Led Zeppelin II First U.S Robert Ludwig (SS) Pressing Vinyl Rip Flac With Bonus
Led Zeppelin "II" Atlantic SD-8236, "1841 Broadway" address on label, 'RL' etched into the deadwax on both sides, narrow deadwax band on side 2. 1969
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Led Zeppelin II
Studio album by Led Zeppelin
Released 22 October 1969
Recorded January–August 1969 at various locations
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length 41:24
Label Atlantic
Producer Jimmy Page
Singles from Led Zeppelin II
1. "Whole Lotta Love"/"Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)"
Released: 1969
Led Zeppelin II is the second studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in October 1969 on Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place at several locations in the United Kingdom and North America from January to August 1969. Production was entirely credited to lead guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Page, while it also served as Led Zeppelin's first album to utilise the recording techniques of engineer Eddie Kramer.
Led Zeppelin II furthered the lyrical themes established on their debut album, creating a work that became more widely acclaimed and influential than its predecessor. With elements of blues and folk music, it also exhibits the band's evolving musical style of blues-derived material and their guitar and riff-based sound. It is one of the band's heaviest albums.[1]
Upon release, Led Zeppelin II earned a considerable amount of sales and was Led Zeppelin's first album to reach number one in the United Kingdom and United States. In 1970, art director David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package for Led Zeppelin II. On 15 November 1999, it was certified 12x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of 12 million copies. Following its initial reception, it has been recognised by writers and music critics as one of the greatest and most influential rock albums ever recorded.
Contents
Conception
Background
Led Zeppelin II was conceived during a hectic and much-travelled period of Led Zeppelin's career from January through August 1969, when they completed four European and three American concert tours.[2] The album furthered the lyrical themes established on their debut album, Led Zeppelin (1969). This progress helped create a work that became more widely acclaimed and influential than its predecessor. With elements of blues and folk music, it also exhibited the band's evolving musical style of blues-derived material and their guitar and riff-based sound.
Each song was separately recorded, mixed and produced at various studios in the United Kingdom and North America. The album was written on tour, during periods of a couple of hours in between concerts, a studio was booked and the recording process begun, resulting in a sound with spontaneity and urgency through necessity.[2] Bassist John Paul Jones recalled that "We were touring a lot. Jimmy [Page's] riffs were coming fast and furious. A lot of them came from on-stage especially during the long improvised section of 'Dazed and Confused'. We'd remember the good stuff and dart into a studio along the way."[3]
Some of the recording studios used by the band were not the most advanced. One studio in Vancouver, credited as "a hut",[4] had an eight-track set up that did not even have proper headphone facilities.[5][6] The group's lead singer Robert Plant later discussed the writing and recording process, stating "It was crazy really. We were writing the numbers in hotel rooms and then we'd do a rhythm track in London, add the vocal in New York, overdub the harmonica in Vancouver and then come back to finish mixing at New York."[7]
"Thank You", "The Lemon Song" and "Moby Dick" were overdubbed during the tour, while the mixing of "Whole Lotta Love" and "Heartbreaker" was also done on tour. Page later stated "In other words, some of the material came out of rehearsing for the next tour and getting new material together."[6]
Recording
Recording sessions for the album took place at Olympic and Morgan Studios in London, England, A&M, Quantum, Sunset, Mirror Sound and Mystic Studios in Los Angeles, California, Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, A&R, Juggy Sound, Groove and Mayfair Studios in New York City, and the "hut" in Vancouver, British Columbia.[4] Production was entirely credited to lead guitarist, songwriter, and producer Jimmy Page, while it also served as Led Zeppelin's first album to utilise the skills and recording techniques of engineer Eddie Kramer, whose prior work with Jimi Hendrix had impressed the band's members, especially Page. Led Zeppelin expert Dave Lewis wrote of the album's production, stating "That the album turned out to be such a triumph, in particular for a production quality that still sounds fresh today, was in no small way due to the successful alliance with Page and Kramer in the control room."[5] This partnership was particularly exhibited in the central section of the track "Whole Lotta Love". Kramer later said, "The famous Whole Lotta Love mix, where everything is going bananas, is a combination of Jimmy and myself just flying around on a small console twiddling every knob known to man."[5]
