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News Articles :: Led Zeppelin :: March 14, 1969
Expressen (a Swedish newspaper) Saturday 15th March 1969 - originally
written by Urban von Rosen.
"Led Zeppelin better than a tired Country Joe
Although Country Joe & The Fish was the big name at Friday night's concert
in Stockholm the performance by Led Zeppelin was much more interesting.
Country Joe and his group seemed tired and resigned. They didn't at all
spread the same fresh happiness and "San Francisco-atmosphere" around them
as they did during their last visit. During the last part of the concert
some of their insolent protest attitude did come through, but overall the
performance was rather flat.
Their music has become more folk- and countryinspired than before, which
correspond to many of todays American groups. The earlier often respectless
fun-making of and protest against occurences in today's american society
have been replaced by a slightly romantic worship of the folkmusic. This
increasing interest in for example the Indian culture existed indeed already
during the "westcoast era" but became more noticeable when Bob Dylans LP
"John Wesley Harding" was released. If one got a bit disappointed with
Country Joe & The Fish listening to Led Zeppelin made you so much happier.
Unfortunately some of the group's equipment had been left at a TV-recording
earlier in the day, but it didn't show that much. The group plays a very
hardrocking and intensive blues. Their music contains many experiments and
is to a great deal built around an exciting dialogue between former
Yardbirdsguitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant. He uses his voice
in a very strange way. He's singing notes rather than words and lets pitch
and intensity form the content of the singing.
Jimmy Page is absolutely one of the great names among England's guitarists
and he proved that by an extremely beautiful soloperformance, "White
Summer". Furthermore, he experimented with bow and guitar in maybe the best
song of the evening, "Dazed and Confused", from their LP "Led Zeppelin".
Another visit from Led Zeppelin would really be welcomed and those who
didn't took the chance to see and hear them this time shouldn't miss such an
opportunity."
Dagens Nyheter (the biggest newspaper in Sweden) Sunday 16th March 1969 -
Originally written by Ludvig Rasmusson.
"Country Joe and the Fish:
Insolent, ironic at one's own expense
A double bill at Konserthuset last Friday night - two big groups at the same
show: from England Led Zeppelin and from America Country Joe and the Fish.
Most popconcerts in Stockholm usually have one group that attracts people
and one or two opening acts. This time it was two main attractions at once.
And that was good, because the tickets were extremely expensive.
Konserthuset was crowded and almost sold out.
Between the two groups I like Country Joe and the Fish the best. Only two of
the members were left in the group that visited us last autumn - Country Joe
himself and the guitarist. The other three were new ones. But their music
was still by and large the same -insolent, ironic at one's own expense and
kind. The difference is that Country Joe plays an even greater part in this
new line-up.
The Fish sometimes functioned as merely a backup to his singing. The lyrics
mean a lot - so much that you sometimes tended to be listening to a
revuegroup instead of an ordinary popgroup.
At first Led Zeppelin impressed me by playing so hard and loud. Not in that
typically thin and weak English fashion. They had an almost american
heaviness and breadth in their music. But the group is only a couple of
months old and hasn't played enough together to be as tight as one could
wish for. The guitarist Jimmy Page is good - a talented, original and
imaginative soloist. His bassist was also good. The drummer was promising. I
didn't like the singer at all. He mostly screamed and the lyrics he screamed
were banal." |
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 Concert Watch
4 May 2013
John Paul Jones
Manchester, England
The Ritz
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