What happens when brilliant musicians like Paul Rodgers, Jimmy Page, Chris Slade and Tony Franklin get together? Pure magic – that’s what happens! In the mid-80s, hungry for new adventures, Page and Rodgers formed an exciting supergroup which despite its short life spawned some rockers of a lifetime! Second only to his collaboration with Coverdale, I think this project is my favorite work of Jimmy Page, after the classic Led Zeppelin years, of course.
Their self-titled debut album was brought to the world in 1985. Skilfully incorporating friendlier and more radio-ready sound to their bluesy and soulful musical approach, “The Firm” is a good example of a laidback, upbeat ‘80s record, worthy of checking out!
A song of theirs that left the greatest impression on me is “Satisfaction Guaranteed”. The slow-paced, light-hearted tune immediately captivated me with its rhythms. Not to mention Paul Rodgers who keeps on giving me the time of my life every time he starts singing. He sounds sexy, free and so natural on “Satisfaction Guaranteed”; his sweet voice can simply be the end of me, I swear. Jimmy Page is (of course) delivering quite the guitar performance!
Watch the classic MV below and enjoy the feelgood tune!
“Satisfaction Guaranteed” Lyrics
Mystery surrounds me, and I wonder where I’m going There’s a cloud above me and it seems to hide the way I’m going straight ahead, ’cause it’s the only way I know I want to leave the past, and leave just for today
Now then tell me baby, do you need my love? Tell me baby, are you thinking of me? Tell me baby, what it is you need? What kind of satisfaction guaranteed?
Sitting in the gutter with my head wrapped in my hands I’ve been drinking all night, and I just can’t stand the pain It took an awful lot of trouble just to make me understand Now it’s clear to me, but will it ever be the same?
Now then tell me baby, do you need my love? Tell me baby, are you thinking of me? Tell me baby, what it is you need? What kind of satisfaction guaranteed?
Now then tell me baby, do you need my love? Tell me baby, are you thinking of me? Tell me baby, what it is you need? What kind of satisfaction guaranteed?
Head upon the highway, just as fast as I could go I rode through the night, and halfway through the day I had no direction I didn’t even want to know where I was going The only thing I knew, was that I had to get away
Now then tell me baby, do you need my love? Tell me baby, are you thinking of me? Tell me baby, what it is you need? What kind of satisfaction guaranteed?
Tell me baby, tell me baby, tell me baby, do you need my love? Now that I’m here, yeah, do you need, do you need my love?
References:
Lyrics retrieved from http://www.metrolyrics.com/ P.S. I don’t own any audio or visual material used in this publication. All the rights and credits go to the owners and/publishers. The publication expresses my personal opinion and in no way is trying to make a generalized statement. Please be kind and considerate when you read and/or comment. Cheers~
I’ve been listening to Led Zeppelin’s fourth album quite a lot these days and even though many people claim that the crown jewel of the record is undoubtedly “Stairway to Heaven”, I say that that’s not necessarily the case. As much as I love the gorgeous ballad, I’ve always been drawn to the other classics from the album, such as “Black Dog”, “Rock and Roll” and “Misty Mountain Hop”. I want to specifically focus on “Black Dog” because I just can’t really express how much I adore this song and how empowering it is to me. On top of that, it’s probably my favorite Led Zeppelin live act due to its musical complexity and even chaotic patterns which became a true testament to the band’s musicianship. Believe me, even by Led Zeppelin standards this is a very hard song to perform and even harder to dance to.
“Black Dog” Live
– “Black Dog” is the opening track of Led Zeppelin’s fourth album, which is also their best-selling album, released back in 1971.
– The title of the song – “Black Dog” has nothing to do with and doesn’t appear in the lyrics of the track. The story behind the title goes like this: While Led Zeppelin were working on the song in a mansion in England, a nameless black Labrador was wondering around the grounds and the band would befriend and feed it. The song is named after it.
