Moby Dick (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Moby Dick" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Song by Led Zeppelin | ||
| from the album 'Led Zeppelin II' | ||
| Released | 22 October 1969 | |
| Recorded | 1969 | |
| Genre | Hard Rock | |
| Length | 4:21 | |
| Label | Atlantic Records | |
| Writer(s) | Bonham/Jones/Page | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Page | |
| 'Led Zeppelin II' track listing | ||
| "Ramble On" (7) |
"Moby Dick" (8) |
"Bring It on Home" (9) |
"Moby Dick" is an instrumental song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, featured on their 1969 album Led Zeppelin II. The title has no relation to the book by Herman Melville. According to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's wife, Pat, the song is named "Moby Dick" because his son, Jason, asked him to play "the long song". When John asked why, the boy replied, "It's big like Moby."
The song emerged after Jimmy Page would often catch Bonham jamming in the studio, recorded parts of it, and then pieced it all together. Only guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones play the song's blues-based riff with Bonham's drums—as a power trio—at the very beginning and the very end of the song, leaving the remainder open for Bonham alone. Singer Robert Plant did not play at all, and in concert would simply introduce Bonham to the audience before the song started.
The song features strong influences from drummers Joe Morello and Ginger Baker and the tracks "Castilian Drums" (the live version from At Carnegie Hall in particular) and "Toad" respectively, utilizing bare hand drumming, triplets between hand and foot, bass drum double strokes among other techniques. The elements mentioned are heard in the aforementioned tracks, both of which feature lengthy drum solos. As well, there are influences from Ed Cassidy in the song "It's All the Same", which he recorded with Spirit.
The guitar riff bears a resemblance to a Yardbirds song, "I'm Not Talking". It is also very similar to "The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair" from Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions.
Bonham's drum solo was often played at Led Zeppelin concerts from 1968, being his solo performance showcase on concert tours through 1977. Over this period it went through three different name changes. During their early 1968-1969 tours it was known as "Pat's Delight" (a reference to his wife), from 1969-1975 it was "Moby Dick", and during their 1977 US Tour it was "Over the Top" as the solo began with the opening riff to "Out on the Tiles" before segueing into a lengthy drum solo.
When played live, Bonham's drum solo would last as little as 12 minutes or as long as 30 minutes, while the rest of the band would leave the stage after having played the introduction. During the performance Bonham would often set aside or throw his drumsticks into the audience, and then continue the solo with his hands (sometimes drawing blood as a result). On occasion, he would play with his hands after he broke his drumsticks due to his ferocious playing.
Live versions of "Moby Dick" are included on the live album How the West Was Won (lasting 19:23, performed at Long Beach Arena in 1972), and on Led Zeppelin's 1976 concert film, The Song Remains the Same as part of Bonham's fantasy sequence. It was also included on on the film's accompanying soundtrack.
Jimmy Page remixed "Moby Dick" to flow seamlessly into "Bonzo's Montreux" on the Led Zeppelin Boxed Set, released in 1990.
An anti-littering campaign in the United States used the song for its theme music in the mid 1970s.
[edit] External links
- Review: All Music Guide
[edit] Sources
- Led Zeppelin: Dazed and Confused: The Stories Behind Every Song, by Chris Welch, ISBN 1-56025-818-7
- The Complete Guide to the Music of Led Zeppelin, by Dave Lewis, ISBN 0-7119-3528-9
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| Jimmy Page · Robert Plant · John Paul Jones · John Bonham |
| Discography - (Category) |
Studio albums: Led Zeppelin · Led Zeppelin II · Led Zeppelin III ·  (Led Zeppelin IV) · Houses of the Holy · Physical Graffiti · Presence · In Through the Out DoorLive albums: The Song Remains the Same · BBC Sessions · How the West Was Won |
| Films |
| The Song Remains the Same · Led Zeppelin DVD |
| Other |
| Peter Grant · Richard Cole · Swan Song Records · The Yardbirds · XYZ · The Firm · Page and Plant · Strange Sensation · Bootlegs ∙ Concerts ∙ Songs |
