Back to physio today and I am given an exercise routine involving 13 different painful activities to be carried out twice a day...
Post physio, I follow the same route as yesterday. But today in FOPP I do buy something....
Yes, I proudly took "Emerson Lake and Palmer Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970" to the counter today....
Just as well it's only £3 though because, while the sound quality is good, Mr Lake's bass appears to be out of tune for the entire performance - which, other than that, seems to have been a storming one...
Then for some reason, I also buy "Led Zeppelin I" then get a bus along to HMV and buy "Led Zeppelin II" and "Led Zeppelin IV". But what about "Led Zeppelin III" I hear you cry - well I have that already...
I was never a fan of Led Zeppelin but I have a craving to hear these four albums again (all of which I once owned on vinyl) to see if I was wrong all those years ago to think that, in comparison with Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, ELP, Gentle Giant and Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin seemed particularly over-rated by all and sundry...
An overblown blues band, more or less, is how I'd describe them. Pitiful lyrics with a good deal of their repertoire being re-heated stolen tunes* from unknown backwater bluesmen to whom they thought they'd never have to pay royalties...
[*A list of all the uncredited tunes nicked by Led Zep is contained in an excellent critique of all things Zep which is here : http://www.warr.org/zep.html - this leads you into a very interesting Record Review site... ]
And so I settle down to listen to Led Zep I-IV...
I'm afraid I must report that, while it's good to have the albums in my collection, with the exception of perhaps 10 of the total of 36 tunes spread over the four LPs (Communication Breakdown, Whole Lotta Love, Heartbreaker, Living Loving Maid, Ramble On, Immigrant Song, Tangerine, Black Dog, Rock n Roll and Stairway to Heaven), the records are just not very good...
But I suppose they were all recorded in less than three years and whilst the band was almost continuously on the road...
But the same could be said for any four albums recorded in the early 70s by the other bands I mentioned, for example:-
Yes - The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge, Tales From Topographic Oceans (1970-73)
King Crimson - Islands, Larks Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, Red (1971-74)
Genesis - Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1971-74)
ELP - Emerson Lake and Palmer, Tarkus, Trilogy, Brain Salad Surgery (1970-73)
Gentle Giant - Gentle Giant, Acquiring the Taste, Three Friends, Octopus (1970-73)
Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother, Meddle, Obscured By Clouds, Dark Side of the Moon (1970-73)
Yup, I think I was right all along and Zeppelin were just not that good, although perhaps if we push Zep a little bit on and take Led Zeppelin III, Led Zeppelin IV, Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffitti (1971-75), their average would be enhanced - but the time frame then moves to four rather than three years. Replace Physical Graffitti with Led Zeppelin II and the quality is still better but not up to the other bands' originality, musicianship and overall listenability...
So exactly what was it that was so great about Led Zeppelin? I guess I'll just never get it...
In the evening we visit my mum in Loanhead - I wasn't really up for it, as I'm so tired at the moment, but Anne rallied me round and we ended up having a rather upbeat night if I say so myself. Mum's ailments were not raised once and, after a short discussion regarding the state of my leg, we talked of happy stuff and generally had a good time...
The Butter Lemon Slims from Sainsbury were most tasty (though perhaps they should have been called "Butter Lemon Fats")...
On the way home from the bus terminus today (which took 20 minutes instead of the non-broken ankle 5 minutes it normally would) I took some photos of the trees near our house, now looking decidedly wintry...
Highlight of the Day : A Visit to my Mum
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