In another interview, Kramer later gave great credit to Page for the sound that was achieved, despite the inconsistent conditions in which it was recorded: "We did that album piece-meal. We cut some of the tracks in some of the most bizarre studios you can imagine, little holes in the wall. Cheap studios. But in the end it sounded bloody marvellous. There was a unification of sound on [Led] Zeppelin II because there was one guy in charge and that was Mr. Page."[8] Page and Kramer spent two days mixing the album at A&R Studios.[8]
Composition
The finished tracks reflect the raw, evolving sound of the band and their ability as live performers. The album has been noted for featuring a further development of the lyrical themes established by singer Robert Plant on Led Zeppelin's debut album, creating a work which would become more widely acclaimed and arguably more influential.[9][10] "Whole Lotta Love" and "The Lemon Song" both feature sexual themes, as the latter contains a metaphor, which, according to one music writer, implores "unnamed ladies to squeeze his lemon 'til the juice runs down my leg.'"[11] As was later observed by Plant himself:
Led Zep II was very virile. That was the album that was going to dictate whether or not we had the staying power and the capacity to stimulate. It was still blues-based but it was a much more carnal approach to the music and quite flamboyant. It was created on the run between hotel rooms and the GTOs, and that was quite something.[12]
Led Zeppelin II also features experimentation with other musical styles and approaches, as on the alternately soft-and-loud "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Ramble On" (which featured Page's acoustic guitar), or the pop-influenced ballad "Thank You". With its mysterious atmospherics, "Ramble On" helped develop hard rock's association with fantasy themes, which had been partly derived from the psychedelic rock genre of two to three years before, but also from Plant's personal interest in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien.[5] This musical direction would later culminate on the band's untitled fourth album (and countless subsequent groups would later carry the influence to further extremes). Conversely, the instrumental "Moby Dick" features an extended drum solo by John Bonham, which would be extended further during Led Zeppelin concert performances sometimes for as long as half an hour.[5]
Jimmy Page's contribution to this album was significant, as his electric guitar solo on the song "Heartbreaker" was emulated by many younger rock guitarists, and exemplifies the group's intense musical attack.[5] Led Zeppelin II is the band's first album to feature Page playing a 1959 Gibson Les Paul, the electric guitar he helped make famous. Page's innovative recording and drum miking effects on tracks such as "Ramble On" and "Whole Lotta Love" also demonstrated his considerable skill, resourcefulness and originality as a producer.[13] Rolling Stone magazine later called Page's guitar riff for the latter song "one of the most exhilarating guitar riffs in rock & roll."[14] Band member and multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones later discussed Page's contributions:
Jimmy started coming into his own as a producer around "Whole Lotta Love". The backwards echo stuff. A lot of the microphone techniques were just inspired. Everybody thinks he goes into the studio with huge walls of amps, but he doesn't. He uses a really small amp and he just mic's it up really well, so it fits into a sonic picture.[13]
The album's material also marked a certain honing of singer Robert Plant's vocal approach,[15] and signalled his emergence as a serious songwriter.[6] Plant's name had previously been absent from the songwriting credits of the band's first album due to the previous contractual commitments that resulted from his earlier association with CBS Records as a solo artist. His influence on tracks such as "What Is and What Should Never Be" and "Ramble On" were pointers to the musical future of Led Zeppelin.[5] Plant has commented that it was only during the sessions for Led Zeppelin II that he started to feel at home as a vocalist in the studio with Led Zeppelin. In a 2008 interview for Uncut, he stated "[D]uring Led Zep I (1969) as far as I was concerned, I thought that I was going to [leave the band] anyway. I didn't feel that comfortable because there were a lot of demands on me vocally—which there were all the way through the Zeppelin thing. And I was quite nervous and didn't really get into enjoying it until II."[16]
Album sleeve design
The WW1 photograph on which the album sleeve was based
The album sleeve design was from a poster by David Juniper, who was simply told by the band to come up with an idea that was "interesting". His design was based on a photograph of the Jasta 11 Division of the German Air Force during World War I, the famed Flying Circus led by Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron.[5] After the picture was tinted, the faces of the four members of the band were airbrushed on from a 1969 publicity photograph, as well as the faces of band manager Peter Grant and tour manager Richard Cole.[5] The woman in the picture is Glynis Johns, the mother from Mary Poppins. Her presence in the photo is an obvious play on the name of recording engineer Glyn Johns. Contrary to popular belief, the guitarist Blind Willie Johnson is not featured on the album cover. There is only one known photo of Johnson in existence, and it is not the same face as the one shown on the album cover.[citation needed] The cover also pictured the outline of a Zeppelin on a brown background, which gave the album its nickname "Brown Bomber".[5]
Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Blender 4/5 stars[17]
Yahoo! Music (favourable)[18]
Q 4/5 stars[19]
Allmusic 5/5 stars[20]
Entertainment Weekly (A+)[21]
Rolling Stone Album Guide 5/5 stars[22]
Robert Christgau (B)[23]
BBC Music (favourable)[24]
Rolling Stone (unfavourable)[25]
The album was released on 22 October 1969 on Atlantic Records, with advance orders of 400,000 copies.[26] The advertising campaign was built around the slogan 'Led Zeppelin II Now Flying'.[5] Commercially, Led Zeppelin II was the band's first album to hit #1 in the US, knocking The Beatles' Abbey Road (1969) twice from the top spot, where it remained for seven weeks.[5] By April 1970 it had registered three million American sales, whilst in Britain it enjoyed a 138 week residence on the LP chart, climbing to the top spot in February 1970.[5]
The album also yielded Led Zeppelin's biggest hit, with the track "Whole Lotta Love". This song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970, after Atlantic Records went against the group's wishes by releasing a shorter version on 45. The single's B-side, "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)", also hit the Billboard chart, peaking at number 65 in April 1970. The album helped establish Led Zeppelin as an international concert attraction, as for the next year, the group continued to tour relentlessly, initially performing in clubs and ballrooms, then in larger auditoriums and eventually stadiums as their popularity grew.[27]
In 1970 art director David Juniper was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best album package for Led Zeppelin II.[5] On 10 November 1969, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and in 1990 it was certified 5x platinum reflecting sales of over five million copies. By 14 November 1999, Led Zeppelin II had sold over twelve million copies and was certified 12x platinum by the RIAA.[28]] Influence
Led Zeppelin II has been cited by music writers as a blueprint for heavy metal bands that followed it.[9][29] Blues-derived songs like "Whole Lotta Love", "Heartbreaker", "The Lemon Song", "Moby Dick" and "Bring It On Home" have been seen as representing standards of the genre, where the guitar-based riff (rather than vocal chorus or verses) defines the song and provides the key hook.[5] Such arrangements and emphasis were at the time atypical in popular music.[9] Page's guitar solo in "Heartbreaker" featuring rapid-fire runs of notes tapped only by the left hand, was a major inspiration to the later work of metal soloists and "shredders" such as Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai.[30] As such, the album is generally considered to be very influential on the development of rock music, being an early forerunner of heavy metal, and inspiring a host of other rock bands including Aerosmith, Van Halen and Guns N' Roses.[9][31]
Since its initial critical reception, Led Zeppelin II has been acknowledged by many critics and music writers as one of the most influential albums of rock music, and has earned several accolades from music publications, frequently placed at or near the top of "best album" lists.[32] In 1989, Spin magazine ranked the album number 5 on its list of The 25 Greatest Albums of All Time.[32] In 2000, Q magazine placed Led Zeppelin II at number 37 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.[33] In 2003, the album was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[14]
Accolades
Publication? Country? Accolade? Year? Rank?
Grammy Award United States "Grammy Award for Best Recording Package"[34] 1970 Nominee
Guitarist United Kingdom "Top 50 Most Influential Guitar Albums of All Time Ever"[35] 1994 3
Mojo United Kingdom "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made"[36] 1996 41
The Guitar United States "Album of the Millenium"[37] 1999 6
Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Albums Ever"[38] 2003 37
Robert Dimery United States 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die[39] 2006 *
Classic Rock United Kingdom "100 Greatest British Rock Album Ever"[40] 2006 8
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States "The Definitive 200: Top 200 Albums of All-Time"[41] 2007 47
Q United Kingdom "50 Years of Great British Music (1960s)"[42] 2008 *
(*) designates unordered lists.
Track listing
Side one
1. "Whole Lotta Love" Bonham, Dixon, Jones, Page, Plant 5:34
2. "What Is and What Should Never Be" Page, Plant 4:47
3. "The Lemon Song" Bonham, Burnett, Jones, Page, Plant 6:20
4. "Thank You" Page, Plant 4:47
Side two
1. "Heartbreaker" Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant 4:15
2. "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" Page, Plant 2:40
3. "Ramble On" Page, Plant 4:35
4. "Moby Dick" Bonham, Jones, Page 4:25
5. "Bring It On Home" Page, Plant, Dixon 4:19
Cassette tape releases of the album had "Heartbreaker" ending the first side and "Thank You" starting the second side.
Original LP pressings of the album incorrectly listed the running time of "Thank You" at 3:50, as the song's coda features a false fade at that point.
