From a Whisper to a Scream: The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin by Dave Lewis

I was driving home from Chicago and put Led Zeppelin III on the CD player. Since I've Been Loving You came on and I said to my wife, "hear the squeak?" She agreed she did and I said, "that's his bass drum pedal.

"How could you possibly know that?" the woman who thinks I know far too much about Led Zeppelin asks.

"I just read it in Dave Lewis' new book."

As Dave says on the insert he's signing for all the books, "enjoy listening to the book." Yea, well Dave, I used to enjoy listening to Since I've Been Loving You until I noticed the squeaking bass drum pedal.

From a Whisper to a Scream is a biography of Led Zeppelin told through the music. Missing is the superfluous: no sharks, no groupies, no drinking or drugs. Just the music, year by year, album by album.

Starting with The Yardbirds demise, Lewis takes you through Led Zeppelin's 11 year journey album by album, song by song and, to a lesser extent, tour by tour with the music always being the sole focus of the narrative. By focusing on the songs, how and when they were created, recorded and performed, Lewis creates a biography that's extraordinarily detailed.

It's chock-a-block full of information, some that was new to me, presented in such a way From a Whisper to a Scream also works as a resource. It is simply, one of the best Led Zeppelin books out there.

From a Whisper to a Scream can be bought through TBLweb.com, and should be considered a must read for any Led Zeppelin fan.

Tight But Loose #32

Dave Lewis' tri-annual Led Zeppelin fanzine, Tight But Loose is always excellent but issue #32, which landed on my door step last week, sets a new standard. How good is it? Lewis has an interesting and informative interview with John Paul Jones and it's not the high point of the magazine.

A "TBL investigates" feature looks into where that famous first Led Zeppelin rehearsal took place. The feature is six pages long examines the evidence where that rehearsal took place. In the process they cover in detail the demise of The Yardbirds and the forming of Led Zeppelin. It is an article that Zeppelin fans will find exceptional and that, somehow, could only have come from Tight But Loose.

It also features and excellent and informative interview with Warren Grant, an interview, post Sensational Space Shifters show, with Justin Adams and a review of Lucifer Rising.

Tight But Loose issue #32 is as good as it gets and you will spend a few hours soaking in every word, it is that good.

A subscription to Tight But Loose can be ordered from TightButLoose.co.uk, as well issue #32 can be ordered as a stand alone edition. While your at Tight But Loose, order one (or three) of Dave's books, and tell him they came highly recommended from Ramble On Radio.

O2 Reunion Show DVD Coming at "Tectonic Plate Speed."

In his latest edition of the ubiquitous Led Zeppelin fanzine, Tight But Loose, Dave Lewis interviews John Paul Jones. He asks the most important question on the Led Zeppelin fans minds (besides when are you playing together again?, which, kudos to him, Lewis manages to avoid asking). When asked what is happening on the release of a DVD  (and BlueRay obviously) of the O2 reunion show, Jones said:

...things move at a tectonic plate speed in the Zeppelin camp.

As a follow up, Lewis asks, "So you can see it happening?"

I could have... I'm not sure... I think it will but obviously it's not just down to me, there are two others to consider. Let's hope it does.

This answer tells us a couple of things. The DVD is being held up by a member of Zeppelin, or his camp, not called John Paul Jones. And by "two others," we can presume Jones doesn't mean Jason Bonham.

As for a post O2 reunion tour, and the three instrumentalists in the band playing together, Jones had this to say:

I did rehearsals with Jimmy and Jason and I think we all thought it could be a goer. In the end we couldn't really find a singer we could all agree on and it fizzled out...

As for Them Crooked Vultures, Jones saw himself playing with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl again, but not in the near future:

...it's probably way ahead but yes I could see it coming together again.

It's an excellent overall interview with the Zeppelin bassist that covers everything from his equipment to his opera.

If you don't subscribe to Tight But Loose, I can't recommend it enough. However, if you would rather check it out first, issue 32 is available as a one off purchase from Tight But Loose:

http://www.tightbutloose.co.uk/tblweb09/?page_id=14475

I'll have a full review of the entire edition in the next few days, but at halfway through, it is excellent. Click on the link and buy now.

