Today, Jimmy Page, historic guitarist and founder of Led Zeppelin, turns 81, recognized as one of the most influential, important and versatile guitarists and composers in the history of rock. To celebrate him worthily, the British magazine Mojo has seen fit to relaunch its ranking of the 50 best songs by the historic English group. “During the band's 12-year imperial reign, no two albums sounded the same – the magazine points out in the introduction – And as it veered between apocalyptic heavy rock, blues, folk and ballads, their music never changed stop”.
Below is the list of the 50 best Led Zeppelin songs according to Mojo magazine (full report here).
50. In The Evening (In Through The Out Door, 1979)
49. Gallows Pole (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
48. For Your Life (Presence, 1976)
47. That's The Way (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
46. Thank You (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
45. Dancing Days (Houses Of The Holy, 1973)
44. How Many More Times (Led Zeppelin, 1969)
43. Celebration Day (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
42. Black Mountain Side (Led Zeppelin, 1969)
41. The Wanton Song (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
40. I Can't Quit You Baby (Led Zeppelin, 1969)
39. The Song Remains The Same (Houses Of The Holy, 1973)
38. Living Loving Maid (She's Just A Woman) (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
37. In The Light (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
36. Moby Dick (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
35. Bring It On Home (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
34. Bron Y-Aur Stomp (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
33. Trampled Underfoot (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
32. Custard Pie (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
31. Sick Again (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
30. Houses Of The Holy (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
29. Four Sticks (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
28. The Lemon Song (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
27. The Ocean (Houses Of The Holy, 1973)
26. What Is And What Should Never Be (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
25. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (Led Zeppelin, 1969)
24. The Battle Of Evermore (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
23. Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin, 1969)
22. Misty Mountain Hop (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
21. Tangerine (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
20. Friends (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
19. In My Time Of Dying (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
18. Heartbreaker (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
17. Going To California (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
16. Ten Years Gone (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
15. Over The Hills And Far Away (Houses Of The Holy, 1973)
14. Good Times Bad Times (Led Zeppelin, 1969)
13. No Quarter (Houses Of The Holy, 1973)
12. Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
11. The Rain Song (House Of The Holy, 1973)
10. Rock And Roll (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
9. Ramble On (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
8. Achilles Last Stand (Presence, 1976)
7. Dazed And Confused (Led Zeppelin, 1969)
6. Since I've Been Loving You (Led Zeppelin III, 1970)
5. Black Dog (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
4. Stairway To Heaven (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
3. Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin II, 1969)
2. When The Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin IV, 1971)
1. Kashmir (Physical Graffiti, 1975)
Meanwhile there is finally a release date for the long-awaited documentary “Becoming Led Zeppelin”. The film that tells the story of the legendary British hard-rock band will be in Italian cinemas from 27 February to 5 March (list of theaters soon on nexostudios.it).
Directed by Bernard MacMahon (American Epic) and co-written and produced by Allison McGourty, “Becoming Led Zeppelin” comes out 12 years after the worldwide success of “Celebration Day”, which attracted over 50,000 spectators in Italy alone . This is the first officially authorized film about the group and traces the creative, musical and personal history of Led Zeppelin, told through the band's own words.
Below is the trailer for “Becoming Led Zeppelin”.
The film also reveals a huge amount of rare and previously unseen footage about the performance of the group: the result is a visceral musical experience, which will transport spectators to the concert halls of the first tours, accompanied by intimate and exclusive comments from the members of Led Zeppelin.
The docu-film alternates interviews with Robert Plant (here is the review of his last concert in Rome), Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones, with historical clips with interventions by John Bonham and footage of concerts of the English band in 1969 at the Fillmore West, 'Atlanta Pop Festival and Texas Pop Festival.
“Becoming Led Zeppelin” focuses heavily on the group's early years and their rise to global stardom, revealing their individual journeys as they navigate the 1960s music scene. Because before “Starway To Heaven”, the Dragon guitar and gold records, there were simply four artists and their love of music. Until, in the summer of 1968, they meet to rehearse together and their lives change forever. The four paths merge into one as they set out to conquer America on a rollercoaster ride that culminates in 1970, when they become the number one band in the world.
“Becoming Led Zeppelin” premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2021, but did not have a wide-scale release as initially planned. Earlier this year, talk of the documentary returned when Sony Classics Pictures acquired distribution rights to the production. The version that will arrive in theaters, however, is slightly different than the one shown in Venice three years ago.
Director Bernard MacMahon says “With 'Becoming Led Zeppelin' my goal was to make a new type of film, a documentary that resembled a musical. I wanted to intertwine the four different stories of the group members before and after the formation of the band, having large parts of their story told only by music and images, in order to link the songs to the places where they were created and the events that inspired them . I used only original film and negatives, with over 70,000 hand-restored frames, and created fantasy sequences, inspired by 'Singin' In The Rain', superimposing previously unseen footage of live performances onto photomontages of posters, tickets and travel, to visually recreate the sense of frenzy of their beginnings.”
“Becoming Led Zeppelin” will be released in 200 IMAX theaters starting February 7, 2025. Additionally, prior to the general release, there will be advanced screenings in 18 cities on February 5, 2025, at select locations.
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Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
