When Led Zeppelin emerged, the band wanted to bigger, bolder, harder than any of their peers. Taking rock to a new level, the British four-piece almost immediately found international success with a bombastic sound. Often dubbed heavy metal, one early Jimmy Page masterclass had a curious influence on the punk movement.
Written and recorded for their debut album, ‘Communication Breakdown’ is an intense, quicksilver blast of rock energy. The guitar part is dominated by ferocious down strokes, the austere minimalism helping to build the energy, before the ecstatic release of the solo.
The claustrophobic sound of the record reflects the “guitar in a shoebox” sound that Jimmy Page was aiming to construct. “I put it in a small room, a tiny vocal booth-type thing and miked it from a distance,” he said. “You see there’s a very old recording maxim which goes, ‘Distance makes depth’. I’ve used that a hell of a lot on recording techniques with the band generally, not just me.”
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As the 70s progressed, a new generation of musicians would lambast the likes of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd for their excess, but ‘Communication Breakdown’ enjoyed begrudging respect from these younger groups.
The Ramones, for instance, worshipped at the down stroke altar – Johnny Ramone was a huge fan of the song, and spent hours practising along to it as he found his own rhythm-led style.
Mickey Leigh of The Rattlers introduced Johnny to Led Zeppelin as he explained in his book, I Slept with Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir; in one section, he quotes the guitarist as saying –
“Yeah, well that’s really important. Most people don’t realise that. That’s how rock & roll should be played. All of it! Everything should be a down stroke.”
The Damned’s legendary drummer Rat Scabies was also knocked out by the song’s primal fury, as he admitted to Barney Hoskyns in Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World’s Greatest Rock Band, “I really didn’t like any of the songs that were long, but they had really cool short-riff rock songs that motored with a pretty good energy. In 1975, we might even admit that ‘Communication Breakdown’ had punk energy.”
Not everyone was impressed, however. In 1977 The Clash bass player Paul Simonon dismissed Led Zeppelin by saying: “Led Zeppelin? I don’t need to hear the music—all I have to do is look at one of their album covers and I feel like throwing up.”
Re-visit ‘Communication Breakdown’ below.
Related: Becoming Led Zeppelin Is The Year’s Must-See Music Documentary
When Led Zeppelin emerged, the band wanted to bigger, bolder, harder than any of their peers. Taking rock to a new level, the British four-piece almost immediately found international success with a bombastic sound. Often dubbed heavy metal, one early Jimmy Page masterclass had a curious influence on the punk movement.
Written and recorded for their debut album, ‘Communication Breakdown’ is an intense, quicksilver blast of rock energy. The guitar part is dominated by ferocious down strokes, the austere minimalism helping to build the energy, before the ecstatic release of the solo.
The claustrophobic sound of the record reflects the “guitar in a shoebox” sound that Jimmy Page was aiming to construct. “I put it in a small room, a tiny vocal booth-type thing and miked it from a distance,” he said. “You see there’s a very old recording maxim which goes, ‘Distance makes depth’. I’ve used that a hell of a lot on recording techniques with the band generally, not just me.”
—
—
As the 70s progressed, a new generation of musicians would lambast the likes of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd for their excess, but ‘Communication Breakdown’ enjoyed begrudging respect from these younger groups.
The Ramones, for instance, worshipped at the down stroke altar – Johnny Ramone was a huge fan of the song, and spent hours practising along to it as he found his own rhythm-led style.
Mickey Leigh of The Rattlers introduced Johnny to Led Zeppelin as he explained in his book, I Slept with Joey Ramone: A Family Memoir; in one section, he quotes the guitarist as saying –
“Yeah, well that’s really important. Most people don’t realise that. That’s how rock & roll should be played. All of it! Everything should be a down stroke.”
The Damned’s legendary drummer Rat Scabies was also knocked out by the song’s primal fury, as he admitted to Barney Hoskyns in Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World’s Greatest Rock Band, “I really didn’t like any of the songs that were long, but they had really cool short-riff rock songs that motored with a pretty good energy. In 1975, we might even admit that ‘Communication Breakdown’ had punk energy.”
Not everyone was impressed, however. In 1977 The Clash bass player Paul Simonon dismissed Led Zeppelin by saying: “Led Zeppelin? I don’t need to hear the music—all I have to do is look at one of their album covers and I feel like throwing up.”
Re-visit ‘Communication Breakdown’ below.
Related: Becoming Led Zeppelin Is The Year’s Must-See Music Documentary
