Press Review: Zeppelin’s Fine Musicians Make An Ordinary Group

The Led Zeppelin concert at Olympia Friday may not have been the largest gathering of the summer, but it certainly was the most enthusiastic. The show was the standard half-hour late starting, and Olympia’s ushers didn’t become concerned about who was sitting in whose seat until mid-way through the third number, but eventually things settled down to music.

Although Zeppelin is made of some of the most outstanding artists in rock today, the ensemble work of the group is not that great; individually the players are unsurpassed.

Jimmy page, guitar, has to be up there with Clapton and Townshend. Consummate musician, building up the audience more and more each chorus and then suddenly dropping off to simple quiet little lines which bring people to the edge of their chairs. The electronic effects he gets are always interesting, and sometime exciting. He’s the first guitarist I’ve seen use a violin bow, but that effect can still use quite a bit of work.

Working out an organ and bass was John Paul Jones, who is just as impressive as his name. Great bacchanalian organ counter melodies and huge chords. His bass work was equally fine.

The major disappointments of the evening were the two acoustical numbers. On the first one, Jones played mandolin and Page played guitar with Robert Plant on vocal. Jones’ mandolin solo was impossible to hear and even if it could be heard, Page’s chords couldn’t be. The next tune was all Page, and in the volume battle with the Olympia fans (electric) Page was the loser and bounced a mike over to show his displeasure. But then they turned the amps on again and things went fine from there on out.

Highlight of the evening was a mammoth solo by John Bonham. The most impressive thing about his work is its cleanliness. His figures aren’t just a muddle of sound like so many drummers, but very distinct, crisp, audible musical parts. Starting with a three-note pattern, and stretching and expanding it until it’s full-blown and time to start another pattern. He also does some of the finest hard drumming since Joe Morello first dropped his sticks.

The most together thing of the evening was the set closing blues medley (there was such a screaming, shouting, standing ovation they had to do an encore).  Many times the lyrics were as blue as the music, but this seemed to suit the audience fine. For those who couldn’t make it, Zeppelin has a new album coming out next week to tide you over until their next visit. [-Harry Taylor / Detroit News]

Press Review: So Led Zeppelin know all the heavy tricks a freak psychedelic rock group has to know. Jimmy Page & Co. wowed the audience at Detroit’s Olympia with their expertise in the heavy idiom: Page in particular has a way of turning down his volume to a whisper, (but only for a moment at a time), that puts the crowd right on the edge of their seats. (P. Cain, Rock 10/70)