Whole Lotta Love // Led Zeppelin
As Jimmy Page was playing his Sunburst 1958 Les Paul in front of a crowd of thousands, he could look up at the sky and thank whatever deity or higher power crowned him with the ability to create and play the riffs and solo of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love.’ The solo is preceded by a bold and wild free jazz-esque break, featuring John Bonham thumping the hi-hat pedal and a theremin solo kicks in at random bursts. Sounding like a swarm of bees surrounding your ears, Bonham’s random hits of the ride cymbal signal to Page that it’s time to create just under 20 seconds of magic. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mln0RciE2o0&w=740&h=422] While Page’s solo is short, it’s call and response of Bonham hitting the drums and Page replying with a burst of slides over the guitar strings, that justify the reason for Robert Plant’s orgasmic moans seconds before it starts. While it is one of the less notable guitar solos of the 20th Century, in fact, one of the less notable Led Zeppelin guitar solos when looking at ‘Stairway to Heaven’ – it is my personal favourite. This is purely because I listened to it first, but the 20 seconds that Jimmy Page is replying to Bonham’s beats, is arguably the best part of the song itself. Words by Chris Paschali