Longshanks

Longshanks: 1987 - ….

Dutch symphonic rock band Longshanks has seen quite a number of line-ups and fall-outs since its conception in 1987. For a full account we refer to the history-pages of their website (www.longshanks.nl). We will give you a ‘brief’ summary below…

The history of Longshanks actually starts in May of 1986 in Delft: André Kamer placed two small advertisements, stating that he (a guitar player) was looking for other musicians, to start a band.

The three musicians that did respond (Rob Boshuijzen, Peter ten Haaft and Peter van Heijningen), turned out to surpass André’s musical skills by far. So André left his new band even before it was formed and the others went on to form Enforcer.
(Many years later, Peter van Heijningen was to form his own band: Toyz)

In the meantime André Kamer wasn't about to give up on making music and he kept improving his playing. He had bought his electric guitar in 1983 because he wanted to write music like that by Rush. That was exactly what he started doing next. In March of 1987 he wrote the lyrics for "Cycles & Circles". After an afternoon with Peter van Heijningen and a conversation with Rob Boshuijzen, the idea was born to get some more musicians together and record that song in a genuine 16-track studio.

This lead to the actual formation of Longshanks no. 1

Longshanks 1:

In October of 1987 Longshanks no. 1 started rehearsing for the recording of the song “Cycles & Circles”. At that time only André's guitar part and the first draft of the vocals were written.

As André was not experienced enough to tell the other musicians what to play, they had to write their own parts themselves. To their credit that worked out amazingly well and it resulted in some great parts, that elevated the entire song to a higher level.

The actual recording took place on saturday February 20th 1988 in the Don Bosco Sound-Studio in Rijswijk (ZH). The mixdown was done five days later. The song was released on cassette (in a very limited edition) and attracted a very favourable review in a Dutch magazine on symphonic rock (Sym-info no.14, Oct. 1988).

Afterwards an attempt was made to convert this project into an actual rock band, with Jeroen Steenbeek replacing Peter van Heijningen, who was already working on plans for a band of his own. This attempt failed in an early stage (due to differences in ambition and musical skills) and Longshanks no.1 fell apart.

Longshanks 2:

The demise of Longshanks 1 did not stop André Kamer from writing more music. In the home studio of multi-instrumentalist Jan van der Lugt they recorded (on a Fostex 4-track recorder) the base tracks (guitar, bass, synthesizer and computer-drums) for several new songs. These songs were all ment to become part of a concept demo called "the Quest".

Finding Solo guitar players in Delft wasn't very hard. Both Jan and André knew several skilled players and soon Jeroen Steenbeek and Martin Krijgsman were laying down great solo's.

Recording the vocals started somewhere in March of 1990, with Alex van de Graaf as lead-singer and Alexandra den Heijer, Karin den Heijer, Jan, Alex and occasionally André singing harmonies.

In 1993 all tracks were finished but one: "The Mourning After" which turned out to be too big a hurdle. The song was ment to be a kind of Requiem, totalling 8 voices, and it proved to be very hard to sing.

In the meantime Longshanks had evolved to become more than a studio band: they had done several live performances in “O.J.V. de Koornbeurs” and for local radio station “Omroep Delft” (mostly unplugged). But Alex van de Graaf had started to lose interest in the Quest-project and finally left the band to pursue other goals. After that the project slowly withered and it remains unfinished to this day.

So, Longshanks no. 2 also fell apart.

Longshanks 3:

Shortly after the demise of Longshanks 2, in the spring of 1993 André Kamer and Jan van der Lugt recorded "Borderline", for which Hans van Lint provided the vocals. Hans was the singer of the band 'Iceparty', of which at that time both Jan van der Lugt and Jeroen Steenbeek were members and for which André often was sound-engineer at their live performances.

(Nowadays Hans is the lead singer of Dutch symfo band For Absent Friends)

Longshanks 4:

After 1993 Longshanks sort of slipped from the spotlights. Jan van der Lugt and Hans van Lint were both very busy with Iceparty and besides that, Hans had started to quite successfully manifest himself as a singer/songwriter. André Kamer had started to concentrate more and more on writing classically oriented music and soundtrack material. The passing away of his father (January 1995) inspired him to write a full size Requiem (November 1996-January 1997).

Still, he kept returning to symphonic rock and over the years wrote a number of instrumental themes, of which most are still awaiting recording and releasing.

When André moved from Delft to Amersfoort in 1999, it looked like Longshanks was to definitely become a one-man band.

The wedding plans of a close friend prompted André to pick up on a long standing idea: to write a Suite, according to classical rules, but with a modern twist. This became the Bridal Suite, a project in which he wrote dedicated pieces of music to consecutive wedding couples. Each piece was based on a dance and was a marriage between classical and contemporary music. Sofar he has released three pieces: Courante (2002), Prelude (2004) and Tango (2004-05).

Besides that he also wrote an instrumental symphonic rock piece (started in the spring of 2002, finished in November 2004), called "I Have a Dream", which he dedicated to Martin Luther King. The piece was primarely inspired by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and by the mounting tension between Muslims and anti-Muslims in the Netherlands in the wake of "9-11".

Longshanks 5:

In December of 2006 André Kamer suddenly (after 13 years) received a phonecall from Alex van de Graaf. This was followed by the official reunion on Februari 10th 2007 in Amersfoort, at which time Alex introduced his wife: Bregje Kaasjager.

In May of that year André started writing a new song, which he was able to present to Alex and Bregje in August. After some more delays, the recording of the vocals was set in motion on the day after Christmass 2007 and exactly one month later the vocal-mix landed in André's e-mailbox, that was to become the base for the final mix of the song "The Web of Life" (including contributions by Bregje).

That mixdown took place on the 23rd of February 2008, twenty years (almost to the day) after the mixdown of their first song "Cycles & Circles".

This song was then followed in June by the release of a new version of the song “I Have a Dream” from 2004: the once instrumental song was augmented with a score of vocal tracks.

August 2008 saw the release of the third song, called “All My Days”, a bluesy/funky sympho ballad.

The band is now working towards a full CD release (probably containing 8 songs) in April of 2009, the CD will be aptly named: “The Return of Longshanks”.

Lengste sangtittel noensinne

Lengste sangtittel har denne fyren stått for, Hoagland Howard "Hoagy" Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981)

Tittelen var, “Im A Cranky Old Yank, In A Clanky Old Tank On The Streets Of Yokohama With my Honolulu Mama Doin` Those Beat-O, Beat-O Flat-On-My-Seat-O, Hirohito Blues”!

Carmichael hevdet senere at tittelen endte med ordet yank, og at resten var en spøk.”Haogy” er ellers mest kjent for sangen ”Stardust” fra 1927,som visstnok er en av de store ”slægerne” i USA gjennom tiden. Foruten å skrive hit og lage idiotisk lange sangnavn, var Carmichael også skuespiller, storbandleder og sanger.

