Get Zepped !

Being a school kid of the 70s & early 80s it felt imperative that each student had an ‘identity’ which was determined by their musical taste – Rocker, Mod, Soul Boy, Punk, Jazz Cat etc. My problem was that I liked them all and wanted to identify with all of the musical styles. I was reprieved somewhat by the fact that everybody (whatever their chosen identity) was the fact that they secretly liked Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. Via ‘Stairway’ I became acquainted with the rest of the Led Zeppelin discography. Put simply, for me the appeal of ‘Zep’s’ music was always the fact that so much of it was riff-based; instantly recognisable by a few guitar effects or powerhouse drumming – and that’s before the singer even got going. However, under the surface there was some complex stuff occurring; changing time signatures, syncopation on a grand scale, rhythmic displacement. The beauty was that the music could be taken purely at face value or indeed delved into at a more analytical level.

J.M.