Metal Evolution, and the 10-episode Rock Icons, both for VH1 Classic. Martin currently resides in Toronto and can be reached through martinp@inforamp.net or www.martinpopoff.com.