Sales chart performance
Album
Chart (1969)? Peak position?
Japanese Albums Chart[43] 8
US Billboard 200[44] 1
US Billboard Soul LP's[45] 32
French Albums Chart[46] 3
Canadian RPM Top 100 Albums Chart[47] 1
UK Albums Chart[48] 1
Chart (1970)? Peak position?
US Record World Top Pop Albums[49] 1
US Cash Box Top 100 Albums[50] 1
Norwegian Albums Chart[51] 2
Australian Kent Music Report Top 100 Albums Chart[52] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[53] 1
German Albums Chart[54] 1
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1970 "Whole Lotta Love" US Billboard Hot 100[55] 4
1997 "Whole Lotta Love" UK Singles Chart[56] 21
1970 "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" US Billboard Hot 100[57] 65
[edit] Sales certifications
Country? Sales? Certification?
Austria (IFPI) 10,000+ Gold[58]
Argentina (CAPIF) 30,000+ Gold[59]
United States (RIAA) 12,000,000+ 12x Platinum[60]
Canada (CRIA) 900,000+ 9x Platinum[61]
France (SNEP) 200,000+ 2x Gold[62]
Spain (PROMUSICAE) 40,000+ Gold[63]
Germany (IFPI) 500,000+ Platinum[64]
Australia (ARIA) 280,000+ 4x Platinum[65]
United Kingdom (BPI) 1,200,000+ 4x Platinum[66]
Personnel
Led Zeppelin
* Robert Plant – lead vocals, harmonica
* Jimmy Page – electric and acoustic guitar, backing vocals
* John Paul Jones – bass guitar, organ, backing vocals
* John Bonham – drums, tympani, backing vocals
Production
* George Chkiantz – engineer on "Whole Lotta Love" and "What Is and What Should Never Be"
* Peter Grant – executive producer
* Chris Huston – engineering on "The Lemon Song" and "Moby Dick"
* Andy Johns – engineering on "Thank You"
* Eddie Kramer – engineering, mixing
* Bob Ludwig – mastering, engineering
Also Included "Whole Lotta Love"/"Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" (Original U.S Single)
"Whole Lotta Love" (5:33 U.S Mono Radio Mix)/""Whole Lotta Love" (3:12 U.S Mono Radio Single Edit)
Whole Lotta Love
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Whole Lotta Love"
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin II
B-side "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)"
Released 7 November 1969
Format 7" single
Recorded May 1969
Genre Heavy metal, hard rock
Length Album Version: 5:33
Single: 5:33 (1st pressings),
3:10 (2nd pressings)
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) John Bonham, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Willie Dixon
Producer Jimmy Page
Certification Gold
"Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is featured as the opening track on the band's second album, Led Zeppelin II, and was released in the United States and Japan as a single. The US release became their first hit single, it was certified Gold on 13 April 1970, when it sold one million copies.[1] As with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was released in the United Kingdom, but singles were released in Germany (where it reached number one), the Netherlands (where it reached number four), Belgium and France.
In 2004, the song was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed "Whole Lotta Love" at number three in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. It was placed 11 on a similar list by Rolling Stone. In 2009 it was named the third greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.[2]
"Whole Lotta Love" was recorded at Olympic Studios in London and mixed at A&R Studios in New York.[citation needed] Already part of their live repertoire, it saw its first official release on the LP Led Zeppelin II on 22 October 1969 (Atlantic LP #8236).
Contents
Influences
In 1962, Muddy Waters recorded "You Need Love" written for him by peer Willie Dixon. In 1966 British mod band the Small Faces recorded the song as "You Need Loving" for their eponymous début Decca LP. Some of the lyrics of Led Zeppelin's version were copied from the Willie Dixon song, a favourite of Plant's. Plant's phrasing is particularly similar to that of Steve Marriott's in the Small Faces' version. Similarities with "You Need Love" would lead to a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin, settled out of court in favour of Dixon in 1985.[3] Strangely, the Small Faces were never sued by Dixon, even though "You Need Loving" still only credits Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott.
Robert Plant, a huge fan of blues and soul singers, regularly quoted other songs, especially live.