Little Atlas

Wanderlust

Head to Miami in Florida and a trawl of the clubs and bars there and you would expect to come across a large number of different musical styles, but its’ fair to say that progressive rock wouldn’t be one of them. Yet this lively city is home to Little Atlas, a band formed back in the late nineties, with Wanderlust being their third release. To be honest I’m surprised I haven’t come across them before, as the band play a very melodic, upbeat and accessible style of prog which is sure to find an appreciative audience amongst fans of the genre.

Even on a cursory listen, the two bands who leap out as the closest comparators are Echolyn and Neal Morse-era Spock’s Beard. There’s a quirkiness to the material, a tight yet dextrous rhythm section, a fine ear for strong melodies and good interplay between the guitars and keyboards. Weariness Rides even features the kind of multi-layered harmony vocal section for which both bands are justly famous for. Yet it would be wrong to label Little Atlas as mere imitators, as they certainly have a sound that is distinctly theirs, helped by the fact that they incorporate influences from a variety of genres, are clearly good and imaginative songwriters, and are all talented individuals with their own distinctive playing styles.

Particularly impressive on this album is the work of guitarist Roy Strattman; his playing is slightly harder-edged than is the norm for the genre, which adds some pleasing bite to the material, and his melodic solo work is impressive throughout. Particular highlights of his playing include fine extended solo’s on both The Ballad of Eddie Wanderlust and Weariness Rides, some powerful hard rock riffs on The Prisoner, intricate South American folk-influenced work on the opening section of Higher and, perhaps most impressive (and surprising) of all, some highly technical guitar playing in the mid-section of On And On which recalls the complex and edgy inter-woven guitar work of Adrian Belew and Robert Fripp on King Crimson’s Discipline album.

Strattman works well in tandem with keyboardist Steve Katsikas, and there are several instances where the two trade solos together to good effect. Katsikas favours the sort of keyboard work you would have found on a mid-70’s Genesis album, whilst Keith Emerson is clearly also an influence – as heard on the very ELP-like solo reeled off in the mid-section of The Prisoner. Katsikas also provides the vocals, and its’ these that are probably the most likely aspect of the band’s sound to attract negative criticism from some quarters. Personally I quite like his voice – its probably not the best in technical terms, but he covers a wide range (albeit struggling a little on the higher notes) and has a dramatic, expressive style which works well in tandem with the music, and suits the sometimes quite poetic lyrics to a tee. The rhythm section of Rik Bigai (bass) and Diego Pocovi (drums) are, as I’ve mentioned, very tight yet fluid, carrying these often complex songs seemingly effortlessly through a number of pace and mood changes. Bigai’s playing reminds me quite a bit of the up-front style employed by Dave Meros (Spock’s Beard).

In terms of individual songs, although each of the seven tracks are strong compositions in their own right, its actually quite tough to pick out highlights as the album works best when taken as a whole. A couple that are worthy of an individual mention might be The Prisoner, which is the longest song on here, and perhaps features the most dynamic contrasts – kicking in quite heavily, with Katsikas’ vocals at their most aggressive, the track mellows out considerably in the mid-section, and even features a passage which bears a certain resemblance to the main melody line in Supertramp’s Dreamer (minus the high vocals!). Home, meanwhile, sees the tempo brought down a notch, and has a melancholic feel, helped by an evocative chorus. It even survives the fact that the opening melody bears a slightly worrying similarity to the opening to The Bangles’ Eternal Flame (not a band I thought I’d ever reference in a prog review!).

If there is a criticism, it relates to the above – although the album as a whole is well composed and enjoyable to listen to throughout, it does perhaps lack a real standout track, and doesn’t have those hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck moments that the top bands in the genre trigger on their best works. You could also argue that some of the songs go on a little longer than they should. Still, these are relatively minor criticisms of what is a very solid and enjoyable album of melodic retro-prog. If you’re a fan of the newer ‘old-style’ prog bands – not just the aforementioned acts, but also the likes of Glass Hammer, Magenta and The Tangent – then you’d be well advised to check out Wanderlust pronto.

Tracklist: The Ballad of Eddie Wanderlust (7:34), Higher (9:37), Weariness Rides (6:25), The Prisoner (10:41), Home (6:41), On And On (5:53), Mirror Of Life (5:28)

Lily

A Brief History

The German political left wing of the late sixties/early seventies helped in no small manner to give rise to a number of rock bands who used their music to promote their political beliefs. One such example was Frankfurt based band Lily.

 Originally named Monsun, the band's origins lie in the mid-sixties with a band called The Mods whose musical background initially consisted of playing beat music that then developed into soul and rhythm 'n' blues. The band who featured Manfred Schmid on guitar and Wilfried Kirchmeier on bass seemed to be heading places when they were offered a show on Hesse radio show called Beat Beat, which ion turn was used to showcasing more prominent musicians such as The Yardbirds and Cat Stevens. However one week prior to the broadcasting of the gig, Mods guitarist Michael Winzkowski (later to join Epsilon and the Michael Wynn Band) left the band who, unable to find a suitable replacement folded.

By late 1968, Schmid had conceived he idea of forming a band that would be able to promote his left wing political beliefs. He was joined by Wilfried Kirchmeier as well as Manfred "Max" Schlagmüller (drums, percussion), Hans-Werner Steinberg (tenor sax, soprano sax, flute) and Helmut Burghardt (vocals). The last two had been members of Pinchfield Association, a soul band that had played often in various GI clubs in Germany.

The band was to be called Monsun and originally the lyrics were all written in German. However this wold change when Burchardt left the band in 1969. The band toyed for a short while with playing just instrumental music, though they soon realised that they required a vocalist to help provide cohesion to their increasingly complex compositions. Thus Kirchmeier took over vocals duties too, and also enforced a radical change in direction when the lyrics were sung in English with aid in translation of the lyrics coming from Ulla Meinecke.

By December 1970, the band started playing gigs in the Frankfurt area and soon became an established act on the musical scene playing entire concerts of their own compositions. By the spring of 1972 the band had also recorded a demo tape at a sound mixer school in Detmold, however Steinberg decided to leave Germany for a six month trip to India and his place was taken by guitarist Klaus Lehmann by May of that year. Steinberg returned to Germany in October 1972 to rejoin the band whose lineup was augmented to that of a quintet.

During this period the demo tape that the band had recorded had reached the ears of Peter Hauke (The Rollicks), now a producer with the Bellaphon label and on hearing them play live decided to offer the band a recording contract with the label. Thus in January 1973, Monsun entered Dieter Dierks studios in Köln-Stommeln for a three day recording session. The short duration of the sessions meant that the band had little or no time to re-dub or re-record certain parts of the material they recorded resulting in the raw sound that prevails throughout the album.

The musical scene during early 1973 was at the height of the Glam rock era. Bellaphon had an artist, Tiger B. Smith, whose image was that of a Glam rock act and was currently selling well which also had the label thinking that their new act had to also follow suit. For starters the band had to change their name, and thus Monsun became Lily (a name that was brought up by Manfred Schmid). The band also reverted to wearing ladies clothes and make-up for the cover photos and the album was released as V.C.U. (We See You) (Bellaphon, BLPS 19144) in spring 1973.

