When Giants Walked The Earth

When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin by Mick Wall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Written by Mick Wall, "When Giants Walked The Earth: A Biography Of Led Zeppelin" is the culmination of several years of research, and is written by someone who has known guitarist Jimmy Page for over two decades. Its material is based on interviews the journalist has conducted with every member of the band over the years, as well as those who knew and worked alongside them. I have been a fan of Led Zeppelin for 45 years and I thoroughly enjoyed this momentous opus, running to 534 pages. It is therefore beyond my comprehension how anyone on Goodreads could rate this with One Star having read just 30 pages and giving up on the book. Rather like rating a movie after watching just the opening credits. I would qualify my Five Star rating by stating that this is for fans of Led Zeppelin. I doubt that you would enjoy it so much if you weren’t.

Mick Wall said in 2009 that he just felt there had never been a really serious book written about Zeppelin. Hammer Of The Gods is great but its 25 years old and not really built on any genuine research or interviews with the band. He thought it was time for something seriously heavyweight. And heavyweight it is, requiring considerable stamina to complete. It has taken me a couple of weeks to read, giving myself time to reflect on the content of each comprehensive chapter.

From 1969 to 1975, Led Zeppelin were arguably at the peak of their powers. The book covers all that in detail. But Zep 'II' (1969) and 'IV' (1971) would be the peak of their success. Many, like me, still love 'Houses of the Holy' (1973), and many parts of the others. Following the release of 1975's critically acclaimed 'Physical Graffiti', Led Zeppelin arguably went into a creative decline, attributed to drugs, alcohol abuse and self-immolation. And without drummer John ‘Bonzo’ Bonham, who was the best rock drummer ever, who died at a shocking young age, choked on his own vomit, Led Zeppelin were no more. Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones developed solo careers - Plant the most successful.

There is much more to this book that my brief resumé covers. Wall said: "My book came about because Jimmy simply refused to do a book of his own." I for one am glad that it did. Highly recommended for fans.

The song remains the same....


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