Page's riff was Page's riff. It was there before anything else. I just thought, 'well, what am I going to sing?' That was it, a nick. Now happily paid for. At the time, there was a lot of conversation about what to do. It was decided that it was so far away in time (it was in fact 7 years) and influence that...well, you only get caught when you're successful. That's the game.[4]
- Robert Plant
Song construction
Page played the loose blues riff for the intro, on a Sunburst 1958 Les Paul Standard through a 100W Marshall "Plexi" head amp with distortion from the EL34 output valves, which ascends into the first chorus. Then, beginning at 1:24 (and lasting until 3:02) the song dissolves to a free jazz-like break involving a theremin solo and a drum solo and the moans of Robert Plant (sometimes called the "orgasm section"). Plant did the vocals in one take. As audio engineer Eddie Kramer has explained: "The famous Whole Lotta Love mix, where everything is going bananas, is a combination of Jimmy and myself just flying around on a small console twiddling every knob known to man." Kramer is also quoted as saying:
[A]t one point there was bleed-through of a previously recorded vocal in the recording of “Whole Lotta Love.” It was the middle part where Robert [Plant] screams “Wo-man. You need it.” Since we couldn’t re-record at that point, I just threw some echo on it to see how it would sound and Jimmy [Page] said “Great! Just leave it.”[5]
Led Zeppelin's bass player John Paul Jones has stated that Page's famous riff probably emerged from a stage improvisation during the band's playing of "Dazed and Confused".[6]
Alternatively, Jimmy Page has vehemently denied that the song originated onstage:
Interviewer: Is it true "Whole Lotta Love" was written onstage during a gig in America, when you were all jamming on a Garnett Mimms song?
Page: No. No. Absolutely incorrect. No, it was put together when we were rehearsing some music for the second album. I had a riff, everyone was at my house, and we kicked it from there. Never was it written during a gig--where did you hear that?
Interviewer: I read it in a book.
Page (sarcastically): Oh, good. I hope it was that Rough Guide. That's the latest one, the most inaccurate. They're all inaccurate, you know.[7]
In a separate interview, Page explained:
I had [the riff] worked out already before entering the studio. I had rehearsed it. And then all of that other stuff, sonic wave sound and all that, I built it up in the studio, and put effects on it and things, treatments.[8]
For this track, Page employed the backwards echo production technique.[3]
Release
Upon release of the LP, radio stations looked for a track that would fit their on-air formats from the quickly successful LP with the pulsing lead track "Whole Lotta Love" being the prime contender. However, because many radio stations saw the freeform middle section as unfit to air they simply created their own edited versions. Atlantic Records was quick to respond and in addition to the release of the regular single in the US (coupled with "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" from the same LP as the B-side) released a 3:10 version of the track with the freeform section cut and an earlier fade-out on 7 November 1969. Both versions were released as Atlantic #45-2690. The edited version was intended for radio station promotional release but some copies were apparently released commercially in the US and are a collector's item for fans. The song was released as a single in the US, France, Germany (as No 1), Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia (where it was also issued as an EP) and Japan (countries where the band had less control). The edited version was withdrawn.
In the United Kingdom, Atlantic Records had expected to issue the edited version themselves, and pressed initial copies for release on 5 December 1969. However, band manager Peter Grant was adamant that the band maintain a "no-singles" approach to marketing their recorded music in the UK, and he halted the release. An official statement from the band added that they had written a special number which they intended to be their first British single. This never materialised, and despite much record company pressure, they declined to issue official singles in the UK throughout their career.[3]
Several years later, Atlantic Records reissued "Whole Lotta Love" (with its original B-side "Living Loving Maid") on its Oldies Series label (OS-13116) with a slight error. The edited 3:10 version was used for the reissue, but the labels were printed with the unedited running time of 5:33.
In 1997 Atlantic Records released a CD-single edited (to 4:50 this time) from the original 1969 recording of the song. This version charted in the UK where the band had maintained control over single releases during their existence.
Chart success and live history
The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 22 November 1969. It remained on the chart for 15 weeks, peaking at #4 and becoming the band's only top 10 single in the US. Live, the song debuted 26 April 1969. It was described with details on the site [1]. When performed live, "Whole Lotta Love" also occasionally included segments of other Led Zeppelin songs such as "I Can't Quit You Baby", "You Shook Me", "How Many More Times", "Your Time Is Gonna Come", "Good Times Bad Times", "The Lemon Song", "The Crunge", "D'yer Mak'er", "Black Dog", "Out on the Tiles" and "Ramble On". A famous show closer at Led Zeppelin concerts, it was since mid-1970 performed as a medley of blues and R&B covers favoured by the band.
