I cannot take credit for putting in any of the time and effort (and passion) that it took to create this compilation. All this research and this fantastic collection were made possible by “Willard’s Wormholes” http://www.willardswormholes.com . On his website he has a cool interface where you can click on cards and it produces links to the original tracks and then alternative streams so you can compare the tracks for similarities. Excellent project and really well researched. Check it out before downloading!
I didn’t include any of the original Led Zeppelin tunes in this, and took the liberty of splitting all the ‘source tracks’ into 2 CD format just cause the whole playlist was about 90 minutes and I still like CD’s. I’ve reproduced faithfully below all the content from the original web based interface, it makes for extremely interesting reading. And have included in each sub folder the original images from the website (which are awesome by the way).
Anyway excellent compilation, enjoy, thanks to Willard’s Wormholes again for the dedication and research necessary to produce something like this!
From Willard's Wormholes:
They’re one of rock’s greatest bands. They’re also one of rock’s worst… when it comes to properly crediting their sources of inspiration. Led Zeppelin’s many incidents of copyright infringement are legendary. There are those who have called it outright theft, and have sworn in a court of law that Led Zeppelin (primarily Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) have repeatedly taken credit for writing music that wasn’t their’s to take credit for. And, many of those cases have been vindicated. Of course… this is not to take away from Led Zeppelin’s greatness; the amazing arrangements, renditions, covers, interpretations, performances and history they’ve created and been a part of. But, the truth is they’ve become rich partly from royalties they were never entitled to. Jimmy Page was uncharacteristically candid on the subject when he spoke to Guitar Player Magazine in 1993, downplaying his own culpability while simultaneously throwing his partner, Robert Plant, under the bus. “I always tried to bring something fresh to anything that I used. I always made sure to come up with some variation. In fact, I think in most cases, you would never know what the original source could be. Maybe not in every case – but in most cases. So most of the comparisons rest on the lyrics. And Robert was supposed to change the lyrics, and he didn’t always do that – which is what brought on most of the grief. They couldn’t get us on the guitar parts of the music, but they nailed us on the lyrics. We did, however, take some liberties (laughs), I must say.” Note that Page says, “Robert was supposed to change the lyrics…” which might accidentally say a lot more about their process than Page intended.
Many of these tracks, which form the basis for quite a number of Led Zeppelin’s earlier recordings, have found their way onto “Roots Of” Zep collections before, so this gathering is nothing new. Many already know this story, and these songs, but for those that haven’t stayed abreast of the decades of abuse Zep has endured for their costly “borrowing” from others just might be shocked at what they hear on this collection. Of course, musicians borrow from each other all the time. Zeppelin were just way too blatant about it, and way too often took the credit (and royalties) for themselves. And, depending on how you slice it, this is only the half of it. On its own, this is a fun, mostly old blues collection made up of all the original songs heard on these pages… with a strangely familiar twist.
Tracklist:
JAKE HOLMES Dazed And Confused (3:48)
BERT JANSCH Blackwaterside (3:45)
HOWLIN’ WOLF No Place To Go (a.k.a. How Many More Years) (2:53)
ALBERT KING The Hunter (2:46)
ALES KORNER BLUES INC. Rosie (2:13)
ALEXIS KORNER & ROBERT PLANT Steal Away (4:45)
JOAN BAEZ Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You (2:39)
MUDDY WATERS You Need Love (2:43)
SMALL FACES You Need Loving (4:00)
HOWLIN’ WOLF Killing Floor (2:49)
ROBERT JOHNSON Travelling Riverside Blues (2:39)
SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON Bring It On Home (2:38)
BUKKA WHITE Shake ‘Em On Down (3:02)
MOBY GRAPE Never (6:15)
BERT JANSCH The Waggoner’s Lad (3:26)
KANSAS JOE McCOY & MEMPHIS MINNIE When The Levee Breaks (3:11)
SPIRIT Taurus (2:37)
SLEEPY JOHN ESTES Drop Down Mama (3:12)
BLIND BOY FULLER I Want Some Of Your Pie (2:45)
JOSH WHITE Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed (a.k.a. In My Time Of Dying) (3:06)
RITCHIE VALENS Ooh, My Head (1:47)
BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine (3:11)
THE THAMESIDERS AND DAVY GRAHAM She Moved Thro’ The Fair (3:10)
SLEEPY JOHN ESTES The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair (2:58)
BOBBY PARKER Watch Your Step (2:44)
JAKE HOLMES Dazed And Confused (3:48)
BERT JANSCH Blackwaterside (3:45)
HOWLIN’ WOLF No Place To Go (a.k.a. How Many More Years) (2:53)
ALBERT KING The Hunter (2:46)
ALES KORNER BLUES INC. Rosie (2:13)
ALEXIS KORNER & ROBERT PLANT Steal Away (4:45)
JOAN BAEZ Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You (2:39)
MUDDY WATERS You Need Love (2:43)
SMALL FACES You Need Loving (4:00)
HOWLIN’ WOLF Killing Floor (2:49)
ROBERT JOHNSON Travelling Riverside Blues (2:39)
SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON Bring It On Home (2:38)
BUKKA WHITE Shake ‘Em On Down (3:02)
MOBY GRAPE Never (6:15)
BERT JANSCH The Waggoner’s Lad (3:26)
KANSAS JOE McCOY & MEMPHIS MINNIE When The Levee Breaks (3:11)
SPIRIT Taurus (2:37)
SLEEPY JOHN ESTES Drop Down Mama (3:12)
BLIND BOY FULLER I Want Some Of Your Pie (2:45)
JOSH WHITE Jesus Gonna Make Up My Dying Bed (a.k.a. In My Time Of Dying) (3:06)
RITCHIE VALENS Ooh, My Head (1:47)
BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine (3:11)
THE THAMESIDERS AND DAVY GRAHAM She Moved Thro’ The Fair (3:10)
SLEEPY JOHN ESTES The Girl I Love, She Got Long Curly Hair (2:58)
BOBBY PARKER Watch Your Step (2:44)
(plus a few bonus tracks.......)
