The Roots Of Led Zeppelin (2009)
The Roots Of Led Zeppelin (2009)
CD1 - When The Levee Breaks 01. Blind Willie Johnson - Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed 02. Blind Willie Johnson - Nobody`s Fault But Mine 03. Memphis Jug Band - Stealin` Stealin` 04. Memphis Minnie - When The Levee Breaks 05. Robert Wilkins - That`s No Way To Get Along 06. John Estes - The Girl I Love 07. Big Bill Broonzy - I Can`t Be Satisfied 08. Sleepy John Estes - Drop Down Mama 09. Oscar Woods - Lone Wolf Blues 10. Robert Johnson - Travelin` Riverside Blues 11. Sonny Boy Williamson - Got The Bottle Up And Gone 12. Bukka White - Shake`Em On Down 13. Sonny Boy Williamson - Sugar Mama Blues 14. Robert Johnson - Sweet Home Chicago 15. Sonny Boy Williamson - Good Morning Little School Girl 16. Big Bill Broonzy - Trucking Little Woman 17. Blind Boy Fuller - I Want Some Of Your Pie 18. Bukka White - Fixin` To Die 19. Leadbelly - Gallis Pole 20. St. Louis Jimmy - Goin` Down Slow CD2 - How Many More Years 01. Joe Liggins - Honeydripper 02. Arthur Crudup - That`s Alright Mama 03. Roy Brown - Rockin` At Midnight 04. Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Down By The Riverside 05. John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen 06. Hank Snow - I`m Movin` On 07. Muddy Waters - Rollin` And Tumblin` 08. BB King - Three O` Clock Blues 09. Muddy Waters - Long Distance Call 10. John Lee Hooker - I`m In The Mood 11. Howlin` Wolf - How Many More Years 12. Muddy Waters - Honey Bee 13. Elmore James - Dust My Broom 14. Ray Charles - I Got A Woman 15. Howlin` Wolf - No Place To Go 16. Lonnie Donegan - Rock Island Line 17. Elvis Presley - Baby Let`s Play House 18. Bo Diddley - I`m A Man 19. Elvis Presley - Baby I Don`t Care 20. Gene Vincent - Be Bop A Lula CD3 - Train Kept A Rollin 01. Fats Domino - Blueberry Hill 02. Little Richard - The Girl Can`t Help It 03. Eddie Cochran - Twenty Flight Rock 04. Otis Rush - I Can`t Quit You Baby 05. Elvis Presley - Lawdy Miss Clawdy 06. Dale Hawkins - Susie Q 07. Johnny Burnette - Train Kept A Rollin` 08. Little Richard - Long Tall Sally 09. Chuck Berry - Roll Over Beethoven 10. Howlin` Wolf - Smokestack Lightnin` 11. Chas McDevitt - Cotton Song 12. Little Richard - Keep –A–Knockin` 13. Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin` Goin` On 14. The Diamonds - The Stroll 15. The Monotones - The Book Of Love 16. Jimmy Rodgers - Kisses Sweeter Than Wine 17. Buddy Holly - Rave On 18. Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode 19. The Platters - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes 20. Eddie Cochran - C`mon Everybody
It's not much of a secret that Led Zeppelin (and the whole heavy metal genre that arose in the group's wake) had their roots deep in the blues, and there are several sets like this on the market that explore those roots, collecting source 78s and performances that influenced the band, whether they were acknowledged or not (anyone who thinks that Robert Plant and Jimmy Page actually wrote that line about lemons and squeezing them really needs to check out a set like this one). The Zep had collective good taste, though, and any compilation that has old blues classics like Booker White's "Fixin' to Die Blues," Leadbelly's "Gallis Pole," Memphis Minnie's "When the Levee Breaks," and Sleepy John Estes' "Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair," as this one does, is well worth a listen. But the real highlights of this disc are the final two tracks, "Psycho Daisies" and "Dazed & Confused." The former was the B-side of the Yardbirds' single "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago," recorded late in that group's legacy when both Page and Jeff Beck were members (Beck actually takes a rare vocal turn on the track), and it exhibits a fun, hard sound that somewhat prefigures where Zeppelin would do on their debut album in 1969. The version included here of "Dazed & Confused" is from 1968 and it is fascinatingly sung and performed by the man who wrote it, Jake Holmes. In Zeppelin's hands it morphed a bit, pumped up on metal DNA, but Holmes' version is the obvious blueprint. Play this set and then listen to Zeppelin's Atlantic debut immediately after it. It's all clear. Nothing comes out of thin air. ---Steve Leggett, Rovi
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