Un-led-ed - Dread Zeppelin

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Wonderful musicianship
Disadvantages:	none unless you have a very narrow mind

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I can't believe no one has reviewed or rated this album as yet! So, what does the name Dread Zeppelin conjure up? Well, if you're thinking along thelines of Dread - could be reggae, and Zeppelin.. something to do with rock legends Led Zeppelin... you would be half way there. There's a bit more to it than that though. It is Led Zep, 'reggaefied', but with an Elvis Presley impersonator on vocals. Yep, you heard that correctly... Led Zep, reggae style with Elvis singing. Sounds nonsensical perhaps? Wrong!

Okay, the thing about this band is that they took their music very seriously... this isn't just a spoof or micky-take of Led Zep. This is a band that plays the music superbly, and actually does something you would not expect - it adds to the music of Zeppelin. Let's not forget that Zep themselves toyed with reggae a few times, especially on the tongue in cheek D'Yer Maker track on the Houses of the Holy album. Take that a big step further and you have Dread Zep. You simply have to hear this album to realise just how good they were.... and what did Led Zep think? Robert Plant saw them and loved them!

The songs are -

1.: Black Dog
2.: Living Loving Maid
3.: Bring It On Home
4.: Black Mountain Side
5.: Heartbreaker (At The End Of Lonely Street)
6.: Your Time Is Gonna Come
7.: Whole Lotta Love
8.: I Can't Quit You Baby
9.: Immigrant Song
10.: Moby Dick

Highlights include

Track 5 - is where the Elvis bit comes to the fore to great effect - you may have heard of the current trend for 'mash-ups' - basically the mixing together of 2 songs to create something different - well Dread Zep were way ahead of the pack with that idea - they took Led Zep's Heartbreaker and Elvis's Heartbreak Hotel and created something rather unique and very very good indeed.

Track 6 - this one would send shivers up the spine of any self respecting Led Zep fan - it starts with an organ intro almost note for note the same as the original, then heads off to reggae-land. Quite something to hear!

The rest of the album is just as good as these 2, and you even get their take on John Bonham's drum solo spot in final track Moby Dick... needless to say it's a little bit diffferent to Bonham's!

All in all this is not a comedy album as it's been categorised here on Ciao.. it's more like a heartfelt tribute to the greatest rock band of them all, with a nod to the original rock'n'roll king, and it's done differently, not your usual tribute band just copying note for note. Highly enjoyable, surprising, and well worth buying.