Happy Tree Company
Vintage Record Review
Bill’s Classic Records
Led Zeppelin III is the third album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. It was recorded between January and July 1970 and was released on 5 October 1970 by Atlantic Records. Composed largely at a remote cottage in Wales known as Bron-Yr-Aur, this work represented a maturing of the band’s music towards a greater emphasis on folk and acoustic sounds. This album is generally praised, and acknowledged as representing an important milestone in the band’s history.
The Immigrant Song is perhaps the most famous song from this album but one of my favourites is “Gallows Pole”. It is one of the songs I use when teaching guitar to demonstrate the function of major and minor tonalities. Listen to the amazing rise and fall of emotion as the A major chord switches to the A minor chord.
One of the things that makes LP records desirable is the artwork on the covers. Led Zeppelin III’s original vinyl edition was packaged in a gatefold sleeve with an innovative cover, designed by Zacron, a multi-media artist whom Jimmy Page had met in 1963 whilst Zacron was a student at Kingston College of Art. Zacron had recently resigned a lectureship at Leeds Polytechnic to found Zacron Studios, and in 1970 Page contacted him and asked him to design the third album’s cover.
The cover and interior gatefold art consisted of a surreal collection of seemingly random images on a white background, many of them connected thematically with flight or aviation (as in “Zeppelin”). Behind the front cover was a rotatable laminated card disc, or volvelle, covered with more images, including photos of the band members, which showed through holes in the cover. Moving an image into place behind one hole would usually bring one or two others into place behind other holes. This kind of artwork cannot be easily replicated on a CD covers and because of the CD cover’s smaller size it is never as dramatic.
TRACK LISTING
SIDE ONE
1. “Immigrant Song” Page, Plant 2:26
2. “Friends” Page, Plant 3:55
3. “Celebration Day” Jones, Page, Plant 3:29
4. “Since I’ve Been Loving You” Jones, Page, Plant 7:25
5. “Out on the Tiles” Bonham, Page, Plant 4:04
SIDE TWO
1. “Gallows Pole” trad., arr. Page, Plant 4:58
2. “Tangerine” Page 3:12
3. “That’s the Way” Page, Plant 5:38
4. “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” Jones, Page, Plant 4:20
5. “Hats Off to (Roy) Harper” trad., arr. Charles Obscure 3:41
Check out “The Immigrant Song” on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c05E6kyHu8E
Check out “Gallows Pole” on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nv15XOfsrpA
This article and others can be found at Bill’s Blog
My dad has a 15' canoe that he wants to sell. $225, his number is 250-635-6851.
Posted by Lennard Feddersen on 04/26