Imagine we were all Tolkien fans, they were too, what amazing weaving of musical textures and story line pickups, we knew the basis of the song when we heard , ‘ringwrathes’ all of us deep fans pick it up on first listen. The mandolin rings and is so appropriate
You got that right. Since I bought this album their first one released 10 months before Led Zeppelin II. I've always considered this to be an epic somewhat more so than "Stairway To Heven". I wished they had waited at least two more months so that the fans enjoy this album more and not be the almost forgotten/unknown gem that that album is.
That is Jimmy Page playing the mandolin. John Paul Jones is playing the acoustic guitar. Female vocalist Sandy Denny did the duets with Robert Plant on this. She is the only one to ever be a guest vocalist on a Led Zeppelin album. She was the lead singer for a British folk band called Fairport convention.
And, as all members of the band had a logo; Sandy Denny had one, too! (Should think of printing that on a t-shirt, should I? To see, who would recognize. The 5th logo in Led Zeppelin.
Agreed! The ring of truth with such an economy of words to express such a complex tragedy of humanity. "The ground is rich from tender care, repaid to not forget." Almost as good. Again, absolutely PACKED with nuanced meaning with so few words. Stunning and beautiful poetry! Who actually wrote this?!
Robert Plant was a huge fan of LOTR. In Ramble On Robert mentions Gollum. Here in Battle of Evermore he mentions Queen of light, the dark lord, ringwraits. But my favourite is No Quarter. I cant help but imagine LOTR story listening to that song
Wow. Several reactors have done the “Zeppethon”. Which of course would include this. Check for SalvoG and Soul Train Bro. Those are two reactors I know who have done this song. Others as well.
That's JPJ on a mandolin at the beginning. And the incomparable Sandy Denny (the only artist EVER to guest on a Zeppelin release) on Background Vocals.
There is a video here on YT of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant doing this song with Najma Ahktar as the featured vocalist list. Jimmy is playing the mandolin part on it. The mandolin is built on to a double necked guitar. It’s a good video. I think it is part of Robert Plants album “No Quarter”. There are mid-eastern style ( I think) instruments used in it
Plant is diving deep into the moments before the siege of Minis Turith, you can feel the intensity. this song was released a year before Tolkien’s death
Yes, it is a song heavily inspired by folk-myth and Tolkien. There's also something "Shakespearean" about the instruments, the vocals and the way it all comes together... almost as if it is an updated audio theatre play but referencing centuries old music.
It still is today... for the same reason :) I was born in 70 and the hobbit and TLOR have been in my life from the start. it inspired Zeppelin to Gary Gygax. I like it when people discover this for the first time.
I almost feel like the movies opened up the LOTR too far -- like all those people didn't suffer like we did in the 60s and 70s when it was either unknown, or made fun of, except a handful of us keeping the faith. But I hope lots of people who saw the movies will go and read the books, which is the source of all the goodness.
@@TheNaznineI was born in 66. Both parents were hippies and I read LOTR by age 11. Read it again at 15 after playing D&D. Thank you Gary Gygax! And Zeppelin! And of course J.R.R. Tolkien!
Regarding Zep plagiarism, this is my view on that: on their first few albums they did covers of other artists, or they mixed and matched sections of very old blues masters, maybe did a line from one song and added to a line from another song, and didn't credit them. But always put it through the Zeppelin filter making it something entirely different than it was in the past. Yes they should have known better to not credit people. However most people don't realize something about the history of music. Zeppelin deeply studied the blues. They knew music from a hundred years before them, or even further back. And they followed the traditions too. The old blues masters passed it on down the line. The next musician sung their ancestors songs and made it their own, and they passed it on. Decade after decade, century after century. This process went on from way back. The story tellers told the story to others, and younger story tellers remembered the words and carried the torch. This is the ancient tradition in all the arts. Then in modern times, when people started recording their music, and started to make a living at it, people started claiming ownership and copyrighting their work. A lot of the old blues pieces from way back were not copyrighted or it has been so long that it passed into public domain. Frankly, if Zeppelin hadn't used some of that music, the wider modern world would not have even known about those older musicians because they have been lost to history, except to those who have dug into the past and studied them. I'm not condoning plagiarism, however before people make accusations they really need to understand a lot more about music history, and history of society.
