Sonic Boom: The Impact of Led Zeppelin. Volume 1 - Break & Enter. Frank Reddon

fascination with Led Zeppelin’s music. Here it is!

      I have been a LedHed since the moment I first heard them on KISN radio in 1969. (“The Mighty 91” 910 on your AM dial sponsored each of Zeppelin’s visits to Portland, “The Rose City”). I was on my porch folding newspapers for my afternoon route when I heard the most frighteningly intense, fantastic sound! It was Whole Lotta Love... and the rest is history. I was hooked!

      Don’t get me wrong. The Beatles, James Brown and Miles Davis can send shivers down my spine. But no other band can do it as consistently as Led Zeppelin always has. No other band can go thermonuclear like the mighty Zeppelin. No other band can present the yin and the yang as accurately as Led Zeppelin.

      Call me crazy, but try this on for size. Led Zeppelin IS the "white" James Brown. James Brown had his famous “hittin’ on the one” musical note theory. That IS the blueprint for the Led Zeppelin rhythm section. John Bonham and John Paul Jones were naturals, perfectly suited to “goin’ for the one”. No training necessary.

      Call it a landmark. Call it a milestone. Call it whatever the hell you want. One thing is certain...In January 1969, with the release of their first LP, Led Zeppelin introduced a new kind of music. A new kind of rock’n’roll. A collective sound never heard before on this planet. Not in this fashion.

      No one could know at the time that this LP would be the blueprint for the band’s entire ground-breaking career. The evidence shows itself immediately. Tracks one and two. From the powerful, bone-crushing, thermonuclear explosion of Good Times, Bad Times to the intensely soulful, yet delicate longing of Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You. This was the light and the shade, the very essence of Led Zeppelin’s entire career.