The idea of presenting the band as a Glam-rock act failed miserably. From the onset the band were severely criticised for their new image and even though they went on a promotional trip to London to distribute their album to agencies and clubs, the album flopped selling just over 1000 copies. Trouble was brewing within the Lily camp and by December 1973 Manfred Schmid is dismissed from the band due to musical differences. The decision was not unanimous, which resulted in further factioning within the Lily camp and Schmid took the news badly, destroying Schlagmüller's drum kit as well as his own equipment in the process. Furthermore Schmid started to have mental problems and passed though a phase of writing music with German lyrics that mirrored his mental state. He was dead by the mid-Nineties, found in Frankfurt's inner city wood under mysterious circumstances.

Schmid's position within Lily was taken by a close friend of Lehmann, Björn Scherer-Mohr who played both guitar and keyboards. The band tried to adopt a more commercial approach and by spring 1974, the band moved to Frankfurt Panne Paulsen studio to record a demo tape for their second album. The band started to introduce a comic element into their music, a move which the members enjoyed, yet which left producer Peter Hauke unimpressed, especially after the premise the band had created with their debut album.

By April 1974 Scherer-Mohr left the band who reverted back to a quartet and who by now were experiencing trouble with their label. An example was a 14-day performance the band had in Rowinj which was given to another band, Message, without the band's prior knowledge. Bellaphon dropped the band at the end of their contract in December of that year and though the band tried to revive their popularity by arranging various tours, the end was nigh. Manfred Schlagmüller left the band to play jazz music, his place taken Rüdiger "Rüpf" Pfau, yet the band was to play its last gig in the Old Bailey in Bayreuth on 04/091976.

V.C.U. (We See You) (1973)

 Tracklist: In Those Times (9:08), Which Is This (4:24), pinky Pigs (6:38), Doctor Martin (4:36), I'm Lying On My Belly (Including Tango Atonale) (5:57), Eyes Look From The Mount Of Flash (9:43)
Bonus Tracks: Chemical New York (8:15), Adlerbar (5:46), Catch Me (8:12), The Wanderer (16:27)

Musicians: Wilfried Kirchmeier (bass, vocals, percussion on Pinky Pigs, Synths on Eyes Look From The Mount Of Flash), Manfred Schlagmüller (drums, percussion, Synths on Eyes Look From The Mount Of Flash), Hans-Werner Steinberg (tenor and soprano saxes), Manfred-Josef Schmid (guitar), Klaus Lehmann (guitars)

Additional musicians: Dieter Dierks (mellotron), Armin Bannach (gong)
All titles written by Lily
Produced by Peter Hauke; Recorded 1973 at Dierks Studios
Engineered by Dieter Dierks; Photos by Dieter Weiss; Cover Design by Wenske

The one and only album that was released by Lily has now been re-released in CD format by the excellent Garden Of Delights label together with four bonus tracks. Musically the album features a strange blend of progressive rock which may sound extremely harsh to those who are accustomed to the British or Italian bands playing this genre of music. The German progressive rock movement, sometimes referred to as the kraut-rock movement, often did without the melodic and atmospheric nature of keyboards and the mellotron relying on a much harsher and rockier sound created primarily by the guitar. Lily further augmented their sound with the addition of the sound of the saxophone in their lengthy instrumental pieces which helped add that jazz edge to the rock. Furthermore the band possessed two stylistically different guitarists, Manfred-Josef Schmid who had a raw sound to his playing and Klaus Lehmann whose style was much more polished. These two contrasting styles allowed for the band to expand their music to a broad base.

The album kicks off with In Those Times, which immediately indicates the Canterbury blend of music that Lily tend to play, which sounds rather strange coming from a German band! Steinberg's saxophone work coupled with the great guitar work places the band almost on a par with groups such as Soft Machine, and also the more progressive works of Delivery. What makes the track, and indeed most of the album, even more endearing is the fact that the solos do not involve endless aimless doodles, but instead fit in snugly with the musical context which remains rather strict in tempo and structure.

Which Is This is rather similar to the opening track in style, though Pinky Pigs has a much more bluesy feel. Their is also a slightly looser feel to the music giving it a much more psychedelic touch rather than the jazzier nature of the opening tracks. On Doctor Martin the band manage to fuse these elements by creating an echo-driven mystical atmosphere that occasionally breaks down into some great guitar riffs punctuated by the odd saxophone or guitar lick.

I'm Lying On My Belly (Including Tango Atonale) has a much more familiar feel to it with its rather typical late sixties bluesy stomp, though one must also make a reference to Kirchmeier's vocals. In fact, a major factor that allows Lily to be so accessible is the fact that they possessed a vocalist whose pronunciation was devoid of those normally thick German accents, whilst at the same time being able to create a rich powerful delivery. This is further exemplified on Eyes Look From The Mount Of Flash which is distinct from the previous track in its diversity. Whereas I'm Lying On My Belly features more or less a variation on a theme, this track allows the band to broaden their psychedelic/progressive influences with the occasional space rock foray as well as some interesting time signature changes.

Thus ended the original version of V.C.U. (We See You). The remaining four tracks are bonus tracks that have been made available on CD. They must have been recorded at the same time as the album as no mention is made of any changes in line-up for these specific recordings. Possibly they were part of the original demo-tape that the band had made as admittedly the sound does suffer slightly on certain occasions.

Chemical New York is possibly the most straight forward track on the album with a well defined blues rhythm with, unlike on other tracks, a lack of a guitar solo with just Steinberg's saxophone delving into solo territory. Adlerbar further adds to the blues stomp nature of these bonus tracks and is pretty much on the same lines as Chemical New York. Hearing these Bonus Tracks over and over again leads me to think that they must have been recorded prior to the recording of the album. The basicity of the music with little or nor variation throughout is a stark contrast to what the band's eventual album would offer. Having said that, Catch Me and The Wanderer do witness the band showing an amount of improvisation with the latter being the track to write home mostly about. This last track has solos coming from each member of the band, with the most striking being the bass solo from Kirchmeier.

Though not strictly speaking a Canterbury progressive rock band, Lily are an exciting view into the German progressive rock scene from the early seventies. Most people tend to have the notion that the scene in those years consisted only of electronic orientated bands as or else kraut rock Amon Duul clones. Lily dispel this notion with an excellent development of what is essentially a rhythm and blues foundation taken that one step further well within the context of the times the band were living.

Being a wholesale company, Garden Of Delights does not actually accept individual orders. There are a variety of sites that offer albums from the Garden Of Delights label such as Milestone Mailorder which accept individual orders.

