Though not exactly unheard of (Paul Kendall’s Led Zeppelin In Their Own Words trod similar ground in the early 80s), collating an anthology of interviews cherry picked from various media sources is a neat way to breathe new life into some rather over-examined history.
Spanning from Page’s boyhood appearance with Huw Wheldon on the BBC in 1957, through to a David Letterman appearance in 2013, a clutch of truly insightful period pieces leave you bemoaning the growth of the PR industry: Plant’s outrageous comments on the Plaster Casters from a 1969 issue of International Times would be viewed as decidedly ‘off-message’ in today’s climes.
William Burroughs’ occult-heavy chat with Page for Crawdaddy in ’75 provides the real gold, though, with Wilhelm Reich, and the Loch Ness Monster also mused upon.
Doubling up as a fresh-angled document of the band’s career, and a testament to music journalism itself, it’s a worthy addition to the sprawling Led Zep bibliography./o:p
