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LED ZEPPELIN When Giants Walked The Earth by MICK WALL

Published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson / October 2008

There has never been another band quite like Led Zeppelin in the pantheon of rock music (apart from Spinal Tap of course but that is definitely another story), bestriding the world like ancient Gods, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John "Bonzo" Bonham were, and still are, the quintessential rock act that all others must aspire to.

Mick Wall, the very well regarded journalist and music biographer, has written what is sure to come to be the definitive account of the life and times of the band, its members and their equally legendary manager Peter Grant. Out of the ashes of sixties band The Yardbirds (surely one of the most fertile breeding grounds for guitarists with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page all passing through its ranks), Led Zeppelin expounded on the blues boom and the then exploding sphere of heavy rock to create something truly revolutionary sonically but it was Led Zeppelin four that really changed everything for them, also known as Four Symbols this is the album that features Stairway to Heaven and set them on a course of global domination throughout the rest of the 1970's. Relentless touring and trying to top each successive album saw their off stage antics and reputations growing ever wilder.

Wall tackles all of the most notorious aspects of the band and doesn't stint on them either. Bonham's incredible appetite for the booze, the sexual shananigans and Jimmy Page's life long affiliation with the occult and in particular Alesteir Crowley (even going so far as to live in one of his old houses) all get plenty of space but the heart of the book of course is the music, how it was created and the dynamic between the band that led to its creation.

Wall has been a long time confidant of the band too, Page in particular and has come up with a great device to further the story along, many of the chapters beginning with the voice of a different member of the band, like flashbacks to an earlier time, looking backfrom where they are now, interesting idea that mostly works quite well to carry the tale along. Wall also brings the story right smack up to date with their recent (November 2007) reunion, with Bonham's son Jason now pretty much a permanent member and current plans by Page to reform the band properly, if only Plant will let him (latest reports suggest the band are auditioning singers to replace Plant!).

Definitely one of the rock reads of the year.

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