Landmarq

Thunderstruck

Last year, Landmarq returned to the European stages with a new singer: Tracy Hitchings had replaced the illustrious Damian Wilson. With Tracy, Landmarq released Science Of Coincidence, their fourth studio-album and probably their best to date. Many of the gigs of their 1998/99-tour were recorded with Thunderstruck as the result. Half of this album consists of material off Science Of Coincidence and half of it originates from previous albums.

Pinewood Avenue from The Vision Pit is a great opener. It's an upbeat track, which gets the audience (including you) in a party spirit immediately. Drummer Dave Wagstaffe gives the track a 'harder' edge by using a double bass drum. Tracy Hitchings appears to be very capable of singing Wilson's melody, but she refrains from copying him.

Solitary Witness has changed a lot. The bagpipe-introduction has been replaced by a faster part, which leads the audience from Pinewood Avenue to the much quieter Solitary Witness. This is one of the things I really like on this album. Many of the songs, including the more recent ones, have been rearranged or expanded, which makes this live album more than a 'studio album with audience'. Solitary Witness is one of the best examples of this. Tracy Hitchings really made this song one of her own. It's one of the best tracks Landmarq have written and a beautiful ballad.

The title-track of the Science Of Coincidence album is next. This is a real fun track, a typical neo-prog song, like Marillion's Incommunicado or Arena's Welcome To The Cage, with a very prominent role for a repeated key-lead by Steve Leigh.

Tailspin was something special for the band, since they had never played it before. A jazzy and melodic bass-line by Steve Gee is the basis for this mellow track, which makes you really dream away. A new key-solo and Tracy's voice make this song a complete new version of the original on Infinity Parade.

The Overlook is a beautiful epic, starting off with a nice piano-part, followed by an emotional Tracy Hitchings, who really shows her best in this track. It slowly develops into a very Floydian instrumental part with a leading spot for Uwe d'Rose on guitar, reminiscent of Gilmour and Latimer. A faster and heavier part - with enough room for all musicians to show their talents - is the highlight of this song and of the album. Simply awesome!

Since this album changes from fast and heavy to quiet and atmospheric every other song, another ballad is up next. Between Sleeping And Dreaming is another of those re-worked tracks, which features an entirely different second part. The first part however remained the same and still brings you this lullaby-like mood, in a combination of orchestral sounds and intense vocals. The new second part has been constructed around Steve Leigh's piano-part and slowly grows into a bombastic finale.

Borders is one of the oldest Landmarq-songs and - to be honest - my less favorite on this album. However, I think many fans will be grateful Landmarq has released this track, because -as with Solitary Witness and Tailspin - the original hasn't been available since the demise of their previous label, SI-music. Borders is a bit 'folky', in the vein of Fish' Internal Exile and features nice harmonies by the rest of the band.

Summer Madness is the perfect end of the album, as it was live. This joyful, up-beat song usually makes the audience jump and sing-along. On this version Hitchings makes her audience participate as well. She also introduces the band in a very funny way, which - again - adds something different to the original. Great finale!

To conclude, it's great to have Landmarq back and this is the best proof of it. Thunderstruck presents the best side of the band. The atmospheric album is a great addition to your Landmarq collection, or a great starting point for new fans. Produced by Karl Groom at Thin Ice studios the album sounds great and a collection of funny and rare pictures is featured in the booklet. Thunderstruck probably is the best live-album of the year. Looking forward to their next studio-album.

Tracklist: Pinewood Avenue (6:14), Solitary Witness (5:38), Science Of Coincidence (4:44), Tailspin (5:02), The Overlook (9:20), Between Sleeping and Dreaming (9:18), Borders (4:33), Summer Madness (10:47)

Land's End

Natural Selection

A couple of weeks ago keyboard player Fred Hunter send me two CDs. One was his recent 'solo' project Transience and the other one a 1997 album of his band Land's End. Land's End's history goes back a to the early nineties. After several changes in line-up and the release of a demo in 1992, the band got the line-up that was maintained until this day; Mark Lavallee (drums), Fred Hunter (keyboards & bass), Francisco Neto (guitars) & Jeff McFarland (vocals & acoustic guitars).
In September 1994 they released their first album Pacific Coast Highway. Several months later the band signed with the Cyclops label, with whom they released 3 more studio albums and one live album so far. Natural Selection was the band's most recent studio album.

The first time I played the Land's End album I was slightly put-off by the lack of originality when I heard the first real track. I switched to the Transience CD and put the other one on the stack of 'Pending Work'. The Transience review was a lot easier to do (you'll find it elsewhere in this column. After finishing the hardest work on the DPRPoll I went back to the Land's End album and after playing it several times (I found it rather hard to form an opinion about it) it really started to grow on me.

Strictly Speaking In Geographical Terms is just one minute of sound effects of frogs and a keyboard soundscape. It's one of those tunes that makes you turn up the volume of your stereo set just before the next track suddenly starts with a loud and bombastic beginning, startling you.

That second track is From The Ruins Of A Fallen Empire and is a long epic of almost 15 minutes. The start sounds like a mixture of Punch & Judy (keyboards), Bitter Suite and Assassin' (drums) and Eye in the Sky (bass). After this Marillion-esque start (Fugazi period) a very Tony Banks-like keyboard solo followss. The middle piece is more Floydian with a nice guitar solo by Francisco.
Many variations and new themes follow. After the melody of the opening section has returned the song goes into a closing section with some more solos.
It is a very nice track with a lot of variety, some great melodies and good singing.

From The Ruins Of A Fallen Empire merges seamlessly with the next track, Love Through The Winter And Blood In The Spring - bloody hell, who made up these weird titles ? As a matter of fact, the whole 74 minutes album is really one long track, with every song merging into the next one.

Love Through the Winter ... starts with some freaky guitar in the background and percussion before keyboard bass and guitar pick up a threatening repeated low key note. Vocals come in and sing a mysterious dirge that slowly gains in agressiveness.
The mid section of the song is formed by several rather psychadelic bits (reminiscent of early Floyd), including a Marillion-esque keyboard solo .....

.... and then after 11 minutes of bliss, the song goes into the wonderfully emotional ballad An Emptiness That Cannot Be Filled. Acoustic guitar and vocalist Jeff at his best, and a Floydian guitar solo in the end to top it off.

Next track, My Home, starts with a powerful prog rock section before it goes into a more laid-back Marillion-esque song. In the middle section guiitarist Neto goes berserk on the wah-wah pedal. Great stuff ! After an orgasmatic climax the song returns to the earlier low tempo rhythm after 6 minutes. After s slightly cheesy synth-sax solo the vocals continue and the song comes to a final climax one more time.