“Let me tell you ’bout this poor old dog because he was a retriever in his early days, and the only thing he could ever find in his late days was his old lady who lived two houses away from where we were recording. And he used to go see the old lady quite regularly, but after he’d “boogied” and everything else he couldn’t get back. And we used to carry him back,” Robert Plant once said. (Apparently, despite his old age, the doggy was quite “adventurous” – quite like the song’s protagonist)
– Led Zeppelin’s bassist player – John Paul Jones was credited for writing the main riff of the song.
“I wanted to try an electric blues with a rolling bass part. But it couldn’t be too simple. I wanted it to turn back on itself. I showed it to the guys, and we fell into it. We struggled with the turn-around, until Bonham figured out that you just four-time as if there’s no turn-around. That was the secret,” John
– The song begins with Jimmy Page warming up his guitar. He called it “waking up the army of guitars”.
– The lyrics of the song are not quite complex or difficult to comprehend (as compared to “Stairway to Heaven” for instance). The way I see it is that Plant is simply singing about a very attractive, “long-legged” woman who is obviously triggering the protagonist’s prurient thoughts. Also, there’s this line – “Eyes that shine burning red, dreams of you all through my head” which made a lot of people conclude that the song was talking about a hellhound (or a black dog) and was related with Satan. (Because of course a relation to Satan had to be made – it was the ‘70s after all…)
– The track reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
– “Black Dog” ’s sophisticated shifting time signature was intended to stop any attempts from other cover bands to duplicate the song. Originally John wanted it to be recorded in 6/8 but since it’s too difficult to reproduce it live, John Bonham would eliminated the 5/4 variation. The guitar riffs are heavily layered and distorted.
– The start-and-stop a cappella verses were inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s 1969 song “Oh Well.”
– A Led Zeppelin cover band, named Dread Zeppelin did a version of the song and mixed it up with Elvis‘ “Hound Dog”. The vocalist was an Elvis impersonator. Here’s the result, you be the judge
“Black Dog” Clean
“Black Dog” Lyrics
Hey, hey mama, said the way you move, gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove. Unh nh child, way you shake that thing, gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting. Hey, hey baby, when you walk that way, watch your heart-ache drip, can’t keep away.
Ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah, ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah. I gotta roll, can’t stand still, got a flamin’ heart, can’t get my fill. Eyes that shine, burnin’ red, dreams of you all through my head.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah.
Hey hey baby, oh baby, pretty baby, darlin’ can’t you do me now? Hey, baby, oh, baby, pretty baby, move me while you do me now.
Didn’t take too long ‘fore I found out what people mean by down and out. Spent my money, took my car, started tellin’ her friends she gonna be a star. I don’t know, but I been told, a big legged woman ain’t got no soul.
All I ask for, all I pray, steady loaded woman gonna come my way. Need a woman, gonna hold my hand will tell me no lies, make me a happy man. Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah.
La-da ah e ah yes I will. And yes I really, really do baby, baby, baby. I can really do you, huh? Ooh, wew, you do it baby. Push it, baby, push it, baby, push it, baby, push it, baby, Push it, baby, push it, babe babe. Ooh, ooh, aah ooh. Ooh. I’d really like to do it now. I’d really like to do it now.
P.S. I don’t own any audio or visual material used in this publication. All the rights and credits go to the owners and/publishers. Cheers~ The publication expresses my personal opinion and in no way is trying to make a generalized statement. Please be kind and considerate when you read and/or comment.
I dedicate the following publication to a special someone…
Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love Vinyl Sleeve (credits to the owner of the photo)
These past few months I’ve been listening to Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” so many times – I don’t really know why, how and when it became one of those songs you call “yours” and that you just have to play every day! I’ve known this song since I was in middle school but I never really paid much attention to it. I adore LZ but this song was definitely not one of my all-time favorites – maybe I was too young to appreciate it and get it. Years later, things changed and now I think it is one of my most favorite LZ songs. Not to mention that there’s a personal reason behind it, which I’m not going to reveal, of course. Anyhow, I decided to dedicate this publication to “Whole Lotta Love” and try to give some more insight about it, as well as to simply remind everyone of this classic masterpiece by the greatest of them all – Led Zeppelin.
