Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 11/18/1997
Run Time: 138:58
Led Zeppelin's
BBC sessions were among the most popular bootleg items of the
rock & roll era, appearing on a myriad of illegal records and CDs. They were all the more popular because of the lack of official
Led Zeppelin live albums, especially since
The Song Remains the Same failed to capture the essence of the band. For anyone who hadn't heard the recordings, the mystique of
Zeppelin's
BBC sessions was somewhat mystifying, but the official 1997 release of the double-disc
BBC Sessions offered revelations for any fan who hadn't yet heard this music. While some collectors will be dismayed by the slight trimming on the
"Whole Lotta Love Medley," almost all of the group's sessions are included here, and they prove why live
Zeppelin was the stuff of legend. The 1969 sessions, recorded shortly after the release of the first album, are fiery and dynamic, outstripping the studio record for sheer power. Early versions of
"You Shook Me," "Communication Breakdown," "What Is and What Should Never Be," and
"Whole Lotta Love" hit harder than their recorded counterparts, while covers of
Sleepy John Estes'
"The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair," Robert Johnson's
"Travelling Riverside Blues," and
Eddie Cochran's
"Something Else" are welcome additions to the
Zeppelin catalog, confirming their
folk,
blues, and
rockabilly roots as well as their sense of vision.
Zeppelin's grand vision comes into sharper relief on the second disc, which is comprised of their 1971 sessions. They still have their primal energy, but they're more adventurous, branching out into
folk, twisted
psychedelia, and weird
blues-
funk. Certainly,
BBC Sessions is the kind of album that will only appeal to fans, but anyone who's ever doubted
Zeppelin's power or vision will be set straight with this record.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
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