Natural Selection is an incredibly long track; 30 minutes ! Of course that doesn't immediately make it a good song, although it will fascinate most prog fans. The track starts with the same frog sounds as the opening track of the album. In the first part of the epic, Unravelling The Threads Of A Waning Moon, Spanish guitar and congas accompany a nice quiet laid-back ballad that last about 4 minutes. The second part of the track, Meridians Of Time, is a slightly more experimental bit, accompanied by the Spanish guitar from the previous section. So far so good.
After about 6 and a half minutes a rather horrible section called Practice starts. This part is a DAT recording with 2 microphones set up in a room of a spontaneous jam. The first problem is that its sung in German. If there's one thing worse than a German singer with a heavy German accent than its an American singer who wants to sing in German for no good reason whatsoever. Besides that, since it's a spontaneous jam, it really isn't a good piece of composing and therefore completely out of place. This torture lasts for about 6 minutes. What were they thinking ?!

The next segment, the two minutes long Theory, the weird fiddling of Practice changes into a slow tempo section with vocals and a dark low bass line. Next is Hell, a 9 minutes long instrumental section which starts with a variation on the same bass line. After some Rothery-like echoing guitar effects it's one guitar and keyboard solo after the other, most of them variations on earlier themes in the song. At 21 and a half minutes the song returns to the melody of Unravelling ....
The final segment is called Awaiting Extinction and starts at 24 minutes. The tempo increases while more variations on earlier themes follow. The song ends with a very Focus-like bit of guitar and a final verse with a bit of a Klaatu-feel.

Despite it's length the title track is probably the weakest song on the album. Practice definitely spoils the continuity of the epic and some of the instrumental segments don't really work quite the way they should. Some of it just feels too long and drawn out, especially the last two sections, which are just repetition after repetition of the same themes. If the song would have been limited to about 15 minutes it would probably have worked better.

While writing this review I still find it hard to describe the music. None of the band members are brilliant musicians and there are quite some bum notes and bits and pieces when not everybody is playing 100% in time. Especially Mark Lavallee is a rather questionable drummer (which only enhances the 'early Marillion' feel of some of the songs). Fred and Francisco are doing quite reasonable on keys and guitars and occassionally they really shine in a moment of excellence. Jeff is a very capable singer, although most of his singing is in the same style, never getting really agressive. His voice is very enjoyable though, although some of the multi-vocal overdubs are a bit clumsy, so you hear Jeff singing twice, but out of synch.

Nevertheless there is a real 'live' feel to the music and there's a certain chemistry between the band members that gives the music it's edge. You don't just listen to this album; you experience it. It's got a lot of influences from Pink Floyd, Marillion and Genesis. There's the occassional psychedelic bit reminding me of Pink Floyd in the late 60s, early seventies.
Most of the album evolved from jam sessions, and they managed to capture that feel in the songs, while not losing themselves in senseless repeated themes and mediocre musiscianship (not counting practice that is).

Recommended to fans of early Floyd or Fish-era Marillion. Early Genesis fans might give it a try as well.

Tracklist:Strictly Speaking In Geographical Terms (1.03), From The Ruins Of A Fallen Empire (14.44), Love Through The Winter And Blood In The Spring (11.36), An Emptiness That Cannot Be Filled (6.03), My Home (10.30), Natural Selection ((i) Unravelling The Threads Of A Waning Moon (4.11), (ii) Meridians Of Time (2.08), (iii) The Theory And Practice Of Hell: Pactice (6.16), Theory (2.00) & Hell (9.20), (iv) Awaiting Extinction (6.05)) (total track: 30.00)

Lana Lane and Erik Norlander

Symphonic rock vocalist Lana Lane and her keyboardist / producer / husband Erik Norlander have just completed a pair of covers albums for release this winter. It has been a tradition in Japan for the two to release a Lana Lane "specialty album" every two years. They started with the Lana Lane Ballad Collection in 1998, then continued with Ballad Collection 2 (2000), Covers Collection (2002) and Winter Sessions (2004). Now for 2006, Lana and Erik have recorded not one but two albums for the winter season.

The first album is Lana Lane - Gemini, an album of classic rock covers from the 60s and 70s featuring the backing musicians Vinny Appice, Tony Franklin, George Lynch, Mark McCrite and Erik Norlander along with Kelly Keeling providing additional duet and harmony vocals. Gemini is the astrological symbol for twins, and since this is Lana's second album of all covers, the album carries the theme of "two" throughout. Lana recorded two songs by each classic rock artist for this release: a pair of songs each originally recorded by Cream, Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, Heart, Jefferson Airplane and Foreigner. Of particular note is Lana's Pink Moon Suite that combines the song Johnny Moon -- originally recorded by Heart -- with songs from most of "Side One" of Pink Floyd's landmark Dark Side of the Moon album.

The second album is Erik Norlander - Hommage Symphonique, an album of progressive rock covers recorded by Erik along with Gregg Bissonette, Don Schiff, Mark McCrite with Kelly Keeling handling all of the vocal duties. Erik employed a small ensemble of acoustic instruments featuring Jon Pappenbrook (trumpets flugelhorn), Eric Jorgensen (trombones), Mike Alvarez (cello) and David Schiff (woodwinds). David is the brother of Don Schiff, and in addition to Don's NS/Stick work on the album, he also fills out the acoustic string ensemble with the new Bowed Guitar instrument.

Erik's choice of covers reflects his own broad musical taste, performing songs originally recorded by ELP, ELO, Yes, Rick Wakeman, King Crimson, Procol Harum and Jethro Tull and Chuck Mangione. The last artist may sound the most surprising, but Erik's stirring rendition of Mangione's Children of Sanchez brings this jazz - fusion classic more into Erik's world of symphonic progressive rock supported by his seasoned and highly versatile band.

Gemini and Hommage Symphonique will be released on November 23, 2006 on the Avalon label in Japan and then on January 30, 2007 on Think Tank Media / ProgRock Records with advance sales starting in December 2006.

Lana Lane Gemini:

White Room [4:58]

White Rabbit [2:25]

Long Long Way From Home [3:30]

You Can Never Go Home [6:02]

"Pink Moon Suite":

Breathe Introduction [1:15]

Johnny Moon [3:01]

Breathe in the Air [1:45]

On the Run [2:05]

Time [5:21]

Breathe Reprise [1:25]

Dream of the Archer [4:19]

Starrider [5:27]

Sunshine Of Your Love [4:55]

Wooden Ships [4:31]

Nights in White Satin [5:19]

Total running time . . . 56:45 

Erik Norlander Hommage Symphonique

1. Conquistador [4:08]

2. Sir Lancelot and the Black Knight [7:20]

3. Turn of the Century [7:38]

4. Pirates [13:32]

5. Clasp [4:51]

6. King of the Universe [7:09]

7. Children of Sanchez Overture [9:24]

8. Starless [12:04]

Total running time . . . 66:25

Le Orme

In the late 1960's, Le Orme were one of the few Italian bands to attempt American styled psychedelic music, and the results varied from high quality original compositions to trite mimicry. By 1971, Le Orme had changed directions to the new music movement sweeping Italy, progressive rock. Collage, Le Orme's first progressive album and third overall, is a stripped-down affair with only organ, piano, bass and drums. The exception is the opening title track which could be considered the bridge between their psych and prog compositions styles. "Collage" has a "kitchen sink" mentality and features an orchestra, pseudo-baroque motifs and some shallow trendy moves. However, the next track, "Era Inverno", is the beginning of the classic Le Orme sound. Aldo Tagliapietra's instantly recognizable alto voice opens the song and then is followed by Tony Pagliuca's fabulous organ and the energetic drumming of Michi dei Rossi. Of all the songs found on Collage, this one would be the model. The amazing "Cemento Armato" follows. Le Orme has never been known for being a jam band, but this eight-minute organ trio number is one of the greatest of its kind. Blistering organ work and the rhythm section of Aldo and Michi are as hot here as anywhere to be found in their catalog. Another highlight can be found on "Evasione Totale", an experimental organ jazz rock piece with heavy echoed keyboards and groovy rhythms. Overall, Collage is Le Orme's most energetic, raw and experimental album. As such, this album tends to be overlooked by those awed by their more polished follow-up efforts. Fans of heavy organ rock, as commonly found in Germany, will adore Collage.