@glass2467 I will say one thing, No one did better covers than Led Zeppelin. I've been a fan for most of my life, But I also don't condone what they did to other artists. I always consider the great Black blues masters that they took from without giving credit, and many of those guys were penniless. What makes it worse is they claimed to revere those guys.
It wasn’t just black musicians they ‘stole’ from. Jimmy Page practically copied Bert Jansch’s utterly unique arrangement of Black Waterside (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-f5Gcu0Sv6lk.html) and released it as Black Mountainside (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sUFCkM-tNUQ.html), with no credit to Bert. Bert was flattered, not least I suspect, because it proved he was a better fingerpicking guitarist than Jimmy.
@@neillenet291 This is a bit of exaggeration, and has become urban legend. On LZ1, in the original 1969 release, for example, they had three covers, fully credited. One they didn’t credit was “Dazed and Confused”, which is now credited as “inspired by Jake Holmes” (I’m sure there’s a story there, but I don’t know it). Now, there’s also an asterisk on “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”. They were covering the Joan Baez 1964 version, which she listed as “traditional”. Zeppelin did the same, as was done for traditional folk songs. It was two decades later, in the late 1980’s, that the original author, Anne Bredon, became aware of the Zeppelin version of the song, and authorship has been credited to her since 1990. Remember, these were before the internet, and information wasn’t as readily available as it is now.
The way you break these down and look at them is so very good. I have always known that Led Zeppelin has deep music and is far more than just Rock and Roll I have been listening to them for mor than half my life and it just never gets old revisiting it, As always your ride or die forever Eyyyyy Oooo thanks for the ride !!
Its crazy that Robert Plant has been singing this song for 50+ years. Mr Plant and Allison Krauss do an excellent version of Evermore that still gets cheers and applause.
OMG, a masterclass in vocal layering... chilling doesn't describe it. Probably edited on a reel to reel tape. Mind blown. I have some across your channel while on the same journey as you. I'm giving each album a month or more on loop. I'm just about to begin IV. Let's do this!
You’ve gotta be the best “first reaction” reactor I’ve encounter on YT. You’re obviously intently listening and doing some cursory research in the moment as lyrics catch your attention, instead of just spouting off from a position of ignorance and expecting commenters to tell you what you missed. It’s a breath of fresh air, you’re putting in the work to truly understand why the fans are so dedicated to the band. Not only that, but you bring a distinctly educated background Absolutely earned a subscription! 🤘
As teenagers in the late 1970s, reading JRR Tolkien, playing Dungeons & Dragons and listening to fantasy lore rich songs like this was the air that we breathed. This was one of my favorite songs, also No Quarter. Of course Rush - Xanadu and Jethro Tull - Broadsword are a couple more I remember being playlist worthy. Those days were magic (see what I did there?).
Appreciate your consistency & keeping your word about doing LZ IV ! Have become a big fan of you're channel. 😀 Zeppelin's "Ramble On" references JR Tolken also, "and Golem the evil warlock crept up and slipped away with her". This is what they grew up with. People used more imagintion back then which helps explain Zepplins creativity. IMHO.
Fantastic stuff - I wrote about this track in a comment here yesterday, and it gets airplay today already - I'm stoked out of my boots. When I've listened to Stairway a bit too often, this becomes my favourite Zepp track - it's truly a magnificent track.
@@w.geoffreyspaulding6588 Might be my coincidence - I only tapped into Rosalie's channel again yesterday, for the first time in about 5 months, after my last laptop was stolen. Whatever the case, it was a synchronicity event for me.
Did you notice that there were not any drums on this song? It was a mandolin, acoustic guitar, and Robert’s and Sandy Denny’s voices. It appears, reading several analyses of the song that Jimmy Page played the two instruments. JPJ and Bonzo were not a part of this song, the studio version. When played live, John Paul Jones plays the acoustic guitar, and sings the part that Sandy Denny did on the album. Placing this song third on the album, Jimmy was bringing a breathe of fresh air after two hard rock songs, and before the masterpiece of Stairway to Heaven.
