SLS: Been A Long Time

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A yellow and red drawing of a zeppelin flying over the Thames in front of Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster, illuminated by spotlights

 

Usually for Song Lyric Sunday posts I like to play something that won’t be duplicated by others, if I can, as I like to provide some variety. Today I am going completely down the opposite route. The theme for today is to give you a song played by a band that got back together for a reunion, as Jim tells us in his post, Band Reunion. I’m going with the blindingly obvious choice of what in their day was the biggest band in the world, and still to my mind one of the all time greats.

Who? This lot, that’s who:

Led Zeppelin, of course, with Rock And Roll, from Led Zeppelin IV. And here are the lyrics:

It’s been a long time since I rock and rolledIt’s been a long time since I did the strollOoh let me get it back, let me get it backLet me get it back, baby, where I come from
 
It’s been a long time, been a long timeBeen a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely timeYes, it hasIt’s been a long time since The Book of LoveI can’t count the tears of a life with no loveCarry me back, carry me backCarry me back, baby, where I come from, whoa-oh-oh
 
It’s been a long time, been a long timeBeen a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time
 
Oh seems so long since we walked in the moonlightMaking vows that just can’t work right, oh yeahOpen your arms, opens your armsOpen your arms, baby, let love come running in, yeahIt’s been a long time, been a long timeBeen a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time
 
Yeah-hey, yeah-hey, yeah-hey, yeah-hey
 
Ooh yeah, ooh yeahOoh yeah, ooh yeahIt’s been a long time, been a long timeBeen a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time
 
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jimmy Page / John Bonham / John Paul Jones / Robert Plant
Rock and Roll lyrics © Edition JA, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Peermusic Publishing, PFIVE Entertainment Mexico, Songtrust Ave, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Word Collections Publishing

Led Zeppelin were with us from 1968 to December 1980, when they disbanded a couple of months after the death of their drummer, John Bonham. They tried a couple of reunions, with a variety of other drummers, including the US end of Live Aid in 1985 and a show in 1988 to mark forty years of Atlantic Records. Both performances were hated by the band: they brought their differences to a head and were beset by technical problems.

They also played a couple of brief sets at their 1995 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which didn’t go much better: probably not helped by John Paul Jones’ remark “Thank you, my friends, for finally remembering my phone number.” See what I mean about differences! For the first time, John Bonham’s son, Jason, played drums for them at that performance.

On 10 December 2007, the band reunited for the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at the O2Arena in London, with Jason Bonham again taking his father’s place on drums. According to Guinness World Records 2009, the show set a record for the “Highest Demand for Tickets for One Music Concert” as 20 million requests were made online. Critics praised the performance and there was widespread speculation about a full reunion but sadly it never happened. I’m playing four songs today, all taken from that show, and this is the second:

I thought I’d play a couple to wake you up on a Sunday morning – apologies if you are hungover from a heavy night! Black Dog was also on the Led Zeppelin IV album, which is probably my favourite of theirs, though II runs it close. These were the first two tracks on Side One, though I have reversed their order, and this is the closing track of the four on that side of the record:

I couldn’t really leave Stairway To Heaven out, could I! Oddly, though, I had to go with an unofficial upload of it as the band’s own YouTube page doesn’t have it.  I’ve no idea why, as there are some earlier performances of the song there from back in their heyday. Also a little strange to me is that it took five years for the CD and DVD of this show to be released. They came out in November 2012 as Celebration Day, which I think is an appropriate title, and the concert film also enjoyed a limited release in cinemas. The release was a composite package of a DVD and two CDs, and it peaked at #4 in the UK and #9 in the US. And of course I have it in my collection – it was a fantastic show!

That should really be where I leave it for today, but maybe I can go with an encore? In keeping with the show, this was the first encore, another unofficial upload:

And on that note, I am definitely taking my leave. Enjoy the rest of your day and I’ll see you again on Tuesday 😊

53 thoughts on “SLS: Been A Long Time”

  1. Pingback: February Flew By | Take It Easy

  3. How wonderful! I applied for tickets for that concert, but sadly didn’t receive any. The doctor I worked for at the time had a complimentary ticket. She went and said it was ‘boring’. Arrgh! She should have given the ticket to me!

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  8. So many super songs from this super group! My favorite is Whole Lotta Love. I had/have the 45 of it and I played it so much it got a place on the record where it would stick, so I’d just let it go for awhile before bumping the needle a little bit farther on. haha 🙂

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    • I had a lot to choose from, but I stuck to the spirit of the theme by just playing tracks from that 2007 reunion. I couldn’t have played Whole Lotta Love as a single – they never released any here. But the album got a real battering!

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  10. For an 18 year old woman on the rebound after her breakup with George Harrison (hey, it felt very real back then), I fell hard for Robert Plant. I have powerful memories of sitting in the 2nd row of the Fillmore East, mesmerized by Robert Plant as he bent low and came up swinging his mass of blonde curls, spraying us with his sweat. What an incredible time in my young life, being a part of the greatest generation of rock music and seeing it up close and personal. These are the thrilling memories that are still so alive today. Led Zeppelin is one of the all-time great rock bands; I’m delighted you chose to feature them. Thanks, Clive! ♡

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  18. Great Choice Clive … One of my all time Faves …only didn’t do them because I knew someone would… And you did …. Love them then and I love them still.

    here my favourite track it amazes me every version and everyone I hear it. Great intro , great story….great great great!

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  19. Certainly, the voice of a generation. Although back in the day I was more into harder rock- Zepplin stood its ground and carried me through so much more of life than any of the bands I was particularly enamored with back when I fancied myself a bad-ass.

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  20. It’s funny, I was never a fan when they were together, but I’ve grown to like their big songs.
    I recall being told that there was a time when ‘Stairway to Heaven’ was playing somewhere in the world every moment of the day. I’m not sure if it’s a fact or an urban legend.

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    • I was with them from the beginning: I was 15 when they started and developing my taste for rock music.

      I’m not sure if that is true, but what I can be sure about is that many guitar shops banned people from playing it when trying instruments, as they had heard it far too often. That went for Sweet Child of Mine too!

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