Uomo di Pezza, Le Orme's fourth album, opens appropriately enough with an organ prelude joined by a complex and heavy rhythm section. Silence begets a piano melody and then Aldo's beautiful voice enters. The model found on Collage has been rediscovered and exploited. So with that, Uomo di Pezza is ostensibly going to be a more sophisticated affair. As well, concerning instrumentation, Le Orme becomes more diverse. Here they add more acoustic guitar to the mix and the organ isn't as prominent as the newly acquired Mini-Moog. Gone are the jams and the reckless abandon found on Collage, to be replaced by more angular and thought out creative music. "La Porta Chiusa" is the perfect example of the new and improved Le Orme. A thundering bass and drum layer is offset by a Moog dial turn (as in turning the radio from soft to loud). Aldo then begins to sing softly, but somewhat eerily, only to find counterpoint with a thunderous organ, Moog, bass and drum maelstrom. For pure songwriting, "Figure di Cartone" and "Aspettando L'Alba" are brilliant examples of melancholic beauty, especially the latter (which would've been the perfect soundtrack to an arty Italian film). Aldo's emotional voice is perfect for this kind of style and unfortunately they were unable to capture this magic on their later, more commercial, efforts. What separates Uomo di Pezza from the others is the perfect balance between the raw heaviness found on the predecessor with the more uppity aspirations of pretension to be heard on their next opus. A true classic and Le Orme's finest work. For vinyl collectors, consider obtaining the original LP which portrays the beautiful fantasy art in a delightful textured gatefold sleeve.

Le Orme's fifth release, Felona e Sorona, is generally considered their masterwork (including by those in Gnosis). The album is progressive rock by the numbers: 1) A heady concept with fantasy lyrics; 2)One long composition broken into nine subsections; 3)Keyboards galore featuring Mini-Moog, Mellotron and the familiar organ. The "formula" track as found on Collage has now been turned into an album length exercise. Going about it in this way, Le Orme came up with a fail-proof album that stills satisfies today. While it would be easy to pass off Felona e Sorona as a typical pretentious prog album typical of the day, few deliver the goods as well as Le Orme. As with any ambitious project such as this, there is plenty for the listener to sink their teeth into. Many dynamic changes between the singer-songwriter tendencies of Aldo Tagliapietra and the bombastic keyboards of Tony Pagliuca. However what possibly keeps Felona E Sorona from the upper echelons is there is nary a memorable moment on the album. Without allowing much experimentation into the mix, much of the album seems restricted by an unspoken protocol. Exceptions to this are the eerie "Attesa Inerte" and the ambitious closer "Ritorno al Nulla", both reminiscent of the Uomo di Pezza balance of soft composition, jazzy grooves and heavy rock. Overall, another classic Le Orme album and a must listen. Another essential purchase for LP collectors as well, with a fabulous fantasy painting in a gatefold sleeve. There is also an English language version of the album (with lyrics by Peter Hammill), though the album doesn't flow as well as the native Italian version.

Contrappunti, Le Orme's sixth and last classic album, is on the surface a return to the more straightforward approach found on Uomo di Pezza especially considering the heavy organ opening sequence. Perhaps the band felt they had moved too far from their garage-y roots with Felona e Sorona. The opening title track, overall, is somewhere between Uomo di Pezza and classic Emerson Lake and Palmer (especially the organ playing). By the second song, however, it is clear Le Orme are moving towards a more accessible sound. "Frutto Acerbo" is not as disturbing as the songs found on their earlier albums. In fact, without the mellotron, this composition could easily fit on a Lucio Battisti album. Even when the band rocks out, there is a sense of control and a more simplistic composition style. Maybe this was a conscious decision brought on by necessity while struggling to play this kind of complex music night after night for years on the road. Whatever the reason, the encompassing sound is classic Le Orme with a little less caffeine and more diet friendly. That is not to say the album is not without major highlights. "India" recalls the melancholic brilliance of Aldo Tagliapietra's haunting voice and the off-key synthesizers of Tony Pagliuca. The instrumental "Notturno" sounds like an outtake from the Felona e Sorona sessions with its creepy organ, piano and Moog work. The closer "Maggio" is a capsule of all that Le Orme accomplished over the last four albums. Sadly, it would be the last time the band created compositions of this complexity and imagination.

Coinciding with the release of Contrappunti, Le Orme released their first live album titled In Concerto. The selections contained on this release are curious only by the omission of current material. 95 percent of all the chosen songs are from their raw jam days of Collage despite being performed almost three years later with three other albums under their belt. This includes the unreleased two-part 22 minute primarily instrumental "Truck of Fire" replete with the requisite drum solo. Clearly the band, in a live setting, chose to be more like British luminaries Deep Purple minus the guitar. Also noteworthy is the lengthy inclusion of "Era Inverno", which I feel is the prototype for most of Le Orme's classic output. At this point in the bands career, it becomes apparent that they were more hard rockers at heart rather than the sophisticated progenitors of albums such as Uomo di Pezza and Felona e Sorona. The point is even more driven home given their latest release at the time, Contrappunti, which was a clear separation from the past two efforts.

After the disappointing commercial effort Smogmagica, Verita Nascote is a nice return to form for Le Orme. Having acquired a full time guitarist for the previous effort, Le Orme had a new sound to experiment with. Not that Le Orme do much with it. On the contrary, the guitar seems to only add color and little else. By now, Le Orme are completely a song-based rock band, though more complex than their American contemporaries. This quality is displayed clearly on Verita Nascote, where Le Orme's unique style makes for an overall enjoyable listening experience. "In Ottobre" is an excellent example of how Le Orme could incorporate their progressive era sound into a tight commercial style rock framework. And, throughout, Aldo Tagliapietra's voice is as wonderful as ever. There's even some nice violins on the pensive title track. While not near as essential as their classic progressive rock albums, Verita Nascote is a very pleasant listen and a fine addition to the Le Orme catalog.