Live versions of "Whole Lotta Love" were released officially on the following titles:
* The Song Remains the Same; 2xLP (28 September 1976; Swan Song #SS2-201; from a 1973 concert and movie soundtrack)
* Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions; 2xCD (11 November 1997; Atlantic #83061; from a 1971 concert)
* How the West Was Won; 3xCD (27 May 2003; Atlantic #83587; from a 1972 concert)
* Led Zeppelin; DVD (2003; from a 1979 and a 1970 concert)
"Whole Lotta Love" was the last song Led Zeppelin ever played live in their original lineup. It was however performed again at the band's reunions at Live Aid in 1985 and at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert in 1988, as well as at the Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert at the O2 Arena, London on 10 December 2007, with Jason Bonham sitting in on drums for his late father.
Accolades
Publication? Country? Accolade? Year? Rank?
Spin United States "100 Greatest Singles of All Time"[9] 1989 39
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll"[10] 1994 *
Classic Rock United Kingdom "Ten of the Best Songs Ever!.. (Bubbling under)"[11] 1999 30
VH1 United States "The 100 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time"[12] 2009 3
Rolling Stone United States "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"[13] 2003 75
Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever"[14] 2005 3
Toby Creswell Australia "1001 Songs: the Great Songs of All Time"[15] 2005 *
Grammy Awards United States "Grammy Hall of Fame Award"[16] 2007 *
Rolling Stone United States "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time"[17] 2008 11
VH1 United States "VH1 Greatest Hard Rock Songs"[18] 2009 3
(*) designates unordered lists.
Formats and tracklistings
1969 7" single (US: Atlantic 45-2690, Angola: Atlantic ATS 485, Australia/New Zealand: Atlantic AK 3412, Belgium: Atlantic BE 650186, Bolivia: Polydor 508007, Canada: Atlantic Oldies Series OS 13116, Chile: Atlantic 2164 002, France: Atlantic 650 186, Germany: Atlantic 70409, Greece: Atlantic 255 017, Holland: Atlantic ATL 2690, Italy: Atlantic ATL NP 03145, Japan: Warner Pioneer P-2550A, Mexico: Atlantic AT 45-52, Philippines: Atlantic ATR 0046, Sweden: Atlantic ATL 70409, Uruguay: Atlantic 2164002)
* A. "Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant, Dixon) 5:33
* B. "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" (Page, Plant) 2:39
1969 7" radio edit (UK*/Lebanon: Atlantic 584309, Canada: Atlantic AT 2690, South Africa: Atlantic ATS 485)
* A. "Whole Lotta Love" (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant, Dixon) 3:12
* B. "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" (Page, Plant) 2:39
Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Livin' Lovin' Maid (She's Just A Woman)"
Single by Led Zeppelin
from the album Led Zeppelin II
A-side "Whole Lotta Love"
Released 22 October 1969
Format 7" single: US, Japan, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, CD single
Recorded May 1969, Olympic Studios, London
Genre Hard rock
Length 2:39
Label Atlantic
Writer(s) Page, Plant
Producer Jimmy Page
Certification Gold
"Livin' Lovin' Maid (She's Just A Woman)" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin from their album Led Zeppelin II, released in 1969. It was also released as the b-side of the single "Whole Lotta Love". The song is about a groupie who annoyed the band early in their career.[1] In the original UK pressings of Led Zeppelin II it was titled "Livin' Lovin' Wreck (She's a Woman)", with the "Wreck" replaced by "Maid" on US and later releases.
It is often noted that this is guitarist Jimmy Page's least favorite Led Zeppelin song, and was thus never performed in concert[citation needed], partially because it was written as album filler and partially because Jimmy Page's then-girlfriend Charlotte Martin was offended by it[citation needed]. Even though the song was never performed, there was a single show in Düsseldorf during which a short segment of the song was played right after the band's song "Heartbreaker" on March 12, 1970, as bootlegs from that date show attest[citation needed]. It was also one of the few Led Zeppelin songs on which Page sang backing vocals. Conversely, singer Robert Plant took a liking to the song, and played it on his 1990 solo tour.
For the recording of this track, Page played on a Vox 12-string guitar.[2]
When heard on the radio it was typically played immediately after their song "Heartbreaker"[citation needed], as it flows seamlessly from the abrupt ending of that song on the original album. Yet the band never[citation needed] played these songs together on stage at Led Zeppelin concerts (something they consistently did, for example from late 1972 to 1975 with "The Song Remains the Same" and "The Rain Song" — the first two tracks from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy). Robert Plant brought the song into his Manic Nirvana US solo tour set in 1990.