Podcast #4

Dave Lewis was scheduled to be on Podcast #4, but the technical details didn't get worked out in time. None the less, I paid tribute to John Bonham, covered a lot of Robert Plant news and discussed the newest issue of Tight But Loose, the updating of Then As It Was, 2 upcoming reissues of Zeppelin led books in e-format and my new name.

You can get in on the fun, Ramble On Podcast #4 is available here, or as always, you can subscribe on iTunes and never miss a podcast.

Feather in the Wind: Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980

Led Zeppelin have impressed me in different ways over the years. As musicians, as performers, as writers, as people. Tonight they impressed me as a working rock ‘n’ roll band - above everything, that’s important.

Tight but loose? - you ain’t joking... And this is only the second night of the tour.

Dave Lewis
Feather in the Wind page 96

Dave Lewis has said that Feather in the Wind: Led Zeppelin Over Europe 1980, is a companion book to his earlier work, Then as it Was - At Knebworth 1979*. This is the most accurate statement you can make about it. Feather in the Wind is so perfectly synchronous with Then as it Was it could be called part 2. Between the two books, Lewis thoroughly covers the time in Led Zeppelin’s career beginning with the last US show in July 1977 and ending at the announcement of their dissolution in Dec 1980.

[caption id="attachment_1267" align="alignright" width="214" caption="Led Zeppelin Feather in the Wind - Over Europe 1980"][/caption]

Feather in the Wind is in the main about Led Zeppelin’s underreported final tour through Europe in the summer of 1980. In the telling, however, Lewis starts at Knebworth the summer before, and carries the story to the end of 1980 and the end of Led Zeppelin.

Lewis was there, that’s the key point of the book. Dave Lewis was able to get to a number of the 1980 shows. He was a fan, buying his tickets, but he wound up getting treated like a journalist and seeing 1980 Led Zeppelin from a variety of vantage points: backstage, the photography pit, the cheap seats. After show he hung about with the band members in the hotel bars, and talked about the tour, and the future of Led Zeppelin. That access is at the heart of the narrative.

Feather in the Wind is both the telling of the last Led Zeppelin story, and a reference book. If you want to know when they played Nuremberg, what songs they played, what was said between songs or any other number of facts about the show, it is all in there. From short venue history and seating capacity to what each band member wore onstage, you can find it.

Yet it’s not an encyclopaedia. With personal stories, Lewis’ personal experiences and a store of never before seen pictures taken by the author himself, Feather in the Wind tells a great story. It is, in fact, one of the best Led Zeppelin books you will ever read.

_______________________________
*Lewis has published a second edition of Then as Now: Knebworth ‘79, with a “revamped cover and new layout design,increased colour content and additional text.” It looks great, and would nicely sit beside Feather in the Wind on the bookshelf.

Both books can be bought at Tight But Loose. If you have a Led Zeppelin fan on your Christmas list, buying both would make a great gift.

Dave Lewis on BBC

Last Tuesday Dave Lewis called into Vic Morgan on BBC Radio's weekday Late Show for a chat about writing and his new book Feather in the Wind: Over Europe 1980.



I talked about the book myself on my first PodCast, available here.

The book can be ordered from the Tight But Loose website.

h/t Steve Sauer

Led Zeppelin's Last Flight - July 7, 1980

Thirty one years ago Jimmy Page stepped on stage at the Eissporthalle in Berlin dressed in a grey suit and black shirt with a black scarf draped around him. He stepped on his wah-wah peddle and played the train whistle intro to Train Kept a Rollin'.



Led Zeppelin played a 14 song, 144 minute set for the 6,000 German fans, the last show on their Over Europe 1980 tour. It turned out to be Led Zeppelin's last show.

The concert featured a 14 minute version of Stairway to Heaven, with Page playing one of the longest solos he ever played on that song. The band also did extended jams on Trampled Underfoot and Whole Lotta Love.



