Moby Dick (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Moby Dick" | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Song by Led Zeppelin | ||
| from the album 'Led Zeppelin II' | ||
| Released | 22 October 1969 | |
| Recorded | 1969 | |
| Genre | Hard Rock | |
| Length | 4:21 | |
| Label | Atlantic Records | |
| Writer(s) | Bonham/Jones/Page | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page | |
| 'Led Zeppelin II' track listing | ||
| "Ramble On" (7) | "Moby Dick" (8) | "Bring It on Home" (9) |
"Moby Dick" is an instrumental song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. A longer version (19:23 long) appears on the live album How the West Was Won. The title has no relation to the book by Herman Melville. (According to Bonham's wife Pat, the song is named "Moby Dick" because his son Jason asked him to play "the long song". When John asked why, the boy replied, "It's big like Moby.") This was drummer John Bonham's solo performance showcase on Led Zeppelin's tours through 1977.
Musically, only guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones play the song's blues-based riff with Bonham's drums—as a power trio—at the very beginning and the very end of the song, leaving the remainder open for Bonham alone. Singer Robert Plant did not play at all, and in concert would introduce Bonham to the audience before the song started. When played live, his drum solos would last as little as 12 minutes or as long as 30 minutes, while the rest of the band would leave the stage.
The song features strong influences from drummers Joe Morello and Ginger Baker and the tracks "Castilian Drums" (the live version from At Carnegie Hall in particular) and "Toad" respectively, utilizing bare hand drumming, triplets between hand and foot, bass drum double strokes among other techniques. The elements mentioned are heard in the aforementioned tracks, both of which feature lengthy drum solos. As well, we can see influences from Ed Cassidy in the song "It's All the Same", which he recorded with Spirit.
During the performance John Bonham would often set aside or throw his drumsticks into the audience, and then continue the solo with his hands (sometimes drawing blood as a result). On occasion he would play with his hands after he broke his drumsticks due to his ferocious playing.
The guitar riff bears a resemblance to a Yardbirds song, "I'm Not Talking". It is also very similar to "The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair" from Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions.
"Moby Dick" was featured on Led Zeppelin's 1976 concert film, The Song Remains the Same as part of Bonham's fantasy sequence. It was also included on on the film's accompanying soundtrack.
Bonham's drumming solo also went through three different name changes. During their early 1968-1969 tours it was known as "Pat's Delight", from 1969-1975 it was "Moby Dick", and during their 1977 US Tour it was "Over the Top" as the solo began with the opening riff to "Out on the Tiles" before segueing into a lengthy solo.
[edit] Trivia
- This evolved out of a drum solo Bonham would play called "Pat's Delight," which was named after his wife. Jimmy Page would often catch Bonham jamming in the studio, and recorded parts of it, then pieced it all together.
- Jimmy Page remixed this to flow seamlessly into "Bonzo's Montreux" on the Led Zeppelin boxed set.
- The name of Bonham's drum solo was later changed to "Over The Top" for the 1977 US tour. It used the "Out On The Tiles" riff as an intro instead.
- An anti-littering campaign in the United States used this for its theme music in the mid '70s.
[edit] External links
- Review: All Music Guide
[edit] Sources
- Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
- The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| Jimmy Page · Robert Plant · John Paul Jones · John Bonham |
| Discography - (Category) |
| Studio albums: Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin II · Led Zeppelin III · Image:Zoso.svg (Led Zeppelin IV) · Houses of the Holy · Physical Graffiti · Presence · In Through the Out Door Live albums: The Song Remains the Same · BBC Sessions · How the West Was Won |
| Films |
| The Song Remains the Same · Led Zeppelin DVD |
| Other |
| Peter Grant · Richard Cole · Swan Song Records · The Yardbirds · XYZ · The Firm · Page and Plant · Strange Sensation · Bootlegs ∙ Concerts ∙ Songs |
