By Forris Day Jr.
I was never a fan, per se, of Led Zeppelin but as the years go by I really do appreciate them more and more. They are a band of REAL musicians. When they played a show they did it with energy and passion. They were not one of the overproduced canned band that we see too often these days so when I had the chance to check out the new book “Experiencing Led Zeppelin; A Listeners Companion” I was rather excited.
The book is written by Gregg Akkerman who says he isn’t necessarily the biggest fan of Zeppelin but a fan just the same. He sure did his homework on this project. The book begins with a timeline of all things Zeppelin starting with each band members births, moving through major events of the group and continues right up to present day (2015). This alone is really cool to read. It puts their career in perspective in a few short pages so that even before you read the book you are able to wrap your head around how influential they have been on the music scene.
Short bios follow and then into the individual chapters. Each chapter focuses on one of Zeppelins 9 albums thus 9 chapters. They are in chronological order. The idea is this…you listen to a song and read the commentary. Very simple. Akkerman is a musician so he is able to break down and analyzes the songs into chords and notes. Every song is covered so if you have a Zeppelin song that interests you, you can jump to that song in the book. You’ll learn some history of the recording of each song and you’ll begin to hear things in the songs that you may have not noticed before.
The book gave me a new appreciation for Zeppelin and I now wish I had paid closer attention to them as a kid. Oddly enough I feel the same way about AC-DC. They too are a band that I feel I didn’t appreciate early on. Honestly I don’t know much about the science of music and the book really digs deep into the riffs and melodies so I couldn’t follow all of it perfectly but if you are a musician you will have no problem understanding the “musician speak” as I’ll call it.
Whether you are a musician or not the book is a wonderful addition to your library. It’s fun just to play a tune and read the essay on it and gain a deeper understanding of the song. It is a library quality hardcover, one that you will be proud to have on your bookshelf. Now the Led Zeppelin box set that I have owned for years will be a valuable set of CDs as I listen to the songs and learn more about what makes the music of Led Zeppelin work.
Akkerman has created a must own book for any Zeppelin fan. Check it out, learn a bit more about the songs you have probably heard a hundred times and find some gems you might not have known even existed.
Purchase “ Experiencing Led Zeppelin; A Listeners Companion”
THE NEWEST HORROR COLLECTION IS UNLEASHED – ORDER NOW!