Set list - Led Zeppelin, July 7, 1980. Berlin, Germany

1. Train Kept a Rollin'


2. Nobody's Fault But Mine


3. Out on the Tiles Intro/Black Dog


4. In The Evening


5. The Rain Song


6. Hot Dog


7. All My Love


8. Trampled Underfoot


9. Since I've Been Loving You


10. White Summer-Black Mountain Side/Kashmir


11. Stairway to Heaven


12. Rock and Roll


13. Whole Lotta Love

Dave Lewis of Tight But Loose has just released a new book on the Led Zeppelin Over Europe, 1980 tour, called Feather in the Wind - Over Europe 1980. It is chock full of information and pictures. The book is a must read for Zeppelin fans, as it fills in the story of that last, vastly underreported tour.

Feather in the Wind - Over Europe 1980 can be ordered from the Tight But Loose website, and can't be recommended enough.

Led Zeppelin Over Europe

31 Years ago today, Led Zeppelin began what would be there last tour, Over Europe 1980.  Some people through the years have referred to it as a warm up tour , before embarking on America later in the year.

[caption id="attachment_1267" align="alignright" width="214" caption="Led Zeppelin Feather in the Wind - Over Europe 1980"][/caption]

That's not true, it was more a case of Led Zeppelin testing the waters, seeing what they still had. America in the fall would be decided at the end of the tour, not going in.

Tight But Loose editor/writer/publisher/head cook Dave Lewis has a new book on the 1980 tour, Feather in the Wind - Over Europe 1980. It is a comprehensive examination of the most under reported tour of Led Zeppelin's career. I'm currently enjoying the book, albeit too slowly during a busy patch. I expect to have a full review by next weekend. Meanwhile, click the link above to buy a copy of Feather in the Wind.

Here's what Dave had to say about Dortmund, Germany on June 17, 1980:

A vibrant opening night. The band sounded well rehearsed, delivering a fiery compact performance - the shortest of the tour.... The surprises include  the recall for Train Kept a Rollin'  as set opener (performed live by Zep for the first time since September 2nd, 1970) and Jimmy introducing Black Dog...

Hot Dog features a Page solo very similar to the album version and the premiere live performance of All My Love impresses....

Here's All My Love from Dortmund, Germany June 17, 1980:

ZepFest Updates

There's a little bad news coming out of camp ZepFest, as previously reported speaker Richard Cole will not be in attendance at National Harbour in Washington DC next month. According to the organizer,  "couldn't work out travel to accommodate all."

Dave Lewis, of Tight But Loose, will be there, however, and he will have his new book, Feather in the Wind - Over Europe 1980. You can pre-order by emailing Dave, davelewis.tbl1@ntlworld.com, and request a copy or copies be reserved to be picked up at his ZepFest display.

Dave, meanwhile, has been busy both putting together the book and the latest edition of Tight But Loose, #29. Featuring a preview of Feather in the Wind, a look back at Stairway to Heaven 40 years later, a review of Anna Nicole: The Opera and a listen through of the new Black Country Communion album with Glenn Hughes. If you don't already subscribe, you can do so here.

Finally, a technical note. Last week I posted a video of myself playing my Led Zeppelin I 8-track, which I received from ZepFest during their 12 daze of Zepmas giveaway (to tie this whole post together, the question I won on was, how many editions of Tight But Loose are released every year?) I have no idea why the video simply won't work on YouTube, but it won't. I have tried editing, re-uploading &tc. But there is something wonky with the codex, and I am not a video guy. It does not matter very much, it was a silly little video. If you have tried to watch the video, my apologies, but you didn't miss very much.

Tight But Loose Issue 28

Dave Lewis has begun sending out Tight But Loose Edition #28. Featuring Jimmy Page’s book launch, John Paul Jones’ Classic Rock Award, Robert Plant’s Band of Joy tour and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience and more TBL28 looks like it will be jam packed.

It also has a great cover (right), with an amazing, casual shot of Jimmy Page.

Dave is sending out the edition in batches, but warns that unprecedented winter weather in England may cause delivery to be slower than usual:

Realistically, given all the current conditions, I would hope all UK subscribers will receive their copies by the end of the first week of January. Europe, USA and the rest of the world will follow soon after with expected delivery by mid January.

Tight But Loose is available from the Tight But Loose website.

