BBC Sessions (1997)
Disc One
1. You Shook Me
2. I Can't Quit You Baby
3. Communication Breakdown
4. Dazed and Confused
5. The Girl I Love She Got Long
Black Wavy Hair
6. What Is and What Should Never Be
7. Communication Breakdown
8. Traveling Riverside Blues
9. Whole Lotta Love
10. Somethin' Else
11. Communication Breakdown
12. I Can't Quit You Baby
13. You Shook Me
14. How Many More Times
Disc Two
1. Immigrant Song
2. Heartbreaker
3. Since I've Been Loving You
4. Black Dog
5. Dazed and Confused
6. Stairway to Heaven
7. Going to California
8. That's the Way
9. Whole Lotta Love
10.Thank You
Like so many major acts before them, Led Zeppelin eventually received the obligatory BBC treatment—a dip into the archives to uncover early radio performances, raw rehearsals, and off-the-cuff renditions of classics in formation. Spread over two discs, BBC Sessions serves both as a historical document and a study in contrasts. That it is flawed is indisputable. That it is fascinating, equally so.
The first disc takes us back to the embryonic phase of the Zeppelin saga—1969, when the band was still staking its claim and tearing through airwaves with the unfiltered aggression of a group yet to solidify its legend. The performances are urgent, the playing frequently feral, and Robert Plant sounds positively combustible. Tracks like The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair show a band mid-evolution; the song would soon mutate into Moby Dick on Led Zeppelin II, but here it’s still wearing its work clothes. However, the disc is undermined by repetition—multiple versions of the same songs crop up from different sessions, adding bulk but not depth. Even Plant’s once-sizzling lemon-squeezing innuendo begins to wilt with overexposure.
The second disc jumps forward to 1971, capturing a band now firmly in control of its dominion. The sound is fuller, the performances more deliberate, and the set climax—Stairway to Heaven—had yet to engrave itself into rock’s collective consciousness. That the Paris audience receives it with polite curiosity rather than awe only heightens the archival charm. It may not surpass the raw energy of Disc One, but it boasts polish, maturity, and the sense that Zeppelin had already passed through the fire.
In 2016, the band released The Complete BBC Sessions, adding a third disc with further odds and ends. Unfortunately, “complete” proved to be code for “repetitive.” With the exception of White Summer, a blistering Jimmy Page instrumental, the additions are largely redundant. One true rarity, Sunshine Woman, suffers from such poor audio fidelity that it can only be considered of academic interest. A curio, not a crown jewel.
Ultimately, BBC Sessions is more document than destination. For completists and devotees, it's a fascinating glimpse of Led Zeppelin in chrysalis and conquest. For casual listeners, it may prove a touch exhausting. But even imperfect Zeppelin retains the power to impress—especially when they’re still discovering what kind of storm they could summon.
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