Led Zeppelin's Coda - The End Of An EraLed Zeppelin's Coda marked the end of an era. Coda, like most musical terms, is an Italian word. Literally meaning “the tail”, it signifies the end of a piece of music. Or, in this case, the end of an important era in popular music history. Led Zeppelin’s career was brought to an abrupt and tragic end when drummer John Bonham died on September 25, 1980. On December 4 of that year, Zeppelin announced its intention to play no more. Throughout the band’s history together, Jimmy Page had always longed to release a chronological anthology of the group’s live material. Robert Plant was less enthusiastic at the time. But now, Led Zeppelin’s surviving members could unite on middle ground. In the summer of 1981, Page started sifting through Led Zeppelin’s archives at Sol Studio, Berkshire, in search of golden nuggets. The album’s working title was Early Days and Latter Days. The final LP was released on November 19, 1982. In The Beginning, The BluesThere were no tracks from 1968 on Led Zeppelin's Coda; however, Jimmy Page culled from the 1969-1978 period a couple that harkened back to the group’s beginnings in electrified blues: live versions of We’re Gonna Groove and I Can’t Quit You Baby. The other tracks were studio outtakes. Originally recorded in 1978 for In Through the Out Door, Ozone Baby, Darlene and Wearing and Tearing never made it onto that album. Similarly, Walter’s Walk missed its chance on 1972’s Houses of the Holy. Poor Tom was conceived at Bron-Yr-Aur, Wales where Page and Plant had retreated to work on material for 1970’s Led Zeppelin III. Appropriately enough, Bonzo’s Montreux also appears. John Bonham was given sole credit for having composed this percussion instrumental. It was recorded in 1976 at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland. We’re Gonna GrooveHere on Coda, Jimmy Page adds suboctivider at Sol Studios. The device wasn’t used when Zeppelin first covered Ben E. King’s blues classic. On this 1982 version, it gives the track a psychedelic, trippy feel during Page’s frenetic guitar solo. Bonham underscores the dense guitar work with heavily syncopated and tricky percussion. Add in Robert Plant’s screeching vocals and John Paul Jones’ harum-scarum bass riffs and you have a stellar opening track. According to liner notes on the original release, We’re Gonna Groove was recorded at Morgan Studios in June 1969. It was later revealed the song had, in fact, been recorded in concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London. Jimmy Page allegedly removed his featured guitar part from the recording of that January 9, 1970 performance and added overdubs to achieve the result heard on 1982’s version. Poor TomAny Led Zeppelin compilation has to include acoustic work and Coda is no exception. Jimmy Page shrewdly sandwiches the airy, folk-inspired piece in between the album’s two live aural sledgehammers: We’re Gonna Groove and I Can’t Quit You Baby. The song demonstrates Zeppelin’s skill at composing and performing acoustic guitar songs with riveting intensity and depth. John Bonham gets the train rolling with a light, rambling touch. Page enters, his hypnotic guitar pattern furthering the rhythm of locomotion. Robert Plant’s lyrics are rich with the traditional blues imagery of the Deep South – railroad cars, open spaces and the freedom of train travel. He throws in hoboes and contributes a rhythmic harmonica solo for good measure!
I Can’t Quit You BabyThe version of this song that made it onto Track Three of Led Zeppelin's Coda is absolutely mind-blowing, especially for Led Zeppelin fans unfamiliar with the band’s bootlegged material. It shows just a glimpse of the mighty Zeppelin’s dread power in live performance. Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in London on January 9, 1970, this Willie Dixon chestnut is the first “live” version of a Zeppelin number that didn’t hail from the soundtrack of The Song Remains the Same. For the first time ever on official release, you can hear a live sound check version of this classic. It’s drastically different from the recording on Zeppelin’s debut album, which was adapted from an Otis Rush version (1965 Vanguard recording). Over the years, many variations of I Can’t Quit You Baby have appeared on bootlegged vinyl, but none is as vibrant. Bonham’s bombastic finale and Page’s solo with the blues turnaround are particularly memorable. Bonzo’s MontreuxA highlight of Led Zeppelin'sCoda is this instrumental percussion solo by the late, undeniably great, John Bonham. Completely unlike Moby Dick, this piece proves every one of Led Zeppelin’s talented musicians had the freedom to explore and expand, individually and collectively. Bonham uses an array of instruments, yet a tuneful melody soars above his percussive cloud. He performs innovative patterns where he sets up the call and provides his own response! Very creative and a delight for the listener. Bonzo shows total mastery of musical dynamics from light tap to physical assault, moment to moment. One of my interviewees, himself a professional percussionist, observed that John Bonham was a sensitive, very intuitive drummer. Wearing And TearingPerhaps this song wasn’t released until Coda because by then punk rock had worn out its welcome. Wearing and Tearing was originally recorded in November 1978 at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. In those days, Zeppelin was a preferred punker target. This song shows, though, that Led Zeppelin could dominate any musical style its musicians chose, even punk. As another interviewee pointed out, in 1968 Led Zeppelin’s Communication Breakdown was punk and speed metal before those genres existed! Wearing and Tearing has a metallic, almost out of control feeling of energy being liberated by Page’s fretwork. It races along at breakneck speed yet has “pockets of silence” as in Black Dog, The Ocean and Hots On for Nowhere. Despite the outrageous tempo and din, Plant has several opportunities to sing his ominous lyrics a cappella. (Another Italian musical term meaning “unaccompanied”). At one point, he asks us, “What good is the medication if you throw away the cure?” Indeed!
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