Now Appearing...

on Tight But Loose

Tight But Loose is the premier Led Zeppelin website and magazine.  Dave Lewis started TBL in the 70's and, although he took a break after the death of John Bonham, has been doing it ever since.

So it is an honour to have my words printed on Dave's web server, as he uses a modified version of the JBLZE review I posted here. Scroll down the page until you see Centre in the Square, Kitchener, Ontario:

“Kitchener,” says Jason Bonham from the stage, bowler hat much like his father would occasionally wear perched on his head, “is very special to me. The background picture on my phone is of my dad in Kitchener.”

Meanwhile, it's worth mentioning that Tight But Loose issue #27 has been out about a month. Chock-a-block full of information about Robert Plant's Band of Joy, Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page, Jason Bonham's tour, Black Country Communion and 30 years since the death of John Bonham.

If you're a fan, then it's a must have. You can order it here, but check out the whole website: you never who you might find there.

Robert Plant: "I Almost Walked"

Robert Plant said this week that he almost quit Led Zeppelin after the death of his son, Karak, in 1977 according to Contact Music:

"All of us had been thinking about what would happen next because the illusion had run its course.

"I'd already lost my boy and then you think, 'I really have to decide what to do.' I applied to become a teacher in the Rudolf Steiner education system. I was accepted to go to teacher training college in 1978. I was really quite keen to just walk."

It was John Bonham, according to Plant, who convinced him to stay with the band.

If you're ever wondering why Robert Plant wouldn't tour with a reformed Led Zeppelin after the 2007 02 reunion, there's a lot in that statement to explain why.




Meanwhile, Plant had a successful homecoming with his Band of Joy playing The Roundhouse Saturday as part of BBC2's Electric Proms. According to Dave Lewis at Tight But Loose:

This Radio 2 Electric Proms event can take its place right up there with the most special of occasions spent in his (Plant's) company.

Review: Tight But Loose

In June, I had the opportunity to receive a courtesy copy of the latest edition of Dave Lewis’s legendary Led Zeppelin fanzine, Tight But Loose (TBL). Dave has changed up TBL for the 26th issue with a redesign and a full colour look.

Sometimes life brings the smallest pleasures, and it was so with my TBL before I even opened the envelope. On the envelope itself there was four of the Royal Mail album cover stamps. I had a relation send me a set of these, so I recognized them immediately, but it’s nice to have some proper ones, that have been enveloped and post marked. So there I was sitting looking at the envelope, complete with London Calling, Ziggy Stardust, Tubular Bells and Led Zeppelin 4 (he even got my favourites of the albums), enjoying TBL before I even opened it.

You know when you love the envelope, inside is going to be a treat. So it was with TBL. For the Zeppelin addict, it is a 32 page treasure trove of information and, most impressive, newspaper clippings. Besides a Led Zeppelin knowledge base that’s second to none, Lewis appears to have a phenomenal collection of Led Zeppelin articles, reviews and clippings. The magazine is littered with scans from old newspapers, and each story is better for them.

From an information standpoint, TBL misses nothing. The feature story on this edition was a review of Zeppelin’s live appearances in 1970 (part 1). But it has reviews of Them Crooked Vulture concerts, interviews with a trio of former Robert Plant guitarists (none of them called Jimmy Page or Robbie Blunt unfortunately - my two favourite RP sidemen), an interview with NME’s Nick Kent and very early mentions of Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience and Black Country Communion - who were still sorting out their name at the time of publication.

Lewis has a statement in the Editorial:

…web sites are for browsing, the TBL magazine is for reading again and again.

He’s right, and in second reading this week, the most interesting article was an interview with BCC singer/bassist Glenn Hughes. When I first read the interview in June, Black Country Communion were barely a story, there were even rumours of a rift within’ the band before it had even started. Since then, they have an album, a release date, and a song available. They are a going concern, and the Led Zeppelin fan who’s getting excited about the upcoming CD will find the interview excellent.





I want to thank Dave Lewis for the preview edition of Tight But Loose, which I loved. So much so that I bought a subscription for the next two editions, and am looking forward to receiving #27 in the next couple of weeks. And Dave, I hope you made a note of which stamps I already have (although I can never have too many Zeppelin IV stamps).