Lisker

Lisker is a Basque band that released only one self-titled album in 1979 as far as I know. The album has a rather open, spacey sound with an emphasis on long, instrumental sections where, most of the time, flute and guitar take the lead parts. Despite the strong guitar/flute presence they don't remind me of Jethro Tull. The heavier, up-tempo sections have more of an Italian flavour (Dalton, De De Lind) and some passages that recall the first Tako album. There are also several quiet parts that (again) are closer to 70's Italian progressive or maybe recall some of the South American bands such as Bacamarte or Horizonte (without the ethnic influences). Vocals are few, but pleasant. Great album.

Light

Light’ plays Art-Rock with influences of ‘Ekseption’ and ‘Nice’ and integrates jazzy brass elements like ‘Colosseum’ and Latin-American percussion work similar to ‘Santana’.

Light were formed in the town of Gouda in the 1960s and toured through the provinces of the Netherlands in the late 60s. The band members were Adri Vergeer (piano, organ, mellotron, keyboards, vocals), Gerard Steenbergen (acoustic guitar), Joop Slootjes (bass), Hans de Bruin (saxophone, flute) and Sjaco van der Speld ...Light’ plays Art-Rock with influences of ‘Ekseption’ and ‘Nice’ and integrates jazzy brass elements like ‘Colosseum’ and Latin-American percussion work similar to ‘Santana’.

Light were formed in the town of Gouda in the 1960s and toured through the provinces of the Netherlands in the late 60s. The band members were Adri Vergeer (piano, organ, mellotron, keyboards, vocals), Gerard Steenbergen (acoustic guitar), Joop Slootjes (bass), Hans de Bruin (saxophone, flute) and Sjaco van der Speld (drums, vocals). Eddy Barclay brought the band - then called “ Light Formation” - to the attention of producer Bert Schouten. In 1972 "The Story of Moses" was published, having been recorded at Phonogram Studio in Hilversum. On the album Guus Willemse (bass), Hans Hollestelle (electric guitar) and Marian Schatteleyn and Robbie Dale (voices) appeared as guest musicians. The recording was a concept album, telling the story of the biblical figure of Moses. It was the only album ever recorded by Light.

Track listing
1. The Water (8:46)
2. The Blackberry Bushes (10:54)
3. White Turns Into Black (6:34)
4. The Nuisances (6:52)
5. The Desert (1:52)
6. The Red Sea (4:59)

Total Time: 39:57

Line-up
- Adrie Vergeer / piano, organ, mellotron, keyboards, vocals
- Gerard Steenbergen / acoustic guitar
- Joop Slootjes / bass
- Hans de Bruin / saxophone, flute
- Sjaco van der Speld /drums, vocals

Guest musicians:
- Guus Willemse / bass
- Hans Hollestelle / electric guitar
- Marian Schatteleyn and Robbie Dale / voices

Releases information
LP Barclay 748003 (1972)
LP Brain Metronome 1013 (1972

Lene Lovich

One of the more offbeat and memorable figures in new wave, Lene Lovich - Lili-Marlene Premilovich on Mar 30, 1949 in Detroit, MIcertainly - drew much of her widely varied approach from her unconventional early experiences. Born of a Yugoslavian father and British mother, she spent much of her childhood in Detroit, MI. At age 13, she moved to Hull, England, with her mother. She ran away to London shortly thereafter, where she worked several odd jobs ranging from bingo caller to go-go dancer to street busker. Around this time, she developed an interest in art and theater, enrolling at the Central School of Art. She took up the saxophone and, after a brief stint in a soul-funk band (with future collaborator Les Chappell), Lovich wrote a string of songs for French disco star Cerrone. In 1978, Stiff Records signed her after hearing her first recording, a remake of "I Think We're Alone Now." She quickly became one of Stiff's brightest stars, headlining package tours and earning several U.K. hits over the next three years with the unforgettable "Lucky Number," "Say When," "Bird Song," and "New Toy." Unfortunately, her theatrical quirkiness didn't translate well into LP length, and as new wave dissolved, she disappeared from the music scene. After an eight-year absence, she returned in 1990 with March. It failed to ignite any further interest and she again went into retirement.

Led Zeppelin

The group debuted in 1968 with a boisterous and revolutionary approach to British blues-rock. They proved to be consistent innovators and later albums incorporated more wide-ranging influences, notably celtic folk, but remained consistently popular and accessible. More than two and half decades after the band retired in 1980, their music continues to sell well, gain widespread radio play, and influence modern rock. To date, they have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide, including 100 million albums in the United States alone.

The band's trademark songs include "Communication Breakdown", "Dazed and Confused", "Whole Lotta Love", "Immigrant Song", "Rock and Roll", "When the Levee Breaks", "Heartbreaker", "Over the Hills and Far Away", "Achilles Last Stand", "Black Dog", "Stairway to Heaven", and "Kashmir".

History

The Early Days (1968-1970)

The band was originally formed in 1968 by guitarist Jimmy Page under the name The New Yardbirds to fulfill some performance commitments booked in Scandinavia before the break-up of the original Yardbirds. The New Yardbirds consisted of Page, vocalist Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham, and former Yardbirds bassist Chris Dreja, but Dreja left early in the project to become a photographer (and would later take the photograph that appeared on the back of the group's debut album). He was replaced by Page's long-time friend John Paul Jones. Page's first choice as singer, Terry Reid, declined the opportunity but recommended Plant, who accepted and then brought in his old friend Bonham from the defunct Band of Joy.

After some concerts with this line-up billed variously as the New Yardbirds or sometimes simply The Yardbirds, the band's name was changed to Led Zeppelin, after The Who's drummer Keith Moon quipped that the band would go down faster than a "lead balloon" (the comment is also frequently attributed to Who bassist John Entwistle.) The group adopted the name, deliberately misspelling the first part to prevent people from pronouncing it as "leed."

Shortly after their first tour, the group's eponymous first album was released on January 12, 1969. Its blend of blues and rock influences with distorted amplification made it one of the pivotal records in the evolution of heavy metal music. Although several of Zeppelin's earliest songs were based on or were cover versions of blues standards, others such as "Communication Breakdown" had a unique and distinctively heavy sound. Led Zeppelin also featured delicate acoustic guitar on "Black Mountain Side", and a combination of acoustic and electric approaches on the reworked folk song "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You." The immediate success of the first album kick-started the band's career, especially in the United States, where they would frequently tour, and where their album unit-sales totals are second only to the Beatles. The second record, simply titled Led Zeppelin II, followed in similar style later that year and included the bludgeoning riff of "Whole Lotta Love" which, driven by the rhythm section of John Bonham on drums and John Paul Jones on bass, defined their sound at the time.

Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were blues fanatics; two of Led Zeppelin's early hits, "Whole Lotta Love" and "You Shook Me", were very similar to earlier songs by Willie Dixon. (The band were subsequently accused of using his lyrics without crediting Dixon, and it was not until Chess Records brought suit 15 years later, that proper credit—and a monetary settlement—was given.) Page was once quoted in an interview with the hypothesis: "I've often thought that in the way the Stones tried to be the sons of Chuck Berry, we tried to be the sons of Howlin' Wolf 1" (a version of whose song "Killing Floor" featured prominently in Zeppelin's early live performances). The band also loved American rock and roll: the exuberant styles of Fats Domino and Little Richard were inspirations, and Led Zeppelin would perform rockabilly songs originally made famous by Elvis Presley and Eddie Cochran. Onstage, Led Zeppelin concerts could last more than three hours; expanded, improvised live versions of their song repertoire often incorporated tight workouts of James Brown, Stax, and Motown-influenced soul music and funk (favorites of bassist Jones and drummer Bonham).

For the writing of the music on their third album, Led Zeppelin III, the band retired to Bron-Yr-Aur, a remote house in Wales. This would result in a more acoustic sound (and a song "Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp", misspelled as "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on the album cover) strongly influenced by Celtic and folk music, and it also revealed a different side of guitarist Page's prodigious talent. Led Zeppelin III also ushered in an era of unique album jackets, this one featuring a wheel that displayed various images through cutouts in the main jacket sleeve when rotated. In November of 1970, Led Zeppelin's record label, Atlantic Records, released "Immigrant Song" as a single against the band's wishes (Atlantic had earlier released an edited version of "Whole Lotta Love" which cut the 5:34 song to 3:10). It included their only b-side, "Hey Hey What Can I Do". Even though the band saw their albums as indivisible, whole listening experiences — and their manager, Peter Grant, maintained an aggressive pro-album stance — nine other singles were released without their consent. The group also resisted television appearances, which left any ability to control their presentation and sound quality out of their own hands (with often disappointing or embarrassing results). Lack of Led Zeppelin TV exposure also enforced the band's preference that their fans hear and see them in person.

The 4 symbols each standing for a Led Zeppelin member. Clockwise from top right: John Paul Jones, Robert Plant, John Bonham, Jimmy Page.

"The Biggest Band in the World" (1971-1975)

The band's diverse musical tendencies were fused on their untitled fourth album, which is variously referred to as Led Zeppelin IV, Zoso, Runes, or Four Symbols. (Not only is the album itself without a conventional title, on the original packaging, there is no indication of the name of the band.) Released on November 8, 1971, this record included hard rock such as "Black Dog", Tolkienesque folksy mysticism on "The Battle of Evermore", and a combination of both genres in the lengthy, suite-like "Stairway to Heaven", a massive album-oriented rock FM radio hit which has never been released as a single in spite of its success. The album winds up with one of their best blues songs, a Memphis Minnie cover titled "When the Levee Breaks".

Their next studio record, 1973's Houses of the Holy, featured further experimentation: longer songs and expanded use of synthesizers and Mellotron parts, with songs like "The Song Remains the Same", "No Quarter" and "D'yer Mak'er" (pronounced "Jamaica", which was fitting, given the song's reggae feel - it is also a play on words, based on the joke where a man mistakes his friend saying the word Jamaica, for "Did You Make Her?" First man: My wife is off to the Caribbean on holiday. Second man: Jamaica? First man: No, she went of her own accord), Led Zeppelin was again pushing the limits defining rock music. The album is often considered the most romantic in Heavy Metal and Hard Rock history, due to the powerful melodies and softer, more refined songs. Their 1973 tour of the U.S. again broke records for attendance: at Tampa Stadium, Florida they played to 56,800 fans (more than the Beatles' 1965 concert at Shea Stadium). Three sold-out New York shows at Madison Square Garden were filmed for a concert motion picture, but this project would be delayed for several years.

In 1974, Led Zeppelin launched their own record label called Swan Song, named after one of only five songs that the band never recorded for commercial release (the track was re-tooled as "Midnight Moonlight" by Page's post-Zeppelin band The Firm on their first album). Besides using it as a vehicle to promote their own albums, the band expanded the label's roster, signing artists such as Bad Company, Pretty Things, Maggie Bell, Detective, Dave Edmunds, Midnight Flyer, Sad Café and Wildlife.

1975 saw the release of Physical Graffiti, their first double-album set, on the Swan Song label. Led Zeppelin again showed its impressive range with songs like the lush and complex "Ten Years Gone", the acoustic "Black Country Woman", the driving "Trampled Underfoot" and the thundering, Indian-Arabic-tinged "Kashmir".

Shortly after the release of Physical Graffiti, the entire Led Zeppelin catalogue of six albums was simultaneously on the top-200 album chart. The band embarked on another U.S. tour, again playing to record-breaking crowds. To top off the year, they played five sold-out nights at the UK's Earls Court (these shows were recorded, portions of which would be released on DVD some 28 years later). At this peak of their career, Led Zeppelin was the biggest rock band in the world.

If the band's popularity on stage and record was impressive, so too was their reputation for excess and off-stage wildness. Zeppelin traveled in a private jet (nicknamed "The Starship"), rented out entire sections of hotels, and became the subjects of many of rock's most famous stories of debauchery: trashed hotel rooms (TVs out the window, motorcycling in the halls), sexual escapades (some of which involved animals), and heavy use of drugs and alcohol. Several people associated with the band would later write books about the wild escapades of the group, while band members themselves have disavowed many of the tales.

The Latter Days (1976-1982)

In 1976 the band took a break from the road and began filming "fantasy" segments for the concert film entitled "The Song Remains The Same". During this break, Robert Plant and his wife were in a car crash while on holiday in Greece which broke Plant's ankle; Maureen Plant was very seriously injured, and only a flight back to London and a timely blood transfusion saved her life. Unable to tour, the band returned to the studio and, with Plant sitting on a stool during the sessions, they recorded their seventh studio album Presence. The album was a platinum seller, but marked a change in the Zeppelin sound as straightforward, guitar-based jams such as "Nobody's Fault But Mine" had replaced the intricate arrangements of previous albums. A highlight of the album was the epic-length Achilles Last Stand featuring a driving bassline and thundering drums, melodic Page riffs and a memorable guitar solo. Overall the album received mixed responses from critics and fans, with some appreciating the looser style and others dismissing it as sloppy; some critics speculated that the band's legendary excesses may have caught up with them at last. The year 1976 marked the beginning of Page's heroin use, a habit which would often interfere with their live shows and studio recordings in their later years.

Late 1976 finally saw the release of the concert film The Song Remains the Same and its soundtrack double LP. Despite the release date, the concert footage was actually from 1973; it would be the only filmed document of the group available for the next 20 years. The soundtrack album of the film had some songs missing and some added compared to the film, and some songs are different cuts from the three nights the band performed at Madison Square Garden. The soundtrack is not generally considered a great live album, but it would remain the only official live document of the band until the eventual release of the BBC Sessions in 1997.

In 1977, Led Zeppelin embarked on another massive U.S. tour, again selling out up to five nights in cities like Chicago,