I'm surprised that you didn't notice that this song is a duet with Sandy Denny. She was the lead singer of Fairport Convention back at the time of the recording. One of the reasons I miss the vinyl format is that would have been apparent from the albums inner sleeve.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Zeppelin is that many of their songs came together in one shot, pretty much like this song. Some people, even some fans, don't like this song, but it's always been one of my favorites. The instrumentation and lyrics are great, but the interplay between Plant and Denny really blows me away. When the guys of Zep got together, it was like magic, the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, Led Zeppelin. The greatest rock band of all time.
Great reaction, I was wondering how you were going to go from electric guitars, banging drums, and heavy bass to mandolin! It's great to see your eyes light up and facial expressions from your new listening experience!
Correct. Only guest to perform with Zeppelin on a studio recording….. She and Plant were voted Top female and top male vocalist in Britain in 1971 I believe. They were also pals, and Robert has always had a good relationship with several people in Fairport Convention and has performed with them occasionally at festivals.
Check out “the rain song”. It’s one of the most beautiful songs ever created in this genre. Also, it will be played at my funeral. It touches on all of the stages of love and life.
You should actually do the live version of Stairway to Heaven from MSG 1973. The extended guitar solo alone is worth the time, and Plant's vocals are spectacular with the adlibs.
The song is based on the night sky, from the setting sun ("The Queen of Light took her bow"), through the planets rising ("The tyrant's face is red" is Mars) and the various constellations (balance = Libre for example) to sunrise. (" At last the sun is shining"). The line "The sky is filled with good and bad" is the biggest clue. He 'flavors' this narrative with his love of Lord of The Rings.
Now that is an interpretation I have never heard before. I like it. I always thought that line referred to both the ringwraiths and the angels of Avalon being in the sky….
50-ish years ago, when I got this album, I had only heard Stairway to Heaven, Rock & Roll, and maybe Black Dog beforehand, on the radio. When I listened to the entire album, I realized that the whole thing is full of gems!!! Each song more creative (and unique) than the last. This song seemed just so magical. The Battle of Evermore doesn't take me back 50 years. In a way, it seems to take me back 700 years.
What 'remastered' usually means is that somebody got their hands on the tapes (who knows which tapes), ran them through computer 'pro-tools' or similar, squashed all the dynamics, brick-walled the high frequencies and then made everything sound LOUD. It's called "The Loudness War", you can google it. There are exceptions, mostly audiophile companies (MFSL, DCC, Audio Fidelity, etc.) who 'remaster' from original tapes (hopefully) to get the best sound, but *most* of the time, a 'remaster' is for the worse, and you are better off looking for an original LP or CD that hasn't been 'futzed' with by modern technology and revisionism 👍
@@Firedog-ny3cq @scott3744 There's a freeware called Audacity - you can load any mp4 or audio file of a song into it and it will show the entire waveform - this one looks fine because there's plenty of peaks and troughs and it the volume hasn't been ramped up. But there's still plenty dodgy stuff can go down - like changing the sound balance of the various instruments and vocals or boosting the bass etc. Worst of all is pitch correcting the main vocals - Fil on Wings of Pegasus channel here often uses a pitch monitor to check live video performances; so far he's found individual clips from Queen, The Eagles, the Bee Gees and the recent Abba album have been pitch corrected ffs. No human voice hits perfect pitches every time throughout a song - not even Pavarotti - pitch correcting forces notes exactly onto a pitch line and makes it sound artificial especially if a note is held. Even talent audition shows are pitch corrected. As for modern stuff it's becoming industry standard.
Congratulations on the discovery adventure, this is how you get to know a band. I grew up on Led Zeppelin, I never listen to anything but a complete album. We hear mandolin in it, played by John Paul Jones. Sandy Denny sings alongside Robert.