I’m going to start with the basics. This song was released back in 1969 and it is the lead single from LZ’s second album. It quickly became a major hit and topped the charts in the USA, Germany and many other European countries. Also, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it 75 on their list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was indeed a huge phenomenon and we can understand why – I mean just listen to this inhumane slide guitar…
Moreover, the song was produced by non-other than Mr. Jimmy Page (of course). How come these people just come up with riffs like this one – saying that he is a genius does not even begin to cover it… I was able to find an interview with him from The Wall Street Journal, talking about the song and the memorable riff:
“I came up with the guitar riff for “Whole Lotta Love” in the summer of ’68, on my houseboat along the Thames in Pangbourne, England. I suppose my early love for big intros by rockabilly guitarists was an inspiration, but as soon as I developed the riff, I knew it was strong enough to drive the entire song, not just open it. When I played the riff for the band in my living room several weeks later during rehearsals for our first album, the excitement was immediate and collective. We felt the riff was addictive, like a forbidden thing.”
I’m not sure I can find the right words to properly describe the guitar riffs and the brilliance of this song because when it comes to legends like Jimmy Page it is indeed very difficult. He was the brain behind the production and the recording of the song which clearly shows his abilities to construct brick by brick a true work of art. The famous riff itself is very monstrous and it builds up some sort of energy and excitement inside of you which just wants to go out. Also, with this song it’s all about the intro…I’ve said it before – a rock song needs to have a mighty and compelling intro. “Whole Lotta Love” is the perfect example of how a strong and mind-blowing rock song intro should sound like.
In addition to Jimmy Page’s excellence, the vocal delivery of Robert Plant is another reason why this song has such a strong influence on me. This song is one of the perfect examples of how expressive, capable and “heavy” his voice is. Also, he sings quite suggestively and evocatively which also contributes to the whole “experience”.
“Robert’s vocal was just as extreme. He kept gaining confidence during the session and gave it everything he had. His vocals, like my solos, were about performance. He was pushing to see what he could get out of his voice. We were performing for each other, almost competitively.” (The Wall Street Journal)
In terms of lyrics, the song is quite easy to remember and sing with. The chorus are repeated and the verses include just a few lines. I should mention that there was a dispute going on concerning the words of “Whole Lotta Love” – the lyrics turned out to be quite similar with lyrics written by Willie Dixon for another song, recorded by Muddy Waters. Eventually, after a few lawsuits, Willie Dixon got the co-credit that, in my opinion, just had to be given a lot earlier. Overall, I truly enjoy the lyrics – nothing so deep, nothing so unreasonable and just simply talking about how we need love…
You need coolin’, baby, I’m not foolin’, I’m gonna send you back to schoolin’, Way down inside honey, you need it, I’m gonna give you my love, I’m gonna give you my love.
Wanna Whole Lotta Love (X4)
You’ve been learnin’, baby, I’ve been yearnin’, All them good times, baby, baby, I’ve been yearnin’, Way, way down inside honey, you need it, I’m gonna give you my love… I’m gonna give you my love.
(Chorus)
You’ve been coolin’, baby, I’ve been droolin’, All the good times I’ve been misusin’, Way, way down inside, I’m gonna give you my love, I’m gonna give you every inch of my love, Gonna give you my love.
(Chorus)
Way down inside… woman… You need… love. Shake for me, girl. I wanna be your backdoor man. Keep it coolin’, baby.
It’s an awesome song – no other opinion about it. It’s one of LZ’s early works, so it does mean a lot nowadays – it was a beginning of an era and proved that Led Zeppelin were a true rockstars. I hope I reminded some of you about this song and now you will play it and hopefully enjoy it as much as I do. I’m not a huge fan of the “futuristic”, “trippy”, “lusty” and yes – crazy middle part of the song in which Robert makes those weird sounds and John Bonham accompanies him with his drums BUT – that’s probably its biggest charm. I’m so gonna play it right now… I hope I can click the “stop” button because with this song it’s somehow quite difficult to do it… Cheers
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Credits:
1. “Jimmy Page Describes the Creation of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”, retrieved from http://www.openculture.com
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