It cannot be denied that Zep borrowed from the blues artists that came before them and reworked their material but they almost always gave the credit to the progenitors.
JPJ was the mandolin player, Page is playing acoustic guitar. JPJ played mandolin in a few of their songs, keyboards, bass, and did orchestral arranging.
Beautiful and refreshing to catch a glimpse of the depths of quantum mechanics without the knowledge of a physicist. Go deep and let it all unfold.❤️😊👍🙏🎈
Hey - for a deeper but long and truly incredible track by them (one that also draws on deeper themes with an oblique mythological correlation), check out Achillles Last Stand. It’s a little on the DL but to lots of Zep dans it’s right up there as an all-time best track, they layering of the guitars and some of the vocal improv and some change ups in the time signature are fantastic.
To your comment about Bonham and the time signatures and precision you may want to check out the Vic Firth drum cam of Danny Carey from Tool playing Pneuma live. Everybody in Zep was an incredible musician but I think John Paul Jones was overlooked and he played many of the instruments that made songs like this one so special. Thanks for the video!
Plant was such a great song writer. He really doesn’t get enough credit. He could write rock songs or folk songs or love songs or mystical songs. He was brilliant. A hippy lyricist perfect for rock music.
Their song Ramble on has a verse with Tolkien in mind: "Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear How years ago in days of old, when magic filled the air 'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor, I met a girl so fair But Gollum and the Evil One crept up and slipped away with her, her, her, yeah."
There are several songs by Led Zeppelin that have imagery drawn from Lord of the Rings, and this is perhaps the most direct. The singer accompanying on vocals is the late, great Sandy Denny, lead singer of folk rock band Fairport Comvention around this time, and also a superb singer songwriter in her own right. You really should check out her song Who Knows. Where the Time Goes
As soon as you think you have Zep pegged, they throw in this, or When the Levve Breaks, Dyer Maker.... so many others, they constantly moved forward and tried new things.
You need to listen to the 1995 live version that was done on a special on MTV. In 1995, Paige and plant got together not as led Zeppelin, but as Paige and plant kicked off their new album, no quarter with a lot of led Zeppelin songs on the album redone by them in 1995.
Sandy Denny, oh my God did Shenstone raise this song to the sonic stratosphere . I love Sandy a class act, Led Zep were lucky to have her appear on this. Check out Fairport Convention.
Great Reaction! In it you made mention of Mr Bonhams drumming. Which has skill and enthusiasm. Have you reacted to anything by the band Deep Purple and their drummer Ian Paice? Keep Reacting!
You should have started with 1 and worked your way to 4 and beyond. And this song is based on JRR Tolken's classic Lord of the Rings. Robert was a huge fan of Tolken's.
The post-Zeppelin TV special "No Quarter - Jimmy Page & Robert Plant Unledded" is a must-see, reworked versions of Zeppelin classics that often as not top the originals.
This album not being titles, is either called Led Zeppelin IV or their sign albums, even Sandy Denny had a sign for it. They do so many different genres, just one of the reasons they are the greatest. I hope you decide to do all their albums, each is so amazingly outstanding. Thank you for your reaction.
It's Called the Sticks album from the old country man on the Front cover or the Runes album .. from the emblems for each band member. And the pilgrim or hermit from the inside gate fold cover black and white line art.🧙🏻♂️ I live and worked near where the photo was taken.. and in the other direction where JRRT grew up and then went to School and first taught. 🧙🏻♂️🇬🇧 Where the Shire meets Angbad... .. The mountains lie to the West and North though. We do have a few closer candidates for Weathertop..😉
The female voice is Sandy Denny, who tragically died. Robert had great range but there is another voice there. As far as I know, she is the only outside voice on any Zeppelin albums.
Whenever people talk about Led Zeppelin IV inevitably people cite “Stairway To Heaven” as the best or favorite track, but I’ve always thought “The Battle of Evermore” was the best and my personal favorite on the album because it’s such a departure from the rest of the album. It truly is epic and easily could be the soundtrack for The Lord of The Rings, which this song was inspired by. It’s beautiful.
